Objective Managing dietary glycemic index (GI) deserves further attention in the interplay between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between dietary GI and the odds of NAFLD in patients with T2DM. Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out between April 2021 and February 2022, including 200 participants with T2DM aged 18-70 years, of which 133 had NAFLD and 67 were in the non-NAFLD group. Cardiometabolic parameters were analyzed using standard biochemical kits and dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was applied to explore odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for NAFLD according to tertiles of dietary GI. Results Highest vs. lowest tertile (< 57 vs. > 60.89) of energy-adjusted GI was not associated with the odds of having NAFLD (OR 1.25, 95% CI = 0.6-2.57; P-trend = 0.54) in the crude model. However, there was an OR of 3.24 (95% CI = 1.03-10.15) accompanied by a significant trend (P-trend = 0.04) after full control for potential confounders (age, gender, smoking status, duration of diabetes, physical activity, waist circumference, HbA1c, triglycerides, total cholesterol, dietary intake of total carbohydrates, simple carbohydrates, fat, and protein). Conclusion High dietary GI is associated with increased odds of NAFLD in subjects with T2DM. However, interventional and longitudinal cohort studies are required to confirm these findings.


The article does an overall analysis of the income policy during the 90-ties. Because of the fact that income is one of the main macroeconomic stabilising factors, the implemented policy has predominantly restrictive character. The Bulgarian economy entered into a deep and prolonged income crisis, as a result of the restrictions and of the unfavourable internal and external economic environment. The measurements of the income crisis are identified and investigated. The deepness and the scope of this crisis are expressed by a considerable decrease of the real incomes, an increase of the differentiation of earnings, lagging of minimal wages in respect of inflation, formation of unfavourable income structure and others. The economic and social effects are connected with a wide expansion of poverty, decrease of consumption and savings, demotivation of the labour force, a weak dependence of the working salary on economic results, stimulation of the informal economy and others. ON THIS BASIS, CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGES OF THE INCOME POLICY ARE MADE, SO AS TO SOLVE THE ACCUMULATED PROBLEMS AND ANSWER THE CHALLENGES OF BULGARIA'S ACCESSION TO THE EC.


MADAMS (management architecture for distributed measurement services) is a novel service-based software framework designed for publishing, retrieving, configuring, setting-up, monitoring and executing distributed measurement services over the Internet. The basic building block is the measurement service, i.e. a software object properly configured and made remotely accessible across a network. A measurement service corresponds either to a single (virtual or physical) instrument, or to a collection of measurement services abstracting a test method. Service attributes include the graphical interface which supports user interactions. MADAMS is especially tuned to: (i) defining a common and straightforward way to use distributed measurement services; (ii) introducing a data-exchange layer for inter-instrument communications; and (iii) exploiting a design pattern which separates definition of service functionalities from distribution concerns. This paper introduces MADAMS, outlines its current implementation which depends on Java/Jini, and shows its application to a demand monitoring-control measurement system.


Key performance indicators (KPIs) evaluate different aspects of projects and are used to determine the health status of projects. While there is considerable work on project quantitative performance prediction, less attention, however, has been directed towards qualitative performance prediction. This paper offers a novel framework for qualitatively measuring and predicting six important construction project KPIs using the neuro-fuzzy technique. Neuro-fuzzy models are developed to map the KPIs of three critical project stages to whole project KPIs. Subtractive clustering is utilized to automatically generate initial fuzzy inference system (FIS) models and the artificial neural network (ANN) technique is used to tune the parameters of the initial FIS models. The relative weight of each KPI is determined using a series of computing methods namely, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and genetic algorithm (GA), to generate the performance indicator (PI). The developed models are validated with real project data showing that the rate of error is reasonably low. The results show that the AHP method is more accurate when compared to the GA method. This framework can be used in building construction projects to help decision-makers evaluate the performance of their projects.


We examined the defecatory conditions in a population of Japanese subjects and analyzed the measured parameters as a means for self-evaluation of defecation. Subjects (n=1195) were residents of northern Japan and were all aged over 40 years. The state of defecation and fecal characteristics were assessed with regard to nine parameters including "self-reported bowel habit" and "bowel movement frequency." Logistic regression analysis was carried out to analyze the association between the complaint of constipation and other eight parameters. A higher tendency for constipation was noted in women than in men. The highest value of the odds ratio was "bowel movement frequency"; especially the value "once per three days or more" was noted in both genders (odds ratio: 13.38 and 42.46 in men and women, respectively). In addition, "stool appearance", "length of time for bowel movement", "straining after bowel movement", "alternating diarrhea/constipation/disorder" and "travel-related changes in bowel movements" were significantly related with the complaint of constipation ("self-reported bowel habits") in both genders. In conclusion, the study elucidated that personal and subjective evaluation of bowel habits in normal subjects consisted of various factors under the heading of "bowel movement frequency".


We present calculations of electron scattering from BeH2 using the R-matrix method. Integral and differential elastic and inelastic cross sections for energies up to 20 eV have been determined and the position and width (when possible) of shape and core-excited resonances is reported. The use of Gaussian, B-spline, and mixed bases has been investigated. Results are compared with earlier calculations: it is shown that inclusion of both more target states and higher partial waves affects both the resonant behavior at lower energies and the high-energy behavior of the inelastic cross sections.


The literary review is devoted to the problems of speleotherapy occupying one of leading places in the concept of the modern not medicamental methods of different diseases' correction in therapeutic and pediatric practice. Domestic and international experience of eay-out and functioning speleotherapeutic cabinets is analysed, contraindications as well as indications in usage of the yielded procedure are given, effectiveness of speleotherapy using according to domestic authors and their foreign colleagues is illuminated.


This book, a symposium under the joint sponsorship of the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists and the Pediatric Pathology Club, serves biologists, oncologists of all disciplines, geneticists, and pediatricians, in addition to academic pathologists. The first lecture is Warkany's history of teratologic research "limited to the last 8,000 years." This summary of our heritage supplies insight into present attitudes about monsters and anomalies. Are our minds broad enough to visualize the fields of our knowledge? Could this be why some scientists pursue an ever-narrowing spiral of investigation rather than explore the new worlds before them? Wilson, writing on principles of teratology, appears unnecessarily complex though basic. Central to the study of development is the natural control of growth. What directs normal differential development with its delicate and critical timing? Saxen begins to invade this field, and Holtzer and Kretchmer further attack the heart of the subject and try to


A novel robust audio watermarking algorithm is proposed based on music edge detection. The key point lies in the fact that music edges like drum sounds will not be changed much in order to maintain high auditory quality. Experimental results show strong robustness against common audio signal processing and time-domain synchronisation attacks.


The 2nd Intervational Physical Therapy Conference (IPTC) and the 2nd Physical Therapy Mahidol University Research Symposium (PTMURS):|b"Successful Aging from Basic to Advanced Knowledag". Bangkok: Physical Therapy Center, 9th floor Faculty of Physical Thrapy , Mahidol University: 2014


This article explores the impact of Western economics on early twentieth-century Chinese economic thought by focusing on the work of Richard Tawney and John Bernard Tayler on the modernization of Chinese agriculture. Tawney's and Tayler's approaches differed considerably. An established economic historian from the London School of Economics, Tawney was committed to a purely social science approach. Tayler, a Protestant missionary and professor of economics at Yanjing University, was representative of what the emerging group of Western academic economists called "missionary economics," which combined economic reforms with evangelical goals. Despite their differences, however, both Tawney and Tayler saw in the Chinese rural village an opportunity to create their own version of a social and economic utopia, a living critique of Western industrial modernity.


We address the knowledge representation for understanding table-form documents. In particular, we focus on the knowledge for establishing the correctness of recognized results in addition to the traditional syntactic/constructive-oriented understanding framework. In order to attain to this subject, we introduce the semantic information to specify domains and relationships among individual items definitely, which is complementary to the syntactic/constructive information available in the traditional framework.


An experiment in Forensic Text Comparison (FTC) within the Likelihood Ratio (LR) framework is described, which determines the strength of authorship attribution evidence from chatlog messages using so-called lexical features. More specifically, in this study I will investigate 1) the degree of evidential strength (or LR) that can be obtained from chatlog messages and 2) how the performance of the FTC system and the magnitudes of the LRs are influenced by the sample size for modelling. The performance of the system is assessed using the log-LR cost (Cllr) and the magnitudes of the obtained LRs are visually presented as Tippett plots. It is demonstrated in this study that you can use the lexical features within the LR framework to discriminate same-author and different-author chatlog messages.


This research will discuss about how to tell a short film called "Cerdas Melanggar". This short film will use the Narrative Paradigm theory in which there are five basic narrative concepts such as humans are the creator of storytelling, sound judgement, sound judgement is determined by human character, rationally and story selection. This is because Youtube has a medium to create interesting content and as a place networking and storytelling as well. The researcher used Narrative Paradigm Fisher's theory to see how the story could be trusted and enjoyed by the audience. To see how the story is told, narrative data analysis is used from Tzvetan Todorov which divides the story into three plots (beginning, middle and end) and also Miles and Huberman/s inductive data analysis which is done interactively. This study uses qualitative research methods to look at a deep phenomenon and the constructivist paradigm which is a view in which the truth of a social reality is relative. The data in this study collected using interview and documentation of the short film of Cameo Project Youtube Channel. So, the result of this research stated that the story of "Cerdas Melanggar" contains coherence and truth (fidelity).


We present sequential ranking and selection statistical procedures that determine the best simulated model configuration among competing alternatives. The best in this context denotes the largest expected value of a given performance metric. In order to run the procedures efficiently, we give algorithms using batched observations, which under certain conditions, exhibit the characteristics necessary for the appropriate application of ranking and selection procedures. We present empirical results that indicate that the sequential procedures are quite parsimonious, in terms of the number of required observations


In this paper, we study the boundedness and the compactness of products of differentiation operators and composition operators from mixed-norm spaces to α-Bloch spaces. Bibliography: 18 titles.


BACKGROUND
Isoproterenol tilt-table testing provides a diagnosis of neurocardiogenic syncope in patients with syncope or near-syncope. Although acute beta-blockade may prevent the development of syncope during isoproterenol tilt-table testing, the use of beta-blockers for chronic prophylaxis may not be effective for some patients who show a positive response to isoproterenol tilt-table testing. We evaluated whether the efficacy of intravenous metoprolol in preventing symptoms during repeated tests would be helpful in selecting patients suitable for long-term therapy.

METHODS AND RESULTS
We studied 55 patients (35 females, 20 males; mean age 36+/-11 years) who had been chosen from a group referred to our institute with a history of unexplained syncope (> or = 2 syncopal episodes) and a positive response to isoproterenol tilt-table testing. After a positive response to isoproterenol tilt-table testing, 5 mg metoprolol was infused intravenously as a bolus and the test repeated. Thirty-five patients (group 1) showed a positive response again and 20 (group 2) showed a negative response. We started 50 mg metoprolol once a day for patients in group 1 while group 2 was divided into 2 subgroups: the first subgroup (group 2a, 12 patients) was started on 50 mg sertraline or 20 mg paroxetine once a day and the second subgroup (group 2b, 8 patients) was started on 5 mg midodrine orally once a day. Two months later, isoproterenol tilt-table testing was repeated. In group 1, 13 of 35 patients (37%) were positive on isoproterenol tilt-table testing while in group 2, 8 of 20 patients (40%) were positive on isoproterenol tilt-table testing (p not statistically significant). The therapies of the two groups were then interchanged. Two months later (4 months from the beginning of the study), the isoproterenol tilt-table test was repeated. Eleven patients in group 1 (31%) and 6 in group 2 (30%, p not statistically significant) showed a positive response again.

CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that acute beta-blockade response to positive isoproterenol tilt-table testing is not a useful predictor for the assessment of chronic prophylaxis for neurocardiogenic syncope.


What does is mean to be a freak - a chimera - in the study of religion? What does it mean to be queer? This paper explores the effects of freakishness and queerness on hiring practices and academic success, arguing that those scholars who embody such forms of Otherness are particularly vulnerable to the insidious complaint of "lack of fit." The second half of the article considers the role of "freakish" and "queer" religions in the classroom, asking what value such religions can have for teaching and what role social justice plays in the pedagogy surrounding the teaching of (and by) freaks and queers.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility and image quality of low-dose CT of the paranasal sinuses using iterative reconstruction with adaptive-iterative dose reduction in three dimensions (AIDR 3D) in comparison with conventional image protocols of older scanner generations.

METHODS
Sinus CT scans of 136 patients were assessed retrospectively. Patients underwent CT either with low-dose settings (Protocol A: 80 kV, 30 mA s; Protocol B: 120 kV, 15 mA s or C: 80 kV, 90 mA s) reconstructed using AIDR 3D (Protocols A and B) or filtered back projection (FBP) (Protocol C) or with standard dose (Protocol D: 120 kV, 80 mA s) and FBP. Image quality was assessed in consensus by two blinded readers scoring the diagnostic image quality (from 1 = excellent to 5 = non-diagnostic) and conspicuity of important anatomic landmarks (from 0 = not visible to 2 = completely visible; maximum score of 16 points) as well as osseous structures (maximum score of 12 points). Dose-length product, effective dose (ED), CT dose index and scan length were retrieved for each scan and compared.

RESULTS
Mean ED could be lowered by 82% when using Protocol A. The best image quality was found using Protocol B (mean score = 2.1 ± 0.51). Conspicuity of relevant anatomic landmarks was best with Protocol A (mean score = 11.97 ± 1.88). Protocol B provided the highest conspicuity of osseous structures (mean score = 8.27 ± 1.58). Image noise was highest in images obtained using Protocol A.

CONCLUSIONS
AIDR 3D allows a significant dose reduction while maintaining a good diagnostic image quality and conspicuity of relevant anatomic structures.


The correlation between magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, copper, and zinc in umbilical cord plasma and erythrocytes and gestational age, birth height, weight and head circumference were calculated in 52 newborn infants (27 girls, and 25 boys). No infant had a congenital malformation, all pregnancies were uncomplicated, mothers were healthy and had no history of serious diseases. There were no significant sex-related differences at birth among the variables studied. Gestational age was positively correlated with erythrocyte zinc. Birthweight positively correlated with erythrocyte magnesium and zinc. Height of neonate positively correlated with calcium in plasma. Plasma calcium was positively correlated with erythrocyte copper. The most significant regressors accounting for birthweight were erythrocyte zinc followed by plasma zinc. Reference values in umbilical cord plasma and erythrocytes for magnesium, calcium, phosphorous, copper and zinc was also determined.


In humans diverse mutagenic processes contribute to tumor development and drive tumor evolution. We have been performing genetic screens in mouse models of cancer engineered to carry known driver mutations. Using exome sequencing, whole genome sequencing, and transposons in these models we have identified genes that can promote tumorigenesis and regulate response to therapy. I will talk about our latest progress with these screens and the genes we have discovered. Citation Format: David J. Adams. Next-generation screens for cancer genes. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY18-04. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-SY18-04


The growing interest in using eye-movements for human-computer interaction has also increased the need for tools to investigate and analyze the behavior of human eyes. Nowadays, there are many commercial and academic products available for researchers in this field and the quality and accuracy of eye-tracking devices are constantly increasing. Despite the numerous methods developed for analyzing and visualizing gaze paths, however, no universal tools are available yet to accomplish this. To fill in this gap, we developed iComponent – a software product with a highly flexible architecture for easy development of interchangeable plug-in modules to support various eye-tracking devices and experimental software. iComponent has four types of 2D visualizations of gaze data and one type of 1D visualization. The 2D visualizations are superimposed on the stimulus seen by the user during a session. Three of the visualizations are capable of showing several subjects' gaze paths simultaneously. Ill. 15, bibl. 5 (in English; summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).


This article is a (possible) conceptual educational model, which introduces data representation, information storage and retrieval possibilities on the Web in a way analogous to the levels of organization of metadata. The model uses the traditional library and information systems as a starting point, referring to the levels and types of information organization, and describes directions of its development. General acquaintance with the dominant organizational levels and types helps to understand the information organization on the internet, the coexistence of both structured and unstructured elements, the closedness and deficiencies of the content of information, and also helps to find possible ways of correcting these deficiencies. One of the main advantages of model-driven approaches is that they, by using the well-known classical systems, make tangible the development of physical and content data organization types and levels of organization of information for medical students that usually do not possess informatics knowledge. The conceptual model presented in details in the article can provide a basis for a general introduction to metadata and to develop curricula equally appropriate for traditional face to face classes, trainings and online courses.


Obesity is a global health issue that has been identified as a risk factor for several types of cancer. High levels of body fat and circulating leptin are typical identifiers of obesity in humans and animals. Leptin is a 16kD protein hormone which is secreted by adipocytes, and maybe secreted from cancer cells, that functions to control satiation via leptin receptor binding. However, obese individuals often develop "leptin resistance", which is a mechanism that leads to the accumulation of excess leptin. Increased binding of leptin to its receptor (OB-R) due to leptin resistance has been associated with disease progression and poor prognosis in human cancers. Our group has previously shown that leptin-mediated cancer cell proliferation is inhibited by the LPrA2 (leptin peptide receptor antagonist 2). We have prepared novel leptin antagonists and tested their ability to block leptin-induced survival and chemoresistance to Paclitaxel (TAX) and Gemcitabine (GEM) in cancer cells and derived tumorspheres (pancreatic: PANC-1, MiaPaca2 and triple negative breast cancer: MDA-MB231 and MDA-MB468). Western blot protein analyses showed the ability of the antagonists to specifically inhibit leptin-induced phosphorylation of STAT3, and expression of cyclin D, and Notch1 in cancer cells. Additionally, potential toxicity of antagonists was tested using MTT assay with concentrations up to 100X higher than the effective dose in non-malignant breast cells (MCF-10A). Data generated show no toxicity of the novel antagonists in vitro. Leptin-induced proliferation of breast cancer and pancreatic cancer cells (120-160%) was significantly inhibited by the novel antagonists. In addition, leptin-mediated progression of S-phase was also reduced by the antagonists. Leptin increased TAX and GEM chemoresistance in cells and tumorspheres that were efficiently inhibited by the antagonists. These data suggest that the new antagonists could be equally or more effective than LPrA2 for adjuvant treatment of cancer. Acknowledgements: This work has been supported by Pilot Project Award from MSM/Tuskegee University/UAB Cancer Center partnership grant 5U54CA118638; PC SPORE Grant from UAB to RRGP, and facilities and support services at Morehouse School of Medicine (1G12RR026250-03; NIH RR 03034 and 1C06 RR18386). Citation Format: Crystal C. Lipsey, Adriana Harbuzariu, Ruben R. Gonzalez-Perez. Targeting obesity-related cancer progression with novel leptin receptor antagonists [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3540. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3540


Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate stress, anxiety, and salivary alpha-amylase (SAA) activity in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). The impact of this disease on the life quality was also evaluated. Design. Twenty-two patients with RAS and controls, matched by sex and age, were selected. Stress and anxiety were assessed using Lipp's Inventory of Stress Symptoms and Beck Anxiety Inventory. Life quality was assessed through the World Health Organization Quality of Life-bref (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). Saliva samples were collected in the morning and afternoon and the SAA activity was analyzed by enzymatic kinetic method. Results. No significant difference was observed between the groups regarding the SAA activity (p = 0.306). Patients with RAS had higher scores of anxiety (p = 0.016). The scores of WHOQOL-BREF were significantly lower in patients with RAS. The values obtained through OHIP-14 were significantly higher in these patients (p = 0.002). Conclusion. RAS negatively affects the life quality. Patients with the disease have higher levels of anxiety, suggesting its association with the etiopathogenesis of RAS.


Technically, it is conceivable that banks (or even non-banks) that are based in offshore centres can issue e-money and distribute it via the Internet all over the world. Therefore, many economists see offshore e-money issuers as a severe threat to the ability of central banks to conduct monetary policy. In this paper, it is argued that offshore issuers will denominate their e-money products in terms of existing currencies. Therefore they will be affected by monetary policy measures in the same way as onshore banks.


Cover crop-based cropping systems have gained considerable attention in recent years because of the recognized benefits of increasing agroecosystem diversity to enhance ecological functions and agroecosystem services through positive effects between species. While agronomic tools and methods to assess these services in multispecies plant communities barely exist, trait-based approaches, originally developed in the field of comparative functional ecology, provide an appropriate framework to study the effects of plant diversity on agroecosystems. We present our theoretical and applied research conducted over recent years using a trait-based approach to help improve cover crop choice to sustain agroecosystem services in banana agroecosystems of the French West Indies. We first provide a conceptual framework for assessing expected agroecosystem services from cover crops in banana agroecosystems, i.e., weed control, plant-parasitic nematode control, improvement of the nutrient cycling and avoidance of interference for resource acquisition in banana (dis-service), based on plant effect traits. Then, we experimentally characterized a collection of cover crop species to identify their resource acquisition strategies and the potential trade-offs they reveal. More practically, we characterized the cover crop species according to their potential to deliver four agroecosystem services expected from banana/cover crop systems. We constructed functional profiles of the cover crop species, and compared these profiles to cover crop ideotypes to select the best-suited species for each service. Finally, we used "engineering traits" to help design and optimize design and management of cover crop species mixtures. These examples from our research demonstrate that functional, trait-based approaches have strong potential to tackle agronomic issues and to resolve fundamental and applied questions related to the design of multispecies cropping systems that optimize multiple services.


Purpose: The medial part of the nucleus of Edinger-Westphal (EWM) in birds mediates light-regulated control of ChBF via the ciliary ganglion (Fitzgerald et al., 1996). Lesions of EWM reduce basal ChBF and prevent light-induced reflexive increases in ChBF (Fitzgerald et al., 1996). EWM-lesions have been shown to result in GFAP upregulation in Muller cells, indicative of retinal abnormality (Fitzgerald et al, 1990b). Behavioral studies of EWM lesioned birds have demonstrated significant acuity loss at a year post lesion (Hodos et al, 1998). In this study, we sought to determine if photoreceptor degeneration might account for acuity deficits in pigeons after an EWM lesion. Methods: Birds surviving up to 36 weeks after unilateral or bilateral electrolytic lesions of EWM were used. Eyes were processed for electron microscopy, and toluidine bluestained semi-thin retinal sections were analyzed using light microscopy. For each case, sections in the high acuity area within the superior central retinal quadrant were analyzed. Characterization of photoreceptor degeneration included qualitative and quantitative assessments of the outer segment layer (OSL; disorganization, thinning, and abundance), inner segment layer (ISL; darkening, thinning, and vacuolization), and outer nuclear layer (ONL; darkened profiles, layer thickness, and cell body abundance). Results: In the lesion-affected retina of a 1-week old EWM-lesioned bird, the OSL appeared normal with a regular array of OS and IS. By 16 weeks post-EWM lesion, there was a 45-50% reduction in OS abundance. There appeared to be many degenerated IS, some of which could be traced to darkened, shrunken or missing OS. There was no change in ONL thickness but there was an obvious decline in ONL cellular abundance, as well as many darkened cells with clumped nuclear chromatin. Many of the darkened cell bodies were continuous with darkened IS. Between 16 weeks and 36 weeks post-EWM lesion, there was a near complete loss of cone OS. The majority of IS were thin and exhibited vacuolization or lysis. ONL thickness was reduced to 84% of normal and the remaining cells appeared shrunken and many exhibited darkened cytoplasm with clumped nuclear material. Conclusions: These results show that loss of adaptive parasympathetic neural control of ChBF due to an EWM lesion causes progressive photoreceptor degeneration. The degeneration observed by 36 weeks post-EWM lesion might contribute to the decline in visual acuity noted in post-EWM lesioned birds (Hodos et al, 1998). Thus, impaired parasympathetic neural control of ChBF causes photoreceptor pathology.


Essential Environmental Science brings together within a single volume the vast range of techniques, methods and basic tools necessary for the study of the environment. Environmental science has a massive area of operation, utilising the tools from a plethora of traditional sciences and social sciences. This practical manual draws on contributions from leading experts in each field, to present both general and specific environmental methods and techniques within a unique interdisciplinary environmental perspective. Essential Environmental Science offers an invaluable reference source for environmental study in both the laboratory and in the field.


This report summarizes results from the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) Road Departure Crash Warning System Field Operational Test (RDCW FOT) project. This project was conducted under a cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Transportation and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, along with its partners, Visteon Corporation and AssistWare Technologies. Road departure crashes account for 15,000 fatalities annually in the U.S. This project developed, validated, and field-tested a set of technologies intended to warn drivers in real time when the driver was drifting from their lane, and a curve-speed warning system designed to provide alerts to help drivers slow down when approaching a curve too fast to safely negotiate the curve. This report describes the field operational test of the system and subsequent analysis of the data to address the suitability of similar systems for widespread deployment within the U.S. passenger-vehicle fleet. Two areas were addressed: safety-related changes in driver performance including behavior that may be attributed to the system, and levels of driver acceptance in key areas. Testing used 11 passenger sedans equipped with RDCW and a data acquisition system that compiled a massive set of numerical, video, and audio data. Seventy-eight drivers each drove a test vehicle, unsupervised, for four weeks. The resulting data set captured 83,000 miles of driving, with over 400 signals captured at 10 Hz or faster. Analysis of the data shows that with the RDCW system active, relative to the baseline condition, drivers improved lanekeeping by remaining closer to the lane center and reducing the number of excursions near or beyond the lane edges. In addition, turn signal use increased dramatically. The data, however, were unable to confirm a change in driver's curve-taking behaviors that could have been attributed to the curve speed warning system. Driver acceptance was generally positive in relation to the lateral drift component of the system, with reactions to the curve speed warning system being rather mixed. Many additional results and insights are documented in the report.


The antidiarrhoeal activities of leaf extracts of Ocimum gratissimum were investigated by disc diffusion and tube dilution methods. The extracts were active against Aeromonas sobria, Escherichia coli, Plesiomonas shigelloides, Salmonella typhi, and Shigella dysenteriae. The leaf extracts were most active against S. dysenteriae and least active against S. typhi. The sensitivity of the organisms measured in terms of zone of inhibition ranged from 8.00 to 19.50 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were from 4.00 to 50.00 mg ml-1, while the minimum bactericidal concentration ranged from 8.00 to 62 mg ml-1. The potentials of the leaf extract for the treatment of diarrhoeal diseases is discussed.


This article uses log-linear models to describe pairwise agreement among several raters who classify a sample on a subjective categorical scale. The models describe agreement structure simultaneously for second-order marginal tables of a multidimensional cross-classification of ratings. Practical difficulties arise in fitting the models, because models refer to pairwise marginal tables of a very large and sparse table. A standard analysis that treats the marginal tables as independent yields consistent estimates of model parameters, but not of the covariance matrix of the estimates. We estimate the covariance matrix using the jackknife. We apply the models to describe agreement between evaluations made by seven pathologists of carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix, using a five-level ordinal scale. Previous analyses showed differences among the pathologists in their pairwise levels of agreement, but we observe near homogeneity in the dependence structure of their ratings.


User-Generated Content (UGC) such as online reviews are freely available in the web. This kind of data has been used to support clients' and managerial decision making in several industries, e.g. books, tourism or hospitality. However, the challenge is how to represent this information in a structured way in order to leverage on the information provided by the use of Web 2.0 applications. To deal with this challenge, models and metamodels have been used to support a set of concrete applications in several sub-domains into Computer Science and Information Systems body of knowledge (Karagiannis and Hofferer, 2006). This paper focuses on the model-driven engineering and introduces a new multidomain and multilingual conceptual data model to represent UGC. This model is based on a characterization of online reviews and aims to capture all the facets of these reviews. The characterization of the reviews' sentences extends previous models (such as Martin and White, 2007; Ding et al., 2008; Liu, 2010). Applications build on the model proposed in this paper may allow in-depth analysis of the fine-grained and disperse knowledge existent in the UGC. Furthermore, as this model is domain-independent it can be used to represent multiple


Background: There is no known receptor for the nucleotide AMP. Results: AMP directly activates the adenosine A1 receptor (A1R) but not the adenosine A2B receptor. Conclusion: A1R is a receptor for adenosine and AMP. Significance: The diverse physiological effects of AMP could be due to direct, ectonucleotidase-independent activation of A1R. Numerous receptors for ATP, ADP, and adenosine exist; however, it is currently unknown whether a receptor for the related nucleotide adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP) exists. Using a novel cell-based assay to visualize adenosine receptor activation in real time, we found that AMP and a non-hydrolyzable AMP analog (deoxyadenosine 5′-monophosphonate, ACP) directly activated the adenosine A1 receptor (A1R). In contrast, AMP only activated the adenosine A2B receptor (A2BR) after hydrolysis to adenosine by ecto-5′-nucleotidase (NT5E, CD73) or prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP, ACPP). Adenosine and AMP were equipotent human A1R agonists in our real-time assay and in a cAMP accumulation assay. ACP also depressed cAMP levels in mouse cortical neurons through activation of endogenous A1R. Non-selective purinergic receptor antagonists (pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2′,4′-disulfonic acid and suramin) did not block adenosine- or AMP-evoked activation. Moreover, mutation of His-251 in the human A1R ligand binding pocket reduced AMP potency without affecting adenosine potency. In contrast, mutation of a different binding pocket residue (His-278) eliminated responses to AMP and to adenosine. Taken together, our study indicates that the physiologically relevant nucleotide AMP is a full agonist of A1R. In addition, our study suggests that some of the physiological effects of AMP may be direct, and not indirect through ectonucleotidases that hydrolyze this nucleotide to adenosine.


Increased brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels secondary to the administration of sodium valproate failed to inhibit amphetamine-induced stereotyped behavior. This observation raises some doubt as to whether GABA plays a role in the physiology of the striatum and suggests that GABA does not play a role in the pathophysiology of chorea. If this is true, pharmacologic attempts to increase brain GABA may not improve human choreatic disorders.


Background: Patients with eating disorders have reported poorer emotional awareness, more emotional suppression, less use of adaptive emotional regulation strategies, and more use of maladaptive emotional regulation strategies compared to people in healthy control groups. Aim: To explore experiences of emotions by a sample of patients with eating disorders. Method: Nine patients with eating disorder diagnoses at an eating disorder outpatient clinic in Sweden were interviewed for their thoughts on emotions. The interviews were analyzed with Thematic Analysis. Result: Four themes were constructed: "Not knowing what one feels", "Switch off, run away, or hide behind a mask", "Emotions in a lifelong perspective", and "Using eating behaviors to regulate emotions". The patients described uncertainty regarding whether they experienced emotions correctly. They described how they tried to avoid difficult emotions through suppressive strategies and eating disorder behavior. All described strategies were inefficient and all emotions were experienced as problematic, even joy. Since joy was used as a mask, the real experience of happiness was lost and mourned.Conclusion: All kinds of emotions were considered problematic to experience, but shame, fear, and sadness were considered worst. It is difficult to know if the emotional difficulties preceded an eating disorder, but at least those problems seem to have increased by the eating disorder.


The legal regulation of the general meeting of participants as the supreme management body in limited companies is analyzed. Such actual problems as the procedure of convocation of the general meeting, their authority, methods of accepting decision by them are individually explored. The author of the article describes the prospects for the further development of general meeting of participants of these companies


Amplitude variation with offset (AVO) inversion is a typical ill-posed inverse problem. To obtain a stable and unique solution, regularization techniques relying on mathematical models from prior information are commonly used in conventional AVO inversion methods (hence the name model-driven methods). Due to the difference between prior information and the actual geology, these methods often have difficulty achieving satisfactory accuracy and resolution. We have developed a novel data-driven inversion method for the AVO inversion problem. This method can effectively extract useful knowledge from well-log data, including sparse dictionaries of elastic parameters and sparse representation of subsurface model parameters. Lateral continuity of subsurface geology allows for the approximation of model parameters for a work area using the learned dictionaries. Instead of particular mathematical models, a sparse representation is used to constrain the inverse problem. Because no assumption is made about the model parameters, we consider this a data-driven method. The general process of the algorithm is as follows: (1) using well-log data as the training samples to learn the sparse dictionary of each elastic parameter, (2) imposing a sparse representation constraint on the objective function, making the elastic parameters be sparsely represented over the learned dictionary, and (3) solving the objective function by applying a coordinate-descent algorithm. Tests on several synthetic examples and field data demonstrate that our algorithm is effective in improving the resolution and accuracy of solutions and is adaptable to various geologies.


Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are an important and ubiquitous component of carbon-bearing materials in space. PAHs are the best-known candidates to account for the IR emission bands (UIR bands) and PAH spectral features are now being used as new probes of the ISM. PAHs are also thought to be among the carriers of the diffuse interstellar absorption bands (DIBs). In the model dealing with the interstellar spectral features, PAHs are present as a mixture of radicals, ions and neutral species. PAH ionization states reflect the ionization balance of the medium while PAH size, composition, and structure reflect the energetic and chemical history of the medium. A major challenge for laboratory astrophysics is to reproduce (in a realistic way) the physical conditions that exist in the emission and/or absorption interstellar zones, An extensive laboratory program has been developed at NASA Ames to characterize the physical and chemical properties of PAHs in astrophysical environments and to describe how they influence the radiation and energy balance in space and the interstellar chemistry. In particular, laboratory experiments provide measurements of the spectral characteristics of interstellar PAH analogs from the ultraviolet and visible range to the infrared range for comparison with astronomical data. This paper will focus on the recent progress made in the laboratory to measure the direct absorption spectra of neutral and ionized PAHs in the gas phase in the near-W and visible range in astrophysically relevant environments. These measurements provide data on PAHs and nanometer-sized particles that can now be directly compared to astronomical observations. The harsh physical conditions of the IS medium - characterized by a low temperature, an absence of collisions and strong V W radiation fields - are simulated in the laboratory by associating a molecular beam with an ionizing discharge to generate a cold plasma expansion. PAH ions are formed from the neutral precursors in an isolated environment at low temperature (of the order of 100 K). The spectra of neutral and ionized PAHs are measured using the high sensitivity methods of cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS). These experiments provide unique information on the spectra of free, cold large carbon molecules and ions in the gas phase. Intrinsic band profiles and band positions of cold gas-phase PAHs can now be measured with high- sensitivity spectroscopy and directly compared to the astronomical data. The electronic bands measured for ionized PAH are found to be intrinsically broad (about 20/cm) while the bands associated with the neutral precursors are narrower (of the order of 2 - 10/cm).


This paper will deploy Deleuze and Guattari's geophilosophy to read the political economy of contemporary Cambodia as a stratum that emerged from the deterritorializing mechanisms of the Khmer Rouge genocide and politicide. The recent documentary Enemies of the People offers a cinematic space for the unpunished and now-elderly executioners of Democratic Kampuchea to share their memories of these foundational events of mass murder, thereby forcing ruptures in the body politic of Cambodia through their revelations of the violent processes of deterritorialization that allowed the emergence of this high growth Southeast Asian economy. The paper will proceed by examining the double articulation of stratification in Cambodia, thereby excavating the bodies hidden by the processes of reterritorialization and overcoding, and will conclude with a speculative look at what these cinematic ruptures portend for becoming-Cambodia.


Jet impingement can be particularly effective for removing high heat fluxes from local hotspots. Two-phase jet impingement cooling combines the advantage of both the nucleate boiling heat transfer with the single-phase sensible cooling. This study investigates two-phase submerged jet impingement cooling of local hotspots generated by a diode laser in a 100 nm thick Hafnium (Hf) thin-film on glass. The jet/nozzle diameter is ∼1.2 mm and the normal distance between the nozzle outlet and the heated surface is ∼3.2 mm. Novec 7100 is used as the coolant and the Reynolds numbers at the jet nozzle outlet range from 250 to 5000. The hotspot area is ∼ 0.06 mm2 and the applied hotspot-to-jet heat flux ranges from 20 W/cm2 to 220 W/cm2. This heat flux range facilitates studies of both the single-phase and two-phase heat transport mechanisms for heat fluxes up to critical heat flux (CHF). The temporal evolution of the temperature distribution of the laser heated surface is measured using infrared (IR) thermometry. This study also investigates the nucleate boiling regime as a function of the distance between the hotspot center and the jet stagnation point. For example, when the hotspot center and the jet are co-aligned (x/D = 0), the CHF is found to be ∼ 177 W/cm2 at Re ∼ 5000 with a corresponding heat transfer coefficient of ∼58 kW/m2.K. While the CHF is ∼ 130 W/cm2 at Re ∼ 5000 with a jet-to-hotspot offset of x/D ≈ 4.2.


Distant supernovae have been observed to be fainter than what is expected in a matter dominated universe. The most likely explanation is that the universe is dominated by an energy component with negative pressure, namely dark energy. However, there are several astrophysical processes that could, in principle, affect the measurements and in order to be able to take advantage of the growing supernova statistics, the control of systematic effects is crucial. We discuss two of these; extinction due to intergalactic grey dust and dimming due to photon–axion oscillations and show how their effect on supernova observations can be constrained using observed quasar colours and spectra. For a wide range of intergalactic dust models, we are able to rule out any dimming larger than 0.2 magnitudes for a type Ia supernova at z = 1. The corresponding limit for intergalactic Milky Way type dust is 0.03 magnitudes. For the more speculative model of photons mixing with axions, we find that the effect is independent of photon energy for certain combinations of parameter values and a dimming as large as 0.6 magnitudes cannot be ruled out. These effects can have profound implications for the possibility of constraining dark energy properties using supernova observations.


Sir, Acute pain in abdomen during pregnancy presenting with shock can be due to various reasons. We encountered a 32-year-old G4P3L3 mother at 16 weeks of gestation in our emergency department who had pain in her abdomen and bilious vomiting lasting 3 days. Severe pallor was noted. The pulse rate was 110 min−1 and the blood pressure was 90/40 mmHg. Bowel sounds were absent. An emergency bedside ultrasound showed a fetus of 15 weeks 5 days of gestation in the right lumbar region along with free fluid and few dilated bowel loops. An emergency laparotomy was done, in which 2.5 l of hemoperitoneum was drained. A massive dilatation of small bowel loops and unicornuate uterus was noted with rupture of communicating rudimentary horn. The en-caul fetus, along with organized clot due to initial retraction of clot fibrin, was adherent in the vicinity of the cornual rent with the adjoining bowel loops and was found to be the cause of mechanical obstruction of the bowel proximal to it. Gentle removal of the fetus and the clots relieved the obstruction. The cornual rent was repaired. The patient stood the procedure well.


This article aims to design and implement a Web-Based Information System in Elementary Schools. The method used in this research is to use the system development method with the Waterfall model. The type of data in this study is to use qualitative data. Web-Based Information System in Elementary School is designed using the UML (Unified Modeling Language) development method which consists of Use Case Diagrams, Activity Diagrams, Sequence Diagrams and Class Diagrams. Database design using MySQL and system interface. The software used in the design and implementation of the system uses XAMPP as a web server, PHP and MySQL as a database. Web-Based Information System in elementary schools includes, login page, home page, profile page, student page, gallery, agenda page, student registration page, contact page, manage profile page, student manage page, gallery manage page, manage agenda page, page registration


AIMS
Photochemotherapy employing psoralens combined with UVA irradiation (PUVA) is a standard therapy for a variety of dermatoses. Psoralens can be administered orally or topically in the form of bath or cream preparations. Recommendations for the time of UVA irradiation are mainly based on the time course of minimal phototoxic doses. However, the time course and depth of skin penetration of psoralens is not well characterized.

METHODS
We assessed the time course of 8-MOP concentrations in horizontal epidermal and dermal skin sections in 10 patients undergoing oral (n = 3), cream (n = 4) and bath (n = 3) PUVA therapy. Punch biopsies (4 mm) were taken from "healthy" skin sites. A highly sensitive LC-MS-MS method was employed for 8-MOP analysis.

RESULTS
Epidermal concentrations following cream or bath were highest at the end of the application period (time zero) when irradiation is performed. At this time, 8-MOP cream provided significantly higher epidermal concentrations (mean +/- s.e. mean 128.0 +/- 22.6 pg mm-3; 95% CI: 77.6, 178.4) than oral 8-MOP (27.0 +/- 25.3 pg mm-3; 95% CI: 29.3, 83.3 at 1 h; P = 0.025). Conversely, concentrations in the papillary dermis were significantly higher with oral 8-MOP (20.2 +/- 3.1 and 16.2 +/- 2.2 pg mm-3 at 1 and 2 h, respectively) than with 8-MOP cream (7.1 +/- 2.8 and 8.4 +/- 2.0 pg mm-3 time zero and 0.5 h, respectively; P = 0.020 and 0.045, respectively) or bath (8.8 +/- 3.1 and 7.7 +/- 2.2 pg mm-3; P = 0.050 and 0.039, respectively). The observed time courses of 8-MOP concentrations correspond to time courses of photosensitivity found previously with the different treatment modalities.

CONCLUSIONS
The higher epidermal 8-MOP concentrations found after topical 8-MOP may explain the lower UVA doses needed with the topical route. These results suggest that topical 8-MOP may be superior in patients where the pathology is localized in the epidermis. In sclerosing diseases, which mainly affect the dermis oral PUVA might be advantageous because dermal concentrations are highest with this route of administration.


Semen from the first 15mL of the ejaculate (P1) obtained from two boars (30mL) was diluted in glycineegg yolk extender, cooled at 5°C in a special container and rediluted in standard doses of 3x10 mobile spermatozoa after 12h of storage. Semen was also stored up to 24h after redilution. The physical characteristics of the semen were evaluated at different storage periods (fresh, 0h, 12h, rediluted, 24h, and 36h). The reproductive performance of the boars and their fertility regarding the insemination of primiparous sows were also determined. Two treatments were used: T1-15B sows inseminated with semen originated from hyperconcentrated heterospermic doses (15x10 mobile spermatozoa per dose), rediluted after 12h of storage at 5°C for standard doses of 3x10 mobile spermatozoa per dose and stored at 5°C up to 24h after redilution (n=10); T2-3B sows inseminated with standard heterospermic doses (3x10 mobile spermatozoa per dose), stored at 5°C up to 36h after semen collection (n=10). There was no effect (P>0.05) of treatments on the spermatic motility, even though a pronounced decrease (P>0.05) of their values at 12h of storage was recorded. However, they remained higher than 70% until 36h. There was effect of treatments on spermatic vigour at 0h (P<0.05), when T1-15B vigour was higher. There was also effect of the storage period for both treatments with a progressive decrease throughout 36h of storage, although the differences were not always significant. Pregnancy rates (90%) and the number of total farrowed piglets (15, 11-T1-15B; 13, 44T2-3B) did not differ (P>0.05) between the treatments. It was concluded that the semen hyperconcentration of 15 billion of mobile spermatozoa per dose, stored at 5°C for 12h, did not result in drawbacks considering the physical characteristics of the semen, maintaining the pregnancy rates and prolificacy of the inseminated sows.


Congenital galactosemia is now well established as a hereditary disease caused by an inborn error of galactose metabolism. The clinical features of this rare condition are manifest very early in life, and their relationship to the ingestion of galactose has been amply documented. 1-5 The main features consist of early nutritional failure hepatic and splenic enlargement, jaundice, lethargy, osteoporosis, mental retardation, and cataract formation. The latter two signs usually occur at or about the fourth week of life. The cataracts that have been noted in the literature have varied in appearance from a ring-like lamellar opacity, with or without vacuoles in the anterior cortex, to zonular and nuclear opacities. 3,5-11 This varied picture is probably related to the severity and duration of the galactosemia and to the age of the patient. Mitchell 12,13 and Day 14 reported on the occurrence of experimental cataracts in rats fed a high-galactose diet. The


This paper proposes a liquid crystal-based order adjustable q-plate system. The system, which is solid-state and electrically controlled without any mechanical components, consists of several bit cells and one symbol cell. The bit cells can be electrically selected whether to modulate the beam. The magnitude of the order of the q-plate system can be controlled by activating specific bit cells. And the sign of the order can be changed by controlling the voltages in the symbol cell. The whole system can realize the function of the order adjustable q-plate with the order ranging from -2n + 1 to 2n-1 with n bit cells. In our experiment, the system with 4 bits is verified. Based on the q-plate system, the vector beams and optical vortexes with the orders ranging from -15 to 15 can be generated.


Urban dwellers demand geospatial data on various aspects of contemporary life. Governmental sources account for several important data categories, but not necessarily up-to-date, or even covering all aspects. Technologies such as smartphones allow citizens to become geospatial data producers and to contribute with valuable georeferenced data in near real time. Crowdsourced often has problems in aspects such as coverage, reliability and positional accuracy. This paper focuses on challenges that exist in the integration of geospatial data provided by governmental or corporate sources to crowdsourced data, provided dynamically and voluntarily by concerned citizens, or unconsciously through online tools and social networks.


Discovering novel drug candidate molecules is one of the most fundamental and critical steps in drug development. Generative deep learning models, which create synthetic data given a probability distribution, have been developed with the purpose of picking completely new samples from a partially known space. Generative models offer high potential for designing de novo molecules; however, in order for them to be useful in real-life drug development pipelines, these models should be able to design target-specific molecules, which is the next step in this field. In this study, we propose DrugGEN, for the de novo design of drug candidate molecules that interact with selected target proteins. The proposed system represents compounds and protein structures as graphs and processes them via serially connected two generative adversarial networks comprising graph transformers. DrugGEN is trained using a large dataset of compounds from ChEMBL and target-specific bioactive molecules, to design effective and specific inhibitory molecules against the AKT1 protein, which has critical importance for developing treatments against various types of cancer. On fundamental benchmarks, DrugGEN models have either competitive or better performance against other methods. To assess the target-specific generation performance, we conducted further in silico analysis with molecular docking and deep learning-based bioactivity prediction. Results indicate that de novo molecules have high potential for interacting with the AKT1 protein structure in the level of its native ligand. DrugGEN can be used to design completely novel and effective target-specific drug candidate molecules for any druggable protein, given target features and a dataset of experimental bioactivities. Code base, datasets, results and trained models of DrugGEN are available at https://github.com/HUBioDataLab/DrugGEN


The growing need not only to understand, control and optimize oil production systems but also for detecting anomalies in a timely manner to mitigate losses, favored the need to do some research in order to provide support elements for the characterization of failure events. This research is aimed at evaluating different statistical control techniques - Univariate and Multivariate - in order to achieve efficient management of information in real time as well as identifying patterns associated with operational failures in artificial lift systems with electric submersible pumping systems (ESP) in oil production. Statistical control techniques analyzed were exponentially weighted moving average EWMA, CUSUM cumulative sums, Hotelling's T2, Frequency Analysis and combination of these. From this study it was determined that the phenomena of gasification and solid precipitation in artificial lift systems (ESP), generate specific behavior patterns in variables and multivariable system, which once identified can help generate strategies or methodologies to mitigate losses due to operational problems.


This study investigates the direct effect of social factors (namely, social regard social comfort, and friendship) on customer satisfaction, and the indirect effect of these factors on customer loyalty, through the mediating effect of customers' satisfaction, in hair salons in Jordan. In addition, the study analyzed the moderating role of customers' gender and age on the effects of social factors on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Quantitative data was collected, through a questionnaire instrument, from a convenience sample of 528 customers while they are in hair salons. Statistical analysis of the study's model was conducted using structural equation modeling technique (AMOS software). Empirical test of the model's hypotheses has indicated that customers' satisfaction toward hair salons services is depend on friendship, social comfort, and social regard respectively, while customers' loyalty to service provider depend on customer satisfaction. The effect of social regard on customer satisfaction was significant for younger customers, while social comfort was significant for older customers. The findings of this study provide several recommendations for future research.


ABSTRACT: Most research on homeownership is conducted on nationally representative samples of homeowners and fails to isolate the unique experience of low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners. Given the interest of policymakers in promoting homeownership among LMI households over the past 20 years, along with the apparent role played by risky borrowers—many of whom are low-income—in the current housing market crisis, it is important to evaluate both economic and social outcomes for this subgroup of homeowners. Using a matched set of LMI owners and renters in the 2007 Community Advantage Program (CAP) panel, we assess the effect of homeownership on neighborhood satisfaction. By including various individual and neighborhood characteristics as covariates, we employ multilevel modeling and propensity score matching to address the nested structure of the data and endogeneity issues. Findings indicate that homeownership is an important predictor of neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households, even when controlling for a host of socioeconomic, demographic, and neighborhood characteristics. This may suggest that homeownership can serve as a viable way to improve neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households. This is important as neighborhood satisfaction is highly associated with overall quality of life.


A license plate location method based on projection and genetic algorithm was proposed in this paper. Projection located the left and right edges of license plate. Genetic algorithm searched license plate region with second order moment as objective function which described texture in license plate region quantitatively. Four sub-nets were designed to classify Chinese characters, alphabet characters, alphabet & numeral characters and numeral characters toughly. Small nets were designed to recognize several characters with similar structure precisely. Experiments indicates that locating accuracy of algorithm proposed in this paper is 97%. The algorithm can anti-interference strongly and has a well perform on poor quality image. BP classifier designed in this paper has well stability, high fault tolerant capability and its accuracy is 96.5%.


Summary Trinidad and Azerbaijan offshore areas are strongly affected by shallow gas anomalies which greatly attenuate seismic signals. Building velocity models in such areas with shallow water depths and gas can be a difficult task. Here we present two alternative ways to build reliable velocity models in the presence of shallow gas; one that is suitable to very shallow (<100m) and poor data quality areas and the other for deeper water depths. In the first instance, we make use of Diving-Wave refraction tomography method to build shallow velocity models offshore Trinidad and Azerbaijan. Previous use of this method has been limited to processing seismic data to produce a shallow velocity model to determine static corrections in time processing. Our success is in using the velocity model derived from Diving-Wave tomography as a starting model for reflection tomography in depth processing. We show that Diving-Wave method is a robust technique that produces reliable near surface models in the presence of gas and in areas with low signal to noise ratio. In the second case, we show that where data has reasonable offset to work with, reflection tomography can produce fairly accurate and high fidelity velocity models that can be further improved with iterative migration velocity analysis. As a result, depending on available data quality, either Diving-Wave derived shallow velocity model or reflection tomography derived model can be used to improve the ultimate product from iterative pre-stack depth migration and reflection tomography.


Electron micrographs of phenol-water-extracted lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata show filamentous and netlike aggregates. Treatment of the LPS with sodium deoxycholate resulted in a reversible splitting into subunits. The LPS represents a cell wall constituent with O-antigenic specificity. In passive hemagglutination tests, high titers were obtained when erythrocytes sensitized with untreated or heat-treated LPS were incubated with antisera obtained by immunization of rabbits with whole cells of R. capsulata. The alkali-treated LPS was not active in this test. Mouse lethality tests have shown that the LPS of R. capsulata is less toxic than LPS of Escherichia coli. Also, the X-ray protection efficacy and the phagocytic activity stimulation of LPS from R. capsulata in mice are small, as compared with LPS of E. coli. Incubation of living bacteria in saline (37 C) resulted in a solubilization of an LPS-protein-lipid complex from the outer layer of the cell wall. The isolated complex contained the components which were found in the LPS. In addition, 20% amino acids and a large amount of palmitic and stearic acids, which are typical phospholipid components, were present.


The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) is currently in the construction stage of the Mirror Fusion Test Facility (MFTF). MFTF will be the next large mirror fusion experiment and employs a large set of superconducting Yin-Yang coils. These coils contain 54,430 kg of stabilized NbTi conductor and will generate a peak field of 7.68 T with a stored energy of 409 MJ. This paper presents details of the design of these coils and the status of the fabrication.


It is important to detect the estrus of a cow in order to maintain lactation and increase farmer productivity. In the existing method, the observation interval is long, and it is possible to overlook the estrus. In this study, we propose a method of discriminating the condition of dairy cow using acceleration data. It is intended to detect changes of behaviors in dairy cows at shorter intervals and to enable precise estrus detection. We attached a small acceleration sensor to a cow and collected data. We extracted features from the collected data and applied machine learning to predict the cow's condition. In this study, we attached sensors to dairy cows at Arimura Farm and the Konsen Agricultural Experiment Station, and collected data. One dairy cow at each farm had a sensor attached. We extracted the feature quantity and discriminated the state and the 10fold cross validation. It was possible to judge the state with an accuracy of 90% or more in collected data on both farms. In addition, when the collected data on both farms were combined and learned, it became possible to judge the state with an accuracy of 94.8%. keywords: Status Discrimination, Machine Learning, Random Forest, Sliding Window, Acceleration Data


Searching for the longest common subsequence (LCS) of biosequences is one of the most important problems in bioinformatics. A fast algorithm for LCS problem FAST_LCS is presented. The algorithm first seeks the successors of the initial identical character pairs according to a successor table to obtain all the identical pairs and their levels. By tracing back from the identical character pair at the highest level, strong pruning rules are developed. For two sequences X and Y with length n and m, respectively, the memory required for FAST_LCS is max{4*(n+1)+4*(m+1), L}, where L is the number of identical character pairs. The time complexity of parallel computing is O(|LCS(X,Y)|), where |LCS(X,Y)| is the length of the LCS of X, Y. Experimental result on the gene sequences of tigr database using MPP parallel computer Shenteng 1800 shows that our algorithm can find the exact solutions significantly more efficiently than other LCS algorithms


The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the price of alcoholic beverages and the incidence of criminal violence in different countries around the world. The positive association between alcoholic beverage consumption and violence is well documented, as is the negative relationship between the quantity of alcohol consumed and its price. These two relationships together form the principal hypothesis of whether increases in alcoholic beverage prices will directly decrease the incidence of criminal violence. The data come from the 1989 and 1992 International Victimization Surveys. The sample used in this paper is comprised of almost 50,000 respondents in 16 different countries. The respondents were asked if they had been victims of three types of violent crimes in the past year: robbery, assault, and sexual assault (female respondents only). A reduced form model is estimated where the probability of being a victim of violent crime is determined by the price of alcohol, variables describing the area the person lives in, and other socio-economic characteristics of the respondent. Country fixed effects are also employed in some models. Results indicate that higher alcoholic beverage prices lead to lower incidences of all three types of violent crime in models where country fixed effects are not included. Results from models which include country fixed effects are not reliable.


In Finland, the public health policy regarding the management of patients exposed to dampness microbiota and decay products of construction materials in moisture-damaged buildings remains unacceptable. Most important, it has become practically impossible to hold a true exchange of views on this topic with the Department of Health and Welfare and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. While in the past patients would have been thoroughly examined medically, such as by specialist physicians investigating a suspicion of allergic alveolitis, currently mold-related disease or dampness and mold hypersensitivity syndrome (DMHS), usually identified as the disease's chronic cause, is misinterpreted as a functional impairment. The illness is claimed to be psychological and to respond to treatment with the Dynamic Neuronal Retraining System (DNRS), a method for which no evidence of its effectiveness exists, even though it's promoted by policymakers. A critical questioning of this public policy is deemed heretical by insurance companies and their concealed allies, such as governmental agencies, which means that critics of this approach may be subjected to vilification, harassment, reprimands, demotion, attacks in the social media, denial of funding and grants and access to research material, and even outright offensive behavior and marginalization. Not surprisingly, censorship or self-censoring is common, and conflicts of interests are hidden. The aim of this commentary is to advocate open-minded, honest debates with no prevailing a-priori attitudes. A return to a medicine-based interpretation of the disease and the mechanisms underpinning it would be met with enthusiasm in Finland.


The professional development and preparation of new administrative leaders so they can be equipped to work in a rapidly changing environment driven by the competitive consequences of globalisation is certainly a key aim of the government in Kuwait. Thus, this research explored the effectiveness of the current leadership's preparation and on-going development of those responsible for leading the education system in Kuwait.
This research used a qualitative interpretive approach and was conducted in two stages with a sample of 54 managers (30 from the Ministry of Education departments and 24 from six education districts). In the first stage, 48 questionnaires were distributed, with 42 being returned representing a response rate of 87.5%. The second phase included semi-structured interviews conducted with eight managers with different areas of expertise to obtain more in-depth and comprehensive information on the issues that emerged from the analysis of the questionnaires.
The data indicated that no specific formal programmes exist to prepare managers and provide them with appropriate leadership skills. Although professional development activities are available, they are not dedicated to improving leadership capability, but only to developing some managerial and technical skills. These programmes do not specifically target this category of managers; thus, they have not been effective in improving their leadership skills. One of the more significant findings to emerge from this study is that the majority of participants were unable to demonstrate a clear understanding of management or leadership or distinguish between them.
The results also indicate that the most effective method is informal learning. Evidence suggests that the observation of others at work play an important and key role in
vii
leadership development. Consequently, the data collected indicates that attending more formalised professional development courses has little influence on these managers' leadership knowledge and understanding.


Background: This study aimed to compare the clinical and radiological outcomes of arthroscopic meniscectomy and conservative treatment for degenerative MMPRT.Methods: From January 2007 to December 2014, 146 patients (Meniscectomy group, 90; Conservative group, 56) were evaluated. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale, International Knee Documentation Committee subjective scoring scale, Tegner activity scale, and Lysholm knee scoring scale at the final follow-up. Radiologic outcomes evaluated the progression of osteoarthritis according to the K-L classification. We compared the hip-knee-ankle angle, medial proximal tibial angle, tibial posterior slope angle, and width of medial joint space. After an average follow-up of 6.3 years, the survivorship was analyzed using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Although all clinical outcomes had significantly improved in both groups after treatment, the VAS score (p=0.07), IKDC subjective score (p=0.18), Tegner activity scale score (p=0.08), and Lysholm knee score (p=0.53) showed no significant differences between the two groups at the final follow-up. The progression of OA according to the K-L classification, HKAA and width of medial joint space was significantly advanced in the meniscectomy group (p=0.03, 0.04, 0.03, respectively). The 10-year survival rates in the meniscectomy and conservative groups were 87% and 88%, respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that both conservative treatment and meniscectomy provided symptomatic relief. However, it was confirmed that OA progression was more severe in the meniscectomy. We conclude that arthroscopic meniscectomy had no advantage over conservative treatment in terms of clinical outcomes and OA progression.


Platelet-activating factor (PAF) was found to induce histamine release from human basophils in mixed leukocytes in the presence of cytochalasin B. The reaction was rapid and dependent on temperature. The release was lower at a high concentration of PAF and was inhibited by EDTA, suggesting a noncytolytic mechanism. CV-3988, a PAF antagonist, inhibited the reaction dose-dependently. PAF acted as an IgE-independent stimulus, but PAF-induced histamine release from leukocytes of allergic asthmatics, who had elevated serum IgE levels, was significantly higher than that from leukocytes of controls. These results suggest that PAF-induced histamine release is useful for studying the role of PAF in the pathogenesis of allergic disorders including bronchial asthma.


Two identical studies, one comparing the effect of single doses of a new beta-adrenoceptor blocker, atenolol (Tenormin) (50 mg and 100 mg) and placebo, and the other comparing the effect of single doses of methyldopa (250 mg and 500 mg) and placebo, in healthy volunteers, were carried out. 2 In both studies the effect of the drugs upon reaction time, critical flicker frequency, subjective drowsiness, pulse rate and blood pressure was measured. 3 Atenolol produced no effect upon reaction time, critical flicker frequency or subjective feelings, while methyldopa produced a statistically significant prolongation of reaction time and a statistically significant increase in the subjective sensation of drowsiness. 4 Atenolol produced statistically significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and in pulse rate while methyldopa was without effect. 5 It is concluded that atenolol is unlikely to produce the side effects of sedation or drowsiness.


OBJECTIVE
To explore an alternative method for easier and more effective establishment of allergen-specific T-cell clones (TCC) from peripheral blood monouclear cells (PBMCs) of allergic asthma patients with allogeneic feeding cells.

METHODS
To determine the optimal condition for T cell growth and effective dose and time of mitomycin-C (MMC) treatment of the feeding cells to prevent their proliferation, the PBMCs were treated with PHA, IL-2 or MMC at different concentrations, and the proliferation rate of the treated cells was analyzed by MTT assay. The effect of IL-4 on the growth and subset selection of TCC was also analyzed. Allergen-specific TCC was established by limiting dilution method with allogeneic PBMCs as the feeding cells, and the proliferation of the allergen-specific TCC was observed to evaluate the feasibility of the feeding cells.

RESULTS
PHA at 25 microg/ml and IL-2 at 27 U/ml achieved optimal growth of the T cells, while MMC treatment at the dose of 60 microg/ml for 80 min effectively enriched the non-proliferative feeding cell from the PBMCs. IL-4 could not promote the survival of the TCC, but promoted the formation of CD(4)(+) TCC. Allergen-specific TCC obtained using allogeneic feeding cells required the presence of PHA, but the allergen reactivity of the TCC remained unpredictable.

CONCLUSION
IL-4 can promote the formation of CD(4)(+) TCC, but allogeneic feeding cells may fail to produce TCC with high allergen specificity.


Vascular diseases are any abnormal conditions that affect the circulatory system and are responsible for more mortality and morbidity than any other category of human disease. The spectrum of pathology encompasses congenital and acquired disorders that are arterial, venous, capillary or lymphatic in origin. Vascular disease can affect virtually any vessel in the body and present with different symptoms in different regions of the body. The most commonly involved areas include the heart, head, neck, and upper and lower extremities. Less commonly, vessels supplying the bowel may be involved leading to bowel infarction.


Purpose: A review was conducted to synthesise the available research literature on the pathogenesis of rotator cuff tendinopathy. Relevance: Musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder are extremely common, with reports of prevalence ranging from one in three people experiencing shoulder pain at some stage of their lives to approximately half the population experiencing at least one episode of shoulder pain annually. Pathology of the soft tissues of the shoulder, including the musculotendinous rotator cuff and subacromial bursa, is a principal cause of pain and suffering. Conclusions: The pathoaetiology of rotator cuff failure is multifactorial and results from a combination of intrinsic, extrinsic and environmental factors. The specialised morphology of the rotator cuff, together with the effects of stress shielding, may contribute to the development of rotator cuff tendinopathy. Profound changes within the subacromial bursa are strongly related to the pathology and resulting symptoms. A considerable body of research is necessary to more fully understand the aetiology and pathohistology of rotator cuff tendinopathy and its relationship with bursal pathology. Once this knowledge exists more effective management will become available.


The effects on the renal vasculature and on arterial blood pressure of chronic infusion of low doses of angiotensin II (Ang II) into the renal artery were studied. Sprague Dawley rats were infused continuously with Ang II (0.5, 1.5, or 4.5 ng z kg z min) or vehicle into the right renal artery (contralateral nephrectomy). Intrarenal Ang II infusion for 25 days produced dose-dependent rises (P,0.001) in awake mean arterial pressure (11161, 11965, and 13063 mm Hg in rats receiving 0.5, 1.5, and 4.5 ng z kg z min Ang II, respectively) compared with 10561 mm Hg (vehicle). Renal vessel lumen characteristics were assessed with an established, maximally dilated, isosmotic perfused kidney preparation. This revealed a small dose-dependent right shift in the pressure-flow relation (P50.05), as well as a dose-dependent right shift and a dose-dependent reduction in the slope of the pressure–glomerular filtration rate relation (P50.04 and 0.03, respectively). The effects of Ang II infusion on arterial pressure were not affected by the timing of the contralateral nephrectomy but were reduced when the contralateral kidney remained in situ. Acute losartan administration (10 mg/kg IV bolus) produced similar effects on arterial pressure in rats infused with vehicle or Ang II (4.5 ng z kg z min) for 14 days, P50.89), indicating the lack of systemic spillover of Ang II. Intraperitoneal Ang II (0.5, 1.5, or 4.5 ng z kg z min for 25 days) had no effect on arterial pressure. Thus, chronic intrarenal infusion of low doses of Ang II resulted in changes in the renal vasculature compatible with dose-related structural reductions in the lumen diameter of preglomerular vessels and produced dose-related increases in arterial pressure. (Hypertension. 2000;36:839-844.)


Some parameters of haem synthesis were estimated in 60 uraemic patients (30 non-dialysed, 30 dialysed) and in 30 matched controls. Serum delta-aminolaevulinic acid and erythrocyte coproporphyrin and protoprophyrin were found significantly higher in the non-dialysed uraemics than in the controls. Erythrocyte delta-aminolaevulinic acid dehydrase (ALA-D) activity was 498 +/- 174 mumol/h.l in the non-dialysed patients, 321 +/- 146 in the dialysed (just before haemodialysis) and 833 +/- 281 in the healthy controls, the differences between these groups all being statistically significant (p less than 0.001). After haemodialysis the enzymic activity in the dialysed group increased significantly (380 +/- 167, p less than 0.001), but remained lower than normal (p less than 0.001). A similar pattern - although with less statistical significance of the differences between groups - was observed concerning erythrocyte uroporphyrinogen I synthase activity. Incubation of normal erythrocytes with uraemic plasma resulted in a considerable decrease of their ALA-D activity (from 830 +/- 263 to 616 +/- 126) while incubation of uraemic erythrocytes with normal plasma increased their ALA-D (from 384 +/- 139 to 494 +/- 77). Addition of zinc in the haemolysate caused a similar induction of ALA-D in both controls and uraemics. The zinc-induced uraemic ALA-D practically reached normal levels. The mechanism of enzymic depression and the possible role of elevated delta-aminolaevulinic acid concentrations (to which depressed ALA-D activity considerably contributes) in the pathogenesis of the neurologic manifestations of uraemia, are discussed.


Animal bones discarded by people are commonly subject to disturbance by carnivores. These carnivores are present throughout the world and include wolves, coyotes, hyenas, and many others. This disturbance not only modifies and destroys bone, but also moves many of the bone fragments away from their original position of discard. Intrasite spatial analyses of bone that seek patterns meaningful to human behavior thus need to subtract the effect of carnivore disturbance. Experimental studies with spotted hyenas show that the position of a bone fragment on a limb bone, combined with bone surface modification, can be used to identify a class of bone fragments that are minimally affected by carnivores and are thus the best indicators of spatial patterning resulting from human behavior. Limb-bone ends are moved significant distances, as are shaft fragments as a general class. However, middle-shaft portions of limb bones that preserve percussion marks from hammerstone breakage retain nearly the precise spatial position as originally discarded by hominids. Thus, any spatial analysis of bone, when carnivores are implicated as contributors or consumers at an archaeological site, should focus on middle-shaft portions of limb bones with percussion marks.


We report a case of a patient with brain metastases and simultaneous Alzheimer disease (AD) on FDG-PET imaging. Literature documenting AD coexisting with brain metastases is extremely rare, and there are no previously documented cases of FDG-PET imaging revealing concurrent AD and brain metastases. In addition to AD, both brain metastases and whole-brain radiation therapy may cause neurocognitive deterioration. Hence, it is important to differentiate the underlying pathologic process that is causing dementia in patients with brain metastases, to better manage these patients and improve their quality of life.


Guanfacine, a phenylacetyl-guanidine derivative, is a centrally acting alpha-adrenoceptor agonist, with a mechanism of antihypertensive action similar to that of clonidine. It reduces blood pressure in patients with essential hypertension at least as effectively as clonidine or methyldopa. Like lower doses of clonidine, guanfacine can be given once daily due to its relatively long elimination half-life. Although dry mouth and sedation occur frequently with higher doses of guanfacine, their incidence is lower than with other centrally acting antihypertensives; in addition, other troublesome side effects such as orthostatic hypotension or sexual dysfunction also occur much less with guanfacine than with other centrally acting antihypertensive agents. While a withdrawal syndrome may occur on abruptly discontinuing guanfacine administration, the symptoms are generally mild, and the incidence of withdrawal symptoms appears lower than occurs with abrupt withdrawal of clonidine. Thus, guanfacine is an effective and well tolerated alternative to other centrally acting antihypertensive drugs. Whether its final place in therapy will be as an alternative 'second-line' drug, or as initial monotherapy in patients with mild to moderate hypertension, remains to be clarified in comparative studies with diuretics, calcium antagonists, and beta-adrenoceptor blocking drugs.


This paper explores the ways in which we might construct urban environments that are responsible to the needs of more than just human cohabitants. Drawing on Spinoza's common notion and attentive to the possibilities of socio-natures that both construct and respond to the habitat needs of urban wildlife, I look at how urban design and wildlife habitat might be thought and planned together as a human/non-human composite, invoking a complex spatial and temporal choreography which serves divergent needs. Drawing on examples of urban design in Toronto, Canada, this paper offers a way to think of the city as a composite body in Spinoza's terms, to become open to an awareness of the city as a composition of forces—a choreography of bodies that are constantly interweaving and overflowing imagined boundaries, struggles that are fought as much over time as space, the accommodation of the temporalities and spatialities of other life processes, other rhythms and cycles that would, without a recalibration, sync uneasily with the pacing and spacing of human requirements.


AIM
Elucidate the incidence and causes of post transplant hypertension in our transplant population.

METHODS
All patients transplanted between June 1989 Dec 2002 who had a functioning graft of 6 months post transplant were studied. Hypertension was defined as Systolic BP > or = 140 mmHg/Diastolic BP > or = 90 mmHg/usage of antihypertensive medication. Donor and recepient characteristics were recorded and compared. 86.2% (485) were hypertensive in post renal transplant period.

RESULTS
Age > or = 40 years, male sex, graft dysfunction, use of calcineurin inhibitors, high doses of steroids, chronic rejection were statistically significant correlate of post RTHT in univariate analysis. On multivariate analysis, age > or = 40 yrs (RR 2.06, 95% CI, 1.20-3.54), use of cyclosporine (RR 2.70, 95% CI, 1.54-4.75), usage of high doses of steroids (RR 2.56, 95% CI, 1.31-4.98) only were associated with post transplant hypertension. The patient and graft survival was inferior in patients with post transplant hypertension. The systolic BP at 12 months, diastolic BP at 6 months and 12 months post transplant, had significant detrimental effect on renal allografts survival.

CONCLUSION
Diagnosis, identification of risk factors and aggressive treatment of post transplant HT and of the various modifiable risk factors is important for improving renal allograft and patient survival.


In this presentation, the development of a simulation model that can examine the
 long-term strategy of materials industries, called a material strategy model, is proposed.
 This model has the following structure: first, the world is divided into a number of areas
 and a scenario for the demand for end products in the future in each area is provided.
 Then, the system required to realize the scenario and to minimize CO 2 emission
 or the total cost is calculated using this model. In other words, the optimization to
 select processes in society to minimize total CO 2 emission or total cost is
 carried out. As a result, the possibility of the long-term scenario; for example, the
 amount of car production based on population increase and GDP growth, can be discussed by
 considering CO 2 emission and consumption of resources. A few simulation models
 to discuss long-term strategy have been developed in the field of energy system studies.
 In the energy system model, only a few resources such as coal, oil, natural gas and
 uranium are considered, but, in the material strategy model, it is necessary to examine
 many materials and resources. In addition, the material strategy model should have an
 energy model as one part of the model. As a first step, a prototype model mainly focusing
 on iron and steel with their alloys should be developed to show the capability to develop
 the whole model.


In this paper, the effects of torsional flexibility on a flapping airfoil are investigated. The aerodynamic forces of a torsional flexible flapping airfoil is computed using 2-D unsteady vortex panel method. A typical-section aeroelastic model is used for the aeroelsatic calculation of the flapping airfoil. Torsional flexibility and excitation frequency are considered as main effective parameters. Under heavy airfoil condition , the thrust peak is observed at the points where the frequency ratio is about 0.75. Based on this peak criterion, there exists two different motions. One is an inertia driven deformation motion and the other is an oscillation driven deformation motion. Also, in the thrust peak condition, the phase angle is kept 85 degrees, independent of the torsional flexibility and the excitation frequency.


This article examines if and how characteristics of appraisal systems used for secondary school teachers affect job satisfaction. Using multilevel analyses on data of 3 473 teachers in Flanders (Belgium), we found that appraisals with a developmental purpose and appraisals perceived as being a fair judgement, both have a positive impact on job satisfaction. Also clarity of appraisals and appraisals perceived as a judgement of quality add to a specific view of job satisfaction. These findings provide significant implications for educational policy at diverse levels, aimed at designing and implementing more effective appraisal systems, which affect teachers in their careers.


A short cut review was carried out to establish whether incision and drainage followed by treatment with oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is better than incision and drainage alone at treating patients with uncomplicated skin abscesses. One hundred and ninety-seven papers were found using the reported searches, of which three presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these papers are tabulated. It is concluded that trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole may help with abscess cure, and will decrease abscess formation at new sites.


Tooth enamel, the protective outer layer of the dental crown, is the hardest and most mineralized tissue in the human body. Enamel's unique mechanical properties arise from the hierarchical organization of inorganic and organic matter across length scales. Unlike other biomaterials, such as bone or carapace, the structure of enamel is highly conserved across species, suggesting that it confers significant evolutionary advantages (1). This universality makes enamel an ideal system to study the biomineralization processes that produce materials with properties surpassing those of many synthetic materials. In PNAS, Bai et al. (2) unveil the detailed mechanism by which the organic matter contained in enamel guides the oriented growth of the mineral phase. Further, Bai et al. (2) demonstrate how this mechanism can be replicated to grow enamel in vitro, resulting in a material with a microstructure resembling that of natural enamel.

Enamel consists of over 95 wt% (carbonated) apatite, a calcium phosphate mineral that can be found in all mineralized tissues in vertebrates (3). Apatite crystals grow predominantly along their c axis, thereby displaying elongated shapes. In mammalian enamel, these elongated crystals align parallel to one another, effectively forming an enamel rod that can reach tens of micrometers in length. Between these rods, space is filled by apatite crystals whose principal direction progressively deviates from the rod axis, as shown in Fig. 1. The most distant interrod crystal is positioned at a 60° angle with respect …

[↵][1]1Email: vwelborn{at}VT.edu.

 [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1


We report theoretical calculations of doubly excited states for He I, Li II, and Be III below the N = 2 thresholds. Energy levels for autoionizing states are determined by a method of complex-coordinate rotation. Energy levels for non-autoionizing states are determined by the standard variational method, or taken from the best variational results in the literature. The theoretical transition wavelengths among various doubly excited states are compared with those observed in beam-foil experiments.


Careful inspection of large-scale photographs of Shapley-Ames galaxies seems to show a smooth transition between the morphological characteristics of galaxies located on the narrow red and on the broad blue sequences in the galaxian color-magnitude diagram. In other words, there does not appear to be a dichotomy between blue and red galaxies. Both the colors and the morphologies of galaxies are found to correlate strongly with their environments. Red and early-type Shapley-Ames galaxies are dominant in clusters, whereas blue late-type star-forming objects dominate the general field. Interestingly, the colors and morphologies of galaxies in small groups resemble the field and differ from those in clusters. As noted by Baade, the presence of dust and star formation are very closely correlated, except in a few galaxies that probably had unusual evolutionary histories. Over the entire range from S0 to Sc there is no significant difference between the integrated colors of normal and barred objects, suggesting that the formation of a bar does not significantly affect the stellar evolutionary history of a galaxy.


Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of illness and death in many countries, especially in Asia and Africa. Repeated tests of microscopic examination are needed to be performed for early detection of the disease. Hence there is a need to automate the diagnostic process for improvement in the sensitivity and accuracy of the test.
Objective: To automate the decision support system for tuberculosis digital images using histogram based statistical features and evolutionary based extreme learning machines.
Materials and methods: The sputum smear positive and negative images recorded under standard image acquisition protocol are subjected to histogram based feature extraction technique. Most significant features are selected using student 't' test. These significant features are further used as input to the differential evolutionary extreme learning machine classifier.
Results: Results demonstrate that the histogram based significant features are able to differentiate TB positive and negative images with a higher specificity and accuracy.
Conclusion: The methodology used in this work seems to be useful for the automated analysis of TB sputum smear images in mass screening disorders such as pulmonary tuberculosis.


The Hardware/Software co-design method for fast image processing tasks is presented in this paper. The platform is a FPGA board, which is embedded with a soft processor as the main processor in the system, and a co-processor is designed using FSL (Fast Simple Link) to connect the main processor. The software application on the main processor can deal with general function, but can not afford the time-critical arithmetic because its main frequency is limited. According to the architecture and characteristics of arithmetic, to design a co-processor can result in dramatic acceleration. By using the co-processor, the result and resource occupied are given, which indicate that this method has the characteristic of high speed and steady performance.