'The best description of basketball played in New York City streets during the sixties and seventies' - Bill Bradley, "The New Yorker". 'Superb ...[Axthelm] combines Knick history, player backgrounds, seasonal anecdotes and court triumphs with another phenomenon - city basketball in the crowded ghettoes of the nation. The areas he focuses on primarily are the asphalt playgrounds of Harlem and Bedford Stuyvesant. There basketball has its special code of behavior, its pecking order and its own culture heroes...A few city playground aces have made it to college ..., and a few have found an escape route to the Harlem Globetrotters or the Eastern League. But many others have become strung out on poverty or drugs or have been imprisoned...The book offers absorbing insights into the most unique and gripping of all city sports' - Rex Lardner, "New York Times".Pete Axthelm follows the 1969-70 season of the New York Knicks and provides a parallel focus on basketball as it was then played in the black neighborhoods of New York City. Throughout, he writes clearly, intelligently, and passionately about the game, bringing alive the players' efforts, accomplishments, and failures. Pete Axthelm was an editor for "Newsweek". Rick Telander is a sports columnist for the "Chicago Sun-Times" and a writer for "ESPN Magazine".


In most communities, especially in Africa, people with mental health challenges are denigrated; the society is not sympathetic with sufferers of mental illness. A lot of issues can trigger mental illness. These can be stress (economic stress, social stress, educational stress, etc); hereditary factors; war and aggression; rape; spiritual factors, to mention a few. Therefore, there is the need for understanding and awareness creation among the people as one of the ways of addressing the problem. Methodologically, this study deploys analytical, observation and interview techniques. In doing this, it uses the Edo State, Nigeria scenario to critically reflect, albeit preliminarily, on the interventionist role the broadcast media have played/are playing/should play in creating awareness and providing support systems for mentally challenged persons in urban and rural centres in Nigeria. The study argues that television and radio media are very innovative and their innovativeness can be deployed in the area of putting mental health issue in the public discourse and calling for action. This is because, as modern means of mass communication, radio and television engender a technologically negotiated reaching-out or dissemination of information which naturally flows to all manner of persons regardless of their place of abode, class, political, social or religious orientations and persuasions. It further argues that although radio and television can readily provide friendly platforms for people to interact, with the intent of sensitizing and mobilising others to individually or collectively support identified social causes, their potentialities are yet to be fully explored in terms of programming, social responsibility as well as the maintenance of public good, with regard to creating awareness and understanding among the people toward remediating the prevalent problem of mentally challenged persons in Edo State, Nigeria. To reverse this, the study calls for a greater nexusing of the broadcast media and mental health issues, through carefully designed radio and television programmes, to reduce the culturally placed stigma associated with mental illness and remediate the incidences of overt and covert mental health cases in Edo State, Nigeria.


Redox kinetics of the reaction of hydroxylamine hydrochloride (H2NOH.HCl) and BrO3 – was carried out in aqueous acidic medium, at temperature of 29.5 ± 0.5oC; ionic strength μ = 1.0 mol dm–3 (NaCl), [H+] = 1.0 x 10–2 mol dm–3 (HCl). The reaction showed a stoichiometry of 1:1.3, first order kinetics in both [NH3OH+] and [BrO3 –], dependence on acid concentrations, positive salt effect, catalysis due to anions and absence of evidence of intermediate complex formation. Rate equation for the reaction has been proposed as: –d[NH3OH+]/ dt =(a[H+])[ NH3OH+][ BrO3 –]. The second order rate constant for the NH3OH+– BrO3 – reaction was found to be 0.233 dm3 mol–1 s–1. Based on the results obtained experimentally, the outer – sphere mechanism is suggested for the reaction.


Recent research reveals that Indigenous household overcrowding has a dual nature. On the one hand, overcrowding may occur when there is no way of allocating sleeping space without placing a person in situations that compromise the need for respect among kin. On the other hand, overcrowding might also occur where householders have chosen a lifestyle of substance abuse and the overcrowding results from the failure of rule-governed behaviour. These definitions of overcrowding are very different from the density model typically used by Australian public housing providers. This research project will seek to critically examine existing models of household overcrowding reported in the literature nationally and internationally in order to provide policy makers with ways to predict, measure and manage Aboriginal household overcrowding. In order to do this, a model of overcrowding will be developed and tested in non-remote settings, and in so doing uncover the salient dimensions and properties of Aboriginal overcrowding. Fieldwork will occur in selected capital cities and regional cities, and across public rental, private rental and home-owner households to see how different tenures impact on distinctly Aboriginal rule-governed behaviours and coping mechanisms.


PURPOSE
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a novel noninvasive and noncontact imaging technique providing cross-sectional representations of the eye structures. OCT is analogous to Ultrasound B-scan, except that it analyzes the reflection of a 850 nm light wave. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of ocular coherence tomography for diagnosing and monitoring macular diseases.

METHODS
Cross-sectional images were performed with the Zeiss-Humphrey OCT. Over one year period, we examined approximately 300 patients with idiopathic full thickness macular hole, lamellar hole, cystoid macular edema, choroidal new vessels, epiretinal membrane, diabetic maculopathy, and central serous chorioretinopathy.

RESULTS
OCT can provide new information concerning the posterior pole diseases mentioned above. OCT can also be useful in thickness measurements.

CONCLUSION
OCT allows tomographic analysis of macular diseases. The information obtained is different from that obtained by histologic study which is sometimes hard to interprete. OCT is mostly useful in studying internal layers of the retina. Further applications may be developed.


Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) comprise a class of widely used statistical tools for data analysis with fixed and random effects when the response variable has a conditional distribution in the exponential family. GLMM analysis also has a close relationship with actuarial credibility theory. While readily available programs such as the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS and the lme4 package in R are powerful tools for using this class of models, these progarms are not able to handle models with thousands of levels of fixed and random effects. By using sparse-matrix and other high performance techniques, procedures such as HPMIXED in SAS can easily fit models with thousands of factor levels, but only for normally distributed response variables. In this paper, we present the %HPGLIMMIX SAS macro that fits GLMMs with large number of sparsely populated design matrices using the doubly-iterative linearization (pseudo-likelihood) method, in which the sparse-matrix-based HPMIXED is used for the inner iterations with the pseudo-variable constructed from the inverse-link function and the chosen model. Although the macro does not have the full functionality of the GLIMMIX procedure, time and memory savings can be large with the new macro. In applications in which design matrices contain many zeros and there are hundreds or thousands of factor levels, models can be fitted without exhausting computer memory, and 90% or better reduction in running time can be observed. Examples with a Poisson, binomial, and gamma conditional distribution are presented to demonstrate the usage and efficiency of this macro.


A "good-for-you" baked product can be enhanced in two ways—either by adding something to increase its health benefits or by taking out some of the components that are bad for you. Popular targets for removal include fats, sugars, saturated fats, tropical oils and trans-fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, and gluten. Possible beneficial additions include whole grains, fiber, proteins, flaxseed, omega 3 fatty acids, β-glucan, antioxidants, vitamins, and fruits. Possible methods of removing and adding ingredients to improve the benefits of baked products are discussed.


Looking back at the 60-year period of anesthesiology and critical care development in this country, the author paid special attention to some considerations that largely reflect the ideology and psychology of specialists working in this field, who, from his point of view, interfered with further development of this specialty as an independent medical field in Russia. Special emphasis was put on some problematic issues of interdisciplinary interaction, training, and organization of care. It was noted that the experience of predecessors was to be taken into account since the essence of many current problems was in many ways the same as it had been before. The author suggested that moving forward was possible only if the efforts of the entire professional community were consolidated.


Abstract:In April 1868, Regina v. Hicklin refined the 1857 Obscene Publications Act by establishing the legal test for obscenity. The case concerned The Confessional Unmasked, until now read as sincere religious controversy. It was in fact flaunting pornography, paradigmatic of the material the 1857 Act prohibited. The story of The Confessional Unmasked and its ineffectual suppression significantly shifts understanding of mid-Victorian practices of censorship. It reveals surprising state tolerance, a decade after the statute passed into law, of a cheap pornographic pamphlet in widespread circulation throughout the United Kingdom for three long and turbulent years.


Courts in Australia not only have social media policies to control social media use in the courtroom, but are starting to use social media to publish judgments and court-related information. How will the interactive nature of social media affect the discourse between the court and litigants? Will social media require courts to take court "user�? satisfaction into account in the provision of justice, and how is the dissemination of judgments on social media affecting public perceptions of traditional rules such as the doctrine of precedent? This discussion paper examines the future of courts in a social media world where the "like�? button, and not just the legislature or stare decisis, may play an increasingly powerful role in shaping both the content of the law and the way in which courts administer justice.


Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains a DNA repair methyltransferase (MTase) that repairs 06-methylguanine. Methyl groups are irreversibly transferred from 06-methylguanine in DNA to a 25-kilodalton protein in S. cerevisiae cell extracts, and methyl transfer is accompanied by the formation of S-methylcysteine. The yeast MTase is expressed at approximately 150 molecules/cell in exponentially growing yeast cultures but is not detectable in stationary phase cells. Unlike mammalian and bacterial MTases, the yeast MTase is very temperature-sensitive, having a half-life of about 4 min at 37 "C, which may explain why others have failed to detect it. Like other DNA repair MTases, the S. cerevisiae MTase repairs 06-methylguanine more efficiently in double-stranded DNA than in singlestranded DNA. Synthesis of the yeast DNA MTase is apparently not inducible by sublethal exposures to alkylating agent, but rather MTase activity is depleted in cells exposed to low doses of alkylating agent. Judging from its molecular weight and substrate specificity, the yeast DNA MTase is more closely related to mammalian MTases than to Escherichia coli MTases.


Reaction of the capacitance vessels of the abdominal cavity and the pelvis was studied in dogs with the cardiotoxic myocardial necrosis complicated by the cardiogenic shock. The deposit of a significant volume of the circulating blood in the venous part of the vascular reservoir of the abdominal cavity and the pelvis was observed in the course of the first minutes of acute myocardial necrosis. A substantial role of reduction of the venous return to the heart in the pathogenesis of the hemodynamic disturbances accompanying the development of the cardiogenic shock is emphasized.


Using a BAB design, a token system requiring cooperative interaction was used to change the reading and vocabulary performance of an 18-member class of third-grade hyperactive boys. Four different colored tokens, which could be exchanged for 15 minutes of play on electrovideo games, were earned by successful completion of two tasks that involved learning to read and to use new vocabulary words in sentences, and two tasks in which the student served as a proctor to a student who had not yet completed those tasks. The mean number of tasks completed during the intervention periods rose to over nine times the number completed during reversal. Additionally, the average completion rate for the school district's standardized weekly reading level examinations rose from four to eight fold during the token conditions. All 18 students responded to the token program by increasing their academic performance.


Few states in the modern world have had a less promising birth than Jordan. When in 1921 the Hashemite Emir Abdallah was recognized as the ruler of this romantic backwater of the former Ottoman Empire, it was sparsely populated, extremely poor, and widely regarded as ungovernable. Today against all the odds, Jordan has become one of the most prosperous and stable of Middle Eastern countries and a major player in the region's politics. In this political history, Kamal Salibi attempts to explain how this transformation was achieved. The book traces the story of modern Jordan from its origins in the Arab revolt at the end of World War I and the political success of the astute and colourful founder of its ruling dynasty. It includes a detailed examination of the far-reaching implications for Jordan of the Palestinian tragedy and a constantly tense relationship with neighbouring Israel and it shows how King Hussein, the longest surviving ruler in the contemporary Middle East, has guided the country through these difficult times to introduce democracy in 1988.


Cells are always considered as a basic unit of life in every aspect, almost whole environment consists of various types of cells. Many scientists did research on such type of organisms and they concluded almost every functioning of how micro-organisms actually work in a proper manner. Every organism has a particular morphology which can be a factor to differentiate organism based on size but in this research, it has been found that how to measure the weight of single cell whether the prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell, independent of other factors. Thus, by finding the mass and relating with its size we can even find the density of organism, may be sometimes the size cannot be a factor to detect how heavy the cell is!. Hence, using this technique one can differentiate various organisms based on their single cell weight. Many applications can be found by the respective person if someone using this technique. One of application is one can isolate aerobic bacteria also using this technique and can sub-culture it. Key-wordsCell size, Single cell weight, Differentiate organisms, Isolation of aerobes -------------------------------------------------IJLSSR----------------------------------------------INTRODUCTION The cell is the basic structural, functional and biological unit of all known living organisms. A cell is the smallest unit of life that can replicate independently and cells are often called 'the building blocks of life'. Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. Organisms can be classified as unicellular or multicellular. While the number of cells in plants and animals vary from species to species. Cells are only visible under a microscope, with dimensions between 1-100 micrometers. There are two types of cells: Prokaryotic cell and Eukaryotic cell. A prokaryote is a unicellular organism that lacks a membrane-bound nucleus, mitochondria or any other membrane bound organelle . In prokaryotes, all the intracellular water soluble components (proteins, DNA and metabolites) are located together in the cytoplasm enclosed by the cell membrane, rather than in separate cellular compartments. A eukaryote is an organism whose cell contains a nucleus and other organelles enclosed within membranes. Access this article online


Background: The global obesity epidemic is a major public health concern, and accurate diagnosis is essential for identifying at-risk individuals. Three-dimensional (3D) body scanning technology offers several advantages over the standard practice of tape measurements for diagnosing obesity. This study was conducted to validate body scan data from a German population-based cohort and explore clinical implications of this technology in the context of metabolic syndrome. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 354 participants from the Study of Health in Pomerania that completed a 3D body scanning examination. The agreement of anthropometric data obtained from 3D body scanning with manual tape measurements was analyzed using correlation analysis and Bland–Altman plots. Classification agreement regarding abdominal obesity based on IDF guidelines was assessed using Cohen's kappa. The association of body scan measures with metabolic syndrome components was explored using correlation analysis. Results: Three-dimensional body scanning showed excellent validity with slightly larger values that presumably reflect the true circumferences more accurately. Metabolic syndrome was highly prevalent in the sample (31%) and showed strong associations with central obesity. Using body scan vs. tape measurements of waist circumference for classification resulted in a 16% relative increase in the prevalence of abdominal obesity (61.3% vs. 52.8%). Conclusions: These results suggest that the prevalence of obesity may be underestimated using the standard method of tape measurements, highlighting the need for more accurate approaches.


The master thesis "The Scarcity and Vulnerability of Surfing Recourses An Analysis of the Value of Surfing from a Social Economic Perspective in Matosinhos, Portugal" investigates the potential socioeconomic value of surfing and improvement of recreational ocean water for the City of Matosinhos. For that reason a beach survey was developed and carried out in order to find out about beach users activities, perceptions and demands. Results showed that user activities were dominated by sunbathing/relaxation on the beach and surfing and body boarding in the water. The main environmental concern of beach users was water pollution. Furthermore, the thesis recommends including surfing breaks as natural and cultural recourses within future coastal management plans and investigates the possibilities for the implementation of a local beach management strategy for Matosinhos under the umbrella of Integrated Coastal Management in Portugal.


Using X-ray diffractometry and spectral measurements, the structure and properties of graded X-ray optical elements have been examined. Experimental and theoretical data on X-ray supermirrors, which were prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique using precise thickness control, are reported. Measurements on graded aperiodic Si(1-x)Ge(x) single crystals, which were grown by the Czochralski technique, are also presented. The lattice parameter of such a crystal changes almost linearly with increasing Ge concentration. The measurements indicate that Si(1-x)Ge(x) crystals with concentrations up to 7 at.% Ge can be grown with a quality comparable to that of pure Si crystals.


The article explores aspects of Hinduism in some writings by British writers E.M.Forster and Edward Thompson in the early twentieth century, and tries to read nuance into the Orientalist project of mapping India. Unlike some writers like Kipling who wrote in the period of high imperialism and created colonial and racial stereotypes, Forster and Thompson seem to be aware of the complexities of Hinduism, of a God who can laugh and play. This article discusses Forster and Thompson's understanding of and views on Hinduism.


A Case of Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy Fourtyfive years old patient with parity 1 was admitted hospital due to amenorrhea. She had given birth at home 20 years ago and had severe bleeding due to retained placenta. Her hormonal examination showed panhypopitiutarism. Empty sella was diagnosed by MRI examination. Glucocorticoid, thyroxin and estrogen+progesteron treatment were given. Sheehan's Syndrome is insufficiency of pituitary and adrenal gland due to postpartum hemorrhage and hypovolemia. Symptoms may develop immediately or after years depending on severity of pituitary destruction. Most prominant symptoms are secondary amenorrhea, loss of lactation, loss of libido and other symptoms due to loss of pituitary reserves. Empty sella is complete or incomplete insufficiancy of hypophysis due to intracellar herniation of subarachnoid structures. One cause of empty sella is pituitary necrosis developing after severe postpartum hemorrhage (Sheehan's Syndrome). CT and MRI are best methods for diagnosis of empty sella. Hormon replacement treatment (glucocorticoid, thyroxin and estrogen+progesteron) is given to patients with Sheehan's Syndrome.


As observed originally by C. Osgood, certain statements in value distribution theory bear a strong resemblance to certain statements in diophantine approximation, and their corollaries for holomorphic curves likewise resemble statements for integral and rational points on algebraic varieties. For example, if X is a compact Riemann surface of genus > 1, then there are no non-constant holomorphic maps f : C → X; on the other hand, if X is a smooth projective curve of genus > 1 over a number field k, then it does not admit an infinite set of k-rational points. Thus non-constant holomorphic maps correspond to infinite sets of k-rational points. This article describes the above analogy, and describes the various extensions and generalizations that have been carried out (or at least conjectured) in recent years. When looked at a certain way, certain statements in value distribution theory bear a strong resemblance to certain statements in diophantine approximation, and their corollaries for holomorphic curves likewise resemble statements for integral and rational points on algebraic varieties. The first observation in this direction is due to C. Osgood [1981]; subsequent work has been done by the author, S. Lang, P.-M. Wong, M. Ru, and others. To begin describing this analogy, we consider two questions. On the analytic side, let X be a connected Riemann surface. Then we ask: Question 1. Does there exist a non-constant holomorphic map f : C → X? The answer, as is well known, depends only on the genus g of the compactification X of X, and on the number of points s in X \ X. See Table 1. On the algebraic side, let k be a number field with ring of integers R, and let X be either an affine or projective curve over k. Let S be a finite set of places of k containing the archimedean places. For such sets S let RS denote the localization of R away from places in S (that is, the subring of k consisting of elements that can be written in such a way that only primes in S occur in Supported by NSF grant DMS95-32018 and the Institute for Advanced Study.


Folksonomies provide a free source of keywords describing web resources; however, these keywords are free form and their semantics spans multiple contextual dimension. In this paper, we present a pragmatic experiment that analyzes folksonomies using three classification categories: Personal, Factual and Subjective, in order to gain more understanding of the types of tags used in the social tagging process. The rational for this work was to measure the potential portion of folksonomy tags that might be helpful when considering the creation of structured metadata.


As a powerful framework for graph representation learning, Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have garnered significant attention in recent years. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no formal analysis of the logical expressiveness of GNNs as Boolean node classifiers over multi-relational graphs, where each edge carries a specific relation type. In this paper, we investigate $\mathcal{FOC}_2$, a fragment of first-order logic with two variables and counting quantifiers. On the negative side, we demonstrate that the R$^2$-GNN architecture, which extends the local message passing GNN by incorporating global readout, fails to capture $\mathcal{FOC}_2$ classifiers in the general case. Nevertheless, on the positive side, we establish that R$^2$-GNNs models are equivalent to $\mathcal{FOC}_2$ classifiers under certain restricted yet reasonable scenarios. To address the limitations of R$^2$-GNNs regarding expressiveness, we propose a simple graph transformation technique, akin to a preprocessing step, which can be executed in linear time. This transformation enables R$^2$-GNNs to effectively capture any $\mathcal{FOC}_2$ classifiers when applied to the"transformed"input graph. Moreover, we extend our analysis of expressiveness and graph transformation to temporal graphs, exploring several temporal GNN architectures and providing an expressiveness hierarchy for them. To validate our findings, we implement R$^2$-GNNs and the graph transformation technique and conduct empirical tests in node classification tasks against various well-known GNN architectures that support multi-relational or temporal graphs. Our experimental results consistently demonstrate that R$^2$-GNN with the graph transformation outperforms the baseline methods on both synthetic and real-world datasets


This study aimed to determine the level of ICT self-efficacy among librarians working in the Libraries of Aligarh Muslim University Library System (AMULS). A structured questionnaire was used to conduct a quantitative survey. One of the researchers visited the Maulana Azad Library, Faculty and College Libraries, Departmental and Seminar Libraries, and School Libraries and distributed the questionnaire to librarians. On the other hand, librarians of the AMU regional centers' libraries were contacted through email to complete the survey form. Of the 123 questionnaires distributed to the librarians, 102 questionnaires were received with an 82.9% response rate. Librarians mostly view ICT as having a positive impact on library operations and services. The majority of librarians are skilled in using basic ICT applications. However, they lack the necessary skills to manage ICT-based library operations and services. Inadequate ICT application training and a lack of ICT infrastructure were cited as significant barriers to librarians obtaining ICT skills. This is the first study to examine ICT self-efficacy among librarians in an Indian university. Its findings could aid in the development of strategies for integrating new technologies into libraries.


This paper explored significant teacher and school level predictors of the status of highly effective teachers based on Florida teacher evaluation system employing a twolevel multilevel analysis approach known as hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM). The analysis used 3,895 teachers who taught students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 and 210 schools from one of the largest urban school districts in United States of America. In this study, teacher and school level data are used at level-1 and level-2 models, respectively. At teacher level, the results showed significant effects of percentage of student level demographic, academic, and disciplinary variables aggregated at teacher level as well as teacher's experience and educational degree level. At school level, percentages of Black and percentage of Hispanic students showed significant effects on the status of highly effective teachers. The percentage of variance explained at school level is found 19.5% with an effect size of 0.44 which is determined as a "medium" size of school effect.


An active learning procedure called Deep Potential Generator (DP-GEN) is proposed for the construction of accurate and transferable machine learning-based models of the potential energy surface (PES) for the molecular modeling of materials. This procedure consists of three main components: exploration, generation of accurate reference data, and training. Application to the sample systems of Al, Mg and Al-Mg alloys demonstrates that DP-GEN can produce uniformly accurate PES models with a minimal number of reference data.


Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells capable of differentiating into dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons, which is one of the major cell types damaged in Parkinson's disease (PD). For this reason, MSCs are considered a potential cell source for PD therapy. It has been proved that hypoxia is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of hypoxia on MSC proliferation and DAergic neuronal differentiation. Our results demonstrate that 3% O2 treatment can enhance rat MSC proliferation by upregulation of phosphorylated p38 MAPK and subsequent nuclear translocation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF)-1α. During neural differentiation, 3% O2 treatment increases the expression of HIF-1α, phosphorylated ERK and p38 MAPK. These changes are followed by promotion of neurosphere formation and further DAergic neuronal differentiation. Furthermore, we explored the physiological function of hypoxia-induced DAergic neurons from human fetal MSCs by transplanting them into parkinsonian rats. Grafts induced with hypoxia display more survival of DAergic neurons and greater amelioration of behavioral impairments. Altogether, these results suggest that hypoxia can promote MSC proliferation and DAergic neuronal differentiation, and benefit for intrastriatal transplantation. Therefore, this study may provide new perspectives in application of MSCs to clinical PD therapy.


The distortional response and slip behavior of curved composite box girders were investigated. Three curved composite box girders with only end diaphragms were tested in order to provide additional informations on the distortional and slip behavior of curved composite box girders. The test specimens were fabricat ed considering different radii, cross sections and placements of shear connectors. The test results were compared with analytical results based on the curved beam theory and distortional theory proposed by Dabrowski, and on the finite strip method. These results are in good agreement. A parametric study was conducted to discuss the effects of cross-sectional deformations on the stresses of the girder.


Ecosystem response to site restoration depends in part on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils. Soil properties are influenced by the factors and processes of soil formation that determine soil profile characteristics and pedogenic pathways for soils. Loss of integrity of the original soil profiles or disruption of a past pedogenic pathway from site disturbance may limit the success of restoration if assessment is based on comparisons to previous ecosystems or mature reference systems. New profile characteristics and a pedogenic pathway will emerge over time if materials are used to construct soil profiles or if topsoil or organic matter amendments are added to enhance ecosystem development during site restoration. Ecosystem restoration should include the following pedogenic evaluation of soils: 1) the integrity of existing soil profiles of a degraded site; 2) the soil types (based on soil orders) and past pedogenic pathways for sites of intact soil profiles or sites that require only surface horizon modification; 3) the relative contributions of soil forming factors and processes on future pedogenesis; 4) the conditions that promote or hinder horizon development; and 5) predictions of pedogenic pathways and potential soil types after site restoration. Understanding pedogenesis as a component of ecosystem restoration will improve our understanding of how soils influence ecosystem development, as well as our ability to predict potential success of ecosystem restoration.


 Abstract : Nowadays it is imperative to maintain a high level of security to ensure secure communication of information between various institutions and organizations. With the growing use of internet over the years, the number of attacks over the internet have escalated. A powerful Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is required to ensure the security of a network. The aim of an IDS is to monitor the active processes in a network and to detect any deviation from the normal behavior of the system. When it comes to machine learning, optimization is the process of obtaining the maximum accuracy from a model. Optimization is vital for IDSs in order to predict a wide variety of attacks with utmost accuracy. The effectiveness of an IDS is dependent on its ability to correctly predict and classify any anomaly faced by a computer system. During the last two decades, KDD_CUP_99 has been the most widely used data set to evaluate the performance of such systems. In this study, we will apply different Machine Learning techniques on this data set and see which technique yields the best


Accumulation of respiratory drugs in human alveolar macrophages (AMs) has not been extensively studied in vitro and in silico despite its potential impact on therapeutic efficacy and/or occurrence of phospholipidosis. The current study aims to characterize the accumulation and subcellular distribution of drugs with respiratory indication in human AMs and to develop an in silico mechanistic AM model to predict lysosomal accumulation of investigated drugs. The data set included 9 drugs previously investigated in rat AM cell line NR8383. Cell-to-unbound medium concentration ratio (Kp,cell) of all drugs (5 μM) was determined to assess the magnitude of intracellular accumulation. The extent of lysosomal sequestration in freshly isolated human AMs from multiple donors (n = 5) was investigated for clarithromycin and imipramine (positive control) using an indirect in vitro method (±20 mM ammonium chloride, NH4Cl). The AM cell parameters and drug physicochemical data were collated to develop an in silico mechanistic AM model. Three in silico models differing in their description of drug membrane partitioning were evaluated; model (1) relied on octanol-water partitioning of drugs, model (2) used in vitro data to account for this process, and model (3) predicted membrane partitioning by incorporating AM phospholipid fractions. In vitro Kp,cell ranged >200-fold for respiratory drugs, with the highest accumulation seen for clarithromycin. A good agreement in Kp,cell was observed between human AMs and NR8383 (2.45-fold bias), highlighting NR8383 as a potentially useful in vitro surrogate tool to characterize drug accumulation in AMs. The mean Kp,cell of clarithromycin (81, CV = 51%) and imipramine (963, CV = 54%) were reduced in the presence of NH4Cl by up to 67% and 81%, respectively, suggesting substantial contribution of lysosomal sequestration and intracellular binding in the accumulation of these drugs in human AMs. The in vitro data showed variability in drug accumulation between individual human AM donors due to possible differences in lysosomal abundance, volume, and phospholipid content, which may have important clinical implications. Consideration of drug-acidic phospholipid interactions significantly improved the performance of the in silico models; use of in vitro Kp,cell obtained in the presence of NH4Cl as a surrogate for membrane partitioning (model (2)) captured the variability in clarithromycin and imipramine Kp,cell observed in vitro and showed the best ability to predict correctly positive and negative lysosomotropic properties. The developed mechanistic AM model represents a useful in silico tool to predict lysosomal and cellular drug concentrations based on drug physicochemical data and system specific properties, with potential application to other cell types.


A standard framework for business ethics views the inquiry as an application of major ethical theories to specific issues in business. As these theories are largely presented as being principled, the exercise therefore becomes one of applying general principles to business situations. Many adopting this standard approach have thus resisted the implementation of the most prominent development in ethical theory in recent history: that of particularism. In this article, I argue that particularist thinking has much to offer to business ethics and that standard resistance to particularist business ethics is based largely on misunderstandings. I do so by illustrating how the harbinger of particularism, W. D. Ross, countenances the practical wisdom of particularist ethics while being 1) invulnerable to standard objections to particularist business ethics and 2) compatible with the generalism of the standard approach. The Rossian business ethic is therefore one that the standard approach should be eager to include.


Transportation infrastructure is common in highly populated areas near the major lakes in the Swiss 'Mittelland', where extensive deposits of normally consolidated post glacial clays have formed. Construction on, or in, such soils requires careful consideration during the design process due to their compressibility, low permeability and sensitivity. Achieving a satisfactory engineering characterisation requires a range of field and laboratory tests, which may be evaluated using statistical tools. The Intraclass ratio RI and the modified Bartlett method have been employed for interpreting the variability of the undrained shear strength su from continuous CPTU measurements at the Wauwil site. Finally, comparison between measurements from two cone dimensions, of cross sectional areas of 10 cm2 and 5 cm2, has been undertaken with respect to their capacity of profile detailing based on the normalised cone penetration resistance


This study elicited the information needs, motivations, and behavioral skills related to human papillomavirus vaccine decision-making among young adult women. Interviews were conducted with college women, aged 18–26 years, and stratified by recently vaccinated (N = 25) and unvaccinated (N = 25). Comparative thematic analysis using the Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills Model was conducted. Healthcare providers were identified as the most trusted sources for information. While unvaccinated women did not have experience receiving the vaccine, they reported the same procedural knowledge for vaccination. These findings suggest that young adult women have the information and procedural knowledge for human papillomavirus vaccination, but motivations may influence their decision-making.


If a real polynomial of degree n has distinct roots r1 < r2 < * * * < rn then Rolle's Theorem tells us that the critical points xi, i = 1, 2, . . ., n 1 lie in the intervals (ri, ri+1) respectively. This note addresses the question of what restrictions there might be on where in these intervals the critical points can be located? Two recent notes in this Monthly, for instance, show that the critical points cannot be any closer together than the roots themselves [4], [1]. Along these same lines, Problem A-3 on the 1991 Putnam competition reads:


Study Design: This is a retrospective cohort study. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the impact of preoperative cervical sagittal balance on the 2-year surgical outcomes of laminoplasty. Summary of Background Data: The cervical imbalance is considered associated with poor health-related quality of life and poor outcomes for cervical deformity surgery. However, the influences of cervical imbalance on the clinical outcomes of laminoplasty for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients are unclear. Materials and Methods: A total of 277 consecutive CSM patients who underwent laminoplasty were analyzed. From the last consecutive 136 patients, matched control group [cervical sagittal vertical axis (cSVA)<40 mm, n=30] and matched imbalance group (≥40 mm, n=30) were selected based on their propensity score adjusted for age, sex, cervical alignment, and preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score. Change in clinical outcomes and radiographic parameters at 2 years postoperatively were compared between the 2 matched groups using mixed-effects model. For the validation of the primary results, factors that correlated with the recovery rate of JOA score of another 141 patients were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. Results: There was no significant interaction between the 2 matched groups in all clinical outcomes, including the severity of myelopathy, patient-oriented health-related quality of life score, physical and mental status, physical functions, and pain score. Regarding the radiographic evaluation, change in cSVA showed significant differences (P=0.038); cSVA was kept stable in the matched control group, whereas its value significantly decreased in the matched imbalance group. Multiple linear regression models demonstrated that preoperative cSVA is not significantly related to the recovery rate of JOA score at 2 years postoperatively (P=0.114). Conclusions: Preoperative cervical imbalance did not significantly affect the 2-year surgical outcomes of laminoplasty. Furthermore, cervical imbalance improved after surgery. These results can suggest physicians consider laminoplasty as a treatment for CSM patients regardless of their cervical balance. Level of Evidence: Level III—treatment benefits: nonrandomized controlled cohort/follow-up study.


Background: Oocyte vitrification has been widely used in the treatment of infertility and fertility preservation. However, vitrification-induced mitochondrial damage adversely affects oocyte development. Several studies have reported that mitochondrial calcium uptake protein 1 (MICU1) regulates the uptake of mitochondrial calcium by the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) and subsequently controls aerobic metabolism and oxidative stress in mitochondria, but research considering oocytes remains unreported. We evaluated whether the addition of MICU1 modulators enhances mitochondrial activity, pyruvate metabolism, and developmental competence after warming of MII oocytes. Methods: Retrieved MII oocytes of mice were classified as vitrified or control groups. After thawing, oocytes of vitrified group were cultured with or without DS16570511 (MICU1 inhibitor) and MCU-i4 (MICU1 activator) for 2 h. Results: Mitochondrial Ca2+ concentration, pyruvate dephosphorylation level, and MICU1 expression of MII oocytes were significantly increased after vitrification. These phenomena were further exacerbated by the addition of MCU-i4 and reversed by the addition of DS16570511 after warming. However, the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in vitrified-warmed MII oocytes drop significantly after vitrification, which was improved after MCU-i4 treatment and decreased significantly after DS16570511 treatment. The vitrification process was able to elicit a development competence reduction. After parthenogenetic activation, incubation of the thawed oocytes with MCU-i4 did not alter the cleavage and blastocyst rates. Moreover, incubation of the thawed oocytes with DS16570511 reduced the cleavage and blastocyst rates. Conclusions: MICU1-mediated increasing mitochondrial calcium uptake after vitrification of the MII oocytes promoted the pyruvate oxidation, and this process may maintain oocyte development competence by compensating for the consumption of ATP under stress state.


In the course of everyday running of contemporary political and institutional systems, decision makers are often faced with a great complexity of big and small challenges requiring decisive action in line with laid down principles and rules of behaviour. In the process of trying to satisfy the various corporate interests within an institutional framework, the decision maker is faced with, and often has to choose between various competing policy options. Making use of library research methodology, the paper undertook a careful and critical appraisal of the ways and means by which decision makers arrive at basic decisions in the dynamic field of international politics, with a view to discovering basic consistencies that can form a basis for an understanding of the theory of decision making, in a descriptive explanatory and predictive perspective. The paper concluded that, since the decision making environment does not always manifest openness and popular participation, the ultimate decision maker's sense of objectivity cannot always be guaranteed.


A chimeric immune receptor consisting of an extracellular antigen-binding domain derived from the CC49 humanized single-chain antibody, linked to the CD3zeta signaling domain of the T cell receptor, was generated (CC49-zeta). This receptor binds to TAG-72, a mucin antigen expressed by most human adenocarcinomas. CC49-zeta was expressed in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and induced cytokine production on stimulation. Human T cells expressing CC49-zeta recognized and killed tumor cell lines and primary tumor cells expressing TAG-72. CC49-zeta T cells did not mediate bystander killing of TAG-72-negative cells. In addition, CC49-zeta T cells not only killed FasL-positive tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, but also survived in their presence, and were immunoprotective in intraperitoneal and subcutaneous murine tumor xenograft models with TAG-72-positive human tumor cells. Finally, receptor-positive T cells were still effective in killing TAG-72-positive targets in the presence of physiological levels of soluble TAG-72, and did not induce killing of TAG-72-negative cells under the same conditions. This approach is being currently being utilized in a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of colon cancer.


We wish to point out errors in the paper "Abelian Arithmetic Chern–Simons Theory and Arithmetic Linking Numbers", International Mathematics Research Notices, Vol. 2017, No. 00, pp. 1–29. The main error concerns the symmetry of the "ramified case" of the height pairing, which relies on the vanishing of the Bockstein map in Proposition 3.5. The surjectivity claimed in the 1st line of the proof of Proposition 3.5 is incorrect. The specific results that are affected are Proposition 3.5; Lemmas 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, and 3.9; and Corollary 3.11. The definition of the $(S,n)$-height pairing following Lemma 3.9 is also invalid, since the symmetry of the pairing was required for it to be well defined. The results of Section 3 before Proposition 3.5 as well as those of the other Sections are unaffected.
 Proposition 3.10 is correct, but the proof is unclear and has some sign errors. So we include here a correction. As in the paper, let $I$ be an ideal such that $I^n$ is principal in ${\mathcal{O}}_{F,S}$. Write $I^n=(f^{-1})$. Then the Kummer cocycles $k_n(f)$ will be in $Z^1(U, {{\mathbb{Z}}/{n}{\mathbb{Z}}})$. For any $a\in F$, denote by $a_S$ its image in $\prod _{v\in S} F_v$. Thus, we get an element $$\begin{equation*}[f]_{S,n}:=[(k_n(f), k_{n^2}(f_S), 0)] \in Z^1(U, {{{\mathbb{Z}}}/{n}{{\mathbb{Z}}}} \times_S{\mathbb{Z}}/n^2{\mathbb{Z}}),\end{equation*}$$which is well defined in cohomology independently of the choice of roots used to define the Kummer cocycles. (We have also trivialized both $\mu _{n^2}$ and $\mu _n$.)


With a United States-based sample of 326 sexual minority men, the present study tested hypotheses derived from objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), minority stress theory (e.g., Meyer, 2003), and prior research regarding men and body image (e.g., McCreary & Sasse, 2000). Specifically, we examined a path model wherein objectification constructs (internalized standards of attractiveness, body surveillance, body dissatisfaction, and drive for muscularity) and a minority stress variable (internalized heterosexism) were direct and indirect predictors of intention to use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and compulsive exercise. Results of the path model yielded adequate fit to the data. Regarding direct links, internalized heterosexism was correlated positively with internalized standards of attractiveness and related positively to body dissatisfaction, internalized standards of attractiveness related positively to drive for muscularity and body surveillance, and drive for muscularity related positively with intention to use AAS and compulsive exercise; internalized standards of attractiveness yielded a significant and positive indirect link to intention to use AAS through drive for muscularity. Implications of our findings, regarding the application and limitations of the objectification theory framework for research and practice with sexual minority men, are further discussed.


Osteosarcoma is the most widely recognized fatal bone disease in children and young adults. The osteosarcoma affected places of bone implant materials lose their activity after a period of time due to the possibility of regenerating sarcoma cells. Hence, the complete recovery of this disease is very challenging. Subsequently, new helpful methodologies, including natural antioxidant loaded bone implant materials, are effectively used to treat osteosarcoma cells. In this regard, nano-hydroxyapatite reinforced with a xylitol based poly(xylitol sebacate) PXS co-polymer together with a capsaicin loaded scaffold was investigated on osteosarcoma cells. The physicochemical properties of the scaffold were evaluated by FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), and XRD (X-ray diffraction). The in vitro release and antioxidant activity of the capsaicin loaded nHAP/PXS/CAP scaffold were evaluated by UV-Visible spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity against the Saos-2 cancer line and cell viability in the osteoblast cell MG63 are reported. Eventually, the composite enlarges the creation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Saos-2 cells.


How can we think about the implications of radical technological change for employment and skills? Given the long lead-times required to train professionals, this is an important question, and standard approaches to modeling employment and occupational trends only provide limited parts of the answer. Innovation studies provide us with some further tools for tackling the question, such as diffusion and industry life-cycle analysis, and ideas about different sorts of technological change (including technical paradigms, regimes, and trajectories of change), which are very relevant to emerging technologies like nanotechnology. There are many claims and much argument about the scope and speed of the evolution of nanotechnology. It poses particular challenges to conventional forecasting approaches precisely because it is difficult to resolve such debates in the infancy of a technology, and in this case knowledge is fragmented because of the intersection of numerous lines of development at the nano-scale. Current skill and employment projections for nanoindustries are problematic, so it is important to consider new ways to improve understanding and provide more policy-relevant intelligence.


It is standard practice to offer a parturient who has had a classical Caesarean section an elective repeat Caesarean section due to the fear of uterine rupture. The strong aversion of our women to operative delivery does not allow an appreciable number to avail themselves of hospital delivery even after Caesarean section. We report the case of a booked patient who had a classical Caesarean section but defaulted in two subsequent pregnancies to have vaginal deliveries in a private hospital. We therefore suggest a more liberal attitude to allowing attempt at vaginal delivery as an informed decision in well-equipped facilities capable of easy and prompt resort to appropriate intervention.


In this study, the association between performance of BHCs and institutional ownership stability is investigated and contrasted to those found for the less regulated utility and industrial firms in order to determine whether regulation displaces owner monitoring. We employ a simultaneous equations model treating firm performance and institutional ownership stability as endogenous variables. Several results are obtained. First, BHC performance is positively associated with institutional ownership stability. Second, this association is weaker for BHCs than for comparable utility and industrial firms, possibly because of the substitution of regulation for owner monitoring in banking. Third, this association is stronger in the recent deregulated years and for BHCs with lower likelihood of regulatory intervention. 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G21; G32


Five acetic acid ionic liquids (AcAILs) [C(n)mim][OAc](n = 2,3,4,5,6) (1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) were prepared by the neutralization method and characterized by (1)HNMR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The values of their density and surface tension were measured at 298.15 ± 0.05 K. Since the AcAILs can strongly form hydrogen bonds with water, the small amounts of water are difficult to remove from the AcAILs by common methods. In order to eliminate the effect of the trace water, the standard addition method (SAM) was applied to these measurements. As a new concept, ionic parachor was put forward. [OAc](-) was seen as a reference ion, and its individual value of ionic parachor was determined in terms of two extrathermodynamic assumptions. Then, the values of ionic parachors of a number of anions, [NTf(2)](-), [Ala](-), [AlCl(4)](-), and [GaCl(4)](-), were obtained by using the value of the ionic parachor of the reference ion; the parachor and surface tension of the investigated ionic liquids in literature were estimated. In comparison, the estimated values correlate quite well with their matching experimental values.


Introduction: Surgeons play a crucial role in preventing harm and contributing to the safety culture of their institutions. External safety data programs are designed to review adverse events and provide performance benchmarks to ameliorate future adverse events. The extent to which pediatric surgeons are aware of these programs, utilize data from these programs, and believe that they improve patient safety, is unknown. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the American Pediatric Surgical Association membership was conducted to evaluate participation in and attitudes toward national safety benchmark programs (eg, National Surgical Quality Improvement Program). Surgeons' perceptions of these activities, including barriers to participation and utilization of safety data, were measured. We performed standard frequency analyses and tests of associations between surgeon characteristics and the likelihood of utilizing safety data. Results: The response rate was 38% (353/928). Seventy-two percentage of respondents reported institutional participation in external safety benchmark programs. Of those, only 68% utilized data to improve or monitor patient safety. Surgeon-reported barriers to this process included lack of knowledge, time, and institutional resources. Conclusions: Many pediatric surgeons are aware of institutional participation in external safety data programs, but only a portion are involved in the utilization of these data. We have identified several barriers to participation and data utilization. These findings can help direct educational efforts to optimize our ability to learn from adverse event benchmarking and improve pediatric surgical care.


Stents are medical devices that are implanted inside blood vessels to restore partial occlusions (stenosis). These devices (Fig. 1) are made of a frame of filaments (usually metallic) following a geometry that allows the frame to expand when a radial pressure is exerted. To implant them, stents are crimped around inflatable balloon catheters which are used to position the stent at the vessel occlusion. Once properly placed, the balloon is inflated and the stent is fixed to the vessel wall, restoring the appropriate vessel lumen. The balloon can be subsequently deflated and


Facial hemangioma is usually isolated but its association with craniocervical arterial anomalies and structural brain malformations is well known. The acronym PHACE syndrome (posterior fossa malformation, facial hemangiomas, arterial anomalies, cardiac/aortic anomalies, and eye abnormalities) has been used to indicate that disorder in which brain anomalies are mainly represented by the Dandy–Walker malformation. We report on a 10‐month‐old boy affected by facial hemangioma and a complex cortical dysplasia located in the left frontal region. The lesion was characterized by a deeply infolding pachygyric cortex and a band of gray matter lining the wall of the lateral ventricle. The entire left cerebral hemisphere appeared hypoplastic. No anomalies of the posterior fossa structures or cardiac/aortic malformations were present. An overlapping clinical/pathological pattern was previously reported in another patient with facial hemangioma and cerebrovascular anomalies. These observations seem to indicate that the facial hemangiomas may be associated with disorders of the cortical development. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


A patient with carcinoid tumor of the lung associated with nephrotic syndrome was treated. Excision of the tumor resulted in remission of marked proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and edema. A review of the literature disclosed many neoplasms associated with the nephrotic syndrome; however, no association of the nephrotic syndrome and a carcinoid tumor of the lung has previously been reported, to our knowledge.


The Escherichia coli L-arabinose-binding protein (ABP) participates as a specific receptor in the transport of L-arabinose, D-fucose, and D-galactose through the periplasmic space. The wild-type protein binds L-arabinose about 40 times more strongly than D-fucose. A mutation of the protein at position 108 (Met-->Leu) causes a specificity change. The Met108Leu ABP slightly prefers binding of D-fucose over L-arabinose. Molecular dynamics (MD) and thermodynamic integration (TI) computer simulations were performed to study the mechanism of sugar discrimination and specificity change based on the known high-resolution X-ray structures. The specificity change was evaluated by calculating the difference in free energy of L-arabinose versus D-fucose bound to wild-type and Met108Leu ABP. The calculated free energy differences are consistent with the experimentally observed specificity of wild-type and Met108Leu ABP. The simulations indicate that the specificity change of Met108Leu ABP is accomplished mainly by reduced Lennard-Jones interactions of residue 108 with L-arabinose and improved interactions with D-fucose. In addition to MD/TI calculations on sugar binding, finite difference Poisson-Boltzmann calculations were performed to identify the most stable ionization state of buried ionizable residues in ABP.


An alkaliphilic bacterium, Bacillus clausii SKAL-16, was isolated from soil that had been contaminated with vegetable oil. The optimal pH and general pH range for bacterial growth was 8, and 7 to 10, respectively. The bacterium could grow on tributyrin and glycerol, but could not grow on acetate and butyrate. The SKAL-16 strain excreted butyric acid during growth on tributyrin, and selectively ingested glycerol during growth on a mixture of butyric acid and glycerol. The SKAL-16 generated intracellular lipase, but did not produce esterase and extracellular lipase. The DNA fragment amplified with the chromosomal DNA of SKAL-16 and primers designed on the basis of the esterase-coding gene of Bacillus clausii KSM-K16 was not identical with the esterase-coding gene contained in the GenBank database. Pyruvate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase activities were detected in the cellfree extract (crude enzyme).


Boundary layer dynamics and surface processes control the daily evolution of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the fair weather boundary layer. An important process in CO2 diurnal variability is the CO2 exchange between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free atmosphere. This CO2 exchange process depends largely on the initial boundary layer and the boundary layer development. Two convective boundary layers are studied: Cabauw (the Netherlands, RECAB exp) and Beaumont (USA, CASES-97 exp). Both sites are characterized by grass vegetation. Data from these sites is analyzed. In addition, mixed-layer theory and a Large-Eddy simulation model is used to study the evolution of the mean and CO2 flux vertical profiles. Potential temperature, specific humidity and their exchanges are also studied as these variables are important for the development of the boundary layer. The model results show that the CO2 exchange can be important in the evolution and distribution of CO2 in the atmospheric boundary layer. The exchange fluxes ranged between 0% and 100% of the surfaceflux values. Also, it is revealed that the initial CO2 concentration discontinuity has an important role in determining the exchange of CO2. Especially in the morning this exchange can have a large impact on the CO2 diurnal variability.


Cutaneous pseudolymphomas refer to a group of benign reactive T or B cell lymphoproliferative processes that simulate cutaneous lymphomas. T cell rich angiomatoid polypoid pseudo lymphoma (TRAPP) of the skin is a unique form of T cell rich cutaneous pseudolymphoma. A 13-year-girl presented with an asymptomatic skin colored papule on the right elbow, the biopsy of which revealed features consistent with TRAPP. The dermis showed an infiltrate of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and histiocytes along with prominent vascular channels lined by plump endothelium. An immunohistochemical study showed a predominance of T cells over B cells. The morphological and immunohistochemical features pointed towards the diagnosis of TRAPP. We report this rare entity, only 17 cases of which have been described so far in literature. The differential diagnoses have also been discussed.


With the emerging growth of digital data in information systems, technology faces the challenge of knowledge prevention, ownership rights protection, security, and privacy measurement of valuable and sensitive data. On-demand availability of various data as services in a shared and automated environment has become a reality with the advent of cloud computing. The digital fingerprinting technique has been adopted as an effective solution to protect the copyright and privacy of digital properties from illegal distribution and identification of malicious traitors over the cloud. Furthermore, it is used to trace the unauthorized distribution and the user of multimedia content distributed through the cloud. In this paper, we propose a novel fingerprinting technique for the cloud environment to protect numeric attributes in relational databases for digital privacy management. The proposed solution with the novel fingerprinting scheme is robust and efficient. It can address challenges such as embedding secure data over the cloud, essential to secure relational databases. The proposed technique provides a decoding accuracy of 100%, 90%, and 40% for 10% to 30%, 40%, and 50% of deleted records.


A district nurse has been suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for failing to record or follow-up a missed visit to a vulnerable patient ( Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2016 ). In this article Richard Griffith considers the professional and legal implications for district nurses of failing to properly record and follow-up patients where an attempted visit to provide care or treatment is unsuccessful.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effects of aldosterone (ald) on the expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in renal mesangial cells (MCs) and the changes after aldosterone was blocked with spironolactone.

METHODS
Rat MCs of the line HBZY-1 were cultured and divided into 5 groups: ald group, treated with aldosterone (1 micromol/L or 100 nmol/L), ald combined with spironolactone 1 nmol/L for 24 hours, and control group. Anotfher cells were cultured and treated with ald 100 nmol/L for 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24 h respectively or treated with ald of the concentrations of 10(-5), 10(-6), 10(-7), 10(-8), 10(-9), 10(-10), pr 10(-11) mol/L. RT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of PAI-1. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to detect the ROS level in the MCs. The transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) level in the medium was detected by ELISA.

RESULTS
The PAI-1 mRNA and protein levels of the ald 100 nmol/L and 1 micromol/L groups became 2 times and 1.8 times, and 1.7 times and 1.9 times respectively those of the control group (all P < 0.01). The PAI-1 mRNA and protein levels of the ald + spirolactone group were not significantly different from those of the control group (all P > 0.05). The TGF-beta1 levels of the 100 nmol/L and 1 micromol/L aldosterone groups were 147 pg/ml +/- 27 pg/ml and 183 pg/ml +/- 25 pg/ml respectively, both significantly higher than that of the control group (75 pg/ml +/- 23 pg/ml, both P < 0.01). The TGF-beta1 levels of the groups with spirolactone were not significantly different from that of the control group (both P > 0.05). The ROS levels of the 1 micromol/L and 100 nmol/L ald groups were 4.87 times and 4.77 times that of the control group (both P < 0.01), and the ROS levels of the groups with spirolactone were 1.95 time and 1.66 times that of the control group (both P > 0.05). 100 nmol/L ald time-dependently increased the PAI-1 level since 4 hours after exposure to ald (all P < 0.05). Aldosterone dose-dependently increased the PAI-1 level (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Aldosterone upregulates the production of PAI-1 by MCs and increases the expression of TGF-beta1 and cellular ROS in the MCs significantly, which is mediated through mineralocorticoid receptor.


Macroserial reconstruction of the main intralobular bile ducts was made in 7 cases of biliary atresia; 2 cases of type I, 1 case of type II and 4 cases of type III according to Kasai's classification. From the results of these reconstruction studies, it was confirmed that the main interlobular bile ducts are usually patent through the liver regardless of the type of atresia of the extrahepatic bile ducts. A microserial reconstruction of bile ducts and ductules of a small portal tract performed in one case disclosed that a number of ductules make a network around the main duct and have some communications with the main duct. These results were compatible with the fact that active excretion of bile was obtained in many postoperative patients with biliary atresia. As observed in one case of the present series, postoperative complication of severe ascending cholangitis seemed to be an important cause of destruction or disappearance of intrahepatic bile ducts, which has also seen in older infants with this disease without complicaion of cholangitis. In view of these facts the operation of an early stage of life is recommended in biliary atresia.


Franklin D. Roosevelt's tempestuous, adversary relationship with the American press is celebrated in the literature of his administrations. Historians have documented the skill and virtuosity that he displayed in his handling and exploitation of the press. Graham J. White discovers the well of Roosevelt's excessive ardor: an intractable political philosophy that pitted him against a fierce (though imaginary) enemy, the written press. White challenges and disproves Roosevelt's contention that the press was unusually severe and slanted in its treatment of the Roosevelt years. His original work traces FDR's hostile assessment of the press to his own political philosophy: an ideology that ordained him a champion of the people, whose task it was to preserve American democracy against the recurring attempt by Hamiltonian minorities (newspaper publishers and captive reporters) to wrest control of their destiny from the masses. White recounts Roosevelt's initial victory over the press corps, and the effect his wily manipulations had on press coverage of his administrations and on his own public image. He believes Roosevelt's denunciation of the press was less an accurate description of the press's behavior towards his administrations than a product of his own preconceptions about the nature of the Presidency. White concludes that Roosevelt's plan was to disarm those he saw as the foes of democracy by accusing them of unfairly maligning him.


The majority of experimental data in electron spin resonance and molecular magnetism are interpreted in terms of the spin-Hamiltonian (SH) formalism. However, this is an approximate theory that requires a proper testing. In the older variant, the multielectron terms are used as a basis in which the D-tensor components are evaluated by employing the second-order perturbation theory (PT) for nondegenerate states; here, the spin-orbit interaction expressed via the spin-orbit splitting parameter λ serves for the perturbation. The model space is restricted only to the fictitious spin functions |S, M⟩. In the case of the orbital (quasi) degeneracy of the ground term, the PT tends to diverge and the subtracted D, E, and g parameters are false. In the second variant working in the "complete active space" (CAS), the spin-orbit coupling operator is involved by the variation method resulting in the spin-orbit multiplets (energies and eigenvectors) The multiplets can be evaluated either by applying ab initio CASSCF + NEVPT2 + SOC calculations or by using semiempirical generalized crystal-field theory (with the one-electron SOC operator depending upon ξ). The resulting states can be projected onto the subspace of the spin-only kets in the way that the eigenvalues stay invariant. Such an effective Hamiltonian matrix can be reconstructed using six independent components of the symmetric D-tensor from which the D and E values are obtained by solving linear equations. The eigenvectors of the spin-orbit multiplets in the CAS allow determining the dominating composition of the spin projection─cumulative weights of |±M⟩. These are conceptually different from those generated by the SH alone. It is shown that in some cases, the SH theory works satisfactorily for a series of transition-metal complexes; however, sometimes it fails. The ab initio calculations on the SH parameters are compared with the approximate generalized crystal-field theory conducted at the experimental geometry of the chromophore. In total, 12 metal complexes have been analyzed. One of the criteria that assesses the validity of SH is the projection norm N for spin multiplets (this has not to be far from 1). Another criterion is the gap in the spectrum of the spin-orbit multiplets that separates the hypothetical (fictitious) spin-only manifold from the rest of the states.


This paper investigates students sorting in higher education in Brazil based on three merged databases: (i) the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD/IBGE), (ii) the National Exam of Student Performance (ENADE), and (iii) the National Survey of Secondary Education (ENEM). First, evidence indicates that family education level is an important factor in students access to higher education institutions (HEI). Each year of education for a student's mother increases by 1.9% p.p. (0.7% p.p.) the likelihood of a student entering a public HEI. Second, the difference in students score (value added) for their field-specific ENADE scores in their first (freshman) and third years (senior) is calculated to construct a measure of HEI quality. The results suggest that students at public institutions obtain 6.17 (15%) points larger valuedadded scores. Last, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition and general-exam scores results suggest that only 50% of the score differential can be explained by the observable characteristics of families and institutions. However, after including individual's ENEM scores (our proxy for talent), the model explains nearly 90% of the grade differential between public and private HEIs. The results support that public Brazilian HEIs provide larger value-added education and attract the most talented individuals.


Global technological advancement is changing information dissemination among literates and non-literates. This new development seems to be influencing the definition of literacy. The current paper discusses the changing paradigm from the old perspective of literacy to a new literacy, which is radically affecting every sphere of life, especially education. This position paper shows how this new literacy, driven by ICT (Information and Communication Technology), is shaping the character of the human being, and determining the ways through which knowledge and skills are acquired, thus influencing new expeditions of the school curriculum. This paper attempts a deconstruction of the different arguments advanced for ICT-driven literacy and education. While agreeing that some adverse effects and constraints come along with these new technologies, I am convinced that their dominance is inevitable. As such, the earlier educational stakeholders embrace this new concept and equip the learner with modern literacy skills, the better it would be for the collective benefits of instructors and learners.


Microorganisms such as fungi can fragment carbon compounds by hydrolytic enzymes. The filamentous fungus, Aspergillus niger is now mostly considered because of its ubiquitous nature, non-fastidious nutritional requirements and it is classified generally as safe. This study was aimed at the production of cellulosic enzymes by A. niger and hydrolytic degradation of cellulosic materials by these enzymes. Standard methods were employed in soil samples collection, isolation of A. niger from the soils and their screening for enzyme production. Results showed that the A. niger isolates exhibited considerable activities of degrading and hydrolyzing cellulose in the agar media. The highest FPase, cellulase and xylanase activities were obtained from white saw dust with concentrations of 0.4059 U/ml, 0.7695U/ml and 1.3488 U/ml respectively. Also, results showed high enzyme activity at pH 6 (0.52U/ml) and temperature of 30ºC (0.72U/ml). Acid hydrolysis of the cellulosic substrates resulted to the release of 6.5% total sugar from white sawdust. The findings of this study revealed that the enzymes produced by A. niger hydrolyzed cellulosic materials but acid is more efficient than the enzymes in the hydrolysis and release of total sugar from cellulosic materials. This study recommends that cellulolytic enzymes used in the industries should be produced locally using filamentous fungus such as Aspergillus niger and cellulosic materials as carbon source.


Splenic cysts, unaccompanied by cystic formation in other structures, do not often occur. The classes found are: 1, Dermoid cysts, one of this type being reported by Andral; 2, simple, serous, or blood cysts, of which a few cases have been reported; 3, echinococcus cysts. Although the latter usually occur in association with similar cysts in other organs, there are reported, according to Coen, as quoted by Douglas, 61 cases of solitary splenic cysts, although the spleen is involved in only from 1 to 3 per cent. of human echinococcus. The etiology of cysts of the spleen in the case of dermoids and echinococcus may be summarily dismissed with the statement that it is the same as in other structures. Simple serous or blood cysts are of more interest. They are called by the last name of the three by certain authors from the fact that they are all thought


Objective Legislation to safeguard children from maltreatment by carers or violence by others was advanced in England and Scotland around 2004–2005 and resulted in different policies and services. We examined whether subsequent trends in injury admissions to hospital related to maltreatment or violence varied between the two countries. Setting and participants We analysed rates of all unplanned injury admission to National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in England and Scotland between 2005 and 2011 for children and adolescents aged less than 19 years. Outcomes We compared incidence trends for maltreatment or violence-related (MVR) injury and adjusted rate differences between 2005 and 2011 using Poisson or negative binomial regression models to adjust for seasonal effects and secular trends in non-MVR injury. Infants, children 1–10 years and adolescents 11–18 years were analysed separately. Results In 2005, MVR rates were similar in England and Scotland for infants and 1–10-year-olds, but almost twice as high in Scotland for 11–18-year-olds. MVR rates for infants increased by similar amounts in both countries, in line with rising non-MVR rates in England but contrary to declines in Scotland. Among 1–10-year-olds, MVR rates increased in England and declined in Scotland, in line with increasing non-MVR rates in England and declining rates in Scotland. Among 11–18-year-olds, MVR rates declined more steeply in Scotland than in England along with declines in non-MVR trends. Conclusions Diverging trends in England and Scotland may reflect true changes in the occurrence of MVR injury or differences in the way services recognise and respond to these children, record such injuries or a combination of these factors. Further linkage of data from surveys and services for child maltreatment and violence could help distinguish the impact of policies.


The absolute sensitivity of vertebrate retinas is set by a background noise, called dark noise, which originates from several different cell types and is generated by different molecular mechanisms. The major share of dark noise is produced by photoreceptors and consists of two components, discrete and continuous. Discrete noise is generated by spontaneous thermal activations of visual pigment. These events are undistinguishable from real single-photon responses (SPRs) and might be considered an equivalent of the signal. Continuous noise is produced by spontaneous fluctuations of the catalytic activity of the cGMP phosphodiesterase. This masks both SPR and spontaneous SPR-like responses. Circadian rhythms affect photoreceptors, among other systems by periodically increasing intracellular cAMP levels ([cAMP]in), which increases the size and changes the shape of SPRs. Here, we show that forskolin, a tool that increases [cAMP]in, affects the magnitude and frequency spectrum of the continuous and discrete components of dark noise in photoreceptors. By changing both components of rod signaling, the signal and the noise, cAMP is able to increase the photoreceptor signal-to-noise ratio by twofold. We propose that this results in a substantial improvement of signal detection, without compromising noise rejection, at the rod bipolar cell synapse.


Abstract We are presenting a case of a 38-year -old man was admitted to the hospital with biliary obstruction and Clostridium Difficile infection. The hepatic biochemical profile improved during corticosteroid therapy, which is a change more characteristic of autoimmune hepatitis than of primary sclerosing cholangitis, needs for a positive diagnostic an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and a biopsy of gastric and duodenum mucosae. The abnormalities in the results of liver-function tests due to primary sclerosing cholangitis may have been resulted in part to the intestinal inflammation due to Crohn disease; the abnormalities improved with therapy directed at suppressing that inflammation.


In today's digital world wherever there's associate degree endless variety of content to be consumed like books, videos, game, movies, music, etc., finding the content of one's interest has become associate degree deadening task. A personalized recommendation system for leisure activities is vital in our social life due to its strength in providing enhanced entertainment. Our system has the ability to recommend leisure time activities, to a new user and others by using their social media data. It gathers all the important information, such as popularity, liking and disliking, required for recommendation. It also takes a minimum of new user information without connecting to social networks. It generates recommendations for the user based on his/her behaviour on social media. Such a system will counsel a group of films, books, music, TV shows, games and places to users supported their interest and private data using Collaborative filtering and Contentbased filtering. Similarity, index is measured by using Pearson correlation and Cosine based similarity and Tanimoto Coefficient based Similarity. The planned system has the flexibility to advocate leisure activity to a brand new user furthermore because the others by mistreatment social media knowledge. It effectively reduces the complexity of the search space for users and attracts more and more users to the Internet, which increases the profits of site owners. KeywordsRecommender system, Cold start user, Big data, Personalized, Hadoop.


In this paper, a multi-application PIN diode is presented. The PIN diode structure is similar to conventional PIN diodes, but only difference is that a layer is used in the middle of layers. The diode has 4 pins. Proportional to the applied voltage to the two control pins, it can be achieved a value arbitrary of series capacitance and resistance. This feature of the PIN diode can be used a good way in the resonators, amplifiers and high frequency multiplier, modulator and demodulators circuits. And also by using these elements rather than complex circuits in telecommunication systems, the circuit size and number of elements are reduced.


Abstract Background  Selexipag is an oral selective prostacyclin IP receptor agonist approved in patients with low- and intermediate-risk pulmonary hypertension (PH); evidence in patients at high risk is lacking. Case summary  A 42-year-old woman with worsening dyspnoea (World Health Organization functional class III–IV) and suspected PH at echocardiographic examination was evaluated in our Pulmonary Hypertension Centre. Right heart catheterization showed pre-capillary PH with reduced cardiac index and increased pulmonary vascular resistance. High-resolution computed tomography excluded parenchymal lung disease and ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) lung scan was negative for mismatched perfusion defects so the conclusive diagnosis was high-risk idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The patient refused an initial combination therapy including a parenteral prostacyclin analogue (PCA) in accordance with the ESC/ERS guidelines, so an off-label triple oral combination therapy including a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, an endothelin receptor antagonist, and selexipag was started. At 3- and 6-month follow-up we found a clinical and haemodynamic improvement, so the patient was reclassified as low risk. Her clinical condition is currently stable. Discussion  Despite the benefit of parenteral PCAs in high-risk PAH, low adherence to treatment may be explained by adverse side effects related to the intravenous route of administration. Given the potential effect seen in our patient, upfront triple oral combination therapy in PAH high-risk patients should be further evaluated in a controlled clinical trial.


Background COVID-19 pandemic is disaster to public health worldwide. Better perspective on COVID's features early in its course–prior to the development of vaccines and widespread variants–may prove useful in the understanding of future pandemics. Ontology provides a standardized integrative method for knowledge modeling and computer-assisted reasoning. In this study, we systematically extracted and analyzed clinical phenotypes and comorbidities in COVID-19 patients found at different countries and regions during the early pandemic using an ontology-based bioinformatics approach, with the aim to identify new insights and hidden patterns of the COVID-19 symptoms. Results A total of 48 research articles reporting analysis of first-hand clinical data from over 40,000 COVID-19 patients were surveyed. The patients studied therein were diagnosed with COVID-19 before May 2020. A total of 18 commonly-occurring phenotypes in these COVID-19 patients were first identified and then classified into different hierarchical groups based on the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO). This meta-analytic approach revealed that fever, cough, and the loss of smell and taste were ranked as the most commonly-occurring phenotype in China, the US, and Italy, respectively. We also found that the patients from Europe and the US appeared to have more frequent occurrence of many nervous and abdominal symptom phenotypes (e.g., loss of smell, loss of taste, and diarrhea) than patients from China during the early pandemic. A total of 22 comorbidities, such as diabetes and kidney failure, were found to commonly exist in COVID-19 patients and positively correlated with the severity of the disease. The knowledge learned from the study was further modeled and represented in the Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology (CIDO), supporting semantic queries and analysis. Furthermore, also considering the symptoms caused by new viral variants at the later stages, a spiral model hypothesis was proposed to address the changes of specific symptoms during different stages of the pandemic. Conclusions Differential patterns of symptoms in COVID-19 patients were found given different locations, time, and comorbidity types during the early pandemic. The ontology-based informatics provides a unique approach to systematically model, represent, and analyze COVID-19 symptoms, comorbidities, and the factors that influence the disease outcomes.


This paper describes the design and fabrication of a novel dual-band slotted waveguide antenna array for radar applications. The radiation structure is composed by two groups of slots, milled into the rectangular waveguide in opposite faces, enabling the antenna operation over two different frequency bands. Using this innovative structure becomes possible to perform diverse sorts of tracking using a unique structure for different radar applications, such as maritime navigation, surveillance and communications. Numerical results were obtained by ANSYS HFSS and measurements demonstrate two operational bandwidths over the S- and C-frequency bands. The antenna gain varies from 14.41dBi to 17.64dBi at 2.25GHz and 4.91GHz, respectively.


Abstract The activities of nursing researchers have been constrained by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the types of support and related factors that nursing researchers hope to receive from academic societies during the pandemic, and to obtain suggestions for the role of academic societies in supporting nursing researchers and expanding research. An online survey was conducted with 1,532 Japan Academy of Nursing Science members. The survey included 19 items of potential support from the society during the COVID‐19 pandemic as well as open‐ended questions. Data were analyzed statistically and qualitatively. For 9 of the 19 items, over 50% of respondents reported that they "needed" or "very much needed" support. Multivariate analysis results showed that younger respondents and those with family members requiring care were significantly more likely to report needs for some items. In the open‐ended comments, there were several suggestions for activities, including "Lobbying for revision of regulations on research implementation." Nursing researchers expressed needs for support that reflect their demographic characteristics and situations, including collaboration across organizations and securing research‐promotion and skill‐development opportunities online.


Due to long-term coevolution, secondary metabolites present in plants apparently function as chemical defense against insect feeding, while various detoxification enzymes in insects are adaptively induced as a prosurvival mechanism. Coptis chinensis, a medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine for a thousand years, was found to be less prey to insects in our earlier field observations. Herein, 4 crude extracts obtained from sequential partition of aqueous extract of Rhizoma coptidis with petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol exhibited antifeedant activity against Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) larvae at high doses and inducing activity at low doses. Furthermore, a similar biphasic dose–response of the antifeedant activity against S litura larvae was also observed for jateorhizine, palmatine, and obakunone in Coptis chinensis. Notably, the enzyme activities of glutathione-S-transferase and carboxyl esterase in S litura larvae affected by the different components (jateorhizine, palmatine, obakunone, berberine, and coptisine) of C chinensis also showed a biphasic dose–response with an increasing trend at low doses and a decreasing trend at high doses. Together, our study suggests that the components of C chinensis may play a chemical defensive role against S litura larvae in a hormetic manner.


This report is about the project of improving an existing program in order to make it more useful. The program simulates a kind of production cell that consist of different components that are controlled by a special controller program. By analyzing the program, several aspects that could be improved were found and those were grouped into three different parts of the problem. The first one is about improving the realism and precision of the simulation. Issues such as unrealistic movement of the components and other types of actions that are different than a real production cell are addressed in this part. Detection of unwanted situations is the second part of the problem. Here unwanted movement and contact are some situations that need to be checked. The final part of the problem is about improving the visualization in the simulator. There are several ways to visualize the production cell that would involve to either use 2D images or 3D models.


Renewable energy resources are promising in power generation due to their sustainability aspect and environment friendliness as they are means of pollution free power production. Wind energy.y is utilized for power production with the help of wind turbines. The offshore and onshore windfarms consisting of horizontal axis wind turbines are major contributors in the wind energy. However, this type of turbine is not domestically viable mainly due to limitations of directionality and noise. Vertical axis wind turbines do not have these constraints and may blend in the urban environments. In built environments, the wind flow is quite complex due to large scale effects and turbulence. In this paper, the academic building of a university is studied as a possible platform for harnessing the wind energy resources. This case study is performed on academic blocks of University of Gujrat. These building environments were modeled and analyzed with computational fluid dynamic software to model the wind behavior on the building roof top. These results show that there is potential in setting up micro windfarms for the academic environments. The simulation for single building showed a potential for 61.8kW whereas this potential decreased substantially when terrain effects are considered using the circular arrangement for the simulation.


In this paper we describe how explicit models of software or knowledge engineering processes can be used to guide and control the distributed development of complex systems. The paper focuses on techniques which automatically infer dependencies between decisions from a process model and methods which allow to integrate planning and execution steps. Managing dependencies between decisions is a basis for improving the traceability of develop- ment processes. Switching between planning and execution of subprocesses is an inherent need in the development of complex systems. The paper concludes with a description of the CoMo-Kit system which implements the technolo- gies mentioned above and which uses WWW technology to coordinate development processes. An on-line demonstration of the system can be found via the CoMo-Kit homepage:


In this study, the satisfaction rating to the floor impact sound was investigated for the residents in the apartment Building where the business scheme had been approved after 2005. The results are compared with existing research. The questionnaire survey was conducted to the 597 residents in 14 apartments complex which were applied with standard floor structure and approval floor structure. Most of respondents(71.1 %) answered that the performance of floor impact sound insulation, in case of standard floor structure, was improved compared to the apartments where they used to live. Comparing with the questionnaire survey result of existing research, the answered ratio of 'less annoyed' and 'less loud' is somewhat increased.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risks and complication rate of thyroid surgery. The authors present a retrospective study of 356 patients surgically treated for thyroid nodules, between 1987 and 1998, at the military hospital of Tunis. The patients were categorised into 3 groups: group I: 238 solitary thyroid nodules (66.8%); group II: 92 multinodular goitres (25.8%) included 12 retrosternal goitres (3.37%) and group III: 26 cases of Basedow's disease (7.4%). Patients benefitted from unilateral surgery in 72% of cases and from bilateral surgery (total or subtotal thyroidectomy) in the remaining 28% of cases. Malignancy was found in 34 cases (9.5%). The complications observed were haemorrhage (0.56% of cases), unilateral post operative recurrent laryngeal palsy (1.12% of cases), and permanent hypoparathyroidism in 0.81% of cases. Experienced surgeons and the use of a meticulous surgical technique can reduce the incidence of post operative complications in thyroid surgery.


Main aim of the research has been the development of alternative lithography strategies for the fabrication of complex, flexible electronic devices. Flexible bottom-contact, bottom-gate thin-film transistors were solely patterned with UV nanoimprint lithography on poly(ethylene naphthalate) foil. Patterning and process strategies had to be developed for thermal and UV nanoimprint lithography to control the residual layer thickness and its complete removal on the temperature sensitive, mechanically and in-plane instable foils. The foil was temporarily bonded to a supporting carrier (foil-on-carrier) to reduce the bending radius and in-plane waviness of the foil, and to provide a mechanically stable platform for proper processing. Foil-on-carriers were thermally flat imprinted with nanoimprint lithography, or a flat plateau was created on the foil-on-carrier by UV nanoimprint lithography-based step-and-repeat planarization. Thin-film transistors with a channel length from 5 μm down to 250 nm were obtained and characterized. Palladium nanoparticles and self-sintering silver nanoparticles were studied as a solution-based route for fast, low-cost and room temperature patterning of metallic wires in open microchannels on flexible foils. The ease of patterning thin but very conductive silver wires from a long-term stable aqueous solution allows integration in a roll-two-roll line to pattern the metallic contacts of a flexible electronic device.
The here studied fabrication methods can be potentially integrated in low-cost, high-throughput roll-to-roll fabrication lines and represent in combination with a self-aligned device layout a strategy for future generations of flexible electronic devices.


A new apexcardiographic recording system has been developed which is free of certain technical limitations. This noncontact magnetic transducer was tested alternately with a commonly used pneumatic piezoelectric transducer in a comparative study on ten normal subjects. The magnetic registration offered a more accurate timing and configuration of the ACG. Signal distortion, such as peaked waves and an early fall of the systolic wave, was eliminated. The magnetic transducer was capable of recording directional apex point tracings, as well as pulsations of a larger apical area. The new system proved to possess definite advantages and eliminated some of the inconveniences inherent in the pneumatically coupled system.


Elastic reverse time migration (RTM) has the ability to retrieve accurately migrated images of complex subsurface structures by imaging the multicomponent seismic data. However, the imaging condition applied in elastic RTM significantly influences the quality of the migrated images. We evaluated three kinds of imaging conditions in elastic RTM. The first kind of imaging condition involves the crosscorrelation between the Cartesian components of the particle-velocity wavefields to yield migrated images of subsurface structures. An alternative crosscorrelation imaging condition between the separated pure wave modes obtained by a Helmholtz-like decomposition method could produce reflectivity images with explicit physical meaning and fewer crosstalk artifacts. A drawback of this approach, though, was that the polarity reversal of the separated S-wave could cause destructive interference in the converted-wave image after stacking over multiple shots. Unlike the conventional decomposition method, the elastic wavefields can also be decomposed in the vector domain using the decoupled elastic wave equation, which preserves the amplitude and phase information of the original elastic wavefields. We have developed an inner-product imaging condition to match the vector-separated P- and S-wave modes to obtain scalar reflectivity images of the subsurface. Moreover, an auxiliary P-wave stress image can supplement the elastic imaging. Using synthetic examples with a layered model, the Marmousi 2 model, and a fault model, we determined that the inner-product imaging condition has prominent advantages over the other two imaging conditions and generates images with preserved amplitude and phase attributes.