AIMS
To explore the traditional Mexican religious fiesta as a primary locus for community-based excessive drinking and violence against women. The research argues that the pattern of drinking and violence cannot be placed within explanations that tie a breakdown in social norms to drinking nor drinking to a breakdown in social norms.

DESIGN
The data were gathered over 14 continuous months of participant observation in 1995 and 1996, followed by two summer research projects in 1997 and 1998. The researcher documented the activities of the participants at each fiesta and followed-up each event with interviews of the parties involved in violent confrontations. In addition, life stories and archival data on violence were conducted and used to situate current findings against historical data.

SETTING
All data were collected in the community of Santa Maria Atzompa. Atzompa is a cabécera or municipal seat, for six colonias (large neighborhoods), and three ranchos (agriculturally based communities) and has a population of just over 5200. The main community of Atzompa, where most of the research was conducted, has a population of 2700+.

PARTICIPANTS
Over 1000 individuals participated in community religious fiestas that the researcher attended. More than half of these were men, and almost all the men present participated in the binge drinking.

MEASUREMENTS
Sixteen religious fiestas and 13 non-religious fiestas were documented through participant observation and photographs.

FINDINGS
In every religious-based fiesta, violence erupted and was directed primarily against women. Husband and wife abuse accounted for 10 of the 16 violent disruptions (63%) while male/male abuse accounted for six (38%).

CONCLUSIONS
The perpetuation of binge drinking and violence are part of a historic cycle of male dominance that dates back to the introduction of alcohol distillation during colonization by the Spaniards in the 16th century, compounded today by frustration over their inability to control the economic and political aspects of their households and community. Women's acquiescence to the violence is a form of mediation over male frustrations that allow women to continue in their roles as economic providers.


Based on the deformation characteristics of the roadways driven along goaf in fully mechanized top coal caving faces, the author considers that it is the key to ensure the stability of surrounding rocks of roadway driven along goaf to control the deformation during the period affected by mining. Considering the characteristics of the roadway layout in fully mechanized top coal caving faces, a technical scheme of destressing is put forward and the destressing effect is analyzed by using the software of Universal Distinct Element Code 3 0(UDEC 3 0).


Context sensitivity is an important application of wearable computers. This paper describes research on using the Twiddler one-handed keyboard for sensing motionassociated context. Two possible methods for detecting walking are described, and other types of movement context that it might be possible to sense are discussed. Results of early experiments with a preliminary Twiddler driver modification are discussed.


Three different invertases are found in the developing internodes of oat (Avena sativa cv. Victory). Two soluble invertases (I and II) are separable on diethylaminoethylcellulose and Sephadex columns. They are further distinguished by their kinetic constants, heat stability, and differences in stability and apparent activity optima in response to pH treatments. Relative activities of the two soluble isozymes change considerably during the developmental stages examined. Invertase I activity rises early and begins to fall after maximal activity is reached at 6 hours of incubation. This early increase in activity accompanies the period of most rapid growth rate of the internode. Invertase II activity does not increase significantly during the first 6 hours of internode extension, but rapidly rises to a maximum activity at 16 hours, then declines. The third form of invertase, bound invertase (III), is present in both immature and mature stem tissue. Its activity increases (by 6 hours) during immature growth stages, decreases considerably with maturation, and remains relatively constant in mature tissue.


AIMS
The aim of the survey was to establish whether PTSD is present among Polish soldiers returning from a one-year deployment to Iraq and an analysis of its individual symptoms.

METHODS
Sixty soldiers were examined, including 30 who returned from the Iraqi mission and 30 who remained in Poland. Five analysing devices were used: (IPSA), (STAI), (BDI), a PTSD questionnaire and a socio-demographical form.

RESULTS
A significant number of soldiers experienced a traumatic event during the mission in Iraq. Although the Iraq deployment did not change the level of depression and anxiety among the two groups of soldiers, disproportions were found in the range of anger level intensity, which was significantly higher among soldiers who returned from Iraq.

CONCLUSION
Stabilisation mission and the experience of a traumatic event influenced the biological and psychological functioning patterns among soldiers who returned from Iraq. The manifestations of this were emotional and physiological reactions that the soldiers experienced (nightmares, excessive sweating, increased heartbeat rate, stressful reactions in situations similar to the traumatic occurrence and intensified responses to them). However, contrary to the assumptions, it was not concluded that soldiers who returned from Iraq are suffering from PTSD.


In advanced, digitalized democratic communities the demands for literacy are a prerequisite for engagement and inclusion, at the same time different forms of divides are omnipresent. By providing access and qualified support to all citizens, public libraries play a central function in the building of democratic and inclusive local communities, being increasingly relied upon by governments to deliver access and support for e-services. Based on a case study of community library services in Sweden, Östergötland, this paper aims to study digital inclusion as reflected in daily practices through the perspective of librarians. In this paper we argue that while advancing digitalisation involves opening of new access and engagement opportunities through empowering digital tools and Internet, it also involves different challenges of exclusion for those who cannot use, choose not to use or have other needs


Tumor spread remains a primary cause of cancer mortality. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase co-activated by integrin and growth factor receptors in the control of vascular permeability. As FAK inhibitors are being tested in clinical trials, it is important to determine whether FAK signaling plays distinct roles in tumor versus stromal cell biology. Herein, we elucidate a new mechanism for endothelial cell (EC) FAK activity in the regulation of blood vessel barrier integrity and the passage of tumor cells through an EC barrier. We show that vascular endothelial cadherin (VEC) tyrosine (Y) 658 is phosphorylated by FAK in tumor-associated ECs. Conditional kinase-dead FAK knockin within ECs inhibited recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) and tumor-induced VEC Y658 phosphorylation in vivo. Adherence of VEGF-expressing tumor cells to ECs triggered FAK-dependent VEC Y658 phosphorylation. Both FAK inhibition and VEC Y658F mutation within ECs prevented VEGF-initiated paracellular permeability and tumor cell transmigration across EC barriers. In mice, EC FAK inhibition prevented VEGF-dependent tumor cell extravasation and melanoma dermal to lung metastasis without affecting primary tumor growth. Although it is known that Src tyrosine kinase activity is important in controlling VEC tyrosine phosphorylation downstream of VEGF, we find that pharmacological Src inhibition prevents FAK activation. Moreover, FAK inhibition prevents both Src and FAK translocation to EC adherens junctions, but does not alter Src activation. Together, these results identify EC FAK as a key intermediate between Src and the regulation of EC barrier function controlling tumor metastasis. Citation Format: Christine Jean, Xiao Lei Chen, Isabelle Tancioni, Sean Uryu, Christine Lawson, Nichol Miller, Patric Turowski, Elisabetta Dejana, Sara Weis, David Cheresh, David D. Schlaepfer. Endothelial FAK activity controls vascular permeability and tumor metastasis. [abstract]. In: Abstracts: AACR Special Conference on Cellular Heterogeneity in the Tumor Microenvironment; 2014 Feb 26-Mar 1; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A04. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.CHTME14-A04


In recent decades, the interest in nanomaterials has grown rapidly for their applications in many research fields, including drug delivery and cancer therapy [...].


The sudden impact of corona pandemic in our country not only affects the global economy but harshly damaged our physical, social and mental well being. Education is a backbone of any country which is brutally devastated during this pandemic. The whole education system has been suddenly shifted digitally which is a huge challenge for both the students and teachers to cope op with. Since the education system has been turned upside down, is it a challenge, boon or curse for developing countries like India? In this article we will study the challenges of online education and it was found that it has both positive and negative impact on Education and therefore we can say that digital education system should be geared up and need to strengthen the internet accessibility Pan India.


Bioprocesses are appreciated as difficult to control because their dynamic behavior is highly nonlinear and time varying, in particular, when they are operating in fed batch mode. The research objective of this study was to develop an appropriate control method for a complex bioprocess and to implement it on a laboratory plant. Hence, an intelligent control structure has been designed in order to produce biomass and to maximize the specific growth rate. Keywords—fed batch bioprocess; mass-balance model; fuzzy control


In the capacitated k-median (CKM) problem, we are given a set F of facilities, each facility i ∈ F with a capacity ui, a set C of clients, a metric d over F ∪ C and an integer k. The goal is to open k facilities in F and connect the clients C to the open facilities such that each facility i is connected by at most ui clients, so as to minimize the total connection cost. In this paper, we give the first constant approximation for CKM, that only violates the cardinality constraint by a factor of 1 + e. This generalizes the result of [Li15], which only works for the uniform capacitated case. Moreover, the approximation ratio we obtain is O([EQUATION] log [EQUATION]), which is an exponential improvement over the ratio of exp (O([EQUATION])) in [Li15]. The natural LP relaxation for the problem, which almost all previous algorithms for CKM are based on, has unbounded integrality gap even if (2 -- e)k facilities can be opened. We introduce a novel configuration LP for the problem, that overcomes this integrality gap. On the downside, each facility may be opened twice by our algorithm.


a , Cheonan, Korea Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has been reported to increase risk of ischemic stroke. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence and relationship of subclinical white matter damages (SD) in patients with OSA. Methods: All subjects (n = 54) had brain MRI and nocturnal polysomnogram (PSG). SD are defined by nonsymptomatic lacunar infarcts > 3 mm or periventricular white matter changes (PVWC). We analyzed the difference between OSA patients with and without SD (SD and non-SD groups), and also with and without PVWC. Using apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), we classi fied OSA into mild (5≤AHI≤15) and moderate to severe (AHI>15). Results: SD group (n = 31) showed significantly increased apnea-hypopnea index (AHI ), apnea index (AI) and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) compared to non-SD (n = 23). Among the 37 patients without lacunar infarctions, 14 showed PVWC while the other 23 did not have any lesions. Compared to non-SD group, SD group showed increased AHI and ODI, and decreased lowest SaO2 (p < 0.05). Similarly, AHI and ODI were higher and the lowest SaO2 was lower in patients with PVWC than without PVWC (p < 0.05). Moderate to severe OSA group showed more frequent subclinical or periventricular white matter changes than mild group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Severity of OSA showed a positive correlation with the occurre nce of subclinical white matter damages. OSA may cause subclinical white matter damages. J Korean Neurol Assoc 26(4):323-332, 2008


Modern agriculture has increased the need for information when making strategic decisions for farmers since they must be more entrepreneurial to survive. This paper investigates the levels of Competitive Intelligence practices in a French Regional Chamber of Agriculture and its four Departmental Chambers of Agriculture to examine the ability of these public organisations to keep fulfilling one of their missions which is to provide the necessary information and knowledge to farmers. Thus, this study proposes a behavioural and operational typology of Competitive Intelligence practice. Both types of organisations demonstrate that they are not well adapted to support the entrepreneurial farmers on this issue.  The findings of this study and the diagnosis of the Competitive Intelligence practices applied to the typology could be of help to increase their and other public agricultural structures performance levels. Furthermore, the platform has the potential to inspire the public sector through subsequent adaptations.


To improve the walking stability of biped robot, the adjusting angle is added to the ankle joint for eliminating the lateral disequilibrium. Three dimensional linear inverted pendulum model(3D-LIPM) is applied for depicting the motion of the biped robot. The motions of the stance and swing leg have an influence on the height of center of mass(COM), which is verified by the computer simulation. The model of the pendulum is also established for analyzing key factors which lead to the unbalance of the biped robot in the lateral plane, and analyzing results can be used to optimize the gait data. The motion trajectory of the each joint of the biped robot is generated by using the cosine and cycloid functions. The landing velocity of the swing leg is set to zero, and the impact is effectively reduced. Based on the inertial measure unit(IMU), the horizontal posture of the foot is kept by adjusting the ankle motors of the stance leg, and the walk stability of the biped robot is greatly improved. The inverse solution for discrete points of the walking trajectory is obtained by a numerical iterative means, which can satisfy the requirement of the control cycle of 10ms. The walking test is implemented on the flat ground, and the biped robot can steady walk with the single stance phase of 3s, the double-stance phase of 2s and the step-length of 200mm. the experiment results prove that compensation means of the gravity moment is available for the walking gait of biped robot.


Purpose of reviewModern immunotherapies, most notably in the form of anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, have produced significant clinical responses in otherwise refractory pre-B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients. Several groups have simultaneously reported robust response rates in children and adults alike. These early studies indicate an impending shift in paradigm for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Incorporating CD19 CAR T-cell therapy into upfront or salvage regimens has its challenges and opportunities. Recent findingsMost CD19 CAR T-cell products in trial today are excellent at inducing minimal residual disease negative remissions, and most responding patients experience cytokine release syndrome and/or neurotoxicity. The challenges facing the CAR community involve how best to minimize the severity of cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity while maximizing antitumor efficacy, determining what role this therapy will play for the prophylaxis and treatment of central nervous system leukemia, and its implications on subsequent hematopoietic stem cell transplant given the emergence of CD19-negative relapses. SummaryCD19 CAR T-cell therapy is a powerful new tool in the oncologist's arsenal. How it is incorporated into standard practice and how it will shift survival curves are the exciting questions that are waiting to be answered.


Populus ciliate – ciliated poplar is distributed in the Himalayas at altitudes from 1300 to 3400 m above sea level, along river banks and wet slopes. The systematic position of the taxon remains unclear, although in most modern works it is attributed to the Tacamahaca section. The purpose of this study is to study the morphological features of crown shoots and the anatomical structure of petioles of Populus ciliata leaves to clarify its systematic position. Studies of the morphology of P. ciliata showed that it did not have specialized shortened shoots marking a section of balsamic poplars – diskoblasts. The most important signs of petiolar anatomy allowing the identification of poplar taxa at the section level are: the shape of the petiole cross section, the contours of its adaxial and abaxial sides, the shape of the rings of closed collateral bundles, the shape of the vascular system. A comparison of the obtained sections of P. ciliata with representatives of the Tacamahaca section indicates that the plants studied do not belong to balsamic poplars, since they differ in the absence of a groove pronounced on the adaxial side. The latter in the form of a small recess in the slice is fixed only at the place of its transition into the leaf blade. The contours of the abaxial and adaxial sides are round, the shape of the vascular system of the petiole is not highly arched like that of balsamic poplars, but linear, formed by elliptical rings of closed collateral bundles.


Between 2013 and 2019, the authors performed a standardized 7T MR imaging protocol in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. They focused on 12 patients in whom postsurgical histopathology revealed focal cortical dysplasia and explored the diagnostic yield of preoperative 7T versus 1.5/3T MR imaging and the correlations of imaging findings with histopathology. They observed clear abnormalities in 10/12 patients using 7T versus 9/12 revealed by 1.5/3T MR imaging. In patients with focal cortical dysplasia I, 7T MR imaging did not disclose morphologic abnormalities (n= 0/2). In patients with focal cortical dysplasia II, 7T uncovered morphologic signs that were not visible on clinical imaging in 1 patient with focal cortical dysplasia IIa (n= 1/4) and in all those with focal cortical dysplasia IIb (n= 6/6). T2*WI provided the highest added value. The authors conclude that the high sensitivity of 7T T2*-weighted images provides an additional tool in defining potential morphologic markers of high epileptogenicity within the dysplastic tissue of focal cortical dysplasia IIb and will likely help to more precisely plan epilepsy surgery. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Conventional MR imaging has limitations in detecting focal cortical dysplasia. We assessed the added value of 7T in patients with histologically proved focal cortical dysplasia to highlight correlations between neuropathology and ultra-high-field imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2013 and 2019, we performed a standardized 7T MR imaging protocol in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. We focused on 12 patients in whom postsurgical histopathology revealed focal cortical dysplasia and explored the diagnostic yield of preoperative 7T versus 1.5/3T MR imaging and the correlations of imaging findings with histopathology. We also assessed the relationship between epilepsy surgery outcome and the completeness of surgical removal of the MR imaging–visible structural abnormality. RESULTS: We observed clear abnormalities in 10/12 patients using 7T versus 9/12 revealed by 1.5/3T MR imaging. In patients with focal cortical dysplasia I, 7T MR imaging did not disclose morphologic abnormalities (n = 0/2). In patients with focal cortical dysplasia II, 7T uncovered morphologic signs that were not visible on clinical imaging in 1 patient with focal cortical dysplasia IIa (n = 1/4) and in all those with focal cortical dysplasia IIb (n = 6/6). T2*WI provided the highest added value, disclosing a peculiar intracortical hypointense band (black line) in 5/6 patients with focal cortical dysplasia IIb. The complete removal of the black line was associated with good postsurgical outcome (n = 4/5), while its incomplete removal yielded unsatisfactory results (n = 1/5). CONCLUSIONS: The high sensitivity of 7T T2*-weighted images provides an additional tool in defining potential morphologic markers of high epileptogenicity within the dysplastic tissue of focal cortical dysplasia IIb and will likely help to more precisely plan epilepsy surgery and explain surgical failures.


We investigate dynamics of a single mobile impurity immersed in a bath of Anderson localized particles and focus on the regime of relatively strong disorder and interactions. In that regime, the dynamics of the system is particularly slow, suggesting, at short times, an occurrence of many-body localization. Considering longer time scales, we show that the latter is a transient effect and that, eventually, the impurity spreads sub-diffusively and induces a gradual delocalization of the Anderson insulator. The phenomenology of the system in the considered regime of slow dynamics includes a sub-diffusive growth of mean square displacement of the impurity, power-law decay of density correlation functions of the Anderson insulator and a power-law growth of entanglement entropy in the system. We observe a similar regime of slow dynamics also when the disorder in the system is replaced by a sufficiently strong quasi-periodic potential.


The residual strain of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) film is evaluated using the strain-sensitive nature of the resonant frequency of a doubly-supported beam. By introducing the length dependence curve of the resonant frequency, the effect of the residual strain is discussed. Both measurements and finite-element calculations are performed to accurately determine the residual strain in two types of phosphorus-doped poly-Si films. From the finite-element calculations including nonlinear buckling, the post-buckling frequency is more sensitive to compressive residual strain than the frequency before buckling. By also considering these post-buckling frequencies, a more accurate estimation of the residual strain can be obtained. A test chip consisting of 97 poly-Si beams of different lengths was fabricated for residual-strain evaluation. By fitting the calculations with measured resonant frequencies, the residual strains of the films are determined to be -48?5?10-6 and -400?100?10-6 for two types of films. The difference in the residual strain is explained by the heat treatment steps of phosphorus-doped poly-Si films. This method is extremely suitable for monitoring small fluctuations in the film residual strain between different process runs.


Concerns about devaluation and misrecognition are central for understanding the experiences of workers in stigmatised occupations. Yet contemporary approaches have been criticised for over-simplifying workers' responses to mis/recognition. Povinelli's concepts of 'trembling of recognition' and 'social tense' offer a useful starting point for extending existing understandings of mis/recognition by highlighting the contextual importance of temporality. To explore these ideas, we report on an ethnographic study of waste management workers in London, UK. The findings suggest that dirty workers' responses to mis/recognition are a complex mix of discordant cognitive and affective reactions and narrative strategies, shaped by changing normative ideals. The findings suggest that recognition derives not only from workers' encounters, meanings and feelings attached to the past and present but also from the sense that they have a valued part to play in the future.


The paper presents the results of an ethnobotanical survey of plants used in the treatment of asthma in Ogun, Osun and Oyo states. Twenty markets were visited and forty-six plants belonging to thirty-three different families were collected. The plants' families represented in the collection include, Amaryllidaceae, Apocynaceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae, Solanaceae, Zingiberaceae and others. Most of the herbs were prescribed along with other recipes, mono-prescription was rare. Modes of administration of the phytomedicines were concoction, decoctions and powdered ash residue.


There is considerable uncertainty during the transition period pending DOL review of the Obama-era fiduciary rules for retirement accounts. During this period, advisers who do not receive level-fee compensation are held to the DOL impartial conduct standard for retirement accounts, but are not required to enter into best interest contracts for commission-based compensation. Under these impartial conduct standards, advisers are required to make recommendations in the retirement investor's best interest, charge reasonable compensation, and avoid misleading statements. Additional requirements, including the proposed best interest contract requirement, and web-based disclosure are deferred to July 2019 and are under review by the DOL. An additional wildcard, as if one was needed, involves what role, if any, the SEC elects to assume and whether the Commission accepts Secretary Acosta's invitation to participate in the regulatory process.
Up to this year, the momentum has been toward adoption of a fiduciary standard and it remains to be seen whether the current DOL under Secretary Acosta has the motivation to quell that trend. In the interim, the DOL impartial conduct standards are likely to result in more litigation and arbitration, and a higher success rate for investors' representatives. If and when the BIC exception goes into effect, these claims will include breach of contract. Even under the impartial conduct standards in effect now, these additional claims may include and be based upon a variety of theories, including, (a) "reverse churning" in which fee-based accounts are utilized for low-activity customers; (b) failure to properly document a rollover from an ERISA account to a fee-based IRA; (c) firm compensation based on quotas and bonuses which create incentives contrary to the customer's interest; (d) compensation grids which incentivize advisers to engage in more active trading; (e) purchase of class A mutual funds or other securities with front-end commissions which are subsequently moved into an advisory account.
As mentioned, an increase in the number and types of claims can be anticipated with the advent of fiduciary rules. Whether and to the extent the Best Interest Contract exemption takes effect will become apparent as the implementation date approaches.


Abstract Natural wetlands, occupying 3.8% of China's land and providing 54.9% of ecosystem services, are unevenly distributed among eight wetland regions. Natural wetlands in China suffered great loss and degradation (e.g., 23.0% freshwater swamps, 51.2% costal wetlands) because of the wetland reclamation during China's long history of civilization, and the population pressure and the misguided policies over the last 50 years. Recently, with an improved understanding that healthy wetland ecosystems play a vital role in her sustainable economic development, China started major efforts in wetland conservation, as signified by the policy to return reclaimed croplands to wetlands, the funding of billions of dollars to restore degraded wetlands, and the national plan to place 90% of natural wetlands under protection by 2030. This paper describes the current status of the natural wetlands in China, reviews past problems, and discusses current efforts and future challenges in protecting China's natural wetlands.


Introduction Autoimmune glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrocytopathy is a new form of autoimmunity-mediated central nervous system disease. It is especially easy to misdiagnose when clinical symptoms and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) indicators are similar to those observed in patients with tuberculous meningitis (TBM). Methods We retrospectively analyzed five cases of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy that were initially misdiagnosed as TBM. Results In the five reported cases, all but one patient had meningoencephalitis in the clinic, and all patients exhibited increased pressure, lymphocytosis, increased protein levels, and decreased glucose levels in their CSF results and did not have typical imaging findings of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy. TBM was the initial diagnosis in all five patients. However, we found no direct evidence of tuberculosis infection, and anti-tuberculosis treatment had inconclusive effects. Following a GFAP antibody test, the diagnosis of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy was made. Conclusion When there is a suspected diagnosis of TBM but TB-related tests are negative, the possibility of autoimmune GFAP astrocytopathy should be considered.


Among the numerous projects commissioned by pope Nicholas III Orsini (1277—1280), the design and decoration of the chapel of San Lorenzo at San Giovanni in Laterano, known as the Sancta Sanctorum, signaled a new direction in papal patronage. Unlike the projects of his predecessors, which celebrated the office of the papacy rather than the person of the pope, the decoration of the Sancta Sanctorum emphasized the quasi-Imperial romanitas, or Roman lineage and authority, of Nicholas himself, marking a new emphasis upon personal and familial aggrandizement that prefigured trends in later papal patronage.

One fresco in particular, the Crucifixion of St. Peter, should be recognized as the earliest topographically specific view of Rome, depicting Orsini-occupied monuments in a Roma Ursina dominated by Nicholas III and his family. Through close examination of topographical, historical, and literary sources, the present study presents new identifications of several of the monuments in the fresco, correcting a longstanding error regarding the identity of the obelisk in the scene.

Finally, it demonstrates that this fresco established the rhetorical and pictorial topoi for subsequent Petrine crucifixion scenes, including those of Giotto, Cimabue, Deodati Orlandi, and Jacopo di Cione.


With this book, Allan Kulikoff offers a sweeping new interpretation of the origins and development of the small farm economy in Britain's mainland American colonies. Examining the lives of farmers and their families, he tells the story of immigration to the colonies, traces patterns of settlement, analyzes the growth of markets, and assesses the impact of the Revolution on small farm society. Beginning with the dispossession of the peasantry in early modern England, Kulikoff follows the immigrants across the Atlantic to explore how they reacted to a hostile new environment and its Indian inhabitants. He discusses how colonists secured land, built farms, and bequeathed those farms to their children. Emphasizing commodity markets in early America, Kulikoff shows that without British demand for the colonists' crops, settlement could not have begun at all. Most important, he explores the destruction caused during the American Revolution, showing how the war thrust farmers into subsistence production and how they only gradually regained their prewar prosperity. |A sweeping new interpretation of the origins and development of the small farm economy of Britain's American colonies. Examining the lives of farmers and their wives, children, servants, and slaves, Alan Kulikoff tells the story of immigration to the colonies, traces patterns of settlement, analyzes the growth of market relations among settlers, and assesses the impact of the Revolution on small farm society.


Physical and chemical characteristics and solution geochemistry of major and trace elements were investigated in an area of volcanic soil colonized by mosses at Edmonson Point (central Victoria Land) during the international BIOTAS (Biological Investigations of Terrestrial Antarctic Systems) expedition (BIOTEX) in the 1995–96 summer. The broad objective was to study the environmental factors involved in plant colonisation and survival in terrestrial continental Antarctic ecosystems. The results showed that moss distribution and survival throughout the summer was closely dependent on water supply. In Antarctic coastal ecosystems the environmental biogeochemistry is largely dominated by ions of marine origin. At the drier end of a hydrological gradient the dry cushions of Hennediella heimii were encrusted with salts and showed much higher concentrations of soluble ions (Na+, Cl−, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−, NO3−) than those in adhering soil particles or in other moss species from wetter parts of the transect. Although salt encrustations may partly derive from sublimation of surface snow, comparisons between concentrations of soluble ions in the dry moss and those in the < 2 mm fraction of surface and deep soil showed an upward migration along the soil profile of soluble ions as the substratum dried out, between December and January, and their accumulation mostly on mosses. At the wet end of the transect messes were less affected by salt encrustations and there was evidence of Ca2+ uptake and an active cycling of nutrients.


A particle filter algorithm is investigated to perform joint estimation of carrier frequency offset (CFO) and channel in multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) wireless communication systems. The filter marginalizes out the channel parameters from the sampling space in sequential importance sampling, and propagates them with the Kalman filter. Then the importance weights of CFO particles are evaluated according to the imaginary part of error between measurement and estimate. Moreover, the varieties of particles are maintained by sequential importance resampling. Simulations demonstrate the algorithm can estimate the CFO and channel with high accuracy, as well as has some robustness to the channel model variation.


Heart failure is a systemic disorder characterised by tissue hypoxia and secondary organ dysfunction which occurs in response to various myocardial insults that include ischaemia, viral infections, and toxins. In addition to maladaptive neurohumoral activation, heart failure is associated with an inflammatory state that appears to have a detrimental effect on cardiac function and prognosis. This has led to the suggestion that anti-inflammatory interventions may have therapeutic potential in the symptomatic and prognostic treatment of patients with heart failure. This review considers the role of inhibition of the cytokine tumour necrosis factor α in the treatment of heart failure.


Research about offender profiling appears to be predominantly conducted in the USA and in the UK while other countries seem to be left behind. This dissertation will seek to explore the uses of profiling in the Canadian Criminal Justice System. This study will be conducted as a structured literature review with the use of secondary data such as academic publications, cases details, and websites of Canadian criminal justice organizations. This removes any ethical problems such as anonymity, confidentiality or voluntary participation. This dissertation will seek to determine what are the general principles of profiling via the study of the three main approaches of profiling which are the FBI, Statistical and Clinical methods, before focussing more specifically on the ways profiling is used in the Canadian Criminal Justice system. The information gathered will show that profiling is used in two different aspects of the Canadian criminal justice system. First profiling is mostly used as a technique in order to help furthering an investigation when traditional methods have not led to the designation of a suspect. Profiling cannot solve a case by itself but it can potentially help a case by providing other information. This study also highlight that more recently profiling has also been used in Canadian courts as scientific evidence, but so far this remains marginal. The review of Canadian cases show that most of the time profiling evidence tends to be rejected especially when they take the form of behavioural profiling because of their lack of scientific grounds and thus their inability to comply with the legal requirements. However, profiling evidence based on crime scene analysis tends to be admitted to some extent as long as they meet the requirements established by the Courts.


Scheduling communication traffic in networks of event-triggered control (ETC) systems is challenging, as their sampling times are unknown, hindering application of ETC in networks. In previous work, finite-state abstractions were created, capturing the sampling behavior of linear time-invariant (LTI) ETC systems with quadratic triggering functions. Offering an infinite-horizon look to ETC systems' sampling patterns, such abstractions can be used for scheduling of ETC traffic. Here, we significantly extend this framework, by abstracting perturbed uncertain nonlinear ETC systems with general triggering functions. To construct an ETC system's abstraction: 1) the state space is partitioned into regions; 2) for each region, an interval is determined, containing all intersampling times of points in the region; and 3) the abstraction's transitions are determined through reachability analysis. To determine intervals and transitions, we devise algorithms based on reachability analysis. For partitioning, we propose an approach based on isochronous manifolds, resulting into tighter intervals and providing control over them, thus containing the abstraction's nondeterminism. Simulations showcase our developments.


Author(s): Yee, Martha M | Abstract: Suggests that we must find a way to share the expense of bringing our records under authority control, or face the prospect of a world in which the permanent cultural record it is our professional duty to create no longer exists. One way to do this would be to use the internet to create a single shared virtual catalog rather than the Balkanized world of thousands of separate catalogs we struggle with now.


Introduction Patients with congenital hypothyroidism (CH) may transiently show a certain degree of pituitary resistance to levothyroxine (LT4) which, however, normalizes subsequently. However, in some individuals, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) fails to normalize despite adequate LT4 treatment. Methods Nine patients with CH followed in three Academic Centre who developed over time resistance to thyroid hormones underwent extensive biochemical and genetic analyses. These latter were performed by Sanger sequence or targeted next-generation sequencing technique including a panel of candidate genes involved in thyroid hormone actions and congenital hypothyroidism (CH): THRA, THRB, DIO1, DIO2, SLC16A2, SECISBP2, DUOX2, DUOXA2, FOXE1, GLIS3, IYD, JAG1, NKX2-1, NKX2- 5, PAX8, SLC26A4, SLC5A5, TG, TPO, TSHR. Results All patients displayed a normal sensitivity to thyroid hormone (TH) in the first years of life but developed variable degrees of resistance to LT4 treatment at later stages. In all cases, TSH normalized only in the presence of high free thyroxine levels. Tri-iodothyronine suppression test followed by thyrotrophin-releasing hormone stimulation was performed in two cases and was compatible with central resistance to THs. This biochemical feature was present independently on the cause of CH, being observed either in patients with an ectopic (n = 2) or eutopic gland (n = 3) or in case of athyreosis (n = 1). None of the patients had genetic variants in genes involved in the regulation of TH actions, while in two cases, we found two double heterozygous missense variants in TSHR and GLIS3 or in DUOX2 and SLC26A4 genes, respectively. Conclusions We report CH patients who showed an acquired and unexplainable pituitary refractoriness to TH action.


A novel robotic system integrating thermal history instrumentation with an industrial-grade robot is currently being developed by SCS. The system is envisioned to perform autonomous thermal measurements on engine components of different shapes and sizes. The objective of this work is to develop an algorithm for the validation and the optimization of the achievable signal. The acquired signal is investigated through different alignments and clearances between the robot's tool and the measurement spot. The measurement's quality is related to characteristic parameters of the signal. Results of the analysis are used to develop the main algorithm. Communication lines, between the robot and the thermal history instrumentation, are exploited for the transmission of a valid flag, useful to the robot to decide whenever to undertake the optimization process. Thanks to an offline scheduling process, different alignments for a unique location, are simulated and translated in robot language. An optimization process is designed, based on the maximization of the acquired intensity among different alignments. Moreover, a novel workflow is proposed for the generation of the thermal map of a component. Demonstrative tests are carried out on a simple geometry and in a complex component. The successful implementation of the algorithm improves the quality of the measurements. Depending on the component complexity, major improvements from a non-optimized process are achievable. The user is provided with a powerful tool for the validation of a measurement, exploitable also from other automation systems.


3851 Phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase (PI3K) plays a key role in a wide array of biological and pathophysiological processes, particularly in carcinogenesis. About 40% of ovarian cancers possess aberrant PI3K or AKT function. Thus, ovarian cancers may be appropriate targets for therapy with inhibitors of the PI3K pathway. We have previously demonstrated that the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 significantly decreased OVCAR-3 cell growth in vitro and in vivo . Paclitaxel is an increasingly important agent for treating ovarian cancer. Alteration of the PI3K pathway could modulate sensitivity to several drugs including paclitaxel. Inhibition of PI3K enhanced paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in OVCAR-3 cells in vitro and in vivo . We have now treated a greater number of ovarian cancer cell lines with a PI3K inhibitor and paclitaxel and found substantial heterogeneity in sensitivity to this combination. In some ovarian cancer cell lines, such as MDA-2774 and ES-2, the LY294002 strikingly potentiated paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. Conversely, the PI3K inhibitor did not increase paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in some ovarian cancer cell lines such as SKOv3 and OVCA433. In ovarian cancer cell lines that are sensitive to the combination, treatment with LY294002 and paclitaxel synergistically suppressed the serine and threonine phosphorylation of AKT and BAD. Phosphorylation of AKT and BAD is known to regulate the function of AKT and BAD in apoptosis. On the other hand, the phosphorylation of AKT and BAD was not synergistically inhibited by LY294002 and paclitaxel combination in ovarian cancer cell lines that are insensitive to the combination. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that inhibition of PI3K signaling pathway selectively enhances paclitaxel-induced apoptosis by modulating AKT and BAD phosphorylation in ovarian cancer cell lines. (This work was supported by a grant 80094241 from Goodwin Foundation and in part by agent CA-39930 from the National Institute of Health).


Summary The secondary sex ratio (SSR) has been suggested to decrease with adverse physical and psychological environments. Previous studies have focused on reduced SSR under adverse conditions, such as war, terrorism attack and earthquake, but few studies have investigated fluctuations in SSR in moderately adverse environments. This study analysed municipality-level vital statistics records in Japan collected between 1998 and 2002 to identify high-SSR clusters and low-SSR clusters with spatial-scan statistics. In 999 runs of simulation, high- and low-SSR clusters were detected but fewer than 950 times, indicating that SSR was not geographically clustered in Japan if type I error of 5% was adopted. Explorative analyses comparing demographic attributes between high-SSR clusters and low-SSR clusters that were detected more than 500 times in 999 runs of simulation, showed that rate of spontaneous abortion, rate of artificial abortion and divorce rate were higher in low-SSR clusters, while male life expectancy, female life expectancy and total fertility rate were higher in a high-SSR cluster.


Three new quinolizidine alkaloids (1 - 3), including one new naturally isoflavone and cytisine polymer (3), along with 6 known ones were isolated from the ethanol extract of Sophora tonkinensis Gagnep. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis (IR, UV, HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR), combined with ECD calculations. The antifungal activity against Phytophythora capsica, Botrytis cinerea, Gibberella zeae, and Alternaria alternata of the compounds was evaluated in a mycelial inhibition assay. Biological tests indicated that compound 3 exhibited strong antifungal activity against P. capsica with EC50 values of 17.7 μg/ml.


Most of the available microvalves include complicated fabrication steps and multiple materials. We present a microvalve which is inspired from macroplug valves. The plug microvalve is fabricated by boring a hole through a rigid cylindrical rod and inserting it through a microfluidic chip. It simply functions by rotating the rod which aligns or misaligns the valve port with the microchannel. The rod is made up of a rigid material for applying the valve to an elastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel. The valve can also be used for a rigid channel by inserting the rod into an elastic tubing. Therefore, the presented microvalve can be used for both elastomeric and thermoplastic channels. The plug microvalve can be applied to a prefabricated microchannel and does not require modification of the mold design. We have verified the repeatability and robustness of the valve by repetitive operation cycles using a servo motor. The plug microvalve is adaptable to numerous microfluidic applications. We have shown three modes of operation for the microvalve including fluid flow control across multiple intersecting channels. Integrating the microvalve to some commonly used microfluidic designs, we demonstrated the versatility and the practicality of the microvalve for controlling flow focusing, microdroplet sorting and rapid chemical agent detection. This low-cost microvalve significantly minimizes the prototyping time for microfluidic systems.


Reflective questioning is a critical activity in management learning and education. This article describes research on the nature of reflective questioning in groups of management students working on final MSc projects. Drawing on content analysis of recorded meetings, we identify the following key dimensions of reflective questioning: provocation, need for cognition, epistemology, locus of cognition, logic, heuristics, level of abstraction, and cognitive complexity. The data suggest that individual reflection by students and collective reflection in group meetings are highly complementary in management education. In particular, individual reflection by students combined with meetings that support and provoke collective reflection may create substantial synergies between individual and collective learning. We also discuss the implications of these findings for management education.


The observation that traits closely related to fitness ("fitness traits") have lower heritabilities than traits more distantly associated with fitness has traditionally been framed in terms of Fisher's fundamental theorem of natural selection—fitness traits are expected to have low levels of additive genetic variance due to rapid fixation of alleles conferring highest fitness. Subsequent treatments have challenged this view by pointing out that high environmental and nonadditive genetic contributions to phenotypic variation may also explain the low heritability of fitness traits. Analysis of a large data set from the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis confirmed a previous finding that traits closely associated with fitness tend to have lower heritability. However, analysis of coefficients of additive genetic variation (CVA) revealed that traits closely associated with fitness had higher levels of additive genetic variation (VA) than traits more distantly associated with fitness. Hence, the negative relationship between a trait's association with fitness and its heritability was not due to lower levels of VA in fitness traits but was due to their higher residual variance. However, whether the high residual variance was mainly due to higher levels of environmental variance or due to higher levels of nonadditive genetic variance remains a challenge to be addressed by further studies. Our results are consistent with earlier suggestions that fitness‐related traits may have more complex genetic architecture than traits more distantly associated with fitness.


Background: There is still debate over the benefit of self-management programmes for adults with asthma. A brief self-management programme given during a hospital admission for acute asthma was tested to determine whether it would reduce readmission. Method: A randomised controlled trial was performed in 280 adult patients with acute asthma admitted over 29 months. Patients on the self-management programme (SMP) received 40–60 minutes of education supporting a written self-management plan. Control patients received standard care (SC). Results: One month after discharge SMP patients were more likely than SC patients to report no daytime wheeze (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.3), no night disturbance (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.5), and no activity limitation (OR 1.5, 95% CI 0.9 to 2.7). Over 12 months 17% of SMP patients were re-admitted compared with 27% of SC patients (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.0). Among first admission patients, OR readmission (SMP v SC) was 0.2 (95% CI 0.1 to 0.7), p<0.01. For patients with a previous admission, OR readmission was 0.8 (95% CI 0.4 to 1.6), p=0.6. SMP patients were more likely than SC patients to be prescribed inhaled steroids at discharge (99% v 92%, p=0.03), oral steroids (98% v 90%, p=0.06), and to have hospital follow up (98% v 84%, p<0.01) but adjustment for these differences did not diminish the effect of the self-management programme. Conclusions: A brief self-management programme during hospital admission reduced post discharge morbidity and readmission for adult asthma patients. The benefit of the programme may have been greater for patients admitted for the first time. The programme also had a small but significant effect on medical management at discharge.


Introduction There has been increased interest in the use of artificial intelligence based software packages in the evaluation of neuroimaging for patients with acute ischemic stroke. We performed an inter-rater agreement and accuracy study to determine if the use of the Brainomix eASPECTS software improved interobserver agreement and accuracy in detecting ASPECTS regions affected in anterior circulation LVO. Methods We included 60 consecutive patients with anterior circulation LVO who had TICI 3 revascularization within 60 minutes of their baseline CT. A total of 16 readers; 6 senior neuroradiologists, 6 junior neuroradiologists and 4 vascular neurologists participated. Readers interpreted CT scans on an independent workstation and assessed final ASPECTS score and evaluated whether each individual ASPECTS region was affected. Two months later, the readers again evaluated the CT scans, but with the assistance of eASPECTS software. We assessed interclass correlation coefficient for total ASPECTS and interobserver agreement with Fleiss' Kappa for each ASPECTS region with and without assistance of the eASPECTS software. We also assessed accuracy for the readers with and without eASPECTS software assistance. In our assessment of accuracy, ground truth was the 24 hour CT in this cohort of patients who had prompt and complete revascularization as determined by two neuroradiologists. Results Interclass correlation coefficient for total ASPECTS without eASPECTS assistance was 0.395 indicating fair agreement compared to 0.574 with eASPECTS assistance indicating good agreement (P Conclusions The use of Brainomix eASPECTS software result in significant improvements in the inter-rater agreement and accuracy of ASPECTS score evaluation in a large group of neuroradiologists and neurologists. Interestingly, the eASPECTS software was more predictive of final infarct/ASPECTS than the overall group of readers interpreting the CT scans with and without eASPECTS assistance. Disclosures W. Brinjikji: None. J. Benson: None. N. Campeau: None. C. Carr: None. P. Cogswell: None. J. Klaas: None. G. Liebo: None. J. Little: None. P. Luetmer: None. S. Messina: None. A. Nagelschneider: None. K. Schwartz: None. C. Wood: None. D. Nasr: None. S. Braksick: None. D. Kallmes: None.


During the last decade, visual knowledge representation has become one of the key considerations in e-learning methodology and it is heavily associated with ontology design and development. Alongside this, so-called teaching and learning ontologies have arguably come to play a central role in courseware content. These ontologies, which are built on conceptual skeleton of the teaching domain, might serve various purposes such as better understanding, knowledge sharing, and collaborative learning, problem solving, seeking advice, or developing competences by learning from peers. Recently, ontological engineering perspective has gained interest in the domain of computer-aided learning and cognitive psychology involving the study of the structure and patterns of knowledge. These studies AbstrAct


This paper presents a self-powered active electronic interface circuit for energy harvesting system based on an electromagnetic vibration transducer. The interface circuit has been designed to transfer the harvested energy to a storage capacitor. The circuit is a multi-cycle inductive step up AC/DC converter able to process every voltage pulse coming from the transducer; furthermore, it is supplied by the harvested energy, making the system fully autonomous. The interface circuit has been designed in 0.35µm, 3.3V–5V CMOS process with high voltage (50V) capability. Experimental results obtained from the whole system are reported.


Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a stroke subtype with high mortality and significant disability among survivors. The management of ICH has been influenced by the results of several major trials completed in the last decade. It is now recognized that hematoma expansion is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. However, efforts to improve clinical outcome through mitigation of hematoma expansion have so far been unsuccessful. Acute blood pressure management has recently been shown to be safe in the setting of acute ICH but there was no reduction in mortality with early blood pressure (BP) lowering. Two large trials of surgical evacuation of supratentorial ICH have not shown improvement in outcome with surgery, thus minimally invasive surgical strategies are currently being studied. Lastly, a better understanding of the pathophysiology of ICH has led to the identification of several new mechanisms of injury that could be potential therapeutic targets.


While the recent establishment of the role of thermophoresis/diffusion-driven oxygen migration during resistance switching in metal oxide memristors provided critical insights required for memristor modeling, extended investigations of the role of oxygen migration during ageing and failure remain to be detailed. Such detailing will enable failure-tolerant design, which can lead to enhanced performance of memristor-based next-generation storage-class memory. Here, we directly observed lateral oxygen migration using in-situ synchrotron x-ray absorption spectromicroscopy of HfOx memristors during initial resistance switching, wear over millions of switching cycles, and eventual failure, through which we determined potential physical causes of failure. Using this information, we reengineered devices to mitigate three failure mechanisms and demonstrated an improvement in endurance of about three orders of magnitude.


This short semi-biographical intervention is about the emergence of the real-and-imagined figure of the cosmopolitan geographer. This figure is in many ways the by-product of the neo-liberalization of academia in Europe and is accordingly caught in a series of related dilemmas. The article thus focusses on a few issues linked to the challenges imposed by neoliberal academia to this specific emerging academic condition and on how such challenges affect personal careers and life trajectories. It also discusses the unintended, sometimes ambivalent, consequences of internationalization in diverse European contexts, in particular for the work of geographers based in non-English speaking countries. In additon, it reflects on the future of national disciplines, in particular the national geographical communities in Europe. I conclude by suggesting a few ways in which the experience of the cosmopolitan geographer may help in addressing, in constructive and possibly critical ways, precisely some of the challenges posed by neoliberal academia.


Exposure of rat glomerular mesangial cells to transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGF beta 2) stimulates a biphasic mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP kinase) activation. A rapid increase in activity (maximal at 10 min) is followed by a second persistent level of activity which steadily increases over 24 h. The second peak of MAP kinase activity is markedly attenuated by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and consequently is paralleled by a pronounced de-novo synthesis of p42 and p44 MAP kinase as measured by immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled mesangial cells. In addition, an increased de-novo synthesis of MAP kinase kinase (MEK), the upstream activator of MAP kinase, is observed in response to TGF beta 2 stimulation. We propose that TGF beta-induced activation and de-novo synthesis of MAP kinases and MEK is important for the multifunctional actions of this cytokine in mesangial cells and its role in disease states characterized by excessive fibrosis.


Typology: Imperial edict Original Location/Place: Apollonopolites Heptakomias in Egypt Actual Location (Collection/Museum): Library of the University of Gießen (Germany) Physical Characteristics: The papyrus roll contains three edicts with different states of preservation. Unfortunately, our text is very fragmentary. A high-resolution image of the papyrus roll can be found at http://bibd.uni-giessen.de/papyri/images/pgiss-inv015recto-1600kb.jpg [2]


Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction with ST Segment Elevation (STEMI) should be given reperfusion therapy with fibrinolytic or PPCI (Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) to prevent further myocardial damage. Currently PPCI is the main therapy choice for STEMI patients, but not all health facilities have these facilities. Thus, fibrinolytic may be the reperfusion therapy of choice in patients STEMI with chest pain onset ? 12 hours and without contraindications. STEMI can affect heart function, so the LVEF (Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction) value can be used to assess heart systolic function which can affect the prognosis of STEMI patients. The aim of this study was to identify the difference of LVEF values ??between STEMI patients undergoing reperfusion therapy with fibrinolytic and PPCI at Abdul Wahab Sajahranie Hospital, Samarinda. This study was an analytic observational study with a cross sectional design. The study population was all STEMI patients who undergoing reperfusion therapy with fibrinolytic and PPCI at Abdul Wahab Sjahranie Hospital, Samarinda for the period 2018-2019. Sampling was purposive sampling, with data sources derived from the patient's medical records. LVEF values ??were examined using transthoracic echocardiography, and Independent T-Test was used to analyze the difference of LVEF values ??between these groups. The result showed there was no significant difference in the LVEF value of STEMI patients undergoing reperfusion therapy with Fibrinolytics and PPCI (fibrinolytic 51.37 ± 12.254%, PPCI 56.47 ± 11.98%; p = 0.103 (p> 0.05)).
Keywords: STEMI, Fibrinolytic, PPCI, LVEF


Respiratory depression from anesthetic drugs introduces an undefined variable into many experiments. We have produced constant-depth anesthesia in dogs by maintaining an unvarying alveolar concentration of halothane, and we have tested whether such anesthesia can produce a steady state with respect to the respiratory response to CO2. At a constant alveolar halothane concentration, the response to CO2 remained essentially unchanged for up to 8 hr. Carbon dioxide response curves were also obtained at several different alveolar concentrations of halothane. Carbon dioxide response was sensitive to small changes in halothane concentration; the slope of the response curve diminished linearly with increase in alveolar concentration of halothane. With alveolar halothane concentration held constant, a small dose of intravenous thiopental produced a depression of the CO2 response curve that remained for more than 2 hr.

carbon dioxide response; control of respiration; depression; respiratory response

Submitted on April 29, 1964


This is the first of an occasional column exploring principles, models and theories of innovation in business and management. Readers are invited to respond with their own commentary to The Editor, firstname.lastname@example.com In 1856, William Henry Perkin was an 18-year-old student at Britain's Royal College of Chemistry. He was working toward an antimalarial drug that was important to the British empire as it expanded into Africa. But he stumbled onto a coal-tar derivative that was particularly effective at staining silk material into a rich shade of purple. At a time when dull, earthen colors had dominated clothing for two centuries, Perkin realized that a vibrant and stable purple dye was a very valuable product. He quit the university against the protests of his professors and established a factory for producing the dye. His father invested the family's entire fortune in the endeavor and his brother quit a job in the building trades to manage the new business. By 1857, Perkin's factory was producing "Tyrian Purple" for sale to commercial silk dyers and he was working on new dyes for wool and cotton (1). The success of Tyrian Purple as a commercial venture led chemists across Europe to focus on this market in the hope of making their own fortunes. Over the next 50 years major companies like Bayer, Ho?echst, BASF, and AGFA built their fortunes on the creation of new dyes. The sustained demand for dyes built new factories, created a demand for educated chemists, raised the importance of a university education, and provided employment for thousands of workers. The plot of this 19th century story closely matches that of current Silicon Valley computer, software and web services companies-the curiosity, hard work, and good luck of one person leads to the creation of one unique product, followed by the invigoration of an industry. Formal Study of Innovation Is New The creation of the aniline purple dye was an invention. The application of that dye as a commercial product was an innovation. Both invention and innovation are very old processes. The history of weaponry, machinery and transportation are all filled with instances of invention and innovation that transformed individuals, companies, countries, and economies. But, as old as these practices are, the formal study of innovation is relatively new, tracing its roots back to the works of Burns and Stalker in 1961 (2) and Rogers in 1962 (3). In The Management of Innovation, Burns and Stalker clearly separated mechanistic from organic environments. In a mechanistic environment it is best to create standard processes, rules and hierarchy to improve the efficiency of the organization. But organic environments require a different approach, one which recognizes the importance of unique skills and knowledge, as well as the means to stimulate these toward solving new problems and creating new products. Organic working environments require employees to use their own knowledge and judgment to solve a continually changing set of problems. In Diffusion of Innovation, Rogers investigated the means by which new ideas propagate through a society. He was most interested in the social factors that allowed ideas to prosper, and identified five variables that determine the rate of adoption of a new idea or product: the attributes of the innovation itself, the type of decision required to adopt an innovation, the communication channels through which the idea is carried, the nature of the social system into which the idea is introduced, and the extent of a specific change agent's promotional efforts. These ideas, published 45 years ago, were some of the first models of innovation. It could also be argued that the ideas of Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1911 (4) and Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 (5) were about innovation. Taylor may have invented new shapes and sizes of shovels to implement his ideas about labor productivity, but the real innovation was in recognizing that traditional methods of factory work were inefficient and could be improved if a scientific mind were allowed to enforce practices on the working hands of laborers. …


ABSTRACT This article combines practitioner insight and research evidence to chart how principles of partnership and paramountcy have led to birth family contact becoming the expected norm following contested adoption from care in Northern Ireland. The article highlights how practice has adapted to the delay in proposed reforms to adoption legislation resulting in the evolution of increasingly open adoption practices. Adoption represents an irrevocable transfer of parental responsibility from birth to adoptive parents and achieves permanence and legal security for children in care who cannot return to their birth family. Its enduring effect, however, makes public adoption a contentious field of child welfare practice, particularly when contested by birth parents. This article explores how post-adoption contact may be viewed as reconciling the uneasy interface between paramountcy principles and parental rights to respect for family life. The article highlights the complexity of adoptive kinship relationships following contested adoption from care, and how contact presents unique challenges that mitigate against meaningful and sustainable connections between the child and their birth relatives. In conclusion, a call is made for sensitive negotiation and support of contact arrangements, and the development of practice models that are informed by an understanding of the workings of adoptive kinship.


The analysis of the scientific literature devoted to organ and tissue changes of oral cavity at the chronic renal insufficiency (CRI)is made. The number of patients in an end-stage of CRI constantly increases and patients receiving renal replacement therapy including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or renal transplantation will comprise an enlarging segment of the dental patient population. Owing to CRI and its treatment there is a set of changes of teeth and oral cavity fabrics which remain even in a end-stage. Renal replacement therapy can affect periodontal tissues including gingival hyperplasia in immune suppressed renal transplantation patients and increased levels of bacterial contamination, gingival inflammation, formation of calculus, and possible increased prevalence and severity of destructive periodontal diseases. Besides, the presence of undiagnosed periodontitis may have significant effects on the medical management of the patients in end-stage of CRI.


The research proposes a system of improvement of a Quality Management System (QMS) in small and medium industries through the application of Six Sigma (SS) and Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodologies. The main objective of the research is the development of an unprecedented reference model that aims at reducing the variability of restrictive resources, reducing losses, inefficiencies and waste, optimizing the cost-quality trade-off of products and processes, in addition to the consolidation of the Industry 4.0 concept. The methodological components include bibliographic, descriptive, technological and qualitative research. The proposed model, in the synergy between Lean Production and Six Sigma, strengthens and extends the longevity of an existing industrial quality system through continuous improvement cycles (kaizen) based on three large sets of orientative and sequential activities, so as to establish lean quality as strategic support throughout the operations network.


The Physical Internet (PI) is the matter of time. There is not any other concept of future logistics so simple and so complicated at the same time. Simple, because we all do it now with data. Complicated, because goods are not so elastic like figures. The range of required transformation of hubs technology before implementing of Physical Internet is massive. Some technologies require only modification, other inventions, not possible nowadays. But it can be assumed, that from technological point of view it will be possible to improve the hubs to required level till 2050. There is still unsolved matter of financing and organization.


The Kondo lattice Hamiltonian used for the CuO2 layers is investigated. A new derivation of the Wess-Zumino term in magnetic systems, and a new model for super-conductivity are presented. Holes belonging to the same copper site interact ferromagnetically, in contrast to holes belonging to difficult copper sites which interact anti-ferromagnetically. The presence of holes leads to a frustrated Heisenberg lattice. In a frustrated lattice, the individual Wess-Zumino terms of individual spins may combine to provide a non-trivial topological term for the 2D case.


Background: The increasing number of techniques introduced to describe organisms and taxa produce multivariate datasets, often composed of relatively independent descriptors. Handling several descriptors can be laborious and often unnecessary when their information is not congruent to that of other datasets used in the same study. On the other hand, different levels of correlation between single descriptors to a whole dataset may suggest useful scientific hints. The DADI (Distance-based Analysis for (optimal) Descriptor Identification) algorithm is proposed to allow a rapid and complete analysis among descriptors coming from two different datasets with the same number of objects. DADI was employed to select FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) spectral wavelengths according to their correlation with the 26S rDNA sequences of strains belonging to a yeast genus. Results: This procedure allowed to define a set of optimal wavelengths with an overall increase of the correlation between FTIR and 26S data. Conclusions: DADI can identify the FTIR wavenumbers best fitting to the chosen reference defining the descriptors to be used in FTIR and possibly in other metabolomic analyses.


Pringsewu Regency is an agrarian regency with the main livelihood of the population is from agro-industry agriculture. For on farm farming activities, a lot of cultivated commodities are food crops and rice crops. One of the key factors in creating equitable distribution of development or regional development and the right one result is the agricultural factor. While to know the feasibility of an agricultural area can be done by holding an assessment. The Assessment is made by Agriculture office in deciding the feasibility of agricultural areas include the assessment criteria of a region. The criteria of a region that is the type of soil, rainfall, water, temperature, and soil texture. Utilization of decision support system is very helpful in deciding the feasibility of agricultural area, and accompanied by the method of Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), this method can complete the research by finding the weight value for each attribute, then perform the ranking process that will determine the optimal alternative that is feasible for agriculture. With the decision support system with Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method and with object oriented design using Unified Modeling Language (UML) this will make it easier for Agriculture Office and other institutions to monitor and to obtain information about agriculture that is useful for agricultural development.


BACKGROUND
The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-revised (ESAS-r) is a nine-item self-report symptom intensity tool developed for palliative care patients, with the option of adding a 10th patient-specific symptom. Due to growing international uptake, the ESAS-r has been translated into different languages. There has not been agreement, however, regarding a standard process for translation into multiple languages, which also includes patients' perspectives.

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to develop a French version of the ESAS-r, using a standardized translation protocol, and to obtain palliative care patients' perspectives regarding this translated tool.

DESIGN
We developed a French version of the ESAS-r, using a standard translation method, involving both professional translators (n = 2) and bilingual palliative care experts (n = 3). Fifteen Francophone participants recruited from palliative care sites in two urban centers in Canada completed the ESAS-r and provided feedback on the translation, in the presence of a trained interviewer. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

SETTING/SUBJECTS
Fifteen Francophone participants were recruited from palliative care sites in two urban centers in Canada.

MEASUREMENTS
Participants completed the ESAS-r and provided feedback on the translation in the presence of a trained interviewer. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively.

RESULTS
Based on participants' concerns, translations for four of the nine symptoms were revised: drowsiness, nausea, lack of appetite, and shortness of breath. Concerns expressed for three additional symptoms (depression, anxiety, and well-being) were related to overall difficulty rating these symptoms, not specific to the translation.

CONCLUSION
The French version of the ESAS-r is a credible tool for symptom assessment in Francophone patients. The study findings provide a vital step in the development of a standardized translation protocol, including patients' perspectives, which can be applied to other languages.


This article focuses on the reinforcement of hydrogenated acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) by cotton fiber as natural reinforcing filler. The effect of fiber alignment on the properties of HNBR compounds and vulcanizates is investigated. Properties of interest include rheological behavior, cure, tensile, abrasion, and dynamic mechanical properties which are correlated to the magnitudes of state-of-mix, bound rubber content, crosslink density and fiber alignment. Results obtained reveal that mechanical properties of rubber composites are improved dramatically by the addition of cotton fiber due to the enhanced hydrodynamic effect in association with crosslink density. Furthermore, the degree of fiber alignment is found to depend strongly on shear strain. The results demonstrate the importance of fiber alignment controlled efficiently by shear strain. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 41090.


The under-rock guild of nemerteans from Lough Hyne, south-west Ireland was recorded during a long-term benthic survey of the marine reserve. From 2004 to 2014, common nemerteans were recorded annually in late summer for ten historical monitoring sites (each 10 m of shoreline); more comprehensive surveys were completed in 2012 (4126 low-intertidal to shallow-subtidal rocks were turned) and 2014 (1289 rocks turned) with supplementary information in 2015. The bootlace worm, Lineus longissimus, was the most abundant nemertean species. It was significantly more abundant at the extremely shallow East Castle site than the other nine sites; peak populations (across all ten sites) occurred in 2012. The Lusitanian nemertean Paradrepanophorus crassus was abundant after 2007. To date, 13 nemertean species were recorded with numerous new records for the lough, including Tubulanus annulatus, Micrura purpurea, Ramphogordius sanguineus, Micrella rufa and Emplectonema gracile . Three additional nemertean species were previously recorded, indicating that at least 16 species occur in the lough. Given the low densities and paucity of comprehensive earlier records, we are not able to ascertain definitely whether these species are new incursions or if sparsely distributed residents have increased.


In recent research, successful attempts have been made of working empirically with questions of learning within a conversation analytic framework, for example through analyses of how development can be understood in terms of changes in interaction patterns. These studies convincingly demonstrate ways of describing and analysing the how of learning. However, learning is not only about how we learn. We simultaneously need to address the question of content – of what is learned – and we need to do so in ways that take into account the inextricable intertwinedness of how and what.Through the detailed analyses of video recordings from an upper secondary aviation academy and an elementary school, we explore how a content of learning can be understood as constituted in and constitutive of interaction in situated activities. As point of departure we take the participants' orientations towards content; how a content of learning is established and upheld in interaction, and how the orientations towards this content changes over time. We argue that the constant revision of content as the participants orient to it in changing ways, are changes that can be understood as learning.


Background Most western countries are experiencing greater pressure on community care services due to increased life expectancy and changes in policy toward prioritizing independent living. This has led to a demand for change and innovation in caring practices with an expected increased use of technology. Despite numerous attempts, it has proven surprisingly difficult to implement and adopt technological innovations. The main established technological innovation in home care services for older people is the personal emergency response system (PERS), which is widely adopted and used throughout most western countries aiming to support "aging safely in place." Objective This integrative review examines how research literature describes use of the PERS focusing on the users' perspective, thus exploring how different actors experience the technology in use and how it affects the complex interactions between multiple actors in caring practices. Methods The review presents an overview of the body of research on this well-established telecare solution, indicating what is important for different actors in regard to accepting and using this technology in community care services. An integrative review, recognized by a systematic search in major databases followed by a review process, was conducted. Results The search resulted in 33 included studies describing different actors' experiences with the PERS in use. The overall focus was on the end users' experiences and the consequences of having and using the alarm, and how the technology changes caring practices and interactions between the actors. Conclusions The PERS contributes to safety and independent living for users of the alarm, but there are also unforeseen consequences and possible improvements in the device and the integrated service. This rather simple and well-established telecare technology in use interacts with the actors involved, creating changes in daily living and even affecting their identities. This review argues for an approach to telecare in which the complexity of practice is accounted for and shows how the plug-and-play expectations producers tend to generate is a simplification of the reality. This calls for a recognition that place and actors matter, as does a sensitivity to technology as an integrated part of complex caring practices.


Fully nonlinear model equations, including dispersive effects at one-order higher approximation than in the model of Choi & Camassa (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 396, 1999, pp. 1–36), are derived for long internal waves propagating in two spatial horizontal dimensions in a two-fluid system, where the lower layer is of infinite depth. The model equations consist of two coupled equations for the displacement of the interface and the horizontal velocity of the upper layer at an arbitrary elevation, and they are correct to O(μ2) terms, where μ is the ratio of thickness of the upper-layer fluid to a typical wavelength. For solitary waves propagating in one horizontal direction, the two coupled equations reduce to a single equation for the elevation of the interface. Solitary wave profiles obtained numerically from this equation for different wave speeds are in good agreement with computational results based on Euler's equations. A numerical approach for the propagation of solitary waves is provided in the weakly nonlinear case.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease manifest with multiple organ system involvement. Even though the eye is not part of the diagnostic criteria, once it gets affected, it will alter patients' quality of life. The purpose of this review is to point out the significance of ocular manifestations in SLE and to emphasize the importance of possible blinding complications such as peripheral ulcerative keratitis, scleritis, and SLE retinopathy/ choroidopathy. The condition can be even worse when SLE is accompanied with antiphospholipid syndrome. In addition to the disease itself, several treatment agents that are used in SLE are responsible for vision threatening conditions; thus they have to b


A man with spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) had a short (CTG)n expansion in the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase gene as well as (CAG)n expansion in the androgen receptor gene in leukocytes. The patient had the characteristic clinical findings of SBMA, but none of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). All of his three children (a son and two daughters) had the DM1 phenotype with long (CTG)n expansions. The daughters also had heterozygous long (CAG)n expansions. Postmortem examination of the patient revealed the characteristic pathological changes of SBMA as well as muscle degeneration compatible with DM1. Gene analysis of the organs disclosed unstable long expansions of the (CTG)n repeats, in contrast to the stable (CAG)n expansions. We have assumed that SBMA and DM1 developed independently in our patient, but cannot exclude the possibility that interactive gene effects increased somatic instability. Muscle Nerve 29: 729–733, 2004


Error and uncertainty in Raman thermal conductivity measurements are investigated via finite element based numerical simulation of two geometries often employed—Joule-heating of a wire and laser-heating of a suspended wafer. Using this methodology, the accuracy and precision of the Raman-derived thermal conductivity are shown to depend on (1) assumptions within the analytical model used in the deduction of thermal conductivity, (2) uncertainty in the quantification of heat flux and temperature, and (3) the evolution of thermomechanical stress during testing. Apart from the influence of stress, errors of 5% coupled with uncertainties of ±15% are achievable for most materials under conditions typical of Raman thermometry experiments. Error can increase to >20%, however, for materials having highly temperature dependent thermal conductivities or, in some materials, when thermomechanical stress develops concurrent with the heating. A dimensionless parameter—termed the Raman stress factor—is derived to identify when stress effects will induce large levels of error. Taken together, the results compare the utility of Raman based conductivity measurements relative to more established techniques while at the same time identifying situations where its use is most efficacious.


Background
The initial weeks of clinical anesthesiology are a formative period for new residents. Trainees may be clinically educated by a variety of individuals, and introductory didactic structure likely differs between institutions. This study was undertaken to define current orientation practices in US anesthesiology residency programs.

Methods
A survey was created using Qualtrics© software and distributed to all US anesthesiology residency program directors through the Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine email newsletter and through direct email to program directors.

Results
Fifty-six unique survey responses were received of 156 total programs. Eighty-nine percent of programs with an integrated intern year begin anesthesia-related orientation before the first year of clinical anesthesiology. Sixty-three percent of programs pair trainees with more than one specific individual during orientation. Programs most frequently pair trainees with anesthesiologists (75%) and/or senior residents (70%). Forty-six percent maintain this pairing for 4 weeks and 30% for 6 weeks or longer. Forty-three percent provide education on teaching practices to trainers. Introductory didactics last a median of 30 hours. Programs may blend lectures, simulations/workshops, digital content, problem-based learning, pocket references, and/or checklists into a cohesive introductory curriculum. Fifty-six percent begin call responsibilities in the sixth week of orientation or later.

Conclusions
Orientation practices for clinical anesthesia training vary across residency programs in the United States. We hope this information will help program directors compare their orientation practices to other programs and identify best practices and potentially useful variations.


Medical and racing records of 155 Thoroughbred racehorses that underwent arthroscopic surgery for carpal chip fractures were investigated. Articular damage for 98.4% of the fractures was classified as G1 or G2 using McIlwraith's criteria. The rate of return to racing after surgery was 82.6%. Evaluation of racing performance after surgery was attempted using a placing index (PI) based on race finish position. There was no significant difference in the PI distribution between horses that underwent surgery and other healthy horses.


The field of robotics is in rapid development. As robots become cheaper to build, new applications involving many robots systems can be envisioned. One reason for using many robots is to achieve robustness. Having many robots, however, does not ensure robustness. A control strategy and robot behaviors must be engineered to incorporate robustness into the system. Swarm intelligence based approaches are popular for developing optimal and robust control strategies for systems of robots. Here we analyze the behavior of a swarm of robots modeled after a swarm of ants, where tasks are spatially distributed in the environment and robots/ants are recruited through short-range recruitment. For ants that move probabilistically in response to the short range signal and who adjust their probabilities such that they are near a phase change boundary, or edge-of-chaos, in the mean field analysis of their motions, we find a significant improvement in the robustness of the system.


Background

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease with a major global health problem; being the tenth leading cause of death worldwide, and the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. Nigeria is among the countries with high burden of tuberculosis and the highest global mortality rate. Medication adherence has been shown to have profound effect on other treatment outcomes.

Objective

To examine a fifteen-year cohort of tuberculosis treatment outcomes in Jos North and Mangu Local Government Areas of Plateau State.

Methods

The study was done in five treatment centers which account for more than half of data for tuberculosis patients in Plateau State, North-Central Nigeria. The retrospective study was done from 2001 to 2015, where TB patient records who had completed treatment were evaluated. Treatment outcomes were classified as successful (cured, treatment completed) or unsuccessful (non-adherent, treatment failure or death) and analyzed using binomial logistic regression.

Results

Males composed 58.1% of the population (10,156). Mean age ±SD was 35.5±15.5 years. The overall treatment success rate was 67.4%; non-adherence/defaulting rate was 18.5%, with majority of patients defaulting at the end of intensive phase of treatment; sputum conversion rate was 72.8% and mortality rate was 7.5%. A decrease in successful treatment outcomes from 83.8% to 64.4%, with a corresponding increase in unsuccessful treatment outcomes was observed. The Predictors of medication non-adherence were patients with unknown HIV status (OR 4.29, 95% CI: 3.74-4.91, p < 0.001); being male (OR 1.15, CI: 1.37-1.66, p = 0.008) and having a history of non-adherence (OR 2.27, CI: 1.34-3.87, p = 0.002) and treatment failure (OR 2.83, CI: 0.98 – 8.19, p = 0.05).

Conclusion

Underlying reasons for medication non-adherence and treatment failure identified should be resolved by the patient, treatment supporter and health worker. Increased awareness and education on voluntary counseling and testing of HIV among TB patients is advocated, particularly among the male population.


Atrial septal defect is a very rarely seen congenital cardiac defect among elderly patients. In this report, we present a 79-year-old patient who still has left-to- right shunt with operable secundum type atrial septal defect. We believe our case is one of the rare patients with this condition reported in the literature.


This paper deals with the CUMINCAD-repository (Cumulative Index on CAD), which was set up in 1998 and has served the CAAD-community since then as an important source of archived domain related information. CUMINCAD contains over 5,000 entries in the form of publications in the field of Computer Aided Architectural Design. The number has been growing steadily over the years. To date only advanced search mechanisms have been provided to access these works. This may work out well for a justin-time location of a reference, but is inadequate for just in case browsing through the history of CAAD. For such applications, a hierarchical browsing interface, like one in Yahoo or DMOZ.org is envisioned. This paper describes how the keyword categories were defined and how a moderate, distributed effort in defining the categories will allow machine-identified classification of the entire data set. The aim of the paper is to contribute to building up a wide spread consensus on what the appropriate keyword categories in CAAD are, and what sub-topics should sit below the main keyword categories.


Recently, compact and high-resolution camera modules with auto-focusing (AF) function have been integrated into cell phones in order to capture sharp photographs. Consumer demands AF camera modules in cell phones to have high performance with low cost. Accordingly, the present study proposes a new electromagnetic design of miniature AF voice coil motor (VCM) actuator with closed-loop control for cell phone camera modules to satisfy the requirements. The structure of the proposed AF VCM actuators was designed by using simulation methods. The performance of the proposed AF VCM actuators was demonstrated by a laboratory-built prototype. The experimental results have shown that the proposed AF VCM actuator has excellent performance with lower power consumption, higher positioning repeatability, and lower cost, when compared to previous AF VCM actuators with open-loop control or closed-loop control.


Direct Volume Visualization is an efficient technique to explore complex structures within volumetric data. Its main advantage, compared to standard 3D surface rendering, is the ability to perform semitransparent rendering in order to provide more information about spatial relationships of different structures. Semitransparent rendering requires to process a huge amount of data. The size of volumetric data is rapidly increasing, on the one hand due to the boost of processing power in the past years, and on the other hand due to improved capabilities of newer acquisition devices. This large data presents a challenge to current rendering architectures and techniques. The enormous data sizes introduce a growing demand for interactive 3D visualization. Conventional slicing methods already reach their limit of usability due to the enormous amount of slices. 3D visualization is more and more explored as an attractive alternative additional method for examinations of large medical data to support the necessary 2D examination. Within this dissertation a set of approaches to handle and render large volumetric data is developed, enabling significant performance improvements due to a much better utilization of the CPUs processing power and available memory bandwidth. At first, highly efficient approaches for addressing and processing of a cache efficient memory layout for volumetric data are presented. These approaches serve as a base for a full-blown high-quality raycasting system, capable of handling large data up to 3GB, a limitation imposed by the virtual address space of current consumer operating systems. The core acceleration techniques of this system are a refined caching scheme for gradient estimation in conjunction with a hybrid skipping and removal of transparent regions to reduce the amount of data to be processed. This system is extended so that efficient processing of multiple large data sets is possible. An acceleration technique for direct volume rendering of scenes, composed of multiple volumetric objects, is developed; it is based on the distinction between regions of intersection, which need costly multi-volume processing, and regions containing only one volumetric object, which can be efficiently processed. Furthermore, V-Objects, a concept of modeling scenes consisting of multiple volumetric objects, are presented. It is demonstrated that the concept of V-Objects in combination with direct volume rendering, is a promising technique for visualizing medical data and can provide advanced means to explore and investigate data. In the second part of the dissertation, an alternative to grid-based volume graphics is presented: Vots, a point-based representation of volumetric data. It is a novel primitive for volumetric data modeling, processing, and rendering. A new paradigm is presented by moving the data representation


This brief demonstrates the promising feasibility of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing technology for the fabrication of a crossbar resistive switch (memristor) through the patterning of ITO as a bottom electrode and Ag as a top electrode. An ITO/ZrO2/Ag sandwich exhibiting reversible resistive switching (memristive) behavior has been demonstrated on a glass substrate. A physically layer-wise, electrical current-voltage (IV) characterization was done for the device fabricated using EHD printing. The device dimensions achieved in the current research were around 100 µm × 100 µm. The as-fabricated device showed a high ON/OFF ratio greater than 100000:1 with multiple operational voltages less than ±10 V. The measured retention time of the fabricated device was over 3 days. Results reveal that the current research work provides for the fabrication of a relatively low-cost memristive device with reversible resistive switching properties.


Robust and automatic non-rigid registration depends on many parameters that have not yet been systematically explored. Here we determined how tissue classification influences non-linear fluid registration of brain MRI. Twin data is ideal for studying this question, as volumetric correlations between corresponding brain regions that are under genetic control should be higher in monozygotic twins (MZ) who share 100% of their genes when compared to dizygotic twins (DZ) who share half their genes on average. When these substructure volumes are quantified using tensor-based morphometry, improved registration can be defined based on which method gives higher MZ twin correlations when compared to DZs, as registration errors tend to deplete these correlations. In a study of 92 subjects, higher effect sizes were found in cumulative distribution functions derived from statistical maps when performing tissue classification before fluid registration, versus fluidly registering the raw images. This gives empirical evidence in favor of pre-segmenting images for tensor-based morphometry.