The authors investigated the effect of ethanol on platelet impedance aggregation in whole blood (WB-PIA). Healthy moderate drinkers were given ethanol, 1 mL/kg body weight, to drink. Thirty minutes after ingestion of ethanol, WB-PIA was significantly inhibited when compared with baseline values. There was no significant inhibition when the same volunteers ingested water instead of ethanol. These observations suggest that WB-PIA is a sensitive technic for the detection of the effect of ethanol on platelets. These findings also support the view that blood ethanol levels achievable during social drinking impair platelet function, thus possibly accounting, at least in part, for the reported "protection" from ischemic heart disease in moderate drinkers. The sensitivity of human platelets to the inhibitory effect of ethanol suggests that continued drinking will adversely influence the incidence of initial bleeds and of rebleeding in gastrointestinal hemorrhage associated with alcoholism.


Alternative pre-mRNA splicing plays an important role in the generation of functional diversity of genome. The process of pre-mRNA splicing is regulated by cis- and trans-elements, and their deregulations result in aberrantly-spliced individual variants and aberrant expression profiles. Accumulating evidence has revealed that aberrant splicing contributes to a number of diseases including human neoplasms. Germ line mutations in cis-element of tumor suppressor genes such as MMR genes, APC gene, and CDH1 gene are involved in Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, and hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, respectively. In addition, somatic mutations in cis-elements also play a role in tumorigenesis. These genetic alterations including nonsense, missense, or silent mutations in cis-elements, led to aberrant transcripts by exon skipping, retention of the intron, or introduction of new splice site (Miura et al., Cancer Science 2011 Feb;102(2):309-16). We present our results and current knowledge of the regulatory mechanism underlying alternative pre-mRNA splicing and aberrant splicing, particularly focusing on digestive tract malignancies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3009. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3009


A longitudinal study of dental treatment carried out by the Dental Health Services Research Unit in Dundee has provided a unique opportunity to investigate a variety of aspects of dental care received by a sample of dentate individuals over 5 yr. The distribution of treatment indicated that frequent attenders, especially those who changed dentist, were particularly prone to having teeth filled and that two-thirds of the restorative cost was spent on restoring tooth surfaces that had previously been filled. A quarter of the sample had severe periodontal disease and they tended to visit a dentist less frequently than those with mild periodontal disease. They were also more likely to have teeth extracted but less likely to have a scaling or other periodontal treatment than the moderately diseased. The findings suggest that there is considerable scope for a less treatment-orientated approach to the management of dental caries for those who currently receive most of the restorative treatment. The majority of the population who receive little dental care, especially those with severe periodontal disease, would probably gain by visiting a dentist more frequently. Dentists need to acquire a more positive attitude towards prevention and an increased ability to make intellectually based decisions not to treat.


The rise of women's movement and feminist theology show to us about the critical consciousness of women"s experiences in the patriarchal society. They have fought against the patriarchal society supported by culture and religion. Many women have struggled for their self-respect, justice, and freedom. They have wanted to have an equal right and obligation with man either in church or in society. The aim of this paper is to describe the background of the rise offeminist theology and the richness of Feminist theological method.


This research focuses on civic participation and its role in an emerging democracy context, and examines the forms, patterns, trends, obstacles to and opportunities for civic participation, as well as the impact of civic participation on democratization and development processes in Armenia, a post-soviet country in the South Caucasus, that has embarked on simultaneous transition toward democracy and free market economy since its independence in 1991.
The dissertation suggests that civic participation is a key ingredient for successful transformations and effective reforms in both political and economic sectors in the post-soviet context of Armenia, and, therefore, more attention, as well as more vigorous efforts and resources should be directed to building civic capacity of the people and organizations in this setting. It is argued, that while, obviously, not a panacea for all development and democratization related challenges, civic engagement has a strong potential to foster those processes and contribute to the achievement of more effective, inclusive and sustainable solutions in the areas of democracy promotion and development in the transition countries. The original contribution of the thesis is an empirical study of civic participation in Armenia and assessment of its determinants and the impact on democracy and development related outcomes in the country. The primary research includes a study of civic participation in 10 rural and small urban communities across the country, and provides comprehensive information and insights into civic participation forms, pattern, determinants, obstacles and opportunities at the community level. Civic participation is further studied by examining the major civic initiatives and campaigns that took place in the country over the recent five years (2010-2015) and assessment of their outcomes and impact. The study looks closely at the determinants of civic participation, both the individual level factors and the obstacles and opportunities provided by the institutional context, and, in particular, examines the relationship of civic participation with social capital, civic education, and use of internet and communication technology (ICT). Civic participation habits and trends among the youth are explored by means of surveys conducted in 2013 and 2014. An innovative measure – a Civic Participation Score (CP Score) is introduced and computed, based on a pre-defined and operationalized set of indicators, and a Civic Participation Index (CP Index) is calculated for monitoring the changes, in separate indicator categories and overall, and analysing civic participation trends over time. The research sheds light on civic participation practice and trends in Armenia and builds a framework for analysis of civic engagement in an emerging democracy context, by identifying the participants, their motives, forms of civic engagement, its impact, as well as challenges and opportunities for participation. The study highlights the specific needs and opportunities for further civic capacity building and lays down a roadmap for further research and action in this direction.


Purpose: To investigate the agreement between diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), T2 weighted imaging(T2WI), and contrast T1 weighted imaging(cT1WI) in uterine leiomyoma following treatment by magnetic resonance imaging guided high intensity focused ultrasound surgery (MRg‐HIFUS). Materials and Methods: Twenty‐one patients (45±3.8yrs) with clinical symptoms of uterine leiomyoma were treated by MRg‐HIFUS using an integrated 1.5T MRI‐FUS System. The post MRg‐HIFUS treatment volume in the leiomyoma was assessed by cT1WI and DWI. MRI parameters consisted of DWI, T2WI, and T1 weighted fast spoiled gradient echo (FSPGR) before and after contrast. Trace apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were constructed for quantitative analysis. The regions of the treated uterine tissue were defined by a semi‐supervised segmentation method called the Eigenimage filter using both cT1WI and DWI. Signal to noise ratios were determined for the T2WI pretreatment images. Segmented regions were tested by similarity index for congruence. Descriptive, regression, and ANOVA statistics were completed. Results: All the patients exhibited heterogeneously increased DWI signal intensity localized in the treated leiomyoma regions and were colocalized with the cT1WI defined area. The mean pretreatment T2WI signal intensity ratios were T2WI/muscle=1.8±0.7 and T2WI/myometrium=0.7±0.4. The congruence between the regions was significant, with a similarity of 84% and a difference of 8% between the regions. Regression analysis of the cT1WI and DWI segmented treatment volumes were found to be significantly correlated (r2=0.94,p<0.05) with the linear equation,(cT1WI)=1.1(DWI)−0.66. Conclusion:Diffusion weighted imaging exhibited excellent correlation and agreement with the cT1WI defined region of treatment in uterine leiomyoma. Therefore, DWI could be useful as an adjunct for assessing treatment of uterine leiomyomata by MRg‐HIFUS.


A. First of all, we can affirm after the analysis of 132 records: the predominance of gynecologic cancers and the frequent responsibility of medical associations in the determinism of advanced radiation injuries of colon and rectum; the typically variable appearence of these injuries with an usual delay going from 6 months to a year and limits from 2 months to 35 years; the difficulty of diagnosis between radiation injurie and recurrence of cancer especially in case of fistula and the severe forecost in case of cancer radiation injurie association. B. The surgical management exist only for non-indications and failures of medical treatment; the one stage resection with end to end anastomosis will be made exclusively on advanced, therefore non evolving and limited injuries; in most cases, the multiple stage resection must be preferred: first derivation in selected part (sigmoid or transverse colon) and secondary resection in healthy area; as regards the closure of colostomy, it must never occur before a 6 months delay and anastomosis radiologic check.


The objective of this research is to use atomistic simulations to investigate dislocation nucleationfrom asymmetric tilt grain boundaries in FCC copper and aluminum. We use a 3D periodicbicrystal configuration to investigate how grain boundary degrees of freedom impact both theboundary structure and dislocation nucleation in symmetric and asymmetric tilt boundaries.Simulation results show that dislocation nucleation from asymmetric tilt grain boundaries requiresunderstanding of the structure and faceting of these boundaries. Deformation simulations of singlecrystals and grain boundaries under uniaxial tension and compression show entirely differentnucleation mechanisms, i.e., nucleation of full dislocations in copper from the grain boundaryunder compression. Analysis of the resolved stresses shows that the resolved stress normal to theslip plane on which the dislocation nucleates plays an integral role in dislocation nucleation forboth single crystals and interfaces.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse an example of non-decision making in the Nordic tripartite policy process, namely, the reform of the Finnish gender equality legislation and the law for equal pay comparisons.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses non-decision making as a conceptual framework for qualitative analysis of the documentation of the working group that drafted the law for equal pay comparisons. The analysis focuses on the strategic responses used by the participants in order to defend the status quo and resist change in legislation.

Findings

The key findings are that the suggested law for conducting equal pay comparisons as part of gender equality planning in Finnish organisations changed dramatically in the tripartite policy process. Employer organisations successfully prevented the most relevant features from being implemented in the reformed law.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this research indicate that there is a need for more research on the tripartite policy process and its implication on developing policy.

Social implications

This paper shows what kind of power employer and employee organisations use in Finnish policy making. As a result, the reformed gender equality legislation is a compromise reflecting the vested interests of different stakeholders. The findings highlight the challenges of developing policy in tripartite policy process.

Originality/value

The tripartite policy process and its implications have rarely been studied. The value of this paper lies in both originality of the topic and approach, and the societal importance of the findings.


Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are one of the important groups of organic micro pollutants (Xenobiotics) due to their widespread distribution and low degradability in the environment (atmosphere, water and soil). Some PAHs exhibit carcinogenic and/or mutagenic properties and are listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and European Commission (EC) as priority pollutants. In this research three petroleum contaminated sites in Iran were selected in order to separate and classify PAHdegrading microorganisms. Samples were analysed for: soil physico-chemical properties, soil particle size distribution, Ultrasonic extraction of PAH (phenanthrene) and microbial analysis. Ultrasonic extraction method was shown to be a reliable procedure to extract a wide range of PAH concentrations from different soils, e.g. clay, silt, and clay-silt mixtures. Results showed that the extraction rate of phenanthreen in mentioned different soils was in the range of 85 – 100 percent. Results showed that two of three selected sites were contaminated with phenanthrene in the range of 10 – 100 mg/kg of soil, and had a reasonable population of PAH-degrading bacteria, which were enable to adaptate and degradate a concentration range of phenanthrene between 10 and 1000 mg/kg of soil. According to results, it can conclude that, the bioremediation of contaminated soils in Iran may be considered as a feasible practice.


A well-illustrated cultural history of the apparel worn by American Catholics, Sally Dwyer-McNulty's "Common Threads" reveals the transnational origins and homegrown significance of clothing in developing identity, unity, and a sense of respectability for a major religious group that had long struggled for its footing in a Protestant-dominated society often openly hostile to Catholics. Focusing on those who wore the most visually distinct clothes--priests, women religious, and schoolchildren--the story begins in the 1830s, when most American priests were foreign born and wore a variety of clerical styles. Dwyer-McNulty tracks and analyzes changes in Catholic clothing all the way through the twentieth century and into the present, which finds the new Pope Francis choosing to wear plain black shoes rather than ornate red ones. Drawing on insights from the study of material culture and of lived religion, Dwyer-McNulty demonstrates how the visual lexicon of clothing in Catholicism can indicate gender ideology, age, and class. Indeed, clothing itself has become a kind of Catholic language, whether expressing shared devotional experiences or entwined with debates about education, authority, and the place of religion in American society.


The Buck Creek ultramafic body, situated within a belt of alpine-type ultramafites in the North Carolina Blue Ridge, is completely enveloped by the Chunky Gal Mountain amphibolites. The mafic and ultramafic units were in contact prior to the earliest metamorphic and deformational events. The complex is at least partly bounded by a major thrust fault and appears to have been emplaced after the first stage of deformation. The amphibolites are divided into two units, types I and II, on the basis of texture, mineralogy, trace-element geochemistry, and geothermometry; however, these are indistinguishable in terms of major-element compositions. Type I amphibolites were metamorphosed under prograde granulite-facies conditions (∼725 ± 25 °C), whereas type II amphibolites were metamorphosed under prograde amphibolite-facies conditions (∼520 ± 20 °C); pressure was ∼4 to 6 kbar over the entire complex. A second, retrograde event was of middle green-schist facies. The amphibolites appear to have been derived from a cumulate gabbroic protolith, and probable igneous differentiation trends are preserved despite the high grades of metamorphism. This complex may represent either the basal section of an ophiolite sequence with calc-alkaline affinity, or a mafic pluton into which an ultramafic diapir intruded within a rifted continental environment.


Population Politics in the Tropics explores colonial population policies in Angola between 1890 and 1945 from a transimperial perspective. Using a wide array of previously unused sources and multilingual archival research from Angola, Portugal and beyond, Samuël Coghe sheds new light on the history of colonial Angola, showing how population policies were conceived, implemented and contested. He analyses why and how doctors, administrators, missionaries and other colonial actors tried to grasp and quantify demographic change and 'improve' the health conditions, reproductive regimes and migration patterns of Angola's 'native' population. Coghe argues that these interventions were inextricably linked to pervasive fears of depopulation and underpopulation, but that their implementation was often hampered by weak state structures, internal conflicts and multiple forms of African agency. Coghe's fresh analysis of demography, health and migration in colonial Angola challenges common ideas of Portuguese colonial exceptionalism.


Previous studies in a line of rat basophilic leukemia (RBL 1) cells have indicated that the slow reacting substance (SRS) made during stimulation with the divalent cation ionophore, A23187, is derived from arachidonic acid (AA). In the present report, various inhibitors of AA metabolism were compared with regard to their effects on SRS formation and incorporation of radioactivity from [1-14C]-AA into known metabolites of the lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenase pathways. An apparently close parallel between lipoxygenase product formation and SRS synthesis is demonstrated. In addition, exogenous 5-hydroperoxy-eicosatetraenoic acid (5-HPETE) has been shown to markedly enhance SRS synthesis, even when A23187 is absent. The data provide very strong evidence that SRS is produced through the lipoxygenase pathway.


It is system engineering that analyse factors affecting battery recovery. At present, researches on the analysis of the influencing factors of battery recovery are still less. Especially, it is almost a blank field that quantitative analysis on the battery recycling process. Based on the principle of system dynamics (SD), this paper uses the Anylogic simulation platform to construct an SD model for electric vehicle battery recycling. Besides, it analyses the influence that electric vehicle production rate, electric vehicle/battery lifetime, battery renovation times, battery recycling rate and battery renovation rate on recycling (the quantities of spent batteries, the quantities of total batteries and the proportion of used batteries). Some important conclusions are obtained in this paper, such as the quantities of spent batteries, the quantities of total batteries and that the proportion of used batteries decreases about 40%, 15% and 10% respectively when battery lifetime is prolonged for one year. The parameters influencing simulation results greatly depend on the relative life of the battery and the vehicle, etc. From this result, we can take corresponding measures to improve the battery recycling industry and promote the healthy development of the electric vehicle industry.


Abstract : Research is currently underway to improve controllability of high degree-of-freedome manipulators under a Phase II SBIR contract sponsored by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC). As part of this program, the authors have created new control methods as well as adapting tool changing technology onto a dexterous arm to look at controllability of various manipulator functions. In this paper, the authors describe the work completed under this program and describe the findings of this work in terms of how these technologies can be used to extend the capabilities of existing and newly developed robotic manipulators.


Study Design. Systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Objective. The objective of this systematic literature review was to evaluate if intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) can prevent neurological injury during spinal operative surgical procedures. Summary of Background Data. IONM seems to have presumable positive effects in identifying neurological deficits. However, the role of IONM in the decrease of new neurological deficits remains unclear. Methods. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic reviews and Meta-analysis, we reviewed clinical comparative studies who evaluate the rate of new neurological events in patients who had a spinal surgery with and without IONM. Studies were then classified according to their level of evidence. Methodological quality was assessed according to methodological index for non-randomized studies instrument. Results. Six studies were evaluated comparing neurological events with and without IONM use by the random effects model. There was a great statistical heterogeneity. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was 0.72 {0.71; 1.79}, P = 0.4584. A specific analysis was done for two studies reporting the results of IONM for spinal surgery of intramedullary lesions. The OR was 0.1993 (0.0384; 1.0350), P = 0.0550. Conclusion. IONM did not result into fewer neurological events with the obtained evidence of the included studies. For intramedullary lesions, there was a trend to fewer neurological events in patients who underwent surgery with IONM. Further prospective randomized studies are necessary to clarify the indications of IONM in spinal surgeries. Level of Evidence: 2


A nanopowder containing gamma-Fe2O3 particles was synthesized by adding a gas mixture of H-2/Fe(CO)(5) into a microwave torch discharge at 1 bar. The presence of gamma-Fe2O3 phase was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (mean crystallite size d(XRD) = 24 nm). The dominating characteristic sextets of gamma-Fe2O3 were identified in the Mossbauer spectrum taken at 5 K. The presence of pure Fe3O4 in the nanopowder was excluded. The Mossbauer spectrum taken at 5 K exhibited six times larger total spectrum area than the Mossbauer spectrum taken at 293 K. Zero field cooled/field cooled curves measured down to 4 K in the magnetic field of 7.9 kA/m are reported.


Autotomy of receptors' endings in the intestine's microvascular bed was shown to entail a real breaking off of the end-plates or large fragments of receptors with their subsequent degeneration. The process of autotomy can be reproduced in the tissue culture. The TV-computer analysis revealed the autotomy both in developing structures in early ontogeny and in mature tissue receptors in adult animals. The autotomy seems to be a part of receptors recycling, the latter being associated with retractile activity of preterminals and resembling the separation of cytosomes in apical secretion, thrombo- and erythropoiesis.


RBC models with search unemployment and wage renegotiation generate too much wage volatility and too stable unemployment rate. Shimer (2004) shows that it is possible to reproduce a volatility of unemployment similar to that observed in actual economies by imposing full real wage rigidity. We use a similar model but with Calvo wage contracts and we obtain a microfounded equation of real wage rigidities. The models with full wage flexibility or full wage rigidity are obtained as particular cases. We show that a contract length of about six quarters fits best the observed cyclical properties of wages and unemployment.


This work describes a digital-domain self-calibration technique for multistage pipelined analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). By making the signal paths of both the input and the reference voltage the same, all error factors within a stage are merged into a single term which represents the equivalent radix number. The initially estimated radix for each stage mathematically iterates to the final correct value via an incremental update algorithm, after foreground calibration measurements are obtained during ADCs recycling mode of operation. In this way, an accurate calibration is achieved using a modified radix-based calculation. Two different single-bit-per-stage ADC adaptation/calibration methods are presented as examples. The proposed technique compensates for linear errors such as capacitor mismatches as well as finite opamp gain.


In order to understand the origin of observed molecular cloud (MC) properties, it is critical to understand how clouds interact with their environments during their formation, growth, and collapse. It has been suggested that accretion-driven turbulence can maintain clouds in a highly turbulent state, preventing runaway collapse and explaining the observed non-thermal velocity dispersions. We present 3D, adaptive-mesh-refinement, magnetohydrodynamical simulations of a kiloparsec-scale, stratified, supernova-driven, self-gravitating, interstellar medium (ISM), including diffuse heating and radiative cooling. These simulations model the formation and evolution of a MC population in the turbulent ISM. We use zoom-in techniques to focus on the dynamics of the mass accretion and its history for individual MCs. We find that mass accretion onto MCs proceeds as a combination of turbulent flow and near free-fall accretion of a gravitationally bound envelope. Nearby supernova explosions have a dual role, compressing the envelope and increasing mass accretion rates, but also disrupting parts of the envelope and eroding mass from the cloud's surface. It appears that the inflow rate of kinetic energy onto clouds from supernova explosions is insufficient to explain the net rate of change of the cloud kinetic energy. In the absence of self-consistent star formation, the conversion of gravitational potential into kinetic energy during contraction seems to be the main driver of non-thermal motions within clouds. We conclude that although clouds interact strongly with their environments, bound clouds are always in a state of gravitational contraction, close to runaway, and their properties are a natural result of this collapse.


The genus Glyphochloa (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Andropogoneae: Rottboellinae) is endemic to peninsular India and is distributed on lateritic plateaus of low and high altitude in and around Western Ghats and the Malabar Coast. The genus presumably originated and diversified in the Western Ghats. Species relationships in the genus Glyphochloa were deduced here based on molecular phylogenies inferred using nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences and plastid intergenic spacer regions (atpB‐rbcL, trnT‐trnL, trnL‐trnF), and new observations were made of spikelet morphology, caryopsis morphology and meiotic chromosome counts. We observed two distinct clades of Glyphochloa s.l. One of these ('group I') includes Ophiuros bombaiensis, and is characterized by a single‐awned lower glume and a base chromosome number of 6; it grows in low elevation coastal areas. The other clade ('group II') has a double‐awned lower glume, a base chromosome number of 7, and is restricted to higher elevation lateritic plateaus; G. ratnagirica may belong to the group II clade, or may be a third distinct lineage in the genus. A sister‐group relationship between group I and II taxa (with or without G. ratnagirica) is not well supported, although the genus is recovered as monophyletic in shortest trees inferred using ITS or concatenated plastid data. We present a key to species of Glyphochloa and make a new combination for O. bombaiensis.


Ground conductivity meters use electromagnetic fields for the mapping of geological variations, like the determination of water amount, depending on ground layers, which is important for the state analysis of embankments. The VLF band is contaminated by numerous natural and artificial electromagnetic interference signals. Prior to the determination of ground conductivity, the meter's working frequency is not possible, due to the variable frequency of the interferences. Frequency management based on the analysis of the selected band using track-before-detect (TBD) algorithms, which allows dynamical frequency changes of the conductivity of the meter transmitting part, is proposed in the paper. Naive maximum value search, spatio-temporal TBD (ST-TBD), Viterbi TBD and a new algorithm that uses combined ST-TBD and Viterbi TBD are compared. Monte Carlo tests are provided for the numerical analysis of the properties for a single interference signal in the considered band, and a new approach based on combined ST-TBD and Viterbi algorithms shows the best performance. The considered algorithms process spectrogram data for the selected band, so DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform) could be applied for the computation of the spectrogram. Real–time properties, related to the latency, are discussed also, and it is shown that TBD algorithms are feasible for real applications.


AIM
The aim of the study was to use recent data to determine whether Community Water Fluoridation (CWF) remains a cost effective public health intervention in New Zealand, given a reduction in dental caries in all communities over time.

METHOD
Local authorities that fluoridated their water supplies were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding fixed and variable costs incurred from CWF. Cost savings were calculated using data from the 2009 New Zealand Oral Health Survey. The cost effectiveness of CWF in conjunction with treatment per dmft/DMFT averted was compared to an alternative of treatment alone. Calculations were made for communities with populations of less than 5,000, 5,000 to 10,000, 10,001 to 50,000 and greater than 50,000.

RESULTS
CWF was cost effective in all communities at base case. CWF remained cost effective for communities over 5,000 under all scenarios when sensitivity analysis was conducted. For communities under 5,000 the there was a positive net cost for CWF under certain scenarios.

CONCLUSION
In this study, CWF was a cost effective public health intervention in New Zealand. For smaller communities cost effectiveness would be more dependent upon the population risk profile of the community.


Enhancing the efficiency in drilling operations can lead to significant reduction in the overall costs of wells construction. Efficiency is generally achieved by maximizing drilling rate of penetration (ROP) while minimizing non-productive time (NPT) such as loss of circulation, well control and stuck pipe incidents. Reducing the uncertainties associated with subsurface formations, especially formation stresses around the wellbore, is one key aspect to decreasing the frequency of NPT incidents.
 Understanding wellbore stresses and the mechanical properties of subsurface formations is essential to optimize drilling surface parameters and drilling fluids properties to ultimately maximize drilling ROP and minimize NPT. Determination of the geomechanics drilling mud window in real time allows drilling operations to proactively prevent fractures and/or formation instabilities. The availability of the mud window in real time will enhance the rig reaction time to any abnormalities experienced while drilling to maintain bottomhole pressure (BHP) consistently within the window.
 The drilling mud window is constrained by a maximum and a minimum mud weight (MW) boundaries. The lower limit represents the stability gradient and the upper limit represents the fracture gradient. Drilling with a MW below the lower limit may cause formation instabilities such as caving and swelling that could lead to more severe consequences such as stuck pipes. Exceeding the upper limit MW may induce formation fractures that lead to loss of circulation that increases the risks of well control incidents.
 The developed model automatically and continuously calculates formation mechanical properties such as Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio using sonic logging while drilling (LWD) data. Based on formation specific correlations, the model then determines the in-situ stresses, induced stresses, and principle stresses. The fracture and stability gradients can be determined and converted to a MW for easier communication with the drilling crew. The maximum and minimum MWs are displayed as curves in real time that allows immediate adjustments to drilling parameters and/or drilling fluid properties.
 Geomechanics studies that contain the mud window are usually conducted pre-drilling using offset wells data, and these studies are often updated post-drilling only, which does not reduce the uncertainties associated with them. A real time model maintains the window relevant and up to date with the new data generated from the well.


The tormented and hard closure of the Italian OPG. The transition from OPG to REMS Psychiatric and legal positivism created the figure of the "guilty fool", a patient-offender, criminally irresponsible. Incapable of understanding and willing, not actionable, dangerous and to be interned in an ad hoc institution: the criminal asylum, then judicial mental hospital (in Italian "OPG"), encoded in the Rocco Code (1930), still in force in the field of security measures, acquittal, social dangerousness. While with the law 180/78 Italian psychiatry has made the anti-asylum choice and a choice of Community based mental health services, the criminal law, except the articles amended by the Corte Costituzionale, has remained unchanged until 2012, when Parliament decided to close 6 OPG and the opening of the REMS, a path not concluded, also strongly opposed. The path to the closure of OPG needs the Criminal Code reform and new relationships between psychiatry and judiciary.


Author(s): Smolyaninov, Alexei | Advisor(s): Fainman, Yeshaiahu | Abstract: Photonics is the study of interaction between light and matter, of using various forms of structured and unstructured matter to shape and control the propagation of light. Plasmonics, using near field interactions of metal-dielectric interfaces to control the propagation of optical wavefronts, is a rich area of study with applications in fields such as biosensing, thin film metrology, high-speed ultra-compact integrated modulators, and metamaterials, to name a few. In this work, plasmonics is used to develop devices that enhance both non-linear optical phenomenon and linear electro-optic processes. Non-linear optical phenomenon, such as raman scattering from biological media and two-photon absorption in silicon where enhanced via light concentrating plasmonic media, such as millimeter-scale high-density nanoantenna arrays and and roughened noble metal thin-films, were used to realize ultra-fast optical auto-correlators on a silicon-chip photo-detector and to implement compositional analysis of DNA base pairs via surface enhanced raman spectroscopy. Likewise, the knowledge gained from these efforts in manipulating light in the near-field evanescent regime to enhance non-linear optical phenomena inspired a novel approach of space-variant modulation of free-space optical wavefronts based on surface plasmon resonance enhancement of the linear electro optic or pockel's effect. Current state of the art spatial light modulators are limited to kHz speeds. To realize higher operating speeds, advances in high speed free-space electro-optic transduction are necessary. In this work, electrically driven control of free-space optical fields at a wavelength of 1550 nm at GHz modulation speeds is demonstrated using a programmable plasmonic phase modulator based on near field interactions between surface plasmons and materials with a high linear electro-optic (Pockel's) response. High χ(2) dielectric thin films are used as an active modulation layer in a surface plasmon resonance configuration to realize programmable space-variant control of optical wavefronts at GHz speeds. The programmable plasmonic phase modulator demonstrated here represents a proof of principle demonstration of a path towards GHz speed spatial light modulation.


Cold weather is an important matter for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles (EV/HEVs), because the electro-chemical process is slowed at low temperatures, hence inducing a loss of power and energy. To prevent it from happening, battery packs are heated via a battery thermal management system (BTMS). However, in some cases, HEVs/EVs are not connected to the grid, so the BTMS uses energy from the battery pack, thus impacting total autonomy. Strategies exist, but must be optimized. Therefore, this paper proposes the design of a HEV strategy that is parked outside and unplugged from the electrical grid. Its objective is to find a compromise between the cost in energy contained in the battery and the aging of the cells. The optimization is based on dynamic programming and utilizes an electro-thermal battery model including aging. Simulation results are then compared with other strategies, underlining that parking outside at work or overnight without plugging in are issues with the actual strategies of common EVs/HEVs, mainly because aging as a result of cold temperatures is not considered.


Abstract The whole mitochondrial genome of the spiny spooner Etisus dentatus collected from the South China Sea was determined for the first time using high-throughput sequencing. The circular mitogenome of E. dentatus is 15,884 bp, with 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, two rRNA genes. The base composition is significantly biased (A, G, T, and C was 37.9%, 17.8%, 34.0%, and 10.3%, respectively) with A + T contents of 71.9%. Among 13 PCGs, all PCGs use a normal ATN as the start codon, and ten of them end with TAA or TAG except COX1, COX2 and CYTB gene using a single T as the stop codon. The phylogenetic tree showed that E. dentatus forms a cluster E. anaglyptus while Atergatis integerrimus form a sister group to this cluster.


A novel signaling scheme is proposed for iterative channel estimation and data decoding in fast fading channels. The basic idea is to bias the occurrence probability of transmitted symbols. A priori information about the bias is utilized for channel estimation. The bias-based scheme is constructed as a serially concatenated code, in which a convolutional code and a biased nonlinear block code are used as the outer and inner codes, respectively. This construction allows the receiver to estimate channel state information (CSI) efficiently. The proposed scheme is numerically shown to outperform conventional pilot-based schemes in terms of spectral efficiency for moderately fast fading channels.


To answer the challenges of climate change, a massive reorientation of private and public financing flows is required. The financial sector appears to be a key player to engage the energy transition. One of its first objectives in the context of this low-carbon transition is to have methods and tools to estimate emissions of greenhouse gases (direct and indirect). The estimate of GHG emissions enables the financial sector to better understand and manage its exposure to climate change and to identify development business opportunities related to greenhouse gas emissions. Among the indirect emissions of greenhouse gases in the financial sector, the key issue is to quantify financed emissions, i.e. caused by the detention of a financial asset. The purpose is to present the existing practices for quantifying GHG financed emissions of financial institutions across the two types of existing methodological approaches, to date. Classification JEL: G12, Q54, Q56.


This project focuses on using machine learning classification algorithms to determine whether two people are 6 feet apart or not. Two Raspberry Pis were used simulate smart phones. RSSI values of the Bluetooth beacons transmitted between the Raspberry Pis were collected and recorded to train the classifier. The Gaussian Support Vector Machine Classifer yielded the highest testing accuracy of 79.670 and the Decision Tree Classifier yielded the highest AUC of 0.80.


1. In the Cirripedia the exo -skeletal integument consists of a thick layer of chitin with a thin superficial layer of cuticle. 2. The cuticle agrees in properties with that of the Decapod Crustacea, and is also secreted by tegumental glands. 3. Unicellular or compound glands, here first described, secrete the cuticle of the outer surface of the peduncle and capitulum; the labial and suboesophageal ('salivary') glands secrete that of the surface of the mantle cavity. 4. In the Operculata the labial glands also secrete between moults, the cuticular material serving to entangle excess material which enters the mantle cavity and so assist in its rejection. The restriction of this accessory function to the Operculata may be correlated with their abundance in frequently turbid waters between tide-marks. 5. The cement is identical in properties with the cuticle and the cement glands are regarded as modified tegumental glands. 6. In the Pedunculata all the gland-cells regenerate after secretion. The labial and suboesophageal glands secrete only at the moult, in the other glands some of the cells are always active. 7. In the Operculata secretion is confined to the moult apart from the secretion produced by the labial glands in connexion with rejection of particles. 8. In the Operculata the cells of the cement glands degenerate after secretion, new cells developing from the walls of the duct. 9. The specializations of the tegumental glands are correlated with the sessile habits of the Cirripedia.


In the present paper, seventeen geographic strains of D. auraria species complex and five geographic strains of other four species, which belong to the montium species subgroup were biochemically examined for the construction of phylogenetic tree based on phenetic and cladistic analysis. Eighteen isoenzymes were analyzed by isoelectric focusing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the above twenty two geographic strains. The phenogram of the D. auraria species complex is supported by UPGMA program of phenetic analysis. It was found that: 1. D. auraria, D. triauraria and D. quadraria grouped as an type are more closely related to one another, and D. biauraria, D. subauraria are more closely related to each other, while the former three species are distantly related to the latter two species. 2. The genetic identity between two geographic strains of same species is higher than the genetic identity between different species, except the geographic strain T-KM of D. triauraria. 3. The geographic strain T-KM, one of the D. triauraria from the southeast isolated islands Kametoku [symbol: see text] of Japan is far more distantly related to the other geographic strains of it. We suggest that the new species or subspecies are diverged from D. triauraria will be due to the geographic speciation mechanisms. 4. The genetic differentiation among eight geographic strains of D. triauraria are much larger than those among three geographic strains of D. auraria, which may be related to their different inhabitation environment as well as their flying ability. On the other hand, a cladistic analysis of the D. auraria species complex are made in the present paper.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Background Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a medical condition characterized by the persistence of urticaria for more than six weeks, primarily caused by mast cell activation. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) are the most common cause of dysfunction of the thyroid gland, and they are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Mast cell mediators have a significant role in the pathogenesis of CSU through two main pathways: the derangement of intracellular signaling pathways in mast cells and basophils and the production of autoantibodies against these cells. This study aimed to explore the association between AITDs and CSU by examining clinical features and measuring thyroid hormones and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibodies in patients. Aim and objectives The primary aims of this study are to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of autoimmune thyroid disorders in patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria. The specific objectives are to evaluate the triiodothyronine (T3), tetraiodothyronine (T4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) antibody levels in patients and controls and to explore the correlations between these parameters and the development and severity of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Material and method The present study was an observational investigation that enrolled 40 patients, consisting of 20 cases and 20 controls. The inclusion criteria involved patients of both sexes, aged above 18 years, who had chronic spontaneous urticaria and agreed to participate in the study with informed consent. Patients with other skin conditions lacking abnormal thyroid etiopathogenesis were also included. Exclusion criteria included patients with major systemic disease, uncontrolled medical or surgical illness, renal or hepatic disorders, and pregnant or lactating females. Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria underwent a comprehensive clinical evaluation, and their urticaria severity was scored using an established scoring system. Blood samples were collected from both cases and controls for measuring T3, T4, TSH, and anti-TPO antibody levels. The anti-TPO antibody was processed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The autoimmune thyroid disease was screened by monitoring T3, T4, TSH, and anti-TPO antibody levels. Results There were significant variations observed in thyroid-stimulating hormone and anti-thyroperoxidase antibody levels. Among the cases analyzed, 40% demonstrated an urticaria severity score of one, while 25% reported a duration exceeding eight weeks. Additionally, 25% of patients experienced severe pruritus and intense wheals. Conclusions This research has discovered a robust association between serum anti-TPO antibodies and the occurrence of chronic spontaneous urticaria. To mitigate the potential for chronic spontaneous urticaria to lead to long-term morbidity, it is imperative to consider testing for serum anti-TPO antibodies in conjunction with primary thyroid markers, including T3, T4, and TSH.


This retrospective study was planned to examine the relationship between glucose metabolism, androgen and lipid profiles after vitamin D and metformin treatments in adolescent girls with hyperandrogenism. Forty-five adolescent female patients diagnosed with hyperandrogenism were divided into three groups. The first group of patients was given metformin (M), the second group was given metformin and vitamin D drops (MdD), and the third group were those who received oral metformin and vitamin D ampoules (MsD). Biochemical and hormonal parameters at the end of 8 weeks were compared statistically. The vitamin D level was higher in the metformin-vitamin D stoss treated group than metformin-vitamin D drops. There was a positive correlation between vitamin D and SHBG in the metformin group (r =0.65, p<0.01). A significant correlation was observed between triglyceride and insulin in both groups given vitamin D, and there was a decrease in these two values (p<0.05). There was a positive correlation between total testosterone and Alanine transaminase (ALT) in the MsD group (p<0.05). Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between SHBG and HDL-cholesterol in three groups. There was a significant correlation between androgen and lipid parameters in the 8-week metformin and vitamin D treated groups. Long-term studies using high-dose vitamin D are needed to support our results.


Net photosynthesis (PN) and leaf epidermal characteristics of five poplars; 72-31 ( Populus alba x Populus glandulosa ), Eco28 ( Populus euramericana ), Suwon ( Populus koreana x Populus nigra var. italica ), Dorskamp (Populus deltoides x P. nigra ), and 62-2 ( P. nigra x Populus maximowiczii ) were investigated to come up with parameters for comparison. The poplars, 72-31, Suwon and Dorskamp had a significant P N decreasing from May through September. A wide significant variation in the stomata size and density of the genotypes were observed. Especially, Dorskamp and 62-2 had significantly lower number of stomata than Eco-28, 72-31 and Suwon had, but significantly larger stomata length than Suwon and 72-31 had. In addition, 72-31 had trichomes in the abaxial surface, which may be one of the phytoremediation characteristics of this clone compared to other clones.


PURPOSE Patients who carry pathogenic variants in DPYD have higher systemic fluoropyrimidine (FP) concentrations and greater risk of severe and fatal FP toxicity. Pretreatment DPYD testing and DPYD-guided FP dosing to reduce toxicity and health care costs is recommended by European clinical oncology guidelines and has been adopted across Europe, but has not been recommended or adopted in the United States. The cochairs of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines for colon cancer treatment explained their concerns with recommending pretreatment DPYD testing, particularly the risk that reduced FP doses in DPYD carriers may reduce treatment efficacy. METHODS This special article uses previously published frameworks for assessing the clinical utility of cancer biomarker tests, including for germline indicators of toxicity risk, to assess the clinical utility of pretreatment DPYD testing, with a particular focus on the risk of reducing treatment efficacy. RESULTS There is no direct evidence of efficacy reduction, and the available indirect evidence demonstrates that DPYD-guided FP dosing results in similar systemic FP exposure and toxicity compared with standard dosing in noncarriers, and is well calibrated to the maximum tolerated dose, strongly suggesting there is minimal risk of efficacy reduction. CONCLUSION This article should serve as a call to action for clinicians and clinical guidelines committees in the United States to re-evaluate the clinical utility of pretreatment DPYD testing. If clinical utility has not been demonstrated, further dialogue is needed to clarify what additional evidence is needed and which of the available study designs, also described within this article, would be appropriate. Clinical guideline recommendations for pretreatment DPYD testing would increase clinical adoption and ensure that all patients receive maximally safe and effective FP treatment.


This article explores the topic of exceptionality in phonology focusing on nasal-stop inventories. A meticulous survey shows that it is normal for such systems to include at least two anterior units: /m/ and /n/. The finding that the introduction of /ŋ/, the first posterior unit to appear, normally follows that of both anterior units suggests that anteriority is somehow more compatible with this consonant class; however, this hypothesis is challenged by exceptions: /n/ is occasionally superseded by /ŋ/. The proposed analysis overturns the view that there is a single universal place hierarchy. It demonstrates that languages assess the cost of place features on multiple dimensions and that nasal-stop inventories are shaped by the conflict between three evaluation measures: one for articulatory cost, one for perceptual cost, and one for dispersion. A theory of far greater explanatory power emerges when each evaluation measure is empirically substantiated and their universality is strictly respected.


A two channel approach to noise robust feature extraction for speech recognition in the car is proposed. The coherence function within the bark subbands of the mel-frequency-cepstral-transform is calculated to estimate the spectral similarity of two statistic processes. It is illustrated how the coherence of speech in binaural signals is used to increase the robustness against incoherent noise. The introduced pre-processing method of nonstationary signals in two microphones results in an additive correction term of the mel-frequency-cepstral-coefficients.


As a general practitioner working in family medicine I found the article counterproductive as it downplayed the problems of left-handedness, especially the reeducation that is still undertaken in many cases. Old wine in new bottles (for example, do left-handed persons die earlier than others?) does not help to eliminate the taboo associated with the topic of left-handedness and avoid trying to reeducate children to right-handedness, which is still carried out in many cases, because of modeling and imitation behavior, mostly in the form of self training by left-handed children.

Terms such as "reeducation" are euphemisms supporting the "most violent attack on the human brain without bloodshed", according to Ivo-Kurt Cizek.

However, my main criticism is of a methodological nature: how was genuine handedness verified in the reported meta-analysis? It is not enough to ask subjects whether they are right-handed or left-handed or to define the writing hand as the criterion for handedness. Rather, handedness needs to be diagnosed by using valid testing methods before useful statistical analyses can be presented. The statistical evaluations therefore do not require detailed discussion, even though this is very tempting and enlightening, because none of the included studies had actual confirmation of handedness.

On the other hand, several more recent studies were not cited (for example, those by Kloppel[1], Siebner[2], Sattler or Marquardt[3]).

This article does not provide any new insights but cites some outdated studies whose methods were unsatisfactory even at the time they were conducted and whose results are therefore not valid. Most parents, educators, and doctors these days have accepted the fact that the left and right hands are of equal "value". However, information is still lacking, and children are still being reeducated by means of modeling and imitation behaviors, with subsequent complications.


The Chinese Olympic Committee was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in November 1979. Following the reinstatement, between 1980 and 1984, the People's Republic of China (PRC) sent athletes to participate in the 1980 Lake Placid, the 1984 Sarajevo Olympic Winter Games, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, while boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. This study investigated the Chinese participation in the Olympic Games and the development of Chinese national sport between 1980 and 1984, and attempts to respond to the question why the PRC chose the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games instead of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games as the debut of the Chinese athletes on the global sport stage. The research revealed that between 1980 and 1984, Chinese national sport served the national interests of the PRC and was deeply influenced by the changing international political environment. The PRC government made the decision to participate in the 1984 Olympic Games as well as to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games in order to realize its diplomatic strategies and maximize its national interests


Understanding the diversity of life is one of the main aims of evolutionary biology, and requires knowledge of the occurrence and causes of adaptive genetic differentiation among geographically distinct populations. Environmental stress caused by acidity may cause strong directional selection in natural populations, but is little explored from an evolutionary perspective. In this thesis, a series of laboratory experiments and field data was used to study evolutionary and ecological responses of amphibians to environmental acidity. Local adaptation to acid stress was studied in the moor frog (Rana arvalis).The results show that acid origin populations have higher acid stress tolerance during the embryonic stages than neutral origin populations, and that acid and neutral origin populations have diverged in embryonic and larval life-histories. The mechanisms underlying adaptive differentiation are partially mediated by maternal effects related to extra-embryonic membranes and egg size. Acid origin females invest in larger eggs and have a stronger egg size-fecundity trade-off than females from neutral areas, likely reflecting adaptive differentiation in maternal investment patterns. Potential carry-over effects of low pH, and the effects of UV-b/pH interaction were investigated in the common frog (R. temporaria). The results suggest that amphibian larvae are able to compensate for the negative effects of acidity experienced early in life, if conditions later turn beneficial. R. temporaria populations differed in their sensitivity to synergistic effects of low pH/UV-B, indicating variation in population responses to environmental stress.In conclusion, these results suggest rapid evolution in response to human induced environmental change, much of which may be mediated via adaptive maternal effects. Acidification may be a powerful selective force shaping life-history evolution.


Recent data have documented the importance of Si, Na, K, O, and H derived from the lower layers of the mantle, along Benioff zones. In the Tethys and circum-Pacific volcanic zones, continental layers have formed from the generation of juvenile granite and eruptions of intermediate and acidic lava. Numerous data contradict the contention that andesitic and rhyolitic magma are differentiates of basaltic magma; the downsliding and assimilation of basaltic oceanic crust do not account for the bulk of the continental granitic and andesitic crust. Lighter materials have ascended from the deep layers of the mantle, and these compose the main masses of continental crust.


Th e theoretical and methodological framework of the undertaken issue is indicated by basic notional categories – culture, value and valuing orientations. While analyzing the philosophical and educational context, assumptions of social and cultural anthropology were applied (with a special focus on its anthropocentric-cultural current), (phenomenologically orientated) axiology and cognitive psychology (with the use of its cognitive-developmental theo-ries). Assumption was also made concerning the exploration of youth's image of the axiological world and the valuing orientations manifested by them, that make it possible to learn the way(s) rooted in culture and experience, in which learners understand themselves, Others and the world. Referring to the results of the studies conducted in 2001–2018 in a few selected cultural borderlands of Poland with European countries (Austria, Germany, Czech Republic) and Ukraine, the undertaken discussion draws attention to the problem of shaping the multidimensional identity of young Poles and Ukrainians, as well as the individual structure of the axiological reality.


A research was conducted to determine the feasibility of using adsorption process to remove boron from aqueous solutions using batch technique. Three adsorbent materials; magnesium, aluminum and iron oxide were investigated to find their abilities for boron removal. The effects of operational parameters on boron removal efficiency for each material were determined.The experimental results revealed that maximum boron removal was achieved at pH 9.5 for magnesium oxide and 8 for aluminum and iron oxide. The percentage of boron adsorbed onto magnesium,aluminum and iron oxide reaches up to 90, 42.5 and 41.5% respectively under appropriate conditions. Boron concentration in effluent water after adsorption via magnesium oxide comply with the allowable concentration according to WHO and the Iraqi drinking water guidelines, i.e. below 0.5 mg/l. Aluminum and iron oxide yield effluent water with boron concentration more than allowable limits. Accordingly,magnesium oxide is more suitable as adsorbent for boron removal from water; for its high adsorbent capacity and high removal ability for boron compared with aluminum and iron oxide.


Introduction: During the past decade, the public, health care professionals, and governments have shown much interest in ensuring that professionals, specifically physicians, are skilled in their work and competent in managing health care organizations. The need to assess competence in the health care sector was explored, with the aim of proposing a policy for monitoring and assessing competence during active professional life. Methods: A literature search and semistructured interviews were conducted. The 16 health care professions listed in the French health care code were included. The main questions were: What is your organization's definition of competence? What are the principal elements that define competence in health care activities? How can a system for assessing competence be implemented? Which methods for such a system are most appropriate, based on foreign experiences? Who are the players in the field of competence? And how can organizations participate in monitoring competence? Results: 265 people representing 148 French organizations were interviewed. Competence in health care should be defined as follows: "professional competence is based on the initial diploma, the implementation of effective continuing education, a minimal professional activity and a regular peer review process." There was an agreement on the basic elements of competence, on the responsibilities of public institutions and professional organizations, and on the need to work together. Discussion: We have shown that in France health care professionals would like to have a better system that allows them to exchange more information on the main health care issues; this is a serious requirement for most professionals.


A structure of the information integration in manufacturing system based on Web Service is presented for improving the cooperation and practicality of manufacturing system.Data interface of the system is introduced.The operation data are also discussed on the basis of XML.The model of information integration in manufacturing system is improved by Web Service,which is the right method for implementation of computer supported collaborative work(CSCW) in manufacturing system.


Debates about appropriate action in medicine often turn on finding the right emotional orientation to new developments. In this article enthusiasm emerges as a key term in a professional 'vocabulary of motive' around innovation, complicating current sociological interest in expectations. The negative associations that adhere to this word among clinical researchers indicate awareness with the difficulty of managing hype and public hopes, but analysis of its use by cardiologists over the past two decades also reveals tension around more specific professional dangers, including 'credulity' and inappropriate activism. An emphasis on clinical trials offers one resolution, but additional narrative strategies can be identified when discussing when to start such trials here illustrated for stem cells for cardiac repair. In particular, while some suggest delaying trials until there is good knowledge of mechanism gained in the laboratory, others support early clinical research through gestures of therapeutic and epistemic modesty.


Conceptual consequences of recent results in loop quantum gravity are collected and discussed here in view of their implications for a modern philosophy of science which is mainly understood as one that totalizes scientific insight so as to eventually achieve a consistent model of what may be called fundamental heuristics on an onto-epistemic background which is part of recently proposed transcendental materialism. This enterprise is being understood as a serious attempt of answering recent appeals to philosophy so as to provide a conceptual foundation for what is going on in modern physics, and of bridging the obvious gap between physics and philosophy. This present first part of the paper deals with foundational aspects of this enterprise, a second part will deal with its holistic aspects.


Recent studies of the Central Complex in the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have identified neurons with localised activity that tracks the animal's heading direction. These neurons are part of a neuronal circuit with dynamics resembling those of a ring attractor. Other insects have a homologous circuit sharing a generally similar topographic structure but with significant structural and connectivity differences. In this study, we model the precise connectivity patterns in two insect species to investigate the effect of the differences on the dynamics of the circuit. We illustrate that the circuit found in locusts can also operate as a ring attractor and we explore the role and robustness of the connectivity parameters. We identify differences that enable the fruit fly circuit to respond faster to changes of heading while they render the locust circuit more tolerant to noise. Our findings demonstrate that subtle differences in neuronal projection patterns can have a significant effect on the circuit performance and emphasise the need for a comparative approach in neuroscience.


The area postrema (AP) is a small, circumventricular organ located in the dorsal medulla and is characterized by an anastomosed capillary network with no blood-brain barrier. It contains the chemoreceptor trigger zone for vomiting, which is activated by noxious stimuli in the blood. Lesions to the AP produce a clinical syndrome referred to as area postrema syndrome (APS), which is characterized by intractable nausea, vomiting, and hiccups. APS manifests frequently as neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD), where antibodies attack aquaporin-4 receptors, which are found in abundance in the AP. Its vascular supply is delivered by the anterior spinal artery or, at times, by small vessel branches of the vertebral artery itself. Ischemic stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States; however, APS due to ischemic stroke has rarely been described. We present a case of a 62-year-old male with ischemic stroke in the cerebellum and brainstem, which produced intractable APS due to extension within his AP. He was treated with metoclopramide 10 mg four times daily and ondansetron 8 mg every eight hours, which relieved his symptoms. Recognizing that the patient's intractable nausea and vomiting was attributable to AP involvement was valuable in limiting further extraneous workup and focusing on our medical management. Ischemic stroke should be considered in the differential for APS. Given the size of the AP, thin-cut high-resolution diffusion-weighted MRI is warranted in patients with clinical APS. Recognizing that intractable nausea and vomiting may be attributable to stroke is valuable in mitigating extraneous and ineffective medical management. The patient case we describe in our report further outlines these findings.


In this work, we explicitly construct the vacuum solution of Einstein's equations with prescribed multipole moments. By observing the behavior of the multipole spacetime metric at small distances, we conjecture that for a sufficiently large multipole moment, there is a minimal size below which no object in nature can support such a moment. The examples we have investigated suggest that such minimal size scales as $(M_n)^{1/(n+1)}$ (instead of $(M_n/M)^{1/n}$), where $M$ is the mass and $M_n$ is the $n$th order multipole moment. With the metric of the"multipole spacetime", we analyze the shape of black hole shadow for various multipole moments and discuss the prospects of constraining the moments from shadow observations. In addition, we discuss the shift of gravitational wave phase with respect to those of the Kerr spacetime, for a test particle moving around an object with this set of multipole moments. These phase shifts are required for the program of mapping out the spacetime multipole moments based on gravitational wave observations of extreme mass-ratio inspirals.


A tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) subject to local forces can be viewed as an uniform beam with local loads. We used a custom built Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) to determine the curvature induced in the TMV by concentrated load or by distributed forces. Local forces were created by the AFM tip. Distributed forces were applied to the virus via the surface tension of receding droplets. The experimental results of both methods can be described when we attribute a Young modulus of 6 ± 3 GPa to the virus. Our value is about five times larger than published data. We compare our results to the literature and work out possible error sources in our experiment and in published one.


Federal contingency plans include the use of chemical dispersants to ameliorate hazardous situations caused by spills of flammable or explosive petroleum products. The closing of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City, when a gasoline tanker exploded and sank under it, was nearly overshadowed by the leakage of 7 750 000 L (2 000 000 gal) of gasoline from a storage facility in Boston. The threat to a densely populated neighborhood of six-family tenement houses and a large racetrack that stabled hundreds of Thoroughbred horses led to the use of a chemical dispersant to neutralize the fire hazard. Favorable results by fire departments in recent years, as a result of training, have established dispersants as the method of choice to handle nonburning spill incidents. Even though the teams that responded to several such emergencies of course held the protection of life and property as paramount, no toxicological environmental effects were noted during subsequent observations.


Follow-up cohorts (observational studies) were initiated consecutively or simultaneously to the development of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in JIA patients(1,2). They help to identify many complications observed only in clinical practice related to off label use, coadministration of treatments, drug misuse, and occurrence of rare or unexpected event. In addition, observational studies include a higher number of patients with a longer duration of follow-up compared to randomised trials. Hence, they have a higher power to capture the occurrence of serious adverse events (SAE) in daily clinical practice3.To estimate the incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs) including serious infections, malignancies, and death in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) treated with biological agents (BAs) in daily clinical practice, using meta-analysis techniques.We systematically searched, up to May 2019, Medline and Embase databases for observational studies performed in JIA disease under BAs treatment. Outcomes were SAEs, serious infections, malignancies and all-cause mortality. Complementary, the incidence of SAEs in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with withdrawal and parallel designs was performed by meta-analysis.A total of 31 observational studies were included (6811 patients totalizing 17530 patients-years [PY] of follow-up). The incidence rate of SAEs was similar in observational cohorts and withdrawal RCTs (4.46 events per 100 PY, 95% CI 2.85- 6.38, I2= 95%) and 3.71 events per 100 PY (95%CI 0.0-13.34), I2= 56%, respectively). The incidence of SAE was lower in parallel RCT. The incidence rate of serious infections, malignancies and death in observational cohorts was estimated at 0.74 events per 100 PY (95%CI 0.32-1.30, I2=83%), 0.10 events per 100 PY (95% CI 0.06-0.16, I2=0%) and 0.09 events per 100 PY (95% CI 0.05-0.14, I2=0%), respectively. Infections were the known cause of death in 8 of the 14 deaths. In meta-regression and subgroup analysis, variation of serious infections rates were partially explained by follow-up time (R2= 30.3%, p= 0.0008), JIA categories (all JIA versus polyarticular versus systemic JIA categories, p= 0.001) and cohort quality (Newcastle-Ottawa score ≥ to 6 versus ≤ to 5 stars, p= 0.0025).Our results suggest that the incidence rate of SAEs related to BAs in JIA disease is similar to those observed in randomised withdrawal trials. The overall incidence remained low. However, unsatisfactory description of SAEs prevents analysis of hospitalisation causes. Infection and, to a lesser extent, cancer and death, explain only part of burden of BAs.[1]Berard RA, Laxer RM. Learning the hard way: clinical trials in juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018;77(1):1–2.[2]Swart J, Giancane G, Horneff G, Magnusson B, Hofer M, Alexeeva Е, et al. Pharmacovigilance in juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients treated with biologic or synthetic drugs: combined data of more than 15,000 patients from Pharmachild and national registries. Arthritis Res Ther. 2018 27;20(1):285.[3]Monti S, Grosso V, Todoerti M, Caporali R. Randomized controlled trials and real-world data: differences and similarities to untangle literature data. Rheumatol Oxf Engl. 2018 01;57(57 Suppl 7):vii54–None declared


Male ornaments and other sex‐specific traits present some of the most dramatic examples of evolutionary innovations. Comparative studies of similar but independently evolved traits are particularly important for identifying repeated patterns in the evolution of these traits. Male‐specific modifications of the front legs have evolved repeatedly in Drosophilidae and other Diptera. The best understood of these novel structures is the sex comb of Drosophila melanogaster and its close relatives. Here, we examine the evolution of another male foreleg modification, the sex brush, found in the distantly related Drosophila immigrans species group. Similar to the sex comb, we find that the origin of the sex brush correlates with novel, spatially restricted expression of the doublesex (dsx) transcription factor, the primary effector of the Drosophila sex determination pathway. The diversity of Dsx expression patterns in the immigrans species group closely reflects the differences in the presence, position, and size of the sex brush. Together with previous work on sex comb evolution, these observations suggest that tissue‐specific activation of dsx expression may be a common mechanism responsible for the evolution of sexual dimorphism and particularly for the origin of novel male‐specific ornaments.


Research guide for students in IBUS 410: Introduction to International Business Index/indicies/indicators enable the use of data for comparing countries conditions and performance.


Most of the growing body of research that centres on gender in virtual worlds is focused on the performativity and embodiment of gender through experimenting with forms of the avatar (for example Hussain and Griffiths, 2008, Dumitrica and Gaden, 2009), and does not seek to explain how issues relating to physical gender may be explored within the environ- ment other than through manipulation of the avatar. Participants within our study engaged individually with their avatars to varying degrees, but generally there was minimal personalisation and the avatar was predominantly the tool that each used to engage with the environment and each other. We are hence able to privilege a wider range of questions relating to gender that can be addressed using the body of evidence gathered through forum postings, Second Life chat transcripts, survey results and planned telephone interviews:

• To what extent has Second Life fulfilled the needs of returners (eg networking and social contact, supporting their shared experience of 'being in the same boat')?
• Have their experiences of SL been more or less gendered than VLE forums?
• Does the gendered choices of avatars affect performance and/or participation in the group?
• How well does Second Life replicate or enhance face to face networking?


The aim of this article is to describe and critically discuss the discourse on HIV/AIDS within the framework of Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in Kisumu, Kenya. It is based on data collected mainly through participant observation and interviews during five fieldwork sessions in the period 2003–2006. The context is the research project Islamic education and social development in Kisumu, Kenya, financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). The article describes how the issue of HIV/AIDS is present in the context of IRE, mainly in secondary schools in Kisumu, an area heavily affected by the pandemic. The framework in which teachers and students address the issue is one conditioned by notions of religiously correct and incorrect sexual behaviour and gender, and by the fact that Muslims constitute a religious minority in Kisumu. The article argues that the main role of the local discourse on HIV/AIDS and Islam in the context of IRE is to strengthen notions of religious and moral superiority, and hence boost the self-esteem of the Muslim students. Furthermore, it provides support for dominant views and norms relating to Islam, gender and sexuality.


Recently, Hawking radiation of the black hole was studied by tunnel effect method. It was found that the radiation spectrum of the black hole is not a strictly pure thermal spectrum. How the deviation between the radiation spectrum from pure thermal spectrum affect the entropy is a very interesting problem. In this paper, we calculate the partition function using the energy spectrum derived by tunnel effect, then obtain the entropy of the black hole. When we take first order approximation, the logarithmic term of entropy correction is consistent with the one considering the generalized uncertainty relation. However, in our calculation, there is no uncertain factor. And the coefficient of logarithmic correction term is the same one after considering the correction to the black hole entropy due to the thermal fluctuation. There are no divergent terms in our result when the thermal capacity of the black hole is negative. So our discussion has universality.


We present a model of crowd motion in regions with moving obstacles, which is based on the notion of measure sweeping process. The obstacle is modeled by a set-valued map, whose values are complements to r-prox-regular sets. The crowd motion obeys a nonlinear transport equation outside the obstacle and a normal cone condition (similar to that of the classical sweeping processes theory) on the boundary. We prove the well-posedness of the model, give an application to the environment optimization problems, and provide some results of numerical computations.


Effects of the movie My Fuehrer – The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler by Dani Levy were tested with regard to: (a) attitudes toward Hitler, (b) the perceived role of the German population in Nazi Germany, (c) the perception of present danger from national socialist tendencies, and (d) the subjective need for continued preoccupation with German history. A total of 110 Germans were invited to a cinema and randomly assigned to the control group that filled in the relevant questionnaire before the movie, or to the film group that filled in the questionnaire after the movie. The film group reported fewer negative attitudes toward Hitler than the control group and saw the German population less as victims. Attitudes toward right-wing political parties and empathy, as well as demographic variables, exerted significant moderator effects. Results are discussed with regard to the public controversy concerning a potential trivialization of Hitler and National Socialism by the movie.


The formation of organometallic compounds and π complexes by the direct action of the atomic metal on organic and inorganic compounds is surveyed. The mechanism of these reactions is examined, and practicable recommendations are given for conducting them. A list of 100 references is included.


Leverage the power of Hyperledger Fabric to develop Blockchain-based distributed ledgers with ease Key Features Write your own chaincode/smart contracts using Golang on hyperledger network Build and deploy decentralized applications (DApps) Dive into real world blockchain challenges such as integration and scalability Book Description Blockchain and Hyperledger technologies are hot topics. Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Composer are open source projects that help organizations create private, permissioned blockchain networks. Applications that exploit them include finance, banking, supply chains, IoT, and much more. This book will be an easy reference to explore and build blockchain networks using Hyperledger technologies. This book will start by explaining the blockchain evolution, including an overview of relevant blockchain technologies. You will learn how to configure Hyperledger Fabric on a cloud platform. Understand the architectural components of Hyperledger Fabric, and how they are configured to build private blockchain networks, and applications that connect to them. You'll build up a network and application from scratch, starting with first principles. You'll learn how to implement smart contracts in chaincode and much more on the Hyperledger network. By the end of this book, you will be able to build and deploy your own decentralized applications using Hyperledger, addressing the key pain points encountered in the blockchain life cycle. What you will learn Discover why blockchain is a game changer in the technology landscape Set up blockchain networks using basic Hyperledger Fabric deployment Understand the considerations for creating decentralized applications Learn the process of creating good business networks using Hyperledger Write Smart Contracts quickly with Hyperledger Composer Design transaction model and chaincode with Golang Deploy Composer REST Gateway to access the Composer transactions Discern how business network impacts your Hyperledger Fabric solutions Who This Book Is For The book benefits business leaders as it provides a comprehensive view on blockchain business models, governance structure, and business design considerations of blockchain solutions. Technology leaders stand to gain a lot from the detailed discussion around the technology landscape, technology design, and architecture considerations in the book. With model-driven application development, this guide will speed up understanding and concept development for blockchain application developers. The simple and well organized content will put novices at ease with blockchain concepts and constructs.


Abstract Some 25 U.S. states have implemented or plan to implement a policy requiring that students pass a basic-skills test to graduate from high school. These tests, designed for native English speakers, have doubtful validity and reliability when administered to the English language learner (ELL) population, which is growing every year. Additionally, requiring students to pass an examination in English for high school graduation has two major consequences. To the individual, failure of the test could result in denial of gainful employment. To the larger society, an incidental English-only policy is implemented. This paper reviews some of the validity issues associated with high school exit exams used with ELL students and some of the solutions proposed by researchers and educators. This paper highlights how high-stakes testing has been implemented in four southwestern states with large ELL populations: Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas.


Changing circumstances and shifting public attitudes are forcing policy makers and educators to reconsider the rationale for a continuing federal role in support of medical education. Federal institutional support programs are criticized as being inappropriate to current and future needs, socially inequitable and subject to abuse by a coercive governmental apparatus. A rationale for federal support can be advanced, but such support must be designed to avoid unwarranted subsidies and to encourage maximum reliance upon private-sector resources, and should be confined to functions for which the federal government in uniquely suited. The appropriate federal role is conceived as being the ultimate guarantor of financial access to the medical-education system by otherwise qualified students, perfecting the market for human-capital investment.


Kulfi is an indigenous product that looks like ice cream or milk ice. Kulfi is India's most famous frozen dessert, which aids in the development of small-scale manufacturing while also providing significant employment and money. Its origin is unknown, but it is possible that it only became popular after artificial ice became available. Kulfi is a nut ice cream that is frozen in little conical pots. After chilling, sweetened milk with 20-25 percent additional sugar is concentrated to about half its volume, then malai, crushed almonds, pistachio, and flavoring components such as vanilla and rose essence are added. The goal of this research was to create a probiotic-functional kulfi using Indian blackberry (Syzygium cumini L.). Studied for its physicochemical analysis such as carbohydrate, protein, fat, TS and moisture. In the present investigation treatment K0 is the control kulfi that doesn't contain any probiotic culture and powder of Indian blackberry and treatments Ka to Kr are the experimental kulfi which contain various proportion of sugar (10%, 15% and 20%), Indian blackberry powder (2%, 4% and 6%) and probiotic culture (1%., Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidus). After physicochemical analysis it was found that the probiotic functional kulfi (Ka to Kr) has high amount of protein and low amount of fat than control kulfi (K0). Because the experimental kulfi was prepared by using Indian blackberry powder with 1% probiotic culture.


The surfaces of Zn-doped biomagnetite nanostructured particles were functionalized with (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and used as a high-capacity and collectable adsorbent for the removal of Hg(II) from water. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the attachment of MPTMS on the particle surface. The crystallite size of the Zn-doped biomagnetite was ∼17 nm, and the thickness of the MPTMS coating was ∼5 nm. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analyses revealed that the particles formed aggregates in aqueous solution with an average hydrodynamic size of 826 ± 32 nm. Elemental analyses indicate that the chemical composition of the biomagnetite is Zn(0.46)Fe(2.54)O(4), and the loading of sulfur is 3.6 mmol/g. The MPTMS-modified biomagnetite has a calculated saturation magnetization of 37.9 emu/g and can be separated from water within a minute using a magnet. Sorption of Hg(II) to the nanostructured particles was much faster than other commercial sorbents, and the Hg(II) sorption isotherm in an industrial wastewater follows the Langmuir model with a maximum capacity of ∼416 mg/g, indicating two -SH groups bonded to one Hg. This new Hg(II) sorbent was stable in a range of solutions, from contaminated water to 0.5 M acid solutions, with low leaching of Fe, Zn, Si, and S (<10%).


Increasing  China's presence in the South Pacific have captured attention from many parties.  Its  increasing  presence  to  the  region  that  has  for  decades  been  dubbed  as 'western lake', a region  economically 'has no future' and politically unstable, has posed many  questions.  Whilst  western  powers  exercised  hard  power  are  South  Pacific nations  more  receptive  to  China's  soft  power?  China s  presence  often  leads  to speculation  that  China  is  indeed  a  new  hegemon.  The  author  argues  that  the  South Pacific is not a new area of focus for China, and China is not a new player. China is  a global player. It  has  strategic agendas  built in the past and  restrengthened  when  the traditional powers  to abandon the region.  Using the  logic  of strategic realism, China's presence  in  the  South  Pacific  is  an  effort  to  manage  global  plurality  as  part  of  its global  strategy  to  gain  strategic  opportunities  of  the  region.  This  provided  a  new perspective in understanding international relations in the South Pacific.


The paper presents a very simple model of migration, relying on three widely accepted points: first, labour productivity and wages in a country depend on the present average human capital; second, agents maximise their utility, so that migration decisions depend on the wage gap across economies; third, the larger the personal human capital, the higher the propensity is to migrate (ceteris paribus). The model shows that migration through its external effects always lowers the welfare in the sending country, while the effects on the receiving country can be positive or negative. As a consequence, selfish developed economies could desire a larger migration than the optimal level for a benevolent World Planner. This calls for international coordination concerning the regulation of migration flows. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Derived is an analytic dynamic model of the price distribution of consumer goods in retail markets. The stationary price distribution is established from the conservation equation of offered units and two simplifying assumptions. Under the condition that independent traders make small random price variations around a nearly constant supply price, the stationary price distribution of a good must have the form of a fat-tailed Laplace distribution. The standard deviation of the distribution is determined by the price volatility of the goods. Also, the price distribution of an ensemble of goods is established and applied to empirical data with good quantitative agreement.


When a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate is placed into rotation, a lattice of vortices and cores appear. The geometry of this lattice (triangular or square) varies according to the rotational value and the intercomponent coupling strengths. In this paper, assuming a Thomas-Fermi regime, we derive a point energy which allows us to determine for which values of the parameters, the lattice goes from triangular to square. It turns out that the separating curve in the phase diagram agrees fully with the complete numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations. We also derive a formula for the critical velocity of appearance of the first vortex and prove that the first vortex always appears first in the component with largest support in the case of two disks, and give a criterion in the case of disk and annulus.


This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selec ed methodological issues.


A glass‐based TFT (thin film transistor circuit) module with ambient light detection function was designed and manufactured on the display panel, and the photoelectric characteristics of TFT photosensitive devices were measured and obtained. After the data analysis and processing, the photoelectric characteristic curves with good linearity were obtained. After algorithmically optimizing the intrinsic data, the thin‐film transistor photosensitive element achieved the same photoelectric characteristic as the silicon‐based photosensitive element. Measurements of the photoelectric characteristics of the TFT photosensitive device showed that the photoelectric performance of the sensor is repeatable and relatively undetermined. The photoelectric characteristics demonstrate the corresponding relationship of multiple direction functions. Different products show different current values under the same illumination, but the overall photoelectric characteristics still maintain the trend of multiple direction functions. In the experiment, 200 TFT photosensitive device units were connected into a set of photosensitive elements array, and placed under the ambient illumination of 0~30000 LUX. The output current range of the photosensitive array after parallel connection is 0~200 mA. The results indicate that the photoelectric characteristic of TFT photosensitive device has linear relationship after effective data processing and algorithm computing. After testing with different products, the device characterizes the ambient light with less than 5% accuracy. Therefore, the glass‐based TFT module with ambient light detection function can accurately reflect the data of ambient light, realizing the practicability of the photosensitive device based on TFT technology.


Early detection and diagnosis of a disease in its presymptomatic form has to rely on biomarkers, and multiple laboratories are involved in their development and validation. In this article, we describe our work on a platform technology for a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation while still using a small amount of sample – a biopsy, a section from a formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue or a small volume (0.4 ml) of plasma from blood. This technology (methylation detection or MethDet) allows genome-wide association studies similar to the analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Instead of mostly static genetic differences, the MethDet technology tests disease-dependent changes of epigenetic makeup, which is closely related to the gene expression pattern of a disease. The MethDet assay has the capacity to utilize highly fragmented DNA (e.g., cell-free circulating DNA from plasma) to identify disease-specific changes, effects of treatment or changes in the disease activity.


How many different ways are there to handwrite digit 3? To quantify this question imagine extending a dataset of handwritten digits MNIST by sampling additional images until they start repeating. We call the collection of all resulting images of digit 3 the"full set."To study the properties of the full set we introduce a tensor network architecture which simultaneously accomplishes both classification (discrimination) and sampling tasks. Qualitatively, our trained network represents the indicator function of the full set. It therefore can be used to characterize the data itself. We illustrate that by studying the full sets associated with the digits of MNIST. Using quantum mechanical interpretation of our network we characterize the full set by calculating its entanglement entropy. We also study its geometric properties such as mean Hamming distance, effective dimension, and size. The latter answers the question above -- the total number of black and white threes written MNIST style is $2^{72}$.


In order to assess the efficacy and safety of alfuzosin, a selective alpha-1 receptor antagonist, 205 patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) were randomly assigned in a double-blind, placebo-controlled manner, to receive either alfuzosin 2.5 mg TID or placebo TID during 12 weeks. After 12 weeks symptom scores-assessed according to the Madsen-Iversen scale were significantly reduced in the alfuzosin group and peak flow rate significantly increased compared to the placebo group. There were no significant differences concerning adverse events or withdrawals. Alfuzosin proved to have a beneficial effect in patients with symptomatic BPH with few and minor adverse events.


A rectangular ring type band pass filter with U-shaped geometries kept in ring is proposed in this paper. Feed are connected at the end of open ended stubs. Presented filter is suitable for the application of wlan or the application using frequencies in L-band range. A flat passband response can be achieved when it is employed to implement a bandpass filter. The resonator also exhibits attenuation poles close to the edges of the passband, thereby offering sharp rejection in the bandpass filter response. Moreover, since the signal applied at the input port is effectively forced to travel mainly through the transmission line path over the passband frequency, the loss incurred by the coupled lines is minimized. Extensive theoretical analysis of the rectangular ring and design example of the bandpass filter prototypes based on the ring structure is given. The proposed geometry is simulated through ie3d software, and results are purely based on the simulation results.


Efficient hydrogenations of nitriles and ketones with molecular hydrogen catalyzed by a well-defined bench-stable bisphosphine Mn(I) complex are described. These reactions are environmentally benign and atomically economic, implementing an inexpensive, earth-abundant nonprecious metal catalyst. A range of aromatic and aliphatic nitriles and ketones were efficiently converted into primary amines and alcohols, respectively, in good to excellent yields. The hydrogenation of nitriles proceeds at 100 °C with catalyst loading of 2 mol % and 20 mol % base ( t-BuOK), while the hydrogenation of ketones takes place already at 50 °C, with a catalyst loading of 1 mol % and 5 mol % of base. In both cases, a hydrogen pressure of 50 bar was applied.


We examined aspects of emotional empathy across different physiological response systems in boys with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) and normal controls. Heart rate (HR) and electromyographic (EMG) reactivity in zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles were monitored during sadness-, anger-, or happiness-inducing film clips. Relative to controls, DBD boys showed significantly less HR reduction during sadness, and a smaller increase in corrugator EMG activity both during sadness and anger. No significant group differences emerged in HR and zygomaticus EMG responsivity during happiness. We also examined cardiac activity at rest and found higher resting HR and lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia in DBD boys compared to controls. Findings give evidence for a selective impairment in empathy with sadness and anger (not happiness) among DBD boys who exhibit relatively high levels of anxiety and poor emotional control.