Abstract Objective: Mid-trimester amniocentesis continues to be used for the prenatal diagnosis of chromosomal anomalies and other genetic disorders. Analysis of amniotic fluid obtained at the time of mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis identifies those patients who are at risk for early spontaneous preterm delivery. This is based on a solid body of evidence that found subclinical intra-amniotic inflammation/infection to be causally linked to early spontaneous preterm birth. Although several biomarkers have been proposed to identify intra-amniotic inflammation, the accumulated data suggest that the determination of amniotic fluid matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8), or neutrophil collagenase, is a powerful predictor of spontaneous preterm delivery. MMP-8 is released by inflammatory cells in response to microbial products or "danger signals". A rapid point-of-care test has been developed to determine MMP-8 at the bedside within 20 min, and without the requirement of laboratory equipment. The objective of this study was to determine whether an elevation of MMP-8 in the amniotic fluid, measured by a rapid point-of-care test, can identify those patients at risk for spontaneous preterm delivery after a mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis. Study design: A case–control study was designed to obtain amniotic fluid from asymptomatic singleton pregnant women who underwent mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis. An MMP-8 bedside test was performed to analyze the amniotic fluid of 64 patients with early spontaneous preterm delivery (<30 weeks) and 128 matched controls with normal pregnancy outcomes. Results: (1) The MMP-8 bedside test (Yoon's MMP-8 Check™) was positive in 42.2% (27/64) of patients with spontaneous preterm delivery but in none (0/128) of the control cases (p < 0.001); (2) the MMP-8 bedside test had a sensitivity of 42.2%, and a specificity of 100% in the prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery (<30 weeks) following a mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis; and (3) among the patients with spontaneous preterm delivery, those with a positive MMP-8 bedside test had a significantly higher rate of spontaneous delivery within 2 weeks and 4 weeks of an amniocentesis [40.7% (11/27) versus 5.4% (2/37); 63.0% (17/27) versus 24.3% (9/37)] and a shorter interval-to-delivery period than those with a negative test [interval-to-delivery: median (range), 16 d (0–95 d) versus 42 d (2–91 d); p < 0.05 for each]. Conclusion: We conclude that 42% of patients with an early spontaneous preterm delivery (< 30 weeks) could be identified by a rapid MMP-8 bedside test at the time of their mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis. The MMP-8 bedside test is a powerful predictor of early spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic pregnant women.


In this paper, an extensive reliability analysis of wind energy conversion systems (WECS) is presented. Elaborate the analysis is presented starting from the subassembly level to the subsystem level, then the system or the overall WECS. The fault tree method with a Weibull probability distribution function is introduced as a complete model for estimating the wind turbine subassemblies' reliability. The model was tested using a massive dataset of failure rates of various wind turbine subassemblies derived from relevant literature, comprising various operating concepts and the different climate conditions. In addition, ranking for various subassemblies of wind energy conversion systems concerning their impact on the overall system reliability is also presented in this paper to identify the weak items and subsystems. This identification guides the designers and planners in setting the appropriate maintenance strategies to increase the overall reliability of the considered systems and achieve a desired level of reliability. The results indicate that the model has practical applications for managing wind turbines, and the implementation demonstrates the proposed approach's effectiveness and efficiency, which may significantly enhance the WECS reliability.


Network-centric operations is a new military doctrine. It generates a war fighting advantage by networking between all sensors, effectors and command entities trough a common joint and combined communication network. The handling and evaluation of the enormous data flow of all attended sensors and other information sources to obtain information superiority requires a multisensor data fusion functionality. This functionality has to fuse all relevant information and has to ensure that the different interoperability and synchronisation aspects are fulfilled. The aim is to produce a common operational picture. This paper addresses the topics of tracking, classification and identification under the network-centric operations aspect. Therefore, different techniques are proposed and compared. These have to be integrated in accordance to operational requirements, and technical and physical constraints.


The dynamic properties of unentangled adsorbed polymer layers are considered theoretically. The kinetics of penetration of a chain in an adsorbed layer is considered as a two-step process: entry corresponding to the attachment of the chain on the adsorbing surface and spreading on the surface. We discuss three types of experiments, the formation of an adsorbed layer, the desorption from an adsorbed layer and the exchange between an adsorbed layer and a bulk solution. The bottleneck for the adsorption of a new chain onto a solid wall (already covered by polymers) is the spreading stage corresponding to creation of G contacts with the wall with a total binding energy of order of kT. The desorption of a preadsorbed layer in contact with pure solvent is extremely slow and only a very small fraction of the adsorbed chains is expected to desorb within the experimental time scale. The exchange between labelled adsorbed chains and unlabelled chains in solution is slower than the formation of a saturated layer, but much faster than the desorption process. The molecular weight dependencies of the characteristic times of the three processes are predicted using the Rouse-Zimm dynamics for the polymer chains


It is commonly believed that Nigerian students perform very poorly in the English language. Many reasons adduced to be the causative variables for students' poor performance in the English language are located away from the students themselves. What the above scenario portends is that no effort has been made to find out the strategies which the students themselves use in their efforts to learn the English language; it also implies that no effort has been made to find out the relationship between such strategies and the level of students' performance in the target language. The problem which this study addressed was not only to evaluate the language learning strategies which the sampled study population use in their efforts to learn English, but also to determine the extent to which their mean achievement scores in English depend on their use of various language learning strategies. The study was carried out using a descriptive survey research design. Its population consisted of Senior Secondary School (SSS) form II students in three states of south-eastern Nigeria. Random sampling technique was used to select a total of one thousand, four hundred and one (1401: 747 = males, 654 = females) students used for the study. Two sets of instrument were used to collect data for the investigation: appraisal instrument (cloze test), and questionnaire. Two research questions and corresponding two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Results of the study revealed that 1) the greatest proportion of the Igbo learners of English in SSS II (84.3%) made use of socio-affective language learning strategy, while cognitive strategy had the lowest proportion of users (50.9%); 2) there was a significant difference, in the English language performance, between the users and non-users of the various language learning strategies.


This article explores the role of drug use-related stigma in constraining access to healthcare services. Drawing on interviews with 20 people conducted shortly after leaving an Australian alcohol and other drug withdrawal management unit, the article explores their willingness and ability to access primary care, hospital and further services. It finds repeated descriptions of feeling ignored and shamed during efforts to access care, with some descriptions relating to subtle signs of disapproval or condemnation, and others to being ignored or dismissed. Some accounts additionally emphasise unwelcoming atmospheres, and exclusion by omission of signals of welcome and encouragement. The article goes on to consider, for the first time in this field, contemporary notions of welcome and hospitality as outlined within the cosmopolitanism tradition, asking whether they offer insights into how healthcare may become more accessible for people who regularly experience stigmatisation. In concluding, the article considers the need to think further about forms of exclusion that occur when social and individual histories of stigma are not institutionally recognised, and measures to counter these histories are not actively adopted.


The course is presented by the ICAS Audit Monitoring team and has been created to educate and support ACPs and RIs and covers all areas of audit compliance responsibilities, key regulatory issues, common compliance failings, and key findings from ICAS audit monitoring visits


The detection of 19-norsteroids abuse in doping controls currently relies on the determination of 19-norandrosterone (19-NA) by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). An additional confirmatory analysis by gas chromatography coupled to isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) is performed on samples showing 19-NA concentrations between 2.5 and 15 ng/mL and not originated from pregnant female athletes or female treated with 19-norethisterone. 19-Noretiocholanolone (19-NE) is typically produced to a lesser extent as a secondary metabolite. The aim of this work was to improve the GC-C-IRMS confirmation procedure for the detection of 19-norsteroids misuse. Both 19-NA and 19-NE were analyzed as target compounds (TC), while androsterone (A), pregnanediol (PD) and pregnanetriol (PT) were selected as endogenous reference compounds (ERC). The method was validated and applied to urine samples collected by three male volunteers after the administration of nandrolone based formulations. Before the instrumental analysis, urine samples (< 25 mL) were hydrolyzed with β-glucuronidase from E. coli and extracted with n-pentane. Compounds of interest were purified through a single (for PT) or double (for 19-NE, 19-NA, A, and PD) liquid chromatographic step, to reduce the background noise and eliminate interferences that could have affect the accuracy of δ13 C values. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of 2 ng/mL was ensured for both 19-NA and 19-NE. The 19-NE determination could be helpful in case of "unstable" urine samples, in late excretion phases or when co-administration with 5α-reductase inhibitors occur.


Purpose: Two critical factors that govern the stability of pharmaceutical formulations in the tropics are humidity and temperature. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of moisture sorption at two different storage conditions on Cefaclor dry powder for oral suspension and predict the effect of moisture interaction on the reconstituted formulations Method: Cefaclor dry powder for suspension formulation was taken as a model formulation for this study. Different formulations were manufactured and placed in twelve amber coloured glass bottles for each test condition. One set of bottles was sealed by heat induction technique under vacuum to ensure the integrity of the seal while the other set was without a seal but had a child-resistant cap. Both types of bottles were stored in humidity chambers at 30°C/65%RH or 40°C/75%RH. Weight changes were monitored on a dynamic moisture balance over a period of 3 months. Results: The results were recorded in terms of moisture content, colour, and excipient interaction and their effect on product appearance. The data were analyzed using Students t-test and one way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and differences were considered statistically significant at P < 0.05. Conclusions: The study revealed that the product with enhanced packaging and also contained nonwater soluble colourants were more protected against the deleterious effects of moisture and temperature. The findings provide an insight into a possible approach for formulating moisture-sensitive pharmaceutical products, especially dry powder preparations for use in the tropics.


Ag (I)/gelatin microgels with different Ag (I) content have been prepared through self-assembly at various pH values. Silver cations are supposed to be partly trapped in the microgels core after interaction with the carboxyl groups on gelatin chains due to electrostatic attraction. The hydrophobility of gelatin chains enhances when the Ag (I) concentration increases, which results in the contraction of the complex and relatively compactable structure as well as ununiform distribution. The fluorescence experiments show that static quenching plays a main role in the complex formation and the calculated binding sites indicate that pH 7.0—8.0 are optimal for Ag (I)/gelatin self-assembly.


The study investigated the obstacles to accessing finance by small business operators in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality. The objectives of the study were to identify the causes of inaccessibility to finance by small business operators, to investigate the role of government agencies in supporting small business operators, to assess the extent to which banks support SMMEs and to suggest solutions to ease the challenge of inaccessibility of finance by small business operators. Triangulation research design was used in this study. SMME owners and managers in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality were the target population. Simple random sampling technique was used to select respondents. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and factor analysis. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. Obstacles to accessing finance were identified and discussed. Lack of collateral security, poor business plans, lack of knowledge and lack of financial deposit are some of the main factors identified. The banks, government and government agencies are urged to support the SMME sector for it remains the economic engine of many African countries. This sector also helps in reducing the impact of socio-economic challenges like unemployment and poverty.


Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) from the silkworm Bombyx mori were identified and GSL expression patterns between larvae and pupae were compared. The structural analysis of neutral GSLs from dried pupae revealed the following predominant species: Glcβ1Cer, Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, GlcNAcβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, GalNAcα4Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, GlcNAcβ3Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, Galα4Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer and (GalNAcα4)1-4 GalNAcα4Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer. Lin-ear elongation of α4-GalNAc was observed at the non-reducing end of Galβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer with up to five GalNAc repeats. The arthro-series GSL GlcNAcβ3Manβ4Glcβ1Cer, a characteristic GSL-glycan sequence of other Arthropoda, was detected in silkworms. The main ceramide species in each purified GSL fraction were h20:0-d14:1 and h22:0-d14:1. GSL expression patterns in larvae and pupae were compared using thin-layer chromatography, which demonstrated differences among acidic, polar and neutral GSL fractions, while the zwitterionic fraction showed no difference. Neutral GSLs such as ceramides di-, tri- and tetrasaccharides in larvae showed less abundant than those in pupae. MALDI-TOF MS analysis revealed that larval GSLs contained four types of ceramide species, whereas pupal GSLs contained only two types. The structural analysis of neutral GSLs from silkworms revealed a novel series of GSLs. The comparison of GSL expression patterns between larvae and pupae demonstrated differences in several fractions. Alterations in GSL ceramide composition between larvae and pupae were observed by MALDI-TOF MS analysis.


We have conducted a series of experiments which clearly show that intra-arterial ambulatory blood pressure is not altered by the administration of placebo. This finding is in contrast to the apparent fall in pressure that appears when the indirect (Korotkoff) method is used. The evidence suggests that the apparent fall in indirect pressure is due to abolition of the orienting reflex with time. Therefore, clinical trials of antihypertensive drugs using the intra-arterial method do not need a placebo control, whereas a placebo control is essential in all trials using the indirect technique for measuring blood pressure.


This article uses the career of Theodor Kohn (1845-1915), archbishop of Olmütz/Olomouc between 1892 and 1904, to examine various trends in the last decades of the Habsburg empire: the burgeoning Czech-German conflict, the brewing social crisis within the Catholic Church, the rising tide of anti-Semitism, and the countervailing force of Jewish national pride. Drawing on a wide range of literary, publicist, and archival sources, Michael L. Miller shows how Archbishop Kohn's Jewish ancestry served as a lightening rod for various disenfranchised, disillusioned, and disheartened groups in the Bohemian Lands of the Habsburg empire. Even Jews latched onto this "Jewish archbishop," first as a symbol of "racial aptitude," then as a cautionary tale about the futility of assimilation. Kohn himself endowed his quintessentially "Jewish" name with Christian significance, viewing it as the source of his suffering—albeit a suffering that he cherished as the cross he had to bear.


Thermal residual-stresses introduced during manufacture and their effect on the free vibration of stringer stiffened composite plates is investigated. The principal idea in the work is to include stiffeners on the perimeter of a composite plate in which the laminate for the stiffeners and the plate are different. Such an arrangement yields manufacturing induced thermal residual-stresses which result from the difference in manufacturing and operating temperatures as well as the difference in thermal expansion coefficients and elastic properties of the plate and the stiffeners. The analysis is based on an enhanced Reissner-Mindlin plate theory and involves two separate calculations. In the first, the thermal residual-stress state is determined for an unconstrained plate. In the second, the free vibration problem is solved; thermal effects from the first calculation are included by way of nonlinear membrane-bending coupling which in turn defines the free vibration reference state. The problem is solved using a finite element formulation to determine the natural frequencies and vibration modes of the plates. Two different plate-stiffener geometries are used to illustrate the effects of stringer size, stringer placement and temperature difference. Two principal results are obtained: first, it is shown that thermal residual-stresses can have a significant effect on the natural frequencies; secondly, thermal residual-stresses can be tailored to increase natural frequencies.


Molecular events that cause tumor formation upregulate a number of HOX genes, called switch genes, encoding for RNApolymeraseII transcription factors. Thus, RNApolymeraseII is used to full extent in tumor cells but not in somatic cells. Amanita phalloides contains amanitin, inhibiting RNApolymeraseII. Application of Amanita phalloides influences tumor cell (but not normal cell) activity. Dilutions of Amanita phalloides are applied to a patient with both, colon carcinoma and thyroid carcinoma. Monitoring tumormarkers, different doses of Amanita are applied. After two years of stabilization, somatic investigations and imaging methods reveal complete remission. Change of dietary practice with the addition of daily 70 gram sugar lead to increase of tumormarker values. Following dietary without sugar and reduced carbohydrates decrease tumormarker values. With sugar, tumor activity increase despite Amanita tumor therapy, therefore, poor carbohydrate diet supports the therapy


Abstract. Dopamine (DA) release and uptake dynamics in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) have important implications for neurological diseases and mammalian animal behaviors. We demonstrate here the use of cell-type-specific optogenetic targeting in conjunction with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry applied to brain slices prepared from specifically tailored transgenic mice, which conditionally express channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) through dopamine transporter (DAT)-Cre. Terminal dopaminergic dynamics and the direct manipulation of induced DA release level by controlling light intensity, pulse width, and the shape of stimulation waveforms were studied. Effective cell terminal-targeting optogenetic induction of DA release at physiological levels in NAc is demonstrated and discussed. It was found that delivering more light energy by increasing stimulation intensity and length is not the only way to control DA release; the temporal shape of the stimulus waveform at light onset is also critically related to induced DA concentrations. In addition, DA uptake dynamics as well as the recovery of the presynaptic releasable DA pool are studied and modeled. More broadly, our experimental findings provide important further evidence for effectively applying optogenetics to induce neurotransmitter release in the behaviorally relevant region of the brain in a highly cell-type selective context.


Hydrogen-rich Type II supernovae (SNe II) are the most frequently observed class of core-collapse SNe (CCSNe). However, most studies that analyse large samples of SNe II lack events with absolute peak magnitudes brighter than −18.5 mag at rest-frame optical wavelengths. Thanks to modern surveys, the detected number of such luminous SNe II (LSNe II) is growing. There exist several mechanisms that could produce luminous SNe II. The most popular propose either the presence of a central engine (a magnetar gradually spinning down or a black hole accreting fallback material) or the interaction of supernova ejecta with circumstellar material (CSM) that turns kinetic energy into radiation energy. In this work, we study the light curves and spectral series of a small sample of six LSNe II that show peculiarities in their H α profile, to attempt to understand the underlying powering mechanism. We favour an interaction scenario with CSM that is not dense enough to be optically thick to electron scattering on large scales – thus, no narrow emission lines are observed. This conclusion is based on the observed light curve (higher luminosity, fast decline, blue colours) and spectral features (lack of persistent narrow lines, broad H α emission, lack of H α absorption, weak, or non-existent metal lines) together with comparison to other luminous events available in the literature. We add to the growing evidence that transients powered by ejecta–CSM interaction do not necessarily display persistent narrow emission lines.


The article considers diptych, a genre modification of the contemporary drama, which may be read as an integral work as well as two interrelated but independent works. Based on A. Zenzinov and B. Zabaluev' play a scholar describes the structure of diptych which determines a reader's reception. V. Shunikov specifies different interpretive strategies of drama. He also draws attention to the system of motives which ensures the unity of the play. The scholar believes that diptych demonstrates a relevant problem of correlation of fictive and authentic in the imaginative world in the contemporary literature. The analyzing phenomenon and methodological approach to the genre determine the scientific novelty of the research and its place among the works on the modern drama poetics


Understanding the semantic relationships between terms is a fundamental task in natural language processing applications. While structured resources that can express those relationships in a formal way, such as ontologies, are still scarce, a large number of linguistic resources gathering dictionary definitions is becoming available, but understanding the semantic structure of natural language definitions is fundamental to make them useful in semantic interpretation tasks. Based on an analysis of a subset of WordNet's glosses, we propose a set of semantic roles that compose the semantic structure of a dictionary definition, and show how they are related to the definition's syntactic configuration, identifying patterns that can be used in the development of information extraction frameworks and semantic models.


Transcriptional regulation of the steroid hormone receptor genes plays a central role in temporal changes of target cell sensitivity during development, maturation, and aging. Sequence-specific DNA-protein interactions mediate these regulatory functions. Progressive 5′ deletion of the rat androgen receptor (rAR) gene immediately beyond the −572 base pair (bp) region causes a marked increase in its promoter activity. DNase I footprinting with nuclear proteins revealed a protected area encompassing −574- to −554-bp positions that begins with a perfectly palindromic nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) motif. Electrophoretic mobility shift analyses (EMSA) showed that the decameric rAR NF-κB site at positions −574 to −565 cross-competes with the authentic κ immunoglobulin light chain enhancer for specific protein binding. Supershift with specific antibodies to NF-κB subunits confirmed that the two retarded bands observed in the EMSA with the labeled rAR probe are due to p50/p65 and p50/p50 dimers of the NF-κB/Rel proteins. Fragments of rAR promoter with either deletion or point mutation of the NF-κB site are found to be about 2- to 3-fold more effective as compared to the wild type control in driving a heterologous reporter gene in cellulo. Thus, unlike most other known cases, NF-κB acts as a negative regulator for the rAR gene. The physiological relevance of this repressor function is evident from a 10-fold increase in the p50/p50 form of the NF-κB activity in the liver of aged rats exhibiting hepatic androgen desensitization. The newly identified repressor element is a rare example of a naturally occurring perfect palindromic binding motif for the NF-κB/Rel family of transcription factors. This repressor factor and the positively acting age-dependent factor, ADF, described earlier (Supakar, P. C., Song, C. S., Jung, M. H., Slomczynska, M. A., Kim, J.-M., Vellanoweth, R. L., Chatterjee, B. & Roy, A. K.(1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 26400-26408) function to coordinate the tissue-specific down-regulation of the rAR gene during aging.


The electron dynamics with complex third-order Suzuki-Trotter propagator (ST(3)) has been implemented into a planewave (PW) based density functional theory program, and several applications including linear absorption spectra and coupled electron-nucleus dynamics have been calculated. Since the ST(3) reduces the number of Fourier transforms to less than half compared to the fourth-order Suzuki-Trotter propagator (ST(4)), more than twice faster calculations are possible by exploiting the ST(3). We analyzed numerical errors of both the ST(3) and the ST(4) in the presence∕absence of an external field for several molecules such as Al(2), N(2), and C(2)H(4). We obtained that the ST(3) gives the same order of numerical errors (10(-5) Ry after 100 fs) as the ST(4). Also, the time evolution of dipole moments, hence the absorption spectrum, is equivalent for both ST(3) and ST(4). As applications, the linear absorption spectrum for an ethylene molecule was studied. From the density difference analysis, we showed that the absorption peaks at 6.10 eV and 7.65 eV correspond to the π → 4a(g) and π → π* excitation bands, respectively. We also investigated the molecular vibrational effect to the absorption spectra of an ethylene molecule and the dynamics of a hydrogen molecule after the σ → σ* transition by formulating coupled electron-nucleus dynamics within the Ehrenfest regime. The trajectory of nuclei follows the excited state potential energy curve exactly.


The reaction of arylacetic acid with aryl halides in the presence of a palladium(0) catalyst proceeds with a Grignard reagent (2 equiv.) to afford diarylated acetic acids. Deprotonation was confirmed by treatment with allyl bromide, which revealed that the use of EtMgCl or tBuMgCl at room temperature to 60 °C resulted in complete deprotonation. After deprotonation of (4-methoxyphenyl)acetic acid under such conditions, the resulting mixture was treated with 4-methoxybromobenzene in the presence of Pd(tBu3P)2 (2 mol-%) as a catalyst to give bis(4-methoxyphenyl)acetic acid in 86 % yield. The reaction with several aryl halides under similar conditions gave the corresponding diarylacetic acids.


To represent the biological variability of clinical neuroimaging populations, it is vital to be able to combine data across scanners and studies. However, different MRI scanners produce images with different characteristics, resulting in a domain shift known as the `harmonisation problem'. Additionally, neuroimaging data is inherently personal in nature, leading to data privacy concerns when sharing the data. To overcome these barriers, we propose an Unsupervised Source-Free Domain Adaptation (SFDA) method, SFHarmony. Through modelling the imaging features as a Gaussian Mixture Model and minimising an adapted Bhattacharyya distance between the source and target features, we can create a model that performs well for the target data whilst having a shared feature representation across the data domains, without needing access to the source data for adaptation or target labels. We demonstrate the performance of our method on simulated and real domain shifts, showing that the approach is applicable to classification, segmentation and regression tasks, requiring no changes to the algorithm. Our method outperforms existing SFDA approaches across a range of realistic data scenarios, demonstrating the potential utility of our approach for MRI harmonisation and general SFDA problems. Our code is available at \url{https://github.com/nkdinsdale/SFHarmony}.


1 Endothelial cells have a key role in the cardiovascular system. Most endothelial cell functions depend on changes in cytosolic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) to some extent and Ca2+ signalling acts to link external stimuli with the synthesis and release of regulatory factors in endothelial cells. The [Ca2+]i is maintained by a well‐balanced Ca2+ flux across the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane. 2 Cyclic nucleotides, such as cAMP and cGMP, are very important second messengers. The cyclic nucleotides can affect [Ca2+]i directly or indirectly (via the actions of protein kinase (PK) A or PKG‐mediated phosphorylation) by regulating Ca2+ mobilization and Ca2+ influx. Fine‐tuning of [Ca2+]i is also fundamental to protect endothelial cells against damaged caused by the excessive accumulation of Ca2+. 3 Therapeutic agents that control cAMP and cGMP levels have been used to treat various cardiovascular diseases. 4 The aim of the present review is to discuss: (i) the functions of endothelial cells; (ii) the importance of [Ca2+]i in endothelial cells; (iii) the impact of excessive [Ca2+]i in endothelial cells; and (iv) the balanced control of [Ca2+]i in endothelial cells via involvement of cyclic nucleotides (cAMP and cGMP) and their general effectors.


To clarify the morphological characteristics of exofocal post‐ischemic neuronal death (EPND) in the substantia nigra (SN), we investigated the course of light‐ and electron‐microscopic changes of the SN of rats subjected to occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) for 1, 2, 4, 7 and 12 days. To assess cellular edema, sequential magnetic resonance (MR) mapping of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and the T2 value test was performed. Histological and electron‐microscopic examination on day 1 showed dotted chromatin clumps in the nuclei of some neurons and mild swelling of the perivascular endfeet of astrocytes in the ipsilateral SN. On day 2, a few cells of the ipsilateral SN pars reticulata (SNr) revealed key morphological signs of apoptosis – apoptotic body‐like condensation and segregation of the chromatin and DNA fragmentation‐like nuclear remnants. On day 4, 38% of neurons became swollen (pale neurons) with cytoplasmic microvacuoles, which appeared to originate from rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER), mitochondria and Golgi apparatus. Twenty percent of neurons showed massive proliferation of the cisternae of the rER, some of which were fragmented or had lost their normal parallel arrangement. In addition, MR mapping revealed a transient ADC decrease with a T2 increase (signifying a phase of cellular edema), which coordinated with the phase of ultrastructural cellular swelling. Further, the total number of neurons started to decrease gradually, the perivascular endfeet of astrocytes were markedly swollen, and the neuropil became loose on day 4. On day 7, reactive astrocytes and dark neurons occurred most frequently. These results suggest that the EPND in the SN after occlusion of the MCA in adult rats is due to both apoptosis and necrosis, although necrosis seems to be the dominant mechanism of the EPND. However, the morphologic resemblances of EPND to delayed neuronal death suggest these processes have a common pathomechanism.


Coprological examination was used to determine the prevalence and intensity of gastrointestinal parasites of stray dogs impounded by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), Durban and Coast, South Africa. Helminth and protozoan parasites were found in faeces of 240 dogs with an overall prevalence of 82.5% (helminth parasites 93.1% and protozoan parasites 6.9%). The following parasites and their prevalences were detected; Ancylostoma sp. (53.8%), Trichuris vulpis (7.9%), Spirocerca lupi (5.4%), Toxocara canis (7.9%), Toxascaris leonina (0.4%) Giardia intestinalis (5.6%) and Isospora sp. (1.3%). Dogs harbouring a single parasite species were more common (41.7%) than those harbouring 2 (15%) or multiple (2.1%) species. Ancylostoma sp., Toxocara canis and Giardia intestinalis have zoonotic potential and were detected in 66.7% of the samples.


Awareness of the uncommon associated clinical manifestations of immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related kidney disease is essential for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of patients. To the best of our knowledge, there have been few reports of patients with IgG4-related kidney disease associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. We here report a rare case of IgG4-related kidney disease associated with autoimmune hemolytic anemia. A 70-year-old man with kidney dysfunction and severe anemia had been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease and treated without any improvement. On admission, he had a high serum creatinine level, low hemoglobin level, positive direct Coombs test, and mild proteinuria. Serum IgG and IgG4 were elevated. Kidney biopsy showed marked infiltration of IgG4-positive plasma cells and storiform fibrosis in the interstitial compartment, which confirmed the diagnosis of IgG4-related kidney disease. Corticosteroid therapy was initiated, and subsequently, the kidney dysfunction and anemia dramatically improved.


Landscapes contain and create value for tourism destinations worldwide and have wide influences on the perception of a destination. The landscapes with its specific geographical and climatic features are perceived as pull factors (attraction factors) to tourists. In European countries agricultural landscapes are highly valued both by local population and tourists attracting them to the destination. Agricultural production, especially vineyards, olives, orchards and animals in the landscape create an original experience of the destination. On the case of several European countries with and without maritime surroundings, we have chosen attractive tourism destinations with highly attractive landscapes. The paper shows examples of Slovakia, Czech Republic as non-maritime countries opposite to Mediterranean countries as Croatia and Slovenia. The main aim of this paper was to assess the importance of agricultural landscapes in the context of tourism. Along with the gastronomic offer and cultural heritage, the agricultural landscapes create high values for tourism destinations. Tourists perceive these features as pull factors and grade highly their value. Furthermore, these features are even more highly valued and cherished by the local population.


In the last decades of the 20th century, infectious diseases have re-emerged as a significant public health problem in the developed world. However, the available anti-infective armamentarium has proven to be alarmingly insufficient to combat many of the microbes that cause these diseases, such as drug resistant microbes, microbes for which therapy is not available or ineffective because of underlying host immune impairment, and microbes that only cause disease in the setting of impaired immunity but are not pathogens in normal individuals. Hence, there is an urgent need for new approaches to the treatment of infectious diseases that can increase the efficacy of anti-infective therapy and bolster the immune response to microbial agents in immunocompromised hosts, circumvent rising rates of antimicrobial drug resistance and be rapidly developed to fight emerging epidemics. Immune therapy, which encompasses pathogen-specific and non-pathogen specific modalities designed to augment or restore host immunity against disease causing microbes, are poised to play an important part in modern anti-infective therapy. Our growing understanding of host-microbe interaction and mechanisms of protective immunity have allowed for an increasingly rational approach to the design of immune based therapeutic modalities. As part of this effort, it is important to remember that the origin of modern anti-infective therapy was serum therapy, a pathogen-specific immune therapeutic modality. In this paper, we review the historical underpinnings and present and future applications of immune therapy for infectious diseases in light of current challenges to the field.


The Prime Minister of India recently announced the paradigm shift in the labour laws to boost manufacturing and facilitate the ease of doing business. In the process, the plight of workers was blatantly ignored. However, this was not the first instance of an initiative to reform policies and laws relating to land, labour and capital. These have remained contentious issues since independence and there is clear division between interest of common masses and those of the government as well as of the business sector. With diminishing access to land, capital or permanent employment in the capitalistic globalized world, most of the people are compelled to take up work on contractual basis. Earlier, contract workers were hired to do peripheral non skilled jobs. However, today, more and more people with education and skills are joining the band of 'contract workers' or 'Precariats'. And the situation is becoming worse for those working as contractual workers or Precariats in the changing economic environment, specifically in countries like India, where other social security measures are almost non-existent. This paper looks at the expansion of 'Precariats' in the given social context of globalization, privatization and labour reforms, which is being advanced to expand business to the extent that economic exigencies have surpassed social justice.


The purpose of the present study was to get the floating microspheres of Prazosin hydrochloride and to sustain the drug to overcome the side effects as postural hypotension.A central composite design based on the response surface method was used.The preparations were made by emulsion-solvent evaporation method.In this study, a three-factors, three levels Central composite design with drug-polymer ratio (X1), Solvent ratio (X2) and Speed (X3) as independent variables were chosen for the formulation. The microspheres were evaluated for physicochemical parameters as shape, size, buoyancy percentage and drug entrapment efficiency. SEM studies showed good topology of microspheres. The cumulative % drug release of optimized formulation after 24 hours was 99.87%. Model fitting analysis revealed the release pattern followed Korsmeyer.The results demonstrated a good relationship between the predicted and experimental values, supporting the validity of the model.FTIR and DSC studies showed that there was no interaction between drug and polymers. The optimized formulation was found to be stable when subjected to accelerated stability studies. The results obtained indicated that response surface methodology may be successfully used to analyze the effect of formulation variables and develop an optimized formulation thereby reducing the severaltrials, time and cost of formulation development.


Artifacts made from Quispisisa obsidian are widely disseminated in the Peruvian Andes, but the geological source of the Quispisisa geochemical type was only recently located in southern Ayacucho. Following the positive identification of the source in 1999 by Richard Burger and colleagues, we found evidence of broad quarrying activities in unexplored portions of the source area. We describe 34 quarry pits, some as large as 80 m across, together with evidence of early- stage lithic reduction at the source. We encountered high concentrations of reduction debris associated with more extensive knapping in two localities, but our preliminary evaluation of surface evidence suggests that much of the material quarried was removed from the area as intact nodules or after minimal reduction at the source area.


This paper presents the way of estimating quantitative damage on solar encroachment using the winter solar window of the vertical sun path diagram. The winter solar window is divided into 108 parts that are composed of 18 divisions of time by 6 divisions of date. The direct solar heat radiation of each part that is blocked by surrounding buildings during three months from November 21 to February 21 is calculated based on the incident solar angle on a window of a residence. Then the direct solar heat radiations are multiplied by the physical characteristics of windows and the city gas price and added up to become the total increased heating expense of a residence during the underheated period of three months.


Background When a medical error occurs, studies indicate that patients prefer to be informed, be given an explanation of what happened and why, be informed of the measures that will be taken to prevent recurrences, and offered an apology from the responsible parties. Most patients endorse a preference for full disclosure, even when no harm is done. Data suggest that as few as one-third of harmful errors are disclosed to patients and that although physicians are supportive in principle, they are hesitant to actually disclose error. Resident physicians, by virtue of their inexperience, may be involved in medical errors at a rate higher than more experienced physicians, yet their responses to error, including their attitudes toward disclosure, have not been well studied. We sought to examine resident attitudes toward disclosure by asking them to predict their actions after being involved in a medical error in the hospital setting. Methods We anonymously surveyed 44 internal medicine residents attending a resident retreat. Two clinical cases were presented. In the first case, a diabetic patient is given insulin and kept NPO with resultant hypoglycemia. In the second case, a misread chest radiograph delays the diagnosis of thoracic aortic aneurysm. For each case, the outcomes ranged from no harm to serious harm. The resident was given four possible responses: (1) no explanation, (2) an explanation of the medical facts of the case, (3) an explanation and an admission of error, and (4) an explanation, admission of error, and an apology. The residents were directed to choose the response that most closely resembled what they would say and do. Results Surveys were completed by 34 (77%) residents, including 14 (34%) women, with all levels of training equally represented. In every instance, the most likely response was to explain (54%) rather than to admit error (22%) or to apologize (22%). In the case of the diabetic patient with hypoglycemia, responses did not differ regardless of whether the error caused harm. In the case of the misread chest radiograph, however, if the patient was harmed, residents were significantly more likely to include an admission of error and an apology than if no harm was done. Neither gender nor level of training affected results. Conclusions Our findings suggest that, with respect to disclosure of medical error, the actions of residents are at odds with the stated preferences of patients. When presented with hypothetical cases of medical error, residents were significantly more likely to limit their response to an explanation of medical facts rather than an admission of error or an apology. Results also suggest that the type of error may influence the response. Although both cases involved error, the first case may be viewed as a "system" error in which responsibility is shared by other members of the health care team. In the case of the thoracic aortic aneurysm, the error more clearly rests with the physician, and this sense of personal responsibility for the error may be influencing the response toward full disclosure when the patient suffered greater harm. Factors influencing the response to error by residents should be considered as educational interventions are developed to bridge the gap between patient preferences for disclosure and physician practice.


The deformation equation and its integrability condition (Bianchi identity) of a non-associative deformation in operad algebra are found. Their relation to the theory of gravity is discussed.


Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become one of the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases in the past years. It is undoubtedly associated with atherosclerosis and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. Incretins, which are intestinal peptides secreted during digestion, are able to increase insulin secretion and its impaired function and/or secretion is involved in the pathophysiology of T2DM. Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is an ubiquitous enzyme that regulates incretins and consequently is related to the pathophysiology of T2DM. DPP4 is mainly secreted by endothelial cells and acts as a regulatory protease for cytokines, chemokines, and neuropeptides involved in inflammation, immunity, and vascular function. In T2DM, the activity of DPP4 seems to be increased and there are a growing number of in vitro and in vivo studies suggesting that this enzyme could be a new link between T2DM and atherosclerosis. Gliptins are a new class of pharmaceutical agents that acts by inhibiting DPP4. Thus, it is expected that gliptin represents a new pharmacological approach not only for reducing glycemic levels in T2DM, but also for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in diabetic subjects. We aimed to review the evidences that reinforce the associations between DPP4, atherosclerosis, and T2DM.


At that time the original text was eagerly awaited. It has now been printed and it is a pleasure to recommend the clarity of the Arabic, the painstaking sifting of variant readings, the restoration of missing passages in certain manuscript copies and the accuracy of the critical edition of the published text. The latter is prefaced by an introduction, most stylishly translated into Arabic by David Agmon, and it includes a short biography of Abu al-Najib al-Suhrawardi, a resume of the substance of his book and a detailed list of the 16 manuscripts used to establish the text and the symbols employed to identify them. The text is followed by a series of indexes, of Qur'anic verses, proper names and sources, listed in alphabetical order, forming a useful bibliography. This text is unique in that it concentrates its attention on the social duty of Sfifism, its role in society, the rejection of escapism, its ethical responsibilities and the care and welfare of the laity, the muiashabbihun. The subject is of the greatest interest to those who are involved in research in Asian and African societies past and present since these aspects are of greater importance than the mystical flights of the inspired individual, a field open to pitfalls of misinterpretation. The Suhrawardiya has not received the attention given to other Sufi orders which have fashioned whole communities. Its importance in this respect has been underrated. Professor Milson's book and this valuable text which inspired it are essential reading for all who wish to understand Sufism as a way of life in Islamic society.


A wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is typically made up of numerous sensors which have different clock accuracies. Time synchronization is crucial to maintain data consistency, coordination, and perform other fundamental operations: power management, security, and data fusion and scheduling. In order to realize united time, the united time service system or the time server must be established. In this paper, based on industrial wireless sensor network, Sliding Window Algorithm and fault-tolerance strategy of time synchronization are studied and the error analyses are given. The proposed algorithm has lower average synchronization error compared to the existing algorithms.


Reading, writing, and mathematical success at school is not only predicted by the process of teaching and learning at school, but also by the early literacy, mathematical, and self regulatory skills that were acquired in pre-school years. The possible risks of learning difficulties can be already recognized while observing early differences in letter recognition skills, breadth of vocabulary and concepts, phonetic analysis of the words, recognition of sequence of numbers, abilities to manage impulses and behavior before entering formal school education. The mentioned differences in abilities can be explained by gender differences as well as differences in the educational system. The goal of the current study was to compare the early literacy, mathematical, and self-regulation skills of Lithuanian pre-school boys and girls. The study is aimed at answering following research questions: can gender differences in early literacy, mathematical, and self-regulation skills be found? Which group of children has better developed skills atpreschool age? 229 (116 girls and 113 boys) pre-school children (age mean 6,63) took part in individual evaluation of early literacy, mathematical and self-regulation skills. Children were attending six institutions providing pre-school education. The results of the study proved that girls outperformed boys in most of the early literacy skills: vocabulary knowledge, naming first sound of the word, letter naming, word reading and writing. Rapid naming of the objects and initial phoneme deletion skills were not different among boys and girls. Girls were also better at self-regulation skills than boys. On average, there were no gender differences in mathematical calculation (number adding and subtracting, number sequencing) skills. However, when the groups of top performing children were analyzed, the results showed that there are more boys than girls in the groups performing highest on number adding and subtracting tasks). The results of this study invite to organize the pre-school education in a way that would provide equal opportunities to every child, regardless of their gender to disclose their early literacy, mathematics, and self-regulation abilities. Pre-school educators are advised to monitor the development of reading and writing skills among boys and mathematical skills among girls as the gender groups are at higher risk of developing lower skills in these academic areas. If needed, educators could attempt to stimulate students interest in literacy or mathematical tasks and provide with early academic support.


The study of the semileptonic B decays at BABAR is presented. The results shown include measurements of the moments of hadronic-mass and electron-energy of the decay B {yields} X{sub c}{ell}{nu}; a determination of the |V{sub cb}| CKM matrix element and other heavy quark parameters from a simultaneous fit to the moments using kinetic scheme of Operator Product Expansion; a measurement of the inclusive branching fraction of B {yields} X{sub u}{ell}{nu} and determination of |V{sub ub}|. The most recent BABAR search for the lepton flavor violating decays {tau} {yields} {ell}{ell}{ell} is presented as well.


A material placed in or in contact with a biological system, that causes the minimum perturbation that can be tolerated by the host biological system, can be considered to be biocompatible. The major effects caused by a contact lens can be considered to be 1) the blocking of the natural supply of oxygen to the epithelium cells of the cornea, 2) interference with the normal evaporation of water from the tear fluid layer, and 3) hindrance of the normal functions of blinking for replenishing oxygen-saturated tear fluid and removing dead epithelium cells, which result from apoptosis. The encapsulation of a highly oxygen-permeable contact lens by a nanofilm with an imperturbable surface state minimizes all these terms. The encapsulated contact lens can be worn safely in extended wear.


This paper addresses the problem of transistor decomposition in channel length direction aiming at structured analog layout generation, manufacturability and low-power applications. We propose a channel decomposition method to generate structured layout for analog circuits with transistor array, and evaluate the error arising from the decomposition in both large and small signal analysis. The measurement results from a test chip suggests that the error can be ignored and the design with transistor array is applicable. Our test chip also demonstrates the effectiveness of design with transistor array with several typical analog circuits.


We provide evidence regarding the incremental value- relevance of deferred tax information provided under SFAS No. 109. We assess the likelihood of reversal for each component of the deferred tax disclosures required by SFAS No. 109, forming expectations about the direction and magnitude of these components' valuation. Based on these data, we measure the extent to which the valuation of deferred tax components depends on the probability of reversal. Our empirical work tests the hypothesis that deferred taxes that are more likely to reverse in the next period will contribute more to firm value (in absolute terms) than deferred tax components that are less likely to reverse soon. Our model values a firm's equity as a linear function of net operating assets, net financial assets, and current and lagged abnormal operating earnings. We introduce net deferred tax liabilities as a distinct category of (negative) assets in the valuation model and estimate the effect of each different asset class on the market value of the firm's equity. We find that, on average, one dollar of net operating assets is valued as a dollar; a dollar of net financial assets contributes less than one dollar to equity value; and a dollar of net deferred taxes is valued slightly more than a dollar. Separating a firm's deferred tax balance into its component parts provides further, more specific information relevant to firm value. We classify deferred tax components into seven categories, including depreciation and amortization; taxes and losses carried-forward; and restructuring charges. In particular, the valuation coefficient on deferred tax liabilities


Three stocks of the Brazilian flathead Percophis brasiliensis were identified on the coast of Argentina and Uruguay using parasites as biological tags. A total of 177 fish were examined and 23 parasite species were found. Fish were caught in four zones: north of the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone (34°30′–36°30′ S; 53°30′–56°00′ W), south of the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone (38°08′ S 57°32′ W), El Rincon zone (39–41° S; 60–62° W) and San Matias Gulf (41°40′–42°10′ S; 63°50′–65°00′ W). Discriminant analyses allowed the identification of three discrete stocks in the four zones (86·44% of classified samples were correctly identified), with P. brasiliensis from both north and south of the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone clumping together, as a single stock. Some species were important in discriminating among groups, Anisakis simplex was related to southern areas, while Grillotia sp., Corynosoma australe and Hysterothylacium sp. were important in determining the position of fish from the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone. These results were corroborated by comparing parasite prevalence and abundance among zones. The main differences were observed in those comparisons involving fish from the San Matias Gulf. Fish from the Argentine–Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone were characterized by higher infections of Grillotia sp., C. australe, Corynosoma cetaceum and Hysterothylacium sp., while the samples from El Rincon and San Matias Gulf showed higher infections of A. simplex. Samples from San Matias Gulf were characterized by lower levels of parasitism for all other species. Differences in environmental factors and their influence on the distribution of zooplankton and other hosts in the food web may be differentially shaping the parasite community structure in each zone, resulting in identifiable stocks of the P. brasiliensis. The present study confirmed the existence of regional biological tags that delineated fish assemblages.


Convolutional beamformers integrate the multichannel linear prediction model into beamformers, which provide good performance and optimality for joint dereverberation and noise reduction tasks. While longer filters are required to model long reverberation times, the computational burden of current online solutions grows fast with the filter length and number of microphones. In this work, we propose a low complexity convolutional beamformer using a Kalman filter derived affine projection algorithm to solve the adaptive filtering problem. The proposed solution is several orders of magnitude less complex than comparable existing solutions while slightly outperforming them on the REVERB challenge dataset.


The efficacy of orally administered nedocromil sodium, a mast‐cell stabilizer, was assessed in the treatment of adults with atopic eczema plus food allergy. Twenty adults with atopic eczema and allergy to hens' eggs, cows' milk or wheat took part in this double‐blind, cross‐over study of nedocromil sodium versus placebo, each treatment period lasting 4 weeks. No significant differences were found between the two treatments on clinical assessment, or by measurement of total and specific IgE levels.


This paper presents a new analytic method that can be used for analyzing perceptual relevance of unit selection costs and/or their sub-components as well as for tuning of unit selection weights. The proposed method is leveraged to investigate the behavior of a unit selection based system. The outcome is applied in a simple experiment with the aim to improve speech output quality of the system by setting limits on the costs and their sub-components during the search for optimal sequences of units. The experiments reveal that a large number (36.17%) of artifacts annotated by listeners are not reflected by the values of the costs and their sub-componets as currently implemented and tuned in the evaluated system. Index Terms: speech synthesis, unit selection, concatenation cost, target cost, audible artifacts


Abstract The structure and development of executive functioning (EF) have been intensively studied in typically developing populations, with little attention given to those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This study addresses this by comparing the EF structure of 132 adolescents (11–14 years‐old) with SEN and 138 adolescents not requiring additional support (Non‐SEN peers). Participants completed verbal and non‐verbal assessments of key components of EF: inhibition, working memory and switching. Confirmatory Factor Analysis on each group tested one‐, two‐ and three‐factor models of EF. In both groups, there was statistical support for the fit of one‐ and two‐factor models with no model being clearly better than the others; there was little support for three‐factor models. Parsimony suggests that the one‐factor model best represents the structure of EF. In light of our results, the implications for the nature of EF in early adolescence in both SEN and Non‐SEN groups are discussed.


Abstract This paper analyses the evolution of EU governance since the financial and eurozone crisis from an experimentalist perspective. It argues that EU governance in many key policy domains continues to take the form of an experimentalist decision-making architecture, based on a recursive process of framework goal-setting and revision through comparative review of implementation experience in diverse local contexts, which is well adapted to the Union's turbulent and polyarchic environment. The first part of the paper presents a synoptic theoretical account of the characteristics of experimentalist governance, and summarises the empirical evidence on its incidence and operation within the EU before the crisis. The second part of the paper examines two 'hard cases' from an experimentalist perspective, namely financial regulation and the European Semester of socio-economic policy coordination. The paper concludes that both cases illustrate the limits of centralised hierarchical governance under the diverse and polyarchic conditions of the EU, together with the continuing attraction of experimentalist approaches for tackling complex, uncertain problems like financial regulation and reform of national employment and welfare systems.


Informal settlements are a chronic issue in developing countries. Management and formalisation processes require good spatial data and analytical tools. While software such as geographic information systems (GIS) are widely available, access to good data and skilled users may be limited. In this paper we suggest that digital multimedia learning tools, accessible via the World Wide Web (WWW) may be part of the solution. We present the rationale for, and structure of, a suite of prototype learning modules for neighbourhood operations. We illustrate the use of these operations by converting shack locations into population density maps for the Imizamo Yethu settlement near Cape Town, South Africa. This prototype forms a part of a larger web site that also includes background information, data sources and software.


Iron-based anode materials, such as Fe2O3 and FeSe2 have attracted widespread attention for lithium-ion batteries due to their high capacities. However, the capacity decays seriously because of poor conductivity and severe volume expansion. Designing nanostructures combined with carbon are effective means to improve cycling stability. In this work, ultra-small Fe2O3 nanoparticles loaded on a carbon framework were synthesized through a one-step thermal decomposition of the commercial C15H21FeO6 [Iron (III) acetylacetonate], which could be served as the source of Fe, O, and C. As an anode material, the Fe2O3@C anode delivers a specific capacity of 747.8 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 200 mA g−1 and 577.8 mAh g−1 after 365 cycles at 500 mA g−1. When selenium powder was introduced into the reaction system, the FeSe2 nano-rods encapsulated in the carbon shell were obtained, which also displayed a relatively good performance in lithium storage capacity (852 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles under the current density of 100 mA·g−1). This study may provide an alternative way to prepare other carbon-composited metal compounds, such as FeNx@C, FePx@C, and FeSx@C, and found their applications in the field of electrochemistry.


Positioning orthodontic brackets is a task most clinicians like to do as quickly and accurately as possible. When using the direct bonding technique the choice of instruments is either a measuring device or one of several hand-held dental instruments not usually designed for the task, ranging from a flat plastic to a probe. The TN3 TM bracket positioning instrument* was designed specifically for the purpose of positioning orthodontic brackets and cleaning up the excess composite. It is a simple double-ended hand held instrument (Figure 1) with a bracket positioning blade at one end and a composite cleaning end at the other. It enables the operator to quickly manipulate the orthodontic brackets into the ideal position on the tooth, and then by turning the instrument around allows the excess composite to be removed. Once the bracket is placed on the tooth it can easily be manipulated into the desired position using either the tip (Figure 2) or the lower edge of the blade (Figure 3) located within the bracket slot. Once the bracket is in the desired position it is compressed against the tooth surface to express any excess adhesive from under the bracket. The 'TN3' can be used to manipulate brackets with either an 0.018'' or 0.022'' slot without binding in the slot when lifted away because the 'TN3' blade is parallel sided. The 45u angulation of the blade end of the instrument allows the operator to use the tip of the blade to manipulate brackets on the anterior and premolar teeth, as well those displaced from the line of the arch (Figure 2).


Sorghum-Sudan grass hybrid containing high hydrocyanic acid content can cause hydrocyanic acid poisoning to the livestock and limit the popularization of this forage crop. Molecular markers associated with low hydrocyanic acid content can speed up the process of identification of genotypes with low hydrocyanic acid content. In the present study, 11 polymorphic SSR primers were screened and used for bulked segregant analysis and single marker analysis. Three SSR markers Xtxp7230, Xtxp7375 and Bnlg667960 associated with low hydrocyanic acid content were rapidly identified by BSA. In single marker analysis, six markers Xtxp7230, Xtxp7375, Bnlg667960, Xtxp67-11, Xtxp295-7 and Xtxp12-9 were linked to low hydrocyanic acid content, which explained the proportion of phenotypic variation from 7.6 % to 41.2 %. The markers identified by BSA were also verified by single marker analysis. The three SSR marker bands were then cloned and sequenced for sequence homology analysis in NCBI. It is the first report on the development of molecular markers associated with low hydrocyanic acid content in sorghum- Sudan grass hybrid. These markers will be useful for genetic improvement of low hydrocyanic acid sorghum-Sudan grass hybrid by marker-assisted breeding.


Existing reinforced concrete (RC) members, designed in accordance with obsolete codes, are often characterized by high stirrup spacing. The collapse mechanisms generated by high stirrup spacing are typically related to the buckling of longitudinal reinforcement and can be accentuated when corrosion takes place. In this paper, new refined material constitutive laws for steel, including inelastic buckling and corrosion of reinforcement, are implemented in a fixed crack model suitable for RC elements subjected to cyclic loadings called the PARC_CL 2.1 crack model. The effectiveness of the proposed model is validated through comparison with available experimental data and analytical predictions. Finally, the proposed model is used to calibrate correction coefficients to be applied to current codes formulation for the ultimate rotational capacity prediction of non-conforming elements subjected to buckling phenomena and characterized by corrosion of reinforcing bars.


The self-assembly of copper(II) ions and 5-(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzene-1,3-dicarboxylate (1) leads to Nanoballs in which twelve dinuclear copper(II) paddle-wheel units are interconnected via 24 ligands. The structure of the spherical coordination compound decorated with 24 hydroxy groups has been determined by single crystal X-ray structure analysis. As a model for the integration of Nanoballs into bulk polyurethane polymers and coatings, its reaction with phenylisocyanate is investigated. The stability of Nanoballs against hydrolytic decomposition is studied under acidic conditions and compared to simple copper(II) complexes. Release of copper(II) ions from Nanoballs is much slower than from discrete copper(II) paddle-wheel complexes, suggesting the use of Nanoballs as monomers for polyurethane-based antifouling coatings.


The purpose of the study was to examine the triangular theory of love in China and the United States. It was predicted that intimacy, passion, and commitment would increase in both cultures as the relationship becomes more serious. It was also predicted that intimacy and passion would be higher in romantic relationships in the US than in China, and that commitment would be higher in China than in the US. Data were collected from 90 Chinese romantic couples in China and 77 American romantic couples in the United States. Multivariate analysis of variance using summation scores revealed that commitment, passion, and intimacy increased as a romantic relationship became more serious. Passion was significantly higher in US American couples than in Chinese couples, but the amount of intimacy and commitment did not vary cross-culturally (using both summation and dispersion scores). # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


GameBots [1] is a virtual reality platform that allows the creation and evaluation of intelligent agents that interact with a rich 3D continuous dynamic environment. As opposed to previous test beds that focus on a single task and environment (such as soccer simulation [4]), GameBots does not define a single benchmark task. Instead, the GameBots platform comes with a wide variety of predefined tasks and environments and allows anyone to extend these in various ways, or create new challenges. This enables multiagent systems (MAS) and artificial intelligence researchers to explore a wide variety of algorithms and techniques, in areas such as spatial navigation, learning, dynamic resource allocation, multiagent planning, plan-recognition, collaboration, distributed adversarial planning, and human-machine teamwork. GameBots is composed of two components. The first of these is a freely-available open source extension of the commercial Unreal Tournament game engine [3]. It defines a socket-based API allowing anyone to create agents that can participate in any Unreal Tournament games. The second component is a set of development tools, sample source code, and nonviolent graphics (replacements for the default graphics) that form a basic development environment to help users get started in using GameBots. Gal A. Kaminka, Manuela M. Veloso, Steve Schaffer,


Comilla region is highly diverse in respect to topography, agro-ecology, land-use pattern and cropping systems. Planning of agricultural development largely depends on the reliable and comprehensive statistics of the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity of a particular area, which will provide guideline to our policy makers, researchers, extensionists and development workers. The study was conducted over all 33 upazilas of Comilla region during 2016 using pre-tested semistructured questionnaire with a view to document the existing cropping patterns, cropping intensity and crop diversity. From the present study it was observed that 73.56% of net cropped area (NCA) is covered by exclusive rice cropping systems whereas deep water rice cropping system occupied 16.09% of the regional NCA. The most dominant cropping pattern single Boro alone occupied 26.18% of NCA with its distribution over 30 out of 33 upazilas. The second largest area, 19.93% of NCA, was covered by Boro−Fallow−T. Aman cropping pattern, which was spread over 25 upazilas. One hundred and forty-six cropping patterns were identified in the whole region under this investigation. The highest, 36 cropping patterns were identified in Debidwar upazila of Comilla district and the lowest, seven were in Akhura and Ashuganj of B.Baria and Comilla Adarsha upazila. The lowest crop diversity index (CDI) was reported 0.481 in Comilla Adrasha upazila followed by 0.637 in Hajiganj of Chandpur. The highest value of CDI was observed 0.964 in Haimchar of Chandpur followed by 0.956 in Muradnagar of Comilla. The range of cropping intensity (CI) value was recorded 126-292%. The maximum value was for Barura of Comilla and minimum for Hajiganj of Chandpur district. The grand mean of CDI values for Comilla region was calculated 0.935 and the average cropping intensity at regional level was 192%.Bangladesh Rice j. 2017, 21(2): 91-107


The low-and high-temperature structures of La2CoMnO6 and La2NiMnO6 have been refined using powder neutron diffraction. At low temperatures the materials adopt a charge-ordered monoclinic structure which transforms to a rhombohedral structure at elevated temperature without loss of charge ordering. This charge ordering scheme allows us for the first time to rationalize the relationships between the physical and structural properties of these materials.


Abstract Farmer-herder conflict constitutes a severe threat to community peace, development, agricultural production and socio-economic life of rural dwellers especially crop farmers, thereby forcing them to utilise some coping strategies to survive the crises and cushion the effects. Therefore, the paper assessed the causes, effects, and coping strategies utilised by crop farmers to mitigate the effects of conflict with cattle herders in rural communities of Osun State, Nigeria. A total of 120 crop farmers (the more vulnerable ones) were selected across the state and quantitative data were elicited from them using a structured interview schedule. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results show that respondents had a mean age of 44.16 ± 14.77 years and farming experience of 20.16 ± 11.23 years, and 75.7 % had formal education. Loss of crops (mean = 1.63) and reduction in farmers' output and income (mean = 1.52) were the major effects of conflict, while strategies adopted include tightening farm security (mean = 2.93), praying for peace (mean = 2.91) and seeking help from friends and relatives (mean = 2.91). About half (48.6 %) utilised the coping strategies at a high level to mitigate conflict with cattle herders. There was a significant relationship between the coping strategies utilisation and the years of residence (r = 0.224), farming experience (r = 0.201) and effects of conflict (r = 0.567). The study concluded that although crop farmers utilised different coping strategies to mitigate the effects of herders' conflict problem-solving types were most adopted. It is therefore recommended that government and other donor agencies should provide relief materials to crop farmers during conflict situations to enable them to cope with the effects of the conflict and resume their normal economic activities.


ABSTRACT Repetitive sequences, especially transposon-derived interspersed repetitive elements, account for a large fraction of the genome in most eukaryotes. Despite the repetitive nature, these transposable elements display quantitative and qualitative differences even among species of the same lineage. Although transposable elements contribute greatly as a driving force to the biological diversity during evolution, they can induce embryonic lethality and genetic disorders as a result of insertional mutagenesis and genomic rearrangement. Temporary relaxation of the epigenetic control of retrotransposons during early germline development opens a risky window that can allow retrotransposons to escape from host constraints and to propagate abundantly in the host genome. Because germline mutations caused by retrotransposon activation are heritable and thus can be deleterious to the offspring, an adaptive strategy has evolved in host cells, especially in the germline. In this review, we will attempt to summarize general defense mechanisms deployed by the eukaryotic genome, with an emphasis on pathways utilized by the male germline to confer retrotransposon silencing.


This study examined the effects of acute dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) ingestion on serum steroid hormones and the effect of chronic DHEA intake on the adaptations to resistance training. In 10 young men (23 +/- 4 yr old), ingestion of 50 mg of DHEA increased serum androstenedione concentrations 150% within 60 min (P < 0.05) but did not affect serum testosterone and estrogen concentrations. An additional 19 men (23 +/- 1 yr old) participated in an 8-wk whole body resistance-training program and ingested DHEA (150 mg/day, n = 9) or placebo (n = 10) during weeks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Serum androstenedione concentrations were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in the DHEA-treated group after 2 and 5 wk. Serum concentrations of free and total testosterone, estrone, estradiol, estriol, lipids, and liver transaminases were unaffected by supplementation and training, while strength and lean body mass increased significantly and similarly (P < 0.05) in the men treated with placebo and DHEA. These results suggest that DHEA ingestion does not enhance serum testosterone concentrations or adaptations associated with resistance training in young men.


Background: Obesity is one of the major cardiovascular risk factors and is linked with arterial stiffness. This study was undertaken to establish the relationship between regional adiposity and arterial stiffness using simple noninvasive techniques. Methods: In total, 181 young Asian Indian adults aged 18-28 years (mean age 21.9 ± 2.2) were measured for adiposity and arterial stiffness. Total body fat percentage was derived from skinfold thickness of various body sites. Body mass index and waist-hip-ratio were also measured. Arterial stiffness was measured using a SphygmoCor with a carotid-radial pulse wave analysis technique. Results: Significant gender differences were observed on anthropometric variables including skinfold thickness (P < 0.05) and all the arterial stiffness variables (P < 0.05) except pulse wave velocity. Systolic pressure, augmentation pressure, augmentation index (AIx), AIx at 75% heart rate, and aortic systolic pressure had statistically significant correlations with all three adiposity variables (P < 0.05). Significant correlations were found in a higher number of variables in the females. Physical activity had negative correlations with arterial stiffness and adiposity variables (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Arterial stiffness measured by carotid-radial pulse wave analysis is strongly related to adiposity measured from skinfold thickness in females. Females had higher arterial stiffness and adiposity compared with men. These findings could be helpful in future research using noninvasive arterial stiffness measurements.


Purpose: Cardiac SPECT imaging is widely used for many clinical practices such as the diagnostic of coronary artery diseases (CAD) and Myocardial Perfusion Imaging (MPI). In this work, we introduced the ProSPECT system, a dedicated cardiac SPECT system with open-gantry design. Materials and Methods: In this study we assessed the performance of the system based on NEMA-NU1-2007 standards. The ProSPECT system was characterized by measurement of planar, tomographic and clinical parameters. Results: Planar measurements showed 7.6 mm and 8.9% of spatial resolution and energy resolution at 140 keV, respectively. The tomographic resolution at 250 mm radius of rotation was 12.3 mm. Also, the maximum LOR and COR error for the tomographic imaging are obtained 1.1 mm and 1.8 mm, respectively. The clinical images that obtained using the system were confirmed by nuclear medicine physician expert. Conclusion: It concluded that the ProSPECT imaging is qualified for cardiac SPECT imaging.


This paper formalises an individual's decision about suicide within a framework of lifetime utility maximisation models. This is in line with the literature on economic modelling of suicide. The novelty of the paper is to take into account income uncertainty. Income uncertainty reduces a risk-averse individual's expected utility, making them more likely to commit suicide. On the other hand, income uncertainty creates a value to postponing suicide even when their income gets sufficiently low. This is because income uncertainty means that if things go well, they will get higher income in the future. Thus, income uncertainty has two opposite effects on suicidal behaviour. The main objective of this paper is to construct an economic model of suicide for investigating net impacts of income uncertainty on suicidal behaviour. For this purpose, it is assumed that the wage evolves according to a stochastic process. Then, the threshold wage, below which an individual commits suicide, is derived as a function of the parameters of the stochastic process assumed for the wage evolution. Impacts of changes in these parameters on the threshold wage are calculated. With the result, the paper shows how income uncertainty affects suicidal behaviour.


We have investigated whether or not polysaccharide preparation PSK directly augments the proliferation and cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). TILs were separated from 10 patients with gastrointestinal cancer (5 gastric cancers, 3 colon cancers and 2 pancreatic cancers). TILs were cultured with IL-2 and PSK for 7 days. The DNA synthesis of TILs was augmented by incubation with 100 micrograms/ml of PSK, which was similar to serum level with oral administration of PSK in cancer patients. The effect of PSK in DNA synthesis was also found by elimination of non-T cells. Furthermore, we established TIL clones and examined the effect of PSK on TILs clones. The DNA synthesis was augmented by PSK in CD4 positive and CD8 positive TIL clones without non-T cells, suggesting that PSK acts directly on TILs. We examined the cytotoxic activities of TILs by the 4-h and 16-h 51Cr release assay. PSK did not affect the cytotoxic activity of TILs against autologous tumor cells and KATO-III cells in the 4h 51Cr release assay, whereas PSK induced high lysability of TILs against autologous tumor cells in the 16-h 51Cr release assay. We studied the ability of PSK to induce cytokines from TILs using a double chamber plate. The DNA synthesis of tumor cells was more suppressed by the mixed-tumor cell culture supernatants of TILs cultured with PSK, compared to that of TILs cultured without PSK. It is suggesting that PSK induced long term killing activity of TILs by induction of cytotoxic cytokines. Thus, PSK augmented the proliferative response of TILs without interaction of T cells and non-T cells and induced cytotoxic cytokines of TILs.


Herbal supplements rich in phenolic compounds are evidenced to have a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, they are suggested to be included in diets for people with hypertension (HT). HT is a global health problem and is estimated to affect billions of people until the end of 2025. For this reason, every possible and effective solution preventing HT should be considered. The aim was to perform an updated meta-analysis and review of recently published studies to evaluate the effect of selected herbal supplements on blood pressure reduction. We searched the PubMed database with specified selection criteria, analysing the RCT studies from 2011 to 2021. A total of 31 studies were included in the analysis, and the meta-analysis was conducted on the data from 16 of them. The general effect size of all the supplements via placebo was d = 1.45, p < 0.05 for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and d = 0.31, p < 0.05 for diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The meta-analysis and review of the literature demonstrated that herbal supplements, such as resveratrol, cherry juice, beetroot juice, bergamot extracts, barberry, and pycnogenol, can be effective in blood pressure reduction and cardiovascular prevention, but attention should be paid to their appropriate dosage due to the possibility of side effects from the digestive system.


PURPOSE Knowing the genetic phenotype of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) is essential for patients who receive therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The aim of this study was to develop a radiomic algorithm for predicting GISTs with KIT exon 11 mutation. METHODS We enrolled 106 patients (80 in the training set, 26 in the validation set) with clinicopathologically confirmed GISTs from two centers. Preoperative and postoperative clinical characteristics were selected and analyzed to construct the clinical model. Arterial phase, venous phase, delayed phase, and tri-phase combined radiomics algorithms were generated from the training set based on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) images. Various radiomics feature selection methods were used, namely least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO); minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR); and generalized linear model (GLM) as a machine-learning classifier. Independent predictive factors were determined to construct preoperative and postoperative radiomics nomograms by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The performances of the clinical model, radiomics algorithm, and radiomics nomogram in distinguishing GISTs with the KIT exon 11 mutation were evaluated by area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristics. RESULTS Of 106 patients who underwent genetic analysis, 61 had the KIT exon 11 mutation. The combined radiomics algorithm was found to be the best prediction model for differentiating the expression status of the KIT exon 11 mutation (AUC = 0.836; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.640-0.951) in the validation set. The clinical model, and preoperative and postoperative radiomics nomograms had AUCs of 0.606 (95% CI, 0.397-0.790), 0.715 (95% CI, 0.506-0.873), and 0.679 (95% CI, 0.468-0.847), respectively, with the validation set. CONCLUSION The radiomics algorithm could distinguish GISTs with the KIT exon 11 mutation based on CE-CT images and could potentially be used for selective genetic analysis to support the precision medicine of GISTs.


Amongst motor control and learning models, "A Cerebellar Model of Timing and Prediction" of A. Barto and J. Houk is the most interesting and physiologically well-grounded. Developing D. Marr's "The Theory of Cerebellar Cortex", this model proposed the important role in motor learning of the ability of Purkinje cells to change their activity level by the dendritic bistability mechanism. The aim of this investigation was to verify this idea in experiments with human learning of precise elbow flexion. The unsupervisual method of learning was used in order to guarantee the principal role of proprioception in training. The experiments were carried out in darkness to exclude the vision control. Subjects were asked to perform a precise horizontal elbow flexion as fast as possible and repeat this action from 30 to 50 times up to the point of complete movement acquisition (stable movement with the error in the range of 5% of a given flexion amplitude). The target point (a given angle of the horizontal elbow flexion) was not presented to the subjects in advance. Reaching the target point was indicated by a short light flash. During training, subjects learned to hit target point with the given precision. Kinematic characteristics of the movement (time change of elbow flexion angle, velocity, and acceleration) together with EMG of the flexor and extensor were recorded. The obtained results were in good agreement with J. Houk and A. Barto's hypothesis. Analysis of changes in the kinematic characteristics in the course of training revealed an asymmetric velocity profile and a fragmentary shape of acceleration profile at the beginning of learning. In the course of training, the acceleration profile transformed into biphasic curve with a single change in polarity. Thus, it acquired a characteristic shape of a plateau. Correspondingly, to the end of training, the character of the asymmetry of the velocity profile changed. No correlation was observed between the velocity parameters and movement precision. These features essentially distinguish the motor reactions under study from the common visuomotor coordinations. It is suggested that the amplitude and duration of the acceleration plateau reflect the intensity and time of inhibition of the descending activity of Purkinje cells as a result of bistability (in accordance with Houk and Barto's hypothesis).


We propose an approach to distinguish between correct and incorrect image classifications. Our approach can detect misclassifications which either occur $\it{unintentionally}$ ("natural errors"), or due to $\it{intentional~adversarial~attacks}$ ("adversarial errors"), both in a single $\it{unified~framework}$. Our approach is based on the observation that correctly classified images tend to exhibit robust and consistent classifications under certain image transformations (e.g., horizontal flip, small image translation, etc.). In contrast, incorrectly classified images (whether due to adversarial errors or natural errors) tend to exhibit large variations in classification results under such transformations. Our approach does not require any modifications or retraining of the classifier, hence can be applied to any pre-trained classifier. We further use state of the art targeted adversarial attacks to demonstrate that even when the adversary has full knowledge of our method, the adversarial distortion needed for bypassing our detector is $\it{no~longer~imperceptible~to~the~human~eye}$. Our approach obtains state-of-the-art results compared to previous adversarial detection methods, surpassing them by a large margin.


There is probably no group of diseases of infancy and childhood presenting greater difficulties in etiology and diagnosis than that generally referred to as the diarrheal disorders. The voluminous and contradictory literature on the problem serves to emphasize the highly unsatisfactory state of knowledge of the causation and differentiation of the various primary and secondary enteric disturbances. In addition, the multiplicity of potential pathogens inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract and the uncertainty of their isolation by present bacteriologic methods combine to make a most confusing situation. Even more complicated is the problem of the diarrheal disorders which occur during the newborn period of life. Since 1934 we have had under investigation a series of outbreaks of highly fatal diarrhea arising among newborn babies in the nurseries of lying-in hospitals. Our early experiences with the disorder were summarized in a preliminary discussion 1 which gave the essential features of the various outbreaks.


Cutaneous larva migrans is a frequent dermatologic problem among travelers in tropical areas, but its association with Löffler's syndrome is an extremely rare condition, particularly in children. Here, we describe a 6-year-old boy presenting cutaneous larva migrans associated with Löffler's syndrome.


Remote sensing is extensively used in cartography. As transportation networks grow and change, extracting roads automatically from satellite images is crucial to keep maps up-to-date. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites can provide high-resolution topographical maps. However, roads are difficult to identify in these data as they look visually similar to targets, such as rivers and railways. Most road extraction methods on SAR images still rely on a prior segmentation performed by the classical computer vision algorithms. Few works study the potential of deep learning techniques, despite their successful applications to optical imagery. This letter presents an evaluation of fully convolutional neural networks (FCNNs) for road segmentation in SAR images. We study the relative performance of early and state-of-the-art networks after carefully enhancing their sensitivity toward thin objects by adding the spatial tolerance rules. Our models show promising results, successfully extracting most of the roads in our test data set. This shows that although FCNNs natively lack efficiency for road segmentation, they are capable of good results if properly tuned. As the segmentation quality does not scale well with the increasing depth of the networks, the design of specialized architectures for roads extraction should yield better performances.


A quantitative ultrastructural study of intra-epithelial axons in the lower respiratory tract of the cat has compared the innervation at four airway levels, two extra- and two intrapulmonary. The morphology of intra-epithelial axons has been described, and their association with different epithelial cell types recorded. Their morphology suggests that most are afferent in function.


found between contamination of the catheter and local inflammation but it would have been interesting to determine whether there was any correlation between the incidence of local inflammation and the number of times the side port had been used. The introduction of a number of organisms directly into the bloodstream of a fairly healthy person is unlikely to do harm but it might lead to general infection in cases where the general level of immunity is reduced or where there exists some site particularly susceptible to infection, such as a damaged heart valve. No adequate controls appear to have been used in this survey; the comparison of inflammation rates with those obtained by different workers in other countries under different circumstances cannot be regarded as valid. That only controls examined in parallel are suitable comparisons is supported by the conclusion that the complication rates for phlebitis (350') are said to be no higher than those reported for continuous-flow cannulae used for fluid or heparin infusion, whereas Peters et all mentions a figure of 200%, a discrepancy in the total number of cases in the UK of 1-5 million per year. Oberhammer2 (also personal communication) has shown to what degree the injection ports of cannulae may be contaminated; such ports are not really necessary, and while there is any suspicion that they may constitute a danger it seems illogical to use cannulae bearing them unless there are special indications. RoY PILSWORTH


Conventional methods for computing maximum-likelihood estimators (MLE) often converge slowly in practical situations, leading to a search for simplifying methods that rely on additional assumptions for their validity. In this work, we provide a fast and reliable algorithm for maximum-likelihood reconstruction that avoids this slow convergence. Our method utilizes the state-of-the-art convex optimization scheme, an accelerated projected-gradient method, that allows one to accommodate the quantum nature of the problem in a different way than in the standard methods. We demonstrate the power of our approach by comparing its performance with other algorithms for $n$-qubit state tomography. In particular, an eight-qubit situation that purportedly took weeks of computation time in 2005 can now be completed in under a minute for a single set of data, with far higher accuracy than previously possible. This refutes the common claim that MLE reconstruction is slow and reduces the need for alternative methods that often come with difficult-to-verify assumptions. In fact, recent methods assuming Gaussian statistics or relying on compressed sensing ideas are demonstrably inapplicable for the situation under consideration here. Our algorithm can be applied to general optimization problems over the quantum state space; the philosophy of projected gradients can further be utilized for optimization contexts with general constraints.