The structure of wavefunctions of quantum systems strongly depends on the underlying classical dynamics. In this text a selection of articles on eigenfunctions in systems with fully chaotic dynamics and systems with a mixed phase space is summarized. Of particular interest are statistical properties like amplitude distribution and spatial autocorrelation function and the implication of eigenfunction structures on transport properties. For systems with a mixed phase space the separation into regular and chaotic states does not always hold away from the semiclassical limit, such that chaotic states may completely penetrate into the region of the regular island. The consequences of this flooding are discussed and universal aspects highlighted.


The feasibility of using human cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific IgA antibody determinations as a signal for early detection of recurrent CMV infections in eight renal transplant recipients was analyzed. Solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA), enzyme-liked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoperoxidase assay (IPA) techniques were used for IgA antibody determinations. In parallel, IgG antibodies to CMV were studied by immunoperoxidase assay. A significant rise of CMV-specific IgG antibody titre was observed in all of these patients between 5 and 53 weeks post-transplantation. CMV-specific IgA antibody production was detected close to the time a rise in CMV IgG antibody was observed in seven out of eight patients studied by RIA and ELISA, and in six out of eight patients studied by IPA. In two patients specific CMV IgA antibodies were detected by all three methods before a significant rise of CMV IgG antibody titre was demonstrated. In these patients CMV IgA was detected by RIA earlier than by ELISA and IPA. The potential application of CMV-specific IgA antibody determination for early detection of recurrent CMV infection in renal transplant patients is discussed.


Recent breakthroughs in the cognitive and brain sciences, most importantly developments in neuroimaging technologies including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), event-related potential (ERP), and magnetoencephalography (MEG), have opened a new window on the human mind and offered a whole new set of possibilities for exploring its hidden functional architecture. This growing analytic potential can also be seen reflected in the numerous new fields of research, ranging from neuroethics and neuroprosthetics to the latest emerging field of neuroeconomics, which each year are being added to the rapidly expanding domain of contemporary cognitive and brain sciences. Despite these important developments however, within archaeology there has been little awareness of the challenging questions constantly arising from current findings in this field. With a few recent exceptions in the areas of cognitive archaeology and evolutionary neuroscience (e.g. Stout et al. 2000; Stout & Chaminade 2007; Dehaene et al. 2005; Frey 2003; 2004; 2008; Bruner 2003; 2004; Gibson 1993; Wynn & Coolidge 2003; 2004; Coolidge & Wynn 2004; 2005; Deacon 1997; Hodgson & Helvenston 2006; Mithen 2005), no systematic attempt has been made to channel this huge emerging potential in the direction of a common integrated research program targeting the big picture of human cognitive evolution (both before and most importantly after the socalled speciation phase) (but see Renfrew et al. 2008). Although archaeologists do not excavate neural tissue, we should bear in mind that the development of functional neuroimaging has allowed the investigation of a whole new set of questions which raise a host of archaeological and anthropological issues and thus demand our attention and critical evaluation.


Strategies to early develop and implement motor skill promotion in preschoolers are lacking. Thus, we examined the effects of a card-based exercise promotion program in a kindergarten setting. 214 preschool children (5.5 ± 0.6 y, range 4.2–6.7 y) were examined in the present intervention study. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were measured. Children were randomly assigned to the KIDZ-Box® physical activity intervention program (INT: n = 107) or the control group (CON: n = 107). Children were trained daily for 15 min over 7 month at the preschool for agility, balance, endurance and jump performance, employing the card-based KIDZ-Box® media package. At pre- and post-testing, dynamic balance, jump and agility performance were tested. Cross-sectionally, agility testing differed between sexes (p = 0.01) and BMI (p = 0.02). Trends towards a significant association were found between BMI and side-to-side jumping (p = 0.1) and beam balancing (p = 0.05). Relevant interventional effects favoring the intervention group were slightly found for agility (p = 0.04, ηp2 = 0.02) and moderately for side-to-side jumping (p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.08). Balance performance did not relevantly improve. As jumping cards have been used frequently by the teachers, jumping improvements are plausible. The activity cards are feasibly applicable but should be employed with more structure during longer training sessions.


Steady state polarisation measurements can be affected by electrode microstructure and geometrical arrangement. In particular, the relative position of the reference electrode with respect to the working and counter electrodes may influence the reference potential and therefore effect the overvoltage readings. The influence of the geometrical arrangement of the electrodes on the electrolyte potential lines, was simulated by solving the appropriate Maxwell equations. Simulations were in relatively good agreement with steady state polarisation and impedance spectroscopy results obtained with YSZ|LaMnO3-based cells. The use of impedance spectroscopy to assess the appropriateness of a given electrode configuration is suggested.


Background

COPD is often associated with cardiovascular disease (Cazzola, M. et al. Respir Med 2012;106:249-256).

Aim

To identify an algorithm for predicting the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in COPD patients.

Methods

We analyzed data of patients afferent to the Cardiology ward and the Respiratory Diseases outpatient clinic of Tor Vergata University (2009-2011, 1596 records). The study population was clustered as training population (COPD patients undergoing coronary arteriography), control population (non-COPD patients undergoing coronary arteriography), test population (COPD patients whose records reported information on the coronary status). The predicting model was built via causal relationship between variables, stepwise binary logistic regression (Odds Ratio, OR) and Hosmer–Lemeshow analysis. The algorithm was validated via split-sample validation method and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis. The diagnostic accuracy was assessed.

Results

In training population the variables gender (men/women OR: 1.7, 95%CI: 1.2-2.5, P<0.05), dyslipidemia (OR: 1.8, 95%CI: 1.2-2.5, P<0.01) and smoking habit (OR: 1.5, 95%CI: 1.2-1.9, P<0.001) were significantly associated with CHD in COPD patients, whereas in control population also age and diabetes were correlated. The stepwise binary logistic regression permitted to build a well fitting predictive model for training population but not for control population. The predictive algorithm showed a diagnostic accuracy of 81.5% (95%CI: 77.8-84.7) and an AUC of 0.71 (95%CI: 0.68-0.74) for the validation set.

Conclusions

COPDCoRi is effective in predicting the risk of CHD in COPD patients via a rapid, inexpensive and non-invasive approach.


As part of a larger completed Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Snapshot program, we observed the sites of six nearby core-collapse supernovae (SNe) at high spatial resolution: SN 2012A, SN 2013ej, SN 2016gkg, SN 2017eaw, SN 2018zd, and SN 2018aoq. These observations were all conducted at sufficiently late times in each SN's evolution to demonstrate that the massive-star progenitor candidate identified in each case in pre-explosion imaging data had indeed vanished and was therefore most likely the actual progenitor. However, we have determined for SN 2016gkg that the progenitor candidate was most likely a blend of two objects: the progenitor, which itself has likely vanished, and another closely-neighbouring star. We thus provide a revised estimate of that progenitor's properties: a binary system with a hydrogen-stripped primary star at explosion with effective temperature ≈6300–7900 K, bolometric luminosity ≈104.65 L⊙, radius ≈118–154 R⊙, and initial mass 9.5–11 M⊙. Utilising late-time additional archival HST data nearly contemporaneous with our Snapshots, we also show that SN 2017eaw had a luminous ultraviolet excess, which is best explained as a result of ongoing interaction of the SN shock with pre-existing circumstellar matter. We offer the caveat, particularly in the case of SN 2013ej, that obscuration from SN dust may be compromising our conclusions. This sample adds to the growing list of confirmed or likely core-collapse SN progenitors.


Summary In arbitration, it is the parties who, on the basis of various criteria – experience, references, expertise, previous meetings, etc. – can determine who will decide their dispute as an arbitrator. In this respect, arbitration differs fundamentally from proceedings before the ordinary courts in civil proceedings, where the judge is appointed on the basis of a work schedule and the parties to the dispute cannot change the judge so appointed by agreement. Nonetheless, despite the broad autonomy of the parties, the various legal systems lay down certain conditions which must be met by any person wishing to act as an arbitrator. This article takes a comparative view of these legal conditions to act as an arbitrator and seeks to highlight the differences in the conditions defined, the (in)appropriateness of certain conditions and the fact that a person who does not meet the conditions to act as an arbitrator under one legal system does not automatically mean that he cannot be an arbitrator under another legal system..


The efficacy of the biologically active additive (BAA) "Spirulin-Sochi-Selen" was evaluated in 45 children aged 3 to 15 years who had acute pneumonia treated in the intensive care unit for infected patients of the Tushino children's city hospital, Moscow. The levels of selenium were determined by the Alfthan microfluorimetric technique (1984). The time course of clinical, laboratory, functional, and X-ray changes was determined. A control group comprised 20 children taking no selenium-containing foods or biologically active additives. The findings suggest that the BAA "Spirulin-Sochi-Selen" is effective as part of therapy for acute pneumonia in children treated in an intensive care unit. There were no signs of selenium deficiency in any case despite the baseline reduction in the average serum levels in both groups.


Background:Cutaneous viral infections are of increasing clinical importance, particularly in patients who are immunocompromised. Objective:The use of immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the diagnosis of cutaneous infections provides a rapid morphological diagnosis and can be applied to confirm the diagnosis of specific viral infections that may be difficult to diagnose with certainty using routine microscopy alone, thus facilitating clinical decisions in patient care. Methods:Several immunostains for specific viruses that have been useful in dermatopathology are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on new stains and novel uses of existing stains. Results:This article is an up-to-date overview of the potential uses and limitations of IHC in the histopathologic diagnosis of cutaneous viral infections by herpesviruses and papillomaviruses. Limitations:Whereas specific monoclonal antibodies effectively distinguish infections by herpes simplex virus-1, herpes simplex virus-2, varicella zoster virus, Epstein–Barr virus, and cytomegalovirus, IHC does not distinguish between the 120 antigenically distinct strains of human papillomavirus. Conclusions:IHC may assist dermatopathologists to appropriately diagnose viral infections caused by herpesviruses and papillomaviruses.


The energy spectra of hep and pep solar neutrinos produced by pp-chain and those produced from the CNO-cycle reactions are analyzed for various nuclear detectors in current terrestrial experiments. We intend to investigate the differential and total cross section of the coherent scattering of neutrinos off nuclear isotopes like 28Si. In such experiments the relevant quantity to measure is the kinetic energy distribution of the recoiling nucleus. This type of experiment has been proposed in order to observe the coherent elastic neutrino-nuclear scattering. We focus on the differential cross section dσ/dT as a function of the kinetic energy T of the promising nuclear isotope 28Si.


Within the burgeoning international education market, the Chinese market has performed exceptionally well - becoming the largest source market to Australia. While this has generated substantial interest in understanding factors that influence study destination choice, the mechanisms that influence these factors have been overlooked. With the recent development of the Internet, social media has become a popular information source for students contemplating overseas study. To a large extent, information presented on these electronic word of mouth platforms influences how students perceive potential overseas study destinations. However, universities do not understand how this new information channel influences recipient. The purpose of this particular paper is to understand how the characteristics of social media senders impact on study destination selection. Twenty-three small group interviews (with around 120 students) were conducted to investigate the most important factors that influence student's destination perceptions.


Lupus vulgaris (LV) is a rare complication of the bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination, and about 65 cases of inoculation tuberculosis resembling LV have been reported in the literature. We report three cases of LV, developing many years later at the inoculation site of BCG vaccine. All three cases had a single BCG vaccination, with a LV lesion at or in the vicinity of the vaccination site, a strong positive Mantoux test, noncaseating granuloma histologically, and two of the patients had a positive PCR result for mycobacterial complex. One of the patients had an unusually delayed appearance of the LV lesion, after an interval of about 17 years, and another case was remarkable because of the large size of the lesion (210 × 110 mm).


Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks are expected to support the wireless connection of massive energy limited IoT nodes. The emerging wireless powered backscatter communications (WPBC) enable IoT nodes to harvest energy from the incident radio frequency signals transmitted by a power beacon (PB) to support their circuit operation, but the energy consumption of the PB (a potentially high cost borne by the network operator) has not been sufficiently studied for WPBC. In this paper, we aim to minimize the energy consumption of the PB while satisfying the throughput requirement per IoT node by jointly optimizing the time division multiple access (TDMA) time slot duration and backscatter reflection coefficient of each IoT node and the PB transmit power per time slot. As the formulated joint optimization problem is non-convex, we transform it into a convex problem by using auxiliary variables, then employ the Lagrange dual method to obtain the optimal solutions. To reduce the implementation complexity required for adjusting the PB's transmit power every time slot, we keep the PB transmit power constant in each time block and solve the corresponding PB energy consumption minimization problem by using auxiliary variables, the block coordinated decent method and the successive convex approximation technique. Based on the above solutions, two iterative algorithms are proposed for the dynamic PB transmit power scheme and the static PB transmit power scheme. The simulation results show that the dynamic PB transmit power scheme and the static PB transmit power scheme both achieve a lower PB energy consumption than the benchmark schemes, and the former achieves the lowest PB energy consumption.


Dipeptidyl peptidase III (DPP III) is a zinc-dependent enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes dipeptides from the N-terminal of different-length peptides, and it is involved in a number of physiological processes. Here, DPP III with an atypical pentapeptide zinc binding motif (HELMH) was identified from Corallococcus sp. EGB. It was shown that the activity of recombined CoDPP III was optimal at 50 °C and pH 7.0 with high thermostability up to 60 °C. Unique to CoDPP III, the crystal structure of the ligand-free enzyme was determined as a dimeric and closed form. The relatively small inter-domain cleft creates a narrower entrance to the substrate binding site and the unfavorable binding of the bulky naphthalene ring. The ectopic expression of CoDPP III in M. xanthus DK1622 resulted in a 12 h head start in fruiting body development compared with the wild type. Additionally, the A-signal prepared from the starving DK1622-CoDPP III rescued the developmental defect of the asgA mutant, and the fruiting bodies were more numerous and closely packed. Our data suggested that CoDPP III played a role in the fruiting body development of myxobacteria through the accumulation of peptides and amino acids to act as the A-signal.


1 Mountain Research Centre (CIMO), ESA, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1172, 5301-855 Bragança, Portugal. 2 Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering (LSRE), Associate Laboratory LSRE/LCM, Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 1134, 5301-857 Bragança, Portugal. 3 Nutrition and Bromatology Group, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo, Ourense Campus, E32004 Ourense, Spain. 4 Laboratory of Separation and Reaction Engineering (LSRE) – Associate Laboratory LSRE/LCM, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.


A checklist is ideal when assessing young children who are 'difficult to test'. The Communication DEALL Developmental Checklist (CDDC) was developed by Karanth (1), to assess developmental skills of children up to the age of 6 years, along eight developmental domains, with norms based on an Indian population. Since all checklists depend on rater reliability, the aim of the current study was to establish inter rater reliability of the CDDC. Two senior Speech Language Pathologists used a 4-point rating scale, to assess 40 children with developmental disabilities (across the ages of 0-6 years) on the CDDC checklist. Each rater independently made two ratings during the assessment; the first as reported by the parent (PR1 and PR2), and the second based on the clinician's own observation (CR1 and CR2). The correlation between CR1 and CR2, as well as PR1 and PR2 for each rater separately, was found to be high, suggesting that the CDDC provides a reliable baseline for the developmental skills of children up to 6 years. DOI 10.5463/DCID.v22i1.9


E-resources are inevitable, technology has grown and libraries are also adopting the technologies although adopting have many challenges to the library professionals. Whenever something new comes they need to update themselves. A study investigated E-Resources management and management issues of Indian library professional perspectives. For this study, data was collected from various academic institutes/university libraries in India. It includes institutes of national importance, central, state, deemed and private universities. The study finds that the majority of the libraries subscribed to E-journals and E-books, administration related challenges faced by LIS professionals. The t-test results revealed a lack of professional skills is the reason for issues and challenges of Library management.


Utility Theory is commonly considered as the most useful descriptive theory of human choice behaviour. Alternative concepts are only incidentally considered. This paper reviews alternative assumptions and empirical findings about human choice behaviour. To facilitate comparison and synthesis the review starts with the proposal of a generic framework of choice behaviour. The micro-economic assumptions of Utility Theory and Prospect Theory are then mapped onto this framework. These are compared with each other and other assumptions against the background of theoretical and empirical findings from behavioural economics, several other social disciplines and transport sciences. An extension of Prospect Theory with assumptions about the valuation of attributes and the employment of different decision rules yields a functional concept of choice behaviour that is able to describe most of the reviewed empirical findings to a larger extent than Utility Theory.


Recent studies indicate a diminished responsiveness to noxious stimuli in arterial hypertension in the experimental animal. A similar finding is also reported in the only study published to our knowledge on this subject in man. The aim of the study was to assess in humans the sensory and pain threshold by a non-invasive tooth pulp stimulation test (stepwise increased electrical stimuli delivered by a commercial pulp tester). Subjects had to report when they started to feel pulp stimulation and when this became painful. The data reported are the means of the measurements on four healthy teeth in each subject. Significantly higher values (expressed as relative units [RU]) were found in 28 non-treated essential hypertensives compared with 33 normotensive controls for sensory threshold (40.64 +/- 8.07 versus 29.96 +/- 6.82 RU, P < 0.0001) and for pain threshold (55.67 +/- 12.74 versus 42.08 +/- 12.58 RU, P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis of variance showed that this difference was apparently not related to age and sex. These data lend further support to the view that pain modulation may be altered in the hypertensive state in man.


Abstract The circulation anomalies over the whole Southern Hemisphere in the First GARP Global Experiment (FGGE) were not those that one would expect in either extreme of the Southern Oscillation; examples of the anomalies in such extremes are given. The zonally averaged pressure gradients between 50 and 65°S in FGGE when compared with those of several other years turned out to be abnormally strong in winter (2.5σ above the mean), and moderately strong in summer (1.4σ. above the mean). The 500 mb heights were above normal in middle latitudes and below normal at high latitudes when compared with station data from series 16–29 years long. As the computations are based on operational analyses they are not final, although the conclusions are unlikely to be changed by the use of the complete FGGE data set.


Chloroplast perturbations activate retrograde signalling pathways causing dynamic changes of gene expression. Besides transcriptional control of gene expression different classes of small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) act in gene expression control, but comprehensive analyses regarding their role in retrograde signalling is lacking. We performed sRNA profiling in response to norflurazon (NF) that provokes retrograde signals in A. thaliana wild type and the two retrograde signalling mutants gun1 and gun5. The RNA samples were also used for mRNA and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) profiling to link altered sRNA levels to changes of their cognate target RNAs. We identified 122 sRNAs from all known sRNA classes that were responsive to NF in wild type. Strikingly, 140 and 213 sRNAs were found to be differentially regulated in both mutants indicating a retrograde control of these sRNAs. Concomitant with the changes in sRNA expression we detected about 1500 differentially expressed mRNAs in the NF treated wild type and around 900 and 1400 mRNAs that were differentially regulated in the gun1 and gun5 mutant with a high proportion (~30%) of genes encoding plastid proteins. Furthermore, around 20% of predicted miRNA targets code for plastid localised proteins. The analyses of sRNA-target pairs identified pairs with an anticorrelated expression as well pairs showing other expressional relations pointing to a role of sRNAs in balancing transcriptional changes upon retrograde signals. Based on the comprehensive changes in sRNA expression we assume a considerable impact of sRNAs in retrograde-dependent transcriptional changes to adjust plastidic and nuclear gene expression. Significance statement Perturbations of plastid functions trigger retrograde signalling to adjust plastidic and nuclear gene expression, however, the role of small non-coding RNAs acting as regulators in these pathways is not well understood. We analysed small non-coding RNA expression in response to retrograde signals in A. thaliana wild type and two retrograde signalling mutants and identified members of all known small non-coding RNA classes pointing to a functional role of these RNA classes in retrograde pathways.


To have a better understanding and usage of Convolution Neural Networks (CNNs), the visualization and interpretation of CNNs has attracted increasing attention in recent years. In particular, several Class Activation Mapping (CAM) methods have been proposed to discover the connection between CNN's decision and image regions. In spite of the reasonable visualization, lack of clear and sufficient theoretical support is the main limitation of these methods. In this paper, we introduce two axioms -- Conservation and Sensitivity -- to the visualization paradigm of the CAM methods. Meanwhile, a dedicated Axiom-based Grad-CAM (XGrad-CAM) is proposed to satisfy these axioms as much as possible. Experiments demonstrate that XGrad-CAM is an enhanced version of Grad-CAM in terms of conservation and sensitivity. It is able to achieve better visualization performance than Grad-CAM, while also be class-discriminative and easy-to-implement compared with Grad-CAM++ and Ablation-CAM. The code is available at this https URL.


Over a long period of time, there has been a rich debate in the academic and financial world if active management can generate an excess return. Many experts say that the current active management strategies is nothing more than a money grab that produces large gains, for banks and investment firms, through high management fees while producing no excess value for the individuals buying their service. In short, an effective market makes it almost impossible for fund managers to produce value for their clients in the long run.No argument has only one side though, other experts say that active management has a role to play because not all investors are rational. This irrationality can lead to mispricing on financial assets in the marketplace and in turn lead to an ineffective market where active management can fill a much needed role. The purpose of this study is therefore to see if active management strategies can create a higher risk adjusted return, taking management fees into consideration, during times of high volatility when the uncertainty is at its peak. We studied the time period of 2003-2012 where 2008 was by far the most volatile year and in being so was the main focus point for our study.In trying to make as strong a case as possible we gathered 250 mutual funds continuous daily data of ten years for volatility and yield. We had trouble getting a reliable and valid result using the Sharpe ratio and the modified Sharpe ratio when we studied 2008, we used the Sharpe ratio for the ten year study but we had to use a two dimensional measurement for 2008 which focused exclusively on volatility and yield.The result of the study states that during 2008 we could not show a statistical significance in favor of active management in terms of excess returns when we used the Sharpe ratios. We could however observe if we looked at the frequency data, regarding volatility and yields, see that active management created a higher value for its clients than passive management during 2008. When we observed the results for the whole time period we saw that active management created a significant positive difference in yield toward passive management. The conclusion of the study is therefore that active management can generate an excess value for its investors not just in times of distress but in all market climates.


PURPOSE
In a significant number of glaucoma patients, progression of visual field loss occurs despite adequate intraocular pressure (IOP) control. Other factors, mainly vascular, seem to play a role in the pathogenesis of these glaucomas. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of blood pressure (BP) as one of the vascular risk factors for progression of glaucomatous damage.

METHODS
Eighty-three glaucoma patients were categorizated as to whether their visual field defect were stable or progressive in the face of clinically stable IOP; all patients were followed for at least two years. The mean systolic and diastolic BP were determined, using a 24-hour ambulatory recording device, during diurnal (6 am-10 pm) and nocturnal (10 pm-6 am) periods. For each patient, the nocturnal systolic and diastolic dips, and the BP variability (i.e. standart deviation, and percentage decrease from maximal to minimal readings) were determined.

RESULTS
Forty-three patients had stable visual fields (25 females, 58.9 years old +/- 6.88; 18 males, 58.6 years old +/- 11), while 40 patients showed progressive visual field loss (23 females, 67.4 years old +/- 9.98; 17 males, 64.5 years old +/- 9.44). In the progressive group, women were older (p = 0.017), systolic (p = 0.0375) and diastolic (p = 0.0083) dips were greater, as also BP variability: systolic standard deviation was greater (p = 0.027) as percentage decrease from maximal systolic readings (p = 0.034). There were no difference for systolic, diastolic, diurnal or nocturnal mean BP in these two groups.

CONCLUSIONS
The finding in this study suggests that age, decreased nocturnal BP and high BP variability may be additional risk factors for progression of glaucomatous field loss.


Description This article covers many statistical ideas essential to research statistical analysis. Sample size is explained through the concepts of statistical significance level and power. Variable types and definitions are included to clarify necessities for how the analysis will be interpreted. Categorical and quantitative variable types are defined, as well as response and predictor variables. Statistical tests described include t-tests, ANOVA and chi-square tests. Multiple regression is also explored for both logistic and linear regression. Finally, the most common statistics produced by these methods are explored.


Abstract This article analyses food schools in Copenhagen. Organized differently from the majority of Copenhagen schools, twelve food schools have chefs on site and involve pupils in preparing, cooking, and serving the daily meals. Four food schools formed the empirical basis of a qualitative study conducted in 2016, which involved interviewing pupils, food school coordinators, management, and chefs. The empirical data show that food schools entail differing understandings of a common set of visions introduced by the municipality about food education including topics such as taste, teaching and dining atmosphere. The variety of understandings and practices problematize the notion of "best practice" as a way for a municipality to unify the schools and formulate advice for new food schools. Instead, the article emphasizes the need to address the complexity and to open for a broader view on how to work with situated everyday practices also addressing e.g. materiality and bodily aspects. Only by accepting the variety of expressions, the visions of food education can be addressed and worked with in a non-essentialist manner.


In the United States, known risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) include infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), excess alcohol consumption, diabetes, obesity and several rare metabolic disorders (hemochromatosis, α-1 antitrypsin deficiency, porphyrias). The proportion of risk in the U.S. attributable to each factor separately, and to all factors together, however, is not well understood. To better quantify the risk attributable to these factors, logistic regression analysis was conducted using data from the SEER-Medicare linked database. All persons diagnosed with HCC (n=5,607), with at least 3 pre-diagnostic years of Medicare coverage between 1994 and 2005, were included as cases. A 5% random sample of persons residing in SEER locations (n=190,782) were included as controls. For each risk factor, odds ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI), and attributable risks (AR) with their 95%CI were calculated. In addition to calculating overall risks, risks were calculated after stratifying on race/ethnicity, gender and time period of HCC diagnosis. Among all individuals, the AR of all factors together was 63.3%. The AR among males, however, was higher than the AR among females (64.6% vs. 60.7%, respectively). By race/ethnicity, the AR of all factors together was highest among Asians (67.9%). This AR was followed by that among Hispanics (64.9%), then whites (63.3%) and finally, blacks (53.0%). Among specific factors, diabetes had the greatest AR at 34%, followed by alcohol-related conditions at 24.0%, HCV at 20.7%, HBV at 5.7%, metabolic disorders at 3.1% and obesity at 2.0%. These findings differed by gender and race/ethnicity, however. While diabetes had the highest AR among both males and females, the factor with the second highest AR among males was alcohol-related diseases, while among females; the factor with the second highest AR was HCV. The factors with the highest AR among each race/ethnic group were: whites - diabetes (36.4%) and alcohol-related disease (23.5%), blacks - HCV (31.9%) and alcohol-related disease (20.3%), Hispanics - alcohol-related disease (29.9%) and diabetes (28.0%), and Asians - HCV (31.7%) and diabetes (26.5%). These findings indicate that the current increase in incidence of HCC in the U.S. may be fueled by different factors in different racial/ethnic and gender groups. Overall, controlling diabetes might have a greater impact than any other single factor on reducing the incidence of HCC in the U.S. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1816.


The art and science of beginning an analysis has a life of its own and can be considered in many ways quite apart from its later stages. An incremental path forward is smoothed for patients who are not yet prepared to analyze, and builds eventually into something readily recognizable as an analysis. The term analytic preparation refers to this set of processes. Early on, the analyst is concerned less with facilitating an early replica of an idealized analysis than with facilitating the mutual adaptation of patient and analyst as they begin to negotiate a "thought community." Since analytic preparation is not an entity, it does not neatly overlap in real time with the opening phase as usually described, does not have a discrete beginning or end, and does not abruptly shift midstream into analysis proper. Some relations between analytic preparation, analytic interaction, and the interpretation of transference are examined.


The purpose of this study was to determine what factors influence attitudes and purchase behaviour of green products among Generation Y consumers in South Africa. The factors that were under investigation in this study were social influence, environmental awareness and price. Further, this study aimed to investigate whether consumer attitudes can in fact influence consumers' purchase behaviour of green products. A quantitative approach was used for data gathering. Data collection was conducted by means of self-administered questionnaires among 200 students between the ages of 18 to 23. The data was analysed by using statistical methods such as simple and multiple linear regressions. The results from the study indicated that social influence, environmental awareness and price, positively influence individuals' attitudes towards green products. The effect of attitude on buying behaviour was also positive; hence consumers with positive attitudes towards green products are more likely to purchase green products. Further, the findings indicated that there is indeed a difference between males and females with regards to buying behaviour of green. The findings of the study will provide marketers with a clearer understanding as to how they can influence Generation Y's attitude and buying behaviour towards green products. With the Generation Y cohort being of crucial importance to marketers, companies can drive sales and increase market share through appropriate marketing strategies. This is essential for a developing country such as South Africa, and among Generation Y consumers whom will play an active role in the future global economy. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p183


— India holds 17.5% of the world's population but has only 2% of the total geographical area of the world where 27.35% of the area is categorized as wasteland due to lack of or less groundwater. So there is a demand for excessive groundwater for agricultural and non agricultural activities to balance its growth rate. With this in mind, an attempt is made to find the groundwater potential zone in Gomukhi Nadhi sub basin of Vellar River basin, TamilNadu, India covering an area of 1146.6 Sq.Km consists of 9 blocks from Peddanaickanpalayam to Virudhachalam in the sub basin. The thematic maps such as Geology, Geomorphology, Lineament, Landuse and Landcover and Drainage are prepared for the study area using IRS P6 data. The collateral data includes rainfall, water level, soil map are collected for analysis and inference. The digital elevation model (DEM) is generated using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) and the slope of the study area is obtained. ArcGIS 10.1 acts as a powerful spatial analysis tool to find out the ground water potential zones in the study area by means of weighted overlay analysis. Each individual parameter of the thematic maps are ranked and weighted in accordance with their influence to increase the water level in the ground. The potential zones in the study area are classified viz., Very Good, Good, Moderate, Poor with its aerial extent of 15.67, 381.06, 575.38, 174.49 Sq.Km respectively.


A new B*78 variant, B*7804, was detected in three members of a Hispanic family. The novel B*78 sequence differs from B*78021 by two substitutions: T at nucleotide 527 (all other B*78s have A) and T at nucleotide 583 (all other B*78s have a C). Both nucleotide substitutions encode amino acid changes at codons 152 and 171, respectively.


In the US, adult immunization coverage remains low, especially among vulnerable populations, as recent hepatitis A outbreaks have demonstrated. We studied the vaccination history variation among the US adults who use drugs by implementing a community-engaged research survey to identify reported immunization coverage, missed opportunities (MO), and places where immunizations might be delivered. Our analysis of a sample of 1127 participants recruited at community syringe exchanges in three cities identified higher overall vaccination receipt in Los Angeles compared to Atlanta or Las Vegas (e.g., HAV receipt 52.2% LA, 42.1% LV, 41.4% Atlanta). Overall, fewer participants reported having received HAV (45.9%), HBV (47.5%), or influenza (47.6%) vaccines than MMR (57.1%) or Td/Tdap (61.1%). Across sites, HAV receipt was higher for participants incarcerated ≥ 5 years (54.2% vs. 43.6% for those incarcerated < 5 years, 49.4% no incarceration history, p = 0.02). HBV receipt was higher among participants who were not intravenous drug users (56.1% vs. 46.0%, p = 0.03). Additionally, income >$20k predicted higher rates of MMR receipt (67.0% vs. 56.5%, p = 0.009), as did stable housing (62.8% vs. 54.3%, p = 0.01). To address the need to expand vaccine coverage among vulnerable adults, delivering vaccine at sites where persons who use drugs access services, or in correctional facilities, may be warranted.


Signaling and control mechanisms at the electro-optical boundary, such as IP routers, will one day interconnect with the intelligent optical switched network. Creating this open boundary between the electrical and optical domains is the central goal of the Optical Domain Service Interconnect, a coalition of more than 100 companies formed in 2000. ODSI is working to provide an interface to the optical network that can quickly implement and deploy bandwidth on demand. The initiative previously defined a specification for interoperability. Once in use, network elements at the edge of the intelligent optical network can establish optical paths in real time, as demanded by bandwidth demands or needed to support new and innovative high-speed services.


A total of 23 and 27 ethnic vegetables were evaluated for their adaptability to grow under field conditions of south Florida during May–August in 2011 and 2012, respectively, on the farm of the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, FL. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of select ethnic vegetable crops in south Florida and to suggest suitable ethnic vegetables to growers in this region. In 2011, 10 vegetable crops in the Asian Indian group, six in the Chinese group, five in the Mexican group, and two in the Puerto Rican group were evaluated. In 2012, 11 vegetable crops in the Asian Indian group, eight in the Chinese group, six in the Mexican group, and two in the Puerto Rican group were tested. Evaluation was based on overall performance of these vegetable crops in the field and selected parameters related to plant growth. Ten vegetables grew well during May–August of both years; they were amaranth, Asian Indian green zobo, malabar spinach ('Red Vine' and 'Green Vine'), and Swiss chard ('Bionda Di Lyon', 'Bright Yellow', and 'Rhubarb') from the Asian Indian group; Shanghai bok choy and pac choi 'Black Summer F1' from the Chinese group, and papalo from the Mexican group. Eight vegetables grew well in either year, including radish ('Icicle') from the Asian Indian group, garland chrysanthemum from the Chinese group, yellow purslane, red purslane, Cuban oregano, and magenta spreen from the Mexican group, and dandelion and lettuce from the Puerto Rican group. Five vegetables grew very slowly with low yield in both years and are not suitable to grow in south Florida during summer: Chinese leek flower chives, garlic chives, and sugar pea from the Chinese group, and sorrel and fenugreek from the Asian Indian group. Further experiments need to be conducted and cost-benefit analyses need to be determined before ethnic vegetables are recommended to farmers in south Florida.


Introduction: Lipid emulsion (intralipid) rescues Bupivacaine-induced cardiac toxicity. We have shown previously that glibenclamide, a non selective ATP potassium channel blocker abolishes the rescue action of intralipid. Here we explored the role of 5-Hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), a mitochondrial selective KATP antagonist in the intralipid-mediated rescue of bupivacaine overdose. Methods: Young male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were anesthetized intraperitoneally with a mixture of ketamine (80 mg/kg) and xylazine (8 mg/kg), and ventilated with a ventilator. M-mode echocardiography were acquired throughout the experiment. In protocol-1 (n=5), asystole was induced by a single injection of bupivacaine (10mg/kg over 20 seconds, intravenously) and resuscitation with Intralipid 20% (5ml/kg bolus, and 0.5ml/kg/min maintenance) with chest compression was started immediately. In protocol-2 (n=8) rats were pre-treated with 5-HD (5 mg/kg, IV) 30 minutes prior to inducing asystole with bupivacaine. In both protocols the heart rate (HR), ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured before inducing asystole (baseline), and at 1, 5 and 10 min after lipid treatment. A two way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) model was used for comparison of means. Values are mean ± SEM, n=5 rats/group, p Results: In protocol-1, the baseline HR and EF were 321±21 and 72.3±4.6%. Bupivacaine resulted in asystole and intralipid therapy improved the heart rate and cardiac function within 10 min(HR=86±13beats/min at 1min, 216±10beats/min at 5 min, and 228±14beats/min at 10 min). The left ventricular systolic function fully recovered in all rats within 5 min of intralipid treatment (EF=72±5%, FS=42±4%). In protocol-2, there were no significant differences between HR and EF before (HR=324.6±16.5 beats/min, EF=78.0±2.8%) and 30 min after (HR=340.9±15.6 beats/min, EF=83.3±2.0%) 5-HD adminstration. However, 5-HD (5mg/kg), prevented the intralipid-induced rescue of bupivacaine overdose, as there was no recovery within 10 min of intralipid therapy. Conclusions: Pre-treatment with 5-HD prevents the lipid rescue of bupivacaine-induced cardiotoxicity suggesting that mitochondrial KATP channels are involved.


Histoplasmosis has been previously diagnosed in animals from Europe. The aim of this study is to review the literature on these reports, to analyze cases diagnosed at our laboratory (2000–2022) and to improve molecular typing of Histoplasma capsulatum directly from tissue to study the molecular epidemiology of Histoplasma capsulatum causing animal infections in Europe. Including 15 cases studied in our laboratory, we identified 39 cases of animal histoplasmosis between 1968 and 2022. They were diagnosed mostly in superficial tissue biopsies from cats and badgers from Central Europe. Using phylogenetic analyses of six partial genes, we were able to classify eight of the etiological agents as belonging to a highly supported lineage within the Eurasian clade. This study confirms the occurrence of autochthonous histoplasmosis in animals in Central Europe and proposes the addition of new loci to the MLST scheme to study the molecular epidemiology of histoplasmosis using either formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue and fresh or cadaveric biopsies.


We introduce the notion of controlled products on metric spaces as a generalization of Gromov products, and construct boundaries by using controlled products, which we call the Gromov boundaries. It is shown that the Gromov boundary with respect to a controlled product on a proper metric space is the ideal boundary of a coarse compactification of the space. It is also shown that there is a bijective correspondence between the set of all coarse equivalence classes of controlled products and the set of all equivalence classes of coarse compactifications.


This paper proposes a power-differential method for high-resolution wavelength monitoring of multiple channels using a single detector. Adjacent AWG bands are modulated with different phase settings and signals are obtained in the FFT domain. A wavelength resolution of 5 pm has been experimentally demonstrated.


Ashby v. White is widely believed to have established the principle that "for every right, there must be a remedy," sometimes known as the "ubi jus" principle. The ubi jus principle has played an important role in American law - it is frequently cited by both courts and scholars. Perhaps most famously, it was a central part of the rationale of Chief Justice Marshall's opinion in Marbury v. Madison, establishing the foundations of judicial review. As the supposed progenitor of the ubi jus principle, Ashby has been praised as one of the most important cases is Anglo-American legal history. In this article, I demonstrate that the accepted account of Ashby's holding is wrong. By relying on previously ignored historical sources and case reports, I demonstrate that if anything, Ashby actually rejected the ubi jus principle. Even more fundamentally, a close reading of Ashby demonstrates how conceptually hollow the ubi jus principle is.


This Retraction follows an Expression of Concern relating to this article previously published by Portland Press. This article is being retracted from Bioscience Reports at the request of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board following receipt of a notification from a reader, alerting the Editorial Board to issues in Figure 3E, which contains areas of duplication in the Retinoblastoma images. The authors have been contacted in regards to the retraction, and have not responded to the Journal's queries and the concerns raised. Given the extent of the issues raised, the Editorial Board stand by the decision to retract the article.


The issue of cultural development in general, as well as the features of management in the social-cultural sphere, have become especially relevant in recent years in connection with introducing quarantine measures related to spreading COVID-19 in the world, Russia's military actions in Ukraine and economic and political changes in the world. State authorities in many countries attach particular importance to the issue of forming an effective management environment for social-cultural activities. They put forward new high requirements for training specialists in this field, which would meet the challenges of time and the development trends of the world community. In particular, the sphere of musical culture in many countries of the world is recognized as a state priority, since it is the basis of society's cultural, spiritual, social, political and economic development. The social-cultural sphere, as a system of state and public institutions, is responsible for the state of developing and functioning of the state and society. The purpose of the academic paper is to clarify the features of foreign and domestic practice of managing social-cultural activities, highlighting the principal factors, problems and prospects for developing this field. In the course of the research, bibliographic and analytical methods were used to study scientific literature on managing social-cultural activities. Along with this, induction, deduction, analysis, synthesis of information, system-structural, comparative, logical-linguistic methods, abstraction, and idealization were applied to study and process data. Moreover, the research authors conducted a questionnaire in online mode, in the course of which the viewpoint of scientists conducting research in the field of managing social-cultural processes and heads of cultural and educational institutions working in Ukraine and abroad was studied regarding the key practical aspects of this issue. Based on the research results, the main and most important theoretical aspects of implementing cultural practices of social-cultural work, primarily in the area of musical art, have been established.


Coronaviruses are responsible for a developing budgetary, human and fatality trouble, as the causative factor of infections, for example, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) It has been well recognized that SARS-CoV-2 may survive under severe atmosphere circumstances Hence, efficient containment approaches, for example, sanitizing, are crucial Commonly, living compounds contribute a substance of chemical heterogeneity, with antiviral movement, and therefore can have efficacy as therapeutic tools toward coronavirus diseases Here, in this review article, we have described the antimicrobial-based materials, which can be used to inhibit the spreading of the COVID-19 We have categorized these materials in three sections;(i) antimicrobial wall paint, (ii) antimicrobial papers and (iii) antimicrobial materials surface coating to be utilized as the antimicrobial-based materials for controlling the COVID-19 In the last section, we have given the concluding remarks with prospects in this area © 2020, Tech Science Press All rights reserved


Background Prompted by an increase in HIV notifications, community support after AIDS 2014 and the success of NSW's inaugural HIV Testing Week, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) held its first Testing Month in November 2014 to promote initial and ongoing testing for HIV, STI and hepatitis in priority populations. Methods A stakeholder group collaborated to promote testing via social and mainstream media, offer targeted outreach testing and provide workplace-based GP education focussing on local epidemiology, national testing guidelines and participant perceptions of barriers to testing. Digital and print media was used to promote the Ending HIV campaign, Time to Test and Testing Month. ACT Testing Month was launched at a gay community event on 1 November and ran until World AIDS Day, 1 December 2014. Results Social marketing focussed on testing with links to testing sites. Local media ran 4 print articles and 4 radio talks. Seventy-two people attended targeted outreach testing: 62 male, 8 female and 2 transgender; 44% were aged 21–30 years, 20% had not tested before and 30% had not tested in the previous 12 months. Thirty-eight doctors and 19 nurses from 5 general practices, a justice health centre and a specialist travel clinic attended 45-minute workplace education sessions. Conclusion ACT Testing Month enabled collaboration between government and non-government stakeholders in the sexual health sector to promote HIV, STI and hepatitis testing according to national clinical guidelines. Specific outreach testing was geared to particular at risk groups, whilst workplace-based small group GP education aimed to increase knowledge and reduce barriers to ongoing testing within primary care. A Testing Month allows for a range of targeted initiatives but is short enough to maintain momentum. It is a model that translates easily to other smaller jurisdictions and supports relationships between key stakeholders. Disclosure of interest No commercial contributions were received.


We have discussed some tools from nonlinear dynamics which may help to analyze transient phenomena, such as solar bursts. The structure function known from turbulence theory is an appropriate method to find out some scaling behavior of fluctuations in time. More generally, the wavelet analysis, which is some generalization of the power spectrum, exhibits information on the location as well as the size of hidden characteristic features. Applying both techniques to microwave bursts, we have found some scaling properties that refer to the existence of hierarchic time structures. This is in good accordance with the electric circuit model for describing the flare-particle energization process.


This study examined the abilities of methimazole, propylthiouracil (PTU) and propranolol to exert an immunosuppressive effect in vitro. Incubation of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) with propranolol showed the drug to have no effect on either B‐ or T‐cell activity. Methimazole or PTU at concentrations of ≥ 10−5M resulted in significantly lower amounts of IgG and IgM being released into the culture medium. Both drugs were also found to have a direct effect on T‐cell function as they caused the percentage of total and suppressor cells to increase towards normal levels. The three drugs were all found to have some free radical scavenging ability. These ranked PTU > methimazole > propranolol. These in‐vitro findings would suggest that both methimazole and PTU have some direct effect on the immune system. It would seem more likely however that these effects are mediated via interleukin 2 rather than by their ability to act as free radical scavengers.


The authors present algorithms for Boolean decomposition, which decompose a two-level logic function into a cascade of smaller two-level logic functions, such that the overall area of the resulting logic network is minimized. The algorithms are based on multiple-valued minimization. Given a PLA (programmable logic array), a subset of inputs to the PLA is selected. This selection step incorporates a novel algorithm which selects a set of inputs such that the cardinality of the multiple-valued cover, produced by representing all combinations of these inputs as different values of a single multiple-valued variable, is much smaller than the original binary cover cardinality. A relatively small size for the multiple-valued cover implies that the number of good Boolean factors contained in this subset of inputs are re-encoded to satisfy the constraints given in the multiple-valued cover, thus producing a binary cover for the original PLA whose cardinality equals the multiple-valued cover cardinality.<<ETX>>


Superparamagnetic ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles with size range of 28-38 nm were synthesized by polyol process based on use of varying chain length glycols as solvent. We have offered, for the first time, the plausible mechanism behind in situ formation of zinc ferric oxalate hydroxide hydrate [Fe2Zn(C2O4)2(OH)3](+)·4H2O complex from diethylene and polyethylene glycol. We are also reporting, the magnetic properties of above complexes. We have found a ferromagnetic ordering in precursor complex compounds. The intermediate hydrocarbon chain between the oxalato bridged metal cations plays a crucial role in obtaining anomalous magnetic behavior. ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles obtained after annealing the DEGylated precursor complex (precursor complex formed in diethylene glycol) showed the highest superparamagnetic (SPM) behavior (22.4 emu g(-1)) among others. The reasons for anomalous SPM behavior of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles are explained on the basis of the degree of inversion of the spinel structure, high surface-to-volume ratio, which causes non-collinear spin arrangement in a surface layer and higher oxygen concentration on the surface of dead organic layer, which increases the unpaired valence electrons leading to uncompensated surface spins.


State Estimator (SE) is an important tool that ERCOT relies on to monitor the real time state of power grid. SE allows the operator to monitor the power system and determine the level of reliability and security. Hence it is imperative to monitor the quality of "SE performance". This paper will present the details of the tools that ERCOT uses to assess SE performance.


To evaluate the effect of licofelone, an arachidonic acid substrate with combined inhibitory activity against 5-lipoxygenase and cyclooxygenases 1 and 2, a double-blind, randomised and placebo-controlled study was conducted in 33 client-owned dogs that were lame owing to hindlimb osteoarthritis. Seventeen of the dogs received a placebo and 16 were treated with 2·5 mg/kg licofelone twice a day for 28 days. The dogs' lameness was assessed on a visual analogue scale (vas), and by force plate analyses at baseline and 14 and 28 days after starting the treatment. After 14 days the mean (se) change in peak vertical force in the licofelone-treated dogs (1·7 [0·8] per cent bodyweight) was significantly greater (P<0·05) than in the placebo-treated dogs (−0·3 [0·6] per cent bodyweight), and after 28 days the difference had increased. In contrast, the dogs' lameness, as assessed by the vas values, had decreased significantly over baseline in both the treated and control groups.


In this paper we investigate the consistency problem for spatial relationships in content-based image database systems. We use the mathematically simple matrix representation approach to present an efficient (i.e., polynomial-time) algorithm for consistency checking of spatial relationships in an image. It is shown that, there exists an efficient algorithm to detectwhether, given a set SR of absolute spatial relationships, the maximal set of SR under R contains one pair of contradictory spatial relationships. The time required by it is at most a constant multiple of the time to compute the transitive reduction of a graph or to compute the transitive closure of a graph or to perform Boolean matrix multiplication, and thus is always bounded by time complexity O(n3) (and space complexity O(n2)), where n is the number of all involved objects. As a corollary, this detection algorithm can completely answer whether a given set of three-dimensional absolute spatial relationships is consistent.


With the advent of water reform framework instigated by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), water trading on a temporary and permanent basis has become a prominent feature in all major irrigation areas in Australia. Hydrologic network models, such as the Integrated Quantity and Quality Model (IQQM), although powerful in simulating entitlement-based water allocation at the catchment scale, are unable to deal with the water reallocation through trade driven by economic conditions such as crop and water price, variable production costs. To simulate water trading, linear programming techniques are used to maximize aggregate net return subject to land, water, and crop constraints. The volume of water traded is the difference between water allocated and water required for a given simulation period. The water trading model, known as WRAM, is coupled with IQQM for the Murrumbidgee basin. IQQM represents the irrigation area in the Murrumbidgee with 49 regulated irrigation nodes that grow a variety of summer, winter and perennial crops. The water trading model runs whenever a planting decision is required, taking into account water availability, crop growth stages, crop yield and price, variable production costs, fixed and variable water charges on the potential water movement through the distribution network. WRAM provides a dynamic link with IQQM in order to assess the impacts of water management policies at the whole-of-catchment scale. The result reported in this paper is part of a CRC Catchment Hydrology project on hydrologic and economic modelling for sustainable water allocation.


Radiation exposure in computed tomography (CT) by far exceeds radiation dose in chest radiography. Dose requirements in CT of the chest, however, are much smaller than for the abdomen because of low x-ray absorption in the lungs. This article describes scanner parameters that influence patient exposure and image quality. Suitable compromises will be explained that allow for dose reduction in chest CT without jeopardising image quality. Dose reduction in chest CT should be performed depending on the clinical indication and requires active reduction of mAs settings. For helical CT, a pitch of 1.5 to 2 should be employed. Dedicated low-dose techniques for screening of bronchogenic carcinoma are described. Dose reduction decreases image quality but the detrimental effects can be reduced by applying proper parameters for scanning and image reconstruction. Thus, images of the mediastinum should be reconstructed with a smoothing filter, while a higher resolution filter should be used for the lungs. In multislice CT, reconstruction of thicker axial or multiplanar sections retains spatial resolution but keeps image noise and thus dose requirements low. The effective, weighted CT dose index (CTDIw,eff) can serve as a rough estimate of the effective patient dose (E) in helical or multislice CT of the whole chest: for most scanners and age groups the conversion factors are 0.5 mSv/mGy for females and 0.4 mSv/mGy for males.


Wafers for solar cell applications are increasingly being produced via wire sawing of directional solidified multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) ingots. During these two processes, defects such as dislocations arise in the material which reduce the final electrical efficiency of the solar cells. Furthermore, processing conditions during these processes can also influence the surface unevenness and warpage in the final wafers. Previously, several researchers have developed finite element models of mc-Si directional solidification process to understand the growth of residual stress and dislocation in the ingots under different cooling conditions, boundary conditions and geometry. Researchers have also developed analytical and finite element models to understand the temperature variation and the material removal behaviour during wire sawing process. However, there has not been much work done in understanding the influence of pre-existing residual stress in the work piece (directionally cooled mc-Si ingots) on the wafer quality during wire sawing.To investigate this, in this work, thermal-stress finite element models were developed for directional solidification and wire sawing process, with later taking the results from former as the stress/strain and dislocation initial conditions. Dislocation creep behaviour of Si was used as the material constitutive behaviour in both the models. The input parameters for the casting model were 3 different cooling rates. The wire sawing simulation was done in the top, middle and bottom section of these ingots. The warpage was, therefore, studied in 9 wafers. These models also simulated the spacial/temporal variation of in-elastic deformation and dislocation density in the ingot and the wafers. The predicted results from the casting model were in good agreement with the past models. The predicted warpage from the wire sawing simulation, however, was less compared to the warpage observed


In doubtful clinical diagnosis, ultrasound investigation may represent a workable diagnostic means in revealing the nature of soft tissue alterations, as will be demonstrated by 6 clinical examples; in all cases a wrong clinical diagnosis delayed the necessary therapy and possibly deteriorated the prognosis of disease. In these patients correction of the clinical diagnosis was of decisive importance for consecutive diagnostics and therapy.


Schizophrenia with Good and Poor Outcome SIR: The letter by Drs Nimgaonkar & Murray (Journal, March 1986, 148, 343—344)misrepresents some aspects of our studies (Journal, March and April 1985, 146, 229—246and 348—357).According to the opening and closing sentences of their letter, these studies illustrate the difficulty of obtaining longitudinal information from a cross-sectional study, and the design allowed us to do no more than confirm what is already known about the prognostic significance of certain clinical features. These corn ments may suggest (misleadingly) that the principal aim of our investigation was to find clinical predic tors ofoutcome in schizophrenia. In fact, it was con corned mainly with †̃¿ cross-sectional' questions: whether patients with persisting schizophrenic symptoms also show signs indicating organic brain dysfunction (an abnormal CT scan, neurological soft signs and/or cognitive impairment); whether these †̃¿ organic' signs are inter-related; and whether they are associated with any particular chronic psychiatric symptoms. The †̃¿ longitudinal'infor mation, imperfect because obtained retrospectively, was reported to indicate whether the groups with good and poor outcome differed in the early stages of illness, especially in the quality of remission and response to neuroleptics at that time. The possibility that some of the †̃¿ organic' abnor malities may have been "¿ ... consequent upon poor outcome or factors associated with it .. .", was not ignored but discussed at some length in the second and third papers in the series. Though these papers presented in detail the abnormalities found and included tentative interpretations, they were some how disregarded in the letter. Further, we have not claimed that our data "¿ have eliminated all likeli hood of pharmacological tolerance―in patients who respond unsatisfactorily to treatment with neuro leptics. We have only said that our data on drug bioavailability and prolactin response provided no evidence for such tolerance. Finally, though our sample was not representative for the prevalence of particular types of outcome, it included the full range of outcome states, from asymptomatic remission to chronic psychosis. Drs Nimgaonkar and Murray comment disapprovingly that the non-representative character of the sample did not deter us from "¿ making the sweeping general isations about possible sub-types of schizophrenia―. In fact, our "¿ sweeping generalisations―consisted only in supporting the distinction between sub-types with good and poor outcome—a distinction which under various names has been discussed for at least half a century.


This study aimed to systematically review the effects of transitional care programs on healthcare use and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Several databases were searched for randomized controlled trials conducted over the past five years, and their quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. For indicators with available statistical information, a meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4, and a narrative review was performed for the rest of the results. In the meta-analysis, no statistically significant difference was observed between the intervention and control groups in the number of readmissions and emergency room visits due to COPD. The relative risk (RR) of readmission for COPD was lower in the intervention group. Respiratory-related quality of life tended to be better in the intervention group, though not significantly. Physical capacity was improved in the intervention group. Considering the characteristics of the complex intervention, the context and factors of cases where the expected results could be obtained and cases where the expected results could not be obtained were reviewed and discussed. Based on the results of the analysis, implications for the development of better protocols were presented.


Disk accretion at a high rate onto a white dwarf (WD) or a neutron star has been suggested to result in the formation of a spreading layer (SL)—a belt-like structure on the object's surface, in which the accreted matter steadily spreads in the poleward (meridional) direction while spinning down. To assess its basic characteristics, we perform two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of supersonic SLs in the relevant morphology with a simple prescription for cooling. We demonstrate that supersonic shear naturally present at the base of the SL inevitably drives sonic instability that gives rise to large-scale acoustic modes governing the evolution of the SL. These modes dominate the transport of momentum and energy, which is intrinsically global and cannot be characterized via some form of local effective viscosity (e.g., α-viscosity). The global nature of the wave-driven transport should have important implications for triggering Type I X-ray bursts in low-mass X-ray binaries. The nonlinear evolution of waves into a system of shocks drives effective rearrangement (sensitively depending on thermodynamical properties of the flow) and deceleration of the SL, which ultimately becomes transonic and susceptible to regular Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. We interpret this evolution in terms of the global structure of the SL and suggest that mixing of the SL material with the underlying stellar fluid should become effective only at intermediate latitudes on the accreting object's surface, where the flow has decelerated appreciably. In the near-equatorial regions the transport is dominated by acoustic waves and mixing is less efficient. We speculate that this latitudinal nonuniformity of mixing in accreting WDs may be linked to the observed bipolar morphology of classical nova ejecta.


Historically, man has been aware of bioelectric phenomena for some 4,000 years. Yet it has only been during the last 20 years that technology has advanced to the stage where controlled bladder emptying has become feasible. A great deal of interest followed the introduction of transistor and bladder stimulation via the principle of radio frequency induction. Spinal cord, sacral, and pelvic nerve and direct bladder stimulation have all been attempted. Only direct bladder stimulation in lower motor neuron situations has shown any promise. The many difficulties associated with bladder stimulation include simultaneous sphincter contraction, pain, electrode and insulation difficulties, and fibroplasia due to movement of electrodes placed in pliable tissues. In addition, the role of the prostate, increased urethral length, and erection responses in the male have received little investigation. These problems are outlined and experimental observations of attempts to achieve controlled micturition in canines areresented. These studies were carried out over a 3-year period, and emphasize responses to stimulation of the spinal cord and sacral roots. It was concluded that the most efficient manner by which to effect simulated micturition is via stimulation of the ventral sacral root dominant for bladder responsiveness, and combine this with selective division of somatic fibers of only the root being stimulated.


In this paper, bit error rate (BER) analysis is presented for ultra-wideband (UWB) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cooperative relay systems, where partial channel state information (CSI) is only available at the receiver side. In the analysis, decouple-and-forward (DCF) and decode-and-forward (DF) relaying schemes are considered. For these schemes, the relay regions, in which cooperative relaying outperforms direct transmission, and the effects of power optimization are studied through numerical results.


Soil salinization is a most important factor to influence agriculture in arid area. There is a dire need to monitoring the soil salinization information based on Chinese own satellite data. In the study, a remote sensing classification method of soil salinization land based on knowledge discovery and decision-making process that is benefit to arise classification precision through a decision tree method has been constructed. The result shows that near 80% area of the entire county has suffered soil salinization with different grade. The percent of heavy, middle and light grades soil salinization area are 11.29, 20.53 and 49.01 respectively.


This paper presents a general overview of electromagnetic inductance tomography (EMT). A general introduction is given together with a description of the theoretical background of the technique. Three examples of different EMT systems are discussed and images produced using several different image reconstruction techniques are presented. A discussion of the main features of the techniques is included and some potential applications are suggested.


The photometric behavior of the Moon's surface describes how the reflected solar radiation varies with incidence,emission and solar phase angles, which is dependent on the physical and chemical properties of the lunar soils, such as particle size and shape, porosity, and mineralogical composition. Using the Chang'E-1 Interferometer Imager(IIM)Level 2A radiance data, the lunar surface is divided into two classes based on 2D histogram statistics with phase angle vs. radiance. The iron abundances for the two classes approximately agree with those for mar ia and highlands,respectively. The method is proved to be valid using the IIM data for highland(Apollo 16) and mare(Mare Serenitatis). The 2D histogram statistics method based on IIM 2A data could avoid errors introduced by data post-processing of the IIM data.


The focus of the paper is to solve the finite-time stabilizing problem for multiple nonholonomic mobile robots around a target. Due to the directional behavior, the multi-agent system stability remains a challenging problem. Invariant and attractive sets are an interesting tool in defining navigation area of a group including target informations. In order to stabilize the group around a target, two kind of decentralized protocols are established. The first protocol considers only local informations from the concerned agent. However, the second Protocol incorporates both local information and those of the neighborhood. Lyapunov-based theory leading to the characterization of a such stable set is analyzed. Simulations are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the multi-mobile robot protocols.


Background Traditional in-person psychotherapies are incapable of addressing global mental health needs. Use of computer-based interventions is one promising solution for closing the gap between the amount of global mental health treatment needed and received. Objective Although many meta-analyses have provided evidence supporting the efficacy of self-guided, computer-based interventions, most report low rates of treatment engagement (eg, high attrition and low adherence). The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of an adjunctive treatment component that uses task shifting, wherein mental health care is provided by nonspecialist peer counselors to enhance engagement in an internet-based, self-directed, evidence-based mindfulness intervention among Chinese university students. Methods From 3 universities across China, 54 students who reported at least mild stress, anxiety, or depression were randomly assigned to a 4-week internet-based mindfulness intervention (MIND) or to the intervention plus peer counselor support (MIND+), respectively. Be Mindful delivers all the elements of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in an internet-based, 4-week course. Participants completed daily monitoring of mindfulness practice and mood, as well as baseline and posttreatment self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and trait mindfulness. We screened 56 volunteer peer counselor candidates who had no former training in the delivery of mental health services. Of these, 10 were invited to participate in a day-long training, and 4 were selected. Peer counselors were instructed to provide 6 brief (15-20 minute) sessions each week, to help encouraging participants to complete the internet-based intervention. Peer counselors received weekly web-based group supervision. Results For both conditions, participation in the internet-based intervention was associated with significant improvements in mindfulness and mental health outcomes. The pre-post effect sizes (Cohen d) for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress were 0.55, 0.95, 0.89, and 1.13, respectively. Participants assigned to the MIND+ (vs MIND) condition demonstrated significantly less attrition and more adherence, as indicated by a greater likelihood of completing posttreatment assessments (16/27, 59% vs 7/27, 26%; χ21=6.1; P=.01) and a higher percentage of course completion (72.6/100, 72.6% vs 50.7/100, 50.7%; t52=2.10; P=.04), respectively. No significant between-group differences in daily frequency and duration of mindfulness practice were observed. Multilevel logistic growth models showed that MIND+ participants reported significantly greater pre-post improvements in daily stress ratings (interaction estimate 0.39, SE 0.18; t317=2.29; P=.02) and depression (interaction estimate 0.38, SE 0.16; t330=2.37; P=.02) than those in the MIND condition. Conclusions This study provides new insights into effective ways of leveraging technology and task shifting to implement large-scale mental health initiatives that are financially feasible, easily transportable, and quickly scalable in low-resource settings. The findings suggest that volunteer peer counselors receiving low-cost, low-intensity training and supervision may significantly improve participants' indices of treatment engagement and mental health outcomes in an internet-based mindfulness intervention among Chinese university students.


The primary visual cortex (area 17 or V1) is not thought to receive input from nonvisual extrastriate cortical areas. However, this has yet to be shown to be the case using sensitive tracers in the part of area 17 subserving the peripheral visual field. Here we show using retrograde tracers that peripheral area 17 subserving the visual field at an eccentricity of 10–20° receives projections from the core and parabelt areas of the auditory cortex as well as from the polysensory area of the temporal lobe (STP). The relative strength of these projections was calculated for each injection by computing the proportions of retrogradely labeled neurons located in the auditory and STP areas with respect to number of labeled neurons constituting the established projection from the superior temporal sulci (STS) motion complex (middle temporal area, medial superior temporal, fundus of the superior temporal area). In peripheral area V1 the projection from auditory cortex corresponds to 9.5% of that of the STS motion complex and STP to 35% of that from the STS motion complex. Compared to peripheral area 17, central and paracentral area 17 showed considerably weaker inputs from auditory cortex (0.2–0.8%) but slightly more from STP cortex (3.5–6.1%). The present results show that the connectivity of area 17 is eccentricity dependent. Direct projections from auditory and STP cortex to peripheral area 17 have important consequences for higher visual functions of area 17, including multimodal integration at early stages of the visual cortical pathway.


This paper presents a fully decentralised peer-topeer voice communication tool intended for use across mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) by distributed groups who desired collaboration. We examined the synergy between MANETs and peer-to-peer virtual overlay networks which allowed the creation of ad hoc applications. One style of communication considered suitable for task oriented distributed group collaboration was push-to-talk. This research was focused on providing a push-to-talk communication platform suitable for deployment across MANETs. The research methodology employed was a proof of concept approach within a classical experimental computer science paradigm. We developed a prototype which used JXTA, a peer-to-peer virtual overlay network, to provide push-to-talk functionality across MANETs. Guaranteed delivery of messages was provided via a peer-to-peer voicemail delivery system. While the system did what intended we show that JXTA had a problem with the efficient delivery of voice samples. SATNAC Classification—The Intelligent IP Edge: Packetised voice (VoATM, VoIP)


Some charophyte species reproduce sexually by oospores and vegetatively by bul- bils, and the proportion of branch whorls that contain reproductive organs can be used as quanti- tative measures of the degree of sexual reproduction. We examined inter-specific differences in the proportion of bulbils (PB) by total weight and the proportion of branch whorls containing gametangia (PG) or oospores (PO), as well as morphological and physiological differences among 3 charophyte species (Chara vulgaris Linnaeus, Chara braunii Gmelin, and Nitella gracilens Morioka) responding to variation in water depth (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 m) in an outdoor experiment. A 2-way ANOVA contrasting species and water depth revealed that shoot elongation and the chlorophyll a to carotenoid (chl a/caro) ratio were primarily affected by water depth. However, variation among species contributed more than water depth to the differences in weight, sexual reproduction (PG and PO), and the chl a/chl b ratio. Additionally, variation among species con- tributed almost equally to the differences in PB that occurred among different water depths. Both Chara species extended their shoots and increased their PB in response to increasing water depth (from 0.5 to 1.5 m). However, deeper water (2 and 3 m) led to elongated shoots as well as decreased PB, PG, and PO. For N. gracilens, elongated shoots with increased water depth (from 0.5 to 3 m) occurred at the expense of both vegetative (decreased PB) and sexual reproduction (reduced PG and PO).


The starting point of this essay is the question "Under what conditions is the legal practitioner justified in ignoring the economic point of view?". This question leads to an inquiry of the relation between the disagreements economists have with the law and theoretical disagreements. The essay makes two main claims. First, the disagreements economists have with the law can originate a particular kind of theoretical disagreement – an interdisciplinary theoretical disagreement. Interdisciplinary theoretical disagreements pre- suppose the solution of a translation problem from economics into law. The translation problem is solved when a proposition of economics becomes part of the external justification of a legal norm. It makes sense to use the expression «interdisciplinary translation» because meaning is moved from one practice to another. Second, the various positions with regard to the relation between law and morality are also a problem of interdisciplinary translation – this time from morality to law. In light of this insight, the essay concludes with the hope of more interest by philosophers of law and legal theorists for the relation between law and economics.


This paper is a first attempt to study the challenges of online teaching, learning and assessment for teachers and students during the COVID-19 school closure, at Shari Higher Secondary School, Paro. The intervention was on the adoption of online learning as a response to COVID-19, mode of learning presumed as alternative-that need reconsideration and redressing students' attitudes to this mode of learning. The study was a mixed method approach (both qualitative and quantitative) in nature and used purposive sampling. Data were collected from the students who were actively participating in online classes and all the teachers. The quantitative data was collected using the survey questionnaires as tool to understand the status of online learning in the school. The qualitative study encapsulated the teachers and students perceptions towards the online teaching learning in the school and was collected through open ended questions. Responses from the survey were analyzed using SPSS- descriptive and correlation. The study revealed that for an effective delivery of online teaching, learning and assessment, the mode of instruction needs to be altered, prioritized curriculum needs to be adopted, teachers need to make adjustments in teaching strategies, and students have to be more responsible.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the clinical and epidemiological aspects of contact lens-related infectious corneal ulcers requiring hospitalization.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis was performed on the files of patients hospitalized for contact lens-induced corneal ulcer in the eight Belgian university hospitals over a 7-year period (January 1997 to December 2003). Diagnoses for all hospitalized patients are obligatorily registered using the ICD-9 code.

RESULTS
A total of 107 patients with contact lens-related corneal ulcers were documented: the number increased from five in 1997 to 22 in 2003. A total of 99 subjects used soft contact lenses, of whom nine used disposables, 73 planned replacement and 17 conventional lenses. Only six patients used extended wear lenses. Three patients used daily disposable lenses. The most frequently cultured organisms were Pseudomonas and other Gram-negative germs (70%) and Acanthamoeba (16%). The majority (77%) of the corneal ulcerations were centrally located and resulted in an average visual loss of four lines.

CONCLUSION
During the study period, the number of patients hospitalized rose, which is only partially explained by the increasing prevalence of lens wearers: 3.5% and 6.5% of the Belgian population used lenses in 1995 and 2003, respectively. These factual data highlight the need for improvements in patient education.


Objective To study whether the circadian variation of plasminogen-activator-inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels, with high morning levels, is associated with poor outcome of children with meningococcal sepsis presenting in the morning hours. Design Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected clinical and laboratory data. Setting Single center study at Erasmus MC-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Subjects 184 patients aged 3 weeks to 18 years with meningococcal sepsis. In 36 of these children, PAI-1 levels at admission to the PICU were measured in plasma by ELISA. Interventions None. Measurements and main results Circadian variation was studied by dividing one day in blocks of 6 hours. Patients admitted between 6:00 am and 12:00 am had increased illness severity scores and higher PAI-1 levels (n = 9, median 6912 ng/mL, IQR 5808–15600) compared to patients admitted at night (P = 0.019, n = 9, median 3546 ng/mL, IQR 1668–6118) or in the afternoon (P = 0.007, n = 7, median 4224 ng/mL, IQR 1804–5790). In 184 patients, analysis of circadian variation in relation to outcome showed more deaths, amputations and need for skin grafts in patients admitted to the PICU between 6:00 am and 12:00 am than patients admitted during the rest of the day (P = 0.009). Conclusions Circadian variation of PAI-1 levels is present in children with meningococcal sepsis and is associated with illness severity, with a peak level in the morning. Whether circadian variation is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality in meningococcal sepsis needs to be explored in future studies.


Daily urinary excretion of pseudouridine, creatinine and creatine of chronically irradiated Wistar rats was estimated. The irradiation conditions were: 60Co gamma source, dose-rate 10 rad/day, total dose 200, 400 and 600 rad. Control groups were kept under similar conditions. Urine samples were taken three times after the end of the irradiation period. It was found that: (1) pseudouridine excretion seems more suitable for indicating radiation injury than the creatine/creatinine ratio in chronic irradiation in rats; (ii) there are significant changes in dose dependence of pseudouridine excretion in the post-irradiation period; (iii) a new method for pseudouridine estimation gives closely similar data to those of earlier investigations.


We used capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry (CE-TOFMS) to characterize the metabolic profiles of the seed, pulp, stem and leaf of Illicium anisatum. CE-TOFMS detected more than 1000 polar metabolites within 40 min, of which 58 were annotated and quantified. Seed had higher levels of glycolytic metabolites than pulp, stem and leaf, while leaf had higher levels of TCA cycle and nucleoside metabolites. Among amino acid metabolites, levels of Gln, Glu, and Asp were higher in almost every organ. Levels of shikimic acid, the source compound for Tamiflu, were high in all organs, ranging from 6.84% to 28.82%. These results indicate that CETOFMS-based metabolomics offers an efficient, convenient method for comprehensive metabolite profiling, and may be a powerful tool for the screening of drug discovery.


The present invention relates to wireless communications and is particularly applicable to devices and modules for correcting errors introduced to a wireless signal after its transmission. An equalizer is provided which compensates for undesirable effects on received radio signals introduced by either signal processing or by the transmission medium. In operation, the equalizer multiples the complex received signal with a complex corrective signal that compensates for these effects. A tap corrective signal corrects for time-varying channel effects (i.e. channel distortions), a timing tracking signal corrects for carrier frequency offset errors, and a phase tracking signal corrects for sampling frequency offset errors. ® KIPO & WIPO 2007


Sir,

Kumar et al.[1] reported a rare case of fatal acute pancreatitis attributed to chickenpox infection in an otherwise healthy young man. This intriguing case report poses a series of challenging questions, and eventual authors' responses and clarifications are expected to add significantly to our limited knowledge in this field.

End-organ complications infrequently occur during primary, acute Varicella Zoster virus infection and may manifest via somewhat different pathogenetic pathways, including a direct viral damage or an indirect (usually immune-mediated) mechanism or a superinfection (usually bacterial in origin).

Among the few presumed predisposing conditions, the authors excluded the childhood[2] and the frankly immunocompromised patients, like those with AIDS, and those who had undergone bone marrow or solid-organ transplantation. On the other hand, it is well recognized that even severe chickenpox complications may occasionally occur in otherwise healthy people and especially subjects with unfavorable supporting conditions such as extreme old age, pregnancy, low-dose (including topical) corticosteroid therapy, and minor immunodeficient conditions.

Isolated cases of chickenpox-related acute pancreatitis have been anecdotally observed since nearly 50 years, especially in children, as per the global epidemiological records of chickenpox support,[2] but only in rare occurrences, the exact pathogenesis has been elucidated. This is because histopathological specimens are usually needed to distinguish acute viral damage due to an immune-mediated reaction from a superinfection or a multiorgan involvement. In most of these cases, unfortunately only necropsy studies clarified the pathogenesis and explained the single organ damage mechanisms.

An increased awareness of the pathogenesis of pancreatic damage may also have a significant impact in evaluating the role and timeliness of specific antiviral therapy, which is usually expected to add something only when started in the first 24–48 h of disease commencement[3,4] and seems to reduce the incidence and/or the severity of organ complications, especially when a direct, viral-mediated damage is of concern.

With regard to the described patient, it could be very interesting to have some information on the predisposing factors: was the increased body mass index (obesity) associated with hyperlipidemia? and did it serve as a potential risk factor for pancreatitis? Were the prior serum amylaselipase levels measured? Did it lead to any significant finding? And were there any concomitant medications?

Significantly, hepatic-biliary diseases were not evident at the time of occurrence of pancreatic complications, as assessed by biochemistry assays and abdominal imaging studies, although the more elevated serum amylase and lipase levels (907 and 562 U/L, respectively), did not reproduce those expected during hyperacute necrotizing hemorrhagic pancreatitis. Once again, histopathological and immunohistochemical data (eventually from the necropsy examination) are of interest for clarifying the etiopathogensis of pancreatic damage. They can also be used to correlate pancreatic damage with generalized multiorgan failure (seen more frequently in childhood and when an underlying immunodeficiency is of concern), which seems to have rapidly led to the death of the described patient. However, a direct viral damage cannot be excluded, since the authors suspected myocarditis and respiratory distress syndrome along with a probable liver involvement with an apparently inexplicable obstructive jaundice.[1] Also, for these complications, only histopathological studies and direct viral search by immunocytochemical assays, might clarify the pathogenesis and the exact role of Varicella Zoster virus infection in this series of not necessarily related complications. Among others, varicella vaccination has also been sporadically associated with the occurrence of acute pancreatitis.[5]

From a therapeutic point of view, some more clarity regarding antiviral therapy (time of start, dosage, and mode of administration) may be very interesting as well as useful, especially in the event that a direct (viral) pancreatic damage was suspected and possibly confirmed, to assess the role of treatment with acyclovir and its derivatives in such an hyperacute, life-threatening condition.

Finally, until the pathogenetic association has not been proven and the role of eventual co-factors has been carefully ruled out, the authors should refrain discussing "acute pancreatitis due to chickenpox." This last condition has been reported more frequently when compared with the only two adult otherwise healthy cases recorded by the authors, [6–10] although the clinical background was very different in each of the described cases.

In conclusion, the interesting case report presented by Kumar and colleagues may add even more to the knowledge of pathogenesis of viral tropism, the development of life-threatening multiorgan failure and the eventual role of specific antiviral therapy, should more details be added and discussed on the background of an updated literature review.


INTRODUCTION
Many Jewish doctors in the Holocaust - in ghettos, concentration and extermination camps and in the forests - displayed courage, valor and sacrifice in the resistance front against the Nazis and their allies. The scope of their actions was broad: active resistance in the underground and rebellion movements or in the lines of partisans in the forests; hiding and saving Jews; smuggling medicines; preparing false medical records; secretly conducting surgery and other treatments; refusing the demands to submit lists of patients and workers, thus sentencing them to death; staying by the sick and the needy in the ghettos, even when they could escape, and many more. All this was done out of truth to their conscience, sometimes even beyond their commitment to the doctor's oath, placing themselves in uncertain situations, in distress, hunger, oppression and humiliation, risking their own lives and those of their families. It is admirable how those degrees of courage, bravery, willpower and sacrifice could develop out of such terrible physical and mental distress. The resistance was an extensive wide-ranging occurrence among the Jewish doctors and not one of just a few individuals. This article presents a number of examples of diverse forms of resistance, of individuals as well as of groups of physicians.


Viral hepatitis is the third most common cause of liver disease in allogeneic transplant recipients and causes significant morbidity and mortality. When treating patients with hematological malignancies, an emphasis should be placed on identification of patients at risk for viral hepatitis with appropriate screening. Initial screening serology should include anti-HCV, HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc testing. When hepatitis B exposure has been documented, prophylaxis of viral reactivation for all HBsAg-positive patients with a nucleoside analogue should be implemented. HCV infection appears to have little short-term impact on survival after bone marrow transplantation, but is a risk factor for veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In the long-term survivor, HCV infection can lead to significant morbidity and mortality due to the development of cirrhosis, decompensation, and liver cancer. Since effective antiviral therapies are available for both hepatitis B and C, routine screening and selected intervention is recommended once reactivation and disease recurrence is documented. In this chapter we will highlight the mechanisms of virus reactivation, clinical manifestations, and management strategies to minimize acute and chronic morbidity in this population.