BACKGROUND
In recent years, health care reform initiatives have aimed to assess quality of care through the use of performance measures. Multiple specialties, including dermatology, have implemented registries to track and report health care quality.

OBJECTIVE
The authors review the history and rationale for assessing quality in dermatologic surgery. The authors also discuss the different types of performance measures and the current efforts to develop clinically relevant dermatologic surgery-specific measures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
An extensive literature review was conducted using OVID, MEDLINE, PubMed, and government and health care-related websites to identify articles related to surgical performance measures.

RESULTS
Few performance measures are established to assess quality in dermatologic surgery. The authors propose specific candidate measures and discuss how clinical registries can capture measures that meet federal reporting requirements.

CONCLUSION
Assessment of health care quality will become increasingly important in health care reform. Physicians need to take an active role in selecting appropriate, clinically relevant performance measures that will help improve patient care while containing health care costs and meeting government-mandated reporting requirements.


The portfolio optimization problem uses mathematical approaches to model stock exchange investments. Its aim is to find an optimal set of assets to invest on, as well as the optimal investments for each asset. In the present work, the problem is treated as a multi-objective optimization problem. Three well-known optimization techniques greedy search, simulated annealing and ant colony optimization are adapted to this multi-objective context. Pareto fronts for five stock indexes are collected, showing the different behaviors of the algorithms adapted. Finally, the results are discussed.


The article analyses the impact of social stratification and ideological identification on voting behavior in the Brazilian Presidential elections of 2002 and 2006, and, specifically, it identifies the values and attitudes associated with the vote for Lula. The analysis is based on the 2 waves of the ESEB (Brazilian Electoral Study) and it shows that in 2002, the social stratification was not a relevant factor in the explanation of presidential voting, especially the vote for Lula, associated with the self-ideological identification of citizens; in 2006, the situation is the opposite. However, in the 2 presidential campaigns, the vote for Lula is strongly explained by the voter's identification with the candidate.


This article reports the results of the second of two studies designed to examine social influences on adolescents' responses to drug offers. In the first study, a typology of both drug offers and drug resistance strategies was developed. The present study provides an analysis of the associations between offers and resistance and the differences between drug and alcohol offers. To accomplish this, sixty-nine narrative accounts of both successful and unsuccessful attempts to say no were collected from high school students. Analysis of the interviews indicated that peer pressure was applied in approximately 70% of the offers; however, much of that pressure was applied after the initial offer had been refused. It also was determined that simple offers were more likely with alcohol, while drug offers were more likely to be persuasive and involve pressure during the initial offer.


The Gurson – Tvergaard – Needleman (GTN) mechanical model is widely used to predict the failure of materials based on laboratory specimens, direct identification of Gurson – Tvergaard – Needleman parameters is not easy and time-consuming, and the most used method to determine them is the combination between the experimental results and those of the finite elements, the process consists of repeating the simulations several times until the simulation data matches the experimental data obtained at the specimen level.This article aims to find GTN parameters for the Compact Tension (CT) and Single Edge Tensile Test (SENT) specimen based on the Notch Specimen (NT) using the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach. . This work presents how the ANN could help us determine the parameters of GTN in a very short period of time. The results obtained show that ANN is an excellent tool for determining GTN parameters.


The offshore seismic survey industry typically uses arrays of devices called airguns to generate the intense, lowfrequency sounds required for imaging the seabed geology. Concerns have arisen about the impacts that these high intensity sounds may have on benthic species, such as shellfish, site attached fish and crustaceans, that have little or no capacity to move out of the way of an approaching seismic vessel. In order to assess the impacts a survey may have on these species it is essential to have a means of predicting the sound levels they are likely to be subjected to. This paper discusses the characteristics of the sound field beneath a typical seismic airgun array and compares results obtained using some simplistic formulae for predicting sound exposure level and peak sound pressure level, that are applicable in the acoustic far-field of the array, to those obtained using a more accurate model that includes array near-field effects. For the typical medium-sized 49.2 l (3000 in) airgun array considered here the predicted near-field to far-field transition distance was 14.5 m and a simple equivalent point source model was found to over predict the sound exposure level by 1.1 dB and to over predict the peak sound pressure level by 3.3 dB at this distance below the array. At double this distance these errors had reduced to 0.6 dB and 1.4 dB respectively.


Purpose Documents articulating public health nurses' (PHNs') roles, including Canadian standards and competencies, depict a broad focus working at multiple levels to improve population outcomes through the promotion of health equity. Conversely, Canadian experts depict a looming crisis, based on the rising disconnect between daily activities and ideal practice. While perfectly positioned, PHNs' skills and abilities are under-utilized and largely invisible. The intention of this study was to develop a model to support the full scope of equity-focused PHN practice. Method A participatory action research approach was used. Qualitative data were gathered using semistructured interview guides during audio-recorded meetings. The data were coded into central themes using content analysis and constant comparison. A researcher reflexive journal and field notes were kept. A significant feature was full participant involvement. Results The outcome was a professional practice model to reframe the PHN role to focus on population health and equity. The model was imperative in promoting full scope of practice, dealing with workload pressures, and describing PHNs' value within the organization and broader health system. Conclusion Professional practice models hold promise as frameworks to depict autonomous practice activities, situated within organizations and healthcare systems, and underpinned by nursing knowledge.


Determining the purity of gold is a major challenge faced by the gold industry today especially when tungsten element is involved. This is because the density of the gold or the scientific value of the aurum (Au) is almost the same as the density of tungsten (W). Therefore, various methods have been introduced to distinguish between natural or artificial gold. There are two techniques to test the purity of gold, namely, destructive and non-destructive techniques. In this article, the non-destructive technique will be further explained as it retains the original physical shape of the jewelry without destroying it. Jewelry fans or customers prefer this type of technique because their jewelry is still preserved and can be styled as often as possible without flaws that may be present during the test. Some of the most commonly used techniques are densitometers, ultrasound and X-ray fluorescent (XRF). Furthermore, the XRF technique provides a more comprehensive, easy-to-use, fast-paced analysis solution and requires no harmful chemicals. However, XRF can only test on the surface of the jewelry up to 2 mm in depth (depending on the capabilities of the equipment). At Malaysian Nuclear Agency, the determination of the gold standard is done using XRF technique. Standard samples of 999 gold, 950 gold, 916 gold, 835 gold and 750 gold were used as measuring standards to determine the purity of gold. In addition to the percentage, gold can also be categorized as karat. Using this technique as well, the determination of the purity of gold can also be carried out at any desired point or area. Moreover, the gold thickness can also be measured by performing a surface thickness profile.


Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic diseases of gastrointestinal tract, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. About 15% of cases are difficult to diagnose using clinical, radiological and histopatological methods. In this study three neutrophillic proteins (leukocyte elastase, lactoferrin, calprotectin), intestinal fatty acid binding protein and neopterin were evaluated as biomarkers used in the diagnosis and the assessment of clinical activity of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Additionally a set of antibodies was evaluated. The study included 27 patients with Crohn's disease, 33 patients with ulcerative colitis and 20 healthy controls. Plasma concentrations of the studied proteins and the presence of antibodies were compared between the studied groups.. Plasma calprotectin, lactoferrin, elastase, I-FABP and neopterin concentrations were measured using ELISA. ANCA, ASCA, LFS, GAB, CUZD1 and GP2 antibodies were detected using indirect immunofluorescence. In patients with both inflammatory bowel diseases higher plasma concentrations of leukocyte elastase, calprotectin and lactoferin than in control group were found. Diagnostic characteristics of these tests indicate their usefulness in the IBD diagnosis. Significantly higher elastase/NEU and lactoferrin/NEU ratios in patients with ulcerative colitis as compared to patients with Crohn's disease can be useful in the differential diagnosis of these diseases. There was no significant increase neither in I-FABP, nor in neopterin levels in patients with IBD. Plasma calprotectin and lactoferrin levels were higher in patients with the active phase of Crohn's disease as compared to patients in remission, indicating the usefulness of these tests in the assessment of disease activity. The panels of antibodies ASCA & ANCA, and ASCA, ANCA, GAB, LFS, CUZD1 & GP2 may be useful for the differentiation of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.


There has been a great deal of investment in development of design criteria and design and construction of heavily reinforced, blast-resistant control rooms. This remains the best option for protective construction against severe blast loading experienced close in to a vapor cloud or other explosion hazard. However, most structures encountered at chemical plants and contemplated for future construction are conventional steel frame, metal clad buildings. In this paper we look closely at the response of such buildings to explosion loads and their ability to undergo large deformations without structural failure. The types of structural elements evaluated include metal decking of various gauge and shape along with a variety of girt and purlin sections. Building frames or bents are also evaluated, although the date base for these is much more limited. The work is based on observations made during investigations of large explosion accidents along with analytical predictions and test measurements. To conclude, we offer specific design criteria and connection recommendations for enhancing the overall strength of a building through the use of conventional components in unconventional construction.


Existing treatments are frequently ineffective in combating liver cancer (LC) due to its rapid growth, high metastatic potential, and chemoresistance. Thus, inducing ferroptosis, a new non-apoptotic regulated cell death-dependent massive iron overload-mediated lipid peroxidation, is an alternative effective approach for treating LC. The efficient trigger of ferroptosis requires blocking cellular antioxidant (anti-ferroptosis) response and selectivity to avoid harming other healthy tissues. In this study, green chemically synthesized ferrous oxide nanoparticles (F(II) NPs) were used for enhancing selective iron accumulation in tumor tissue, while diethyldithiocarbamate (DE) was for inhibiting the antioxidant system (glutathione and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) 2) which protects the tumor from damage-dependent lipid peroxides. Thus, F(II) NPs were used with DE as nanocomplex (DF(II) NPs) and its anti-LC activity compared to ferrous oxide DF(II). DF(II) NPs outperformed the typical complex of DF(II) in eradicating metastatic LC cells in HepG2 cells and a chemically induced metastatic LC animal model, as evidenced by flow cytometry, histological and immunohistochemical analyses, and α-fetoprotein depletion. The superior therapeutic potency-dependent ferroptotic activity of DF(II) NPs, attributed to their higher selective accumulation (∼77%) than DF(II) in tumor tissues (liver and lung), resulted in a strong elevation of cellular lipid peroxidation with extreme suppression of nuclear related factor 2 (Nrf2) transcriptional activity, glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase 4, and ALDH2. Subsequently, a severe inhibition in the expression of oncogenes and metastatic cancer stem cell genes was recorded in DF(II) NPs-treated LC animal group. In contrast to DF(II), DF(II) NPs were able to normalize liver functions and did not show any variations in hematological and histological parameters in the blood and tissues of DF(II) NPs-treated normal mouse group. These findings validate the potency and safety of DF(II) nanocomplex as a promising nanodrug for combating metastatic LC.


We present deep H-band surface photometry and analysis of 40 Local Volume galaxies, a sample primarily composed of dwarf irregulars in the Cen A group, obtained using the IRIS2 detector at the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope. We probe to a surface brightness of ~25 mag arcsec$^{-2}$, reaching a 40 times lower stellar density than the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Employing extremely careful and rigorous cleaning techniques to remove contaminating sources, we perform surface photometry on 33 detected galaxies deriving the observed total magnitude, effective surface brightness and best fitting S\'ersic parameters. We make image quality and surface photometry comparisons to 2MASS and VISTA Hemispheric Survey (VHS) demonstrating that deep targeted surveys are still the most reliable means of obtaining accurate surface photometry. We investigate the B-H colours with respect to mass for Local Volume galaxies, finding that the colours of dwarf irregulars are significantly varied, eliminating the possibility of using optical-NIR colour transformations to facilitate comparison to the more widely available optical data sets. The structure-luminosity relationships are investigated for our `clean' sample of dwarf irregulars. We demonstrate that a significant fraction of the Local Volume dwarf irregular population have underlying structural properties similar to both Local Volume and Virgo Cluster dwarf ellipticals. Linear regressions to structure-luminosity relationships for the Local Volume galaxies and Virgo Cluster dwarf ellipticals show significant differences in both slope and scatter around the established trend lines, suggesting that environment might regulate the structural scaling relationships of dwarf galaxies in comparison to their more isolated counterparts.


This introductory article for a themed edition on environmentalism provides a particular context for those articles that follow, each of which engages with different aspects of environmentalism and performance in community-related settings. Responding to the proposition of Bottoms that there is a lacuna in the field of applied drama and environmentalism, we suggest that the more significant lack is that of ecocriticism. As the articles in this journal testify, there are many examples of applied theatre practice; what is required is sustained and rigorous critical engagement. It is to the gap of ecocriticism that we address this issue, signalling what we hope is the emergence of a critical field. One response to the multiple challenges of climate change is to more transparently locate the human animal within the environment, as one agent amongst many. Here, we seek to transparently locate the critic, intertwining the personal – ourselves, human actants – with global environmental concerns. This tactic mirrors much contemporary writing on climate change and its education, privileging personal engagement – a shift we interrogate as much as we perform. The key trope we anchor is that of uncertainty: the uncertainties that accompany stepping into a new research environment; the uncertainties arising from multiple relations (human and non-human); the uncertainties of scientific fact; the uncertainties of forecasting the future; and the uncertainties of outcomes – including those of performance practices. Having analysed a particular turn in environmental education (towards social learning) and the failure to successfully combine 'art and reality' in recent UK mainstream theatre events, such uncertainties lead to our suggestion for an 'emancipated' environmentalism. In support of this proposal, we offer up a reflection on a key weekend of performance practice that brought us to attend to the small – but not insignificant – and to consider first hand the complex relationships between environmental 'grand narratives' and personal experiential encounters. Locating ourselves within the field and mapping out some of the many conceptual challenges attached to it serves to introduce the territories which the following journal articles expand upon.


Fear of heights is evolutionarily important for survival, yet it is unclear how and which brain regions encode such height threats. Given the importance of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in processing both learned and innate fear, we investigated how BLA neurons may respond to high place exposure in freely behaving mice. We found that a discrete set of BLA neurons exhibited robust firing increases when the mouse was either exploring or placed on a high place, accompanied by increased heart rate and freezing. Importantly, these high-place fear neurons were only activated under height threats but not mild anxiogenic conditions. Furthermore, after a fear conditioning procedure, these high-place fear neurons developed conditioned responses to the context, but not the cue, indicating a convergence in encoding of dangerous/risky contextual information. Our results provide insights into the neural representation of the fear of heights and may have implications for treatment of excessive fear disorders.


Scattering of electromagnetic waves from a slightly rough surface in uniform motion is examined by applying special relativity. The formulation of scatter is based on a boundary perturbation method and the analysis is confined to first order. Motion parallel as well as perpendicular to the mean plane of the scatterer is considered. The general case of scatter off the plane of incidence is treated and a new term for the scattering cross section results. This new term owes its existence solely to the scatterer's motion. The velocity-dependent expressions obtained for the bistatic cross sections constitute a complete description of Fraunhofer scatter. Indications on the effect of the motion on the bistatic cross sections are given by a numerical example.


The behaviour of the beta-glucuronidase activity during the life phases and the phase of the cycle of a woman has been studied in 51 human ovaries after the Dohrmann method. The study clearly indicates a dependency on age, that is demonstrated by a rise in beta-glucuronidase activity from 536 microgram Ph/h/g ovarial tissue during full functioning to 705 microgram Ph/h/g ovarial tissue in the premenopause and by dropping to 529 microgram Ph/h/g ovarial tissue in the menopause and the senium. The premenopause values are significantly higher compared to that of the other two functional phases. The activity of the beta-glucuronidase is significantly higher in the secretory phase than in the proliferation phase. Existing relations between the beta-glucuronidase of the ovary and the gonadotropic hormones of the hypophysis and the oestrogen metabolism are discussed.


Aims: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insomnia commonly coexist; hypnotics are broadly prescribed for insomnia therapy. However, the safety of hypnotics use in OSA patients is unclear. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to investigate the risk of adverse respiratory events in hypnotics-using OSA patients. Methods: We obtained data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 1996 to 2013. The case group included 216 OSA patients with newly diagnosed adverse respiratory events, including pneumonia and acute respiratory failure. The control group included OSA patients without adverse respiratory events, which was randomly frequency-matched to the case group at a 1:1 ratio according to age, gender, and index year. Hypnotics exposure included benzodiazepines (BZD) and non-benzodiazepines (non-BZD). A recent user was defined as a patient who had taken hypnotics for 1–30 days, while a long-term user was one who had taken hypnotics for 31–365 days. Results: Multivariable adjusted analysis showed recent BZD use is an independent risk for adverse respiratory events (OR = 2.70; 95% CI = 1.15–6.33; P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis showed both recent and long-term BZD use increased the risk of acute respiratory failure compared to never BZD use (OR = 28.6; 95% CI = 5.24–156; P < 0.001, OR = 10.1; 95% CI = 1.51–67.7; P < 0.05, respectively). Neither BZD nor non-BZD use increased the risk of pneumonia in OSA patients. Conclusion: BZD use might increase the risk of acute respiratory failure in OSA patients.


Cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) 5 reduces the rewarding properties of psychostimulants by dampening postsynaptic dopamine (DA) receptor signaling. Cdk5 is also present in midbrain DA neurons, where the DA transporter (DAT) is localized and limits DA neurotransmission by removing extracellular DA. Here, we tested the hypothesis that Cdk5 could also affect the disposition of DA by regulating DAT activity. Incubation of rat dorsal striatal (dSTR) synaptosomes with the Cdk5 inhibitors roscovitine, olomoucine, and 4-{[(7-oxo-6,7-dihydro-8H-[1,3]thiazolo[5,4-e]indol-8-ylidene)methyl]amino}-N-(2-pyridyl)benzenesulfonamide (GW8510) or the inactive congener iso-olomoucine resulted in a rapid, concentration-dependent inhibition of specific [3H]DA uptake. However, roscovitine was the only inhibitor that did not also decrease [3H]2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl)tropane (WIN35,428) binding to dSTR DATs. Roscovitine-induced inhibition of dSTR [3H]DA uptake was explained by decreased maximal uptake velocity, without a change in cell-surface DAT levels. Roscovitine did not enhance [3H]DA release mediated by either DAT reverse-transport or Ca2+ channels in dSTR slices. Instead, roscovitine enhanced spontaneous [3H]DA outflow and inhibited DAT-mediated [3H]DA reaccumulation into dSTR slices. To explore the involvement of Cdk5 in roscovitine-induced down-regulation of DAT activity, Cdk5 protein was knocked down via Cdk5-small interfering RNA by as much as 86% in porcine aortic endothelial cells stably expressing human (h)DATs. However, Cdk5 depletion did not alter hDAT activity. Taken together, our results suggest that roscovitine inhibits DAT activity independently of Cdk5; therefore, results obtained with such inhibitors should be interpreted with caution. Our study is the first to demonstrate that Cdk5 inhibitors reduce brain DAT activity via a mechanism that is independent of DAT trafficking and reverse-transport.


Deep neural networks have revolutionized computer vision, and their object representations match coarsely with the brain. As a result, it is widely believed that any fine scale differences between deep networks and brains can be fixed with increased training data or minor changes in architecture. But what if there are qualitative differences between brains and deep networks? Do deep networks even see the way we do? To answer this question, we chose a deep neural network optimized for object recognition and asked whether it exhibits well-known perceptual and neural phenomena despite not being explicitly trained to do so. To our surprise, many phenomena were present in the network, including the Thatcher effect, mirror confusion, Weber's law, relative size, multiple object normalization and sparse coding along multiple dimensions. However, some perceptual phenomena were notably absent, including processing of 3D shape, patterns on surfaces, occlusion, natural parts and a global advantage. Our results elucidate the computational challenges of vision by showing that learning to recognize objects suffices to produce some perceptual phenomena but not others and reveal the perceptual properties that could be incorporated into deep networks to improve their performance.


The purpose of this study is to identify how the effects of BDIM are evaluated by patients who were practiced BDIM. 153 patients were treated by the structured BDIM (Before-Discharge Intervention Method) program. Among them, 82 patients (53.6%) have attended self-help group meetings or maintained the therapeutic relationship (as outpatients or inpatients) in the 4 months' study period. To identify the maintenance of the effects of BDIM, we made our questionaire that consist of the patients' choice of answer and the patients' self-reporting. 76 of 82 patients answered our questionaire. After 76 patients discharged from hospital, 4 1/3 years have passed on the average. Their positive answers are as follows. (1) I became aware that my drinking had bad effect on my beloved family. (2) I became aware that my family have kept compassion, expectation and appreciation for me. Their message treated me and strengthened my self-esteem. In addition, I accepted the reality of my drinking problems. (3) I recognized all my family members want my abstinence and functional communication. (4) I was extremely impressed by my family members' tears. Their tears made me decide strong abstinence. (5) I was empowered by my family members. Through BDIM, I felt a sense of security, self-esteem and freedom. (6) I thought that BDIM was a good treatment program. And I thought that the application of letters is useful to recover the patients from alcohol dependence syndrome. Their negative answers are as follows. (1) I thought it was impossible for me to be abstinent. (2) I couldn't keep the motivation of abstinence. (3) I thought BDIM was a negative treatment method. Some findings of this study are as follows: First, the letters which was handed from family members to the patient were read again and again, also preserved with much care. Therefore we get know that BDIM is useful for the patient to get and remember some good memories of the family members for a long time. Second, BDIM is helpful for the patients to become aware of their own drinking problems and realize the necessity of recovery.


Teachers' effectiveness in quality assessment is enhanced by the whole school climate which includes the administration management style, the social environment and resources. Reforms in the Zimbabwean education systems emphasise on skill based subjects and coursework which is continuous assessment. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the role of the school climate in the quality of assessment. A qualitative paradigm and a descriptive survey design were chosen to realize the research objectives. Purposive sampling was used to select six schools from a district with a population of fifteen. Validated questionnaires and document analysis were used to collect relevant data from teachers and pupils of grades four to seven. Data were presented in descriptive and narrative forms and analysed thematically. The findings revealed that most school environments which included management and supervision systems were not conducive for effective quality assessment of Home Economics practical subjects therefore negatively affected the quality of assessment. It was therefore recommended that the government, stake holders and the school management systems work together in order  to minimize the challenges faced by institutions which negatively affect quality assessment.


Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigated effects of inorganic salts on the structure and dynamics of a short alpha,beta-polypeptide, BBA5. The simulations showed that three model salts, NaI, NaF, and Na2SO3, have very different effects on the structure of the polypeptide. The addition of NaI to the aqueous solution caused denaturation and significantly weakened hydrogen bonds of the polypeptide. Na2SO3 strengthened the hydrophobic interactions and increased hydrogen bonding of the polypeptide. Preferred binding of Na+ to the backbone carbonyl groups of BBA5 occurred in the NaI solution, consistent with the weakened protein backbone hydrogen bonds, whereas Na+ is excluded more from the vicinity of the protein backbone in the Na2SO3 solution. This difference in Na+ binding correlates well with the different propensities of the counter ions approaching the protein surface: SO3(2-) is much more strongly expelled from the protein apolar surface than I-, and demonstrates the importance of cation-anion cooperativity in affecting protein structures. The binding of the two salts to and their effects on the hydration of the protein surface depends strongly on the polarity of the latter. However, both salts reduce the flexibility of the polypeptide and the fluctuation of its hydration layer. These simulations showed that the chaotropic NaI affects protein structure mainly through a direct binding of Na+ to the backbone and I- to the protein surface. The main effect of Na2SO3 manifests in strengthening the hydrophobic interaction and consequently the hydrogen bonding of the protein, more likely through an "indirect" mechanism. In addition, the simulations showed that NaF has a similar effect as Na2SO3 (but weaker than the latter, consistent with their positions in the Hofmeister series).


Animal studies have shown that bilateral vestibular deafferentation (BVD) causes deficits in spatial memory that may be related to electrophysiological and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus. Recently, human studies have also indicated that human patients can exhibit spatial memory impairment and hippocampal atrophy even 8–10 yr following BVD. Our previous studies have shown that rats with unilateral vestibular deafferentation (UVD) showed an impairment at 3 months after the surgery on a food foraging task that relies on hippocampal integration of egocentric cues, such as vestibular information; however, by 6 months postop, they showed a recovery of function. By contrast, the long‐term effects of BVD on spatial navigation have never been well studied. In this study, we tested BVD or sham rats on a food foraging task at 5 months postop. Under light conditions, BVD rats were able to use visual cues to guide themselves home, but did so with a significantly longer homing time. However, in darkness, BVD rats were severely impaired in the foraging task, as indicated by a significantly longer homing distance and homing time, with more errors and larger heading angles when compared with sham rats. These results suggest that, unlike UVD, BVD causes long‐term deficits in spatial navigation that are unlikely to recover, even with repeated T‐maze training. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


This article deals with the creativity of teachers of higher education in the process of their professional activity. The teacher's creativity is substantiated as an important factor that determines the success of the teacher's professional activity and, as a consequence, a better educational process. An active professional thesaurus of a teacher is considered as a means of supporting indicators of changes in biological creativity. The data were obtained from direct surveys of teachers, administrators and managers of universities, using D. Johnson's creativity questionnaire, adapted by E.V. Tunik, as well as from the review of the results of scientific and pedagogical activities of university teachers: original articles, creative classes, and translation of creative behavior. Based on the data of the study, the dependence of the level of creativity of a higher education teacher on the level of a professional thesaurus is revealed. In particular, the article presents the level of creativity of teachers who combine educational work with research, teachers who are mainly engaged in educational activities and representatives of the administrative and managerial personnel of universities, combining managerial functions with teaching.


The impact of home environment and academic achievement on mental health were investigated in a 12th grade higher secondary school students sample consisting of 300 participants, 150 of whom were females and 150 were males. The data was collected by Home Environment Inventory developed and validated by Dr. Karuna Shankar Misra Prof. & head, department of Education, Allahabad University, Allahabad and Mental Health Battery which was developed and validated by Arun Kumar Singh and Alpana Sen Gupta data collected was analyzed using mean, standard deviation and Three-Way ANOVA (2x2x2 Factorial Experiment). Results revealed that mean value of mental health of girls is 74.76 and boys is 70.76. Therefore, this was revealed after analyses that the mean value of mental health of girls is more in comparison to boys.


The effect of Cu, Ca, Mgand Zn on the interaction between nitroglycerin and bovine serum albumin was investigated. The bimolecular quenching rate constant, the Stern-Volmer quenching constant, the binding constants and the number of binding sites were calculated in the absence and presence of Cu, Ca, Mgand Zn. The quenching constants of nitroglycerin to bovine serum albumin were increased in the presence of metal ions. Static quenching mechanism was also confirmed. The binding constants of nitroglycerin to bovine serum albumin were influenced by different metal ions. The enthalpy change, free energy chang, entropy change and the distance between the donor and the acceptor at different temperatures were calculated. The results indicated that energy transfer from bovine serum albumin to nitroglycerin occurs with high probability.


A set of three first-order differential equations makes up a threecompartment model enabling the control of high-efficiency short lasting hemodialysis. The speed of solute removal is a control function which fulfils inequality constraints. Parameters of mathematical model are on-line identified. The aim of inequality constraints for the state variables is to prevent the cencral nervous system compartment from the rapid intercompartmental shift of the solutes that causes the disequillibrium syndrome in dialyzed patients. The time optimal control makes one of the two inequality constraints always active.


Variceal bleeding continues to be a leading cause of death
in cirrhotic patients. Both vasoactive drugs and endoscopic
therapy play a significant role in the acute variceal bleeding
setting as well as in primary and secondary prevention
of variceal bleeding. All patients with cirrhosis should be
screened with endoscopy for varices at diagnosis.
In primary prevention, prophylaxis should be offered in
patients with medium and large varices. Although endoscopic
variceal ligation seems to be more effective than nonselective
beta-blockers in preventing first variceal bleeding
it does not improve survival rate. Considering the small
number of patients enrolled in the randomized trials, the
inability of endoscopic ligation to prevent bleeding from
portal gastropathy, the cost and the safety issues related to
ligation we recommend beta-blockers as the first line treatment.
Endoscopic variceal ligation should be offered to
patients with at least medium varices and contraindications
or intolerance to beta-blockers. In acute variceal bleeding
the treatment of choice is the combination of endotherapy
with vasoactive drugs, particularly when administration of
drugs started early before endoscopy. Endoscopic sclerotherapy
has been shown to reduce bleeding and increase
survival, but recently endoscopic ligation has been considered
to be superior to sclerotherapy in this setting. The risk
of recurrent bleeding and death following an episode of
variceal bleeding is very high. In patients who have not received
primary prophylaxis the combination of EVL and
beta blockers should be used in this setting. In patients
who are on beta-blockers for primary prevention EVL should
be added. Patients who fail endoscopic and pharmacological
treatment should undergo TIPS, surgical shunts or liver
transplantation.


In 2000, the goal that, by 2015, all children will have access to, and complete, free and compulsory primary education of good quality, was set. Despite the progress in terms of student enrollment and completion, the quality of learning produced in developing countries remains poor. Existing models of education production are inadequate for informing education reform for the purpose of improving school quality, as measured by student learning. Thus, a broader and more integrated approach of policy making is put forward. Building on theory and empirical evidence on what works, the paper puts forward a framework for improving the quality of education. The framework includes six factors: (1) assessment; (2) autonomy; (3) accountability; (4) attention to teachers; (5) attention to early childhood development; and (6) attention to culture. Going forward, there is a need to develop a system of international quality benchmarks drawing on a larger body of evidence. Most importantly, more empirical evidence from impact evaluations is needed.


Introduction

Lungeing is part of the standard lameness examination, however it systematically affects movement symmetry even in sound horses. We evaluated a method for objective lameness detection on the circle accounting for this asymmetry bias.

Methods

Twenty-six horses undergoing lameness examination were equipped with inertial sensors (Xsens) on head, sacrum and tubera coxae. Asymmetry in vertical displacement was quantified for trot on straight line and circle using multiple measures. Horses were classified lame when falling outside the directional reference range of sound horses (directional = 'normal' margins and lame limb depending on rein and sign of measure). Objective classification on the circle was compared to subjective evaluation, final diagnoses and objective classification on the straight calculating the proportion of matches. Regression analysis evaluated the association of change in asymmetry between straight line and circle and baseline asymmetry on the straight.

Results

The match between objective classification on the circle and the exact fore-/hindlimb(s) scored lame subjectively was 81% / 79%. The match with the diagnosed limb(s) was 71% / 85%. There was a high frequency of false positives compared to subjective evaluation. Objective evaluation on the circle added new information compared to assessment on the straight line in 70% (forelimb) / 58% (hindlimb) of instances (contralateral limb lame, bilateral lameness, lame on circle but sound on straight). Change in asymmetry was not associated with baseline lameness (P≥0.062).

Conclusions

Objective lameness evaluation on the circle makes a valuable contribution to patient assessment: e.g. subtle lameness falling within the margins of 'normal' on the straight or bilateral lameness could be identified. In future, the predictive value of the proposed technique should be determined.

Ethical Animal Research

The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Explicit owner informed consent for participation in this study is not stated. Sources of funding: Sandra Starke's PhD studentship was funded through the Mellon Trust via the Royal Veterinary College. Competing interests: none.


Intracranial brain metastasis from colorectal cancers (CRC) is a rare occurrence in clinical practice. Moreover, metastasis to the ventricular system is even rarer. Here, we are reporting a case of CRC patient who had 4th ventricle metastasis without parenchymal metastasis. A 52-year-old male patient had a diagnosis of CRC 2 years earlier and received chemotherapy. He reported to an emergency department with abrupt vertigo, nausea and vomiting, and imbalanced walking. The lobulated mass was found in the 4th ventricle in magnetic resonance imaging. He was operated upon after aneurysm was excluded by MR angiography, and adenocarcinoma was found.


A new probe using a lumped constant resonator for the scanning nonlinear dielectric microscope has been developed. This probe has sufficient resolution to observe the area distribution of ferroelectric polarization. Using this probe, the distributions of the domains in the thin film of a copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene and in a lithium niobate substrate with a titanium-diffused inversion layer are observed.


Single crystalline samples of type-I and type-VIII Ba8Ga16−xCuxSn30 (x = 0, 1) clathrates are prepared by the Sn-flux method. Effects of Cu-doping on stability and electrical properties of Ba8Ga16Sn30 single crystal are explored by first-principle and experiment. All samples are heated to different high temperatures and maintained at these temperatures for 120 min and then cooled to room temperature to explore their structural stabilities. Results from DTA and powder x-ray diffraction analysis indicate that type-I Ba8Ga16Sn30 structure is transformed into type-VIII phase after the sample has been heated to 185 °C. Type-VIII BGS is stable during heating and cooling, but type-VIII Ba8Ga15CuSn30 decomposes into Sn and Ba(Ga/Sn)4 during cooling. Meanwhile, the electrical properties of type-I samples are measured, their electrical conductivities are enhanced, and the Seebeck efficient is reduced with Cu substitution. The type-I samples after phase transformations show the electrical characteristics of type-VIII samples.


We study the challenging problem of localizing and classifying category-specific object contours in real world images. For this purpose, we present a simple yet effective method for combining generic object detectors with bottom-up contours to identify object contours. We also provide a principled way of combining information from different part detectors and across categories. In order to study the problem and evaluate quantitatively our approach, we present a dataset of semantic exterior boundaries on more than 20, 000 object instances belonging to 20 categories, using the images from the VOC2011 PASCAL challenge [7].


Abstract We study gerbes with connection over an étale stack via noncommutative algebras of differential forms on a groupoid presenting the stack. We then describe a dg-category of modules over any such algebra, which we claim represents a dg-enhancement of the derived category of coherent analytic sheaves on the gerbe in question. This category can be used to phrase and prove Fourier-Mukai type dualities between gerbes and other noncommutative spaces. As an application of the theory, we show that a gerbe with flat connection on a torus is dual (in a sense analogous to Fourier-Mukai duality or T-duality) to a noncommutative holomorphic dual torus.


Tropical peatlands play a vital role in the global carbon cycle as large carbon reservoirs and substantial carbon sinks. Indonesia possesses the largest share (65 %) of tropical peat carbon, equal to 57.4 Gt C. Human perturbations such as extensive logging, deforestation and canalization exacerbate water losses, especially during dry seasons, when low precipitation and high evapotranspiration rates combine with the increased drainage to lower groundwater levels. Drying and increasing temperatures of the surface peat exacerbate ignition and wildfire risks within the peat soils. As such, it is critically important to know how groundwater levels in peatlands are changing over space and time. In this study, a multilinear regression model as well as two machine learning algorithms, random forest and extreme gradient boosting, were used to model groundwater level over the study period (2010-12) within a peat dome impacted by drainage canals and multiple wildfires in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Although all three models performed well, based on overall fit, spatial modeling of groundwater level results revealed that extreme gradient boosting (R2 = 0.998, RMSE = 0.048 m) outperformed random forest (R2 = 0.997, RMSE = 0.054 m) and multilinear regression (R2 = 0.970, RMSE = 0.221 m) near drainage canals, which are key fire ignition risk locations in the peatlands. Our study also shows that, on average, elevation and precipitation are the most important parameters influencing groundwater level spatiotemporally.


The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of amino acid (tryptophan and glutamine) on the callus induction and to develop suspension cell culture protocol for Malaysian upland rice, Panderas cultivar. The research revealed that callus induction varied depend on amino acid tested. In callus induction study, dehusked Panderas mature seeds were placed on MSB5 medium supplemented with 3mg/L 2,4-D and 2mg/L NAA with four different concentrations of tryptophan and glutamine separately. After three weeks in culture, inclusion of tryptophan showed positive effect on percentage of callus induction and fresh weight. It was observed that the optimum concentration of tryptophan was 25mg/L with 96.67% of callus induction and 73.33mg of average fresh weight. At week six, the average fresh weight of callus induced on MSB5 media supplemented with 25mg/L tryptophan was increased to three fold (215mg). Treatment without amino acids (control) showed similar callus percentage (96.67%) and three times increased in fresh weight after six weeks. However addition of 50mg/L glutamine alone showed lower percentage of callus induction and fresh weight compare to tryptophan and control treatment. The callus proliferation resulted in yellowish colour and nodular appearance showing embryogenic potential. The embryogenic callus was then immersed in 1% Evans blue to validate the viability of cells. Five weeks old potential embryogenic callus was then selected to initiate suspension cell culture. The N6 liquid medium supplemented with 3mg/L 2,4-D, 1mg/L kinetin and 0.005% pectinase resulted in higher fresh weight (1.84g) of suspension cells compared to without pectinase on day ten of incubation. This study concludes that tryptophan and glutamine did not show significant response on percentage of callus induction and fresh weight. Besides that inclusion of pectinase in suspension cell culture may increase fresh weight of suspension cell.


: The synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-5-formylimidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles with different substituents at position 6 (CH3, C6H5, Cl, Br) is reported; thiosemicarbazones and tosylhydrazones were prepared from these aldehydes and from the 2,3-unsaturated analogues: these derivatives, submitted to a preliminary test, did not show significant antileukemic activity.


The ONERA RAMSES system is a flexible SAR system in constant evolution, developed mainly as a test bench for new technologies and to provide specific data for TDRI (Target Detection, Recognition and Identification) algorithm evaluation. It is flown on a Transall C160 platform operated by the CEV (Centre d'Essais en Vol). This paper gives an overview of the system, lists briefly the latest upgrading (electronic and SAR processor) to acquire high resolution data without deramp-on-receive mode and then presents the recent campaign which took place in Sweden, with simultaneous acquisitions at P and L bands.


BACKGROUND
Epidemiological characteristics of diabetic foot infection in our region are not clear. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiological features of diabetic foot infection in Babol, north of Iran.

METHODS
From March, 2005 to April, 2010, the epidemiological features of 450 cases of diabetic foot infection treated in two main teaching hospitals of Babol Medical University were evaluated. Epidemiological data in these cases were determined, and collected data were analyzed.

RESULTS
The mean age of these patients was 58.8±11.2 years. Two hundred ninety seven (66%) were females and 153 (34%) were males. Three hundred sixty nine patients (82%) had family history of diabetes mellitus (DM) and maternal inheritance was the most common pattern. Three hundred seventy eight patients (84%) were aware of suffering from DM and 297 (66%) were aware of the occurrence of foot ulcer but 86% were not familiar with the main risk factors for the development of diabetic foot infection.

CONCLUSION
The results show that diabetic foot infections occur more often in females and the familiarity of the risk factor in this population is relatively low. Educating these patients for prevention of diabetic foot infection is recommended.


We present calculations of autoionization widths using a fully numerical multiconfigurational Hartree-Fock method (MCHF). Energy positions and autoionization rates are given for several doubly-excited states lying below the n = 2 threshold in He I and H-. Particular attention is given to orthogonality considerations in the computation of the autoionization widths. The method is extended to the 1s2p2 2D, 1s2s(3S)3d 2D and 1s2s(3S)4d 2D states of Li I. To the authors' knowledge, our MCHF value, 12.5 meV, is the first result obtained for the autoionization width of the 1s2s(3S)4d 2D state. Comparison is made with other theoretical results and with experimental values and we point out several inconsistencies between the two sets of results.


Paradoxically, sea surface area for offshore wind farms is limited in some countries like Japan. While the distance from the shore to a wind farm is limited due to the cost of electric transmission, the near shore area has considerable traffic of ships and is restricted by complex rights of local fisheries. One approach to the problem is inviting the local fishermen to the management of the wind farm. It requires higher economic performance of the wind farm than the original fishing activity in the same sea surface area.The proposed concept is the combination of a floating wind turbine and counter-rotating water current turbine. The water current turbine partially cancels the reaction torque of electric generator and provides additional energy production from water current. The rotating axis of the turbine is not fixed in the upright position to reduce the size of supporting structure. Regular maintenance work is only in low altitude on the float. These features lead to the reduction of O&M costs and higher utilization of sea surface area.This paper describes the prototype sub-megawatt turbine under construction and its expected economic performance.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


A survey was undertaken in the east district of Imphal valley of Manipur, India, using an intradermal test with saline extract of adult Paragonimus westermani as test antigen to find out the prevalence of paragonimiasis and some of the epidemiological factors attributable to it. A total of 3,467 individuals of both sexes aged five years and above were tested. A total of 2934 persons admitted eating crabs and among them 234 were found reactive to Paragonimus antigen. The prevalence rate observed was 6.7 per cent. The proportion of positive reactors (8.0%) among the crab eaters compared to 0.1 per cent among those who did not eat crabs was highly significant (P < 0.01). The difference in the prevalence rates in different age groups and different sexes was also found to be highly significant. The habit of eating raw and or undercooked crabs had significant correlation with skin reactivity. The intradermal test was found to be a good screening test for mass surveys due to its simplicity, low cost, high sensitivity and no known untoward reaction. Four persons among the skin positive reactors presented with cough, pain in the chest, recurrent haemoptysis as major clinical manifestations. Laboratory investigations revealed Paragonimus eggs in the sputum smears, raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and high absolute eosinophil count in their blood. Praziquantel, the drug of choice was given at a dose of 25 mg per kg body weight 3 times a day for three consecutive days to each patient for a cure.


The introductory continuous-time signals and systems course (CTSS) is one of the most difficult courses that students encounter in an electrical and computer engineering (ECE) curriculum, as evidenced by well-above-average drop/failure rates. This paper presents a series of analog-circuit based activities that can help students visualize the complex mathematical concepts and gain a better appreciation for how the concepts are useful in real-world situations. These exercises have been used in an introductory CTSS course since September of 2010. While the exercises were designed to be done in a three-hour session, we show how they can be broken up into smaller steps that could be completed easily in a one-hour class either by the students or as a demonstration by the professor. In order to get some measure of the impact of these exercises, the students were surveyed for one year before and also since the exercises were introduced. The results from this survey and also the Continuous-Time Signals and Systems Concept Inventory are presented as a measure of the impact of these exercises on the students' affective and cognitive learning experience.


One group of models proposed for characterizing the mechanical response of glassy polymers is based on a structure that resembles finite plasticity. In most cases, a constitutive equation for stress is proposed, which depends on the elastic deformation gradient, supplemented by a flow rule for the plastic deformation, which depends on the "over stress." The over stress is a properly invariant difference between the stress and the back stress (equilibrium stress). The back stress represents conditions under which relaxation events should stop and the material should be able to carry an applied load indefinitely without a need to change the strain. Questions that arise in using these models are whether such equilibrium stresses exist, how can they be evaluated, and what experiments can be used to characterize the flow rule. One challenge in accurately evaluating the locus of equilibrium conditions is the fact that the relaxation process substantially slow down around these points, and, therefore, a method that does not directly require being at the equilibrium is desirable. Focusing on shear, a thermodynamic theory for characterising the response of glassy polymers, similar to models currently used for this purpose, is developed, and using this model it is shown that one can set up a method to calculate the plastic strain rate. This method is based on evaluating the slope of stress-strain response under conditions of similar elastic and plastic strain, but different strain rates. Since the equilibrium stress occurs when the plastic strain rate goes to zero, the evaluated plastic strain rates allow evaluation of the needed information for developing the flow rule and obtaining the back stress. This method is used to evaluate the plastic strain rate and back stress at room temperature for polycarbonate. The evaluated results match well with results obtained by direct probing of the equilibrium stress, in which one searches for points at which the stress remains constant at a constant strain over long durations. The method proposed looks promising in evaluating the back stress of glassy polymers. The added advantage of this method is that it also provides a map of plastic strain rate and tangent modulus over a large range of loading conditions.


The higher education community has long accepted that colleges and universities serve two distinct but complementary purposes with respect to student development: academics educate students for individual prosperity and well-being and for public participation in democracy and civic life. Appropriately, both roles get recalibrated periodically based on societal needs –  witness current shifts in credentialing, fields of study, online learning, and opportunities for people who have historically been left behind – all with the view to educating more Americans for the jobs of the future and for their personal economic security. This piece reflects on the evolving role of higher education in educating for democracy.


The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of sonography in the detection of rotator cuff tears. Eighty-one patients were referred by orthopedic specialists because of a clinical suspicion of rotator cuff tear. The standards of comparison were arthrography in 79 cases and surgery in two cases. The sonographic technique used was based on a review of the literature and experience gained by scanning normal subjects. The sonographic criteria for the diagnosis of a complete rotator cuff tear were a focal defect in the cuff or complete absence or nonvisualization of the cuff. All sonograms were interpreted prospectively without knowledge of arthrographic or surgical results. With arthrography as the standard of comparison for the diagnosis of rotator cuff tear, sonographic results included 15 true-positives, 52 true-negatives, eight false-negatives, and four false-positives. With surgery as the standard of comparison, the results were one true-positive and one true-negative sonogram. The sensitivity of sonography in detecting rotator cuff tear was 0.67, the specificity was 0.93, and the accuracy was 0.85. Our study found lower sensitivity and accuracy results for shoulder sonography than have been previously reported.


This study aimed to investigate the benefit gained by older people in auditory-visual speech perception compared to auditory-only perception and to investigate the correlation between visual acuity and benefit gained. A total of 77 community-based older people participated in the study. Pure-tone audiometry showed that 36% had normal hearing, 40% had a mild hearing loss and the remainder (23%) had a moderate or greater loss. Objective measurements of corrected distance and near visual acuities were obtained using the Bailey-Lovie logMAR distance and near visual acuity tests. According to the criteria used in the present study, 34% had some distance vision impairment and 9% had some near vision impairment. The benefit gained in auditory-visual speech perception was determined by comparing auditory-only and auditory-visual performance on the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Australian Version Speech reading Test. An average visual benefit of 28.8% was achieved by the participants, and, for the vast majority of participants (86%), the benefit gained was statistically significant. A significant correlation was not found between either distance or near visual acuity and benefit gained in auditory-visual speech perception. The implications of these findings are that it is important for audiologists to recommend the use of lipreading to older clients, irrespective of their visual impairment, as the majority will gain significant benefit from the use of visual cues.


Introduction: We aimed to analyze the frequency and risk factors of pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage caused by Computed Tomography (CT) guided needle biopsy. Methods: Demographical features, pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage frequencies/risk factors, characteristics of lesions of patients who underwent a CT-guided lung biopsy in our institution between January 2013 and August 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. The lesions were classified to the groups as nodular lesions≤3 cm in diameter, nodular lesions>3 cm and consolidated lesions. Pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage frequencies among groups were compared using a chi-square test. A p<0.05 was accepted as statistically significant. Results: A total number of 122 patients with a mean age of 61±13 (19-88) years were included. 28 (23%) patients were female and 94 (77%) were male. 30 (24%) lesions were nodular lesions≤3 cm in diameter, 57 (47%) were nodular lesions>3 cm, and 35 (29%) were consolidated lesions. Pneumothorax developed in 15 (12%) patients while a chest tube insertion was required in 4 (3%) of them. Pulmonary hemorrhage occurred in 14 (11%) patients. Hemoptysis and hemothorax were not observed in this study. Pleura-based lesions was significantly less associated with pneumothorax when compared with ones far from pleura (P<0.001). Usage of 17-gauge needle was significantly more associated with pneumothorax than 19-gauge (p:0.048). Pulmonary hemorrhage was significantly less observed during the biopsy of lesions>3 cm than<3 cm (P<0.001). Conclusion: Nodular lesions≤3 cm, location far from pleura and usage of 17-gauge needle tend to be associated with more frequent lung biopsy complications.


Synopsis: We developed a capillary rheo-optics technique to visualize how fluoropolymer polymer processing additives (PPAs) eliminate a surface distortion called ''sharkskin'' in the extrudate of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). The measurements were carried out in a transparent sapphire tube located at the exit of a twin-screw extruder. Depth-resolved optical microscopy was used to measure both the polymer velocity profiles and to image the coating process of the PPA onto the capillary wall. In the absence of PPA, no slippage occurs between the capillary wall and the polyethylene; sharkskin was observed at all flow rates. Upon addition of the PPA to the LLDPE, the PPA migrates to the capillary wall where it sticks and induces slippage between itself and the LLDPE, concomitant with the elimination of sharkskin. The interface between the PPA and LLDPE is characterized by long stripes in the flow direction. Large values of the polymer–polymer slippage parameter were found which indicate that the fluoropolymer and LLDPE are fully disentangled at their interface. The PPA acts by dramatically reducing the extensional deformation of the LLDPE at the exit surface.


The elevated T-maze (ETM) is a putative model for the assessment of anxiety and memory in rodents. This study was designed to further evaluate the utility of the ETM in the study of memory processes. We compared the performance of rats in the ETM, the water maze (WM) and the two-way avoidance task (TWA), after pretreatment with scopolamine (SCO; 0.3 or 1.2 mg/kg i.p.). In the ETM, rats were first trained to meet the criterion of remaining inside the enclosed arm for 300 seconds. Seventy-two hours after training, a retrieval test session was performed. At the lower dose, SCO impaired performance in the retrieval session on all three tasks, whereas in the training session an effect was noted only on the WM task. At the higher dose, SCO impaired the performance of rats in the training sessions for ETM and WM, but not TWA. In a fourth experiment using the elevated plus-maze, SCO showed anxiolytic-like effects at the higher dose only. In conclusion, the effects of SCO in rats submitted to the ETM were dose dependent, with the lower dose exerting a selective effect detected only on retrieval, whereas the higher dose induced motor effects that disrupted inhibitory avoidance acquisition, resulting in impaired retrieval. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of the ETM in the study of drug effects and the neurobiological mechanisms underlying anxiety, learning and memory.


Homelessness is a complex issue, one that is noticeably visible within the public spaces of our cities, something that many look away from and move quickly past. This study endeavours to provides insight into a phenomenon that demands better understanding, and in so doing offers the possibility of not averting our gaze and instead seeing homelessness for what it really is.

Through an approach informed by Max van Manen's (1990, 2007, 2014) hermeneutic phenomenology, the lived experience of nine homeless men was examined and revealed a lived experience that is multifarious, where paradox, hope and despair are mixed in equal measures. This study illustrates the hardship and loneliness of homeless lives, which are frequently blighted by boredom and shame and involve limited personal agency. The study also reveals the fierce desire for intimacy and friendship with others who are not homeless, a desire frequently beyond their reach. It shows that the intersubjective world of homeless men is complicated, nuanced and impacted heavily through being homeless. Finally, this study challenges the view that homeless people are unwilling to work, showing instead that they undertake many types of work that require determination and effort, leading on occasion to self- improvement and the writing of new more positive narratives about their lives.

This is a study that seeks to provide a picture of homelessness that is beyond the typical social policy concern with accommodation or common generalisations. It reveals lives of complexity and nuance, where there is often grinding hardship and unhappiness, punctuated on rare occasions by moments of happiness and transformation. It is a study that reveals the experience of homelessness and shows a lifeworld in need of proper and thoughtful understanding.


A qualitative investigation examined aspirations of youth experiencing significant educational, legal, or emotional difficulty. A research panel of five professional school counselors analyzed transcripts from interviews of 15 youth having multiple risk factors. Data revealed that, despite considerable obstacles, these young people typically held clear hopes for future education, careers, family relationships, civic involvement, and personal satisfaction. The findings underscore the importance of school counselors' advocacy for youth in crisis.


Cell phenotype is specified by environmental cues embedded in the architecture and composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Much has been learned about matrix organization and assembly through analyses of the ECM protein fibronectin (FN). FN matrix assembly is a cell-mediated process in which soluble dimeric FN is converted into a fibrillar network. Binding of cell surface integrin receptors to FN converts it to an active form, which promotes fibril formation through interactions with other cell-associated FN dimers. As FN fibrils form on the outside of the cell, cytoplasmic domains of integrin receptors organize cytoplasmic proteins into functional complexes inside. Intracellular connections to the actin cytoskeletal network and stimulation of certain key intracellular signaling pathways are essential for FN–integrin interactions and propagation of FN fibril formation. Thus, assembly of native functional ECM depends on exquisite coordination between extracellular events and intracellular pathways.


This paper considers new lower bound on fraction of guaranteed corrected errors while decoding the same binary low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with constituent single parity-check (SPC) and Hamming codes using the same iterative low-complex hard-decision algorithm as in previous works of V. Zyablov and M. Pinsker in 1975 and V. Zyablov, R. Johannesson and M. Loncar in 2009. The number of decoding iterations, required to correct the errors, is a logarithmic function of the code length. The fraction of guaranteed correctable errors computed numerically for various choices of LDPC code parameters with constituent SPC and Hamming codes shows that proposed lower bound gives the better results than previously known best lower bounds obtained by V. Zyablov and M. Pinsker in 1975 for Gallager's LDPC codes and A. Barg and A. Mazumrad for Hamming code-based LDPC (H-LDPC) codes in 2011. Some of obtained numerical results are represented at the end of the paper to demonstrate these improvements.


The application of model-based diagnosis schemes to real systems introduces many significant challenges, such as building accurate system models for heterogeneous systems with complex behaviors, dealing with noisy measurements and disturbances, and producing valuable results in a timely manner with limited information and computational resources. The Advanced Diagnostics and Prognostics Testbed (ADAPT), which was deployed at the NASA Ames Research Center, is a representative spacecraft electrical power distribution system that embodies a number of these challenges. ADAPT contains a large number of interconnected components, and a set of circuit breakers and relays that enable a number of distinct power distribution configurations. The system includes electrical dc and ac loads, mechanical subsystems (such as motors), and fluid systems (such as pumps). The system components are susceptible to different types of faults, i.e., unexpected changes in parameter values, discrete faults in switching elements, and sensor faults. This paper presents Hybrid Transcend, which is a comprehensive model-based diagnosis scheme to address these challenges. The scheme uses the hybrid bond graph modeling language to systematically develop computational models and algorithms for hybrid state estimation, robust fault detection, and efficient fault isolation. The computational methods are implemented as a suite of software tools that enable diagnostic analysis and testing through simulation, diagnosability studies, and deployment on the experimental testbed. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology.


The Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) paradigm provides a promising solution for efficient computing services at edge nodes, such as base stations (BS), access points (AP), etc. By offloading highly intensive computational tasks to MEC servers, critical benefits in terms of reducing energy consumption at mobile devices and lowering processing latency can be achieved to support high Quality of Service (QoS) to many applications. Among the services which would benefit from MEC deployments are eXtended Reality (XR) applications which are receiving increasing attention from both academia and industry. XR applications have high resource requirements, mostly in terms of network bandwidth, computation and storage. Often these resources are not available in classic network architectures and especially not when XR applications are run by mobile devices. This paper leverages the concepts of Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) to propose an innovative resource management scheme considering heterogeneous QoS requirements at the MEC server level. The resource assignment is formulated by employing a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) technique to support high quality of XR services. The simulation results show how our proposed solution outperforms other state-of-the-art resource management-based schemes.


BACKGROUND
A 190k (190-kilodalton) membrane protein has been identified in several multidrug-resistant (MDR) cell lines that show decreased drug accumulation without expression of P-glycoprotein. It is not clear whether this 190k protein is involved directly in drug efflux. Recently, a gene for a putative transporter protein, MRP (multidrug resistance-associated protein) has been sequenced and localized to chromosome 16. The protein encoded by this gene contains a 7-amino-acid sequence present in the synthetic peptide used to generate the antiserum recognizing the 190k protein.

PURPOSE
The study was undertaken to clarify the relationship of the 190k protein to MRP gene expression in non-P-glycoprotein-containing MDR cells of the large-cell and adenocarcinoma lung cancer lines, COR-L23 and MOR.

METHODS
Expression of the 190k protein was determined by Western blot analysis and that of the MRP gene by polymerase chain reaction amplification of complementary DNA reverse transcribed from RNA. Abnormalities of chromosome 16 were investigated in chromosome spreads by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

RESULTS
The amount of detectable 190k protein is closely associated with degree of drug resistance. Cell lines surviving in higher drug concentrations have greater amounts of protein, and revertant lines grown without drug for up to 28 weeks show reduced expression of the protein together with enhanced drug sensitivity. The 190k protein appears to be one of the major proteins differentially expressed in membranes of drug-resistant cells. The amount of MRP messenger RNA correlates closely with that of the 190k protein. The MDR cells contain amplified chromosome 16 material with many double minutes in the large-cell lung tumor lines and an enlarged chromosome 16 in the adenocarcinoma lines.

CONCLUSION
The 190k protein detected immunologically is likely to be the protein, encoded by the MRP gene, which becomes overexpressed in these cells as a consequence of chromosomal amplification and fragmentation.

IMPLICATION
Though associated with drug resistance, enhanced drug efflux, and decreased drug accumulation in cell lines, the role of this protein in clinical resistance has yet to be determined.


This study aims to determine the effect of learning using the demonstration method on student understanding and how much influence it has. With the selection of methods that are in accordance with the characteristics of the subject matter, it is expected to increase students' understanding so as to reduce the occurrence of verbalism. This type of research is quantitative with a quasi-experimental method consisting of an experimental class and a control class. The sample in each class is 10. The data collection technique uses a test, namely an objective test of 10 questions and a subjective test of 5 questions. The results showed that the effect of the demonstration method on students' understanding which can be seen from the analysis of the "Independent Samples Test" in the "Equal variances assumed" section, it was known that the Sig (2-tailed) value was 0.319 > 0.05, so as the basis for decision making, it can be concluded that Ha is rejected and Ho is accepted which means that there is no significant effect on the application of the demonstration method through video learning on student understanding at MI A-Taqwa Sidoarjo during the covid-19 pandemic.


Low energy collisions of very heavy nuclei (238U+238U, 232Th+250Cf and 238U+248Cm) have been studied within the realistic dynamical model based on multi‐dimensional Langevin equations. Large charge and mass transfer was found due to the "inverse quasi‐fission" process leading to formation of survived superheavy long‐lived neutron‐rich nuclei. In many events lifetime of the composite system consisting of two touching nuclei turns out to be rather long; sufficient for spontaneous positron formation from super‐strong electric field, a fundamental QED process.


Data aggregation techniques are useful means in order to reduce number of data transmissions and improve the bandwidth and energy utilization in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). The simplest way to achieve distributed data aggregation is to select data aggregator nodes. However, if captured by an intruder, aggregator node can be a subject to several attacks, such as eavesdropping, jamming, message dropping, message fabrication, and so on. This paper discusses security issues of data aggregation in WSNS and describes existing solutions and their limitations.


Leprosy is a disease with a high rate of transmission around the world. Leprosy is hard to eradicate because treatment is difficult and there is no vaccine to prevent it. The response of the immune system plays a role in determining the form of the clinical manifestation of leprosy. LepVax is a vaccine made from the Mycobacterium leprae antigens ML2531, ML2380, ML2055 and ML2028 formulated with the Toll-like receptor 4 agonist Glucopyranosyl Lipid Adjuvant in Stable Emulsion. LepVax can prevent infection with M. leprae through stimulation of the immune system and resulting regulation of pathogenic bacteria. LepVax can prevent nerve cell damage which is a target of the M. leprae bacterium. Further research is needed on the safety of LepVax as a vaccine to eradicate leprosy in the future.


An analysis of the universal target (UT) sequence from the cpn60 gene was performed in order to evaluate its usefulness in phylogenetic and taxonomic studies and as an identification marker for the genus Aeromonas. Sequences of 555 bp, corresponding to the UT region, were obtained from a collection of 35 strains representing all of the species and subspecies of Aeromonas. From the analysis of these sequences, a range of divergence of 0-23.3% was obtained, with a mean of 11.2+/-0.9%. Comparative analyses between cpn60 and gyrB, rpoD and 16S rRNA gene sequences were carried out from the same Aeromonas strain collection. Sequences of the cpn60 UT region showed similar discriminatory power to gyrB and rpoD sequences. The phylogenetic relationships inferred from cpn60 sequence distances indicated an excellent correlation with the present affiliation of Aeromonas species with the exception of Aeromonas hydrophila subsp. dhakensis, which appeared in a separate phylogenetic line, and Aeromonas sharmana, which exhibited a very loose phylogenetic relationship to the genus Aeromonas. Sequencing of cpn60 from 33 additional Aeromonas strains also allowed us to establish intra- and interspecific threshold values. Intraspecific divergence rates were <or=3.5%, while interspecific divergence rates fell between 3.7 and 16.9%, excluding A. sharmana. In this study, cpn60 UT sequencing was shown to be a universal, useful, simple and rapid method for the identification and phylogenetic affiliation of Aeromonas strains.


Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of death worldwide, has been viewed as one of the major problems for wealthy and industrialized nations for decades, and the need for rapid detection and timely diagnosis has the utmost importance. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Hence, the development of immunoassay based biosensor for cTnI is necessary. Over the past decades, there have been extensive researches regarding cTnI detection, including colorimetric, fluorescence, paramagnetic, electrochemical, and surface plasmon resonance. However, conventional laboratory methods are time-consuming and require expensive and bulky equipment. In light of this, the need for point of care testing becomes more crucial. Here, we use a programmable microcontroller unit (MCU) to operate the device. A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is used to deliver a modulating signal to LEDs, and then the modulated light excites the samples in the microfluidic reaction wells. The signals from the sample and control group are obtained by two photodetectors individually. They will be amplified and demodulated through the lock-in amplifier and digitized by analog-to-digital converters (ADC) to the MCU. And the collected data will be presented on the device and uploaded synchronically to the smartphone via Bluetooth. The whole processing time is less than 5 minutes. Next, we use the microfluidic platform to simplify complicated laboratory procedures. In our study, we focus on using cTnI to detect the samples in the human serum or blood. In order to solve low efficacy caused by the non-specific binding, we used Zwitterionic carboxybetaine disulfide (CB) as a self-assembled monolayer in the experimental design. The use of self-assembled monolayer can not only decrease non-specific binding problem but also shorten the analysis time.


We study information flow security in the setting of mobile agents. We propose a sufficient condition to security named Persistent_BNDC. A process is Persistent_BNDC when every of its reachable states satisfies a basic Non-Interference property called BNDC. By imposing that security persists during process execution, one is guaranteed that every potential migration is performed in a stable, secure state. We define a suitable bisimulation-based equivalence relation among processes, that allows us to express the new property as a single equivalence check, thus avoiding the universal quantifications over all the reachable states (required by Persistent_BNDC) and over all the possible hostile environments (implicit in the basic Non-Interference property BNDC). We prove that Persistent_BNDC is a sufficient condition to the security of mobile agents by (i) giving a sound and complete characterization of Persistent_BNDC in terms of dynamic contexts, i.e., execution contexts that can non-deterministically change at run-time, abstractly modelling arbitrary migrations; (ii) showing that Persistent_BNDC implies information flow security when agent mobility is explicitly expressed in the calculus.


This paper investigates the long- and short-run determinants of the real exchange rate using a panel of data for fourteen OECD countries. The data are analyzed using time series and panel unit root and panel cointegration methods. Two dynamic productivity-based models are used to motivate the empirical exercise. The candidate determinants include productivity levels in the traded and in the nontraded sectors, government spending, the terms of trade, income per capita, and the real price of oil. The empirical results indicate that it is easier to detect cointegration in panel data than in the available time series; moreover, the estimate of the rate of reversion to a cointegrating vector defined by real exchange rates and sectoral productivity differentials is estimated with greater precision as long as homogeneity of parameters is imposed upon the panel. It is more difficult to find evidence for cointegration when allowing for heterogeneity across currencies. The most empirically successful model of the real exchange rate includes sectoral productivity measures in the long run relation and government spending in the short run dynamics.


Summary. Hypercalcaemia complicating acute myelogenous leukaemia is a rare but well‐recognized phenomenon. In most cases the pathogenetic mechanism causing the hypercalcaemia remains poorly understood. We recently studied in detail two patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia who developed hypercalcaemia during the course of their illness. The results of these studies conclusively excluded primary hyperparathyroidism or ectopic parathyroid hormone production as causes of the patients' hypercalcaemia. In vitro studies carried out on short‐term suspension cultures of one patient's peripheral blood blast cells demonstrated production of a factor with potent bone resorbing activity, distinct from parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Further characterization of the bone resorbing factor suggested that it bore some similarity to osteoclast activating factor (OAF). Hypercalcaemia in the other case appeared to be due to a combination of skeletal invasion by malignant cells, and to ectopic secretion of an unidentified humoral factor with bone resorbing activity. These two cases demonstrate that the hypercalcaemia complicating acute myelogenous leukaemia may be due to a variety of mechanisms distinct from parathyroid hormone production.


Ultrasonic techniques are being increasingly used for nondestructive testing and quality control of bonds between the electrical contacts and the support members of the contact assemblies. The state-of-the-art of this valuable tool is analysed and discussed from a control standpoint. Two ultrasonic techniques, namely, the delayed pulse echo and the through-transmission, are described and discussed with respect to their limitations and merits for the brazed bond quality between the silver-cadmium oxide or silver contact and the copper support. The Instrument calibration technique, the range of test frequencies and the resolution of the voids are determined, for various thicknesses of the contact and the support material. The instrumentation and data including C-scan chart recording of the voids for discrete components as well as for continuous bonding of strip materials are presented and discussed.


The year 2006 is the 125th anniversary of a chemical reaction, the discovery of which by Mikhail Kucherov had a profound effect on the development of industrial chemistry in the 19�20th centuries. This was the hydration of alkynes catalyzed by mercury ions that made possible industrial production of acetaldehyde from acetylene. Historical circumstances of this discovery and subsequent events are discussed.


"The scope of this collection is impressively broad, offering international, albeit North American and Western European, perspectives on a diverse range of visual evidence useful for scholars in a number of fields, from history to media studies and social sciences." Erin Bell, University of Lincoln,UK "...two media historians-drawing upon years of detailed research-have compiled a definitive anthology. Clearly, Using Visual Evidence presents a unique interpretation of historical analysis where thirteen writers, under the editorship of Richard Howells and Robert W. Matson, offer strong ideas about a subject that is often overlooked...With numerous illustrations, meticulous case studies, and selective photographs, Using Visual Evidence - a welcome breath of fresh air - is a wonderful addition to media studies." Film and History What do we mean by 'visual evidence'? How should we interpret visual texts, and what can they tell us? Why is 'visual literacy' so important and what benefits does it offer? Visual evidence encompasses a diverse range of media, from painting, cartoons and photography, to film, television and documentary. The central argument of this book is that visual evidence is a key to understanding both history and the present day and should not be relegated to a supporting role as merely illustrating the written word. The book shows students, scholars and researchers how to read the visual media to elicit meaning. As primary sources, visual texts can be studied not only for what is directly depicted in the painting or film but also for what it tells us about the people, cultures and societies that made them. Each chapter features fascinating case studies and examples which situate theory in real life. A major appeal of the book is the wealth of illustrations and photographs of visual texts which are included throughout. The authors make detailed reference to these examples to illustrate the theory surrounding visual evidence. An intriguing case study of an unknown girl's photo album is just one of many examples offered, showing how we can analyze and learn from the visual text. This comprehensive and insightful edited collection brings together international media and cultural theorists, historians and art historians to demonstrate the value of visual evidence not only to media and cultural studies, but also to history, the general humanities and the social sciences.


13C n.m.r. experiments are described that use the dipolar decoupling, cross-polarization and magic angle rotation techniques with a home-built spectrometer system. The subsidiary experimental methods of (a) spin-echo Fourier transform, (b) magnetization flip-back, (c) non-quaternary suppression and (d) single-pulse excitation are mentioned, and the equipment is briefly described. Applications of the methods are presented that have involved organic compounds, polymeric materials and inorganic systems. Discussion centres on special features of solid state spectra such as (a) multiplicity of crystallographic sites, (b) chemical shift and bandwidth differences from solution state spectra, and (c) effects of coupling to heteronuclei. Emphasis is placed on the value of the experiments for structural chemistry, as in cases of tautomerism, polymorphism and hindered intramolecular motion.


The zero resistance of superconducting material is observed only with a DC current, while transmission loss occurs with an AC current. Power converters use electronic devices which generate harmonic currents due to their high switching frequency. The authors expect that harmonic currents also influence the losses in the superconducting DC power cables of a DC transmission system. The authors have developed a miniaturized superconducting DC transmission system with 12 thyristors based AC/DC converter and a 2 m length superconducting cable connected to the DC side between two converters. The capacity of the converter is 20 kW and the critical current of the HTS DC power cable is 140 A. In this paper, the HTS DC power cable loss characteristics were anal- ysed by the fabricated home-made thyristor converter system.


MTX, which is the anchor-drug for the treatment of RA, has been associated with lung injury and in particular with MTX-related pneumonitis (M-pneu). Although the frequency of M-pneu has been reported to range between 0.3 and 11.6%, more recent studies and meta-analyses have challenged that, suggesting that it is less common than previously thought. M-pneu is considered a hypersensitivity reaction usually occuring early after MTX commencement, and to be dose-independent. Furthermore, it does not seem to be truly related to the development of interstitial lung disease observed in some patients as part of the natural history of RA (RA-ILD). On the other hand, there are data suggesting that clinicians should be cautious when commencing MTX in patients with pre-existing lung disease. However, treatment should not be delayed or limited in progressive RA that could lead to RA-ILD, and MTX remains one of the central players in the treat-to-target approach. In this review, we aimed to summarize the current evidence from observational studies and clinical trials on lung disease in MTX-treated RA patients. We focus the discussion on the lack of association between M-pneu and RA-ILD.


In vitro T cell proliferative response to an alternative splicing variant of acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit (AChR alpha) with the P3A exon-encoded region was examined in peripheral blood samples from 28 myasthenia gravis (MG) patients and 14 healthy donors using recombinant fragments and synthetic peptides. T cells responsive to the P3A region-specific sequences were detected in five MG patients, all of whom were late-onset disease with thymoma, but in none of healthy donors. These autoreactive T cells may be involved in the pathogenic process in a subset of MG patients.


In contrast to G protein-coupled receptors, for which chemical and peptidic inhibitors have been extensively explored, few compounds are available that directly modulate heterotrimeric G proteins. Active Gαq binds its two major classes of effectors, the phospholipase C (PLC)-β isozymes and Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RhoGEFs) related to Trio, in a strikingly similar fashion: a continuous helix-turn-helix of the effectors engages Gαq within its canonical binding site consisting of a groove formed between switch II and helix α3. This information was exploited to synthesize peptides that bound active Gαq in vitro with affinities similar to full-length effectors and directly competed with effectors for engagement of Gαq. A representative peptide was specific for active Gαq because it did not bind inactive Gαq or other classes of active Gα subunits and did not inhibit the activation of PLC-β3 by Gβ1γ2. In contrast, the peptide robustly prevented activation of PLC-β3 or p63RhoGEF by Gαq; it also prevented G protein-coupled receptor-promoted neuronal depolarization downstream of Gαq in the mouse prefrontal cortex. Moreover, a genetically encoded form of this peptide flanked by fluorescent proteins inhibited Gαq-dependent activation of PLC-β3 at least as effectively as a dominant-negative form of full-length PLC-β3. These attributes suggest that related, cell-penetrating peptides should effectively inhibit active Gαq in cells and that these and genetically encoded sequences may find application as molecular probes, drug leads, and biosensors to monitor the spatiotemporal activation of Gαq in cells.


Although urinary bladder is an uncommon site for intrusion of foreign bodies, a wide variety of objects have been reported in the literature. Many of these foreign bodies migrated into the bladder from adjacent sites. This is a rare case in which surgical sponge, accidentally retained after abdominal hysterectomy, eroded into the bladder and came out spontaneously through the urethra without forming vesical calculi.


Purpose To assess the efficacy of intraoperative mitomycin C in improving the success rate of the posterior punctectomy procedure. Methods The charts of all patients who underwent posterior punctectomy between the years 1997 and 2000 were reviewed. The procedure was done without mitomycin C (n = 26 eyes, group A) until the end of 1998 and with mitomycin C (n = 25 eyes, group B) starting in 1999. The Kaplan-Meier curve was used for statistical evaluation. Results In group A, 5 of 26 (19.2%) eyes had complete anatomic obstruction and scarring of their puncta after surgery, compared with 0 of 25 (0.0%) eyes in group B. The difference was statistically significant (P <0.02). No significant complications were observed. Conclusions Mitomycin C appears to be a safe and effective adjunct therapy in correcting punctal stenosis.


Abstract Here we asked whether, similar to visual and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs), somatosensory ERPs reflect affect. Participants were stroked on hairy or glabrous skin at five stroking velocities (0.5, 1, 3, 10 and 20 cm/s). For stroking of hairy skin, pleasantness ratings related to velocity in an inverted u-shaped manner. ERPs showed a negativity at 400 ms following touch onset over somatosensory cortex contra-lateral to the stimulation site. This negativity, referred to as sN400, was larger for intermediate than for faster and slower velocities and positively predicted pleasantness ratings. For stroking of glabrous skin, pleasantness showed again an inverted u-shaped relation with velocity and, additionally, increased linearly with faster stroking. The sN400 revealed no quadratic effect and instead was larger for faster velocities. Its amplitude failed to significantly predict pleasantness. In sum, as was reported for other senses, a touch's affective value modulates the somatosensory ERP. Notably, however, this ERP and associated subjective pleasantness dissociate between hairy and glabrous skin underscoring functional differences between the skin with which we typically receive touch and the skin with which we typically reach out to touch.


Agricultural and applied economics is the study and generation of the information needed to make economic decisions about the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products, development of rural communities, natural resources, and polic Recommended Databases


This guide covers a variety of topics, from study tips to choosing a career, and much more!
Direct comments to email@example.com.


Augmentation mammaplasty is a common operation performed in the United States. Postoperative wound infections are rare, but can be devastating. Most often, bacteria from the normal skin flora cause these infections, but more atypical organisms can lead to similar situations. The authors present a case of a prosthetic breast implant infected with Mycobacterium fortuitum after augmentation mammaplasty. The patient, diagnosis, and treatment are discussed so that others may recognize and treat this entity successfully before encountering major complications. Although it is an infrequent occurrence, plastic surgeons, infectious disease specialists, and primary care doctors who may see postoperative wound infections should be aware of this potential pathogen. It is important in any postimplant infection and especially crucial in cases of unresolving or recurrent infections with unusual or even clear drainage. With proper identification through acid-fast smear and culture, multiagent therapy can be initiated early. Additional complications, including implant removal, may thus be avoided.


Abstract Landi, M.; Ricceri, C., and Angiolini, C., 2012. Evaluation of dune rehabilitation after 95 years by comparison of vegetation in disturbed and natural sites. Disturbed and natural sites are compared in a belt of rehabilitated coastal dune on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. The goal was to evaluate rehabilitation success by comparing structure and plant composition in three different vegetation types. Vegetational attributes were used to indicate the trajectory of the vegetation dynamic, by recording increases or decreases in these parameters. The variations in attributes and similarities in composition were investigated using multivariate methods. In general, significant changes between the disturbed and natural sites were indicated by a decrease in annual graminoids, trees, and wind-dispersal species and an increase in rare species. In the rehabilitated site, there was a high rate of recruitment of wind-dispersal species, and rehabilitation seems to have been successful from the point of view of the decrease in annual graminoids and increase in rare species. However, each vegetation type of dune environment was associated with a different number of attributes and different rehabilitation success. Specifically: (i) open sands with annual vegetation growing along drift lines were the most similar among the three sites, from the point of view of both structure and species composition, and are therefore the easiest to rehabilitate; (ii) dunes partially or densely vegetated by herbaceous species showed an increase in rare species in the natural site and were characterized by successful rehabilitation; (iii) dunes densely vegetated by shrubs differed significantly between sites and are consequently the most difficult to rehabilitate. Our comparisons suggest that initial planning efforts should focus on this last type of vegetation cover.