Underwater observatories with real-time data and virtually unlimited power transmission capabilities compared to traditional oceanographic moorings are beginning to provide scientists with continuous access to the coastal and open ocean. However, for any coastal observatory to serve as a cost-effective system for the collection of long-term scientific and environmental data, it must have a simple, upgradeable power and telemetry system and an instrument interface that is compatible with existing standards. It must be designed for extended environmental exposure and ease of service to avoid high maintenance costs. Most importantly, the observatory must be accessible to all potential users, including students, scientists, engineers, and policy makers. This strategy was applied to the design of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory on the south shore of the island of Martha's Vineyard. The new facility, and in particular its system architecture, as developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with support from the National Science Foundation, are described.


The issue of small coronary artery atherosclerosis represents an intriguing aspect of coronary artery disease, which is related with higher rates of peri- and post-procedural complications and impaired long-term outcome. This problem is further complicated by the unclear definition of small coronary vessel. Recent randomized controlled trials have provided new data on possible novel interventional treatment of small coronary vessels with drug-coated balloons instead of traditional new-generation drug-eluting stent implantation. Also, the conservative management represents a therapeutic option in light of the results of the recent ISCHEMIA trial. The current article provides an overview of the most appropriate definition, interventional management, and prognosis of small coronary artery atherosclerosis.


With the proliferation of positioning technologies and GPS-enabled mobile devices, it has become very important to search for optimal paths to cover required points of interest (POIs, e.g., banks and restaurants) over road networks in many location-based services. In practice, however, traffic conditions are inherently uncertain and dynamically changing over time, which makes it rather challenging to provide accurate results for path queries based on travelling time. Inspired by this, we consider the practical settings of road networks and model them by uncertain road networks (URNs) on which the travelling time of each road is uncertain and captured by a set of travelling time samples. Then, we formalize the probabilistic time-constrained path ( PTP) query over uncertain road networks to retrieve those paths that not only cover required POIs with constrained service time but also have the minimum travelling times in high confidence. We prove that PTP  query problem is NP-hard. In order to answer PTP queries efficiently, we propose an efficient PTP query approach with effective pruning strategies regarding the time constraints on POIs and the probabilistic/rank requirements of queries. Extensive experiments on real road networks validate the efficiency and effectiveness of our PTP query approach.


The paper focuses on literary translation regarded as a creative process and a powerful culture-shaping activity. It also looks at the complexities of inter-cultural translation: problems occurring in translating from one cultural system into another, and the possible strategies to be adopted; as well as some intricate issues of a more general and conceptual character, such as the limits of translatability, the divide, if any, between good and bad translation, the possible approaches to dealing with culture-specific items in translation, retaining the concept of 'otherness', of foreignness. The issue of foreignness also raises the question of the role of translation in the globalized world. Hence what are the effects of English, as the global lingua franca, and cultural imports from great powers, like the USA, UK and France on the cultures and languages of small countries? Apart from releasing 'the shaping power of one culture upon another', translation can also be detrimental to their national identity by encroaching on their cultures.


A computational solution is found for a optimal consumption and portfolio policy problem in which the underlying stock satisfies a geometric jump-diffusion in which both the diffusion and jump amplitude are log-normally distributed. The optimal objective is to maximize the expected, discounted utility of terminal wealth and the cumulative discounted utility of instantaneous consumption. The jump-diffusion allows for a more realistic distribution, skewed toward negative jumps and having leptokurtic behavior in which the tails are thicker so that the distribution is more slender around the peak than normal. Computational issues pertinent to jump-diffusion calculations are discussed.


Vitamin D is a lipophilic bioactive that plays an important role in bone health. Fortification of beverages, such as milk, fruit juices, teas, and vegetable drinks, could be an efficient strategy to prevent vitamin D deficiency and its associated effects on health. This review summarizes the current understanding of beverage fortification strategies with vitamin D and the resulting effects on the stability, bioaccessibility, and sensory properties of the formulated products. The direct addition technique has been the conventional approach to fortifying beverages. In addition, encapsulation has been pointed out as a desirable delivery approach to increase stability, preserve bioactivity, and enhance the absorption of vitamin D in beverage systems. The literature reports the potential applicability of several methods for encapsulating vitamin D in beverages, including spray drying, micro/nanoemulsions, nanostructured lipid carriers, liposomes, and complexation to polymers. Some of these delivery systems have been assessed regarding vitamin D stability, but there is a lack of kinetic data that allow for the prediction of its stability under industrial processing conditions. Moreover, in some cases, the applicability of some of these delivery systems to real beverages as well as the in vivo efficacy were not evaluated; thus, fortification strategies with a global outreach are lacking.


Natural selection serves as an important agent to drive and maintain interspecific divergence. Populus rotundifolia Griff. is an alpine aspen species that mainly occurs in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) and adjacent highlands, whereas its sister species, P. davidiana Dode, is distributed across southwest and central to northeast China in much lower altitude regions. In this study, we collected genome resequencing data of 53 P. rotundifolia and 42 P. davidiana individuals across their natural distribution regions. Our population genomic data suggest that the two species are well delimitated in the allopatric regions, but with hybrid zones in their adjacent region in the eastern QTP. Coalescent simulations suggest that P. rotundifolia diverged from P. davidiana in the middle Pleistocene with following continuous gene flow since divergence. In addition, we found numerous highly diverged genes with outlier signatures that are likely associated with high‐altitude adaptation of these alpine aspens. Our finding indicate that Quaternary climatic changes and natural selection have greatly contributed to the origin and distinction maintenance of P. rotundifolia in the QTP.


We present experimental evidence that the collision of two dark spatial solitons can be encoded in a computer generated hologram. Depending on the interacting dark solitons encoded in the hologram it is possible to create asymmetric Y-junctions. Waveguide properties of this junction are also presented.


The subject of evolutionary computing is a rapidly developing one where many new search methods are being proposed all the time. Inevitably, some of these new methods will not still be in current use in a few years as a small subset becomes the preferred choice of the optimization community. A key part in this process is the back-to-back testing of competing methods on test problems that simulate real problems. This brief paper presents results for such a test, focusing on the robustness of four methods when applied to a pair of high dimensional test functions. The work presented shows that some modern search methods can be highly sensitive to mistuning of their control parameters and, moreover, that different problems may well require radically different settings of such parameters if the searches are to be effective.


The objective of this study was to examine the effects of the type and intensity of nutritional stress, and of the statistical treatment of the data, on the genotype x environment (G x E) interaction for tropical maize (Zea mays). For this purpose, 39 hybrid combinations were evaluated under low- and high-nitrogen and -phosphorus availability. The plants were harvested at the V6 stage, and the shoot dry mass was estimated. The variance components and genetic values were assessed using the restricted maximum likelihood/best linear unbiased prediction method, and subsequently analyzed using the GGE biplot method. We observed differences in the performances of the hybrids depending on both the type and intensity of nutritional stress. The results of relationship between environments depended on whether genotypic values or phenotypic means were used. The selection of tropical maize genotypes against nutritional stress should be performed for each nutrient availability level within each type of nutritional stress. The use of phenotypic means for this purpose provides greater reliability than do genotypic values for the analysis of the G x E interaction using GGE biplot.


I will consider the Influence of Chinese mathematics on Seki Kowa. For this purpose, my thesis is constructed in four parts, introduction, I the studies of editions; Shu. Shu. Jiu Zhang and Yang Hui Sum. Fa, II the conception and extension of method for making magic squares, and III the analysis for solving indeterminate equations. In the introduction, I will explain some similarities between Chinese mathematics in the Song dynasty and Seki Kowa's works. It will become clear that the latter was influenced by Chinese mathematics. Then I introduce some former opinions concerning which Chinese mathematical book influenced him. I shall show that two Chinese mathematical books, Shi Shu. Jiu Zhang and Yang Hai Suan Fa, are particularly important. Some Chinese mathematical books were republished and studied by Japanese mathematicians, but these two books were not accessible to Japanese mathematicians. Thus we must study them for considering questions of influence. I will consider two subjects, the treatment of magic squares in Yang Hui Suan Fa in chapter H and the method of solving indeterminate equations in Shu Shu Jiu Zhang in chapter III. Before considering the contents of these subjects, we must know more about the available versions of these two books in chapter I, otherwise we cannot know whether Seki Kowa could have obtained them. It seems certain that Seki Kowa studied the Yang Hui Sum Fa, but I cannot know whether he studied the Shu Shu Jiu Zhang. However, Seki Kowa's method of solving indeterminate equations is very similar to that of Qin Jiushao, especially when their methods of changing negative constants into positive are similar. Thus I would like to propose that Seki Kowa studied the Chinese method of solving indeterminate equations.


The term "la chorιe fibrillare" was used by the French physician Augustine Marie Morvan to describe a syndrome showing hyperactivity features involving the central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous system. The central hyperactivity symptoms are confusion, behavioral problems, hallucinations, myoclonus, and insomnia; the autonomic hyperactivity symptoms are hyperhidrosis and variations in blood pressure; and peripheral hyperexcitability is characterized by painful cramps, myokymia, and neuromyotonia. Here, we present a case that has typical features of Morvan's syndrome and provides a brief description based on available literature.


Polymer gears replace metal ones in many motion and light power transmission applications. In order to improve the gears' performance, glass fibre is added, where their lower cost and higher strength, offers a potential increase in the gears' performance. This paper presents a numerical method to predict the mechanical and thermal behaviour of fibre reinforced plastic cylindrical gears and its experimental validation. The numerical method uses a viscoelastic model in its linear domain depending on temperature, humidity, rotational speed and fibre orientation. This numerical simulation computes the load sharing between instantaneously engaged gears and provides results such as contact pressure, tooth root stress or transmission error. The numerical results are then compared to experimental measures on a test bench developed at the LaMCoS laboratory. This comparison allows the validation of the load sharing model.


A model describing the formation of the carbon atmosphere around a dislocation during aging of vacuum degassed ultra low carbon bake hardening steels has been developed by extending the original Cottrell theory taking into account the effects of the variation of the free carbon concentration, the saturation of dislocations and the segregation of carbon atoms to grain boundaries. Strain aging experiments have been carried out with an ultra low carbon steel and the experimental results been compared with the theoretical predictions. it is demonstrated that the model developed can describe the formation of Cottrell atmosphere in ultra low carbon bake hardening steels in industrial circumstances.


A group of forested nations agreed upon a set of criteria and indicators to measure the sustainable development of forests. Of the 83 indicators, remote sensing could measure in whole or in part about 25 indicators. Moreover, such measurements could also support elements of Canada's national forest inventory and reporting requirements for the Kyoto protocol on reforestation, afforestation, and deforestation (RAD). The authors have commenced a new project, EOSD, to monitor the sustainable development of Canada's forests from space. Two federal partners, the Canadian Forest Service and the Canadian Space Agency, are creating the ten-year project in cooperation with the provinces and territories. The project will support, with space based technology, Canada's priorities and international commitments for monitoring the sustainable development of its forests and for meeting core forest information needs of the Kyoto Protocol. The status and major changes in the composition, distribution, structure and function of forests over time will be quantified. The remote sensing observations will also form part of a three-stage new national forest inventory. It is intended that products and data will be widely available via intelligent information systems. This paper will describe the products to be produced, and outline the project implementation.


The effect of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on the environmental conditions of macrophytes has been studied in 35 lakes divided into soft- and hardwater: oligohumic ( 16.0 mg C dm -3 ). The optimum environmental conditions for macrophytes have been found in oligohumic lakes, characterised by low water colour and its good transparency. In soft- and hardwater lakes increasing concentration of DOC is accompanied with an increase in the colour (r=0.95), while the visibility decreases. With increasing DOC in the near-sediment layer the pH values decrease while the concentration of nitrogen increases and the concentration of phosphorus slightly increases. In hardwater lakes with increasing DOC concentration, the redox potential, conductivity, total hardness and calcium concentration in the near-sediment water decrease, whereas the content of CO 2 remains at a very low level.


Citrus, representing several wild and cultivated species has its home in Northeast and Northwest India. The occurrence and origin of Indian species was documented by various explorers and horticulturists since 1954 and subsequently refined/modified during the last decade. Besides the commercially cultivated species, several important species like Citrus indica, C. macroptera, C. latipes, C. megaloxycarpa, C. medica, C. ichangensis and C. assamensis grow in India in wild and semi-wild state. These wild and semi-wild species of Citrus have immense socioeconomic, cultural, religious and medicinal value, besides being important sources for agronomic traits. These genetic resources are important for the citrus industry and crop improvement programmes. The natural diversity of citrus is reportedly shrinking at an alarming rate due to large-scale deforestation and farmers' preference for more remunerable crops. However, only few of the plants of semi-wild species are grown in backyard gardens of tribal farmers in the northeast and northwest India. To achieve comprehensive conservation and to protect these vast genetic resources for utilization, a complementary conservation strategy is to be adopted. The present study concentrated on the documentation of the status of wild, semi-wild and cultivated species of citrus occurring in India, their traditional uses, economic potential and threat perception to aid in designing suitable strategies for their survey, explorations, sustainable utilization, conservation and preservation. The paper also highlights the efforts being made to establish a unique cryopreserved base collection of Indian Citrus germplasm collected from diverse sources, including field genebanks, ensuring long-term conservation.


Chaotic time series are widespread in several real world areas such as finance, environment, meteorology, traffic flow, weather. A chaotic time series is considered as generated from the deterministic dynamics of a nonlinear system. The chaotic system is sensitive to initial conditions; points that are arbitrarily close initially become exponentially further apart with progressing time. Therefore, it is challenging to make accurate prediction in chaotic time series. The prediction using conventional statistical techniques, k-nearest-nearest neighbors algorithm, Multi-Layer-Perceptron (MPL) neural networks, Recurrent Neural Networks, Radial-Basis-Function (RBF) Networks and Support Vector Machines, do not give reliable prediction results for chaotic time series. In this paper, we investigate the use of a deep learning method, Deep Belief Network (DBN), combined with chaos theory to forecast chaotic time series. DBN should be used to forecast chaotic time series. First, the chaotic time series are analyzed by calculating the largest Lyapunov exponent, reconstructing the time series by phase-space reconstruction and determining the best embedding dimension and the best delay time. When the forecasting model is constructed, the deep belief network is used to feature learning and the neural network is used for prediction. We also compare the DBN –based method to RBF network-based method, which is the state-of-the-art method for forecasting chaotic time series. The predictive performance of the two models is examined using mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). Experimental results on several synthetic and real world chaotic datasets revealed that the DBN model is applicable to the prediction of chaotic time series since it achieves better performance than RBF network.


INTRODUCTION
The evolution of minimally invasive therapy for ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction has culminated with the Acucise endopyelotomy. Antegrade endopyelotomy, laparoscopic pyeloplasty, and ureteroscopic endopyelotomy all offer excellent minimally invasive alternatives to open pyeloplasty, yet still represent more invasive techniques than the Acucise endopyelotomy in treating the obstructed UPJ.

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Acucise endopyelotomy is a straightforward, efficacious, and safe procedure in the appropriate patient for treating UPJ obstruction. Under fluoroscopic guidance, the latest version of the Acucise allows the urologist to perform a retrograde pyelogram, position the Acucise catheter, make the incision, and place a ureteral stent, all over a single guide wire. In my experience, this latest technical modification has further simplified the procedure for the practicing urologist.

CONCLUSIONS
In 2000, the Acucise endopyelotomy continues to represent an excellent minimally invasive option for all urologists who choose to perform endopyelotomies.


The double traveling salesman problem with multiple stacks involves the transportation of goods between two regions. In one region, a vehicle carrying a container visits customers, where pallets of goods are loaded into the container. The container is then shipped to a different region, where another vehicle visits another set of customers where the pallets are unloaded. Pallets are loaded in several rows inside the container, where each row follows the last-in-first-out principle. The standard test instances for the double traveling salesman problem with multiple stacks implies the use of a 45-foot pallet wide container to carry EUR-1 pallets. This paper investigates the effect on transportation costs if an open side container could be used when transporting the pallets. Computational experiments show savings in transportation costs of up to 20%. Moreover, by using a container loaded from the side, rather than from the rear, the defining attributes of the double traveling salesman problem seem to be lost.


Lead (Pb) is a heavy metal with a proven neurotoxic effect. Exposure is particularly dangerous to the developing brain in the pre- and neonatal periods. One postulated mechanism of its neurotoxicity is induction of inflammation. This study analyzed the effect of exposure of rat pups to Pb during periods of brain development on the concentrations of selected cytokines and prostanoids in the forebrain cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum. Methods: Administration of 0.1% lead acetate (PbAc) in drinking water ad libitum, from the first day of gestation to postnatal day 21, resulted in blood Pb in rat pups reaching levels below the threshold considered safe for humans by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (10 µg/dL). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method was used to determine the levels of interleukins IL-1β, IL-6, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2). Western blot and quantitative real-time PCR were used to determine the expression levels of cyclooxygenases COX-1 and COX-2. Finally, Western blot was used to determine the level of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Results: In all studied brain structures (forebrain cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum), the administration of Pb caused a significant increase in all studied cytokines and prostanoids (IL-1β, IL-6, TGF-β, PGE2 and TXB2). The protein and mRNA expression of COX-1 and COX-2 increased in all studied brain structures, as did NF-κB expression. Conclusions: Chronic pre- and neonatal exposure to Pb induces neuroinflammation in the forebrain cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of rat pups.


The activity concentrations of 210 Po and 210 Pb within phytoplankton-zooplankton-anchovy-mackerel in the coastal water of the Jeju Island were determined to understand their distribution and bio-accumulation along the trophic level. In the surface water, the total activity concentrations of 210 Po and 210 Pb were 0.83 ± 0.004 mBq ㎏ −1 and 1.27 ± 0.03 mBq ㎏ −1 . And the dissolved activity concentration of 210 Po and 210 Pb were 0.75 ± 0.06 mBq ㎏ −1 and 1.22 ± 0.09 mBq ㎏ −1 respectively. In the phytoplankton, the concentration factor (CF) of 210 Po and 210 Pb were 1.5 × 10⁵ and 2.6 × 10⁴ shows 210 Po is 5 times higher compared to 210 Pb. The similar CF factor in the zooplankton of 210 Po was derived as 1.4 × 10⁵. The CF of 210 Po in anchovy was increased twice compared to that in plankton. This is the evidence that there is 210 Po bio-magnification in the trophic level of plankton-anchovy. However the 210 Po activity concentration in the muscle tissue of mackerel was one-hundred times lower than that in anchovy. This reflects that in the trophic level of anchovy-mackerel, the bio-accumulation of 210 Po is decreased. The activity concentrations of 210 Po in the internal organs of anchovy and mackerel were 8 to 38 times higher than those in muscle tissues. In phytoplankton-zooplankton-anchovy, the CF of 210 Pb was decreased five times along the trophic level in order. In anchovy-mackerel it was decreased by 30−70%.


Abstract : Available data on macroinvertebrates, fish, and algae indicate nitrocellulose is not very toxic for most aquatic species. In most evaluations the EC50 and LC50 values were >1,000 mg/L. Only for the effect on chlorophyll a content of Selenastrum capricornutum was a lower value estimated, an EC50 of 579 mg/L. Available data on human health effects and mammalian toxicity suggest nitrocellulose is virtually nontoxic. The LD50 values were in excess of 5,000 mg/kg. Chronic toxicity studies in mice demonstrated only physical effects (fiber impaction) in the digestive tract (presumably because of the small size of the mouse digestive tract). Genotoxicity and developmental toxicity studies did not demonstrate any other significant toxic effects. Carcinogenicity data generated by an epidemiology study of occupational exposure during production of nitrocellulose suggest some association between nitrocellulose and rectal/ digestive tract cancers; this should be researched further. Metabolism data in rats indicate no absorption from the GI tract. However, nitrocellulose does appear to produce significant abiotic environmental effects. Because of its fibrous nature, it blankets benthic habitats (limiting available oxygen) and fill in interstitial spaces used as cover for benthic organisms. This habitat alteration is compounded by the resistance of nitrocellulose to environmental degradation. Habitat alteration becomes a significant aspect of regulatory control. Keywords: Munitions products.


Existing methods for conducting analyses of small group data are either highly complicated or yield low power. Both of these limitations provide disincentives for the progress of research in this field. An alternative method modelled on the sign (binomial) test which involves comparing the differences of distributions based on multiple observations of each of the groups is presented. The calculations involved in the procedure are extremely simple. It is suggested that because the method enhances researchers' ability to make sound statistical inferences easily this should stimulate research on group-level processes and on social interaction more generally.


This essay is an attempt to present and critically discuss the phenomenon of music piracy on the World Wide Web. The main arguments in this paper will try to approach the phenomenon from two directions. The first one attempts to present the MP3 phenomenon as a part of the challenges that the music industry had to face. It is argued that in the past several technological developments have already challenged the music industry's status quo in similar ways. The second direction, is attempting to situate the MP3 phenomenon in its general technological, economical and political framework. In other words, the MP3 phenomenon should be examined as a part of the cultural transformation that the Internet 'explosion' produces on a global scale.


In the authors opinion in the process of self-regulation the human body creates some biological reservoirs in response to damage (disturbance of homeostasis) for constant internal environment In cases of decompensation and depletion of these pools metabolic correction is necessary. This opinion was based on the results of the endoscopic metabolic hemostasis in ulcer gastroduodenal bleeding in patients with high operational and anesthetic risk.


The purpose of this study is to improve Korean food market competitiveness in China, and to develop product diversity. Therefore, the paper will discuss and analyze the feasibility of combining Korean and Chinese cuisines. The paper is based on a SPSS-analyzed survey of 255 Jiangsu residents focusing on the concept of breakfast, and the recognition of and preference for Korean food. The result showed a high level of eating out for breakfast in Jiangsu province and the expectation of many options. The respondents generally preferred porridge, steamed stuffed dumplings, noodles and other options that are relatively convenient. Korean foods such as bulgogi, samgyeopsal, tteokbokki and bibimbap generally enjoyed a high degree of recognition and preference. This study selected bulgogi, jeyukbokkeum, dakgalbi and japchae as the stuffings for steamed dumplings and an evaluation of sensory attributes including saltiness, sweetness, spiciness, and gravy was conducted using 30 professionals. Relatively high scores were recorded in all aspects. Compared with the reference product, the dumplings with Korean food stuffing achieved higher scores. As a new development and attempt, the steamed dumplings with Korean food filling evaluated during this test demonstrated feasibility and enormous market potential. The study provides a new direction and reference value for the Chinese breakfast market and for the penetration of Korean food into the Chinese market.


The lipid composition of cell membranes exerts a crucial influence on cell physiology. Indeed, one double bond triggers membrane fluidity, essential for cell functionality, but additional double bonds increase the susceptibility to peroxidation, which produces reactive compounds that impair the viability of cells. It has therefore been suggested, but never tested in an extensive comparative context, that the composition of membrane fatty acids has been optimized during evolution. A similar prediction has been made for fatty acid chain length, on which susceptibility to peroxidation also depends. Here I tested for stabilizing selection on fatty acid composition by evaluating the fitting of the single stationary peak (SSP) model of evolution to a large data set from 107 species of birds, against alternative evolutionary models. I found that across‐species variation in average chain length and in the proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), but not in the proportion of polyunsaturated (PUFAs) nor saturated (SFAs) fatty acids, was better explained by SSP models than by other models. Results show optimum values of fatty acid chain length and proportion of MUFAs of 18 C atoms and 25.5% mol, respectively, the strength of stabilizing selection being particularly high in chain length. This is the first evidence of evolutionary optimization in fatty acid composition, suggesting that certain values may have been selected because of their adaptive capacity to minimize susceptibility to lipid peroxidation.


Mamlūk Egypt witnessed a great degree of pressure on non-Muslims, and saw the conversion of many to Islam. In 1301, riots led to the closure of numerous houses of worship of non-Muslims, an act supported by a fatwā written by Najm al-Dīn ibn al-Rifā. Ibn al-Rifā offered five arguments against maintaining dhimmī houses of worship: (1) non-Muslims seeking to preserve their houses of worship must always be considered plaintiffs, that is, that the burden of proof falls upon them; (2) The contradiction between arguments that there were no synagogues or churches prior to the building of the city and those arguing for preservation based on maintaining existing buildings must be resolved by placing the burden of proof on the dhimmīs; (3) There was no peace agreement in Cairo, a necessary precondition for allowing non-Muslims to retain their houses of worship; (4) Even were there a peace agreement, it would have lapsed; and (5) Dhimmīs must prove they have not contravened individual terms of the treaty, even unrelated to houses of worship. Ibn al-Rifā's fatwā generated much support, but eventually the churches and synagogues were returned to their communities. Nevertheless, it reflects the attitudes of the times and was part of the pressures which led to greater conversion to Islam.


Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is an important complication of diabetes which is under-reported with well known association with CAD. ED is also considered as one of the earliest markers of endothelial dysfunction. Material and Method: 458 sexually active males of age >18 Years, with diabetes were enrolled. The English and Hindi (regional language) translated version of The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) Questionnaire was used. Subjects were to respond to IIEF based on their subjective feeling related to ED, Orgasmic function, Sexual desire, Intercourse satisfaction and overall satisfaction in past 4 weeks. Study was conducted from August 2018 to April 2019 at 11 centers of a large metropolitan city, Lucknow in North India after ethics committee approval. Result: Mean age of the patients was 47.64 years (±9.59), weight 74.6 Kg (± 13.2) BMI 26.8 Kg/M2 (±3.97) and abdominal circumference 97.06cm (±10.79). The prevalence of ED and Orgasmic function defect (OFD) was found to be 32% and 43.8% respectively.27.8% had both and 48.4% either ED or OFD. ED was found to be significantly associated with age (p=0.0006), duration of diabetes (p=0.0101), age of onset of diabetes (p=0.0096), macrovascular complications (p=0.0032), serum creatinine (p=0.0141) and use of beta blocker (p=0.032). ED was not significantly associated with hypertension (p=0.091), hypoglycaemia (p=0.2066), HbA1c (p=0.305), statin (p=0.2044), mean platelet volume (p=0.5822) and microvascular complications of diabetes (p=0.0865). Conclusion: ED was present in nearly one third subjects with diabetes. Nearly half subjects have ED/OFD. Patients with longer duration of diabetes, higher age and with macrovascular complications should proactively be asked about their sexual function and an objective assessment should be done with IIEF questionnaire to unearth this complication. These subjects should be considered for other macrovascular complication screening. Disclosure M. Gupta: None. K. Chandra: None. A. Pande: None. R. Awasthi: None. A. Tewari: None. V. Agarwal: None. D. Kumar: None. N.R. Gupta: None. S.K. Chaubey: None. S. Chowdhary: None. M.S. Ansari: None.


Detection of tool wear is vital for the deep-hole drilling, because it can help increasing manufacturing productivity and decreasing tool cost. This paper uses the drilling noise to establish the BTA tool wear condition monitoring system in order to monitor the tool wear condition. After the improved Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) method is used to do the modal decomposition for noise signal which has been filtered, the Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF) of signal is obtained. Every IMF is analyzed and detected by the Hilbert-Huang transformation (HHT), and then the energy of marginal spectrum and the changing law of peak value along with the tool wear are extracted. For the relationship between the noise feature vector and tool wear has strong randomness and uncertainty in the process of drilling, so this paper proposes a drill wear state identification method which is based on the genetic support vector machine (GA-SVM). The experimental results show that after dealing the drilling noise signal with HHT, the energy spectrum and the peak spectrum of each frequency band can be extracted as the characteristic vector which can accurately depict the change of drilling system with tool wear. The statistical models of the condition of tool wear established by using GA-SVM can effectively track the trend of tool wear, so as to realize the monitoring of tool wear and tool's life.


Many datasets in scientific and engineering applications are comprised of objects which have specific geometric structure. A common example is data which inhabits a representation of the group SO$(3)$ of 3D rotations: scalars, vectors, tensors, \textit{etc}. One way for a neural network to exploit prior knowledge of this structure is to enforce SO$(3)$-equivariance throughout its layers, and several such architectures have been proposed. While general methods for handling arbitrary SO$(3)$ representations exist, they computationally intensive and complicated to implement. We show that by judicious symmetry breaking, we can efficiently increase the expressiveness of a network operating only on vector and order-2 tensor representations of SO$(2)$. We demonstrate the method on an important problem from High Energy Physics known as \textit{b-tagging}, where particle jets originating from b-meson decays must be discriminated from an overwhelming QCD background. In this task, we find that augmenting a standard architecture with our method results in a \ensuremath{2.3\times} improvement in rejection score.


Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is a versatile tool for discovering and annotating cell types and states, but the determination and annotation of cell subtypes is often subjective and arbitrary. Often, it is not even clear whether a given cluster is uniform. Here we present an entropy-based statistic, ROGUE, to accurately quantify the purity of identified cell clusters. We demonstrated that our ROGUE metric is generalizable across datasets, and enables accurate, sensitive and robust assessment of cluster purity on a wide range of simulated and real datasets. Applying this metric to fibroblast and B cell datasets, we identified additional subtypes and demonstrated the application of ROGUE-guided analyses to detect true signals in specific subpopulations. ROGUE can be applied to all tested scRNA-seq datasets, and has important implications for evaluating the quality of putative clusters, discovering pure cell subtypes and constructing comprehensive, detailed and standardized single cell atlas.


Abstract Presidential pardon has always existed in criminal law and continues to constitute a very important competence of the head of state in many modern day countries. In the past, the clemency given by the sovereign (usually the king/queen or the emperor/empress) represented an act which showed his/her mercy upon their subjects. It was often used as a tool to show the arbitrary will of the sovereign that constituted the law, rather than the law itself. Therefore, the classical school of criminal law that appeared in the 18th century and emphasized the importance of the principle of legality, opposed harshly every kind of arbitrary deciding that excluded the law at the interest of the sovereign. This school is among the only interpretations of criminal law that engages for a complete abandonment of institutes such as pardon or amnesty. The revolutionary French Penal Code of 1791, which was strongly influenced by the classical school, excluded clemency for the proved wrongs that were severely punished. However, due to imperfections of the criminal justice system, amnesty (given by the parliament) and pardon or clemency (given by the head of the state), continue to exist and to be used in modern day criminal law. They are no longer considered acts of arbitrary decisions of the sovereign, instead they should represent important instruments of criminal law, used rarely and wisely with specifically designed goals that aim to bring justice rather than deny it. However, there are many cases when these institutes have been inappropriately used in a very arrogant way which shows that the ancient regime is not yet over for some countries in which the highest institutions continue to act as old and middle age despots. This article will analyze the legal reasoning of the institution of presidential pardon. It will try to establish why the classical school was so strictly opposed to this institute making use of the studies and interpretations found in the writings of Cesare Beccaria. It will explain the philosophy of modern day institutions of amnesty and pardon and the way in which they are regulated in the legal theory and practice. The article will explain the recent developments in Macedonia in regard to the use of presidential pardon. The methods to be used consist of desk research, historical and comparative methods and analysis of legal texts, laws and judicial decisions.


Javan langur is protected spesies of primates that highly threatened. Habitat degradation as a major threat causes javan langur Trachypithecus auratus (E. Geoffroy 1812) populations living in isolated habitat fragments. The research was carried out to determine the daily movement of javan langur in TWAGP as form of adaptation in isolated habitat fragments. The study was conducted in May-June 2012 by using focal animal sampling method. Vegetation analysis was performed with a point centered quarter method. The results showed that there were three major land cover types used by the Javan langur, i.e. forest, transitional forest-cultivation and cultivation. The dominant activity occurred in transisional forest-cultivation habitat (48.19%). The highest proportion of activity wass resting (33.65%) followed by feeding (30.68%), moving (27.08%) and social activities (8.60%). Based on the variations of vegetation strata, the dominant activity performed at stratum C(4-20 meters) accounted for 80.07%.


The separation of solid from liquid using centrifuge. The principle of centrifuge process is liquid separation or liquid with different density using centrifuge force. Centrifuge will bring mixture to rotation zone and also influence by gravity. Both component will be separated by different centrifuge force. Solid will show tendensy to separate from center and held by rotation axis.
The advantages using centrifuge for making virgin coconut oil are time saving, no chemical additive, good odour like fresh coconut, free contamination and better yield than mechanical and fermatation method. Virgin coconut oil content high lauric acid (45 % - 55%). Lauric acid is saturated fatty acid with medium chain triglyceride (MCT). MCT can improve metabolism rate. It willalso change to energy.
Key Words : VCO Centrifugation


While most inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs) are hydroxamic acid derivatives, several non-hydroxamates have recently been developed as inhibitors and attracted quite a deal of attention. In this review, we present the rational design, inhibitory effect and antiproliferative activity of non-hydroxamate HDAC inhibitors.


For the last twenty years, we have maintained National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) creeping bentgrass studies at Iowa State University. These were coordinated by NTEP, based out of Beltsville, MD. Like many other entities in this economic environment, NTEP has come on hard times and has suspended these projects at most of the Midwestern universities last year. In response, turf researchers in this region have banded together and formed their own trials. These include both fairway height and green height studies. They were seeded in the fall of 2008. The coordinator of these tests is Qi Zhang of North Dakota State University. She obtained the seed from the seed companies and distributed it to the cooperating universities. She will also coordinate data collection. The varieties in the trials are listed in Table 1.


We present numerical simulations of the electron-positron plasma creation process in a simple neutron star magnetosphere. We have developed a set of cascade "kernels," which represent the endpoint of the pair cascades resulting from monoenergetic photon seeds. We explore two popular models by convolving these kernels with the seed photon distributions produced by curvature radiation and by inverse Compton scattering. We find that the pair plasma in either case is well described in its rest frame by a relativistic Maxwellian distribution with temperature near mc2/kB. We present cascade multiplicities and efficiencies for a range of seed particle energies and stellar magnetic fields. We find that the efficiencies and multiplicities of pair creation are often lower than has been assumed in previous work.


Introduction: Female sterilization remains the most popular contraceptive method among young Indian
women. Among the age group of 15-49, 36% use female sterilization as contraception method. Early
marriage, sterilization at young age, high infant and child mortality has led to increase in the need of
recanalization in 1-3% of women.
Objective: To analyze the factors affecting the success rate following recanalization
Materials and Methods: A retrospective study done at LGH attached to KMC Mangalore during 2012 to
2017
Results: During the study period 30 subjects underwent tubal recanalization. 14 subjects (47%) conceived.
Among the women conceived, laparoscopically sterilized had better chance of conception (78.5%) as
compared to pomeroy's (21.5%) technique. Residual length of the tube was more than 5cm among the
women who have conceived. 2 subjects had ectopic pregnancy. Out of 14 subjects who conceived, 12
subjects (84%) had their sterilization operation within 5 years. 11 subjects (78.57%) conceived within 1
year of recanalization.
Conclusion: It is not feasible for women of low social economic status to undergo IVF following
sterilization if need arises. There is definite role of tubal recanalizatio n following sterilization even in
present era of IVF in our country. Women with low parity should be motivated to undergo Laparoscopic
sterilization, as tubal damage is less and success rate following recanalization is much better. Nulliparous
and primi parawomen should be motivated to use temporary method of contraception.

Keywords: Recanalization, Sterilization, Microsurgery.


Nigel Richards is a New Zealand–Malaysian professional Scrabble player (yes, there are professional Scrabble players). His mother recalled that, "When he was learning to talk, he was not interested in words, just numbers. He related everything to numbers." When he was 28, she challenged him to play Scrabble: "I know a game you're not going to be very good at, because you can't spell very well and you weren't very good at English at school." Four years later, Richards won the Thailand International (King's Cup), the world's largest Scrabble tournament. He went on to win the U.S., U.K., Singapore, and Thailand championships multiple times. He won the Scrabble World Championship in 2007, 2011, and 2013. (The tournament is held every two years and he was runner-up in 2009). In May 2015, Richards decided to memorize the 386,000 words that are allowed in French Scrabble. (There are 187,000 allowable words in North American Scrabble.) He doesn't speak French beyond bonjour and the numbers he uses to record his score each turn. Beyond that, Richards paid no attention to what the French words mean. He simply memorized them. Nine weeks later, he won the French-language Scrabble World Championship with a resounding score of 565–434 in the championship match. If he had studied 16 hours a day for 9 weeks, he would have an average of 9 seconds per word to memorize all 386,000 words in the French Scrabble book. However, Richards reportedly doesn't memorize words one by one; instead, he goes page by page, with the letters absorbed into his memory, ready to be recalled as needed when he plays Scrabble. Richards played as quickly and incisively in the French tournament as he does in English-language tournaments, giving no clue that he cannot actually communicate in French. For experts like Richards, Scrabble is essentially a mathematical game of combining tiles to accumulate points while limiting the opponent's opportunities to do the same and holding on to letters that may be useful in the future. The important skills are an ability to recognize patterns and calculate probabilities. There is no need to know what any of the words mean.


A simple, efficient, economic and environmentally-friendly recovery process for large amounts of potassium chloride from blast furnace flue dust (BF flue dust) with an abundant potassium content is developed. This process is mainly composed of water-leaching, purification, decolorization, vacuum evaporation and cooling crystallization. In this study, the basic properties of blast furnace flue dust were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP), and laser granulometry (LG). The purity of the KCl products was analyzed by ICP combined with the sodium tetraphenylborate (Na-TPB) chemical method and XRD. The particle sizes of the KCl products were characterized by LG and SEM. The results showed that the BF flue dust had a good recovery value with a potassium chloride content of 39.58%. After treating the dust by water-leaching and processing the as-prepared eluent via purification, decolorization and vacuum evaporation, the KCl crystal products were obtained with a yield of 72.77%, 79.52% and 71.09% with 0 °C, 5 °C and 10 °C as the cooling crystallization temperature and 2.27, 2.52 and 2.36 as the mass distribution coefficient, respectively. The KCl crystal products exhibited a narrow particle size distribution with a purity of greater than 96.00%.


Arthrography of the hip was performed in outpatients on 25 children aged 5 to 14 years, using a supra-trochanteric latero-external puncture approach. Data obtained supplied anatomical details indispensable for the decision to operate or not, particularly in certain congenital dislocations or in Legg-Perthes-Calvé disease. The examination findings were useful not only for analyzing articular cartilages, limbus and chondro-articular surfaces in abduction and adduction but also for evaluating anteversion of bony and cartilaginous acetabula using an axial projection. The scanner provides comparable data with respect to the latter feature, but access is still more difficult.


Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a wide-spread and debilitating disorder that is becoming increasingly relevant in an aging global population. Identifying and treating RA early in disease course is critical for preventing disability and joint damage. Objectives: The goal of this systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analysis was to compare the relative efficacy of abatacept (ABA) to other currently recommended therapies for patients with early RA. Methods: We followed Cochrane guidelines for conducting intervention reviews. Population of interest was adult patients with active RA for ≤2 years treated with recommended therapies per the 2015 ACR guidelines as well as targeted synthetic therapies. Studies of interest were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. Outcomes included ACR50, DAS28, radiographic change, and adverse events where available. A search from January 1998 to June 2018 was performed on MEDLINE®, Embase, and the Cochrane CENTRAL databases. Additionally, a hand-search was performed on US and European clinical trials registries from January 2005 to June 2018 and conference proceedings from ACR and EULAR from 2014 to 2018. A Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed on the DOC Data™ platform for the RCTs with reported results on ACR50, DAS28 remission, total withdrawal, and withdrawal due to adverse events. Results: We identified 90 publications on 69 unique trials reporting efficacy and safety outcomes in patients with early RA, including 43 RCTs and 26 observational studies. The included studies were low risk as assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias. The studies were predominantly double-blind phase III or IV trials. Twenty-eight trials were included in the NMA evaluating ABA (n=1 trial), ABA+MTX (n=2), ADA+MTX (n=6), CTZ+MTX (n=2), ETN (n=1), ETN+MTX (n=1), HCQ+SSZ+MTX (n=1), HCQ+SSZ+Pred+MTX (n=1), IFX+MTX (n=4), MTX (n=21), MPred+MTX (n=2), MPred+Pred+MTX (n=1), Pred+SSZ+MTX (n=2), Pred+MTX (n=4), Pred (n=1), SSZ (n=4), SSZ+MTX (n=2), TCZ (n=2), TCZ+MTX (n=2), TOF (n=2), and TOF+MTX (n=2). Abatacept as monotherapy was similar to the combination of ABA and methotrexate for efficacy outcomes, ACR 50 (ABA vs ABA+MTX RR 0.82 [95% CI 0.51-1.35]), and DAS28 Remission (RR 0.76 [95% CI 0.39-1.49]), as well as for all-cause withdrawal (RR 1.8 [95% CI 0.91-3.2]) and withdrawal due to adverse events (RR 2.35 [95% CI 0.69-7.38]). Both ABA as monotherapy and ABA+MTX were similar to all other comparators (as monotherapy or combination therapy) with respect to main efficacy and safety outcomes. Data reported in observational studies was in concert with the RCT analysis. Conclusion: The results of this NMA demonstrate similar efficacy between ABA and other biologics both as monotherapy and in combination with traditional DMARDS in early RA. Further investigation and comparison of different treatment options for early RA is warranted as the growing evidence base evolves in favor of using more novel therapies for RA. ABA=abatacept; ADA=adalimumab; CTZ=certolizumab; ETN= etanercept; HCQ=hydroxychloroquine, IFX= infliximab, MPred= methylprednisolone, MTX=methotrexate; Pred=prednisone, SSZ=sulfasalazine, TCZ= tocilizumab, TOF=tofacitinib
Disclosure of Interests: Damemarie Paul Shareholder of: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Employee of: Damemarie Paul is an employee of Bristol-Myers Squibb., Leticia Ferri Shareholder of: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Employee of: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Grace Crocket Consultant for: Grace Crocket is a consultant for Bristol-Myers Squibb., Lauren Mintzer Grant/research support from: Lauren Mintzer is an employee of Doctor Evidence LLC, and the study was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb., Mir Sohail Fazeli Grant/research support from: Mir Sohail Fazeli is an employee of Doctor Evidence LLC, and the study was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb.


Formation damage caused by kill fluids invasion and filter cake deposition in the perforation tunnel has rarely been addressed in the scientific literature. In this paper, a systematic experimental program using CaCO 3 -HEC slurry to kill perforated wells is presented. The perforation target is simulated using a cylindrical core with a drilled perforation, and borescope has been used to observe the distribution of filter cake in the perforation tunnel. Important parameters affecting perforation plugging and cleanup have been identified. The effectiveness of perforation cleanup methods, such as backflush and backsurge have been studied and the mechanism of filter cake removal investigated. Experimental results show that among the various damage parameters investigated, only core permeability and fluid viscosity have big effects on Perforation Flow Efficiency (PFE), which is the comparative flow capacity of a damaged perforation to that of a clean perforation. Perforation Flow Efficiency decreases with increasing permeability. The mechanism of filter cake removal strongly depends on the perforation cleanup techniques. When backflush is used to clean the plugged perforations, a threshold differential pressure has to be reached before flow can be initiated and a minimum volume of fluid must be flowed to achieve optimum PFE. Depending on the damage and cleanup conditions, plugged perforations may be partially or completely cleaned by backflush. Sequential backflush is advantageous over single constant rate backflush for high permeability core, where matrix damage is severe. Increasing backflush rate increases PFE. When backsurge is used, all the filter cake deposited can be removed instantaneously, and the PFE obtain is very high. Backsurge pressure is more important than backsurge volume. The results obtained in this study will be very helpful in the design of kill pills and the design of perforation cleanup methods in the field.


A high linearity, undersampling 14-bit 357 kSps cyclic analog-to-digital convert (ADC) is designed for a radio frequency identification transceiver system. The passive capacitor error-average (PCEA) technique is adopted for high accuracy. An improved PCEA sampling network, capable of eliminating the crosstalk path of two pipelined stages, is employed. Opamp sharing and the removal of the front-end sample and hold amplifier are utilized for low power dissipation and small chip area. An additional digital calibration block is added to compensate for the error due to defective layout design. The presented ADC is fabricated in a 180 nm CMOS process, occupying 0.65 × 1.6 mm2. The input of the undersampling ADC achieves 15.5 MHz with more than 90 dB spurious free dynamic range (SFDR), and the peak SFDR is as high as 106.4 dB with 2.431 MHz input.


Abstract:This essay seeks to disrupt temporal distance to consider what an Anzaldúan perspective of Shakespeare contributes to the powerful conversations that premodern critical race studies have engendered. By drawing on what I term the temporal borderlands of Shakespeare—a borderlands rich with varied critical approaches and cultural products from which to consider the boundaries of periodization that demarcate, define, and inform strategies of race making—I offer an intervention that unsettles the critical frameworks that have, for far too long, reinforced the white rage and linguistic violence that sustain Shakespeare's white capital.


This article proposes a novel cuff-based microactuator for automatic blood extraction using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) technology. It aims to provide an actuator solution for an electronic mosquito-like device, e-Mosquito, which enhances blood glucose measurement to off the potential to significantly improve both the quality of life for diabetic patients and their disease management. Fabrication and assembly methods of the microactuator prototype are discussed. The 6-mm thick microactuator prototype underwent mechanical tests in a laboratory environment to characterize its penetration force and depth, which are the major factors facilitating skin penetration and blood extraction. Testing results demonstrated that this actuator can produce a maximum penetration force of 160gf and a maximum displacement depth of 2.45mm, which both exceed the minimum force and depth requirements for blood capillary-reaching skin penetration in humans. Five actuator prototypes were assembled and integrated to a cuff wrist strap. A pilot human study was performed to test the blood extraction capabilities of the device. All five actuators successfully penetrated the skin and drew whole blood samples appearing on the skin surface of the subject.


Background The compounding laboratory of Ravenna hospital pharmacy produces paediatric preparations prepared individually in response to the lack of preparations for children on the market. In 90% of cases the preparations are for patients at home who often do not have the necessary information about the drug. Purpose The aim was to write summaries about compounded preparations that provide detailed information, similar to the patient information leaflet accompanying manufactured medicinal products, to be made available to parents of young patients. With this work The authors tried to improve patient compliance and to provide information for the correct use of the drug, its storage, interactions and possible warnings. Materials and methods Informative summaries were compiled with the help of the technical specifications of drugs and raw materials, BNF for Children, biomedical literature from Medline and Medicamenta. They contain information related to the composition, therapeutic class, as it presents, shelf life, storage, therapeutic indications, how to take it, warnings and possible adverse reactions. The documents are in simple language in order to facilitate the understanding by all patients' parents, who are sometimes foreigners. Results 52 informative summaries were made about the active ingredients, in different pharmaceutical forms, required in 757 paediatric prescriptions submitted to the laboratory from July 2009 to May 2011. Then telephone interviews were conducted with some of the patients' parents in order to evaluate the usefulness of this work. The authors found that the information most appreciated is that regarding the storage of the drug, how to take it, and, in particular, interactions with non-prescription medicines. Conclusions Compounding represents a concrete response to the lack of paediatric medicines on the market and hospital pharmacists play an important role in ensuring the patient has full and reliable information.


Background: Diaphragmatic dysfunction (DD) has a great negative impact on clinical outcomes, and it is a well-recognized complication in adult patients with critical illness. However, DD is largely unexplored in the critically ill pediatric population. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors associated with DD, and to investigate the effects of DD on clinical outcomes among critically ill children.Methods: Diaphragmatic function was assessed by diaphragm ultrasound. According to the result of diaphragmatic ultrasound, all enrolled subjects were categorized into the DD group ( n=24 ) and the non-DD group ( n=46 ). Collection of sample characteristics in both groups include age, sex, height, weight, primary diagnosis, complications, laboratory findings, medications, ventilatory time and clinical outcomes.Results: The incidence of DD in this PICU was 34.3%. The level of CRP at discharge (P=0.003) in the DD group was higher than the non-DD group, and duration of elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) (P<0.001), sedative days (P=0.008) and ventilatory treatment time (P<0.001) in the DD group was significantly longer than the non-DD group. Ventilatory treatment time and duration of elevated CRP were independently risk factors associated with DD. Patients in the DD group had longer PICU length of stay, higher rate of weaning or extubation failure and higher mortality. Conclusion: DD is associated with poorer clinical outcomes in critically ill childern, which include a longer PICU length of stay, higher rate of weaning or extubation failure and a higher mortality. The ventilatory treatment time and duration of elevated CRP are main risk factors of DD in critically ill children.


The objective of this work is to study the influence of the manufacturing technology on the varistor characteristics and its equivalent circuit. For this aim, a comparative study between two types of ZnO varistors, prepared by conventional and chemical methods respectively, was accomplished. The specimens of the two types of varistors were characterized by their I(V) characteristics, before and after the application of electrical impulses. It was shown that the preparation method can have a great influence on its characteristics and equivalent circuit.


This paper introduces newly developed hardware components and configuration aspects for a complex video-processing system based on PCI architectures. Originally designed for an immersive videoconference system, the modular, scalable and cost efficient multi-processor structure can also be applied to other demanding signal processing applications. Announcing the videoconference system, we derive and explain the structure of a PCI subsystem based on four TriMedia processors and an open interface architecture. First application results of the introduced components are presented regarding PCI compatibility, processing power as well as the system architecture for an immersive videoconference system.


Elites have traditionally played a significant role in the development of society and the state, which was recognised by researchers regardless of their shared political views and preferences regarding political systems . In this regard, the author paid particular attention to the recruitment of elites, their renewal, the mechanisms of their formation . In the context of the Russian political system, where all significant changes are traditionally implemented "from the top", this issue is particularly relevant . Against the background of the ineffectiveness of democratic mechanisms designed to form vertical channels of elite renewal, the responsibility for maintaining its viability and efficiency falls on the Russian elite itself . This study examines the channels of recruitment of the highest administrative elite . Based on the results of their research, the author concluded there exists the predominance of the bureaucratic channel of recruitment, namely the experience of working in a senior position in public authorities as the primary way of forming the Russian administrative elite . The author has drawn attention to the prevalence of managerial experience in a commercial or state-owned company . It is particularly pronounced in government agencies that closely interact with business in the framework of their activities . Besides, there is an extremely low prevalence among the representatives of the highest administrative elite of winners of management competitions and graduates of management reserve training programs, which indicates a slight impact at present of new recruitment mechanisms on the formation of the highest layer of managers in Russia .


English as Foreign Language (EFL) textbooks contain texts with topics integrated from content areas, such as science. In Thai basic education, learning in content areas is typically done in Thai. Therefore, EFL reading texts provide learners with primary exposure to building content knowledge in English. This raises an issue about how the language of these EFL texts is organised, and if they can help the learners' transition to university where they are required to read content area texts in English. The paper provides an in-depth demonstration of how linguistic analysis can inform the choice of model texts for teaching EFL reading. It deploys a qualitative linguistic analysis method drawing on Systemic Functional Linguistics. The data are the scientific descriptive report texts in EFL textbooks used in a Southern Thailand secondary school. They are compiled in a small corpus, and one text is selected purposively to demonstrate how linguistic analysis can be used to assess the text. The text is analysed using a 'top-down' approach, from genre stratum down to the lexicogrammar, with the purpose of examining the text's ideational, interpersonal, and textual resources to build up scientific knowledge. The findings show that the text does not conform to scientific descriptive reports' discursive and linguistic features due to its extra stages, incomplete scientific taxonomies, relatively low technicality, low social distance and authority, and incoherent thematic flow. Hence, the quality of the text as a model becomes problematic. Learners learning from these teaching materials may experience challenges when they read authentic science texts at the university level. The paper offers a viable alternative methodological resource for educators to use a systematic, critical and linguistically-grounded evaluation in EFL reading classes.


Changes in the metabolism of patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease were studied in the light of biochemical parameters during and after vascular reconstructive surgery (aorto-bifemoral bypass). Biochemical parameters were determined in arterial and regional venous blood in 10 successive intervals covering the period before ischemia, during acute ischemia and in the course of reperfusion of the lower extremity. After successful revascularization of the extremity, marked increases were recorded particularly in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and of lactate in the early and late period of reperfusion. Monitoring of the given biochemical parameters may yield an adequate criterion for determining the degree of ischemia-reperfusion injury in vascular reconstructive surgery and may also be of value in assessing the effectivity of the applied mode of protecting the patient against functional and metabolic injury.


The deformation behaviour of the highly textured Mg-base wrought alloy AZ31 subjected to tensile and compressive elasto-plastic loading was characterized by means of synchrotron radiation. In former publications it was shown that there exists an asymmetry in the deformation behaviour of the investigated alloy, which can be related to the deformation mechanism of the hexagonal structure due to the crystallographic texture relative to the loading direction. A local X-ray stress analysis was carried out on highly textured metal sheets for different {hkil}- planes of the hexagonal crystal structure. The load transfer was investigated within in-situ loading experiments in order to account for suitable XEC´s, thus ensuring accurate stress evaluations. An X-ray imaging method was applied in order to provide bending stress distributions with a high local resolution using synchrotron radiation (beamline G3, Hasylab (DESY)). Stress analyses were carried out on the side face of a bending bar being subjected to elasto-plastic bending up to total strains in the outer layers of approximately 2%. It is distinguished between loading stress distributions measured in in-situ loading experiments as well as residual stress distributions monitored after unloading of elasto-plastically bended bars. Furthermore the loading direction was alternated, in order to investigate the effect of the twin formation as well as the reversibility of the twinning on the results of X-ray stress analysis.


The breakthrough character of the Oslo agreement is attributed to the mutual recognition between the State of Israel and the PLO and the opening of direct negotiations between them. The parties were induced to go to Oslo and negotiate an agreement there by macro-level forces evolving over some time: Long-term changes, going back to the 1967 War, and short-term strategic and domestic-political considerations, resulting from the Gulf War and the end of the Cold War, created new interests that persuaded them of the necessity of negotiating a compromise; and unofficial interactions between the two sides over the course of two decades persuaded them of the possibility of doing so. Once the parties decided to negotiate, the micro-process provided by Oslo, with its peculiar mixture of track-one and track-two elements, contributed to the success of the negotiations. Key elements included secrecy, the setting, the status of the initial participants, the nature of the third party, and the nature of the mediation process. Finally, what made the accord viable were some of its main substantive features, including the exchange of letters of mutual recognition, the distinction between the interim and the final stage, and the territorial base and early empowerment of the Palestinian Authority.


We conducted an analysis on screening data generated from 1445 compounds against a panel of 130 enzymes, ion channels and receptors to assess secondary pharmacological risks. Hit rates of these targets as well as physicochemical properties for those hits were evaluated. A majority of targets yielded hits with higher clogP, molecular weight, and more basic character than inactive compounds. Although most targets favored lipophilic hits, the average clogP of hits at a given target did not correlate with its hit rate. Furthermore, a matched pair analysis was completed to determine structural changes that impacted off-target activities. A correlation of binding assays used in this analysis illustrated that some pharmacologically related binding assays are highly correlative and may be substituted for a smaller set of surrogate assays.


Current distributed systems carry legacy subsystems lacking sufficient instrumentation for monitoring the end-to-end business transactions supported by these systems. In the absence of instrumentation, only probabilistic monitoring is possible by using time-stamped log-records. Retro fitting these systems with expensive monitoring instrumentation provides high-granularity, precise tracking of transactions. Given a limited budget, local instrumentation strategies which maximize the effectiveness of monitoring transactions throughout the system are proposed. The operation of the end-to-end system is modeled by a queuing network;each queue represents a subsystem which produces time-stamped log-records as transactions pass through it. Two simple heuristics for instrumentation are proposed which become optimal under certain conditions. One heuristic selects states in the transition diagram for local instrumentation in the decreasing order of the load factors of their queues. Sufficient onditions for this load-factor heuristic to be optimal are proven using the notion of stochastic order. The other heuristic selects states in the transition diagram based on the approximated tracking accuracy of probabilistic monitoring at each state, which is shown to be tight at low arrival rates.


Resumen This ar ticle discusses the concepts of basic human and health needs in order to set up the epistemological grounds for a concept of nursing care which allows the guidance for the professional action during the treatment, in the post modern context. The basic formulation addresses the access to human and healh needs through social representations, along with their conceptual derivations for nursing care and their work technologies. Evidence is provided that health needs can be productively addressed through the exploration of their objective and subjetive dimensions in the health-disease process, as represented by their subjects and underlying demands. Further discussion is offered on the need to alter the technological work model and the need to set up new theoretical frameworks for the nursing care process, from the requirements negotiated between the individual and collective subjects and professionals in health.


Skeletal accumulations in the Upper Carboniferous Bird Spring Formation of southern Nevada have yielded new information regarding ecological succession in the fossil record and the development of shell concentrations. Through hydraulic baffling processes, a community dominated by cndobyssate bivalves and strophomcnid brachiopods was locally supplanted by a community composed primarily of bryozoans, compositid brachiopods, and various epizoans. The general trophic and diversity changes resemble those expected during 'short-term ecological succession' but are due for the most part to the sedimentological and hydraulic regime. In view of this evidence, previous paleontologic examples of 'autogenic' succession arc re-interpreted as having been primarily controlled by the physical environment. Upper Carboniferous, Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, paleoecology, ecological succession, epifauna.


A DNA-binding matrix was immobilized on the surface of a 96-well microplate and used for plasmid DNA preparation for DNA sequencing. The same DNA-binding plate was used for bacterial growth, cell lysis, DNA purification, and storage. In a single step using one buffer, bacterial cells were lysed by enzymes, and released DNA was captured on the plate simultaneously. After two wash steps, DNA was eluted and stored in the same plate. Inclusion of phosphates in the culture medium was found to enhance the yield of plasmid significantly. Purified DNA samples were used successfully in DNA sequencing with high consistency and reproducibility. Eleven vectors and nine libraries were tested using this method. In 10 microl sequencing reactions using 3 microl sample and 0.25 microl BigDye Terminator v3.1, the results from a 3730xl sequencer gave a success rate of 90-95% and read-lengths of 700 bases or more. The method is fully automatable and convenient for manual operation as well. It enables reproducible, high-throughput, rapid production of DNA with purity and yields sufficient for high-quality DNA sequencing at a substantially reduced cost.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol), the active form of vitamin D3, plays a major role in regulating calcium homeostasis and bone mineralization. Calcitriol also modulates cellular proliferation and differentiation in a variety of cell types. Furthermore, calcitriol has an anti-tumor effect in several tumor models. 1,25-(OH)2D-hydroxylase (24-hydroxylase), encoded by the CYP24A1 gene, plays a key role in attenuation of calcitriol effects by degrading calcitriol to a much less active vitamin D metabolite. CYP24A1 is dysregulated in wide range of tumors. The over-expression of CYP24A1 is associated with poor prognosis of some human cancers. Interestingly, CYP24A1 is down-regulated in human prostate cancer. Little is known about the mechanism(s) underlying the regulation of CYP24A1 expression in human prostate cancer. We have analyzed 3 prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, DU-145 and PC3) which express variable levels of CYP24A1. We have found that CYP24A1 gene expression is inversely correlated with promoter DNA methylation in human prostate cell lines. Treatment with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor, 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (DAC), activates CYP24A1 gene expression in prostate cancer cells. In vitro methylation of the CYP24A1 promoter by methylases SssI, HpaII and HhaI represses its promoter activity. Furthermore, inhibition of histone deacetylases by trichostatin A (TSA) enhances the expression of CYP24A1 in prostate cancer cells. ChIP-qPCR reveals that histone modifications are associated with the CYP24A1 promoter region. Treatment with TSA increases acetylated H3K9 and dimethylated H3K4 and simultaneously decreases dimethylated H3K9 at the CYP24A1 promoter. ChIP-qPCR assay also shows that treatment of prostate cancer cells with DAC and TSA increases the recruitment of VDR to the CYP24A1 promoter. We have also collected paired samples of benign and malignant tissue from 30 human prostatectomy samples. RT-PCR analysis of paired human prostate samples reveals that CYP24A1 expression is down-regulated in prostate malignant lesions compared to matched benign lesions (p<0.001). Bisulfite DNA pyrosequencing reveals that CYP24A1 gene is hypermethylated in malignant lesions compared to matched benign lesions. Taken together, these data indicate that the repression of CYP24A1 gene expression in human prostate cancer cells is mediated in part by promoter DNA methylation and repressive histone modifications. Epigenetic repression of CYP24A1 may involve blocked recruitment of VDR to CYP24A1 regulatory regions, and nucleation of repressive chromatin structures at the CYP24A1 promoter.

This study was supported by NIH/NCI grants CA067267, CA095045 and CA085142.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4944.


We explore how "Red Queen" competition is increasing the competitive premium on "evolvable" information systems (IS). Ephemeral market advantage coupled with relentless innovation spawning trends such as the Internet-of-Things and additive manufacturing are amplifying the importance of evolvable systems across all industries. We discuss uncharted theoretical and empirical territory for IS research on evolvable systems. The elusiveness of some of these phenomena to other disciplines offers a unique opportunity for IS scholars.


Hydrogen (H2), a new type of medical gas molecule, which has significant preventive effect on numerous diseases and its anti-inflammatory properties has been proven in previous studies. However, the mechanisms of H2 anti-inflammatory activity in signal transduction pathway or protein level regulation are inadequately inexplicit. In the current study, the effect of H2 on LPS-induced inflammation in RAW 264.7 cells were assessed and its molecular mechanisms were clarified. The in vitro model of inflammation was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW264.7 cells. Cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. Protein expression of inflammatory mediators were analyzed by ELISA and Western blot. mRNA levels were detected by RT-qPCR. In addition, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was conducted to explore the molecular targets of H2 anti-inflammatory. According to the findings, H2 reversed LPS-induced variety in NO levels and TNF-a production as well as IL-6, IL-10 proteins and related mRNA levels in macrophages. RNA-seq newly discovered that H2 acted on inflammatory signaling molecule protein kinase C 8 (PKC8) and heterodimer activator protein-1 (AP-1). The WB analysis was then used to determine the key proteins in the inflammatory signaling pathway involved in PKC8 and AP-1, which found that H2 inhibited the phosphorylation of key proteins in the NF-kB and MAPKs pathways, thereby the expression of mRNA and inflammatory mediators were affected. The findings of this study show that H2 may serve as a promising anti-inflammatory gas in mitigating inflammatory conditions.


Munronia pinnata (Wall) The ob (Meliaceae) is a rare, therapeutically important medicinal plant used in traditional and folklore medicine in Sri Lanka. Available species/morphotypes/ecotypes of M. pinnata in different locations exhibit diverse range of variations suggesting the possible revision of current taxonomic status. Present study compares seventy different vegetative and reproductive morphological characters in order to suggest the possible taxonomic delimitation of 13 populations of M. pinnata available in Sri Lanka. A cluster analysis and a Principle Component analysis (PCA) were performed using average taxonomic distance. A single access (sequential), key to sub specific taxa was constructed using stable morphological characters. In the cluster, APRG - 5 populations (Population collected from Ritigala forest) has got separated from all the other populations at a distance of about 100%. Populations collected from the same geographical areas (Gampaha district GPPW - 3, GPWP - 3; Moneragala district MGMG - 9 MGWW - 7; Nuwara Eliya district NEKP - 3, NEMR - 3) have grouped closely either in the dendrogramme or in PCA or both. Based on the results, it could be concluded that population APRG - 5 is distantly related to all others and deserved placing as a sub specific taxon of M. pinnata. Further, populations collected from the same geographical area seem to be closely related with one another. Sequential key prepared using morphological characters could be used for the identification of M. pinnata populations even in the absence of flowers.


Two cases of tuberculosis of the forefoot are presented to highlight a growing threat in our Western communities. Each represents an initial manifestation of occult infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. Delays in diagnosis and treatment existed because of equivocal and nonspecific clinical, radiographic, and laboratory findings. It is imperative that tubercular infection be considered when evaluating often nonspecific lesions of the foot, particularly in the immunocompromised population.


In Pakistan citrus groves in general are facing a serious problem of decline that is attributed to different causes. The major cause, however, is the prevalence of citrus virus and virus-like diseases; Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is of utmost concern. Although CTV has been identified and characterized on the basis of serological and physical proper - ties, no information is available on the strains of CTV in Pakistan. The identification of CTV strains will be helpful in developing strategies to control the decline of citrus trees to a great extent. Many citrus growing countries have success- fully used the technique of cross protection to minimize the drastic effect of severe CTV strains. By pre-immunization of the citrus tree with mild strains, the decline can be controlled to increase the life span of the citrus tree. In this study we focus on the possibility of establishing a cross protection technique in Pakistan against the CTV strains.


The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of parenting, personality, and school adjustment on early adolescent substance use. The sample consisted of 1,023 6th and 7th graders (mean age = 12.7 years) about equally divided between males and females. Using structural equation modeling, similarity in developmental process across gender and ethnic groups was confirmed. Hierarchical nested modeling revealed few direct effects of personality or parenting on experimentation or illicit use; rather, both latent traits were mediated by school adjustment. The final mediated model demonstrated excellent fit, accounting for 59% of the total variance in licit substance use and 21% of the variance in illicit use. Findings indicate (a) similarity in etiology of early adolescent substance use across gender and ethnicity; (b) the importance of examining multiple domains of influence on adolescent substance use; and (c) the need to examine mediated versus direct effects models in predicting early adolescent substance use.


Gli proteins regulate the transcription of Hedgehog (Hh) target genes. Genetic studies in mouse have shown that Gli1 is not essential for embryogenesis, whereas Gli2 acts as an activator of Hh target genes. In contrast, misexpression studies in Xenopus and cultured cells have suggested that Gli1 can act as an activator of Hh-regulated genes, whereas Gli2 might function as a repressor of a subset of Hh targets. To clarify the roles of gli genes during vertebrate development, we have analyzed the requirements for gli1 and gli2 during zebrafish embryogenesis. We report that detour (dtr) mutations encode loss-of-function alleles of gli1. In contrast to mouse Gli1 mutants, dtr mutants and embryos injected with gli1 antisense morpholino oligonucleotides display defects in the activation of Hh target genes in the ventral neuroectoderm. Mutations in you-too (yot) encode C-terminally truncated Gli2. We find that these truncated proteins act as dominant repressors of Hh signaling, in part by blocking Gli1 function. In contrast, blocking Gli2 function by eliminating full-length Gli2 results in minor Hh signaling defects and uncovers a repressor function of Gli2 in the telencephalon. In addition, we find that Gli1 and Gli2 have activator functions during somite and neural development. These results reveal divergent requirements for Gli1 and Gli2 in mouse and zebrafish and indicate that zebrafish Gli1 is an activator of Hh-regulated genes, while zebrafish Gli2 has minor roles as a repressor or activator of Hh targets.


We propose a novel patch antenna with a small size and high gain. The conventional chip antennas are made of very high dielectric materials. They have a small size but a low radiation gain. Instead of using a dielectric material, the proposed antenna has a small size while retaining a high gain. The proposed antenna has a size of 15/spl times/10/spl times/6 mm, a bandwidth of 7.4%(@2.44 GHz. |Si/sub 11/|/spl les/-10 dB and 2.73 dBi gain.


Distributed wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have attracted researchers recently due to their advantages such as low power consumption, scalability and robustness to link failures. In sensor networks with no fusion center, consensus is a process where all the sensors in the network achieve global agreement using only local transmissions. In this dissertation, several consensus and consensus-based algorithms in WSNs are studied. Firstly, a distributed consensus algorithm for estimating the maximum and minimum value of the initial measurements in a sensor network in the presence of communication noise is proposed. In the proposed algorithm, a soft-max approximation together with a non-linear average consensus algorithm is used. A design parameter controls the trade-off between the soft-max error and convergence speed. An analysis of this trade-off gives guidelines towards how to choose the design parameter for the max estimate. It is also shown that if some prior knowledge of the initial measurements is available, the consensus process can be accelerated. Secondly, a distributed system size estimation algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on distributed average consensus and L2 norm estimation. Different sources of error are explicitly discussed, and the distribution of the final estimate is derived. The CRBs for system size estimator with average and max consensus strategies are also considered, and different consensus based system size estimation approaches are compared. Then, a consensus-based network center and radius estimation algorithm is described. The center localization problem is formulated as a convex optimization problem with a summation form by using soft-max approximation with exponential functions. Distributed optimization methods such as stochastic gradient descent and diffusion adaptation are used to estimate the center. Then, max consensus is used to i compute the radius of the network area. Finally, two average consensus based distributed estimation algorithms are introduced: distributed degree distribution estimation algorithm and algorithm for tracking the dynamics of the desired parameter. Simulation results for all proposed algorithms are provided.


After centuries of studying the eight planets in our
solar system, recent improvements in technology have given us the
unprecedented opportunity to detect planets orbiting stars other
than the sun, so-called exoplanets. Recent statistical studies
based on 800 confirmed planets and more than 3000 planet candidates
suggest that our galaxy is teeming with billions of planets. Many
of them are likely to orbit their host stars at a distance where
liquid water and potentially life can exist. Spectroscopic
observations of exoplanets can provide us with information about
the atmospheres and conditions on these distant worlds. This thesis
presents a Bayesian retrieval framework to analyze spectroscopic
observations of exoplanets to infer the planet's atmospheric
compositions, the surface pressures, and the presences of clouds or
hazes. I identify what can unambiguously be determined about the
atmospheres of exoplanets by applying the retrieval method to sets
of synthetic observations. The main finding is that a unique
constraint of the atmospheric mixing ratios of all infrared
absorbing gases and up to two spectrally inactive gases is possible
if the spectral coverage of the observations is sufficient to (1)
determine the broadband transit depths in at least one absorption
feature for each absorbing gas and (2) measure the slope and
strength of the molecular Rayleigh scattering signature. For the
newly discovered class of low-density super-Earths, with radii and
masses intermediate between Earth and Neptune, I present an
observational approach to distinguish whether these planets more
closely resemble the giant planets in our solar system or whether
they represent a completely new, potentially water vapor-rich type
of planet. The approach discussed in this work represents the
science case for the largest Hubble Space Telescope program ever
awarded for a single exoplanet. The numerical methods and the
conceptual understanding of atmospheric spectra presented in this
thesis are key for the design of future space telescopes dedicated
to the characterization of transiting exoplanets. I present an
integrated design evaluation framework for the proposed Exoplanet
Characterization Observatory (EChO) that simultaneously models the
astrophysical signal and the telescope's payload module. I
demonstrate that costly cryogenic cooling to observe the
mid-infrared spectrum beyond ~ 11 [mu]m is not required while
visible light observations down to - 400 nm are essential for the
mission success. The observational study of exoplanet atmospheres
is in its infancy and its pace is poised to accelerate as
observational techniques are improved and dedicated space missions
are designed. The methods developed in this thesis will contribute
to constraining the atmospheric properties of a wide variety of
planets ranging from blazingly-hot gas giants to temperate
Earth-like planets.


In Upheavals of Thought, Martha Nussbaum offers a theory of the emotions. She argues that emotions are best conceived as thoughts, and she argues that emotion-thoughts can make valuable contributions to the moral life. She develops extensive accounts of compassion and erotic love as thoughts that are of great moral import. This paper seeks to elucidate what it means, for Nussbaum, to say that emotions are forms of thought. It raises critical questions about her conception of the structure of emotion, and about her conception of compassion, in particular. Finally, the paper seeks to show how analyzing the structure, as well as the moral value, of the emotions ultimately requires entering the realm of religious ethics.


This paper investigates the performance and fairness of receiver-based loss differentiation for TCP. Experimentshave been performed with a FreeBSD kernel implementation. As expected, the results verify theeffectiveness of receiver-based loss differentiation when corruption losses are present. However, if the the corruptinglink is shared with users that do not employ loss differentiation, the performance gain typically comesat the expense of increased unfairness. The results show that a single loss differentiating user may in somecases reduce the bandwidth of users without loss differentiation with up to 35 percent, but there are also cases where loss differentiation has limited fairness implications. The results further show that if a user employs multiple TCP connections over the corrupting link the negative effects of corruption losses are reduced. This is true even if all connections employ regular TCP. Hence, multiple connections at the application level can to some extent be used as a simple mechanism to limit the impact of corruption losses.


The box dimension (or 'capacity') of a class of self-affine sets in the plane is calculated. The formula for box dimension given here has a similar form to Bowen's formula for the Hausdorff dimension of self-similar sets, involving the topological pressure of certain functions. The sets studied appear in two contexts; as graphs of generalised Weierstrass functions and as repellers in some foliation preserving maps of the cylinder. The author uses the techniques of the 'singularity spectrum' in order to carry out the calculations.


Before the medical expertise the patients are asked by the health insurance body to collect medical information from their family physician. Analysis of the information actually supplied showed that the quality of the information could be rated "good" in 45% of the cases only. In 38% it was mediocre to poor and in 17% there was no information at all. When the patients to be expertised were called for interview for the first time, "good" information was available in only 38.9%. The percentage of expertises written on the basis of "good" information increased very slowly from the first to the sixth interview (usually after one year), when it reached a maximum of 66.7%. In more than 75% of the cases the question of further inability to work that had been addressed to the family physician remained unanswered. Likewise, no reply was forthcoming in more than 60% of the cases in respect of the need for rehabilitation. In 25.5% the expertising physician arrived at the verdict of ability to work within one week, and in another 17.8% within two weeks. The highest percentage of "ability decisions" (64.3%) was arrived at among insurees who were 18 to 30 years of age and who had lost their job a short while ago. The lowest rate of "ability decisions" (8%) was seen among persons of 50 to 60 years of age who had not been discharged.


Article history: Received December 20, 2011 Received in Revised form March, 25, 2012 Accepted 20 April 2012 Available online April 25 2012 Culture plays an important role on human lives and it has been in four ancient civilizations of China, Iran, Egypt and Greece. The civilization achievements are normally categorized in two different groups of material and immaterial. Practical experience of the material, social objective is called as a civilization and the mental aspect of spiritual experiences, spiritual and personal is called culture. The purpose of this research is to find a framework for cross-cultural management. First, we define the cultural planning and we review the existing cultural examples in Iranian society and try to provide an overall analysis. The paper also investigates the role of government on creating adaptive culture within the society and explains that government must act as leadership in creating value added culture. © 2012 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.


To assess the incidence of latex allergy in construction workers, we studied all the 230 construction workers who attended our clinic between 1996 and 2000. In the 54 (23.5%) patients who reported any kind of intolerance to rubber gloves or boots, we performed both patch testing with the TRUE TestTM standard series and a rubber series and prick testing for latex. Latex‐specific IgE levels were measured when prick testing was positive. 16 patients (7.0%) had a positive prick test to latex, of whom 14 had allergic contact urticaria from latex (ACUL). All of these 14 patients (6.1%) showed 1 or more positive reactions to the True Test series, which included 1 or more rubber chemicals in 9 of them. The level of specific Ig E to latex was greater than 0.35 kU/L in 15 of the 16 patients. In conclusion, our data suggest that the incidence of latex allergic contact urticaria among construction workers may be as high as that among health care workers. Most of these construction workers with Type I latex hypersensitivity had a concurrent Type IV hypersensitivity to chromate or rubber chemicals, presenting as occupational allergic contact dermatitis, which could have facilitated sensitization to latex.