Deposition of amorphous aggregates and fibrils of transthyretin (TTR) in leptomeninges and subarachnoid vessels is a characteristic of leptomeningeal amyloidosis (LA), a currently untreatable cerebral angiopathy. Herein, we report the X-ray structure of the A25T homotetramer of TTR, a natural mutant described in a patient with LA. The structure of A25T-TTR is indistinguishable from that of wild-type TTR (wt-TTR), indicating that the difference in amyloidogenicity between A25T-TTR and wt-TTR cannot be ascribed to gross structural differences. Using pressure-induced dissociation of the tetramer, we show that A25T-TTR is 3 kcal/mol less stable than L55P-TTR, the most aggressive mutant of TTR described to date. After incubation for 15 days at 37 °C (pH 7.3), A25T-TTR forms mature amyloid fibrils. To mimic the environment in which TTR aggregates, we investigated aggregation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Unlike L55P-TTR, A25T-TTR rapidly forms amyloid aggregates in CSF that incorporated several protein partners. Utilizing a proteomics methodology, we identified 19 proteins that copurified with A25T-TTR amyloid fibrils. We confirmed the presence of proteins previously identified to be associated with TTR aggregates in biopsies of TTR amyloidosis patients, such as clusterin, apolipoprotein E, and complement proteins. Moreover, we identified novel proteins, such as blood coagulation proteins. Overall, our results revealed the in vitro characterization of TTR aggregation in a biologically relevant environment, opening new avenues of investigation into the molecular mechanisms of LA.


A technique for chaining the transistors in the layouts of static CMOS leaf cells is presented and analyzed. This new method is superior to existing techniques, since it can operate on a more general class of circuits and is very efficient. It is shown that the layout width of a CMOS leaf cell can be significantly reduced (nearly 40% in the average case) by transistor chaining. Moreover, more than half of the switching functions of four variables have optimal CMOS circuit implementations with non-series/parallel topologies. Therefore, the use of non-series/parallel circuits can have a positive global impact on layout area and performance. The transistor chaining technique presented in this paper produces the optimal solution for 82% of the circuits tested, and has linear time complexity.


Nine excavation seasons at Ossimo Anvòia in the Val Camonica (Central Alps, Italy) have brought to light a Copper Age ceremonial area with symbolic monoliths (statue menhirs) in their original position. Hundreds of artifacts and ecofacts indicate ideological activity during the 3rd millennium BC. A large pit (F18) was discovered that was unusual for its great size and the abundance of well-preserved charcoal. The pit housed a fallen monolith (M9) showing complicated reshaping. A detailed spatial study based on 6 radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) measurements combined with charcoal analysis has untangled key information to define the history of feature F18-M9. 14C data show that the burning event occurred most probably in the 4th century AD, not in prehistory. We infer a unique episode of "reconsecration" during the very latest phases of pagan cult activity in the Val Camonica. Further studies are needed to resolve the relationships with other features of the site. In addition, charcoal analysis has produced paleobotanical information for a scarcely known period in the environmental history of the area. A sparse forest with Picea abies, Larix decidua, and Fagus sylvatica existed, associated with areas likely devoted to grazing. There is a remarkable absence of chestnut.


Representational similarity analysis (RSA) is a popular multivariate analysis technique in cognitive neuroscience that uses functional neuroimaging to investigate the informational content encoded in brain activity. As RSA is increasingly being used to investigate more clinically-geared questions, the focus of such translational studies turns toward the importance of individual differences and their optimization within the experimental design. In this perspective, we focus on two design aspects: applying individual vs. averaged behavioral dissimilarity matrices to multiple participants' neuroimaging data and ensuring the congruency between tasks when measuring behavioral and neural representational spaces. Incorporating these methods permits the detection of individual differences in representational spaces and yields a better-defined transfer of information from representational spaces onto multivoxel patterns. Such design adaptations are prerequisites for optimal translation of RSA to the field of precision psychiatry.


Abstract. This study was carried out to screen the GDF9 gene and evaluate the polymorphism effect on litter size of four Iranian sheep breeds using the PCR-RFLP and PCR-SSCP methods. First, sequencing of the GDF9 gene in 16 twin-birth, 4 triplet-birth, and 2 infertile ewes showed that, in addition to G2, G3, G4, G5, and G6 mutations that have been previously reported in other breeds, a new G0 mutation, called C25T, exists in the GDF9 sequence of 1 out of 22 ewes and causes L9F substitution in the signal peptide region. None of the triplet-birth or infertile ewes carried G1, G4, G7, FecGE, G8, or FecGT mutations. In the second experiment, a large dataset was used: 605 individuals including 496 ewes (145 Afshari, 54 Shal, 126 Ghezel, and 171 Lori-Bakhtyari sheep), and 109 rams (26 Afshari, 23 Shal, 10 Ghezel, and 50 Lori-Bakhtyari sheep. There were no sheep carrying the G7, G8, or Thoka mutations. Among all 109 rams that were used in this study, none of them were homozygous for the G1 mutation. Moreover, abundance of heterozygote rams (G1/G+) varied from 0.0 (Afshari) to 28.6 % (Lori-Bakhtyari and Ghezel). The highest and the lowest frequencies of the G4 mutation were 30.6 and 3.0 % in Shal and Afshari breeds, respectively. Moreover, G4 abundance varied from 0.0 to 42.3 %, from 3.0 to 26.9, and from 3.0 to 30.6 % in rams, ewes, and overall, respectively. There was a significant difference in the abundance of G1 and G4 mutations between breeds. However, neither the G1 nor the G4 mutation was associated with litter size in Afshari, Ghezel, Lori-Bakhtyari, or Shal sheep breeds. In conclusion, the results of this study showed that GDF9 G1 and G4 mutations are not the reason for higher litter size in Iranian sheep. Moreover, the GDF9 G0 and G6 mutations do not cause triplet births or infertility in Iranian ewes. Therefore, it is unlikely that variant GDF9 mRNA induces larger litter size or infertility in Iranian ewes.


The rhetorical choices of powerful women, specifically first ladies, are often overlooked. In this article, I examine former first lady Rosalynn Carter's writings, which advocate for mental health care reform. These include one of her books and several newspaper articles. I look at how she was influenced by the societal expectations of a first lady, and how she appealed to those expectations while developing her persona on the rhetorical platform. I examine how her personal life affected her rhetorical choices, and how that led to building a stronger logical, ethical, and more intimate argument.


Abstract. Currently , the Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) sector lacks tools for digitization, being forced to resort to proprietary software and closed file formats with complex and highly expensive licensing models. Thus, new opportunities arise for the creation of tools, resources and knowledge that promote the renewal and impetus of the entire sector. Most of the sector's R&D activities are not only directed to the development of digital tools, but also to develop and provide the methodological bases of standardization, organization, and management of information necessary for the implementation of the BIM and Digital Twin methodology in Portugal, applied to the construction and asset management of buildings and infrastructures. In the present work, the described solution is a cross-platform web application that has all base requirements of a standard BIM platform, plus georeferencing of IFC documents using orthophoto maps and free access to base cartography available globally. All components of the solution were developed using open source technologies and universal free access. The contributions of this work will also serve to improve the set of tools and solutions available to the community. The developed platform will be available openly to all companies that want to engage in the BIM community and ought to actively participate in and foster the development, improvement, and promotion of this platform within the AEC sector.


We examine coworkers' procedural justice inferences about the accommodation of another employee when they believe it is for disability-related reasons. Legal constraints that prevent the release of information about the accommodation process may lead to negative inferences about fairness. However, we argue that other factors can help to make inferences about procedural justice more positive. We present a model of the process through which coworkers engage in making inferences about the procedural justice of accommodating a coworker with a disability and the individual and organizational level factors likely to influence those inferences. Consequently, we present propositions to be studied in future empirical research and suggestions to managers who desire to reduce negative coworker reactions to accommodating individuals with disabilities.


Signature verification for handheld devices (e.g. smartphones, PDAs, etc.) as an authentication method is studied. Signature can be used to authenticate users in mobile networks for secure transactions. The challenges of signature verification on mobile devices are addressed and analyzed and the architecture for a verification platform is outlined. We propose a verification system adapted to handheld devices and study its performance. Results are given for the scenarios of casual and skilled impostors using a subcorpus of the BIOSECURE multimodal biometric database.


The authors use the methods of quaternionic Kahler geometry to show that the half-conformally-flat metrics of LeBrun (1990), which are based on monopoles on hyperbolic 3-space, are conformal to Einstein metrics if and only if the monopole is spherically symmetric.


Abstract Reasonable mathematical derivation and mechanism model in the process of producing aluminum fluoride by fluosilicic acid is the key to the industrial treatment of fluorine resources in the tail gas of phosphate ore. In this work, aluminum fluoride was generated directly by fluosilicic acid to extract fluorine from the tail gas of phosphate rock. The uncreated-core model dominated by interfacial reaction and the uncreated-core model dominated by internal diffusion-reaction were then respectively utilized to describe the reaction kinetics of the generation of aluminum fluoride. The result showed that the uncreated-core model was dominated by interface reaction and internal diffusion, the apparent reaction order n = 1, and the activation energy Ea = 30.8632 kJ · mol–1. Product characterization and kinetic analysis were employed to deduce the reaction mechanism of preparing aluminum fluoride. The theoretical basis for the low-cost recycling of fluorine resources in the tail gas of industrial phosphate ore was provided in this work.


Current research on bullshit has shifted its focus from the recipient of bullshit to the producer of bullshit; this trend being reflected in the new Bullshitting frequency scale (Littrell et al., 2020) measuring persuasive and evasive bullshitting. The aim of our study was to validate the scale on the Slovak population and to examine the relationship between persuasive and evasive bullshitting behavior, overconfidence and myside bias in the context of the topic of migration. Six hundred and sixty-six Slovak adults (52.7% men, Mage = 41.84) participated in an online study. The two-factor structure of BFS was confirmed. The results showed that people high in persuasive bullshitting ("persuasive bullshitters"), after controlling for evasive bullshitting, felt they had more knowledge about migration, but they also showed more myside bias. Similarly, people high in evasive bullshitting ("evasive bullshitters"), after controlling for persuasive bullshitting, felt they had less knowledge about migration and tended to underestimate their knowledge. Contrary to our expectations, correlation between overconfidence and persuasive bullshitting disappeared when evasive bullshitting was controlled for, and it seems that negative the correlation was caused by evasive bullshitters being underconfident. Our results further expand the knowledge about cognitive characteristics of bullshitters and support the distinction between the two kinds of bullshitting behavior, which has implications for political debates as well.


Objective: To describe the epidemiology of bacterial meningitis in Niger from January 2002 to June 2010 Methods: A retrospective study of data from the laboratory surveillance of meningitis; cerebrospinal fluid samples from suspected clinical cases were collected and tested using polymerase chain reaction and/or bacteriology for the surveillance of bacterial meningitis in Niger. Data on patients was collected using a questionnaire. Results: The number of CSF samples received was 19,273. Over 80% of the patients were under the age of 15. The overall mean age was 9 years with a range of 0 to 93 years. The mean age was lower for H. influenzae (2.4 years, SD=4.8) than for N. meningitidis (9.4 years, SD=7.9), S. pneumoniae (11.5 years, SD=13.5) and for the other bacteria (7.9 years, SD=10.1). Males were significantly more affected than females (57.4% versus 42.6%, p < 0.0001). N. meningitidis, S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae were the three main etiological agents found in 42.4% of the total tested cases. The majority of confirmed cases of the three bacteria were caused by N. meningitidis (81.6%). Serogroup A caused 75% of meningococcal meningitis cases during the study period. The highest annual incidence of N. meningitidis cases occurred in March and April and was observed in 2008-2009 (15.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). The annual incidence rates were most often high in the southeast, near Nigeria. S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae incidence was higher in Niamey, with 275 and 145 cases, respectively, in this town during the study period. Conclusion: This study revealed the characteristics of the bacteria involved in meningitis, and particularly the serogroups of N. meningitidis circulating in Niger, as well as the age groups and areas affected, since 2002. The implementation of the PCR technique considerably improved microbiological surveillance and made it possible to extend its use to the whole country.


The busyness of daily life makes it difficult to find time for informal learning. Yet, learning requires significant time and effort, with repeated exposures to educational content on a recurring basis. Despite the struggle to find time, there are numerous moments in a day that are typically wasted due to waiting, such as while waiting for the elevator to arrive, wifi to connect, or an instant message to arrive. We introduce the concept of wait-learning: automatically detecting wait time and inviting people to learn while waiting. Our approach is to design seamless interactions that augment existing wait time with productive opportunities. Combining wait time with productive work opens up a new class of software systems that overcome the problem of limited time. In this article, we establish a design space for wait-learning and explore this design space by creating WaitSuite, a suite of five different wait-learning apps that each uses a different kind of waiting. For one of these apps, we conducted a feasibility study to evaluate learning and to understand how exercises should be timed during waiting periods. Subsequently, we evaluated multiple kinds of wait-learning in a two-week field study of WaitSuite with 25 people. We present design implications for wait-learning, and a theoretical framework that describes how wait time, ease of accessing the learning task, and competing demands impact the effectiveness of wait-learning in different waiting scenarios. These findings provide insight into how wait-learning can be designed to minimize interruption to ongoing tasks and maximize engagement with learning.


Summary Reptiles are ectothermic amniotes, providing the key link between ectothermic anamniotic fishes and amphibians, and endothermic amniotic birds and mammals. A greater understanding of reptilian immunity will provide important insights into the evolutionary history of vertebrate immunity as well as the growing field of eco-immunology. Like mammals, reptile immunity is complex and involves innate, cell-mediated and humoral compartments but, overall, there is considerably less known about immune function in reptiles. We review the current literature on each branch of the reptilian immune system, placing this information in context to other vertebrates. Further, we identify key areas that are prime for research as well as areas that are lagging because of lack of reagents in non-model systems.


The images captured by vision-based tactile sensors carry information about high-resolution tactile fields, such as the distribution of the contact forces applied to their soft sensing surface. However, extracting the information encoded in the images is challenging and often addressed with learning-based approaches, which generally require a large amount of training data. This article proposes a strategy to generate tactile images in simulation for a vision-based tactile sensor based on an internal camera that tracks the motion of spherical particles within a soft material. The deformation of the material is simulated in a finite element environment under a diverse set of contact conditions, and spherical particles are projected to a simulated image. Features extracted from the images are mapped to the three-dimensional contact force distribution, with the ground truth also obtained using finite-element simulations, with an artificial neural network that is therefore entirely trained on synthetic data avoiding the need for real-world data collection. The resulting model exhibits high accuracy when evaluated on real-world tactile images, is transferable across multiple tactile sensors without further training, and is suitable for efficient real-time inference.


This article examines how Danish cement factories and building contractors, in particular F. L. Smidth & Co. A/S and its business partner Højgaard & Schultz A/S, used forced and slave labor in Estonia, the Polish General Government, and Serbia as they worked for the German authorities during the Second World War. The article presents new evidence on the use of forced and slave labor inside the European "New Order" and emphasizes the willingness of the companies to expand and engage in morally questionable behavior. The findings illuminate the close connection between political and economic collaboration and contribute to the discussion about the relationship between business and politics during dictatorship, war, and occupation.


An 82-year-old man developed periarticular roentgenographic calcifications of the knee joint. Fragments of meniscus and peritendinous tissue were collected during total knee arthroplasty. Crystals were released from tissues by collagenase digestion. Calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystals were identified in the meniscus, and basic calcium phosphate crystals were identified in the peritendinous tissue. Methods of crystal identification included compensated polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with X-ray energy dispersive analysis, and X-ray diffraction.


Image denoising is the process of removing or reducing noise from an image. There have been many proposed methods and algorithms and each technique has its benefits and limitations. Mean filter is one of the simplest and easiest to implement smoothing filters. However, the main drawback of this method is its incapacity to preserve region boundaries and its information while smoothing an image. In this paper, the growing region segmentation based method is used to detect whether the pixels are part of the edges or the textures. In this way, we determine which neighbors should be included in the calculation for each pixel. The proposed method achieves the smoothing away of textures whilst retaining the edges. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms two well-known and widely-available image denoising algorithms in terms of PSNR (Peak signal-to-noise ratio) values.


We study a fundamental NP-hard motion coordination problem for multi-robot/multi-agent systems: We are given a graph $G$ and set of agents, where each agent has a given directed path in $G$. Each agent is initially located on the first vertex of its path. At each time step an agent can move to the next vertex on its path, provided that the vertex is not occupied by another agent. The goal is to find a sequence of such moves along the given paths so that each reaches its target, or to report that no such sequence exists. The problem models guidepath-based transport systems, which is a pertinent abstraction for traffic in a variety of contemporary applications, ranging from train networks or Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in factories, through computer game animations, to qubit transport in quantum computing. It also arises as a sub-problem in the more general multi-robot motion-planning problem. We provide a fine-grained tractability analysis of the problem by considering new assumptions and identifying minimal values of key parameters for which the problem remains NP-hard. Our analysis identifies a critical parameter called vertex multiplicity (VM), defined as the maximum number of paths passing through the same vertex. We show that a prevalent variant of the problem, which is equivalent to Sequential Resource Allocation (concerning deadlock prevention for concurrent processes), is NP-hard even when VM is 3. On the positive side, for VM $\le$ 2 we give an efficient algorithm that iteratively resolves cycles of blocking relations among agents. We also present a variant that is NP-hard when the VM is 2 even when $G$ is a 2D grid and each path lies in a single grid row or column. By studying highly distilled yet NP-hard variants, we deepen the understanding of what makes the problem intractable and thereby guide the search for efficient solutions under practical assumptions.


This paper describes our work we have done within range of construction visual models of robots, automatic manipulators, manufacturing lines etc., that are developed for the sake of their logic control. The aim of the work is enriching education of logic control and giving the possibility to programmers of PLC to test their programs without need of having the real machine in a period when the real machine cannot be disposed of.


Cancer targeted therapies have attracted considerable attention over the past year. Recently, 5-fluouracil (5-FU), which has high toxicity to normal cells and short half-life associated with rapid metabolism, is one of the most commonly used therapies in the treatment of cancer. In this study the folic acid-conjugated pegylated nanoliposomes were synthesized and then loaded into them with 5-FU to improve the anti-tumor efficacy. The average size of liposomes (LPs) was about 52.7 nm which was identified by TEM. In the liposome uptake studies, the level uptake of folate-conjugated liposomes has increased compared to non-conjugated LPs according to LPs concentration, incubation time and presence of concentration of free folic acid (FA). The MTT assay and apoptotic test were carried out in HCT116 and MCF-7 cells for 24 or 48 h. The results revealed that the folate-PEG modified 5-Fu loaded nanoliposomes had strong cytotoxicity to cancer cell compared to pure 5-FU or PEG modified 5-FU loaded liposomes in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and mainly enhanced the cancer cell death through folate-mediated endocytosis. Hence, the folate-PEG modified nanoliposome is a potential targeted drug-delivery system for the treatment of FR-positive cancers.


Olympic event zones are characterised as being intensely formally regulated during live staging periods, producing exclusionary environments blamed for side-lining host community interests. Yet, our findings contradict what scholars perceive to be inflexible formal regulations, and, the regulator's ability to take informal action. By interviewing and drawing on the experience of 17 regulators during London 2012 we identify how regulators simultaneously oscillate between modes of regulatory formality and informality, straddling what is referred to as the 'formality-informality span'. Our application and theorisation of these concepts critiques existing explanations of how regulation is enacted in mega-sporting events, providing new insights into the way organisers balance regulatory demands and potentially opening up new emancipatory policies and more equitable outcomes for host communities.


In the framework of ESA's ARTES-5 program the L*IP satellite system has been developed, which utilizes an MF-TDMA access scheme in a meshed network topology. One major design goal has been the optimized transport of IP traffic over geostationary satellites. To this end, an efficient encapsulation method for IP over MF-TDMA has been devised, which is explained in this paper. Together with a multiplexing concept, enabled by the broadcast property of satellite links, the total MAC overhead is calculated in a closed form


Nanosafety evaluation is paramount since it is necessary not only for human health protection and environmental integrity but also as a cornerstone for industrial and regulatory bodies. The current nanometallomics did not cover non-metallic nanomaterials, which is an important part of nanomaterials. In this critical review, the concept of nanometallomics was expanded to incorporate all nanomaterials. The impacts to metal(loid) and metallo-biomolecular homeostasis by nanomaterials will be focused in nanometallomics study. Besides, the impacts to elemental and biomolecular homeostasis by metallo-nanomaterials are also considered as the research subjects of nanometallomics. Based on the new concept of nanometallomics, comparative nanometallomics was proposed as a new tool for nanosafety evaluation which is high throughput and will be precise considering the nature of machine learning techniques. The perspectives of nanometallomics like metallo-wide association study and non-target nanometallomics were put forward.


In this paper, we focus on a problem in designing for home robots. There are some design methods for conventional artifacts such as home electric appliances. However, not all methods can be applied effectively for robots. Especially, we deal with the situation in which a robot asks a user to help it by expressing its internal state. We then propose a novel design method ``motion overlapping (MO)'' by which a robot can perform human-like behavior to express its internal state. We consider that human-like behavior of a robot causes a user to understand its internal state ``mind'' easily. A small sweeping robot which performs ``back-and-forth'' motion is designed based on MO. In experiments, we compare the expressing by MO with sounding by a buzzer and lighting by a LED as conventional nonverbal expressing. We investigate effects on users' action of cooperating with the sweeping robot. We find that the expressing by MO causes most of the users to help the robot. The differences in those expressing methods are statistically significant. The results show that our proposed method is effective as one of design method for home robots.


In this paper, an in-depth analysis of switched-resistor (S-R) techniques for implementing low-voltage low-distortion tunable active-RC filters is presented. The S-R techniques make use of switch(es) with duty-cycle-controlled clock(s) to achieve tunability of the effective resistance and, hence, the RC time constant. The characteristics of two S-R networks utilizing one set (S-1R) and two sets (S-2R) of switch and resistor combinations are analyzed. It will be shown that the S-2R network outperforms the S-1R counterpart in terms of finite-slew-rate-induced distortion, frequency translation, and noise performance. In order to extend the tuning range, an S-R bank scheme is also described. The theoretical analysis was verified by an experiment on a 100-kHz first-order S-R filter prototype, implemented using discrete elements, where several advantages of the S-2R over the S-1R networks are demonstrated. Simulations of 10-MHz low-pass filters based on the S-1R and S-2R techniques in a standard 0.18- mum CMOS process are also included for performance comparison in practical on-chip filter implementations.


K antagonist (known as triple therapy). Outcomes of patients with CAD and GIB while on triple therapy compared to ASA alone are unknown. Our objective was to compare the post-discharge mortality for patients on triple therapy compared to ASA alone in a subset of patients with CAD hospitalized with lower GIB. Methods: Using a validated ICD-9 classifi cation tree with a priori sensitivity and specifi city of 92.3% for identifying patients with lower GIB, 716 patients were identifi ed with CAD and use of aspirin admitted to an academic tertiary medical center from 2008-2015 with a lower GIB. ICD-9 codes were utilized to identify co-morbidities, while demographics, labs and medications were extracted from the medical record. Patients dying during index hospitalization were excluded from the analysis. Mortality data was linked to social security death indices. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between triple therapy use in CAD patients and 6 month mortality. Results: 716 patients with CAD were admitted with a lower GIB while on ASA. 9% (n=65) were on triple therapy at index admission. Patients on triple therapy had a higher prevalence of congestive heart failure (72.3% vs 53.0%, p=0.004), atrial fi brillation (43.1% vs 28.4%, p= 0.01, and were more likely to require blood transfusion (57.0% vs. 35.8%, p ‹ 0.001). 9.7 % (n=70) died within 6 months of discharge aft er lower GIB. Use of triple therapy at index GIB was associated with an increased 6 month odds of mortality on univariate analysis (OR 2.61, 95%CI 1.29-4.94), as was malignancy (OR 2.98 95%CI 1.72-5.08) and higher Charlson index (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.12-1.32). On multivariate analysis adjusted for age, comorbidity, admission hemoglobin, ICU needs, congestive heart failure, and malignancy, use of triple therapy remained associated with increased 6 month mortality risk (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.29-4.95). Conclusion: Use of triple therapy with dual antiplatelet and oral anticoagulation is associated with higher 6 month mortality in patients with CAD and GIB.


Describing several new biometric technologies, such as high-resolution fingerprint, finger-knuckle-print, multi-spectral backhand, 3D fingerprint, tongueprint, 3D ear, and multi-spectral iris recognition technologies, this book analyzes a number of efficient feature extraction, matching and fusion algorithms and how potential systems have been developed. Focusing on how to develop new biometric technologies based on the requirements of applications, and how to design efficient algorithms to deliver better performance, the work is based on the authors research with experimental results under different challenging conditions described in the text. The book offers a valuable resource for researchers, professionals and postgraduate students working in the fields of computer vision, pattern recognition, biometrics, and security applications, amongst others.


Whether discretionary fiscal policies in industrialized countries act counter- or pro-cyclically and whether their reaction is symmetric or asymmetric over the cycle are still largely unsettled questions. This uncertainty remains even when attention is restricted to euro-area countries, where these questions have important implications for the debate on European fiscal rules. We review the recent empirical literature to explain why the results of the various studies differ so greatly. We find that differences are driven partly by the choices made in modelling fiscal behaviour and in the related notions of fiscal policy cyclicality. Results are also affected by data source and vintage (ex post or real-time). The time period chosen is relatively less important. We conclude that the notion of pro-cyclical fiscal policies often upheld in the debate is not justified by the data. Ex post data suggest either a-cyclicality or weak counter-cyclicality. Real-time information gives clearer indications of counter-cyclical behaviour, especially when we progress from a very simple i?½corei?½ model to a more complex one, including at least the impact of fiscal rules. As for symmetry or asymmetry, the answer varies with sources of data and time periods. With the more complex model the indications of asymmetric behaviour are more robust. Whenever asymmetry is present, it entails shifts in all the parameters of the fiscal rule and not necessarily in the output gap parameter.


Any adequate reservoir model must include permeability parameters of blocks and faults and parameters that define the reservoir interaction with its outer environment. Our proposal is to determine outer contour properties of the reservoir using a procedure of History Matching. We consider both permeabilities of blocks and faults and transparency coefficients for various segments of the outer contour as variable parameters. To solve History Matching problems, we developed two C software programs: a reservoir simulator and an inverse solver. The simulator is based on the finite element method and the method of direct integration with an automatically-selected step in the time domain. The inverse solver is based on a number of methods of non-linear programming (gradient methods, the methods of deformed polygon and coordinate descent). We obtained three different History Matching solutions for a model representation of a complex reservoir (531360 nodes, 31 producers, 29 injectors). In the process of solving the History Matching problem, 150 variable parameters defined lateral and vertical permeability of 5 reservoir layers, 21 parameters defined permeability of 5 faults, and 16 parameters described transparency coefficients of the reservoir outer contour. Outer-contour transparency coefficients found closely match the reference model for all solutions.


The present study concerns a Dutch computer-based assessment, which includes an assessment process about information literacy and a feedback process for students. The assessment is concerned with the measurement of skills in information literacy and the feedback process with item-based support to improve student learning. To analyze students' feedback behavior (i.e. feedback use and attention time), test performance, and speed of working, a multivariate hierarchical latent variable model is proposed. The model can handle multivariate mixed responses from multiple sources related to different processes and comprehends multiple measurement components for responses and response times. A flexible within-subject latent variable structure is defined to explore multiple individual latent characteristics related to students' test performance and feedback behavior. Main results of the computer-based assessment showed that feedback-information pages were less visited by well-performing students when they relate to easy items. Students' attention paid to feedback was positively related to working speed but not to the propensity to use feedback.


This paper describes findings from an in‐depth case study of young people's sexuality and learning about sex. Focus groups and unstructured interviews were conducted with young women and young men aged 15–16 years in a school in the north of England. Analysis focused on disjunctions between reported sexual behaviour in a park and in a bedsitting room, and the content of school sex and relationship education. Tensions between the accounts are considered for their impact on learning about sex, sexual negotiation, subjectivity and inter‐generational understanding. Despite some negative experiences in sex education, the young people interviewed desired the affirmation and support of adults, and recommend sex and relationship education as the most appropriate vehicle for providing this. The value added outcomes of participation in the study, including consciousness and awareness raising, and the opportunity for reflection and debate and selves as 'experts', enhanced young people's view that non‐judgemental and meaningful advice and guidance are possible in formal learning contexts. Implications for future forms of sex and relationship education are discussed.


Massive Methane hydrate (hereinafter referred to as "MH") is interpreted to be widely distributed in the offshore region of the Japanese islands. Trial calculations indicate the amount of MH is estimated to be enough to supply the domestic natural gas demand for some a hundred years. The Advisory Committee of the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) prepared "Japan's Methane Hydrate Exploitation Program, July 2001" with the aim of producing natural gas from the MH. The action plan "MH Resources Research and Development" (2001-2016) is currently being carried out.The existence of MH in sandy beds in the offshore region of the Japanese islands was confirmed for the first time in 2000 through the METI Exploratory Test Well "Nankai Trough".The well clarified that the net thickness of MH-rich layers is 12 to 14m in total. Several thin MH layers are also present at a depth between 1, 100-1, 140 m deep from the sea surface. Some thicker sand layers (12-14m thick) associated with a submarine fan that are characterized by the high concentration of MH were identified between 1, 140 m and 1, 213 m deep from the sea surface. In the lower interval of these thicker sand layers, each sand bed is less than lm in thickness and was correlated between test wells. Wire line logging with Combinable Magnetic Resonance* (CMR) data showed that the MH saturation was 60 to 80% in the MH containing layer. The bottom depth of high MH concentration deposits coincides with the depth of BSR on the basis of Vertical Seismic profile* (VSP).*: Sclumberger trademark


Drainage systems are designed to quickly convey rainwater from urban areas to areas of natural flow (rivers, streams, lakes, etc). Hence, they are sized with the assumption of steady free surface flow. With the frequent flooding of storm sewers and corresponding damage to public and private infrastructure (Schmitt et al. 2004), numerical modeling of transient flow has now become unavoidable. Several models of transient flow are available, each with its advantages and limitations. This chapter examines the impact of the inclusion of manhole size on the filling celerity of urban drainage systems. It is assumed that the pressurization of the drainage network starts with the rapid filling of a manhole, i.e. as soon as the water level in the manhole reaches the crown of the pipe being filled. Based on this assumption, a filling model is built to analyze the influence of manhole capacity on the propagation of the surge wave. This model uses the method of characteristics within the conduit and an innovative method based on gravity waves. To evaluate the impact of manhole size on the filling speed of the Storm Water System (SWS), the proposed methodology is applied to a theoretical case study. Results show that manhole size can accelerate or reduce the filling speed of connecting conduits.


While starting to use the Grid in production, applications have begun to request the implementation of complex policies regarding the use of resources. Some Virtual Organizations (VOs) want to divide their users in different priority brackets and classify the resources in different classes, others instead do not need advanced setups and are satisfied in considering all users and resources equal. Resource managers have to work for enabling these requirements on their site, in addition to the work necessary to implement policies regarding the use of their resources, to ensure compliance with Acceptable Use Policies. These requirements end up prescribing the existence of a security framework not only capable to satisfy them, but that must also be scalable and flexible enough in order to do not need continuous and unnecessary low-level tweaking of the configuration setup every time the requirements change. Any security framework implementing these priorities should not require constant tweaking by site administrators. Here we will describe in detail the layout used in several Italian sites of the EGEE (Enabling Grid for E-sciencE) infrastructure to deal with these requirements, along with a complete rationale of our choices, with the intent of clarifying what issues an administrator may run into when dealing with priority requirements, and what common pitfalls should be avoided at any cost. Beyond the feedback on interfaces for policy management, from VO and site administrators, we will especially report on the aspects coming from the mapping of Grid level policies to local computing resource authorization mechanisms at Grid sites and how they interfere from a management and security point of view.


This article discusses the implementation, operation and application of Article 7(1) of the 'Multilateral Convention', which contains provisions related to the prevention of treaty abuse, including treaty shopping, that correspond to changes proposed in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 6 Final Report. The wording of the comparable Covered Tax Agreements between the United Kingdom and China, India, Russia and South Africa, vis-à-vis the wording of Article 7(1) of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI), is analysed, where 'purpose provisions' are included with respect to specific benefits, generally royalties, interests and dividends, although there is no 'catch-all provision'. The provisions in these Double Taxation Agreements might be replaced by the 'Principal Purpose Test' provision of Article 7(1). Nonetheless, mismatched choices and unpredictable asymmetries in practice will arise, resulting in further inconsistencies and complexities that may cause uncertainty about which tax treaty wording is of value. To overcome these issues, the compatibility clause in Article 7(2) of the MLI will come into play, supplemented by the lex posterior principle of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT).


This paper aims to determine the usefulness and functions of code-switching in the classroom when used by both lecturers and students. The study was conducted at a Saudi university campus and follows a quantitative approach using sets of questionnaires to collect the data. Then, the data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Based on the analysis, the given study shows that professors and students consider code-switching from English into Arabic in the classroom as a beneficial instrument in enhancing the learning process. That is because it allows otherwise insurmountable problems for two-way communication in the L2 target language (English) to be overcome. Also, the findings of the current study reveal a range of positive attitudes toward using code-switching in two ways, Saudi-English immersion classrooms. Specifically, the majority of the professors use this technique in certain situations to achieve a better understanding by the students. In the same vein, students in this study show huge acceptance and prove how such a phenomenon has worked as a learning facilitator. It is hoped that the results of this study will be useful for professors and researchers investigating the importance of code-switching in the classroom.


In trust management and attribute-based access control systems, access control decisions are based on the attributes (rather than the identity) of the requester: Access is granted if Alice's attributes in her certificates satisfy Bob's access control policy. In this paper, we develop a policy-hiding access control scheme that protects both sensitive attributes and sensitive policies. That is, Bob can decide whether Alice's certified attribute values satisfy Bob's policy, without Bob learning any other information about Alice's attribute values or Alice learning Bob's policy. To enable policy-hiding access control, we introduce the notion of certified input private policy evaluation. Our construction uses Yao's scrambled circuit protocol and two new techniques introduced in this paper. One novel technique is constructing circuits with uniform topology that can compute arbitrary functions in a family. The other technique is committed-integer based oblivious transfer.


These authors revise and study retrospectively a series of fifteen patients with standard E. E. G of "coma alfa" admitted in the hospital during a lapse of four years.


A fully nonlinear model accounting for swirling effect has been applied in analyzing the dynamic response for a classical swirl injector. The current work applied highly accurate Boundary Element Methods (BEMs) in assessing its static and dynamic characteristics. On the basis of moving surface treatment method and surface instability study, which are obtained from the previous static characteristics analysis in pressure-swirl injectors, this work was expanded for analyzing the dynamics of a classical swirl injector. The dynamic response through injector components for disturbed inflow condition was investigated. The modified code was validated from comparison with the theoretical result for a typical swirl injector. Clearly the simulated result shows the interesting characteristics of swirl injectors to provide either amplification or damping of the input disturbance through each component. These results give promise in applying the current model to nonlinear dynamic characteristics of swirl injectors.


The addition of metallic iodides to mercury arc lamps has proven to be an effective and practical method of altering the spectral output. If the excitation levels of the metal of the dissociated iodide are lower than the excitation levels of mercury, the mercury arc temperature is considerably reduced. Experimental evidence for this phenomenon is presented.


We prove quantitative relations between complexity, initial condition sensitivity and dimension which are suitable for 0-entropy dynamical systems. The orbit complexity indicator is a measure of the asymptotic behaviour of the information that is necessary to describe the orbit of a given point. The indicator generalizes Brudno's orbit complexity (which is strongly related to the entropy of the system). The initial condition sensitivity indicators consider the asymptotic behaviour of the speed of divergence of nearby starting orbits. The indicators have non-trivial values also in weakly chaotic (0-entropy) dynamical systems, characterizing various cases of weakly chaotic dynamics. Using constructive mathematics, local relations are proved between generalized orbit complexity, initial condition sensitivity and the dimension of the underlying space or measure. The relations are quantitative and have non-trivial meaning also in the 0-entropy case. The generalized relations are then applied to the study of an important example of weakly chaotic dynamics: the Manneville map.


In nonstationary bandit learning problems, the decision-maker must continually gather information and adapt their action selection as the latent state of the environment evolves. In each time period, some latent optimal action maximizes expected reward under the environment state. We view the optimal action sequence as a stochastic process, and take an information-theoretic approach to analyze attainable performance. We bound limiting per-period regret in terms of the entropy rate of the optimal action process. The bound applies to a wide array of problems studied in the literature and reflects the problem's information structure through its information-ratio.


A study was conducted at Kingston Beach,
Tasmania, comparing 'lived values' and
'landscape values mapping' approaches to
understand the social risks of sea-level rise.
The study pinpointed a number of important
social values and was able to identify
groupings of community members that
might be impacted differently by adaptation
measures or failure to adapt. The study
considered whether either or both approaches
were likely to meet the local adaptation
planning needs of the council.


The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs leads to new curriculum challenges for teachers. For learners with severe learning difficulties a tailor-made curriculum is needed. Research conducted in the Netherlands emphasizes the complexity of designing curricula for these pupils. Teachers often consider their expertise to be insufficient. In this study the potential of technology as a tool to support teachers for designing tailor-made curricula for pupils with severe learning difficulties is investigated.
The study can be characterized as design research. The study consists of three phases: (1) needs and context analysis, (2) design and formative evaluation of prototypes and (3) (semi-)summative evaluation of a final prototype.
During the first phase of the research a systematic preliminary research of problems and context was made. This phase has provided insight in characteristics of a web based tool to support teachers in designing numeracy lessons for pupils with severe learning difficulties and to stimulate professional development.
An evolutionary prototyping approach was used to develop a promising prototype. There was an important role for formative evaluations to ensure that the support tool would be valid, practical and effective.
Finally, a (semi-)summative evaluation took place at three schools for primary education. Besides, two focus groups were held with teachers and peripatetic teachers.
The potential of the web based tool to support teachers on the job and foster professional development is partly realized in school practice. The tool appeared to be helpful in supporting teachers to develop innovative numeracy lessons. The curriculum framework, exemplary lesson materials and background information about learning and teaching appeared to be practical and effective. Stimulating an active construction of meaning by a cyclic process of (re)designing, experimenting and reflection on the intended, implemented and attained curriculum leads towards more purposeful acting of teachers. Teachers found it difficult to design a coherent curriculum over a longer period.
The aim to stimulate the involvement of colleagues for interaction and collaboration. was not realized. Teachers used the tool without interaction and collaboration with colleagues. A stand-alone tool seems to be insufficient to stimulate this.


We report the demonstration of electro-optical tunable time delay and advance using a silicon feedback-microring resonator integrated with p-i-n diodes. By controlling the feedback and round-trip phase shifts through the carrier-injection-based free-carrier dispersion effect, we obtain a large dynamic time tuning range (-88 ps to 110 ps) upon dc bias voltage change in the range of few tens of millivolts at a given resonance wavelength. We also demonstrate tunable time delay and advance at different resonance wavelengths within 0.76 nm wavelength range.


Abstract Standardized ecological classification units form the foundation for effective data collection, assessment, and reporting on ecosystems. Attempts at regional land cover mapping often falter on this point or struggle along inefficiently. Over the past decade, NatureServe has worked with the Gap Analysis Program and others to map existing vegetation using the US National Vegetation Classification (US-NVC). US-NVC is a system of hierarchical structure and rules that are designed to provide a national classification of existing vegetation. Experience has demonstrated the need to develop map units at conceptual scales intermediate between the narrowly specific alliance (floristic) and the broadly generalized formation (physiognomic) levels of the US-NVC. NatureServe defined over 630 "mesoscale" vegetation-based units that are described across the lower 48 United States. These mesoscale classification units, which we term "terrestrial ecological systems," are described using multiple plant communities that tend to co-occur based on recurrent similarities in environmental setting and ecological dynamics. By integrating environmental setting and ecological processes with vegetation into the concept of each unit, this classification system lends itself to biophysical modeling and robust characterization of wildlife habitat. These units apply well to land cover mapping and may be augmented with modifiers for specific variants in composition and structure resulting in robust, standardized maps. Regional-scale mapping of "near-natural" land cover was completed by the Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project using 109 ecological system units, currently the most detailed regional land cover map of its kind. Terrestrial ecological system units provide a direct, systematic link to the US National Vegetation Classification and may also provide a useful framework for integration with ecological site concepts and descriptions.


A sterile strain of corn that has been used for making hybrid seed corn carries the Texas male-sterile cytoplasm and does not make pollen. In a report in this issue of Science (see Cui et al., page 1334), cloning of a gene that can restore fertility to these plants is announced. In his Perspective, Levings discussed why the identification of this gene Rf2 as an aldehyde dehydrogenase is surprising and how it may work to reverse the male sterile phenotype.


Pulmonary function tests were performed on 252 healthy young subjects free from respiratory and allergic symptoms, and 80 young subjects with past history of nasal allergy (PNA) and 10 subjects with past history of bronchial asthma (PBA). All the subjects were non-smokers. Maximal expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curves were visually classified into five types (A-E). The percent distribution of type A in healthy subjects was significantly higher than in the PNA group, while the total sum of percentage of types B, C, and D in the PNA group was significantly higher than in the healthy subjects. The percent distribution of type E in the PNA group was similar to that in the healthy subjects. The percent distribution of MEFV types were significantly different between healthy males and healthy females. The percent distribution of types A, B and E were the highest in healthy subjects, PNA and PBA groups, respectively. Conclusively, the difference in the percent distributions of MEFV types was recognized among healthy subjects, PNA and PBA groups.


Abstract Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) may result from dysregulated mucosal immune responses directed toward the resident intestinal microbiota. This review describes the hallmark immunobiology of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis as well as therapeutic targets and mechanisms of action for current, experimental, and future treatments in IBD. Conventional therapies include 5-aminosalicylic acid, glucocorticosteroids, thiopurines, and methotrexate. Since 1997, monoclonal antibodies have gained widespread use. These consist of antibodies directed against pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL)-12, and IL-23, or anti-homing antibodies directed against α4β7 integrin. Emerging oral therapies include modulators of intracellular signal transduction such as Janus kinase inhibitors. Vitamin D may help to regulate innate and adaptive immune responses. Modulation of the intestinal microbiota, using live microorganisms (probiotics), substrates for the colonic microbiota (prebiotics), or fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), is in development. Dietary supplements are in widespread use, but providing evidence for their benefit is challenging. Stem cell treatment and nervous stimulation are promising future treatments.


Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAVs) emerged into a promising research trend applied in several disciplines based on the benefits, including efficient communication, on-time search, and rescue operations, appreciate customer deliveries among more. The current technologies are using fixed base stations (BS) to operate onsite and off-site in the fixed position with its associated problems like poor connectivity. These open gates for the UAVs technology to be used as a mobile alternative to increase accessibility in beam selection with a fifth-generation (5G) connectivity that focuses on increased availability and connectivity. This paper presents a first fast semi-online 3-Dimensional machine learning algorithm suitable for proper beam selection as is emitted from UAVs. Secondly, it presents a detailed step by step approach that is involved in the multi-armed bandit approach in solving UAV solving selection exploration to exploitation dilemmas. The obtained results depicted that a multi-armed bandit problem approach can be applied in optimizing the performance of any mobile networked devices issue based on bandit samples like Thompson sampling, Bayesian algorithm, and e-Greedy Algorithm. The results further illustrated that the 3-Dimensional algorithm optimizes utilization of technological resources compared to the existing single and the 2-Dimensional algorithms thus close optimal performance on the average period through machine learning of realistic UAV communication situations.


The effect of pre-treatment with an alcoholic extract of Picrorhiza kurroa, a herbal drug, on D-galactosamine-induced hepatitis in rats was investigated with respect to the activities of serum marker enzymes, glycolytic enzymes, gluconeogenic enzymes, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and membrane-bound ATPases and the levels of lipid peroxides and hepatic thiols. Prior oral treatment with P. kurroa extract significantly prevented the D-galactosamine-induced increases in the activities of serum marker enzymes, glycolytic enzymes, glycogen phosphorylase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and the decreases in the activities of key gluconeogenic enzymes and membrane-bound ATPases in the liver. The extract also exerted an antioxidant effect against D-galactosamine-induced hepatitis by blocking the induction of lipid peroxidation and by preventing the depletion of hepatic thiols. The present findings confirm that P. kurroa is hepatoprotective in experimentally induced hepatitis in rats.


BACKGROUND
This annotation describes the uses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in clinical child psychology and psychiatry.

METHOD
It explores the scientific basis for randomised designs, the conceptual and methodological issues that can arise when using them, alternative methods, and future directions.

RESULTS
There are many issues that have to be tackled when using randomised trials to answer questions about the effectiveness of interventions used by child mental health professionals. The most important are conceptual issues concerning the design of these studies, practical issues, and issues about the interpretation of the results. There are some situations in which randomised trials are not possible or ideal and alternative strategies may therefore be needed. Future RCTs should be more explicit about whether their primary purpose is to further scientific knowledge or to evaluate the benefit of a treatment in routine clinical practice. Future trials should also have outcomes of unequivocal significance and be reported in accordance with standardised guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS
Well-designed and unambiguously reported RCTs usually provide the best possible evidence about the effectiveness of an intervention. RCTs are not, however, the only way of establishing cause and effect and their results should always be interpreted in the light of other evidence.


Financial report from the company is useful for intern and extern like creditor stock holder and government. Complete financial report according Standart Akuntansi Keuangan (SAK) 1999 about pair of scales, profit and loss report, changing of financial situation report (which appear in many ways like flow cash report or flow fund report), note and another report. According the background problem above so could be taken solve of the problem: How influence about the different accountancy treatment to income and the cost to tax income and financial report. The purpose of this experiment is (1) to know: How influence about the different accounting treatmen to income and the cost to tax income and financial report. The benefit is: (1) the company, to gibe idea about the way to arrange financial report with trax law so the company can experiment. Data analysis which used in this experiment is analysis loss and profit of commercial reconciles calculate and fiscal and analysus loss fiscal calculate. According the result can be resumed: in this experiment in Kecap Eka Jaya Madiun Corp., in 2003 amount which must be paid according the role of tax (UU NO 17 2000) Rp 248.159.730 than amount of tax which delayed Rp 12.305.222. Keyword : undang-undang perpajakan; laba akuntansi perpajakan Link Terkait : http://skripsi.umm.ac.id/files/disk1/25/jiptummpp-gdl-s1-2004-dessyantia-1233-PENDAHUL-N.pdf


We test whether foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important channel of international R&D spillovers between OECD countries. The results show that R&D spillovers through inward FDI had considerable positive effects on total factor productivity (TFP) in the 1990s, but not in the 2000s. By contrast, R&D spillovers through outward FDI had positive influence on TFP in the 2000s, but not in the 1990s. The contributions of foreign R&D are more related to FDI flows than to the size of the host countries. Finally, the countries benefiting from the R&D spillovers drastically differ from the countries contributing to the R&D spillovers.


Today's data centers are designed with multi-core CPUs where multiple virtual machines (VMs) can be co-located into one physical machine or distribute multiple computing tasks onto one physical machine. The result is co-tenancy, resource sharing and competition. Modeling and predicting such co-run interference becomes crucial for job scheduling and Quality of Service assurance. Co-locating interference can be characterized into two components, sensitivity and pressure, where sensitivity characterizes how an application's own performance is affected by a co-run application, and pressure characterizes how much contentiousness an application exerts/brings onto the memory subsystem. Previous studies show that with simple models, sensitivity and pressure can be accurately characterized for a single machine. We extend the models to consider cross-architecture sensitivity (across different machines).


A carefully developed calculus of propositions, closely related to Lewis's strict implication, is here presented in the form of an "abstract deductive theory" on a "base" (K, T, X,', =). A possible interpretation would make K a class of propositions, aXb the logical product, a' the negation of a, while "a is in T" would mean "a is asserted," and a = b means the "interchangeability" of a and b for some specific purpose. This operator = could be viewed also as "strict equivalence," as is indi cated by the crucial postulate 15: {a-ib) (6-3a) = (ag6). The strict implication used here is intro duced by the definition (o-36) = (oi'=Z), where Z is the Boolean zero element, Z = cc'. Strict implication is also governed by a law of the syllogism and a law of inference (postulates 16, 17). The other postulates are a set of Boolean algebra postulates, the


In the frame of applied aeroacoustics the numerical prediction of the aerofoil selfgenerated noise is key issue for a number of applications in aeronautics, vehicle industry and wind energy. Aerofoil airborne noise has been widely approached in several studies and well characterized for a number of flow conditions. Nevertheless there are still many cases where it is not yet completely clear how the flow noise is generated. The objective of this paper is to perform a deep and accurate analysis of the noise generated by laminar instabilities of the boundary layer arising for Reynolds numbers ranging approximately between 0.6M and 1.1M. The test-case chosen is the NACA 0012 aerofoil which has been investigated by means of transient RANS aerodynamic simulations coupled with the Ffowcs Williams and Hawkings acoustic analogy and a Finite Element based approach to Lighthill's equation for the acoustic computations. Numerical sound pressure spectra have been compared to experimental data achieving a very good agreement for different flow speeds and Angles of Attack. The numerical simulations performed have been able to capture the sharply peaked multi-tonal acoustic phenomena which arise from the flow instabilities evolving within the boundary layer proving the high potentialities of such numerical approaches in the frame of the applied aeroacoustics.


Column-Stores database stores data column-by-column. The need for Column-Stores database arose for the efficient query processing in read-intensive relational databases. Also, for read-intensive relational databases,extensive research has performed for efficient data storage and query processing. This paper gives an overview of storage and performance optimization techniques used in Column-Stores.


This study proposed that aggressive and nonaggressive children might differ in the readiness with which biased causal beliefs are accessed from memory and used as guides to interpersonal judgment. Aggressive and nonaggressive African-American male early adolescents were randomly assigned to a condition that primed the perception of negative outcomes as intentionally caused or unintentionally caused or to a no-priming control condition. Participants then read a description of hypothetical peer provocation, and they made inferences about the peer's intent, the amount of blame and anger, and the likelihood of aggressive retaliation. In the unintentional and control conditions, aggressives made more extreme judgments than nonaggressives. In the intentional priming condition, the judgments of aggressives and nonaggressives were equally extreme


Presentation of elderly group is increasing with all problems that follow. One of the psychological problems that is likely experienced by the elderly is stress. Stress management can be done with non-pharmacological and pharmacological therapies. One of non pharmacological therapies that can affect stress is green color therapy. The green color can make people feel comfortable, relax, reduce stress, balance and calm down the emotions, and stimulate the pituitary to release neurohormones, which can reduce stress. This study aims to determine the therapeutic effect of green color on stress of the elderly in the Elderly Social Institution of Wana Seraya Denpasar. This research is a quasy-experimental study (pre-test and post-test with control group design). Samples consist of 30 elderly people that were selected by purposive sampling, and divided into two ie; control and experimental groups. The experimental group was given green color therapy for 10 minutes every day for seven days. Stress measurement was carried out by using Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) questionnaire of which the validity and reliability have been tested. The results obtained, the average decrease in stress score of 1.20 in the control group, and in the experimental group gained an average decrease in stress score of 11.80. Based on the independent sample t-test, this difference was statistically significant, with t value of -17.528 and the Sig. (2-tailed) of 0.000, which means there is a therapeutic effect of green color therapy to stress in the elderly in the Elderly Social Institution Wana Seraya Denpasar.


With the rapid development in the production of digital cameras and low cost of these amateur cameras, it is important to determine the possibility of using them in digital close-range photogrammetry. The main objective of this work is to investigate the accuracy attainable by using these amateur cameras for point determination, with the accuracy of point determination by total-station instrument as a reference. For this purpose, a building façade was surveyed and processed by photogrammetric and conventional survey methods. The photogrammetric survey was done using four different amateur cameras, and the conventional survey was carried out using total-station. Thirty-seven (37) points within an opened traverse were established on the exterior walls of the structure to serve as standard geo-reference points for all accuracy comparisons and they are referred to as Reference wall points (RWPs). Twenty-eight (28) of these RWPs were used as checkpoints while the other nine (9) points were used as the control points for the models. The 3D coordinates of these reference wall points were then measured with a total-station instrument. After photographs were taken, they were processed with Agisoft PhotoScan photogrammetric software, where different 3D models were constructed for the four set of photographs taken with the amateur cameras. The photogrammetric coordinates of the reference wall points were determined from the respective models. The coordinates measured from each model were then compared with the ones obtained with the total-station to determine their relative discrepancies and accuracies. The accuracy of each model was determined using the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) approach. Based on the type of amateur cameras used, this work has shown that close-range photogrammetric procedure can provide accurate enough result to be used as an alternative World Scientific News 145 (2020) 298-312 -299to measurements by total station in as-built surveys or other relatively small works of similar accuracy requirements.


This analysis proves that introducing teenagers to a dialogue with Judaism is one of catechesis's tasks. This task has been outlined in the post-conciliar documents of the Catholic Church. It underlines the spiritual ties between Catholic people and the Jews and promotes forming an attitude of openness towards followers of the Mosaic religion. It also contributes to mitigating anti-Semitism among Catholic teenagers. At the same time, it raises interest in Jewish traditions and culture. In the religion syllabus in lower and post-secondary schools we can come across numerous references (mainly indirect) to Judaism. The focus on passing honest knowledge about Judaism can be also clearly visible. In this way, formation of the cognitive element of inter-religious dialogue takes place. On the other hand, less attention is devoted to other components of this attitude such as the emotional and behavioural elements. That is why there is a demand to complete the lacking elements by watching films and having discussions. The above mentioned multimedia materials called "The religion lesson" have been prepared to satisfy this need. Great importance is also attached to creating situations that allow Christian teenagers to participate in meetings with the Jews. It can be organized in the form of Days of Judaism and panel discussions with Jews and distinguished contemporary theologians and philosophers. Open meetings with representatives of Judaism are a great opportunity to perceive the Jews as "older brethren in the faith". They let young people discover the cultural wealth and vision of Judaism and teach teenagers respect for the religious beliefs of the Jews. Thereby, they can contribute to the change of mentality of young participants of catechesis in their approach to Judaism. It is worth referring to the works of Jewish culture in these activities. It is the cultural heritage that comprises a great reference point to showing the strong Judaic roots of Christian culture. Thus, it is necessary, for the topics in Judaism proposed for religious syllabuses and catechetical material to be closely connected with organizing meetings of young Catholics with followers of the Mosaic religion. Only this kind of experience can contribute to an authentic inter-religious dialogue.


Attempts to strengthen regular-special educator interactions are often based upon suspected experiential rather than personal differences. Rokeach's Value Survey (1973) was used to investigate possible differences in the life-values of teacher groups. The value systems of regular and special educators in the present study depicted a single population of individuals composed of two subgroups. The prioritization of individual values within the value system hierarchy was similar for both groups of teachers. However, 10 terminal values and 8 instrumental values received sufficiently different responses to permit the prediction of teacher group with 71% accuracy.


The differential resistance dV/dI vs. applied voltage V for URu2Si2–normal-metal point-contacts (PCs) is investigated. For some PCs a clear double-minimum structure is observed in dV/dI vs. V at zero bias well below the superconducting critical temperature Tc as expected for the Andreev reflection. The double minimum occurs only for PCs with suppressed antiferromagnetic (AF) features in dV/dI, in support of a recent model of the gap depression by AF order in the (a,b)-plane of tetragonal URu2Si2. A strong anisotropy of the reduced gap 2Δ/kTc and of Bc2 for PCs along the a and the c axis is also observed.


BACKGROUND
Strabismus is a common disorder of largely unknown cause reported to occur more frequently in children with neurodevelopmental conditions and in children born prematurely or of low birth weight. Population-based investigation of other potential early-life influences has been limited.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of and the early-life risk factors associated with childhood strabismus.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional analytical study of a nationally representative sample of children participating in the Millennium Cohort Study.

SETTING
United Kingdom.

PARTICIPANTS
A population-based sample of 14 980 children aged 3 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Parental report of "isolated" strabismus and "neurodevelopmental" strabismus (ie, in the context of neurologic disorders), considered separately.

RESULTS
Three hundred forty-three children had strabismus (of whom 20 [5.8%] had neurodevelopmental/neurologic disorders), giving a total weighted prevalence of 2.1% (95% confidence interval, 1.8%-2.4%). In multivariable analysis, the risk of isolated strabismus was reduced in children of nonwhite maternal ethnicity and was increased in those born after an assisted or cesarean delivery and in those who were of low birth weight and preterm (in particular, late preterm). An increased risk of neurodevelopmental strabismus was independently associated with maternal smoking into later pregnancy, maternal illnesses in pregnancy, and decreasing birth weight for gestational age and sex. Socioeconomic status was associated with isolated (inverse relationship) and neurodevelopmental (U-shaped relationship) strabismus.

CONCLUSIONS
Several early-life social and biological factors are associated with strabismus, with differences in patterns between isolated and neurodevelopmental forms. Further collaborative research could explore this hypothesis to identify modifiable risk factors.


Violence against women and girls and its most extreme expression, femicide, feminicide, or the gender-related killing of women and girls, 1 dramatically bring to light the persistence of the structural challenges of gender inequality and gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. The deep historical and structural roots of patriarchal, discriminatory and violent cultural patterns, grounded in a culture of privilege, have proven among the most difficult to dismantle. Gender-based violence against women and girls is systemic and persistent in the region. It knows no borders, affects women and girls of all ages and happens everywhere, from the domestic setting to public places. It happens in workplaces, within the framework of political and community participation, on public transportation and in the street, in schools and other educational institutions, in cyberspace and certainly in the home. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has called it a "shadow pandemic".


Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins are widely considered as promising cancer drug targets, especially for drug-resistant tumors. Mimicking the IAP-binding motif of second mitochondria-derived activator of caspases (SMAC) is a rational strategy to design potential IAP inhibitors. In this report, we used the bioactive conformation of AVPI tetrapeptide in the N terminus of SMAC as a template and performed a shape-based virtual screening against a drug-like compound library to identify novel IAP inhibitors. Top hits were subsequently docked to available IAP crystal structures as a secondary screening followed by validation using in vitro biologic assays. Four novel hit compounds were identified to potently inhibit cell growth in two human melanoma (A375 and M14) and two human prostate (PC-3 and DU145) cancer cell lines. The best compound, UC-112 [5-((benzyloxy)methyl)-7-(pyrrolidin-1-ylmethyl)quinolin-8-ol], has IC50 values ranging from 0.7 to 3.4 µM. UC-112 also potently inhibits the growth of P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-overexpressed multidrug-resistant cancer cells, strongly activates caspase-3/7 and caspase-9 activities, and selectively downregulates survivin level at a concentration as low as 1 µM. Coincubation of UC-112 with a known proteasome inhibitor Z-Leu-Leu-Leu-CHO (MG-132) rescued survivin inhibition, consistent with the anticipated mechanism of action for UC-112. As a single agent, UC-112 strongly inhibits tumor growth and reduces both X chromosome-linked IAP and survivin levels in an A375 human melanoma xenograft model in vivo. Overall, our study identified novel scaffolds, especially UC-112, as new platforms on which potent and selective IAP antagonists can be developed.


STUDY OBJECTIVE
To identify propensity to re-entry in a canine model of 7 day old myocardial infarction, the sensitivity and specificity of five indices of dispersion of refractoriness (ERP) were investigated.

DESIGN
With an epicardial patch electrode containing 47 electrodes, ERP was measured by S1-S2 method at each site overlying the infarct. ERP range, maximum adjacent dispersion, difference between mean ERPS of the infarct and normal zones, standard deviation (sigma) of the mean ERP, and sigma/mean ERP X 100 were calculated.

EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL
42 dogs were divided into three groups; 20 dogs with epicardial functional block on induction of sustained ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, 10 dogs with inducible ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation but without epicardial functional block, and 12 control dogs without ventricular tachycardia, fibrillation or block.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
All five indices were significantly greater in the 20 dogs with ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation than in control dogs. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the five indices showed that sigma was the most sensitive and specific index for discriminating these 20 dogs. The sensitivity and specificity of a sigma value greater than 14 ms (the mean value plus two SD of the control dogs) were 70% and 100%, respectively.


Background:With the introduction of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy, breast cancer patients with nodal disease have to undergo second surgical axillary procedure. The aim of our study was to correlate the accuracy of ultrasound in redefining surgery in breast cancer patients.Methods:The records of all breast cancer patients who underwent Axillary Lymph Node Dissection (ALND) from January 2008 to December 2008 were reviewed. Of these, patients who had pre operative axillary ultrasound and/or fine needle aspiration cytology were included. All ultrasound were performed by the radiologist with special interest in breast imaging at our breast centre. Comparison of the ultrasound and FNA findings with ALND findings was performed.Results:Seventy Five patients had axillary ultrasound during this period. Twenty five patients (32.3%) had abnormal ultrasound findings. Of these, 22 patients had positive surgical staging and three patients had negative surgical staging. Ten of the abnormal axilla had FNAC done. Of these, seven patients had metastatic cells and all of these patients have finally proven to have positive axillary lymph nodes. Of the fifty patients (67.7%) with normal axilla, 34 patients had negative surgical staging and 16 had positive staging The sensitivity of ultrasound axilla was 57.89%, and specificity was 96%. The positive predictive value was 88% and the negative predictive value was 78.57%Discussion:Ultrasound examination of axilla is a safe and fast method of assessing the lymph nodal status in the preoperative staging of axilla. The results of our study are mostly in agreement with previous published studies. This will reduce the number of patients having to undergo a second axillary procedure, hence saving resources both financially and operating time. It will reduce the number of hospital admissions for the patient; improve cost effectiveness and the patient pathway. We therefore recommend routine axillary ultrasound with FNAC of suspicious/pathological nodes to avoid sentinel node procedure i.e., proceed directly to axillary clearance. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 1033.


Arterial dissection is defined as a cleavage of the arterial wall caused by intramural hematoma. Isolated extra-aortic arterial dissection has been reported in renal and carotid arteries in few literatures but suprarenal aorta dissection associated with retrograde formation of a giant descending thoracic aneurysm is considered very rare. We present a quite unusual case of suprarenal aorta dissection associated with retrograde formation of a giant descending thoracic aneurysm sparing both renal and mesenteric vessels, without any branch vessel involvement or visceral damage. Because of the patient's persistent epigastric pain, endovascular celiac artery stent implantation was performed with 3 multiple overlapping uncovered stents. Twelve months after the procedure, computed tomographic angiography (CTA) of the abdomen showed patency of both celiac stents with thrombus formation in the retrograde dissection sac, and the patient remained asymptomatic. This case and others in the medical literature suggest that endovascular treatment can be feasible in symptomatic patients with spontaneous isolated dissection at renal upper abdominal aortic.


Oncostatin M (OSM) is a member of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) family of cytokines and has been found to have distinct anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory properties in various cellular and disease contexts. OSM signals through two receptor complexes, one of which includes OSMRβ. To investigate OSM-OSMRβ signaling in adult hematopoiesis, we utilized the readily available conditional Osmrfl/fl mouse model B6;129-Osmrtm1.1Nat/J, which is poorly characterized in the literature. This model contains loxP sites flanking exon 2 of the Osmr gene. We crossed Osmrfl/fl mice to interferon-inducible Mx1-Cre, which is robustly induced in adult hematopoietic cells. We observed complete recombination of the Osmrfl allele and loss of exon 2 in hematopoietic (bone marrow) as well as non-hematopoietic (liver, lung, kidney) tissues. Using a TaqMan assay with probes downstream of exon 2, Osmr transcript was lower in the kidney but equivalent in bone marrow, lung, and liver from Osmrfl/fl Mx1-Cre versus Mx1-Cre control mice, suggesting that transcript is being produced despite loss of this exon. Western blots show that liver cells from Osmrfl/fl Mx1-Cre mice had complete loss of OSMR protein, while bone marrow, kidney, and lung cells had reduced OSMR protein at varying levels. RNA-seq analysis of a subpopulation of bone marrow cells (hematopoietic stem cells) finds that some OSM-stimulated genes, but not all, are suppressed in Osmrfl/fl Mx1-Cre cells. Together, our data suggest that the B6;129-Osmrtm1.1Nat/J model should be utilized with caution as loss of Osmr exon 2 has variable and tissue-dependent impact on mRNA and protein expression.


The objective of this article is to identify how large the groups of weak readers are in the Nordic countries and to examine the composition of these groups with respect to gender, immigrant background, socioeconomic background, enjoyment of reading and school related factors. The percentage of weak readers varies from 8 percent in Finland to 17 percent in Iceland and Sweden. The percentage of weak readers has increased in Finland, Iceland and Sweden between 2000 and 2009 and decreased in Norway and Denmark during the same period. The composition of the group weak readers seems to be similar in the Nordic countries. Although there are many similarities between the countries, Finland seems to be the country that partly differs from the other countries. One possible reason behind this could be that the group weak readers is that much smaller than in the other countries and that this has an influence on the composition of the group.


This article examines the response of the leading British socialist H. M. Hyndman to the British empire. It suggests that historians have provided an oversimplified and inaccurate account of that response, despite the significance and influence of his critique. This article examines Hyndman's analyses of empire in greater detail, considering many more public and private sources. It charts the chronological development of his response, examining the context, comparing his views with those of other British and continental socialists, Marx, and the ideas of 'new imperialism' generally. The article ultimately argues that though Hyndman's response evolved, with changes of direction missed by historians, he would remain a constant critic of his imperial world.


Micron-scale soft materials are finding a wide range of applications in bioengineering and molecular medicine, while also increasingly emerging as useful components for consumer products. The mechanical characterization of such microscale soft objects is conventionally performed with techniques such as atomic force microscopy or micropipette aspiration that measure the local properties of micron scale objects in a serial manner. To permit scalable characterization of the global mechanical properties of soft microscale objects, we developed and describe here a microfluidic platform that can be used for performing parallelized integrated measurements of the shear modulus of individual microscale particles. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach by characterizing the mechanical properties of multiple protein microgels in parallel, and show that the obtained values are in good agreement with conventional serial measurements. This platform allows parallelized in situ measurements of the mechanical properties of soft deformable micron-scale particles, and builds on scalable single-layer soft-photolithography fabrication, making the measurement system readily adaptable for a range of potential applications.


The work carried out in this thesis involves the investigation of some reactions of heterocyclic compounds by a wide range of spectroscopic and kinetic techniques. Chapter 1 describes several methods, including stopped-flow spectrophotometry, high pressure kinetics and MNDO calculations, which are used to analyse the mechanism of the reaction of imidazole with diazonium ions. Chapter 2 describes the use of the temperature-jump technique to follow the extremely fast protonation of pyrroles. Diazonium ions are further investigated in Chapter 3 which examines the structure of p-nitrobenzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate by X-ray crystallography. The nature of other benzenediazonium ions and some of their complexes is also investigated by solid state ¹⁵N nmr spectroscopy. Chapter 4 switches the emphasis to nmr spectroscopy. The reactive intermediates of reactions of benzil with nitrogen heterocycles are investigated using ¹³c nmr spectroscopy in a kinetic application. Chapters 5 and 6 continue the use of nmr spectroscopy in the structural assignment of bilirubin and the determination of the nature of bilirubin inclusion complexes. Chapter 6 also examines by spectrophotometry the reaction used in the clinical analysis of bilirubin and the effect on this reaction of binding agents such as albumin and α-cyclodextrin.


AIM
To describe the development of a delayed type allergic reaction 24 h following the use of nonlatex rubber dam during endodontic treatment. The symptoms were alleviated with adequate medication; however, the patient rejected any further analysis.

SUMMARY
In recent years, allergic reactions because of latex rubber dam and gloves have received more attention. Nonlatex products are advocated in clinical use in cases where the patient presents an allergic background. Although rare, adverse reactions may be encountered even with these products. In this article, a very rare case is presented in which a patient developed signs of allergy 24 h after the utilization of nonlatex rubber dam and gloves during endodontic treatment. Signs including visible redness on the mucosa, submucosal oedema and desquamation in the vestibular mucosa were observed. With proper medication, the signs and symptoms were alleviated. Although the patient was referred to an allergy specialist for patch testing, she did not accept any further analysis.

KEY LEARNING POINTS
This case emphasizes the necessity of precautions during the management of latex-allergic patients in clinical practice. The unusual response encountered in this patient does not undermine the usefulness of nonlatex rubber dam and gloves in sensitive individuals.


A conservative ex-ante assessment of supply-shift gains alone (excluding social and environmental gains), shows that the investment in zero tillage (ZT) R&D by the Rice-Wheat Consortium and CIMMYT was highly beneficial with a benefit-cost ratio of 39, a net present value of US$ 94 million and an internal rate of return 57%. Sensitivity analysis highlights the influential role of the yield gain, the contribution of reduced tillage (i.e. partial adoption) and the assumed time-lag. Significant positive spillovers of sunk ZT R&D costs both previous and from elsewhere - also contributed to the high returns. The case thereby highlights the potential gains from successful technology transfer and adaptation. The case however also underscores that international NRM research can have a high return, particularly when it has wide applicability.


Enrollment in online courses has sharply increased in higher education. Although online education can be scaled to large audiences, the lack of interaction between educators and learners is difficult to replace and remains a primary challenge in the field. Conversational agents may alleviate this problem by engaging in natural interaction and by scaffolding learners' understanding similarly to educators. However, whether this approach can also be used to enrich online video lectures has largely remained unknown. We developed Sara, a conversational agent that appears during an online video lecture. She provides scaffolds by voice and text when needed and includes a voice-based input mode. An evaluation with 182 learners in a 2 x 2 lab experiment demonstrated that Sara, compared to more traditional conversational agents, significantly improved learning in a programming task. This study highlights the importance of including scaffolding and voice-based conversational agents in online videos to improve meaningful learning.


Clonal dominance suggestive of reconstitution of marrow from small numbers of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells has been noted in different experimental and clinical situations. Recipients of human allogeneic marrow transplants have not been previously studied to determine if clonal dominance occurs in this clinical setting. Clonal analysis of 20 allogeneic marrow transplant recipients was performed on DNA from peripheral blood neutrophils using restriction fragment length polymorphisms on the X chromosome. Similar studies were performed on 16 of the donors. To analyze the results further, recipients were paired with their respective donors. There was no evidence of shifts in cell populations contributing to the X chromosome inactivation patterns in recipient marrow grafts when compared with their respective donors. A mathematical model based on binomial statistics was adapted to estimate the numbers of reconstituting pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells. There was no evidence of clonal dominance suggestive of oligoclonal reconstitution in marrow grafts after allogeneic marrow transplantation. This does not preclude the possibility of oligoclonal reconstitution in other marrow transplant settings such as autologous transplantation.


Background Patients with primary or secondary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) often suffer from stroke leading to high degree of disability. Though it is well known that phospholipid antibodies induce a procoagulatory scenario, antibody status does not well characterise patients at risk. Using transcranial Doppler ultrasound of intracerebral arteries we could detect microembolic signals correlating well with phospholipid antibody titer as well as with history of stroke. In these patients we could also demonstrate elevated levels of platelet activation markers (p-selectin) as well as increased platelet leukocyte aggregation. Tirofiban is a potent, highly selective and reversible inhibitor of platelet gpIIb/IIIa receptor which binds fibrinogen on platelet surface. Objectives We treated a patient with primary APS and refractory transitory ischaemic attacks with tirofiban and detected microembolic signals as well as platelet activation markers and platelet-leukocyte aggregations (PLA). Methods In fresh venous citrate-anticoagulated whole blood expression of gp Ib (CD41), gp IIb/IIIa (CD42b), fibrinogen binding and p-selectin (CD62p) was analysed using a flowcytometric double staining method. In parallel we detected PLA by determining percentage of platelet marker/leukocyte marker (CD42b/CD45) double posi-tive leukocytes. Results Upon Tirofiban treatment we found a reduction of platelet activation markers (p-selectin, fibrinogen binding, CD63). Under steady state conditions with tirofiban expression of platelet activation markers and platelet leukocyte interaction normalised completely compared to normal healthy donors. The morning after each infusion there was a rebound phenomenon, which could also be observed in platelet activation markers and PLA. This rebound phenomenon could be reproduced upon sequential administration of tirofiban in parallel with rate of microembolic events. Conclusion In a patient with primary APS therapeutic intervention with tirofiban, a reversible inhibitor of platelet gpIIb/IIIa receptor, induced a clinical improvement of transitory ischaemic attacks. In parallel with clinical improvement there was a modulation of microembolic signals as well as platelet activation markers and PLA. Flowcytometric measurement of platelet activation can be a useful tool in monitoring platelet hyperreactivity in APS upon therapeutic intervention.


Myeloid leukemia is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease. Cytogenetic studies have revealed specific chromosomal abnormalities, such as translocations, and inversions. Fusion proteins derived from these abnormalities were identified in various subtypes of leukemia. Because most of these fusion proteins were not sufficient to induce leukemia by themselves in mouse models, additional oncogenic events have been thought to be necessary for leukemogenesis. Recently, a hypothesis called "two-hit model" for leukemia has been proposed. Two broad classes of mutations that proliferative or survival advantage of hematopoietic progenitors and impaired differentiation are required for inducing leukemia. In this article, we summarize some typical chromosomal abnormalities or gene mutations associated with myeloid leukemia on the basis of this hypothesis.


Contract Law provides a uniquely practical approach to the topic. The text is divided into four parts. Part I covers forming contracts. It looks at bargaining and agreeing, and the requirements of mutuality, legal relations, and non-contractual promises. Part II considers issues related to keeping contracts. It examines the assembling of the contract, interpreting the terms of a contract, flexible terms, and changes in contracts. The next part is about regulating contracts. It looks at untrue statements, the limits of hard bargaining, controlling contractual terms, and protecting the public interest. The final part is about enforcing contracts. The text here examines issues relating to breach of contract, compensatory remedies, non-compensatory remedies, and third party matters.


Cyber-physical Systems can be defined as a complex networked control system, which normally develop by combining several physical components with the cyber space. Cyber Physical System are already a part of our daily life. As its already being a part of everyone life, CPS also have great potential security threats and can be vulnerable to various cyber-attacks without showing any sign directly to component failure. To protect user security and privacy is a fundamental concern of any kind of system; either it's a simple web application or supplicated professional system. Digital Multifactor authentication is one of the best ways to make secure authentication. It covers many different areas of a Cyber-connected world, including online payments, communications, access right management, etc. Most of the time, Multifactor authentication is little complex as it requires extra step from users. This paper will discuss the evolution from single authentication to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) starting from Single-Factor Authentication (SFA) and through Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). This paper seeks to analyze and evaluate the most prominent authentication techniques based on accuracy, cost, and feasibility of implementation. We also suggest several authentication schemes which incorporate with Multifactor authentication for CPS.