Introduction: Childhood malnutrition remains one of the most challenging global public health problems. To combat this problem, it is essential to reveal the magnitude of malnutrition and underlying socio- cultural factors influencing child feeding and raring. Despite satisfactory income levels, fishing families have low standards of living due to their different life styles and behavioral attitudes which can contribute to poor nutritional status among their children. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted among a group of marine fishing families in MOH area Ambalangoda. Study population consisted of all children (189) aged 1-5 years. Height and weight and nutritional status were assessed. Pre tested interviewer administered questionnaire was used to evaluate the selected socio-demographic and cultural factors of these families affecting the nutritional status. Results: Prevalence of different forms of malnutrition reported was underweight-31%, stunting-23% and wasting-11.2%. Prevalence of alcoholism was 37.9% while smoking was 45.5%. Parental level of education, mother's employment status was not significantly related to the nutritional status. Significant association was found between maternal literacy with underweight and wasting while literacy of father with stunting. Father being an alcoholic was significantly related to wasting, stunting and underweight. Father's state of smoking has also being identified as a significant associate of underweight and stunting. Method adopted to dispose excreta of children also found to be significantly associated factor with underweight of their preschool children. Conclusions and recommendations: Parental literacy, father's substance abuse was identified as associated factors for malnutrition in this community and health educational and promotional programmes should be targeted towards these factors using audio visual aids considering the levels of literacy of parents.


A 100 MHz to 3.5 GHz four-stage CMOS ring oscillator with quadrature outputs and oscillator core current consumption roughly proportional to operating frequency is presented. A novel oscillator topology consisting of a chain of four static single-ended CMOS inverters, four additional feedforward inverters and frequency control by steering the total oscillator core current is proposed. The circuit is implemented in a 0.18/spl mu/ standard CMOS technology. Oscillator core current consumption is 90/spl mu/A at 100 MHz and 9mA at 3.5 GHz with a 1.8V supply. Measured phase noise at 4 MHz offset is -114dBc/Hz at 100MHz and -106dBc/Hz at 3.5GHz oscillation frequency. Quadrature error is better than 3.5/spl deg/ over the 100 MHz to 3GHz frequency range.


Purpose: Because of the apparent rapid advancement in the field of information and communication technology and its constant connection to the internet, customer and organizational data have become vulnerable to cyber-attacks, necessitating the explanation of solutions to ensure the security and protection of information throughout the industry. Today, it is critical for governments and major corporations to implement cybersecurity systems to ensure the confidentiality and security of data in the face of cyber-attacks. As community-based fully systems have become more important in today's society, they've become targets for malicious actions, prompting both industry and the research community to place a greater emphasis on resolving community intrusion detection difficulties. In network intrusion detection challenges, gadget examining algorithms have proven to be a valuable tool.
Design/Methodology/Approach: This research provided a fully unique architecture for attack node mitigation as a result of the use of a novel type and encryption mechanism. First, the UNSW-NB15 dataset is received and separated into training and testing data. Within the Training section, information is first and foremost pre-processed, and capabilities are extracted. The relevant features are then chosen using the Taxicab Woodpecker Mating algorithm (TWMA). The BRELU-ResNet classifier is then used to classify the attacked and non-attacked data. The typical statistics are encrypted using the ESHP-ECC method, which is then saved in the security log report. Following that, the shortest distance will be calculated using Euclidean distance. Finally, the information is decrypted utilizing a set of ideas known as DSHP-ECC. If the entry appears in the log record while testing, it is marked as attacked statistics and will not be communicated. The method of detecting cyber-assaults will continue if it is not detected.
Findings/Result: The analysis is based on the UNSW-NB 15 dataset, which shows that the proposed approach achieves an excessive security level of 93.75 percent.
Originality/Value: This experimental-based research article examines the malicious activities in the cyberspace and mitigated by using a SHP-ECC mechanism.
Paper Type: Research Article


O n e of ?aul's primary goals in writing a number of his letters was to respond to challenges from various opponents, both internal and external to the recipients' contexts.^ In many instances ?aul seeks to reassert his authority in the face of these confrontations. Nevertheless, and unexpectedly, there are occasions when he is instead at pains to draw attention to ways in which his authority is actually constrained in particular and important ways. ̂ Some of these restrictions are divinely imposed؛ others are self-imposed in response to specific circumstances; and still others are a consequence of having to negotiate the extent of authority he has with a particular church. However, subsequent


In this paper we present a consistent estimator for a route choice model in a discrete choice framework. To have a realistic substitution pattern across paths, it is important to allow for a correlation structure across paths that overlap. In the literature, there are two different approaches to allow for a flexible correlation structure in a path-based route choice model. First, in logit-based approaches one starts with a discrete choice model in the class of Multivariate Extreme Value (MEV) models. Within the MEV framework, which also can be termed nested logit framework, it is possible to explicitly allow for rather general a correlations structure. Still, the ability for an MEV model to represent a general correlation structure are limited. Yet another possiblity is to use a simple MEV model, such as the standard Multinomial Logit (MNL) model, and define well-chosen corrections to account for the correlation structure across paths. A second approach is to more explicitly model the error structure on paths by using link specific errors. This will induce a natural correlation structure across paths, since overlapping paths explicitly share a common error strucutre on the overlapping links. One may also allow for the variance of the error component to be dependent on the link length, such that there is a higher variance for longer links than for shorter. If one can assume that random errors are normal distributed, then the utility for paths will be normal distributed and one is left with a path-based multinomial probit model to estimate. Models with link specific costs are both theoretical elegant and convenient from the perspective of applied traffic assignment. Indeed, the probit-based route choice model with random link costs were early proposed by Daganzo (1977) and Daganzo and Sheffi (1977). Unfortunately, estimating such models imposes a real challange, since then estimation of such a model is associated with solving multidimensional integrals, and there exists only a few examples in the literature, typically when the number of paths are quite limited. For real-sized networks, probit-based models quickly impose a comutational challange. First of all, the set of possible choice are typically huge and impractical or impossible to enumerate. One would need to know the size of the choice set to be able to estimate a multinomial probit path-based model. Therefore, previously one has to resorted to path sampling. Bekhor et al (2002) samples (ad hoc) 50 `good' routes for each origin-destination pair and then estimate a multinomial probit model. However, using the choice sampling approach, one is left with two problems. The first is how to sample "`good"' paths. A second problem is that the estimator is not consistent. That is, there is no known correction to bring probit estimates to be consistent in the presence of choice set sampling. In fact, in all discrete choice models except for the standard MNL, choice set sampling will present a risk for bias, see Nerella and Bhat (2004) for a quantitative assessment. In this paper we will for the first time develop an algorithm for Maximum-Likelihood estimation of a route choice model with random link specific cost which is computational feasible for realistic applications. The model is path-based, such that we allow the individual to consider all paths from origin to destination. In contrast with other algorithms, however, we do not have to sample paths. We demonstrate that our model is feasible even in realistic real-world applications.


The development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer, Parkinson, and Huntington disease is strongly age-dependent. Discovering drugs that act on the high rate of aging in older individuals could be a means of combating these diseases. Reduction of the activity of the mitochondrial enzyme CLK-1 (also known as COQ7) slows down aging in Caenorhabditis elegans and in mice. Clioquinol is a metal chelator that has beneficial effects in several cellular and animal models of neurodegenerative diseases as well as on Alzheimer disease patients. Here we show that clioquinol inhibits the activity of mammalian CLK-1 in cultured cells, an inhibition that can be blocked by iron or cobalt cations, suggesting that chelation is involved in the mechanism of action of clioquinol on CLK-1. We also show that treatment of nematodes and mice with clioquinol mimics a variety of phenotypes produced by mutational reduction of CLK-1 activity in these organisms. These results suggest that the surprising action of clioquinol on several age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases with distinct etiologies might result from a slowing down of the aging process through action of the drug on CLK-1. Our findings support the hypothesis that pharmacologically targeting aging-associated proteins could help relieve age-dependent diseases.


A novel red phosphorescent heteroleptic tris-cyclometalated iridium complex, Ir(ppy)2(dpq) based on 2-phenylpyridine (ppy) and 2,4-diphenylquinoline (dpq) ligand was synthesized and characterized for application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The heteroleptic tris-cyclometalated iridium complex leads to a significant improvement in luminescence efficiency by cascade exciton transfer and the avoidance of triplet-triplet (T-T) annihilation. A ppy ligand with triplet state energies intermediate between that of the host and the emitting ligand can be successfully employed as "sensitizing ligand" allowing for efficient energy transfer from the host to the emitting ligand. A maximum luminance efficiency of ηc = 14.06 cd/A was achieved at a current density of J = 20.94 mA/cm2. At a higher current density of J = 100 mA/cm2, an efficiency of ηc = 10.77 cd/A was obtained.


A model has been constructed that applies second law analysis to a Fanno formulation of the exhaust process of a turbocharged diesel engine. The model has been used to quantify available energy destruction at the valve and in the manifold and to study the influence of various system parameters on the relative magnitude of these exhaust system losses. The model formulation and its application to the optimization of the exhaust manifold diameter is discussed. Data are then presented which address the influence of the manifold friction, turbine efficiency, turbine power extraction, valve flow area, compression ratio, speed, load and air-fuel ratio on the available energy destruction in the exhaust system.


Background and Objective: Chronic arsenic toxicity is a widespread problem; the role of brain oxidative stress has been suggested in the genesis of epilepsy and in the post-seizure neuronal death. However, studies investigating the effects of arsenic on seizure and related mechanisms are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of prolonged exposure to sodium arsenite on oxidative damage in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in mice.
Materials and Methods: In this study, male NMRI mice received sodium arsenite (0, 25, 50, and 100 ppm) in the drinking water for a period of 30 days. After exposure, all animals were injected PTZ (PTZ; 85 mg/kg, i.p.) to induce seizure, and the seizure parameters were evaluated for 30 minutes. Then, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured in the brain.
Results: The results of this study showed that sodium arsenite decreases the latency to the seizure onset and time of death (p<0.05). The greatest effect was observed at concentration of 50 ppm. The data indicated that exposure to sodium arsenite increases the levels of MDA (p<0.05) and decreased the levels of GSH in brain (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that PTZ effects potentiated by arsenic and oxidative damage involved in exacerbation of arsenic convulsive effects. Considering the role of arsenic in brain tissue damage following the seizure, it is recommended to control arsenic in drinking water.


IT IS DIFFICULT to evaluate a period of preparation and training before one has completed that training and experienced its effects. One's education can be viewed with much greater advantage from a mature age. Nevertheless, residents are ready and voluble critics of their training, and it is with a mixture of humility and enthusiasm that I rise to my present assignment. We live in a society which places great value on leisure and material goods. Service and dedication are considered strange and suspicious motives. In terms of leisure and material goods, residency training is costly and its return is inferior. Most laymen of age and station comparable to residents are appalled at the resident's material sacrifice. Even the ultimate material return is not commensurate with the cost. These material injustices are now generally recognized within and without the profession, and they are diminishing slowly. Society wants well-trained doctors and must


Research background. Chronic nonspecifc low back pain is one of the most widespread health problems in modern society. Massage together with oils is commonly used for low back pain. However, no studies are available on the effect of classical massage with different oils on functional state and pain in patients with chronic low back pain. The aim of this research was to determine the effects of classical massage with different oils on patients with chronic nonspecifc low back pain. Methods. This study included 14 women. They were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group received classical massage using oil of natural components and the control group received massage with Vaseline oil. All participants received seven massage sessions, one session lasted 20 min. Pain intensity (VAS scale), functional disability level (Oswestry Low Back Disability Questionnaire) and measurement of spine flexion range of motion (Modifed Shober test) were evaluated before and after intervention. Results. Both groups showed signifcant improvements in pain intensity (p < 0.05). Massage with oil of natural components was more effective then massage with Vaseline oil in reducing pain (p < 0.05). Functional disability decreased in both groups (p < 0.05), but no signifcant difference was found between groups. The range of motion changes were not signifcant after intervention in two groups. Conclusions. Classical massage with oil of natural components and classical massage with Vaseline oil were found to be effective in relieving pain and decreasing functional disability in patients with chronic low back pain. Massage with oil of natural components was more effective than massage with Vaseline oil in reducing pain.Keywords: chronic nonspecifc low back pain, classical massage, oil.


In Italy, among the Asian communities, the Filipino one is the second per number of legally resident migrants as well as one of the eldest. The Filipino immigration group is characterized by a polarization towards the female gender and it is mainly involved in housework or personal care services (Annual Report, 2014).This long lasting presence in the Italian community involves interesting dynamics that involve their social identity (Tajfel, 1981), different cultural systems and perceived well-being. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of a group of Filipino first generation on: their integration processes; groups and identity dimensions; perceived well-being. Data have been collected through the administration of a semi-structured questionnaire in a face to face setting. Results seem to delineate a general positive framework with some elements of complexity from which could it be desirable to start promoting real integration processes. Keywords—immigration, intergroup relationships, acculturation processes, well-being.


This review article provides an overview of cone beam (CB) imaging technology and its role in orofacial imaging, including comparison with two-dimensional (2D) radiography and multislice computed tomography (MCT). The radiation dose levels of CB systems are discussed, with reference to those delivered by MCT and common dental 2D views. The large variation in dose levels delivered by CB systems and the importance of using ultra low-dose CB units are emphasized. Low-dose MCT protocols can be used. CB and MCT image quality are compared. CB is an essential technique that all dental and orofacial clinicians must be familiar with. Where ultra low-dose systems and protocols are used, CB imaging should be considered in day-to-day clinical practice. However, CB imaging is not the technique of choice in many clinical scenarios. Rather than replacing other modalities, CB imaging complements intraoral 2D radiography, panoramic radiography, MCT and other techniques including magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and nuclear medicine. MCT is a much more powerful and flexible modality and presently remains the technique of choice over CB imaging in many clinical scenarios. All radiologic examinations, including CB and MCT, should be comprehensively evaluated in entirety. The responsibilities and the radiological skill levels of clinicians involved in imaging as well as the associated ethical and medico-legal implications require consideration.


A Improved Control System For A Forced-Oscillation Rig For Measurement Of Pitch/Yaw Damping Derivatives In The NAL 1 .2m Derivatives Wind Tunnel Has Bee Designed And Developed. The Basic Principles Of The System Are Similar To Those Of A Existing Control System Developed For The Same Forced-Oscillation Rig. The Present System In Corporate Certain Features Such As The Use Of Digital Techniques For Fine Tuning And Automatic Switching Of Phase Tracking Control From Closed-Loop To Open-Loop Mode Operation . These Features Facilitate Testing. Even When The Model Is Subject, To Relatively Large Random Disturbances Due Either To Large Flow U Steadiness A D/Or Separated Flow Over Model Occurring At High Incidences. Performance Of The Control System Was Evaluated Initially In Bench Tests .The System Was Later Successfully Employed For Pitch-Damping Measurements at Mach Numbers up To 3 .T3 In The NAL 1 .2 Transonic Blowdown Tunnel.


Natural zeolite has been widely used as an ion exchanger since the 1950s. The purpose of this study was to quantify the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of natural zeolite from different locations (Bayah and Cikembar in West Java, Indonesia) based on particle sizes of 0.15 and 0.079 mm, using different displacement solutions of 0.5M cesium chloride (CsCl) and 0.5 M potassium chloride (KCl). Higher CEC was observed in Cikembar100 compared to Bayah100 due to its higher surface area (31%) and total pore volume (11%) compared to Bayah100. Cikembar100 had 11% higher clinoptilolite mineral content compared to Bayah 100. The low CEC measured for Bayah100 and Bayah200 may be due to the lower percentage purity of the clinoptilolite mineral content in those samples. The natural zeolite samples displaced with 0.5M CsCl had 6% higher CEC compared to 0.5M KCl, which means that Cs+ had more strength compared to K+ in displacing NH4+ into the solution from the nanocavity site of the zeolitic framework into the solution. In both displacement solutions (0.5M CsCl and KCl), Cikembar100 had 10% more net negative charge compared to Bayah100 due to its isomorphous substitution properties in natural zeolite. Isomorphous substitution in natural zeolite affects its negative charge and the capacity to retain NH4+ in the zeolitic framework, thus increasing its CEC and making natural zeolite with the particle size of 0.079 mm (Cikembar100) a promising material for cation removal, particularly Cs from aqueous solution.


The widespread utilization of AI systems has drawn attention to the potential impacts of such systems on society. Of particular concern are the consequences that prediction errors may have on real-world scenarios, and the trust humanity places in AI systems. It is necessary to understand how we can evaluate trustworthiness in AI and how individuals and entities alike can develop trustworthy AI systems. In this paper, we analyze each element of trustworthiness and provide a set of 20 guidelines that can be leveraged to ensure optimal AI functionality while taking into account the greater ethical, technical, and practical impacts to humanity. Moreover, the guidelines help ensure that trustworthiness is provable and can be demonstrated, they are implementation agnostic, and they can be applied to any AI system in any sector.


In 1906, Clarke described C. hypsipedos based on specimens of Weberbauer 2617 and placed this species in subgenus Vignea . In 1909, Kukenthal also described the name C. umbellata var. depressa on the basis of the number Weberbauer 2617 , a species attributed to section Acrocystis of subgenus Carex . Wheeler in 1988 also placed C. hypsipedos in section Acrocystis while reducing Kukenthal's name to synonymy. During a recent herbarium survey, we studied syntypes corresponding to Weberbauer 2617 at B, F, G, and MOL. The study of these materials revealed important inconsistencies between the specimens and Clarke's protologue and Wheeler's study, suggesting that Weberbauer 2617 is a mixed collection of two different species. One plant conforms to Carex sect. Acrocystis , while the other bears resemblance to subgenus Vignea . Several salient characters distinguish these two taxa from each other, most notably including: stigmas 3 vs. stigmas 2, achenes trigonous vs. lenticular, and perigynium pubescent to puberulent vs. glabrous. Carex hypsipedos from Peru, corresponding to Clarke's original description, is here lectotypified. The Carex sect. Acrocystis species is assigned a new name, Carex punicola , from Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru (South America). In addition to Wheeler's (1988) observations, we here provide additional detail and illustration of this species. It is closely related to C. geophila , another American species in section Acrocystis .


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. OBJECTIVES: Clinically deployable methods for the rapid and accurate prediction of sepsis severity that could elicit a meaningful change in clinical practice are currently lacking. We evaluated a whole-blood, multiplex host-messenger RNA expression metric, Inflammatix-Severity-2, for identifying septic, hospitalized patients' likelihood of 30-day mortality, development of chronic critical illness, discharge disposition, and/or secondary infections. DESIGN: Retrospective, validation cohort analysis. SETTING: Single, academic health center ICU. PATIENTS: Three hundred thirty-five critically ill adult surgical patients with sepsis. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Whole blood was collected in PAXgene Blood RNA collection tubes at 24 hours after sepsis diagnosis and analyzed using a custom 29-messenger RNA classifier (Inflammatix-Severity-2) in a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certified diagnostic laboratory using the NanoString FLEX platform. Among patients meeting Sepsis-3 criteria, the Inflammatix-Severity-2 severity score was significantly better (p < 0.05) at predicting secondary infections (area under the receiver operating curve 0.71) and adverse clinical outcomes (area under the receiver operating curve 0.75) than C-reactive protein, absolute lymphocyte counts, total WBC count, age, and Charlson comorbidity index (and better, albeit nonsignificantly, than interleukin-6 and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II). Using multivariate logistic regression analysis, only combining the Charlson comorbidity index (area under the receiver operating curve 0.80) or Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (area under the receiver operating curve 0.81) with Inflammatix-Severity-2 significantly improved prediction of adverse clinical outcomes, and combining with the Charlson comorbidity index for predicting 30-day mortality (area under the receiver operating curve 0.79). CONCLUSIONS: The Inflammatix-Severity-2 severity score was superior at predicting secondary infections and overall adverse clinical outcomes compared with other common metrics. Combining a rapidly measured transcriptomic metric with clinical or physiologic indices offers the potential to optimize risk-based resource utilization and patient management adjustments that may improve outcomes in surgical sepsis. Hospitalized patients who are septic and present with an elevated IMX-SEV2 severity score and preexisting comorbidities may be ideal candidates for clinical interventions aimed at reducing the risk of secondary infections and adverse clinical outcomes.


This paper considers moral hazard in insurance markets when voluntary monitoring technologies are available and insureds may choose the precision of monitoring. Also privacy costs incurred thereby are taken into account. Two alternative contract schemes are compared in terms of welfare: (i) monitoring conditional on the loss with only the insurance indemnities based on the monitoring data, and (ii) unrestricted monitoring with both the premiums and the indemnities depending on the data. With any contract scheme some monitoring will be optimal unless the privacy costs increase too fast in relation to the precision of the monitoring signal. In the benchmark situation (without privacy costs) relying completely on both signals (monitoring and the outcome) informative of effort (ii) maximizes welfare. In the presence of privacy costs, the contract with conditional monitoring (i) might dominate the contract which fully includes the outcome and the monitoring signal into the sharing rule (ii). Apart from the direct effect of restricting privacy costs only to the state of loss, there are also an additional indirect incentive and a risk-sharing effect with this contract. Letting the individuals choose the precision of the monitoring technology at the time they reveal the data (ex post) is inefficient with either contract scheme.


500 consecutive patients with acute viral hepatitis verified by biopsy were divided into groups of 202 patients with detectable Australia (Au) antigen and 298 patients without antigenaemia at the time of admission to hospital. Comparison was made of the initially recorded clinical, biochemical, histological and serological variables in the two groups. Judged by both histological and biochemical criteria, the acute disease was more severe in the 202 patients with Au antigen than in the 298 patients without Au antigen. Evidence is presented that this difference is possibly due more to qualitative aetiological differences between the two groups than to the duration of antigenaemia or the time of hospitalization. Thus, the demonstration of Au antigenaemia provides not only epidemiological but also relevant clinical information.


As of now, numerous improvements have been carried out to increase the performance of previous existing algorithms for image segmentation with the limitation lying on the intra clustering variance. However, most of them tend to have met with inadequate results. This paper presents an improved version of the Moving KMeans algorithm called Enhanced Moving K-Means (EMKM) algorithm. In the proposed EMKM, the moving concept of the conventional Moving K-Means (i.e. certain members of the cluster with the highest fitness value are forced to become the members of the clusters with the smallest fitness value) is enhanced. Two versions of EMKM, namely EMKM-1and EMKM-2 are proposed. The qualitative and quantitative analyses have been performed to measure the efficiency of both EMKM algorithms over the conventional algorithms (i.e. K-Means, Moving KMeans, and Fuzzy C-Means) and the latest clustering algorithms (i.e. AMKM and AFMKM). It is investigated that the proposed algorithms significantly outperform the other conventional clustering algorithms.


The field of infectious disease epidemiology has increasingly adopted stochastic simulation technologies to simulate complex infectious disease transmission systems. Such simulations have both increased the scientific understanding of infectious disease transmission dynamics and served as important tools for evaluating epidemiologic study designs and statistical methods. This paper reports on a discrete event simulation to analyze the Retrospective Partner Trials (RPT) HIV vaccine trial design. A specially designed simulation system, HIVSIM, was used to simulate data resulting from the RPT design vaccine trials. HIVSIM explicitly models complex HIV transmission dynamics (e.g., sexual partner mixing patterns and concurrent sexual partnerships) and vaccine trial design characteristics. Monte Carlo simulation analyses conducted with HIVSIM indicate that the RPT design is able to produce vaccine effect estimates with acceptably small bias, high precision and excellent statistical power under plausible HIV vaccine trial conditions. Additionally, the explicit simulation of HIV transmission dynamics permits investigations into the common, but unwarranted, statistical independence assumptions routinely used in the estimation of vaccine effects.


Previous organizational research has focused heavily on organizational commitment, for employees in general, as well as for specific minority groups. However, there is a large gap in the research literature concerning the organizational commitment of people with disabilities. The current study contributes to the literature both by investigating the predictors of reported organizational commitment of people with disabilities, as well by examining organizational-level predictors, rather than individual-level phenomena. Additionally, rather than examining legal or compliance issues related to people with disabilities, as is found in most previous research, the current study examines contextual predictors of organizational commitment, pro-disability climate, pro-disability technology, and availability of flexible work arrangements. Structural equation modeling results suggest that there is a chain effect of pro-disability climate, which impacts the organizational commitment of people with disabilities through pro-disability technology and flexible work arrangements. Implications for both research and human resource practitioners are discussed.


This research evaluates intelligent interface requirements for knowledge presentation in an expert system used for diagnostic problem solving. In a field study, interactions between employee expertise, knowledge presentation format (procedural vs. declarative), question type (requiring abstract vs. concrete knowledge organization), and task uncertainty are examined for employee problem-solving and decision-making performance (speed and accuracy). Also evaluated are confidence in system recommendations and lines-of-reasoning, as well as user satisfaction with the system interface. The study provides findings that are discussed within the context of intelligent interface requirements for organizational information systems. The results show that high-skill users perform significantly faster and more accurately when solving the problems and have self-reported confidence ratings that are higher than those of low-skill users. The expert system, however, has a greater impact on improving performance for low-skill users than for high-skill users. A relationship is found between skill level and task uncertainty indicating that different skill-level users require different presentation formats paralleling their conceptual representations of the problem. The interaction between skill level and knowledge organization is confirmed with results showing that low-skill users perform faster than high-skill users on questions requiring concrete knowledge organization; whereas high-skill users perform better when presented with questions requiring abstract knowledge organization.


Elevation of the vitelline coat of eggs of the ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi, was induced by 12‐O‐tetradecanoylphorbol‐13‐acetate or phorbol‐12, 13‐didecanoate, but not by their 4‐epimers. After elevation of the vitelline coat in this way, eggs were unable to undergo cleavage on addition of sperm. This elevation of the vitelline coat by phorbol esters was inhibited by specific inhibitors of trypsin‐like enzyme, calmodulin, phospholipase A2, and protein kinase C. In association with elevation of the vitelline coat, a trypsin‐like enzyme was released from the eggs. The properties of this enzyme were similar to those of the enzyme released by calcium ionophore, which also induced elevation of the vitelline coat, suggesting that similar exocytosis of intracellular granules occurred in both cases. Calmodulin, possibly involved in the elevation process, was isolated from eggs and characterized.


Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESPs) are commonly applied to producing wells in unconventional reservoirs. Typically, the operator places the ESP in the vertical section to minimize installation risks; however, some operators have reported installing ESPs in the lateral section to improve operation and production. This paper will present a study of the interaction between reservoir inflow, wellbore geometry, and ESP operation using a commercial dynamic multiphase flow simulator (OLGA). The study will further quantify the benefits and disadvantages of deploying the ESP in the vertical and lateral sections of a horizontal well. The investigation uses operations data from a Permian basin well, with an ESP operating in the vertical section of a horizontal well. The dynamic simulation model was built and tuned to match the field data with two different production stages: early and late production. Hypothetical cases with the ESP located in the lateral section and with different well geometries (toe-up and toe-down) are also investigated. For the performance evaluation of different ESP deployment positions, the following indicators were considered: (a) production flow rate, (b) likelihood of pressure surging occurrence, and (c) flow pattern and gas volume fraction reaching the ESP system. Finally, the study provides guidelines on the ESP deployment location for improved operation and production.


This work describes an initial design concept for a spinal needle using new materials to optimize their visualization in magnetic resonance imaging. Common MRI needles made of Nickel-Titanium alloys still show poor visibility in imaging because they generate susceptibility artifacts due to material's interactions with the magnetic environment. The use of non-metallic materials can reduce these artifacts. However, so far no non-metallic needle design has made it to clinical routine due to sharpness and cost issues. We propose a design of a coaxial needle with a fiber enforced inner core and an outer hollow sheet. The concept has been evaluated in the MRI environment. Additionally, mechanical tests were performed to examine and quantify the variation between a conventional spinal needle and our proposed design.


This review summarizes occurrence of organic and inorganic contaminants in house dust and the contribution of house dust as a marker of indoor exposure. Several studies have identified house dust as an important route of toxicant exposure. Often levels of pollutants found in house dust, including compounds banned long ago, are significant sources of exposure for the general population, especially children. House dust is a sink and repository for semivolatile organic compounds and particle-bound matter. Analyses of compounds in house dust are a measure of indoor contamination but may also provide valuable information for assessment of human indoor exposure. The objective of analyzing house dust are to describe the extent, distribution, and determinants of exposure, to identify possible sources of indoor contamination, or to record elevated indoor exposure leading to intervention or sanitation. House dust and compounds adsorbed to house dust may enter the human body by inhalation of suspended and resuspended particles, through nondietary ingestion of dust, through ingestion of particles adhering to food, surfaces in the homes, and on the skin as well as by absorption through the skin. The quantity of dust inhaled and deposited in the differing parts of the alveolar tract is dependent on the aerodynamic diameter. Exposure to house dust does not exclusively and may not even predominantly occur via inhalation, however. For instance, ingestion of house dust particles adhering to food, objects, and the skin or direct absorption through the skin may be primary routes of exposure (Lewis et al. 1994). Samples referred to as "house dust" vary significantly because house dust may be of different origin, amount, and composition and the method of sampling the dust influences the properties of the sample used for analysis. Passive and active sampling methods are described and discussed. For the analysis of organic pollutants in house dust, the < or = 63-microns fraction should be favored because variances caused by inhomogeneity of the subsample are low. Results from studies on house dust are presented for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), plasticizers (phthalates, phenols), flame retardants, other organic xenobiotics, and inorganic constituents. If available, medians as a measure of the average concentration and the 90th or 95th percentiles are added as reference values. The review of the literature points out that ingestion of house dust may be a major route of exposure to pesticides for infants and toddlers. So far, only a few guideline values or limiting values for house dust exist. For lead in house dust, the health risk is regulated only in the U.S. and for PAH in the Federal Republic of Germany. Risk associated with the ingestion of contaminated dust by small children (age, 1-6 years; mean body weight, 16 kg) can be estimated using the chronic oral reference dose (RfD) and a daily intake of 100 mg house dust. The tentative benchmark house dust concentrations that are believed to be without health effect for small children were calculated for several compounds from their current RfD. Comparison with the maximum concentrations reviewed for chlorpyrifos, DDT, and diazinon indicates that the tolerable exposure concentration in house dust might be exceeded and that chlorpyrifos especially can be considered as a potential hazard to householders. The role of house dust as an exposure source is gaining more attention over the years but several open questions related to health remain to be resolved. Pesticides applied outside or within the household that are absorbed and preserved by house dust can lead through the everyday activities of children and infants to increased exposure. Residential exposure including house dust residues contribute to combined exposure from dietary and nondietary sources. It is justified to shift more attention to indoor pollution by house dust contamination and to improve the risk assessment of nondietary ingestion, but any health-based standard must be accompanied by a specific dust sampling method.


Optical inverse multiplexing is a promising technology for high-rate data transmission and rapidly increased demand for capacity. To realize this technology, a key issue is the buffering to alleviate the delay among parallel routes. As described in this paper, delay time characteristics of optical inverse multiplexing using optical parallel routes in WDM mesh networks are evaluated quantitatively for rapid capacity demand, comparison with the case of whether the existing route is still used or not.


This article offers an alternative perspective of Japan's international human security diplomacy concerning the underlying motivations that has caused Japan to pursue its international human security diplomacy in such proactive and aggressive manner. So far Japan's involvement in the international human security initiatives had only been examined separately in the literature, with not much attention been given towards it linkage with Japan's relentless efforts and restraints throughout the decades towards becoming a normal state. This article argues that when Japan's involvement in international human security is studied together with its underlying ambition of becoming a normal state, the approach can no longer be solely understood as Japan's effort to compensate the imbalances between its reactive international political posture and its significant status as the world's third-biggest economy. Instead, this involvement should be examined from the perspective of Japan's own national security requirements. Most importantly, it should be examined alongside Japan's effort to strategically participate, contribute, and gain greater autonomy in the international political sphere under its envisioned status as a normal country. From this perspective, the motivation behind Japan's persistence and aggressive pursuit of its international human security diplomacy becomes clearer under Prime Minister Abe's "proactive contribution to peace". It implies a shift in Japan's security identity from a 'peace state' to an 'international state' that sees Japan playing a more active role in responding to the structural changes of the international security environment. In particular, it corresponds with Japan's effort under the Abe administration to inculcate worldwide awareness that becoming a "normal state" is a prerequisite for Japan to collaborate with the international community and contribute effectively towards sustainable world peace and stability.


Abstract The tread design, together with the tread compound, is responsible for the grip characteristics of tires. The aim of this work is to develop an engineering tool that is able to predict the stiffness distribution, i.e., the grip characteristics, of a given tread design without the need of producing a prototype. This is done by combining a graphical preprocessor developed in Matlab that is able to convert a drawing into a mesh, and a commercial FEA code.


The study was conducted at the farmers field in Sylhet under AEZ 20 during three consecutive years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 to determine the productivity and profitability of cropping patterns viz ., IP: improved pattern (Mung bean-T. aus-T. aman rice) and FP: farmer's pattern (Fallow-T. aus-T. aman rice) through incorporation of high yielding varieties and improved management practices. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with six dispersed replications. Results showed that the improve pattern with management practices provided 10.85 and 14.32% higher grain yield of T. aus and T. aman rice, respectively; also contributed more T. aman mean rice equivalent yield (11.81 t ha -1 ) compared to farmer's pattern. Mean sustainable yield index (77.63%), production efficiency (47.88 kg ha -1 day -1 ), and land use efficiency (67.66%) were maximum in Mung bean-T. aus- T. aman rice cropping system. Similarly, the highest mean gross margin (Tk.126762 ha -1 ) with benefit cost ratio (2.10) was obtained from improved pattern. Three years results revealed that 42% extra cost provides an ample scope of considerable improvement of the productivity of improved pattern with the inclusion of Mungbean before T. aus rice. Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 42(3): 413-424, September 2017


Getting the right amount of quality sleep is a key aspect of good health, along with a healthy diet and regular exercise. Human-computer interaction (HCI) researchers have recently designed systems to support diet and exercise, but sleep has been relatively under-studied in the HCI community. We conducted a literature review and formative study aimed at uncovering opportunities for computing to support the important area of promoting healthy sleep. We present results from interviews with sleep experts, as well as a survey (N = 230) and interviews with potential users (N = 16) to indicate what people would find practical and useful for sleep. Based on these results, we identify a number of design considerations, challenges, and opportunities for using computing to support healthy sleep behaviors, as well as a design framework for mapping the design space of technologies for sleep.


The s.c. infection of DBF-1 mice with HSV-2 has a tumor enhancing effect on simultaneously i.m. implanted MCA-induced syngeneic spindle cell sarcoma. Thus with the dosage used here, the first palpable tumors appeared on day 6 in the virus treated group as compared to day 9 p.i. in the sham treated batch. Further, more tumors were formed: 75% among the infected and 40% among the sham injected. The tumor yield could be modulated: no difference between the 2 groups was found when the tumor cell dose was increased sufficiently to advance the first appearance of tumors to less than 6 days. The same result was obtained when the neoplastic cells were implanted 3 days ahead of injection of the virus. When the dose of the cells was decreased, no tumors were found in the sham treated batch, whereas there were some in the infected group. Previous in vitro mixing of the neoplastic cells with virus completely prevented tumor formation, probably due to their lysis by the virus. In fact, in tissue cultures, MCA cells become lytically infected with HSV-2. It is speculated that a similar situation occurs in acutely ill mice which die before the 13th day p.i., i.e., the tumor cells are destroyed by the virus. In fact, those animals, as a rule are free of neoplasmas. Thus it appears that an acute HSV-2 infection prevents MCA sarcoma whereas a latent infection promotes its growth. The possible reasons for this tumor enhancement caused by HSV-2 infection are discussed.


Since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the monetary authority of Taiwan decreased the interest rate nine times and had every intention to maintain a loose monetary policy. However, the lending amounts to the construction industry decreased much more sharply in spite of an increased monetary supply. Hence, the loose monetary policy has not reduced the financial constraints of the construction firms in Taiwan. In this paper, we investigate that the credit channel of monetary policy how to works at the Taiwan's construction industry. We explain the reasons for financial constraints in the construction industry in Taiwan. Construction firms whose information is considerably opaque, are likely to be viewed as "lemons,?which accounts for the credit crunch policy of banking lending to these construction firms. Two strands of evidence support this view. First, the borrowing terms for the construction industry have been more restrictive than those for other industries firms during the same period of financial difficulty. Second, we determine that such financial constraints vary systematically within different industry groups. The results substantiate that construction firms retain more internal funds for future investment, and the sign of the liquidity coefficient is significant in their investment function. The evidence shows construction firms bear most of the reductions in bank loan supply, and that they are more bank-dependent.


Abstract Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common heterogeneous respiratory disease which is characterized by persistent and incompletely reversible airflow limitation. Due to the heterogeneity and phenotypic complexity of COPD, traditional diagnostic methods provide limited information and pose a great challenge to clinical management. In recent years, with the development of omics technologies, proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, etc., have been widely used in the study of COPD, providing great help to discover new biomarkers and elucidate the complex mechanisms of COPD. In this review, we summarize the prognostic biomarkers of COPD based on proteomic studies in recent years and evaluate their association with COPD prognosis. Finally, we present the prospects and challenges of COPD prognostic-related studies. This review is expected to provide cutting-edge evidence in prognostic evaluation of clinical patients with COPD and to inform future proteomic studies on prognostic biomarkers of COPD.


The study `attempted to assess the profitability of producing both Golda and Aman paddy farming and to explore the effects of key inputs on production processes of Golda and Aman paddy. Two villages of Pankhali Union in Dacope Upazila of Khulna district in Bangladesh were selected purposively for the study. In total, 120 farmers, at the rate of 60 from each enterprise, were randomly selected for the study. Descriptive statistics, activity budgets, Cobb-Douglas production function model were employed to achieve the objectives. The major findings of the study were that both T. Aman paddy and Golda production were profitable. Per hectare total cost, gross return and net return of Golda farming were estimated at Tk169,274.00, 123,256.00 and 75,226.00, respectively. Similarly, per hectare total cost, gross return and net return of T. Aman farming were Tk 33,097.00, 59,723.00 and 26,626.00, respectively. It was observed that coefficients of post larva, human labour, feed and stocking of others fish fry were positive and had significant impact on gross returns of Golda. Similarly, the coefficient of human labour, power tiller and insecticide were positive and had significant impacts on gross returns of T. Aman paddy production. Finally, findings of the study rule out some policy recommendations.


Abstract Due to the economic growth achieved by China over the past 20 years, Chinese consumers have changed their purchasing behavior regarding meat. Instead of buying locally produced pork, they are increasingly willing to purchase imported pork. A conjoint analysis investigated how intrinsic pork attributes (fat content and processing) and extrinsic pork attributes (origin, price, and packaging) relate to the perceived quality of pork and the choices made by Chinese consumers. A questionnaire distributed among a sample of Chinese consumers (n = 81) revealed that processing (fresh/frozen) is the most important determinant of pork choice (36%), followed by fat content (27%), origin (18%), price (12%), and packaging (6.6%). Estimates of utility showed that Chinese consumers value fresh pork highly (0.147), followed by lean pork (0.111) and pork imported from countries other than China (0.073). The findings indicate that Chinese consumer's value both intrinsic and extrinsic attributes, and these results may help the meat industry improve China's competitive meat market by developing new and more products that are tailored to the needs of the consumer.


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the phenomenon of overtourism with specific reference to the night-time economy (NTE) in Budapest, Hungary.

Design/methodology/approach
The research took place between September and December 2017 in the so-called "party quarter" of Budapest – District VII. The chosen methods included mapping, observation, interviews and questionnaires with local residents, visitors and tourists.

Findings
Partying opportunities are valued highly by tourists and the majority of customers in the bars are tourists. Many people feel that there are too many tourists in the area, although few had a bad experience with tourists. The most common complaints were the dirt and litter, public urination, street crime and noise. Most respondents would welcome a better cleaning service, more bins, more police, more public toilets and better street lighting.

Research limitations/implications
The research was not undertaken in the high season, older residents were slightly under-represented and wider research across the whole city would give a more balanced perspective.

Practical implications
Recommendations are made for managing the NTE better in order to improve the experience of tourists and visitors and to improve the local resident quality of life.

Social implications
It is hoped that this research may prompt local authorities to take local resident perceptions and experiences into account by creating better management measures and regulations.

Originality/value
This is the first paper to provide data from the perspective of three main stakeholder groups in the context of the NTE in Budapest.


Abstract The aim of the presented paper is to introduce the reader to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation in electric drives, the motivation for its usage and its benefits. Basic information about HIL simulation in general and the connection to electric drives is followed by an explanation of the main principle of the dynamic emulation of mechanical loads for electric drives, which is a special case of HIL simulation. Next, the description of the three main methods of load emulation and their mathematical background are presented in the order of historical appearance: the emulation with compensator and tracking controller, the emulation based on non-linear control and the emulation with feed-forward compensation with the use of inverse dynamics.


BACKGROUND
Suicide rates are higher in rural areas. It has been hypothesized that inadequate access to care may play a role, but studies examining individual decedent characteristics are lacking.

AIMS
We sought to characterize the demographic, socioeconomic, and mental health features of individual suicide decedents by urban-rural residence status.

METHOD
We analyzed suicides in 16 states using 2006-2008 data from the National Violent Death Reporting System and examined associations between decedent residence type and suicide variables with separate logistic regressions adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity.

RESULTS
Of 17,504 analyzed suicides, 78% were in urban, 15% in rural adjacent, and 8% in rural nonadjacent locations. Rural decedents were less likely than urban decedents to have a mental health diagnosis or mental health care, although the prevalence of depressed moods appeared similar. Most suicides were by firearm, and rural decedents were more likely than urban decedents to have used a firearm.

CONCLUSION
Rural decedents were less likely to be receiving mental health care and more likely to use firearms to commit suicide. A better understanding of geographic patterns of suicide may aid prevention efforts.


Primary cancer of the liver is rare in western countries. Men of a mean age of 60 tend to be more subject to it than women. In Africa, however, younger people of a mean age of 36 and more women become subject to it. 13.5% of malignant tumours of the liver are found in African women with a mean age of 34 years. Thus, the association of liver cancer with pregnancy is rare. The case which has been studied concerns a woman of 34 years of age, a para. 2 in her 4th pregnancy. There were no known pathogenic factors such as the taking of androgens or of oral contraceptives. The main symptoms were pain in the right side and in the centre of the abdomen. A tumour increasing in size was found. The alpha fetoprotein ratio was high and increased as pregnancy progressed. Ultrasound and scintography were positive. Liver cytology testing failed. The patient died soon because the disease progressed rapidly after a stillborn baby had been born prematurely and laparatomy had been undertaken. Laparatomy is the last possible method of diagnosis and treatment. Pregnancy seems to accelerate the development of liver tumours and makes them a very high risk. Since chemotherapy has not yet been demonstrated to be effective, only surgery can be considered as a possible therapy. The association of primary cancer of the liver with pregnancy is rare and of poor prognosis.


The health services in Britain broadly welcomed the Labour government's increased funding plans for the next three years, announced last week. Even though they may prove less generous than at first sight, they will underwrite many innovations in the NHS, including more doctors and nurses, a modernisation fund, and, in Scotland, a new concept of instant treatment centres.

The announcement comes as a result of the Treasury's year long comprehensive spending review--from which the NHS is to be the main beneficiary--after 14 months of relative parsimony by Labour. On 14 July the chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, announced an increase in health service funding totalling £21bn ($34bn) over three years from 1999--although the Conservatives claim to have detected an element of creative accounting and that the actual total is only £10.5bn.

What is not disputed is that health funding will beat inflation by an average of 3.7% a year throughout this parliament, compared with an average of …


Space Vector Modulation (SVM), with its many advantages over classical Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) techniques, is gaining popularity. Different Discontinuous-PWM with harmonic injections were developed during the past few years with the objective of reducing switching losses in power converters. However discontinuous modulation based on space vector calculations tends to be more complicated than injecting zero sequence voltage with the required phase angle. The proposed method extends the DPWM concept to tackle the temperature imbalance amongst the inverter legs and optimize switching losses for unbalanced loads. Switching losses also mean increased thermal stress on the power switches, which reduces the life of the power switches and requires an appropriate cooling system. A discontinuous auto-adjusting SVM technique intended for HEV oriented Electric-Drives is presented in this paper.


Value orientations are fundamental in the development of young people as individuals. Values play a special role in shaping the behavior and attitudes of young people, have a significant impact on their goals and beliefs. The main focus of the study is the values and social issues of students at the Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University. The University was established on August 15, 1944. In this research, we particularly define future goals of the students at Women's Teacher Training University, their opinion about the University and the learning process. The main purpose of this study is to assess the attitudes of students towards obtaining a mixed (joint) education. Mixed education, also known as blended learning, co-education (abbreviated as co-ed or coed), is an education in which male and female students study/learn together. The study involved 5 005 female students of all faculties at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels, as well as college students (University has its college) at Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University. Survey dates: October 15, 2021 - November 15, 2021. In the course of the study, it was found that the value orientations of students are focused, first of all, on the priorities in the field of education, that is, the orientation towards obtaining a unique education in a prestigious university, the preference for free education; location of the university, favorable socio-cultural environment, the level of information and technical support of the educational process. In addition, expectations for the future are focused on getting a prestigious, interesting, high-paying job that matches individual abilities and opportunities. The results of the study obtained during the survey can be used to analyze the attitude of female students towards mixed education; to study the quality of the provision of university services; studying students' satisfaction with the educational process; studying the difficulties faced by students in the learning process; and to determine what opportunities provided by the university are used by the student for personal development and activity.


A 29-year-old patient suffering from Mondor's disease is described. This case is remarkable for the presence of two fragments of subcutaneous cords in the thoracic and abdominal area. Administration of indomethacin for 2 weeks has been fairly effective.


ABSTRACT Although there is a rich body of literature on trauma and health, limited research has investigated the variables of gender, trauma symptoms, physical health, mental health, and daily stress together in a community sample. Considering the deleterious effects of trauma on health, our overarching inquiry was whether trauma symptoms can predict overall mental and physical health with attention to gender and daily stress as potential moderators. Participants (n = 103; 50.5% women) completed self-report measures of trauma symptoms, mental health, physical health, and daily stress, along with demographic information. Trauma symptoms predicted 25.2% of the variance in general health symptoms. Gender significantly added to the variance accounted for, but daily stress was not significant in the model. Trauma symptoms predicted 37.1% of the variance in mental health symptoms. Daily stress significantly added to the model, but gender did not. Results are interpreted through the integration of family stress theory and feminist frameworks, adding to the literature by further illuminating the relationships between gender, daily stress, health symptoms, and trauma in a community sample.


Most database systems rely on complex multi-layer and compatibility-oriented storage stacks, which results in sub-optimal database management system (DBMS) performance and significant write amplification. A heavy storage stack can be tolerated in the slow disk era because its storage overhead is completely overlapped by hardware delay. However, with advances in storage technologies, emerging NVMe devices have reached the same level of latency as software, which in turn has caused the storage stack to become a new bottleneck. On the other hand, NVMe devices not only improve I/O efficiency but also introduce distinctive hardware features that require software modifications to take advantage of themTo fully exploit the hardware potential of NVMe devices, we propose a lightweight native storage stack called Lightstack to minimize the software overhead. The core of Lightstack is an efficient table storage engine, LATTE, which abstracts the essential data service of the database's 2D table. LATTE is designed from the ground up to use NVMe devices efficiently. It directly accesses NVMe devices to reduce single I/O latency and utilizes a parallel scheduling strategy to leverage multiple deep I/O queues and CPU cores. Besides, undo logging on heterogeneous storage is proposed to mitigate the write amplification further. We also implement a working prototype and evaluate it with standard benchmarks on the Intel Optane DC P4800X NVMe SSD and the DC P3608 Series NVMe SSD. Experimental results show that LATTE has up to 3.6-6.5× the throughput of MySQL's InnoDB and MyRocks engines, with latency as low as 28% in the same hardware environment.


For a long time, trouble detection and maintenance of freight cars have been completed manually by inspectors. To realize the transition from manual to computer-based detection and maintenance, we focus on dust collector localization under complex conditions in the trouble of moving freight car detection system. Using mid-level features which are also named flexible edge arrangement (FEA) features, we first build the edge-based 2D model of the dust collectors, and then match target objects by a weighted Hausdorff distance method. The difference is that the constructed weighting function is generated by the FEA features other than specified subjectively, which can truly reflect the most basic property regions of the 3D object. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm has better robustness to variable lighting, different viewing angle, and complex texture, and it shows a stronger adaptive performance. The localization correct rate of the target object is over 90%, which completely meets the need of practical applications.


Sorption of benzene onto Cu-montmorillonite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and 13C magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR). Under anhydrous conditions, chemisorption of benzene in the interlamellar region of Cu-montmorillonite led to the formation of a dark red surface complex that exhibited a vibrational spectrum similar to that of doped poly-p-phenylene. When the benzene sorption reaction was carried out under high relative humidity conditions, polymerization of benzene did not occur. The FTIR spectrum of the surface complex formed under wet conditions exhibited vibrational bands that could not be assigned to those of the parent benzene molecule or to those of previously observed chemisorbed Type I or Type II complexes. 13C MAS NMR spectra of 13C-enriched benzene sorbed onto Cu-montmorillonite powder showed the presence of two groups of peaks that could be assigned to aromatic and aliphatic carbon respectively.


The recent project deals with the diagenitic processes and surface textures of the oldest river terraces deposits in Shirqat area, the diagenitic processes compiled with Cementation, Compaction and Dissolution. The carbonate minerals represent the cementic materials while the point contact compaction represent the degree of compaction in this sediments because the small thickness of the overburden sediments and the secondary effects of differential dissolution. The surface texture is very developed in the large size of sediment included pebble, cobble and boulders which form very developed surface texture formed order and disorder forms as well as smooth surface texture.


The kelp gull Larus dominicanus is an abundant and highly successful avian predator and scavenger that breeds along the coastline in the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from Antarctica to the tropics. On account of its dietary breadth, wide-ranging foraging strategies, and acclimation to modified landscapes, this species has received considerable attention within the seabird literature over the past 40 years. Furthermore, owing to its ready habituation to human-dominated environments, the species has been used as a bio-indicator of habitat modification. Here we describe new predatory behaviours of the kelp gull on a larger-bodied sympatric mammal species, the Cape fur seal Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, along the coast of Namibia, and discuss our findings as they relate to food web dynamics and behavioural plasticity.


This paper considers the extent to which crime in the 19th century was conditioned on body weight. With data on inmates incarcerated in the Tennessee and Illinois state penitentiaries between 1831 and 1892, we estimate the parameters of Wiebull proportional hazard specifications of the individual crime hazard. Our results reveal that consistent with a theory in which body weight can be a source of labor market disadvantage, crime in the 19th century does appear to have been conditioned on body weight. However, in contrast to the 20th century, in which labor market disadvantage increases with respect to body weight, in the 19th century labor market disadvantage decreased with respect to body weight, causing individual crime hazards to decrease with respect to body weight. We find that such a relationship is consistent with a 19th century complementarity between body weight and typical jobs that required adequate nutrition and caloric intake to support normal work effort and performance.


Singlet oxygen, O(2)(a(1)Delta(g)), the lowest excited electronic state of molecular oxygen, has been known to the scientific community for approximately 80 years. It has a characteristic chemistry that sets it apart from the triplet ground state of molecular oxygen, O(2)(X(3)Sigma), and is important in fields that range from atmospheric chemistry and materials science to biology and medicine. For such a "mature citizen", singlet oxygen nevertheless remains at the cutting-edge of modern science. In this critical review, recent work on singlet oxygen is summarized, focusing primarily on systems that involve light. It is clear that there is indeed still something new under the sun (243 references).


Early detection of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been of great interest to researchers due to an increase in the rate of autism incidence around the world. However, a diagnosis of ASD is still challenging to receive in a timely manner for the large-scale population because the current diagnostic practice requires considerable cost and time, and do not provide quantitative feedback. In this paper, we explore a new ASD screening method, namely Gaze-Wasserstein, that is non-invasive, fast, and widely accessible. Based on the gaze tracking and analysis, Gaze-Wasserstein is able to provide objective gaze pattern-based measurements for home-based ASD screening, and can eventually be deployed on any mobile technologies with a front camera. To test the performance of Gaze-Wasserstein, we conducted a pilot study with 32 child participants where 16 children have ASD and 16 children are typically developing. Evaluation results demonstrate the effectiveness and time-efficiency of our proposed method in the ASD screening, which indicate that our Gaze-Wasserstein is a promising autism screening approach in the clinical practice.


In this paper, a new approach to the design of broad-band time-domain element space antenna array processors is presented. The basic approach is based on the idea of minimizing the mean-square deviation between the desired look-direction response and the response of the processor over a frequency band of interest. With this approach, three types of presteering can be handled: no presteering, coarse presteering, and exact presteering. The elimination of presteering lime delays is important in a digital implementation of antenna array processors. The relationship that the new processor has to other broad-band processors is explored and the significance of the parameters associated with the new processor is established. Furthermore, the approach presented enables various types of errors and mismatches between signal model and actual scenario to be incorporated in the problem formulation.


INTRODUCTION: The Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder is a relatively recently described and rarely diagnosed sexual dysfunction. In the study of its causes, the role of vascular and neurologic factors is raised. In this article an attempt has been made to conduct a comprehensive case conceptualization of a 35-year-old female patient with PGAD, taking into account the opportunity of interaction of biological and psychological factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An analysis has been made on the basis of diagnostic material including neuroimaging, gynecological and psychological examinations as well as data from medical history, observation and a resume written by the patient. RESULTS: A number of overlapping factors that can constitute the etiology of a disorder as well as exacerbate its the symptoms have been identified in the patient. They are: generalized atrophy in the CNS, mixed features of personality disorders of cluster B with hysterical and conversion mechanism of exacerbations and abundant venous plexus in the labia majora. CONCLUSIONS: The Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder and its symptomatic exacerbations can be complex as far as their causes are concerned and may require a broad diagnostic and therapeutic perspective. Interdisciplinary approach seems to have some potential in explaining individual mechanisms of the disorder.


Cannabis-induced psychotic symptoms (CIPSs) have both similarities and differences with positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and it remains unclear whether CIPSs result from dopaminergic mechanisms and can be treated with antipsychotics. We report the case of a 22-year-old male patient with ultrahigh risk criteria for psychosis, who reported cannabis addiction and recurrent CIPSs. Aripiprazole 10 mg/d could totally and durably suppress CIPSs in the patient, but had no effect on the smoking level. Treating CIPSs in ultrahigh risk individuals who cannot stop or refuse stopping cannabis might fit a harm-reduction strategy by preventing transition into psychosis.


Ion chains are promising platforms for studying and simulating quantum reservoirs. One interesting feature is that their vibrational modes can mediate entanglement between two objects which are coupled through the vibrational modes of the chain. In this work we analyze entanglement between the transverse vibrations of two heavy impurity defects embedded in an ion chain, which is generated by the coupling with the chain vibrations. We verify general scaling properties of the defect dynamics and demonstrate that entanglement between the defects can be a stationary feature of these dynamics. We then analyze entanglement in chains composed of tens of ions and propose a measurement scheme which allows one to verify the existence of the predicted entangled state.


We consider the problem of automated planning and control for an execution agent operating in environments that are partially-observable with deterministic exogenous events. We describe a new formalism and a new algorithm, DiscoverHistory, that enables our agent, DHAgent, to proactively expand its knowledge of the environment during execution by forming explanations that reveal information about the world. We describe how DHAgent uses this information to improve the projections made during planning. Finally, we present an ablation study that examines the impact of explanation generation on execution performance. The results of this study demonstrate that our approach significantly increases the goal achievement success rate of DHAgent against an ablated version that does not perform explanation.


Tuberculosis is a health problem, both in terms of morbidity and mortality, and the incidence rate of disease or morbidity. This infectious disease is caused by the germ mycobacterium tuberculosis. The purpose of this study is to find out the influence of health belief models and motivation with the prevention of pulmonary tuberculosis transmission. The design used in the study is correlational analytics with a cross sectional method approach. While the sample in this study which is Some people with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in Gurah Public Helath Center with BTA (+) as many as 22 respondents. The research instrument used is a questionnaire. Spearman Rho test analysis of the level of significance (α = 0.05), so as to be able to answer the purpose of the study. Based on Spearman Rho correlation statistical test, obtained p 0.001 result for health belief model and p 0.021, which means that the values p 0.001 and 0.021 < 0.05. From the results obtained that H1 received which means there is an influence of health belief model and motivation with the prevention of pulmonary tuberculosis transmission in Gurah Health Center Kediri Year 2020. It was concluded that the prevention of transmission of Pulmonary TB disease can be improved reciprocal relationship between health workers, families and sufferers with selfawareness of the adverse effects of Pulmonary TB disease.


The different ways in which people expressed 'conformity' or 'nonconformity' to the 1559 settlement of religion in the English church have generally been treated separately by historians: Catholic recusancy and occasional conformity; Protestant ministerial subscription to the canons and articles of the Church of England; the innovations made by avant-garde conformist clerics to the early Stuart Church; and conformist support for the prayer book in the 1640s. This is the first book to look across the board at what was politically important about conformity, aiming to assess how different attitudes to conformity affected what was regarded as orthodox or true religion in the English Church: that is, the political and cultural significance of the ways in which one could obey or disobey the law governing the Church. The introduction places the articles in the context of the recent historiography of the late Tudor and early Stuart Church. PETER LAKE is Professor of History, Princeton University; MICHAEL QUESTIER is Senior Research Fellow, St Mary's Strawberry Hill. Contributors: ALEXANDRA WALSHAM, MICHAEL QUESTIER, PAULINE CROFT, KENNETH FINCHAM, THOMAS FREEMAN, PETER LAKE, ANDREW FOSTER, NICHOLAS TYACKE, DAVID COMO, JUDITH MALTBY.


An experiment was conducted in randomized complete block with 12 field pea genotypes to study the genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, heritability, genetic advance, correlation among the yield contributing traits and their effect on number of seeds per pod of field pea. The phenotypic correlation coefficient (PCV) values were marginally bigger than genotypic correlation coefficient (GCV), revealing tiny sway of environment in character expression. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance and high GCV were observed for length of branch from main axis, number of seeds/plant and weight of 100 seeds indicating the multitude of additive gene action. Selection stranded on these characters will be worthwhile. Results of genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients showed significant positive correlation of stem circumference, number of seeds/plant, number of pods/plant, weight of 100 seeds, number of seeds/pod with each other and other yield attributes. The component characters and path-coefficient analysis revealed positive direct effect of plant height at maturity and number of leaves/plant on the number of seeds/pod. The analysis suggests that the above mentioned parameters were sufficient for direct selection of genotypes for yield attributing characters. However, the high residual effect and relatively moderate level of genetic parameters revealed the requirement of more number of yield attributing parameters under consideration for improvising in crop breeding pipeline of field pea.


The restriction enzyme-based digital methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (RE-dMSP) assay is useful for diagnosing sentinel lymph node (SN) metastasis in patients with breast cancer, by detecting tumor-derived methylated Ras association domain-containing protein 1 (RASSF1A). In addition, this assay has high concordance (95.0%) with one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA). The present study aimed to perform RE-dMSP using OSNA lysate from more patients and to re-evaluate its clinical usage. Overall, 418 SNs from 347 patients were evaluated using both OSNA and RE-dMSP. The concordance rate was 83.3% (348/418). RASSF1A methylation of the primary tumors was negative in 36 patients. When these patients were excluded, the concordance rate improved to 88.2% (330/374). Of the 79 OSNA-negative cases, 19 were RE-dMSP-positive, although all were positive for cytokeratin 19 expression in the primary tumor, suggesting that RE-dMSP can detect tumor-derived DNA with a higher sensitivity. The percent of methylated reference of the breast tumors showed a wide variety in the 16 OSNA-positive/RE-dMSP-negative cases, and such variability of methylation could have affected the results in these patients. In conclusion, although RE-dMSP can diagnose SN metastasis with high sensitivity and accuracy, and can be a supplementary tool to OSNA in breast cancer, RE-dMSP showed certain discordance with OSNA and critically depended on the absence or heterogeneity of DNA methylation in breast tumors. Further research is expected to develop an assay targeting other DNA alterations, such as mutations.


The autocorrelation of signal fading in wireless body area networks will be dependent upon a number of factors including wearable node positioning, user state and local environment. In this paper, we present some of the preliminary work undertaken to model the correlation function of the complex envelope for various on-body propagation channels. (5 pages)


The base-pair parameters wedge-tilt and wedge-roll are extremely useful for describing curved DNA structures. The wedge effect has generally been assumed to be due to the differences between the base-pair tilts and rolls of two successive base-pairs in a DNA molecule. A mathematical formalism has been established here, which shows that, wedgc-roll is a function of basepair tilt and helical twist, similarly the wedge-tilt is a function of base-pair roll and helical twist. This provides a straightforward explanation for the reported wedge-roll in A-DNA helical model of $12^0$ and gives a value of $-3.8^0$ for B-DNA fiber model. The wedge-rolls and wedgetilts calculated for the oligonucleotide crystal structures, using these relations, are in excellent agreement with the values reported earlier, which were .calculated directly from the coordinates, using a global helix axis.


Drilling fluid performance is a major component that contributes to the drilling operations" success. This fluid is mainly used to promote borehole stability, removing drilled cuttings from borehole, cool and lubricate the bit and drill string, and to control the subsurface pressure. The effects of the temperature and pressure conditions prevalent in high temperature/high pressure wells with narrow operating windows on the equivalent circulating density (ECD) of drilling fluids in a circulating wellbore as well as the bottom-hole pressure are studied in this paper. High temperature conditions cause the fluid in the wellbore to expand, while high pressure conditions in deep wells cause fluid compression. Inappropriate consideration of these two opposing effects may result inaccurate estimation of bottom-hole pressure with incorrect application of Managed Pressure Drilling (MPD) techniques. The rheological properties of drilling fluids especially density of oil/synthetic based mud changes significantly in high pressure/temperature wells. This study was to determine the rheological properties of drilling fluids using empirical model from the experiments and simulated the ECD and bottom-hole circulating pressure with pressure and temperature as the main parameters. Paraffin based synthetic drilling fluid was used for this purpose and a simulator called Landmark® WellPlan was used to simulate the wellbore during circulation. A Bingham Plastic model was implemented to express the rheological behavior of the drilling fluid studied, with rheological properties expressed as functions of pressure and temperature. The applied backpressure, circulating times, and pump rates are used as variables in the simulation in order to simulate the ECD, bottom-hole circulating pressure and temperature profiles in the wellbore conditions. The results of the simulation show that higher pump rates lead to higher ECD and circulating pressure in the wellbore with higher pressure drop across the bit towards fracture gradient in the operating window. The circulating times for drilling fluids gives a significant effect on the ECD, circulating pressures, and temperature profile along the wellbore. The MPD application was simulated with the application of backpressure gives in higher ECD and circulating pressure at bottom-hole condition using optimum pump rate. The ECD and circulating pressure profile for paraffin synthetic based mud is strongly influenced by the effect of pressure and temperature during MPD applications.


Conduction band non-parabolicity is taken into account and a numerical method is proposed to calculate the electron subband energy levels and corresponding wave functions in the active region of quantum cascade lasers. For a coupled double-well vertical transition mode active region, the calculated ΔE21 = 32 meV, ΔE32 = 270 meV correspond, respectively, to the energy of an optical phonon and that of a photon at wavelength λ = 4.5 μm. For a coupled triple-well vertical transition active region, the calculated ΔE21 = 32.4 meV, ΔE32 = 250 meV correspond to the energy of an optical phonon and the photon energy at wavelength λ = 5.0 μm.


The size of TiO2 can significantly affect both its photocatalytic and photo-electrochemical properties, thus altering the photooxidation of organic pollutants in air or water. In this work, we give an account of the photo-electrochemical and photocatalytic features of some nanosized TiO2 commercial powders towards a model reaction, the photooxidation of acetone. Cyclic voltammograms (CV) of TiO2 particulate electrodes under UV illumination experiments were carried out in either saturated O2 or N2 solutions for a direct correlation with the photocatalytic process. In addition, the effect of different reaction conditions on the photocatalytic efficiency under UV light in both aqueous and gaseous phases was also investigated. CV curves with the addition of acetone under UV light showed a negative shift of the photocurrent onset, confirming the efficient transfer of photoproduced reactive oxygen species (ROSs), e.g., hydroxyl radicals or holes to acetone molecules. The photocatalytic experiments showed that the two nano-sized samples exhibit the best photocatalytic performance. The different photoactivity of the larger-sized samples is probably attributed to their morphological differences, affecting both the amount and distribution of free ROSs involved in the photooxidation reaction. Finally, a direct correlation between the photocatalytic measurements in gas phase and the photo-electrochemical measurements in aqueous phase is given, thus evincing the important role of the substrate-surface interaction with similar acetone concentrations.


PURPOSE
The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of the number of supporting implants and different retentive mechanisms on load transfer characteristics of mandibular overdentures.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two photoelastic models of edentulous mandibles were fabricated having two and four cylindrical implants (Calcitek, 4 × 13 mm) embedded in the parasymphyseal area. Four attachment systems were evaluated: single anchor attachment (ERA), bar-clip, bar with distally placed ball attachments, and bar with distally placed extracoronal rigid attachments (Easy Slot). A 133 N vertical force was applied unilaterally to the central fossa of the right first molar. The resulting stresses of the models were observed and recorded photographically in the field of a circular polariscope.

RESULTS
The highest stresses were observed with the bar with distally placed extracoronal rigid attachment (Easy Slot) design, followed by bar-ball, bar, and the single anchor attachment (ERA) for both models. The lowest stress was observed with the single anchor attachment (ERA) design for both models. There were slight differences in stress values around implants in both models.

CONCLUSIONS
For all tested attachments on both models, the stress was concentrated on the ipsilateral implant. The bar-clip system allowed the distribution of load to all supporting implants in both models. Although the highest stress level observed with all attachment systems was moderate, the bar-Easy Slot attachment showed the highest stresses. The lowest stress was observed with the single anchor attachment (ERA) design for both models. Varying the number of implants had no significant effect on stress values around supporting implants.


The mobile adhoc networks have become a major component of the future network development due to their ease of deployment, self configurability, flexibility and independence on any existing network infrastructure Mobile ad-hoc network have the attributes such as wireless connection, continuously changing topology, distributed operation and ease of deployment. We present a design space analysis of the problem of providing Internet connectivity for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Currently there are a plethora of proposals to solve this problem in the research community. However, we argue that many of the existing designs suffer from complexity and design solutions that have not been properly evaluated. One reason for this is the lack of implementations. For widening the coverage area of the MANET there is a growing need to integrate these ad hoc networks to the Internet. For this purpose we need gateways which act as bridges between these two different protocol architectures. The gateway discovery in hybrid network is considered as a critical and challenging task. In this paper the AODV reactive routing protocol is extended to support the communication between the MANET and the Internet. We have carried out a systematic simulation based performance evaluation of the different gateway discovery approaches using NS2 under different network scenarios. The performance differentials are analyzed on the basis of three metrics - packet delivery fraction, average end-to-end delay and normalized routing load.


In contrast to the permanent alterations resulting from neonatal hypothyroidism, the effects of juvenile-onset hypothyroidism on the number and distribution of spines along the apical shaft of pyramidal neurons of the visual cortex appeared to be potentially reversible with adequate thyroxine (T4) therapy (Ruiz-Marcos et al., 1980, Brain Res. 185:91-102 and 1982, Brain Res. 239:559-574). Treatment with 0.20 or 1.50 micrograms T4/100 g body weight per day had, however, only partially reversed the changes induced by juvenile-onset hypothyroidism. We here study whether or not a higher dose of T4 would totally reverse these effects. A group of rats were thyroid-ectomized at 40 days of age, and injected once daily with placebo or T4 (1.75 micrograms/100 g BW per day) from 70 to 90 days of age, a group on 1.50 micrograms being included to compare with previous results. Spine number and distribution were measured, as well as the concentrations of T4 and triiodothyronine (T3) in plasma, liver and brain. The activities of two hepatic enzymes were measured as thyroid hormone-sensitive biological end points. The 1.75-micrograms dose restored spine number to 88% of normal values and was markedly more effective than the 1.50-micrograms dose, which increased it to 68%. The degree of restoration appeared related to the concentration of T3. It is concluded that the changes caused by juvenile-onset hypothyroidism in the number and distribution of dendritic spines along the apical shafts of pyramidal neurons are reversible, although complete restoration might require a higher dose of T4, a continuous mode of administration, or longer period of treatment.


Background Abdominal swelling is an uncommon presentation in newborn babies. A combination of huge abdominal swelling, obstructive uropathy and imperforate hymen in newborns has not been reported in the medical literature. Case Details We report a 4 days old newborn with a rare presentation of hydrometrocolpos which posed a diagnostic challenge and consequently resulted in delays in diagnosis and treatment. Conclusion Hydrometrocolpos should be considered as a differential diagnosis in neonates who present with huge abdominal swelling.


Oxidative damage is considered to play an important role in the pathogenesis of several diseases, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), atherosclerosis, cardiovascular complications and chronic renal failure. DM is associated with the oxidative stress and formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). Different drugs inhibit oxidative stress and formation of advanced glycation end products. Aminoguanidine (AG) has been proposed as a drug of potential benefit in prophylaxis of the complications of DM. Recent reports show a pro-oxidant activity of AG. Therefore we examined the effect of structural analogue of AG, its Schiff base with pyridoxal-pyridoxylidene aminoguanidine (PAG) on the level of selected markers of oxidative stress. We found that PAG decreased total damage to DNA in controls as well as in diabetic group of rats. However, we also found that PAG supplementation increases susceptibility of lipoproteins to oxidation and formation of conjugated dienes in both, diabetic as well as control animals. Its administration to diabetic rats decreases antioxidant capacity of plasma. Therefore, it is necessary to search for other structural modifications of AG that would combine its higher anti-diabetic activity with less toxicity.


Background: Angiogenesis inhibitors may be classified as direct or indirect inhibitors. Direct inhibitors like bevacizumab (B) that target the microvascular endothelial cells and prevent them from responding to different endothelial mitogens. Conversely, indirect inhibitors like cediranib (C), target growth‐factor tyrosine kinases and its VEGF receptors on tumor endothelium. We hypothesized that maximizing VEGF inhibition with a combination therapy consisting of a direct angiogenesis inhibitor (B) and an indirect inhibitor (C) with different VEGF blocking mechanisms may result in increased anti‐tumor activity and a safe toxicity profile. As a first step, we conducted a phase I study of the combination of bevacizumab and cediranib in advanced cancer patients. Methods: Pts with advanced solid tumors refractory to standard therapy were eligible. The trial is a conventional phase I 3+3 dose‐escalation design. Cediranib was administered orally continuously for 21 days. Bevacizumab was given every two weeks (days 1 and 15) at escalating doses. Correlative studies including pharmacokinetic studies of cediranib, DCE‐MRI, and circulating tumor (CTCs) and endothelial cells (CECs). Results: A total of 27 pts have been treated. Dose level 3 (C‐30 mg/day and B‐5mg/kg/2 weeks) was determined to be the MTD with the major dose‐limiting toxicity of hypertension. The most common drug related toxicities include hypertension (66%), fatigue (41%), and anorexia (33%). Currently, of the 17 evaluable pts by RECIST, 7 pts had SD for >4 cycles (months). One confirmed PR was noted in a metastatic basal cell carcinoma pt (−33%) and one unconfirmed PR (−31%) in ovarian cancer pt. Several notable minor responses by RECIST have also been observed in the SD pts; 2 pts with RCC (−21%, −23%), an alveolar soft tissue sarcoma pt (−24%), and a prostate cancer pt (−21%). Overall, immature CECs (CD105+) enumerated by CellSearch™ revealed a dose‐dependent significant decrease (1,290% to 93%; p=0.0001). A 3‐fold induction in apoptosis was observed at 24 hrs compared to baseline in the CD105‐positive CECs. Overall, mature CECs (CD31+) assessed for VEGFR2 activity revealed an 83% and 1.9% significant (p=0.019) inhibition in pVEGFR2 expression at low (B;3mg/kg) and high (B;5mg/kg) doses, respectively. In the non‐responders, mature CECs revealed a dose‐dependent (C;20mg/kg–30mg/kg) significant increase (−6.8% to 63%;p=0.031) in pERK/ERK expression levels. PK and DCE‐MRI analysis is pending. Conclusions: The MTD was determined to be cediranib 30mg/day and bevacizumab 5mg/kg/2weeks. Activity has been seen in a diverse number of tumor types. Inhibition of pVEGFR2 and induction of apoptosis in CECs shows target effect by the combination. Grant support: National Cancer Institute grant and 2 UO1 CA062461‐15 Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):A4.


Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are extensively modeled using linear time series models. But, the effectiveness of these models are seldom established in the literature. In particular, properties like stationarity, stability and adequacy of the model proposed, are not verified. This paper is an attempt to establish the relevance of linear time series models for detecting TCP SYN based DoS attack, by analysing the network traffic at an edge router, for three months. In the first part of the paper, higher order statistics of the difference between incoming SYN packets and outgoing SYN/ACK packets (called half-open count), accumulated over a sampling interval, are studied in detail. It is found that the half-open time series is unstable and non-stationary. In the second part of the paper, two different transformations on the half-open time series are studied, namely differencing and averaging. It is observed that the averaging pushes the process more to the region of instability, while the differencing brings back the process to stability. Further, differencing is found to be appropriate for the detection of SYN attack using linear time series model, the Auto-Regressive (AR) model in specific. Since the AR model is built on the difference series, it can also be called Auto-Regressive Integrated (ARI) model. The model proposed is tested for its adequacy, by analysing the autocorrelation of the residual error of prediction and through an N-fold cross validation. Low rate SYN attacks of the order of 10 to 20 SYN/second are simulated and studied.