Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objectives: Slowed speaking rate was examined for its effects on speech intelligibility, its interaction with the benefit of contextual cues, and the impact of these factors on listening effort in adults with cochlear implants. Design: Participants (n = 21 cochlear implant users) heard high- and low-context sentences that were played at the original speaking rate, as well as a slowed (1.4× duration) speaking rate, using uniform pitch-synchronous time warping. In addition to intelligibility measures, changes in pupil dilation were measured as a time-varying index of processing load or listening effort. Slope of pupil size recovery to baseline after the sentence was used as an index of resolution of perceptual ambiguity. Results: Speech intelligibility was better for high-context compared to low-context sentences and slightly better for slower compared to original-rate speech. Speech rate did not affect magnitude and latency of peak pupil dilation relative to sentence offset. However, baseline pupil size recovered more substantially for slower-rate sentences, suggesting easier processing in the moment after the sentence was over. The effect of slowing speech rate was comparable to changing a sentence from low context to high context. The effect of context on pupil dilation was not observed until after the sentence was over, and one of two analyses suggested that context had greater beneficial effects on listening effort when the speaking rate was slower. These patterns maintained even at perfect sentence intelligibility, suggesting that correct speech repetition does not guarantee efficient or effortless processing. With slower speaking rates, there was less variability in pupil dilation slopes following the sentence, implying mitigation of some of the difficulties shown by individual listeners who would otherwise demonstrate prolonged effort after a sentence is heard. Conclusions: Slowed speaking rate provides release from listening effort when hearing an utterance, particularly relieving effort that would have lingered after a sentence is over. Context arguably provides even more release from listening effort when speaking rate is slower. The pattern of prolonged pupil dilation for faster speech is consistent with increased need to mentally correct errors, although that exact interpretation cannot be verified with intelligibility data alone or with pupil data alone. A pattern of needing to dwell on a sentence to disambiguate misperceptions likely contributes to difficulty in running conversation where there are few opportunities to pause and resolve recently heard utterances.


In this studies complex chronobiological investigation of hemostasis reactions, indexes of lipid peroxidation system and antioxidant protection of trombocyte membranes have been introduced and individual-typological reactions of the human organism have been found out; so all of these indexes determine the strategy of organism adaptive behavior during expeditional-watch work in the Far North conditions.


Abstract. Long-range transport of anthropogenic air pollutants from East Asia can affect the downwind marine air quality during spring and winter. Long-range transport of continental air pollutants and their interaction with sea salt aerosols (SSA) significantly modify the radiative forcing of marine aerosols and influence ocean biogeochemical cycling. Previous studies poorly characterize variations of aerosol particles along with air mass transport from the continental edge to the remote ocean. Here, the research ship R/V Dongfanghong 2 traveled from the eastern China seas (ECS) to the northwestern Pacific Ocean (NWPO) to understand what and how air pollutants were transported from the highly polluted continental air to clean marine air in spring. A transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to find the long-range transported anthropogenic particles and the possible Cl-depletion phenomenon of SSA in marine air. Primary and secondary anthropogenic aerosols were identified and dramatically declined from 87 % to 8 % by number from the ECS to remote NWPO. For the SSA aging, 86 % of SSA particles in the ECS were identified as fully aged, while the proportion of fully aged SSA particles in the NWPO decreased to 31 %. The result highlights that anthropogenic acidic gases in the troposphere (e.g., SO2, NOx, and volatile organic compounds) were transported longer distances compared to the anthropogenic aerosol and could exert a significant impact on marine aerosols in the NWPO. These results show that anthropogenic particles and gases from East Asia significantly perturb aerosol chemistry in marine air. The optical properties and cloud condensation nucleation of the modified SSA particles should be incorporated into the more accurately modeling of clouds in the ECS and NWPO in spring and winter.


Congenital granular cell tumor (GCT) is a relatively rare intraoral benign tumor, approximately 200 cases of which have been reported in the neonatal period worldwide. The newborn infant may have feeding problems and respiratory difficulties due to airway obstruction. This lesion may be diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography and simple resection is mostly required. We report a case of an adult type of GCT in a newly born infant, who presented with an intraoral protruding mass with a prenatal diagnosis. This article describes the prenatal course, clinical, and pathological characteristics, and management of the GCT.


Total coal resources for the Western Kentucky coalfield are estimated to be almost 38 billion tons; however, mineable reserves may be as low as 12 billion tons. The Western Kentucky coalfield is separated into three discrete districts, each with a distinct coal-bed nomenclature. The Madisonville district, which is the largest, contains most of the coal mines and reserves; however, most coal mined in this district does not meet current EPA emission standards. The Morgantown district contains much less coal, but the coal is generally shallower and of higher quality. Much of the coal in this district contains 1 to 3% sulfur and 11.5 to 13 thousand Btu's per pound. The Hancock County coal district contains a limited amount of low-sulfur, high Btu coal. Coal production for 1978 was almost 40 million tons, most of which was mined from the Western Kentucky No. 9 (Springfield of Illinois) coal bed in the Madisonville district. Recent studies indicate that mineability of the No. 9 and other coal beds is adversely affected by Pennsylvanian paleochannels. Although precise delineation of these paleochannels is very difficult, some prediction of general channels trends can be made. In the Morgantown and Hancock County districts, coal beds are lenticular and commonly associated with sandstone paleochannels. Delineation of the sandstone channels is a considerable aid in exploration for these discontinuous beds. Past coal-mining activity in western Kentucky has been concentrated around the rim of the Illinois basin; however, future activity will move northward and westward toward the deeper part of the Western Kentucky coalfield. A limited amount of subsurface data indicates that substantial resources from several coal beds remain in the deeper parts of the Western Kentucky coalfield. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1290------------


We propose an algorithm that computes an approximation of the set of frequent item sets by using the bit sequence representation of the associations between items and transactions. The algorithm is obtained by modifying a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm and takes advantage of the speed that bit operations afford. The algorithm offers a very significant speed advantage over standard implementations of the Apriori technique and, under certain conditions, recovers the preponderant part of the frequent item sets.


In a 6-month prospective study of management of surgical emergencies in a district general hospital, we have tried firstly to determine the degree to which non-life-threatening emergencies could be managed within 'social hours' (0800-1800), and secondly to identify examples of and reasons for potentially hazardous delay in the performance of urgent procedures. Emergency referrals undergoing surgery were categorised into three groups: Group A--patients requiring surgery either immediately or at the earliest possible time (maximum 3 h after diagnosis). Group B--patients requiring urgent but not immediate surgery (within 6 h of diagnosis). Group C--patients whose operations could be delayed until social hours without detriment. The reason for delay--shortage of theatre nursing, anaesthetic or surgical staff--was recorded in each case. Of the 95 patients in Group C (elective management) 63 (65%) underwent surgery within social hours, 15 (16%) between 1800 and 2100 and 17 (18%) at night. Unacceptable delays occurred in 37 (14%) of the 260 cases and were most likely to affect patients in Group A who most needed urgent care. We conclude that our current staffing levels in theatre nursing should be increased to consistently provide two (rather than one) staffed theatres for emergencies, in addition to a theatre team dedicated exclusively to obstetrics. Anaesthetic manpower should be increased to provide four duty anaesthetists with no more than one at SHO level as obstetric and intensive care duties can be complex. General surgical staffing requires expansion in order that on-call staff have no fixed commitments during and in the session immediately after their duty periods.


Nutritional composition and in vitro antioxidant activities of the ethanol extract of Korean traditional actinidia (Actinidia arguta) sprouts of the Otumsense variety were investigated to examine the sproutsí nutritional value. The most abundant mineral, amino acid, and fatty acid were calcium, glutamic acid, and α-linolenic acid, respectively. The major free sugar of Otumsense sprouts was sucrose. The level of vitamin C, a natural antioxidant, was highest among other vitamins examined. The amount of total polyphenol was highest in the 40% ethanol extract. The 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical scavenging activity of the 40% ethanol extract was about 94% at a concentration of 1,000 μg/mL. Malondialdehyde inhibition by the extract increased in a dose-dependent manner (from 0 to 100 μg/mL). Intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation resulting from H 2 O 2 treatment of PC12 cells significantly reduced when the 40% ethanol extract was present in the media compared to that in PC12 cells treated with H 2 O 2 only.


The music in each of these tracks was created with artificial intelligence and machine learning. You will hear two AI-Bots: one in the centre uses soprano sax samples as its source, the other in wide stereo uses percussion. The two AI-Bots were programmed to respond to the other's sound and to contribute to the ongoing improvisation live and in realtime.
Each AI-Bot is controlled by its own AI and is working without any human intervention. They are listening to each other and co-creating, and crucially doing something in the music that is beyond mimicry or behavioural response.
The AI underpinning each Bot is driven by several Creative AI datasets and Machine Learning using a special process called embodied intelligence. The datasets are derived from real human musicians improvising with an AI-Bot. The AI operates on several concurrent processes:
1) raw data from the live music
2) dataset records of previous live improvisations
3) statistical correlations using multi-level perceptual neural-networks
These are then controlled by an affect module that responds to the dynamics of the live improvisation and manipulates a gate system that recombines these streams into a final data flow. It is this that is used to drive the wheels of the physical bot and trigger the sounds.


Sustainability has been and continues to be the one recurring topical issue the world over. Governments all over are turning serious attention towards the provision of sustainable urban housing for their urban populace. This they have realised holds the key to leading developmental growth for their economies. Building professionals are now confronted everywhere on green building and construction Ghana as a lower middle income country is grappled with a huge housing demand giving rise to a thriving real estate sector in the capital city. The houses they produce come with exhorbitant cost due to the fact that most of these building features are imported in addition to poor planning and design construction. The paper evaluates the occupiers of this estates house their perception on sustainable housing solutions  and their satisfaction levels in the dwellings. Again it sought to investigate the building performance in meeting the occupant's desired comfort. The study adopted the case study as the most appropriate with quantitative methods and random sampling techniques in sample size and questionaire administration. Data collected were analysed by the spps analytical tools and results presented in tables bar and pie charts. Likert scale ranking from  1-5 were used to rank satisfaction with Habitability Index (HI)formula used determine the actual satisfaction levels. Results indicated that majority of occupiers were aware of sustainability issues. Whilst they acknowledge the opportunities offered they were reluctant in making extra expenditure to get these sustainable solutions. Satisfaction levels were high for site planning, and neighbourhood landscape obtaining Habitability Index above 80%. Provision of natural ventilation, natural lighting, use of local materials energy efficient design and rain water harvesting received satisfaction levels of HI below 50%. The study thus recommends amongst others aspects that further education should be carried out by the key stakeholders on housing delivery; government should foster practising sustainable housing by public private partnerships and offering various incentive packages to participants; and government should establish a regulatory body to oversee the operations of real estate developers. This study would provide vital information on the perceived indicators of Real Estate occupants in Ghana.


A methodology of acquisition of true stress-strain curves over large strain by using the engineering stress-strain curves obtained by the tensile test is presented in this paper. The method employs the results of both the tensile test and its finite element analysis. A rigid-plastic finite element method is used to analyze the tensile test for providing the deformation information. The analysis is carried out with emphasis on prediction of the necking to obtain the reference true stress-strain curve, which is modified iteratively to minimize the difference in tensile force between the tensile test and its analyzed result. The validity of the approach is verified by comparing the tensile test result and its finite element solution obtained by the modified true stress-strain curve.


Abstract Land cover and use changes are an important component of the global changes, and in relationship with their transitional dynamics reflect the impact of socio-economic transition. This study is aimed at exploring the land cover and use changes occurred during 2006-2012 in Romania with respect to their spatial distribution over the regions of development and main transitional dynamics. The results suggest that the main drivers of change are deforestation and urbanization, accounting for 3/4 of all changes, and that the most affected regions are the northwest, southwest, center and northeast ones. Overall, the findings suggest a continuation of the trends from the previous periods, characteristic to transition economies.


Phase-change nonvolatile semiconductor memory technology is based on an electrically initiated, reversible rapid amorphous-to-crystalline phase-change process in multicomponent chalcogenide alloy materials similar to those used in rewriteable optical disks. Long cycle life, low programming energy, and excellent scaling characteristics are advantages that make phase-change semiconductor memory a promising candidate to replace flash memory in future applications. Phase-change technology is being commercialized by a number of semiconductor manufacturers. Fundamental processes in phase-change semiconductor memory devices, device performance characteristics, and progress toward commercialization of the technology are reviewed.


This study sought to prospectively evaluate the influence of contrasted fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDGPET/CT) in the staging of and impact on the management plan for treatment in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A total of 14 histologically proven NPC patients (mean age: 44.64±4.01years) were included in the study. These patients underwent contrasted Computed Tomography (CT) as well as 18F-FDGPET/CT imaging. Staging was based on the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Tumor Node Metastases (AJCC-TNM) recommendations. The oncologist was asked to prospectively assign a treatment plan for all patients being evaluated by CT and 18F-FDGPET/CT. The treatment plans were compared with the incremental information supplied by the FDG-PET/CT. The maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax) and the widest dimension of the primary tumour, cervical lymph nodes size and the distant metastatic lesions were quantified on the co-registered PET/CT images by two experienced nuclear radiologists. The contrasted 18F-FDGPET/CT changed the management intent in nine patients (64.7%). A univariate analysis showed that there were significant correlations between SUVmax and the size of the metastatic lymph nodes (R2 =0.0761, p<0.01), lymph node volume (R2=0.695, p<0.01) and the T-stage (R2=0.647, p<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed the tumour SUVmax to be the independent predictor of the T-stage (adjusted R2=0.889, p<0.05). The SUVmax may potentially be a surrogate marker for the T-stage in the NPC patients. The use of the combined imaging modality, 18F-FDGPET/CT, substantially impacted on the management strategy for treatment of NPC patients.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Fabry disease (FD) is a disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding for lysosomal enzyme α-galactosidase A (α-GAL). Reduced α-GAL activity leads to progressive accumulation of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), also known as CD77. The recent report of increased expression of CD77 in blood cells of patients with FD indicated that this molecule can be used as a potential marker for monitoring enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the CD77 levels throughout ERT in FD patients (V269M mutation). Methods: We evaluated the fluctuations in PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cell) membrane CD77 expression in FD patients undergoing ERT and correlated these levels with those observed in different cell types. Results: A greater CD77 expression was found in phagocytes of patients compared to controls at baseline. Interestingly, the variability in CD77 levels is larger in patients at baseline (340 - 1619 MIF) and after 12 months of ERT (240 - 530 MIF) compared with the control group (131 - 331 MFI). Furthermore, by analyzing the levels of CD77 in phagocytes from patients throughout ERT, we found a constant decrease in CD77 levels. Conclusion: The increased CD77 levels in the phagocytes of Fabry carriers together with the decrease in CD77 levels throughout ERT suggest that measuring CD77 levels in phagocytes is a promising tool for monitoring the response to ERT in FD.


Introduction Although image description has been identified as an accommodation for presentations conducted in the classroom, only a few U.S. states have approved it for use in high-stakes assessments. This study examined the use of audible image description as an assessment accommodation for students with visual and print disabilities by investigating student comprehension under multiple conditions. Methods Students in three western states in grades three through eight who had visual (n = 117) or print (n = 178) disabilities participated in an abbreviated test constructed of retired assessment questions in English language arts, mathematics, and science, that were aligned with each state's instructional standards, under conditions with and without standardized description of graphic images. The study used a within-subjects block design to collect and compare comprehension data under conditions where audible image description was both used and not used in an abbreviated test. Results Results indicated that students who read braille were more likely to respond correctly under the audible image description condition, and students with visual and print disabilities who used print were equally likely to respond correctly regardless of condition. Discussion Braille readers were more likely to obtain a correct answer when audible image description accompanied the question. Audible image description did not affect the likelihood of a correct response from students with print disabilities or students with visual disabilities who read print. Implications for practitioners Audible image description is an accommodation that may help braille readers perform better on tests. Although the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and Smarter Balanced consortia are taking steps to include image (or picture) descriptions in their assessment accommodations, teachers may want to develop a standard method for describing images and familiarize their braille readers to the strategy by including it in instruction and in classroom tests. Readers are referred to the National Center on Accessible Media's online guidelines for image description.


We propose a notion of the Kripke-style model for intersection logic. Using a game interpretation, we prove soundness and completeness of the proposed semantics. In other words, a formula is provable (a type is inhabited) if and only if it is forced in every model. As a by-product, we obtain another proof of normalization for the Barendregt–Coppo–Dezani intersection type assignment system.


Abstract Objective: This study aimed to investigate the potential role of microsatellite polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor alpha gene (ESR1) TA repeat, estrogen receptor beta gene (ESR2) CA repeat, and androgen receptor gene (AR) CAG and GGN repeats among Serbian women with primary ovarian insufficiency (POI). These microsatellites have been reported to be associated with POI in different racial/ethnic populations. Methods: A cohort of 196 POI cases matched with 544 fertile controls was recruited by the Institute for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders of Serbia between 2007 and 2010. DNA was extracted from saliva. The four microsatellites were genotyped using a PCR-based assay to determine the repeat lengths. Results: POI patients carried shorter repeat lengths of ESR2 (CA)n than controls (P = 0.034), but the difference was small. ESR1 (TA)n was on the borderline of statistical differences between groups (P = 0.059). AR (CAG)n and (GGN)n showed no association with POI. Conclusions: We cautiously conclude that microsatellite polymorphisms of gonadal steroid receptor genes might contribute to the genetic basis of POI in Serbian women, but a larger-scale study and family-based studies are warranted to validate our findings even though the sample size in this study is larger than any previously published in this field.


In this study, the general transport equation was subjected to discretization by using the central difference, upwind, hybrid, power-law, exponential scheme and QUICK scheme methods and the solved by using a program prepared in Delphi programmin g software. In the solution, three different grid systems of 8 0x100, 160x200 and 320x400 from nodal points were used. The n umerical results obtained for Peclet number values of -2, 0, 2, 10 and 2 0 we presented graphically. The obtained results indicate t hat hybrid and power-law yield better results as compared to the other disc etization methods. The GCI analysis was also provided that 160 x 200 grid system is suitable for such a solution.


This report raises a number of fundamental questions about the multidimensional and interrelated nature of social exclusion and moves beyond the traditional emphasis on outcomes and groups to view exclusion as a process that results from societal traits that limit the functionings of the excluded. Using the tools of experimental economics, the report shows the enormous economic and welfare costs of exclusion, suggesting that inclusion policies should be viewed as an investment rather than as a supposedly generous handout to the worst off in society. Inclusion policies thus are more than new programs or new institutions to redress past injustices through income transfers, and imply fundamental changes in the way decisions are made, resources are allocated, and policies are implemented in democratic societies.


Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) and steam and gas push (SAGP) are used commercially to recover bitumen from oil sands, but for thin heavy-oil reservoirs, the recovery is lower because of larger heat losses through caprock and poorer oil mobility under reservoir conditions. A new enhanced-oil-recovery (EOR) method, expanding-solvent SAGP (ES-SAGP), is introduced to develop thin heavy-oil reservoirs. In ES-SAGP, noncondensate gas and vaporizable solvent are injected with steam into the steam chamber during SAGD. We used a 3D physical simulation scale to research the effectiveness of ES-SAGP and to analyze the propagation mechanisms of the steam chamber during ES-SAGP. Under the same experimental conditions, we conducted a contrast analysis between SAGP and ES-SAGP to study the expanding characteristics of the steam chamber, the sweep efficiency of the steam chamber, and the ultimate oil recovery. The experimental results show that the steam chamber gradually becomes an ellipse shape during SAGP. However, during ES-SAGP, noncondensate gas and a vaporizable solvent gather at the reservoir top to decrease heat losses, and oil viscosity near the condensate layer of the steam chamber is largely decreased by hot steam and by solvent, making the boundary of the steam chamber vertical and gradually a similar, rectangular shape. As in SAGD, during ES-SAGP, the expansion mechanism of the steam chamber can be divided into three stages: the ascent stage, the horizontal-expansion stage, and the descent stage. In the ascent stage, the time needed is shorter during ES-SAGP than during SAGP. However, the other two stages take more time during nitrogen, solvent, and steam injection to enlarge the cross-sectional area of the bottom of the steam chamber. For the conditions in our experiments, when the instantaneous oil/steam ratio is lower than 0.1, the corresponding oil recovery is 51.11%, which is 7.04% higher than in SAGP. Therefore, during ES-SAGP, not only is the volume of the steam chamber sharply enlarged, but the sweep efficiency and the ultimate oil recovery are also remarkably improved.


The results of the analysis of long-term dynamics of income, inequality and poverty in Russian agro-industrial regions are presented. The methodological background of the study is described. The specificity of changes in the considered indicators of development of agro-industrial regions against the background of Russia is revealed at different stages of economic development in the 1990s, 2000s and in the current decade. The agro-industrial regions consistently have lower incomes compared to Russia, higher levels of poverty and less significant inequalities. The impact of economic crises on the decline in the purchasing power of incomes and on the increase in poverty of residents in such regions was more noticeable than in Russia as a whole. At the same time, over more than 20 years, poverty has significantly decreased, purchasing power increased, and the regions' lagging behind in terms of population income and overtaking in terms of poverty has decreased. Conclusions are drawn about the importance of state policy as a driver of positive changes in the dynamics of the population income and poverty in the agro-industrial regions.
It is shown how interregional differentiation changed. The "leading" and "outsider" agro-industrial regions are identified at each stage of economic development. There are significant and growing differences between agroindustrial regions in terms of income, inequality and poverty. The influence of the center-periphery factor on the position of regions is revealed. The position of the peripheral region with the least prosperous situation remains stable. The stability of the positions of the peripheral region with the least favorable situation remains. The group of prosperous regions (despite the change in leadership positions) with a more advantageous geographical position is also relatively stable.


The use of surgical simulator systems for education and preoperative planning is likely to increase in the future. A natural course of development of these systems is to incorporate patient specific anatomical models. This step requires some kind of segmentation process in which the different anatomical parts are extracted. Anatomical datasets are, however, usually very large and manual processing would be too demanding. Hence, automatic, or semi-automatic, methods to handle this step are required. The framework presented in this paper uses nonrigid registration, based on the morphon method, to automatically segment the hip anatomy and generate models for a hip surgery simulator system.


The existence of tourist objects and attractions is the most important component in a tourism activity. Likewise with the existence of tourist attractions in Bedengan, Malang, Indonesia, the number of existing visits has fluctuated. This is because there are several interesting factors encouraging tourists to visit Bedengan such as, its location which is close to several campuses, its large area which makes it suitable to set up a camp, landmass that can be used for outdoor, a very serene view with a narrow river and clean and fresh water from a waterfall, and its cheap price for the entrance ticket which is only Rp 5,000. This study discusses the image of Bedengan as tourist destination and its influence on tourist interest in travelling, through promotion as a mediating variable. Four hypotheses were developed in order to answer the objective of the study. The population in this study were tourists who visited Malang Bedengan Nature Tourism, with a sample of 100 respondents. The analysis technique used is multiple linear regression with two models. The tested hypotheses are concluded as: 1) There is a positive and significant effect of destination image on tourist interest in travelling, 2) There is a positive and significant influence of promotion on tourist interest in travelling, 3) There is a positive and significant influence of destination image on promotion, and 4) There is a positive and significant effect of destination image on tourist interest in travelling through promotion. The findings of the study can assist the stakeholders to use promotional tools to market the image of Bedengan as tourist destination.


To access right information at the real time is crucial in the era of global networking, wireless broadband technology. Remote Sensing techniques are dominating to access timely damage assessment and gathered real information for relief planning during water related disaster. Floods are one of the natural disasters and pose serious threat to the normal life as well as process of development. During floods communication break downs and flood related information become hindered. Microwave Remote Sensing techniques provide timely and cost effective methodology for information communication and assessment of floods. Real time disaster assessment is handicapped by cloud cover/heavy rainfall. Microwave satellite data-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data have been to be found potential useful and functional for real assessment and management. This paper describes a flood delineation management from Bhuj Taluk of Kuchch District, Gujarat, India using microwave satellite ERS-1 SAR data with Path-scene /row nos.: 667-197. The flood disaster problem in the area is mainly due to hydrogeomorphological mismanagement i.e. deforested catchments area and the off-shore bar which chock the mouth of the river and obstruct the free flow surface water into the sea. When there is a heavy rainfall in the catchment area. It affects infrastructure and causes heavy loss of property and life or both. Microwave satellite data enable to demarcate preparedness program and mitigate the flood disaster situation. This data is highly useful for flood related disaster delineation, planning and management. It is also helpful during emergency operations plan in place to ensure the safety of our residents and initiate timely response of affected infrastructure.


We consider asymmetric multiple description (MD) source coding for Gaussian source under mean squared error distortion constraints, and focus on the three description problem. Inner and outer bounds for the rate region are derived, both of which can be represented as the intersection of ten half spaces with matching normal directions. Moreover, the gap between the inner and outer bounds is shown to be small. The inner bound relies on the rate region characterization of a lossless asymmetric multilevel diversity (MLD) coding problem treated in our earlier work, which is a natural generalization of the symmetric MLD coding problem previously considered by Roche et al. Different from symmetric MLD coding, superposition coding is not sufficient in the asymmetric case, and ideas akin to network coding need to be used strategically. Equipped with this finding, and motivated by the connection between symmetric MD and symmetric MLD coding, in this work we consider asymmetric MD as a lossy version of the asymmetric MLD coding, which requires coding beyond simple superposition. An outer bound is also derived, which bears a geometric structure particularly suitable for comparison with the inner bound. Combining the inner and outer bounds provides an approximate characterization of the rate region for the asymmetric Gaussian three description problem.


Earnings management is one of the actions taken by management to manipulate profits generated by the company for certain purposes. The research aims to find evidence about how the influence of tax avoidance and corporate governance mechanisms on earnings management is carried out by company managers. The study population is a manufacturing company listed on the IDX for the period 2013-2017, then the sample is determined by a probability sampling method with the results of 12 companies. The results of the study show that tax avoidance and board of directors have a positive effect on earnings management; independent commissioners, audit committees, institutional ownership, and managerial ownership have a negative influence on earnings management.
Keywords : Earnings Management, Tax Avoidance, Corporate Governance.


Avicena's Metaphysics is probably the most mature expression of the Muslim rationalist thinking from the Middle Ages. From a Marxist point of view, this essay investigates how this way of thinking came to be, its historical roots and the economic, political and social network that made it possible. It also tries to uncover the theoretical problems it addresses and the intellectual needs tries to solve. Finally, this paper outlines a brief review of its historical significance as well as its future projections, today our past.


The world of work is forever changing and so are the occupational health and safety (OHS) challenges that workers and employers face on a daily basis, in both the formal and the informal economies. We know the burden of occupational diseases and injuries in South Africa is immense, but we have, as yet, not quantified that burden or calculated the cost to our country and to our people. International best practice, as well as our own extensive experience in OHS, has shown that the vast majority of occupational injuries and diseases are preventable. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been published and the United Nations (UN) will convene a summit to adopt these goals as the post2015 development agenda. Of great importance for the world of work is that decent work is one of the goals, and there are important synergies with other goals such as health, youth employment, gender equity and sustainable economies. The cumulative scientific knowledge of our common humanity should be utilised to make it possible for all women and men to maximally benefit, including their health and safety at workplaces. Similarly, the creation of new knowledge through research is of paramount importance to inform and support preventive interventions at workplaces. Research that is reliable and has scientific rigour also provides all important information for policy development and policy coherence in OHS for different government departments. In addition, research findings inform teaching and training for all role players in the world of work in both the formal and the informal economies. Research is of paramount importance to determine the burden of occupational diseases and injuries and to help inform a focus on prevention rather than merely applying for compensation once workers are sick or injured. It is my fervent hope that we can find the common ground at workplaces amongst all the role players and that we can build on the strength of each individual to bring greater unity of purpose to have economically sustainable, healthy and safe workplaces. We acknowledge and celebrate the NIOH researchers and their supervisors and mentors for the enormous amount of work and dedication that made these research presentations possible. It is our belief that the creation and optimal utilisation of new knowledge through research provide excellent opportunities to make a significant positive impact on OHS in the world of work.


We present a proxy-assisted video delivery architecture that can simultaneously reduce the resources requirements at the central server and the service latency experienced by clients (i.e., end users). Under the proposed video delivery architecture, we develop and analyze two novel proxy-assisted video streaming techniques for on-demand delivery of video objects to a large number of clients. By taking advantage of the resources available at the proxy servers, these techniques not only significantly reduce the central server and network resource requirements, but are also capable of providing near-instantaneous service to a large number of clients. We optimize the performance of our video streaming architecture by carefully selecting video delivery techniques for videos of various popularity and intelligently allocating resources between proxy servers and the central server. Through empirical studies, we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed proxy-assisted video streaming techniques.


Chiral indices (n, m) of metallic and semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) selectively separated via the density-gradient ultracentrifugation process were individually assigned by using an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope (TEM) operated at 80 kV. Our statistical analysis revealed that armchair (n, n) and chiral (n, n-3) SWNTs with large chiral angles (>20 degrees) are dominant metallic nanotubes in the separated samples, whereas such a noticeable preference of particular indices was not observed for semiconducting nanotubes. Some significant discrepancies were found between the TEM and spectroscopic results on the major chiral indices and the metal/semiconductor ratios in these SWNTs.


Orthoplast(R) has been found to be successful in padding the joints of athletes who compete in such high-velocity, high-impact winter sports as bobsled, luge, and skeleton. Traditional padding with foam or felt was not as effective against contusions, lacerations, and ice burns. Orthoplast is preferable because of its rigid, non-yielding and lightweight qualities, as well as its ability to be formfitted, thus aerodynamic. Two different techniques of using Orthoplast have been proven effective by the authors in protecting joints and body parts through a necessary range of motion. Bobsled, luge, and skeleton athletes, like other athletes, require full range of motion for effective sports participation. Shingled, jointed padding has been effective in protecting upper extremity joints, while the one-piece technique is used best for the lower extremity and nonjointed areas. These techniques can be used for many other sports where freedom of movement and protection are equally important.


A novel application of neural network approach to protection of double circuit transmission line is demonstrated in this paper. Different system faults on a protected transmission line should be detected and classified rapidly and correctly. The proposed method uses current signals to learn the hidden relationship in the input patterns. Using the proposed approach, fault detection, classification and faulted phase selection could be achieved within a quarter of cycle. An improved performance is experienced once the neural network is trained sufficiently and suitably, thus performing correctly when faced with different system parameters and conditions. Results of performance studies show that the proposed neural network-based module can improve the performance of conventional fault selection algorithms.


The small group of lambda Bootis stars comprises late B to
early F-type stars, with moderate to extreme (up to a factor
100) surface under-abundances of most Fe-peak elements and
solar abundances of lighter elements (C, N, O, and S). The main
mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon are atmospheric
diffusion, meridional mixing, and accretion of material from
their surroundings. Especially spectroscopic binary (SB)
systems with lambda Bootis-type components are very important
to investigate the evolutionary status and accretion process in
more details. Because also delta Scuti type pulsation was found
for several members, it gives the opportunity to use the tools
of astroseismology for further investigations. We present the
results of our long term efforts of detailed abundance
analysis, orbital parameter estimation and photometric time
series analysis for five well investigated SB systems.


India has a distinguished tradition in crystallography and structural biology. However, biological macromolecular crystallography in the country has had a somewhat delayed start on account of paucity of adequate funds and insufficient interactions between crystallographers and biochemists. Preliminary results in the area began to appear in the early eighties. The support provided by the Department of Science & Technology in the mid eighties under its thrust area programme for macromolecular crystallographic studies at the Molecular Biophysics Unit of the Indian Institute of Science gave a major impetus to work in the area. The Bangalore centre also came to be recognised as a national nucleus for the development of the area in the country. Since then, over the years, biological macromolecular crystallography has grown into a major activity in India encompassing nearly 20 institutions and close to twice as many research groups. It is also now at the centre stage of modern biological research in India. The problems addressed by biological crystallographers in the country span a wide spectrum and their efforts have made considerable international impact. Collective initiatives such as those involving microbial pathogens and structure-based inhibitor design have also begun to emerge.


Azadirachta indica A. Juss, known as neem (Meliacea family), has insecticide and pesticide properties, and many studies have shown their efficacy as antifungal, anti-inflammatory, among others. Studies for the development of drugs from plants are rising due to several factors such as bacterial resistance, indiscriminate use and the adverse reactions of antibiotics. In this study, phytochemical triage and thin layer chromatography analysis were performed, with similar results as the presence of flavonoids, tannins and terpenes. The antimicrobial activity showed that the ethyl acetate extract and butanol fraction presented greater activity against Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus mitis presenting a MIC = 50 µg/ml for these strains, and the strain Enteroccocus faecalis, the hydroethanolic extract and aqueous fraction were most promising samples with a MIC = 50 µg/ml and MIC = 25 µg/ml, respectively. Therefore, it encourages the continuation of studies, aiming at the development of cosmetics or toothpaste.

 Key words: Antimicrobial activity, Azadirachta indica, minimum inhibitory concentration, oral strains, phytochemistry.


In this paper, we propose a novel method to measure the semantic similarity between genes. The key principle of our method relies on both path length between genes' annotation terms in the Gene Ontology and depth of their annotation terms' common ancestor node in the Gene Ontology. Our method applies an exponential transfer function which includes path length and depth as its two parameters to get the similarity of two annotation terms. We compute the arithmetic mean to get the similarity of genes. This measure ensures that the semantic similarity decreases with distance and increases with depth. A performance study with a set of genes from Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD) has demonstrated that our method outperforms the previous leading measures in certain cases. We also analyzed several pathways from SGD and the clustering results showed that our method is quite competitive.


A lignolytic basidiomycete fungus, Funalia trogii (Berk.), was isolated from decayed wood in coastal Tanzania and cultivated in submerged culture. Initially screened crude enzyme filtrate showed complete rhemazol brilliant blue - R (RBBR) decolorization 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline)-6-sulfonate and guaiacol oxidation after 7 days of incubation. The fungal filtrate had maximum laccase activity of 593 U/ml after 15 days of incubation. A laccase was purified by anion exchange and size exclusion chromatography to good purity as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and isoelectric focusing (IEF). The isolated main component had a molecular weight of ca 58 kDa as determined by MS and an isoelectric point (pI) of 3.8. The optimal pH and temperature range for the purified laccase were 4.0 - 5.0 and 50 - 70 oC, respectively, using 2, 6-dimethoxyphenol as a substrate.

 Key words: Funalia trogii, laccase, anion exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing.


To provide healthcare services, a great diversity of materials and medicines is used, which makes inventory management a challenge for the hospital organization, considering the need to make available large quantities of varied products. The hospital pharmacy is responsible for the management of these items, ensuring safe and rational use, as well as responding to patients' demands. In this way, effective inventory control with reliable data results in a smooth progress of the material operating processes in the institution. This paper aims to classify hospital pharmacy drugs through the XYZ rating, to calculate management indicators (accuracy, safety stock, inventory turnover and re-fulfillment point) for the five drugs that have higher demand. Thus, the current inventory system is analyzed to propose improvements for the management control of pharmacy medicines. The present work is a case study carried out in a hospital pharmacy of the municipal hospital of Maraba-PA. The main data were collected by checking the history of drug withdrawals, conversations with employees involved in the sector and work observation. The methodology followed proved to be adequate, as it generated results compared to the proposed one for the work. It was found that the study was able to achieve its objectives, because the drugs were classified as XYZ, and of the class Z drugs, five of those that obtained the most output were selected so that the indicators were calculated. From the results of the indicators, it was observed that the service provided by the pharmacy, despite functioning, is compromised. Despite the difficulties encountered, such as gaps in historical data, which resulted in the elimination of some medicines, the work concluded its objective and is configured as another source of research for inventory management, this time in a public hospital pharmacy of great importance to the health system and good care of the population.


Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases of livestock and human in South Sudan. A crosssectional study was conducted in peri-urban Juba town and rural Terekeka County to estimate sero-prevalence and determine risk factors of bovine brucellosis. Ninety (90) respondents were randomly interviewed on demographic information and potential risk factors to brucellosis. Out of the 90 respondents interviewed, 44 were from 44 cattle herds in peri-urban Juba and 46 from 46 cattle herds in rural Terekeka County. Sera of 502 cattle were screened for Brucella antibodies using Rose Bengal Plate test. The positive sera on RBPT were then confirmed by competitive Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay. SPSS version-18 and frequencies were used for sero-prevalence. Chi square and binomial logistic regressions were used for analysis of risk factors. RBPT and c-ELISA tests showed positive reactors and an overall individual animal sero-prevalence of 23.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI): (18.4 28.8) and 19.2%, 95% CI: (2.5 – 14.0), respectively in peri-urban Juba town. However, in rural Terekeka County the respective results showed seroprevalence of 40.5%, 95% CI: (34.5 – 46.4) and 39.3%, 95% CI: (33.3– 45.2). The overall herd level sero-prevalence on c-ELISA revealed 61.4% and 90.0% for peri-urban Juba town and rural Terekeka County cattle herds, respectively. The individual animal level risk factors in the study area revealed abortion history (OR= 4.941 and (CI): 2.077-11.753) and (OR= 6.251 and (CI): 2.920-13.379) significantly associated with brucella sero-positivity, respectively. No risk factor determined at herd level in peri-urban Juba town. However, in rural Terekeka County herds, number of cattle above 300 in a herd (p= 0.005, OR= 44.934) was significantly associated with brucellosis sero-positivity. Further epidemiological studies are needed for developing appropriate control strategies against bovine brucellosis in South Sudan.


We study in its homological class the periodic structure of the C1 self–maps on the manifolds Sn (the n–dimensional sphere), Sn × Sm (the product space of the n–dimensional with the m–dimensional spheres), CPn (the n– dimensional complex projective space) and HPn (the n–dimensional quaternion projective space), having all their periodic orbits hyperbolic.


OBJECTIVE
To study the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in dental pulp tissue and to find out the relationship of distribution and function of HO-1.

METHODS
30 pulp tissues were obtained from clinically extracted human healthy premolars and third molars. The expression of HO-1 in dental pulp was detected by means of SABC immunohistochemical technology.

RESULTS
HO-1 immunoreactivity was observed in vascular endothelial cells, odontoblasts and some fibroblasts cells.

CONCLUSION
The distribution of HO-1 in normal human dental pulp suggests that HO-1 may play an important role in pulp flow regulation, dentin production and its calcifying; it also may play some roles in dental pulp cells metabolism and differentiation.


Objectives: I describe the clinical symptoms and signs of acquired atresia of the external auditory canal (EAC) and the technique used to manage it. Methods: Forty-one consecutive patients affected by acquired atresia of the EAC were assessed by otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, computed tomography, and traditional and echo-planar diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The anatomic and functional hearing results were evaluated. Results: At surgery for acquired atresia of the EAC, an EAC cholesteatoma was found in 3 of the 41 patients. Twenty-three of the 41 patients were followed for at least 5 years. Recurrence was seen in 9 of the 25 ears (36%) over the entire period of observation. Twenty-one, 23, and 22 of the patients had a normal or nearly normal contour and size of the ear canal at 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years, respectively. The results were similar for the air-bone gap. Conclusions: The main complication following surgery was recurrence. There was recurrence at 6 months in 4 patients (16%). Recurrence was seen in 12% of the cases at the 5-year follow-up. Similar findings were clear on evaluation of the hearing results. This result demonstrates that the surgical procedure, even when performed correctly, did not afford a stable, long-lasting outcome in a cohort of patients.


The histone-lysine-N-methyltransferase 2A (KMT2A) gene (formerly known as mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL)) plays an essential role in regulating gene expression including homeobox (HOX) and MEIS1 genes. In 5-10% of AML cases, specific KMT2A gene perturbations can occur which result in an aggressive and poor prognostic group of blood cancers. The KMT2A complex also appears to play a central role in the epigenetic dysregulation in AMLs with co-mutations such as NPM1, IDH1/2, EZH2, and DNMT3A. Therefore, there is strong rationale for targeting these AML subsets which may be exquisitely sensitive to inhibition of the menin-KMT2A chromatin complex.
 KO-539 is a novel, once daily, oral investigational drug candidate targeting the menin-KMT2A protein-protein interaction.
 KOMET-001 (NCT04067336) is an ongoing Phase 1/2A open-label study evaluating KO-539 in adult patients (pts) with relapsed and/or refractory AML agnostic to oncogenic mutational type. The Phase 1 dose-escalation objectives are to assess safety and tolerability, characterize the pharmacokinetics (PK), and determine a recommended Phase 2 dose. The Phase 2A dose expansion portion will assess anti-leukemic activity, PK, safety and tolerability in select genetic subtypes of AML. Preclinically, the drug is shown to be highly protein bound (>99%) across animal species. Using physiologically-based PK (PBPK) modeling, the estimated human efficacious dose was estimated to be 600 mg po qd.
 As of data cutoff on August 10, 2020, 6 pts with relapsed and/or refractory AML have been enrolled in the trial. Dose escalation began with single pt cohorts at 50 mg po qd in 28 day cycles and has proceeded through to 200 mg dosing cohorts. An expansion of 3 pts at 200 mg was initiated to better characterize the PK and exposure of KO-539.
 To date, 3 enrolled pts have been studied for safety and have not experienced any dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) within the 28 day DLT-assessment window. Grade 3 (G3) or higher drug related adverse events have included G3 tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) at 50 mg and a G3 embolic event at 100 mg. KO-539 has been well tolerated with no dose interruptions or discontinuations due to drug related adverse events. There were no treatment-related deaths, and two pts discontinued treatment due to disease progression. Peak drug concentrations were attained between 2-3 hours after daily oral dosing with an elimination half-life of greater than 24 hours.
 KO-539 has demonstrated evidence of biologic activity in pts in the first 3 dose levels treated to date. The 50 mg pt with a KMT2A-r and the 200 mg pt with a p53 mutation and PICALM-AF10 fusion exhibited evidence of tumor lysis syndrome and markedly decreased hydroxyurea requirements with blood count stabilization, respectively. A third pt (100 mg dose level) with SETD2 and RUNX1 co-mutations achieved a complete remission with confirmed negative MRD by flow cytometry after two cycles of therapy and continues on treatment. The biologic activity of KO-539 at lower doses may be explained by inhibition of the CYP3A4 enzyme by concomitantly administered azole antifungals. KO-539 is metabolized into at least two metabolites with comparable activity to KO-539; total drug concentrations (i.e., KO-539 plus active metabolites) exhibited a dose-dependent increase.
 Although KO-539 is a CYP3A4 substrate, preclinical data suggest both KO-539 and its metabolites act as inhibitors, potentially providing an advantage in overcoming drug resistance attributable to CYP3A4 metabolism by bone marrow stroma. The physiology of the bone marrow sinusoids also allows both unbound and protein-bound drug to reach the sites of leukemic involvement. The high level of protein binding may therefore provide an opportunity for organ-specific targeted action while possibly limiting off target effects. The potential advantage associated with the CYP3A4 inhibitory characteristics of KO-539 to overcome drug-resistance in the bone marrow stroma also continues to be investigated.
 In conclusion, the early biologic activity of KO-539 in relapsed AML is encouraging, and its unique PK characteristics may be advantageous for clinical benefit. In addition to the above, any updated safety, PK, and efficacy data will be presented at the time of the conference.

 Wang: Abbvie: Consultancy; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Bristol Meyers Squibb (Celgene): Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau; Stemline: Speakers Bureau; PTC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Macrogenics: Consultancy; Astellas: Consultancy. Altman:BioSight: Other: No payment but was reimbursed for travel , Research Funding; Kura Oncology: Other: Scientific Advisory Board - no payment accepted, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Other: Advisory Board - no payment but was reimbursed for travel; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Boehringer Ingelheim: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Kartos: Research Funding; Fujifilm: Research Funding; France Foundation: Consultancy; PrIME Oncology: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Theradex: Other: Advisory Board; Agios: Other: advisory board, Research Funding; Glycomimetics: Other: Data safety and monitoring committee; Janssen: Consultancy; ASH: Consultancy; Amphivena: Research Funding; Immune Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Syros: Consultancy; Amgen: Research Funding; ImmunoGen: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; Aprea: Research Funding; AbbVie: Other: advisory board, Research Funding; Astellas: Other: Advisory Board, Speaker (no payment), Steering Committee (no payment), Research Funding; Cancer Expert Now: Consultancy; PeerView: Consultancy. Pettit:PharmaEssentia: Other: advisory board; Kura Oncology: Other: advisory board; CTI Biopharma: Other: advisory board. Walter:Kite: Consultancy; Race Oncology: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Macrogenics: Research Funding; New Link Genetics: Consultancy; Selvita: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; StemLine: Research Funding; Agios: Consultancy, Research Funding; Aptevo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Daiichi: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Boston Biomedical: Consultancy; BiVictriX: Consultancy; BioLineRx: Consultancy, Research Funding; Astellas: Consultancy; Jazz: Consultancy, Research Funding; ImmunoGen: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy; Arog: Research Funding; Argenx: Consultancy; Amphivena: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding. Fenaux:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Jazz: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Honoraria, Research Funding. Burrows:Kura Oncology: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Tomkinson:Kura Oncology: Current Employment. Martell:Kura Oncology: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Fathi:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; Amphivena: Consultancy, Honoraria; Astellas: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; PTC Therapeutics: Consultancy; TrovaGene: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Kura: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Trillium: Consultancy; Agios: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; NewLink Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Blue Print Oncology: Consultancy; Boston Biomedical: Consultancy; Forty Seven: Consultancy; Jazz: Consultancy, Honoraria.


A low power wavelet denoising chip for photoplethysmography (PPG) detection and portable heart rate monitoring is presented. To eliminate noise and improve detection accuracy, Harr wavelet (HWT) is chosen as the processing tool. An optimized finite impulse response structure is proposed to lower the computational complexity of proposed algorithm, which is benefit for reducing the power consumption of proposed chip. The modulus maxima pair location module is design to accurately locate the PPG peaks. A clock control unit is designed to further reduce the power consumption of the proposed chip. Fabricated with the 0.18 μ m N-well CMOS 1P6M technology, the power consumption of proposed chip is only 8.12 μ W in 1 V voltage supply. Validated with PPG signals in multiparameter intelligent monitoring in intensive care databases and signals acquired by the wrist photoelectric volume detection front end, the proposed chip can accurately detect PPG signals. The average sensitivity and positive prediction are 99.91% and 100%, respectively.


Medication errors are one of the important challenges of health care systems
worldwide. It is also one of the threatening factors of patient safety. For this reason, medication error
rate is used as one of the patient safety indicators. The aim of this study was to determine the
frequency of medication error and its reporting, according to self- report by nurses in hospitals of
Khoy in 2011.
Materials & Methods: This study was a descriptive research. The study population included all
nursing staffs of Khoy hospitals (n= 350). A questionnaire was used to gather the data about the
perspectives of nurses on the frequency of medication errors and its reporting. Descriptive and
analytical statistical analyses were performed with SPSS 16 software.
Result:The frequency of medication errors and its reporting were 28.9% and 14.4%, respectively. The
most common types of medication error that reported were concomitant administration of oral drugs
with potential interaction (57.7%), wrong rate error (46.34%), and giving pain medications without a
physician's prescription (44.39%). There were a statistically significant relationship between
medication error rate and age group (p= 0.035). Medication errors occurred most frequently among
nurses with 20-30-years age. There were also a significant relationship among medication errors and
working hours (p=0.023) and participation in retraining courses (p= 0.033). There was a significant
relationship between medication errors and its reporting rate (p= 0.000).
Conclusion:According to our findings, reduction in medication errors can be achieved by reducing the
nurses' work hours and holding retraining courses. In this study, a low report of medication errors has
been revealed. Establishing an efficient recording and reporting system of medication errors along
with minimization of barriers to reporting them may reduce the risk of medication errors


The electronic or digital book (e-book) is a book published in digital form. It can either be an electronic version of a printed book, or an electronic born book (e-born book). An e-book contains much more information than a printed book (e.g., dictionary, pictures, video, hyperlinks, translations into different languages, etc.) The reading is done with specific software by using specialized electronic reading devices (tab, e-readers), ordinary computers or even smart phones.
The transition from printing to electronic publishing has led to significant changes in the publishers' world. In this context, the business model has changed, in certain publishing stages such as printing, transportation etc.
Therefore, the libraries must be ready to face the new reality that is formed and be able to understand the changes in the publishing business, which are dictated by the introduction of e-book and the certain domination of it over the next decade.
The present diploma thesis is an effort that aims to investigate for the first time, the status of the Greek publishing in relation to scientific e-books. Publishers are considered "partners" of Greek libraries (including academics), so the study of the changes occurring is very important in order to develop any strategy.
After research we collected 655 email addresses belonging to Greek publishers, focusing in the scientific book. An electronic questionnaire was sent to them by electronic mail. The main topics examined were: (a) the degree of e-books exploitation by Greek publishers, (b) the advantages and disadvantages of e-books compared to print (from publishers prospective) and (c) their intentions for cooperation.


Environmental light is involved in the regulation of photochemical reaction in mouse retina. It remains unclear whether light-mediated increase in all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) synthesis in retina will result in altering the circulatory levels of ATRA and regulating downstream gene expression and physiological function. Here we showed circulatory levels of ATRA decreased in mice under constant darkness and elevated by light exposure. Fat gene pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 (mPlrp2) and its partner procolipase (mClps), but not hepatic lipase (mHl), activated in livers for responding to lack of light illuminating. Light-triggered alterations in circulatory ATRA levels regulated ecto-5'-nucleotidase gene expression by retinoic acid receptor retinoic acid receptor-alpha and modulated 5'-AMP levels in blood and were associated with mPlrp2 and mClps expression in the livers. Mice deficient in adenosine receptors displayed mPlrp2 and mClps expression in livers under 12-h light, 12-h dark cycles. Caffeine blocked adenosine receptors and induced hepatic mPlrp2 and mClps expression in wild-type mice. Mice activated in hepatic mPlrp2 and mClps expression lowered hepatic and serum lipid levels and markedly elevated circulatory levels of all-trans retinol. Our results suggest environmental light influence hepatic lipid homeostasis by light-modulated retinoic acid signaling associated with mPlrp2 and mClps gene expression in livers.


IMPORTANCE
The prevalence and clinical burden of lymphedema is known to be increasing. Nevertheless, evidence-based comparative effectiveness data regarding lymphedema therapeutic interventions have been poor.

OBJECTIVE
To examine the impact of an advanced pneumatic compression device (APCD) on cutaneous and other clinical outcomes and health economic costs in a representative privately insured population of lymphedema patients.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Retrospective analysis of a deidentified private insurance database from 2007 through 2013, and multivariate regression analysis comparing outcomes for the 12 months before and after APCD purchase, adjusting for baseline patient characteristics. Patients with lymphedema who received an APCD who were commercially insured and Medicare managed care enrollees from a large, national US managed care health insurer. The study population was evaluated as cancer-related and non-cancer-related lymphedema cohorts.

INTERVENTION
Receipt of an APCD.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Rates of cellulitis, use of lymphedema-related manual therapy, outpatient hospital visits, and inpatient hospitalizations. Lymphedema-related direct costs were measured for home health care, hospital outpatient care, office visits, emergency department use, and inpatient care.

RESULTS
The study sample included 718 patients (374 in the cancer cohort and 344 in the noncancer cohort). In both cohorts, use of an APCD was associated with similar reductions in adjusted rates of cellulitis episodes (from 21.1% to 4.5% in the cancer cohort and 28.8% to 7.3% in the noncancer cohort; P < .001 for both), lymphedema-related manual therapy (from 35.6% to 24.9%in the cancer cohort and 32.3% to 21.2% in the noncancer cohort; P < .001 for both), and outpatient visits (from 58.6% to 41.4% in the cancer cohort and 52.6% to 31.4% in the noncancer cohort; P < .001 for both). Among the cancer cohort, total lymphedema-related costs per patient, excluding medical equipment costs, were reduced by 37% (from $2597 to $1642, P = .002). The corresponding decline in costs for the noncancer cohort was 36% (from $2937 to $1883, P = .007).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The study found an association between significant reductions in episodes of cellulitis (cancer vs noncancer cohorts) and outpatient care and costs of APCD acquisition within a 1-year time frame in patients with both cancer-related and non-cancer-related lymphedema.


In terms of the delivery of compressed videos, two service categories are frequently considered, namely deterministic and statistical services. It is a general belief that the statistical service can achieve more efficient bandwidth utilization than the deterministic one, due to its statistically multiplexed streams. In this paper, however, we investigate the possibility of applying the multiplexing principle in the context of the deterministic service for improving the bandwidth utilization in wide-area networks. We propose a resource reservation protocol and discuss implementation details based on the deterministic multiplexing framework previously proposed by S. Tong (2000).


This paper describes the design and implementation of a system that takes Spanish text and generates crosswords (board and definitions) in a fully automatic way using the definitions extracted from those texts. Our solution divides the problem in two parts: a definition extraction module that applies pattern matching implemented in Python, and a crossword generation module that uses a greedy strategy implemented in Prolog. The system achieves 73% precision and builds crosswords similar to those built by humans.


Infusion-nutrient accompanying therapy provides prevention of metabolic complications and their nutrient correction in oncopatients with colorectal cancer (CRС) and pancreatic cancer.Material and methods. In patients with CRС and pancreatic cancer the effectiveness of detoxification alimentation was evaluated. Nutritional deficiency was specified by alimental-volemic diagnoses (AVD), nutritional risk-by NRI, sarcopenia by bioimedansometry. Hematological indices of intoxication (Krebs index, leukocyte index of intoxication) were calculated according to known formulas. Hepatological parameters (total protein, albumin, bilirubin, ALT, etc.) and the content of blood urea and creatinine, electrolytes were determined by conventional methods, the participation of the intestine in detoxification was monitored by plasma citrulline levels and activity of the intestinal microbiota. The severity of the condition was assessed by APACHE II, the quality of life by ECOG.Results. The relationship between indicators of homeostasis and endotoxicosis, as well as more positive dynamics in the application of detoxification regimens with the addition of Remaxol.Conclusion. In CRC T3–T4, it is advisable to use a combination of nutrient compositions with the addition of hepatotropic pharmaconutrients, in particular, Remaxol.


This study is based on telephone interviews in 2012 with 25 arbitrarily chosen adolescents between 20-27 years who had recently migrated from the rural Danish municipality of Lemvig, supplemented with results from a 2011 survey (n=120). Within a theoretical framework of belonging (Cohen, 1982) combined with Bourdieu's (1986) general theory of the economy of practices, the purpose is to shed light on three, interrelated questions: Why do young rural-urban migrants leave their places of birth, what do they leave behind, and do they consider moving back later in life? The new empirical contribution is to shed light on the latter, important question, which has been somewhat overlooked within rural studies. In line with previous studies, adolescents' decision to move was often complex, although achieving legitimate cultural (educational) capital in urban areas was crucial. However, most of them still felt a strong emotional attachment – belonging – to their local area, mainly to family, friends, local community and place. In what regards potential return migration, difficulties in getting a good job and thus securing good incomes and social recognition seemed to be the main obstacle for moving back. Hence, many seemed trapped between two 'competing' sets of emotions – security/warmth and personal pride/ambition – that is, between their belonging to a specific local field characterized by 'survival' networks (Corbett, 2013) and their longing for a non-specific, other place where they could achieve, and capitalize upon, highly state recognized forms of educational and symbolic capital targeted at the national 'field of fields' (cf. Hektner, 1995; Johnson et al., 2005; Bourdieu, 2014). At the macro level, the rural-to-urban migration trend mirrors an unequal distribution of legitimate symbolic capital in space, i.e. the rural-urban power divide, reinforced by a negative discourse of rurality (Winther and Svendsen, 2012).


Functional verification is widely recognized as the bottleneck of the hardware design cycle. With the ever-growing demand for greater performance and faster time to market, coupled with the exponential growth in hardware size, verification has become increasingly difficult. Although formal methods such as model checking and theorem proving have resulted in noticeable progress, these approaches apply only to the verification of relatively small design blocks or to very focused verification goals. Current industry practice is to use separate, automatic, random stimuli generators for processor- and multiprocessor-level verification. The generated stimuli, usually in the form of test programs, trigger architecture and microarchitecture events defined by a verification plan. MAC-based algorithms are well suited for the test program generation domain because they postpone heuristic decisions until after consideration of all architectural and testing-knowledge constraints. Geneysys-Pro is currently the main test generation tool for functional verification of IBM processors, including several complex processors. We've found that the new language considerably reduces the effort needed to define and maintain knowledge specific to an implementation and verification plan.


Preface Introduction: The Project Prolegomena Chapter 1 Consciousness as the Mark of the Mental 1. Consciousness as a mark of modernity 2. The genealogy of the concept of consciousness 3. The analytic of consciousness 4. The early modern philosophical conception of consciousness 5. The dialectic of consciousness I 6. The contemporary philosophical conception of consciousness 7. The dialectic of consciousness II 8. The illusions of self-consciousness Chapter 2 Intentionality as the Mark of the Mental 1. Intentionality 2. Intentional objects 3. The central sun: the relation of thought to reality 4. The first circle: what do we believe (hope, suspect, etc.)? 5. The second circle: the relation of language to reality 6. The third circle: the relation of thought to language 7. The fourth circle: the epistemology of intentionality 8. The fifth circle: meaning and understanding Chapter 3 Mastery of a Language as the Mark of a Mind 1. A language-using animal 2. Linguistic communication 3. Knowing a language 4. Meaning something 5. Understanding and interpreting 6. Meaning and use 7. The dialectic of understanding: the mystery of understanding new sentences Part I The Cognitive and Doxastic Powers Chapter 4 Knowledge 1. The value of knowledge 2. The grammatical groundwork 3. The semantic field 4. What knowledge is not 5. Certainty 6. Analyses of knowledge 7. Knowledge and ability 8. Knowing how 9. What is knowledge? The role of know in human discourse Chapter 5 Belief 1. The web of belief 2. The grammatical groundwork 3. The surrounding landscape 4. Voluntariness and responsibility for belief 5. Belief and feelings 6. Belief and dispositions 7. Belief and mental states 8. Why believing something cannot be a brain state 9. What is belief? The role of believe in human discourse Chapter 6 Knowledge, Belief and the Epistemology of Belief 1. Knowledge and belief 2. The epistemology of belief 3. Non-standard cases: self-deception and unconscious beliefs Chapter 7 Sensation and Perception 1. The cognitive powers of the senses 2. Sensation 3. Perception and sensation 4. Sensation, feeling and tactile perception Chapter 8 Perception 1. Perceptual organs, the senses and proper sensibles 2. Perceptual powers: cognition and volition 3. The classical causal theory of perception 4. The modern causal theory of perception Chapter 9 Memory 1. Memory as a form of knowledge 2. The objects of memory 3. The faculty and its actualities 4. Forms of memory 5. Further conceptual links and contrasts 6. The dialectic of memory I: the Aristotelian legacy 7. The dialectic of memory II: trace theory Part II The Cogitative Powers Chapter 10 Thought and Thinking 1. Floundering without an overview 2. The varieties of thinking 3. Is thinking an activity? 4. What do we think in? 5. Thought, language and the language of thought 6. Can animals think? 7. The agent, organ and location of thinking 8. Thinking and the inner life Chapter 11 Imagination 1. A cogitative faculty 2. The conceptual network of the imagination 3. Perceiving and imagining 4. Perceptions and imaginations : clarity and vivacity of mental imagery 5. Mental images and imagining 6. Imagination and the will 7. The imaginable, the conceivable and the possible Appendix: Philosophical Analysis and the Way of Words 1. On method 2. Methodological objections and misunderstandings Index


In identifying the free riders in the voluntary provision of a pure public good, Andreoni and McGuire (1993) simplify Bergstrom, Blume, and Varian's (1986)algorithm by systematizing the selection process of potential contributors. We propose an alternative algorithm in which a concept of no-free-rider Nash equilibrium is utilized to identify potentially a large fraction of free riders in Nash equilibrium without conducting any Nash solution tests for them.


Fifth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Nov 12-15, 2006

A160

Our laboratories have reported inhibitory effects on colon carcinogenesis of soy protein isolate (SPI) in AOM-treated male rats (Linz et al, 2004, J. Carcinogenesis, 3:14). In the present study, we examined regional and hormonal aspects of the intestinal cancer-preventative actions of SPI. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley dams at gestation day 4 were placed on semi-purified, iso-caloric, AIN-93G diets containing casein (CAS) or SPI (both at 20%, w/w) as the sole protein source. At postnatal day (PND) 3, each litter was culled to 5 males and 5 females (females used in unrelated studies) and rats fed the same diet as their dam. Male progeny were injected subcutaneously with AOM (15mg/kg body weight) at ages PND 50 and PND 57 and killed at 19.5 wks post-AOM. A second group of rats similarly fed CAS or SPI were killed at PND 50 or at 1 or 4 days post-AOM to examine acute responses to carcinogen in proximal vs. distal colon. SPI diet inhibited colon, but not small bowel, tumor incidence at 19.5 wks post-AOM (colon tumor incidence: CAS - 58.6%, SPI - 37.7%, P 0.05). CAS and SPI fed rats did not differ with respect to tumor multiplicity or tumor weight; however, colon tumors of the SPI group had an increased preponderance of gastrointestinal lymphomas. Tumor distribution in colon tended to be more distal than proximal for both diets. Reduction in colon tumor incidence in the SPI group was associated with reduced circulating insulin and leptin and increased circulating IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations; serum IGF-I did not differ. Expression of insulin-responsive SREBP-1c and Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS) genes was suppressed in non-tumor colon tissue of the SPI group. In the second study , AOM treatment induced a transient suppression (day 1) in cell proliferation in crypts of the proximal colon which was maintained in the SPI, but not CAS groups, at day 4. Relative proliferation status of crypt epithelium in distal colon was unaffected by AOM, diet or time. Apoptosis was transiently induced by AOM (day 1 > PND50 or day 4) with number of TUNEL-positive cells greater for distal than proximal colon. SPI-fed rats manifested reduced numbers of apoptotic cells and phospho-ser15-p53-positive cells in distal colon crypts at day 1, suggesting an SPI-induced resistance to the DNA alkylating effects of AOM. SPI elicited reductions in serum insulin and mRNA abundance of colon SREBP-1c and FAS genes . Results suggest colon-specific inhibitory effects of SPI on AOM-induced carcinogenesis that may involve suppression of insulin/IGF action. Further study of SREBP-1c and FAS in dietary modulation of colon tumorigenesis is warranted.


Although the effects of grazing-induced savannah degradation on animal diversity are well documented, knowledge of how they affect space use or responding behaviour remains poor. In this study, we analysed space use of the spotted sand lizard (Pedioplanis l. lineoocellata) in degraded versus nondegraded habitats of southern Kalahari savannah habitats. Lizards were radio tracked, daily movement distances recorded and home range sizes calculated. In degraded Kalahari savannah habitats where plant diversity and perennial grass cover are low but shrub cover high, P. lineoocellata moves larger distances (40.88 +/- 6.42 m versus 27.43 +/- 5.08 m) and occupies larger home ranges (646.64 +/- 244.84 m(2) versus 209.15 +/- 109.84 m(2)) than in nondegraded habitats (high plant diversity, high perennial grass cover and low shrub cover). We assume that this increase in daily movement distances and home range sizes is a behavioural plasticity to limited food resources in degraded savannah habitats. Although P. lineoocellata is able to adjust to resource-poor savannah habitats, the increase in the lizard's movement activities is likely to result in a higher predation risk. This is supported by the lower availability of protective vegetation i.e. perennial grass cover. Hence, we conclude that despite behavioural plasticity of P. lineoocellata, overgrazing has a severe negative impact on the space use of P. lineoocellata.


Enterprise 2.0 refers to the use of networked social software in organizational practice. Blogs, wikis, social networking sites, and many other kinds of community-oriented computer applications, accessed primarily via the Web, are heavily promoted by software vendors and industry insiders, and are being implemented in organizations around the world. Enterprise 2.0 promoters make broad claims for benefits to be realized from uses of such tools—improvements in communication, collaboration, productivity, and worker satisfaction, for instance—but seldom offer evidence to support their claims. Such unsubstantiated claims suggest simplistic assumptions about the complex, contingent environments in which the tools are used. This thesis uses a mixed method approach to explore the influences of these tools on social and organizational behaviors and outcomes, and vice versa. The research question to be addressed is, "What shapes the uptake, uses, and effects of Enterprise 2.0 in everyday practice?" It applies social theoretics to explain how and why social media practices develop, primarily through the use of Bourdieu's concepts of field, capital, and habitus. Planned research contributions are: empirical evidence of Enterprise 2.0 effects from everyday uses; the analysis and evaluation of Enterprise 2.0's impacts on differing organizational structures; understanding of the Web's contributions to organizational communication via Enterprise 2.0; and deeper understanding of the social processes at the interplay of individuals, organizations, and social media.


Metabolic rate was determined by measuring O2 consumption in two groups of 6-mo-old male rats fed ad libitum (group 1) or maintained on a life-prolonging food-restriction regimen for 4.5 mo (group 2). These measurements were made continuously for 23.75 h under conditions nearly identical to those of the daily life of the rats. The metabolic rate per kilogram lean body mass was the same for both groups, a finding contrary to the hypothesis that food restriction retards the aging process and prolongs life by slowing the metabolic rate per unit of metabolic mass. This and our previous work strongly suggest that the classic views of the action of food restriction on aging must be re-evaluated because retardation of the aging process can occur without the restriction of calories or any other nutrient per unit of lean body mass. The long held belief that reducing food intake lowers the metabolic rate per unit of metabolic mass may be true in short-term dietary programs but appears not to be true when a significant portion of the life span is involved.


Prediction of elastic parameters (e.g., P-, S-wave velocity, and density) from observed seismic data is one of the most common means of reservoir characterization. Recently, deep learning (DL), as a data-driven approach, has been attracting increasing interest in seismic inversion. DL is proven to have the potential to learn complex systems and solve inverse problems efficiently. One of the most key components of DL is the training dataset, and an effective training dataset is a prerequisite for the success of DL-based methods. In seismic inversion, the training dataset needs to be artificially expanded due to the limited number of actual training data pairs. Traditional approaches of using the exact Zoeppritz equation (EZE) or its approximations for training dataset construction have limitations, principally, the single interface assumption and the neglect of wave propagation effects. Alternatively, the analytical solution of the 1-D wave equation (i.e., reflectivity method [RM]) can simulate the full wave, including transmission losses and internal multiples, and can be executed in a target-oriented manner. Inspired by this, we develop a data-driven elastic parameter prediction method based on waveform formulation. The method uses RM to construct training dataset, which both compensates for the inadequate training dataset in data-driven seismic inversion and improves the accuracy of the inversion results. We implement the method in a synthetic model as well as field data. The results are compared with model-driven methods (EZE and RM) and data-driven method based on EZE, and it is shown that the proposed method outperforms these three methods.


Background : This study aimed to explore the role of miR-29a in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Further, to confirm whether miR-29a targetes vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in HCC cells. Methods: Cell counting Kit-8 (CCK8) and clone formation assay were used to analyze the proliferation of HCC cells. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the apoptosis and cell cycle of HCC cells. Western blot was used to analyze the expression of Bax, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), cyclin dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), CyclinD1, Retinoblastoma (Rb), p53 and myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1). The targeting relations between miR-29a and VEGF was measuered by dual luciferase assay. Results : Overexpression of miR-29a could distinctly inhibit the proliferation and promote apoptosis of HCC cells. Overexpression of miR-29a obviously up-regulated the expressions of Bax and Rb, and reduced the expressions of CDK4, Bcl-2, Cyclin D1, p53, MCL1 and VEGF in HCC cells. Dual luciferase assay proved that VEGF was the target of miR-29a. Rescue experiments showed that miR-29a targeted VEGF to regulate the proliferation and apoptosis in HCC cells. Conclusions : These results indicated overexpression of miR-29a inhibited the HCC cells proliferation through targeting VEGF.


Objective: To determine the effects of the voluntary contraction of muscles and magnetic stimulation intensity on the motor evoked potential (MEP) and the silent period (SP). Method: We studied MEPs and SPs in opponens pollicis muscle in 30 healthy adults (male: 16, female: 14) while varying the amount of the voluntary contraction and the stimulation intensity. We analyzed MEPs and SPs in relation to sex, recording site, opposition power and height. Results: 1) During the contraction, the latencies of MEP were significantly shorter than during the relaxation. 2) The amplitudes of MEP reached plateau at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction and increased with increment of stimulation intensity without limitation. The amplitudes of MEP of right hand were bigger than left hand. There were no significant differences according to sex and recording site. 3) The durations of SP were directly proportional to the degrees of voluntary contraction and the stimulation intensity. Conclusion: Transcranial magnetic stimulation should be performed under the same voluntary contraction and magnetic stimulation intensity.


Let $X$ be genus 2 curve defined over an algebraically closed field of characteristic $p$ and let $X\_1$ be its $p$-twist. Let $M\_X$ (resp. $M\_{X\_1}$) be the (coarse) moduli space of semi-stable rank 2 vector bundles with trivial determinant over $X$ (resp. $X\_1$). The moduli space $M\_X$ is isomorphic to the 3-dimensional projective space and is endowed with an action of the group $J[2]$ of order 2 line bundles over $X$. When $3\leq p \leq 7$, we show that the Verschiebung (i.e., the separable part of the action of Frobenius by pull-back) $V : M\_{X\_1} \dashrightarrow M\_X$ is completely determined by its restrictions to the lines that are invariant under the action of a non zero element of $J[2]$. Those lines correspond to elliptic curves that appear as Prym varieties and the Verschiebung restricts to the morphism induced by multiplication by $p$. Therefore, we are able to compute the explicit equations of the Verschiebung when the base field has characteristic 3, 5 or 7.


This paper proposes a time-interleaved RF carrier modulation and demodulation technique, suitable for high frequency mixer applications under a constraint of active device speed limitation. The presents are in essence mixer arrays where modulated outputs by a series of time-delayed carriers with a reduced frequency, compared with a carrier frequency in fundamental mixers, will be interleaved in the time domain to synthesize the final output. The mixer arrays inherit an FIR filtering function, and the time interleaving process is equivalent to the filtering process where the arrays select the fundamental tone or its harmonics of a carrier in a periodic manner. The carrier waveform and duty-cycle play important roles in the noise performance of the mixer arrays. A comprehensive noise analysis is presented in this paper for both cases of correlated-noise and uncorrelated-noise mixer arrays. To minimize output noise power, optimization of carrier duty-cycle and noise filtering technique have been proposed and analyzed extensively for various types of carrier pulse. Finally analytical mismatch models are provided and output SNR degradations under finite mismatches amongst mixer array elements have been discussed based on the mismatch models. All theoretical analyses are verified through behavioral mixer array simulations including Monte-Carlo statistical simulations.


The importance of vocal cords for the interaction with the world around is obviously known. Vocal cords disorders can be divided mainly into three categories: difficulty of movement of one or both vocal folds, lesion formation on them, and difficulty or lack of mucosal wave movement. In this last case, a laser heating treatment can be useful in order to improve tissue vibration. However, thermal damage should be considered to adjust laser parameters and so to prevent irreversible harmful effects to the patient. In this work, an analysis of thermal damage in vocal folds is proposed. Firstly thermo-optical laser-tissue interaction is studied, by means of a RTT (Radiation Transfer Theory) model solved with a Monte Carlo approach for the optical propagation of radiation, and a bio-heat equation, with a finite difference numerical method based solution, taking into account blood perfusion and boundary effects, for the thermal distribution. The spatial-temporal temperature distributions are obtained for two widely used lasers, Nd:YAG (1064 nm) and KTP (532 nm). From these data, an Arrhenius thermal damage analysis allows a prediction of possible laser treatment harmful effects on vocal cords that could cause scar formation or tissue burn. Different source powers and exposition times are considered, in such a way that an approximation of adequate wavelength, power and duration is achieved, in order to implement an efficient and safe laser treatment.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the bone-implant interfaces of two kinds of implants with different surfaces in different time in vivo.

METHODS
CDIC and ITI-TPS solid-screw cylinder pure titanium implants were selected and implanted in the regions of posterior molars of rhesus monkeys. 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 1 year after surgery, the bone-implant interfaces were evaluated respectively through oral examination, X-ray inspection, light microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation.

RESULTS
None of the implants was loose. Soft tissue around implants appeared no inflammation. There were no apparent transparent shadow around the implants interfaces in X-ray photos except little angle-shaped absorption was showed in neck region of CDIC implants of one-month. New bone was observed around implants of one-month through light microscope and SEM. More bone growing around ITI implants were seen than that around CDIC implants except the interfaces of one-year.

CONCLUSION
The osseointegration of ITI implants are better than that of CDIC implants during three months after implanting without loading. The bone formation at the interfaces of ITI and CDIC implants has no significant difference after one year without loading.


Assessment Centres are regarded as an integral part of the selection process, in recruiting and promoting within organisations. This selection process is orchestrated by trained Assessors, to ensure the "right person for the job" is recruited. Successful candidates are those who can demonstrate particular competencies and experience in line with the role.
This research explores the experience of participating in Assessment Centres from a different vantage point, emphasising talk as an active tool in managing and constructing the experience.
Discourse Analysis was used to gain insight into how the Assessment Centre experience was managed, drawing upon a corpus of transcripts gathered from semi-structured interviews of Assessors and candidates who had just completed Assessment Centres. The research shows how Assessors use discourse to construct a "membership category" of being in "Assessor Mode", and how candidates organise themselves in talk in relation to the assessments by "ordering the past".
A further consideration looks at how the assessment environment is coordinated to enable the Assessor to gain access to the "true nature" of the candidate during exercises. This brings to light what occurs in the space of Assessment Centres beyond exercises and psychometric tests, conceptualising the experience as a moment-by-moment interaction where the 'self' is continually re-organised.


The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of parameter estimates for a differential item functioning (DIF) model, when the model was not correctly specified. This study focused on a model with two DIF factors, where one DIF factor was a cluster characteristic variable and the other DIF factor was an individual characteristic variable. Accordingly, the model is referred to as a cross-level two-way DIF model, in which a fully specified model has six fixed effect parameters and two random parameters. The multilevel Rasch modeling was utilized in the framework of a two-leve confirmatory factor analysis model with categorical indicators. Repeatedly simulated data were investigated, and it was found that some parameter estimates were adversely affected under incorrect model specifications, including the individuallevel DIF and three-way interaction effect.


ABSTRACT Internet of Things (IoT) has gradually become one of the most popular topics among both academia and industry, and it is considered as a crucial part of future Internet. However, very few objective and systematic review was conducted to address high-value articles and summarize the intellectual components from journals for examination and identification of the intellectual core and structure of IoT. Therefore, this study conducted a co-citation analysis for IoT by using 68 high-value articles retrieved within 1457 source papers from Web of Science online database. By using factor analysis, ten critical factors were identified, which includes (1) frameworks and challenges of IoT; (2) current situation of IoT in different applications; (3) interactions of IoT; (4) security issues of IoT; (5) application domains of IoT; (6) data management of IoT; (7) IoT in product lifecycle management; (8) enabling technologies of IoT; (9) IoT in smart cities; (10) IoT in recommender systems. Hierarchical Custer Analysis and Multidimensional Scaling were used to graphically illustrate the intellectual elements of IoT. In the current findings, fundamental elements of IoT including architectural framework, enabling technologies, network communication, data management, and IoT interactions were discussed with a series of challenges for wider and deeper IoT applications.