Recent advances in the field of corrosion failure evaluation by the extreme value statistics have been reviewed. Historical background of the extreme value statistics, and recent developments in the theory and application to corrosion are described. The extreme value distribution contains three asymptotic distributions which are derived from the initial distributions, but the first type for the maximum value, i.e., the Gumbel distribution and the third type for the minimum value, i.e., the Weibull distribution are mainly used for evaluating the maximum depth of corrosion penetration and the minimum time for corrosion failure, respectively. It is emphasized that the parameter estimation could be accomplished simply by using a minimum variance linear unbiased estimator (MVLUE) method which has been refined recently. Several problems in applying the MVLUE method were discussed with referring experiences in the data analysis.


Adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) is a powerful therapy for Stage IV melanoma patients who have failed first and second line therapies. TIL for adoptive transfer are expanded from melanoma surgical specimens with IL-2 followed by a "rapid expansion protocol" (REP), where the cells are activated with anti-CD3 antibody, PBMC feeder cells and IL-2 for two weeks, generating a final infusion product. The REP yields billions of highly-differentiated cytolytic CD8+ T cells that lose costimulatory molecules CD28 and CD27, and are hyporesponsive to further proliferative signals. We found "post-REP" CD8+ TIL express an alternative costimulatory molecule of the TNF-R family, 4-1BB. Our study tests the effects of an agonistic anti-4-1BB antibody added at the time of initiating the REP. We found adding an agonistic anti-4-1BB antibody increased CD8+ T-cell recovery, antigen specificity, BCL-2 gene expression and increased the frequency of CD28+ cells in the recovered CD8+ post-REP TIL. Adding anti-4-1BB improved post-REP TIL survival capacity in the absence of cytokine, with TIL continuing to divide even without added IL-2. Our findings suggest adding an agonistic anti-4-1BB antibody during the time of TIL REP initiation produces a CD8+ T cell population capable of improved effector function and survival. This may greatly improve TIL persistence and anti-tumor activity in vivo after adoptive transfer into patients.


The paper presents a parameter-embedding approach to the optimal control of linear time-delay systems, and develops a simple computational algorithm via Walsh functions. The algorithm employs the concept of Walsh operational matrices for delay and advance. These operational matrices provide us with a means of numerically integrating differential equations with delayed and advanced arguments; a major task in the process of computing optimal controls for time-delay systems. An attractive feature of the present method is its ultimate simplicity and the resulting piecewise constant controls are convenient in practical implementation.


Introduction Antibodies targeting the inward-rectifying potassium channel KIR4.1 have been associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) but studies using diverse techniques have failed to replicate this association. The detection of these antibodies is challenging; KIR4.1 glycosylation patterns and the use of diverse technical approaches may account for the disparity of results. We aimed to replicate the association using three different approaches to overcome the technical limitations of a single technique. We also performed a systematic review to examine the association of anti-KIR4.1 antibodies with MS. Methods Serum samples from patients with MS (n = 108) and controls (n = 77) were tested for the presence of anti-KIR4.1 antibodies using three methods: 1) by ELISA with the low-glycosylated fraction of recombinant KIR4.1 purified from transfected HEK293 cells according to original protocols; 2) by immunocytochemistry using KIR4.1-transfected HEK293 cells; and 3) by immunocytochemistry using the KIR4.1.-transfected MO3.13 oligodendrocyte cell line. We developed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association of anti-KIR4.1 antibodies with MS according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results We did not detect anti-KIR4.1 antibodies in the MS patients or in controls using ELISA. Neither did we detect any significant reactivity against the antigen on the cell surface using the KIR4.1-transfected HEK293 cells or the KIR4.1-transfected MO3.13 cells. We included 13 prospective controlled studies in the systematic review. Only three studies showed a positive association between anti-KIR4.1 and MS. Clinical and statistical heterogeneity between studies precluded meta-analysis of their results. Conclusion We found no association between anti-KIR4.1 antibody positivity and MS. Although this lack of replication may be due to technical limitations, evidence from our study and others is mounting against the role of KIR4.1 as a relevant MS autoantigen.


In the adult hippocampus, neural stem cells (NSCs) continuously produce new neurons that integrate into the neuronal network to modulate learning and memory. The amount and quality of newly generated neurons decline with age, which can be counteracted by increasing intrinsic Wnt activity in NSCs. However, the precise cellular changes underlying this age-related decline or its rescue through Wnt remain unclear. The present study combines development of a mathematical model and experimental data to address features controlling stem cell dynamics. We show that available experimental data fit a model in which quiescent NSCs can either become activated to divide or undergo depletion events, consisting of astrocytic transformation and apoptosis. Additionally, we demonstrate that aged NSCs remain longer in quiescence and have a higher probability to become re-activated versus being depleted. Finally, our model explains that high NSC-Wnt activity leads to longer time in quiescence while augmenting the probability of activation.


This article aims at a critical analysis of Greek public discourse concerning various forms of sexual violence, as presented mainly in Parliamentary discussions, but also in the press where politicians and activists debate the issue. Using the Mageeq methodology and analysed documents, the objective is to investigate the way in which various social actors define gender and make it apparent (or not) within the respective discourse, as well as to examine the framing of specific issues of sexual violence (intra-family violence and trafficking). An additional objective is to highlight the differences and similarities in the conceptualisation of these forms of sexual violence between EU policy texts and the Greek case.


At the end of 1981, my institution began a relationship with the Aranguti Family that has grown more intense with each passing year.

It was during this time that we became aware of the lithographic limestone and flag stone quarries owned by the family, near the town of Tepexi de Rodriguez in the State of Puebla, about 220 km (138 miles) south east of Mexico City, in a region known as the Mixteca-Poblana.

Today, we know that of the 15 great fossil localities of the world, the Tlayua quarry is certainly one of them. These remarkable deposits, no larger than two football fields, are of middle to late Albian age, and so far have produced well over 5,500 fossils that are housed in the Paleontological Collections of the Geological Institute at the National University of Mexico. The number of new forms continues to grow every month.

How did this come about? Basically, through the generosity, keen interest, and intelligence of the members of the family. A student at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) informed our staff about the fossils being found near Tepexi de Rodriguez, and ultimately …


The dome stretching tests and tension tests have been performed to obtain a forming limit curve(FLC) for the copper alloy which is used for manufacturing the regenerative cooling thrust chamber. For experimental investigation of the forming limit curve, we have used in-plane tension specimen to obtain tension-compression strain state as well as out-of-plane specimen to obtain tension-tension strain state through dome stretching test. All specimens were divided into longitudinal and transverse directions according to the orientation of test specimen. The test results showed that in the tension-tension region, copper alloy revealed a maximum major strain of 62.3% and a maximum minor strain of 58.6%. In the tension-compression region, the maximum major strain and the maximum minor strain were measured to be 60.5% and 25.8%, respectively.


This paper presents a new approach for hysteresis modeling of a magnetorheological (MR) fluid. The field-dependent hysteresis of MR fluid is investigated using the Preisach model. The commercial MR product (MRF-132LD, Lord Corporation) is employed. Its field-dependent shear stress is then obtained using a rheometer (MCR 300, Physica). In order to show the applicability of the Preisach model to the MR fluid, two significant properties; the minor loop property and the wiping-out. property are experimentally examined. Subsequently, the Preisach model for the MR fluid is identified using experimental first order descending (FOD) curves in discrete manner. The effectiveness of the identified hysteresis model is verified in the time domain by comparing the predicted field-dependent shear stress with the measured one. In addition, the hysteresis model proposed in this work is compared to Bingham model.


In June 1988, the armed forces of the United States began testing prospective candidates for military service for alcohol, marijuana metabolite (THC-COOH), and cocaine metabolite (benzoylecgonine) through the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) program. Comparison of the confirmed positive drug rates for pre-inductees into the Navy during the MEPS program testing period with the confirmed drug-positive rates for 5 years before and 1 year after MEPS testing showed a decrease in the confirmed positive rate for THC-COOH and an apparent initial decrease for cocaine metabolite as a result of MEPS testing. The overall results for cocaine seem to be overshadowed by other demographic factors operating in the population tested.


Three of the articles in this issue of Plainsong & Medieval Music were presented at a session devoted to medieval saints' offices sponsored by the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society at the 1999 International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. Two of the papers (Caldwell, Hiley) are devoted to English saints, while a third (Hankeln) surveys offices, monastic and secular, of the sainted royal patrons of the diocese of Bamberg, Henry and Kunigunde. Elizabeth Leach's article on the four-voice balades of Guillaume de Machaut brings together considerations of transmission, fourteenth-century contrapuntal theory, and performance practice. Beginning with this issue of Plainsong & Medieval Music every article will be preceded by a short abstract. Brief identifications of the authors, who will most likely be already known to readers in the relatively small field of medieval music research, will include their e-mail addresses.


We describe the recently introduced method of Algebraic Bosonization of (1+1)-dimensional fermionic systems by discussing the specific case of the Calogero-Sutherland model. A comparison with the Bethe Ansatz results is also presented .


Deep neural network based image classification methods usually require a large amount of training data and lack interpretability, which are critical in the medical imaging domain. In this paper, we develop a novel knowledge distillation and model interpretation framework for medical image classification that jointly solves the above two issues. Specifically, to address the data-hungry issue, we propose to learn a small student model with less data by distilling knowledge only from a cumbersome pretrained teacher model. To interpret the teacher model as well as assisting the learning of the student, an explainer module is introduced to highlight the regions of an input medical image that are important for the predictions of the teacher model. Furthermore, the joint framework is trained by a principled way derived from the information-theoretic perspective. Our framework performance is demonstrated by the comprehensive experiments on the knowledge distillation and model interpretation tasks compared to state-of-the-art methods on a fundus disease dataset.


Recent advances in technology and motor control design have resulted in the use of electronic components in motor starters and specifically overload relays. The benefits of utilizing electronics in motor starters includes: enhanced protection against various types of faults, improved features, and communication between a programmable logic controller or other host control system and a motor starter. This combination of enhanced protection, improved features and communication provides users, especially in the process control field, with the opportunity to directly control and monitor process elements. Control and monitoring can provide warning of impending problems, minimize downtime, and improve process results.


Background: Uterine leiomyosarcoma is a rare malignant pathology of smooth muscle of uterus which is mostly asymptomatic with a wide range of late onset of symptoms such as post-menopausal bleeding and severe abdominal pelvic pain and abnormal vaginal discharge. Uterine leiomyosarcoma characteristically has structural and clinical similarities with giant uterine leiomyoma because both originate from the smooth muscle cells of the uterus. The diagnosis of uterine leiomyosarcoma through ultrasound is very different difficult due to indistinguishable sonographic features of uterine leiomyoma and leiomyosarcoma but there are certain sonological features which can prove the reliability of ultrasound as the diagnostic tool for differentiating uterine leiomyosarcoma from uterine leiomyoma. Aim: To access the accuracy of ultrasound in differentiating uterine leiomyosarcoma from uterine leiomyoma. Methods: An electronic database search was performed (PubMed, Science direct, Google Scholar) with the data range from 2000 to 2021. All studies included in the research was in English language. Articles which had descriptive studies related to sonographic features of uterine leiomyosarcoma and uterine leiomyoma. Results: Total 15 articles were found regarding the prevalence, clinical manifestation and sonographic findings of uterine leiomyosarcoma and uterine leiomyoma ,10 articles were included in the introduction and technique where as 6 articles were selected for systemic review with the sample size ranging from 20-200 in all different articles and age criteria of the participant in the selected articles was above 40 years with most candidates were investigated in the post menopause period. Conclusion: We identified certain sonographic patterns that can accurately differentiate uterine leiomyoma sarcoma from uterine leiomyoma with moderate sensitivity and specificity. Keywords: Transvaginal ultrasonography, leiomyoma, leiomyosarcoma


This research explores distributed sensing techniques for mobile devices using synchronous gestures. These are patterns of activity, contributed by multiple users (or one user with multiple devices), which take on a new meaning when they occur together in time, or in a specific sequence in time. To explore this new area of inquiry, this work uses tablet computers augmented with touch sensors and two-axis linear accelerometers (tilt sensors). The devices are connected via an 802.11 wireless network and synchronize their time-stamped sensor data. This paper describes a few practical examples of interaction techniques using synchronous gestures such as dynamically tiling together displays by physically bumping them together, discusses implementation issues, and speculates on further possibilities for synchronous gestures.

http://depts.washington.edu/dmgftp/publications/uist04/uist_papers/Synchronous Gestures for Multiple Persons and Computers.pdf


Introduction: Cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) is common among patients with cancer. Risk factors for CAT include type of malignancy, advanced stage, and chemotherapy treatment, but the association of CAT with race and ethnicity remains controversial. Identifying the incidence of CAT among populations susceptible to inequalities in healthcare delivery may help delineate preventive strategies.
 Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study at Harris Health System (HHS), a safety-net healthcare system that provides care for underserved minorities and uninsured patients in Houston, TX. We created an integrated database that linked consecutive patients with newly diagnosed invasive cancer with structured electronic health record (EHR) data from 2011-2020 (Figure 1). We followed patients from time of cancer diagnosis to time of first VTE, death, or loss of follow-up. VTE was defined as radiologically confirmed pulmonary embolism (PE), lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (LE-DVT), catheter-related DVT (CR-DVT), or splanchnic vein thrombosis in either inpatient or outpatient setting. We used VTE ICD9/ICD10 billing codes to assess for potential events and confirmed incident, recurrent, and historical events through medical record review. VTE occurring within 30 days prior to cancer diagnosis were considered as CAT at diagnosis.
 Incidence rates were assessed per 100 person-year (py) within 1 year of diagnosis and stratified by race/ethnicity, cancer type, and cancer stage. Cumulative incidence of VTE was assessed through competing risk method with death as the competing cause. Multivariable Fine-Gray competing risk models were performed to determine the effect of race/ethnicity on the risk of CAT, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, insurance, cancer site, stage, systemic therapy, recent hospitalization, and prior history of VTE.
 Results: A total of 9,353 cancer patients were included in the study, where 49.3% were Hispanics, 27.6% were Non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), 15.5% were Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), and 7.6% were Asian/Pacific Islander (PI). Most patients (74.7%) were uninsured, 35.8% were obese, 19% had recent hospitalization, and 31.9% had stage IV disease. Overall, 832 developed CAT within 1 year, including 49.4% PE, 28.1% LE-DVT, and 17.1% CR-DVT. The median onset was 69 days (IQR 20-154), but a significant proportion (n=92) was diagnosed in the month before diagnosis. The incidence of CAT was 7.3% at 6 months and 9.6% at 1 year. The overall incidence rate was 11/100 py with a similar trend from 2011 to 2020.
 Figure 2 shows the variation in incidence rates for different cancer types across stages. The rate increased 2- to 10-fold from stage I to IV, reaching >40/100 py among patients with pancreatic and upper gastrointestinal cancers. Figure 3 shows the impact of race/ethnicity on the incidence of CAT, with 9.3% and 8.4% for NHW and NHB at 6 months, compared to 6.5% and 3.8% for Hispanics and Asian/PI, respectively. In the adjusted multivariable analysis, the risk of CAT remained lower in Hispanics vs. NHW (SHR 0.80 [0.65-0.97]) and Asian/PI vs. NHW (SHR 0.48 [0.32-0.73]). There was no difference in NHB vs. NHW (SHR 1.04 [0.84-1.27]). Other important covariates included history of VTE (SHR 2.29 [1.32-3.97]) and prolonged hospitalization (SHR 1.53 [CI 1.31-1.80]) in addition to staging and cancer types. Compared to no systemic therapy or adjuvant endocrine only, there was a higher incidence of VTE in patients receiving chemotherapy (SHR 1.72 [1.39-2.15]), targeted therapy (SHR 1.58 [1.12-2.23]), immunotherapy (SHR 2.13 [1.30-3.48], but not non-adjuvant endocrine therapy (SHR 0.91 [0.40-2.08]).
 Conclusion: In the current cancer registry-linked EHR cohort with a high proportion of Hispanics and Blacks from a large safety-net healthcare system in the US, we have observed a high incidence rate of CAT at 11/100 py. This rate is much higher than 3.9-5.8/100 py reported in contemporary cancer registries in Europe (PMID 27709226, 33171494), and likely reflects advanced disease and comorbidity at the time of diagnosis due to delayed care from the lack of health insurance. Despite adjusting for patient-, cancer-, and treatment-specific confounders, we found that Hispanics and Asian/PI had ~20% and ~50% lower rate of VTE, respectively, compared to NHW or NHB. This racial/ethnicity difference should be considered in future risk assessment models for CAT.
 Figure 1 Figure 1.

 Carrier: Sanofi Aventis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; LEO Pharma: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bayer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Aspen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Boehringer Ingelheim: Honoraria; Servier: Honoraria.


The problem of optimal quantization of a signal affected by additive noise in the general framework of vector quantization is studied. A noise estimator is used to adapt the vector quantization codebook to the specific noisy environment. Two adaptation strategies are discussed: switched adaptation (multicodebook) and an adaptation approach in which the codebook is computed from the optimal clean signals codebook and the noise estimate. Experimental results show a significant improvement over the direct vector quantization of the noisy signal.<<ETX>>


Studies on employee responses to the information security policy (ISP) demands to show that employees who experience stress over the demands would resort to emotion‐focused coping to alleviate the stress and subsequently violate the ISP. However, their intent to engage in problem‐focused coping to meet the ISP demands and possibly reduce ISP violations has yet to be analysed. We argue that both types of coping responses coexist in employee responses to ISP demands and they together influence ISP violation intention. Drawing upon the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, we examine how security‐related stress (SRS) triggers inward and outward emotion‐focused coping, and problem‐focused coping to the ISP demands, which together influence employee ISP violations. We also examine how ISP‐related self‐efficacy and organisational support moderate the effects of SRS on coping responses. We surveyed 200 employees in the United States to test our model. The results indicate that SRS triggers all three coping responses, and ISP‐related self‐efficacy and organisational support reduce the effects of SRS on inward and outward emotion‐focused coping. Problem‐focused coping then decreases ISP violation intention, whereas inward and outward emotion‐focused coping increases it. The model was further verified with ISP compliance as the outcome construct, which yielded consistent results. Understanding various coping responses to SRS and the factors that facilitate or inhibit the responses can assist managers in effectively designing and implementing the ISP to reduce employee ISP violations.


The issues of additive technology in relation to combined methods of tool manufacturing using electromagnetic and other types of fields as an influence on the process are considered. It is shown that the use of additive technologies in mechanical engineering is most promising for flexible-structured industries, where the products are in a state of constant improvement and updating, and are produced in a limited series. In this case, it is required systematic replacement of the tool, which ensures the receipt of parts with the required configuration and quality level. 1. The paper proposes a new approach to the use of additive technologies in combined processing methods, where the concept of a traditional tool in the form of a solid body having a mirror image of the working part relative to the treated surface is expanded to non-contact and non-force contact effects, in which the removal of the allowance and the change in operational characteristics occurs due to thermal, chemical, magnetic influences or their combinations with mechanical factors. 2. The ways of solving the problem of managing operational characteristics by creating parts from conjugate layers, the properties of which are formed by optimizing technological modes, are proposed. 3. The field of effective use of the technology of sequential layer-by-layer build-up or changing the properties of layers during contact and contactless processing on serial equipment without time-consuming readjustment or modernization of technological equipment by designing a software product for modern computing equipment is disclosed. 4. The issues of additive technology in relation to combined methods of tool manufacturing using electromagnetic and other types of fields as an influence on the process are considered. It is shown that the use of additive technologies in mechanical engineering is most promising for flexible-structured industries, where the products are in a state of constant improvement and updating, and are produced in a limited series. In this case, it is required systematic replacement of the tool, which ensures the receipt of parts with the required configuration and quality level. 5. The paper proposes a new approach to the use of additive technologies in combined processing methods, where the concept of a traditional tool in the form of a solid body having a mirror image of the working part relative to the treated surface is expanded to non-contact and non-force contact effects, in which the removal of the allowance and the change in operational characteristics occurs due to thermal, chemical, magnetic influences or their combinations with mechanical factors. 6. The ways of solving the problem of managing operational characteristics by creating parts from conjugate layers, the properties of which are formed by optimizing technological modes, are proposed. 7. The field of effective use of the technology of sequential layer-by-layer build-up or changing the properties of layers during contact and contactless processing on serial equipment without time-consuming readjustment or modernization of technological equipment by designing a software product for modern computing equipment is disclosed.


The present study was conducted to see the diagnostic efficacy of serum anti-TB IgG antibody detection in adult pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) by ELISA and Immunochromatography test (ICT) method using commercially available diagnostic kit (Pathozyme TB complex and MycoDot test respectively). This case-control study included 48 cases of adult pulmonary TB within the age range of 15-65 years. Among them, 22 (45.9%) were AFB positive confirmed cases, 12 (25.0%) were AFB negative clinically diagnosed cases before treatment and 14 (29.1%) were clinically diagnosed cases on treatment. Age and sex matched 33 controls were also included, of which 19 (57.6%) were healthy and 14 (42.4%) were sick with non-specific pulmonary infection. Overall sensitivity and specificity of ELISA were 60.42% & 96.97% (p<0.001) and those of MycoDot as 72.92% & 93.94% (p<0.001). Rate of both ELISA and MycoDot positive were higher among clinically diagnosed cases on treatment with respective values as 71.42% and 85.71%. Respective values among AFB positive confirmed TB cases were 68.18% and 72.72%. As, both ELISA and MycoDot yielded be used as a confirmatory test for TB.


This work report a facile approach to efficiently separate surfactant-stabilized water (droplet diameter of around 2.0 μm) from water-in-oil emulsion via converting liquid water into solid crystal water followed by removal with centrifugation. The liquid-solid conversion is achieved through the solid-to-solid phase transition of calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CaSO4. 0.5H2O, HH) to dihydrate (CaSO4·2H2O, DH), which could immobilize the water into crystal lattice of DH. For emulsion of 10 mg mL(-1) water, the immobilization-separation process using polycrystalline HH nanoellipsoids could remove 95.87 wt % water at room temperature. The separation efficiency can be further improved to 99.85 wt % by optimizing the HH dosage, temperature, HH size and crystalline structure. Property examination of the recycled oil confirms that our method has neglectable side-effect on oil quality. The byproduct DH was recycled to alpha-HH (a valuable cemetitious material widely used in construction and binding field), which minimizes the risk of secondary pollution and promotes the practicality of our method. With the high separation efficiency, the "green" feature and the recyclability of DH byproduct, the HH-based immobilization-separation approach is highly promising in purifying oil with undesired water contamination.


Abstract: Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women. There are multiple options for prevention and early detection. Evidence-based guidelines are available to select the best option based on personal and family history. NPs should utilize these guidelines in clinical practice to select the appropriate screening for their patients.


The article presents a simplified NMR‐based protocol for urinary profiling of lactulose/mannitol ratio (LMR) and demonstrates here its utility to assess increased intestinal permeability (IP) in patients with acute on chronic liver failure (ACLF). ACLF is a serious clinical complication associated with chronic liver disease (cirrhosis). The major risk factor in its development is increased IP ('leaky gut'), which has been linked to disease progression and to infectious complications. However, IP has seldom been investigated in patients with ACLF, even though patients frequently report gastrointestinal disorders and associated complications. To this end, we first optimized the NMR‐based targeted profiling of urinary metabolites (i.e. actulose, mannitol, and creatinine) and subsequently used this resulted protocol (a) first to evaluate the altered IP in ACLF patients and then (b) to explore its utility for monitoring the treatment response in these patients. The normal profiles were obtained for 7 age and sex matched healthy volunteers. The results revealed that the urinary LMR excretion was significantly higher in ACLF patients compared to normal controls (median ~0.7, range (0.12–2.84), vs median ~0.11, range (0.02–0.28), p < 0.001) suggesting that the ACLF patients' exhibit altered IP. However, the LMR excretion in six clinically improved follow‐up ACLF patients was comparable to normal controls indicating restored IP after the treatment. The protocol—as demonstrated here with ACLF—is equally applicable for evaluating IP or mucosal barrier function in other intestinal disorders with reasonable sensitivity and specificity, highlighting its general utility. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Despite all the research being done in an attempt to bridge the gap between control systems and artificial intelligence, there is still an immense risk of failure and instability that exists. One particular application that this research will look into and expand on is aircraft control mechanisms. This article will examine the existing uncertainties within these systems that could be suspected as the cause of failure in the artificial control operation of an aircraft. This study will act as a further extension of research on the feedback linearization of an aircraft's control architecture using adaptive neural networks to decrease the probability of an uncontrolled error resulting from the nonlinearity of the aircraft's dynamic characteristics. The stability of previously implemented mechanisms to control aircraft systems will also be investigated. This research will require a thorough approach and understanding of various possible areas of malfunction and instability caused by multiple factors, including, external interferences and inefficiencies that accumulate within the controller that can mislead or cause an undesirable effect on the system. Examining similar areas where this study may be used for further research, while also discussing opportunities to apply these procedures to relatable applications will be analyzed, as it is of key importance for the progression of this technology.


Purpose: If immune cells are involved in tumor surveillance and have a prognostic impact in most primary tumors, little is known about their significance in metastases. Because patients' survival is heterogeneous, even at metastatic stages, we hypothesized that immune cells may be involved in the control of metastases. We therefore characterized the tumor immune microenvironment and its prognostic value in colorectal and renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastases, and compared it to primary tumors. Experimental Design: We analyzed by immunohistochemistry (n = 192) and qPCR (n = 32) the immune environments of colorectal carcinoma and RCC lung metastases. Results: Metastases from colorectal carcinoma and RCC have different immune infiltrates. Higher densities of DC-LAMP+ mature dendritic cells (P < 0.0001) and lower densities of NKp46+ NK cells (P < 0.0001) were observed in colorectal carcinoma as compared to RCC metastases, whereas densities of T cells were similar. High densities of CD8+ and DC-LAMP+ cells correlated with longer overall survival (OS) in colorectal carcinoma (P = 0.008) and shorter OS in RCC (P < 0.0001). High NK-cell densities were associated with improved survival in RCC (P = 0.002) but not in colorectal carcinoma. Densities of immune cells correlated significantly from primary to relapsing metastases for the same patient. A TH1 orientation was found in colorectal carcinoma metastases, whereas a heterogeneous immune gene expression was found in RCC metastases. Conclusions: Our results show a major prognostic value of the immune pattern (CD8+/DC-LAMP+ cell densities) in colorectal carcinoma and RCC, reproducible from primary to metastatic tumors, although with opposite clinical impacts, and highlight the role of the tumor cell in shaping its immune environment. Clin Cancer Res; 19(15); 4079–91. ©2013 AACR.


Health care is an area that remains formally outside the competence of the EU. Despite this, the union's influence on national health care policies has increased substantially over the past decade. In a series of rulings, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) established a de facto system of patient rights, which, under certain conditions, entitle European citizens to receive health care in other member states at the expense of the social insurance system of their home country. This undermines the autonomy of the member states in the area of health, a key sector in national welfare systems. In 2008, the Commission proposed a new directive on patients' rights which builds directly on the ECJ rulings, thus consolidating politically the legal precedent set by the Court. The ECJ Court rulings have also spurred the initiation of a so-called OMC process in the area of health care, whereby the member states commit themselves to policy harmonization on a voluntary basis. In this paper, we review the contents of emerging EU policies in the area of health and discuss their implications for the Nordic health care systems. A central question is whether any coherent, common European policy may be discerned and, if so, how it will affect health care systems of the Nordic type, which are tax-based and universalistic in orientation?


Clay-based flocculation techniques have been developed to mitigate harmful algal blooms; however, the potential ecological impacts on the microbial community are poorly understood. In this study, chemical measurements were combined with 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the microbial community response to different flocculation techniques, including controls, clay flocculation, clay flocculation with zeolite, and clay flocculation with O2 added zeolite capping. Sediment bacterial biomass measured by PLFA were not significantly altered by the various flocculation techniques used. However, 16S rRNA sequencing revealed differences in water microbial community structure between treatments with and without zeolite capping. The differences were related to significant reductions of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia (NH4+) concentration and increase of nitrate (NO3-) concentration in zeolite and O2 loaded zeolite capping. The relative abundance of ammonia oxidizing bacteria increased fourfold in zeolite capping microcosms, suggesting zeolite promoted absorbed ammonia removal in the benthic zone. Zeolite-capping promoted bacteria nitrogen cycling activities at the water-sediment interface. Potential pathogens that are usually adapted to eutrophic water bodies were reduced after clay flocculation. This study demonstrated clay flocculation did not decrease bacterial populations overall and may reduce regulatory indicators and pathogenic contaminants in water. Zeolite capping may also help prevent nutrients from being released back into the water thus preventing additional algal blooms.


Probiotic food products have been introduced in Malaysia since 1990's and
have been claimed as a beneficial food to human health and human intestines.
The objective of this study was to determine the significant difference in level of
knowledge, attitude and practice on effects of probiotics in food among Faculty
of Medicine and Health Sciences UPM students.
There were 222 respondents involved in this study which mainly from
undergraduate and postgraduate students in medical and health sciences
programmes. Self-administered questionnaires were given to the respondents
and it contained Section A: Socio-demographics, Section B: Knowledge on
probiotics, Section C: Attitudes on probiotics and Section D: Practices on
probiotic consumption.
The results indicated that majority of the respondents had poor knowledge
(50.5%), negative attitude (56.8%) and poor practice (70.3%) towards
probiotics and probiotic food products. The chi-square results showed that
there was significant difference in knowledge with practice (X2= 4.59, p= 0.03)
and attitude with practice (X2= 6.28, p= 0.01). However, there was no
significant difference in knowledge with attitude (X2= 0.18, p= 0.67).
As a conclusion, majority of the respondents had poor knowledge, negative
attitude and poor practice. It is recommended that the respondents should be
exposed to health talk on probiotics or a probiotic training program conducted
by the probiotic food manufacturers in enhancing their knowledge about
probiotics.


The explosive development of minimally invasive surgery has had a staggering impact on the hospital, operating room, and surgeon, as well as on the medical equipment industry and insurance carriers. As a result of (1) the overwhelming demand by the public, (2) the potential of future developments of this modality, and (3) the progressive geometric influence that has spread to the various surgical subspecialties, unprecedented pressure has been placed on our systems for training, credentialing, developing, supplying, and evaluating changes in surgical technique.


The following catalysts have been studied by different characterization techniques and by kinetic experiments at FT conditions: 12 % Co/γ-Al2O3, 12 % Co - 0.5 % Re/γ-Al2O3, 12 % Co/SiO2, 12 % Co - 0.5 % Re/SiO2, 12 % Co/TiO2 and 12 % Co - 0.5 % Re/TiO2. Water is one of the products in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and will always be present in smaller or larger amounts during synthesis. The effect of water on the activity and selectivity of Co supported Fischer-Tropsch catalysts, using different supports, has been studied in a fixed bed reactor at 20 bar and 483 K (H2/CO = 2.1). The amount of water inside the reactor was varied by changing the conversion and adding different amounts of water vapour to the feed (pH2/pH2O = 0.38 ≈20 % and pH2/pH2O = 0.76 ≈30 %). As a consequence of the water addition, the partial pressures of CO and H2 were decreased. The effect of water on the activity depended on the type of support. For the alumina supported catalysts, a slight increase in the reaction rate was observed when the conversion was increased, and the rate of deactivation was enhanced. Adding ~20 % water resulted in a decrease in the reaction rate and more deactivation. Further water addition (~33 %) decreased the reaction rate even more and increased the rate of deactivation. The rate of deactivation was larger for the CoRe/Al2O3 catalyst than for the unpromoted Co/Al2O3 catalyst. Part of the deactivation was recovered after water removal. For the silica supported catalysts, increased reaction rate and increased rate of deactivation were observed as the conversion was increased. By ~20 % water addition, the reaction rate and rate of deactivation were further increased. Adding larger amounts of water resulted in a decrease in the reaction rate and an additional deactivation. A minor part of the deactivation was recovered upon water removal. For the titania supported catalysts, increased reaction rate was obtained both as the conversion was increased and when ~20 % water was added. When adding ~33 % of water, the reaction rate was decreased and a small deactivation was observed. Very little permanent deactivation was observed after water removal for the TiO2 supported catalysts. Common for all the catalysts was an increase in the C5+ selectivity and a decrease in the CH4 selectivity at increased conversion or by external water addition. Promoting with Re increased the reaction rate [gHC/gcat,h] and the C5+ selectivity for all catalysts. The effect of Re on the selectivities was less pronounced for the alumina than for the silica and titania supports. The C5+ selectivities were found to be dependent on the support, increasing in the order: Al2O3 < SiO2 < TiO2. The dependency of the C5+ selectivity on the support was connected to different pore sizes and/or particle sizes for the various supports.The catalysts were characterized by TPR, H2-chemisorption, O2-titration, N2- adsorption, XRD and STEM. The cobalt particle sizes increased with increasing average pore diameter of the supports, being smallest on alumina and largest on the titania support. On the large surface area supports, γ-Al2O3 and SiO2, Co3O4 was found as agglomerates (clusters) of smaller particles. Single Co3O4 particles, evenly distributed, were found on low surface TiO2 support. From element analysis in STEM, rhenium seemed to be in closer connection with cobalt on silica and titania, compared to on -alumina. The activity and selectivity results are discussed in terms of the findings from the characterization techniques. A microkinetic model for formation of C1 and C2 olefins and paraffins during methanation conditions has been constructed. By using the unity bond index-quadratic exponential potential (UBI-QEP) method for calculation of activation energies, the CO insertion mechanism was found to be energetically favoured compared to the carbide mechanism.


As one of the most important cariogenic pathogens, Streptococcus mutans has strong abilities to form biofilms, produce acid and tolerate acid. In present study, we found that theaflavin-3,3′-digallate (TF3) had an inhibitory effect on S. mutans UA159 in vitro. Visualized by field emission-scanning electron microscopy, the suppressed formation of S. mutans biofilms grown with TF3 at sub-inhibitory concentrations could be attributed to the reduced biofilm matrix, which was proven to contain glucans and extracellular DNA (eDNA). Glucan-reduced effect of TF3 was achieved by down-regulating expression levels of gtfB, gtfC, and gtfD encoding glucosyltransferases. Besides, TF3 reduced eDNA formation of S. mutans by negatively regulating lrgA, lrgB, and srtA, which govern cell autolysis and membrane vesicle components. Furthermore, TF3 also played vital roles in antagonizing preformed biofilms of S. mutans. Bactericidal effects of TF3 became significant when its concentrations increased more than twofold of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Moreover, the capacities of S. mutans biofilms to produce acid and tolerate acid were significantly weakened by TF3 at MIC. Based on real-time PCR (RT-PCR) analysis, the mechanistic effects of TF3 were speculated to comprise the inhibition of enolase, lactate dehydrogenase, F-type ATPase and the agmatine deiminase system. Moreover, TF3 has been found to downregulate LytST, VicRK, and ComDE two component systems in S. mutans, which play critical roles in the regulatory network of virulence factors. Our present study found that TF3 could suppress the formation and cariogenic capacities of S. mutans biofilms, which will provide new strategies for anti-caries in the future.


In the Multi-Agent Systems, many agents work together towards achieving a defined goal. As it may be difficult for the agents to work in a dynamic environment, the current concept is trying to focus on the issues of situation where there may be cases of agent breaking down. This algorithm will distinguish and groupify the breakdown agents from the active agents. The authors are focusing on this scenario and replacement of breakdown agents by active agents by implementing the SCRAM-Scalable Collision-avoiding Role Assignment with Minimal-makespan, which has generalized to many Multi-Agent Systems specifically focusing on the collision avoidance among the agents. The authors are trying to address the impact and fate of breakdown agents, which otherwise is not yet addressed in SCRAM, through a new algorithm. This paper is designed to allow the generalization of the concept of SCRAM without any collision and disturbances even in the case of agent breakdown.


Morphology regulation and composition design have proved to be effective strategies for the fabrication of desirable microwave absorbers. However, it is still challenging to precisely control the microstructure and components of MAX phases. Herein, an entropy-driven approach, a transition from irregular grains (low entropy) to sheet structure (high entropy), is proposed to modulate the morphology of MAX phases. The theoretical calculation indicates that the morphology evolution can be ascribed to the enlarged energy difference between (11_00) and (0001) facets. The enriched structural defects and optimized morphologies yield significant dipolar polarization, interfacial polarization, multiple reflections, and scattering, which all enhance the electromagnetic wave absorption performance of (V0.25 Ti0.25 Cr0.25 Mo0.25 )2 GaC. Specifically, its minimum reflection loss can reach up to -47.12 dB at 12.13 GHz, and the optimal effective absorption bandwidth is 4.56 GHz (2.03 mm). Meanwhile, (V0.25 Ti0.25 Cr0.25 Mo0.25 )2 GaC shows also pronounced thermal insulation properties affording it good reliability in the harsh working environment. This work offers a novel approach to designing and regulating the morphology of the high entropy MAX phase, and also presents an opportunity to elucidate the relationship between entropy and electromagnetic wave absorption performance.


This paper presents a design for a fault diagnosis system (FDS) for tapped high/extra-high voltage (HV/EHV) power transmission lines (TL's). These tapped lines have two different protection zones. The proposed approach reduces the cost and the complexity of the FDS for these types of lines. The FDS, basically, utilizes fifteen artificial neural networks (ANN's) to reach its output diagnosis. The FDS basic objectives are mainly: 1. the detection of the system fault; 2. the localization of the faulted zone; 3. the classification of the fault type; and finally 4. the identification of the faulted phase. This FDS is structured in a three hierarchical stages. In the first stage, a preprocessing unit to the input data is performed. An ANN, in the second stage, is designed in order to detect and zone localize the line faults. In the third stage, two zone diagnosis systems (ZDS) are designed. Each ZDS is dedicated to one zone and consists of seven parallel-cascaded ANN's. Four-parallel ANN's are designed in order to achieve the fault type classification. While, the other three cascaded ANN's are designed mainly for the selection of the faulted phase. A smoothing unit is also configured to smooth out the output response of the proposed FDS.
The proposed FDS is designed and evaluated using the local measurements of the three-phase voltage and current samples acquired at only one side. A sampling rate of 16 samples per cycle of the power frequency was taken. A data window of 4 samples was also utilized. These samples were generated using the EMTP simulation program, applied to the High-Dam/Cairo 500 kV tapped TL. All possible shunt fault types were considered. The effect of fault location and fault incipience time were also included. Moreover, the effect of load and capacitor switchings on the FDS performance was investigated. Testing results have proved the capability as well as the effectiveness of the proposed FDS.


Connected vehicle technologies present new opportunities to minimize energy consumption in vehicles. Much of the prior work has focused on the impact of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication on energy savings. Here, we analyze the impact of connectivity on both energy savings and battery degradation reduction for an electric bus. Dynamic programming is employed to optimize the velocity profile of a single electric bus passing through a traffic intersection under a V2I regime wherein the intersection timing of the traffic light is known a priori. The optimization seeks to minimize the overall cost function consisting of the electric energy consumption and battery degradation. Simulations have been conducted for both the connected vehicle case and the baseline case without connectivity. Three different battery sizes were investigated, and the results indicate that connectivity confers the greatest cost savings for the smallest battery. An overall cost savings of 27% can be realized by using connectivity to reduce both energy consumption and battery degradation.


When retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma develops in pelvic cavity, it often presents similar symptoms and radiological findings to adnexal tumor, therefore obscures diagnostic approaches until an exploratory laparotomy is performed. We report an unusual presentation of retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma mimicking an adnexal tumor with extremely elevated serum CA-19-9. Though the most of the prominent mass was removed during surgery, there was massive bleeding due to tearing of internal iliac vein while dissecting the ureter close to vessels. This case focuses on the significance of considering retroperitoneal tumor even if the mass is located in ovarian fossa and has highly elevated serum level of CA-19-9. And in attempt of tumor removal, the excision needs to be clean-cut without damaging nerves or vessels around the mass and avoid causing any prospective complications.


The card retainer mechanism is mostly the preferred tool to simply fasten a PCB card to the chassis to have a thermal conduction path. Depending on the card retainer design, thermal contact resistance between the retainer and chassis wall can differ. For a 150W heat-load PCB card, the contact resistance may cause more than a 10°C temperature increment on the electronic components regardless of the location on the card. This temperature rise in the card may not be affordable as the available cooling air temperature is 71°C or higher for an aircraft application. Considering the aviation platform and the abnormal cases, intermittent operation temperature can reach the value of 71°C for a 30-minute duration. In this study, a novel packaging approach is developed for a high-power card to get rid of the thermal contact resistance thanks to eliminating the card retainer mechanism. The card with its cold plate is driven to the chassis from one of the side walls through the slot and it stops at the opposite wall. The cooling fins are on the cold plate rather than on the chassis, therefore there is no contact resistance between the fins and the cold plate. Gaskets are used to have an airtight design between the cold plate and the wall. All studies are performed both numerically and experimentally to evaluate the novel approach. In the end, thermally promising results are obtained for harsh environments.


Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate periodontal disease as a predictor of chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage in older adults. Methods A total of 1159 adults aged 65 to 80 years and diagnosed with periodontal disease and CKD (stages 1, 2, and 3) were randomly selected for a cross-sectional study. Periodontal status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) and CKD was staged using the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI) guidelines. Results In patients with stage 1 CKD, the odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for CPITN-1, CPITN-2, CPITN-3, and CPITN-4 were 1.13 (0.83–1.55), 1.47 (1.13–1.81), 1, and 1, respectively. In patients with stage 2 CKD, the ORs (95% CIs) for CPITN-1, CPITN-2, CPITN-3, and CPITN-4 were 1.49 (1.14–1.93), 1.37 (1.02–1.78), 3.07 (2.81–3.25), and 3.65 (3.49–3.71), respectively. In patients with stage 3 CKD, the ORs (95% CIs) for CPITN-1, CPITN-2, CPITN-3, and CPITN-4 were 1, 1, 4.61 (4.47–5.21), and 5.23 (5.14–5.47), respectively. Conclusion The highest CPITN values (CPITN-3 and CPITN-4) were associated with CKD stages 2 and 3. Thus, periodontal disease may be associated with progression of CKD.


AS RECENTLY AS TEN YEARS AGO, the term "human trafficking" was rarely referred to in debates about migration policy. Today, however, it is one of the major concerns of both governments and organizations active in the migration field and has become a priority for those working in many other policy areas such as human rights, health, gender, law enforcement, and social services. The organization of the largest ever EU conference on "Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings," held in Brussels from 18-20 September 2002, is an example of the growing political priority being accorded to combating human trafficking. The conference, organized by International Organization for Migration (IOM) on behalf of the EU, brought together over 1,000 representatives of European institutions, EU Member States, candidate countries, and relevant third world countries, drawn from governments, international organizations, and NGOs. The conference produced "The Brussels Declaration," which outlines a set of policy recommendations for the EU in the area of human trafficking. In the United States also, trafficking has been high on the political agenda. In


The major cause of Concrete Spalling at high temperatures can be divided into the Vapor Pressure Rising, caused by the increase in free water temperature within the concrete, and Pore Pressure Rising induced by the vapor moving into dense pores within the concrete. Although the occurrence of spalling within concrete caused by these pressure increases can be assessed experimentally, a close examination into Mechanistic influence against various spalling factors shall be carried out first by using Mathematical Modeling and Theoretical Equations. The Spalling Prospect Process by theoretical mechanism is expedited in order of the following; selection of heating condition (fire strength and flame heating direction), a selection of constituent elements, an analysis of heat transmission, an analysis of moisture movement, distribution of water content, an analysis of pore/vapor pressure, and assessment of spalling occurrence.


Endo, J., Takahashi, W., Yokoyama, M. and Tanaka, O. 2013. Induction of gene expression for systemic acquired resistance in tobacco by 9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12( Z ),15( Z )-octadecadienoic acid (KODA). Can. Plant Sci. 93: 827–830. The reaction of 9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12(Z),15(Z)-octadecadienoic acid (KODA) with (–)-norepinephrine (NE) generates the flowering inducer FN1 of duckweed Lemna paucicostata, although KODA and NE themselves do not promote flowering. We examined the effects of FN1, KODA, and NE on the induction of gene expression for systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves and found that KODA induces the expression of SAR related genes.


An aberrant Maxillary labial frenum is capable of creating diastema and recession resulting in compromised aesthetics and function of the patient. Aberrant frena can be treated by frenectomy procedures. The "classical frenectomy" technique is an extensive procedure exposing the alveolar bone and thus leading to scar formation. To minimize these defects, Miller proposed a frenectomy technique combined with a laterally positioned pedicle graft. This technique provides closure across the midline and healing by primary intention and resulted in aesthetically acceptable results without scar formation. This article is a case report of frenectomy with laterally displaced flap.


Abstract Introduction Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS; OMIM 130650) is a multisystem human genomic imprinting disorder of chromosome 11p15.5. It is characterized by overgrowth and cancer susceptibility and is known to have a highly variable clinical spectrum. The main features include lateralized overgrowth and hypoglycemia due to prolonged hyperinsulinism. Most case reports on BWS are focused on the pediatric population with very scarce data in adults. Clinical case A 29-year-old, paralympic swimmer and genetically diagnosed female with BWS had recurrent episodes of hypoglycemia during her second pregnancy. She had a history of six previous first trimester miscarriages, anti-phospholipid syndrome, hypoglycaemic seizures, asthma, and migraines. Pre-pregnancy, she was investigated for a neurological cause of her seizures and an electroencephalogram and brain imaging were unremarkable. She underwent extensive investigations for evaluation of hypoglycemia and was diagnosed as having hyperinsulinemia secondary to pancreatic hypertrophy. Factitious hypoglycemia was also ruled out. Tumor localization studies were all negative. A supervised fast could not be conducted due to the inability of the patient to tolerate the test. Her first viable pregnancy was 2 years back, during which she required a prolonged hospital (including the intensive care unit) admission with multiple in-hospital complications and requiring enteral feeding. During her current pregnancy, she experienced recurrent episodes of severe disabling hypoglycemia resulting in seizures. She was commenced on diazoxide, however, despite that, she continued to have hypoglycemic episodes for which she had to self-inject Glucagon several times. She also had unexplained weight loss with ketonemia undeterred by a high-caloric diet. She refused to be on naso-jejunal feeding or enteral feeding. She self funded a flash glucose monitor which recorded her blood glucose levels between 2.0 to 3.4 mmol/L during the episodes of hypoglycemia. Dietitians were continually involved in her care to provide nutritional support and to optimize blood glucose control through dietary manipulation. Conclusion This was a very interesting and complicated case of a genetic disorder that presented multiple challenges during pregnancy. Management focused on psychological concerns, the severe catabolic state leading to rapid weight loss, recurrent hypoglycemic episodes, ketonemia, nutritional support, and fetal well-being monitoring. A multi-disciplinary team approach to management involved the obstetrics, endocrinology, dietetics, and gastroenterology teams. This resulted in a successful outcome for her pregnancy. Very limited data is available on health issues associated with BWS in adulthood and there is no data available on the obstetric management of women with BWS. Additionally, the unexplained weight loss and ketonemia associated with hypoglycemia make this case unique. Further studies are warranted and national guidelines are required to ensure that women with BWS achieve optimum pregnancy outcomes. Presentation: Sunday, June 12, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.


The eyelid malpositions are anomalous positions taken by different etiologies eyelids ranging from congenital to traumatic. This dysfunction occurs relatively frequently , leading to problems of anatomical and physiological type can produce severe and irreversible visual acuity and integrity of the eyeball consequences. This type of disease mostly are treated surgically in order to improve the primary function of which is to protect eyelids eyeball. The new surgical era and the current medical situation requires surgeons to have high surgical standards that result in a successful recovery of the patient, minimizing iatrogenic damage sometimes by previous surgical procedures. The use of the technique by microincisions exceeds the background in terms of safety and results, leaving very small skin incisions, making locating the eyelids, with fewer complications and improve surgical times.


Photoelectric mixing is at present an effect which can be displayed with great difficulty. When combined with optical masers (or lasers), it may provide the basis of relatively simple optical measurements using radio-frequency-like receivers. In these receivers the detector or mixer is a photocell or other photoelectric device. Two general receiver types are considered and termed, following rf terminology, low-level and superheterodyne receivers. The low-level receiver offers the possibility of simple observations of the special shape of the laser output. The superheterodyne receiver offers the possibility of measurement of the shapes of ordinary spectral lines although good resolution will require long observation times. As an instrument for comparing two laser outputs the superheterodyne optical receiver is capable of such extraordinary sensitivity that two lasers may be compared out to physical separations of 106 km.


In order to investigate the existence of a possible abscission zone in the binding region between the peduncle and the coffee fruit, as well as the biochemical events involved in fruit ripening, we studied peduncles and fruits of Coffea arabica L. cv. "Icatu amarelo". Coffee fruits were harvested at different maturation stages by using specific intervals of detachment force. It was observed a breakdown in the cells of the connecting region between peduncles and fruits throughout the maturation process. This disruption is probably caused by increased activity of the cell wall-loosening enzymes (polygalacturonase and cellulase) as well as by higher levels of lipid peroxidation in the final maturation stages. In general, physiological differences between maturation stages were observed and can largely explain the different detachment forces required at different stages. In conclusion, there is no clear abscission zone between the peduncle and the coffee fruit cv. "Icatu amarelo". Nevertheless, the decrease in the detachment force throughout the maturation process can occur due to the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes together with increased oxidative stress during the fruit ripening.


Background: The objectives of the present study were to compare the effect of lignocaine (1.5 mg/kg IV given 3 mins before laryngoscopy and intubation), esmolol (300 µg/kg as a bolus 2 mins before intubation), and dexmedetomidine (0.5 µg/kg IV over 10 mins) on the pressor response in non-hypertensive American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Grade I and II patients posted for elective surgery and the pharmacoeconomic and pharmacoepidemiological inferences drawn on comparison of these drugs. Methods: After approval by the Institutional Ethics Committee, 90 consenting adult patients aged 18-65 years of age of either sex of non-hypertensive ASA Grade I or II undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation were included in this randomized, prospective study protocol. (1) Group L: Patients were given IV lignocaine 1.5 mg/kg. (2) Group E: Patients were given IV esmolol 300 µg/kg. (3) Group D: Patients were given IV dexmedetomidine 0.5 μg/kg. Adequate monitoring, oxygenation, and hydration were established on the entry in the operating room (OR). All hemodynamic data were measured on arrival in OR, before induction, before intubation, and at 1, 3, 5 mins after intubation by an independent observer. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental sodium and fentanyl 2 μg/kg; intubation was performed with cuffed oral endotracheal tube of appropriate size for airway management. Surgery was allowed to start only after 5 mins of intubation. Results: Esmolol effectively blunted the blood pressure response to intubation, but incompletely attenuated the increase in heart rate (HR). Dexmedetomidine was more effective than lignocaine in minimizing the increase in HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) subsequent to endotracheal intubation. Conclusion: Dexmedetomidine 0.5 µg/kg has manifested to maintain hemodynamic stability associated with intubation and hence may prove beneficial for cardiac patients where the stress response to laryngoscopy and intubation is highly undesirable.


This work explores the possibility of controlling the pore size distribution of the nanocellulose based virus removal membrane by altering its manufacturing conditions. Further, the capacity of the nanocellulose filter toward surrogate 20 and 50 nm Au NPs is validated quantitatively. The nanocellulose-based membrane is a non-woven, µm-thick filter paper with a narrow and tailorable pore size distribution, highly suitable for virus removal as previously shown for large 80-100 nm viruses, e.g. swine influenza virus (SIV) and xenotropic murine leukemia virus (xMULV).[1, 2]It is produced by hot-pressing method rather than by phase-inversion which is otherwise used to manufacture industrial analogues. Robust and cost-efficient virus removal processes are in high demand for the biotechnology industry, especially for the production of monoclonal antibodies derived from mammalian cell lines, therapeutic proteins derived from human plasma, and cell culture media. By physically removing virus particles with size exclusion filters, viruses can be selectively separated from proteins, and thus the risk of infection can be mitigated. The presented work is part of continuous efforts to develop a new type of paper filter that can also remove the smallest and most resistant to inactivation viruses, such as parvovirus, featuring a typical particle size around 20 nm. The work summarizes the results from a number of characterisations including e.g. SEM images of the membrane pre- and post filtration of surrogate gold Au NPs as well as BJH gas desorption analysis of data for pore size distribution.


Background The degree of B lymphocyte infiltration in the synovial membrane is highly variable among patients with inflammatory arthritides (1). Whether qualitative and quantitative heterogeneity in B cell infiltration correlates with specific diagnoses, clinical phenotypes and disease outcomes is currently poorly determined. In particular, no previous studies have addressed the diagnostic and prognostic value of B cell synovitis according to the newly developed ACR/EULAR classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (2). Objectives To explore prospectively the pattern of synovial B cell infiltration in relationship to definitive diagnosis of RA and development of persistent arthritis. Methods Synovial tissue was obtained through ultrasound-guided biopsy (3) from an actively inflamed knee joint in 41 consecutive patients referring for diagnostic evaluation of inflammatory arthritis of <12 months duration. At the time of presentation, all patients were classified with a clinical diagnosis based on established criteria. In patients diagnosed with RA or undifferentiated arthritis (UA) according to the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria, the need to start methotrexate (MTX) treatment within the first 6 months of follow-up was used as outcome measure. Tissue samples were analysed by immunohistochemistry. Synovial B cell infiltration was scored 0-3 based on the size and density distribution of CD20+ B cell aggregates. Results At the time of presentation, 20 patients fulfilled the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria for the classification of RA, 5 patients the CASPAR criteria for psoriatic arthritis and 2 patients had crystal arthropathy. The remaining 14 patients were classified as UA. After excluding definite diagnoses other than RA, patients achieving a total score ≥6 in the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria showed increased scores for synovial B cell infiltration (1.3±1.2 vs 0.6±0.9), although the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.08). Among the individual domains of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria, the synovial B cell score significantly correlated with the score for joint involvement (rho 0.35, p=0.04). Using ROC curve analysis, a B cell score ≥2 (corresponding to the presence of large, grade 3 B cell aggregates) correctly predicted the need of MTX institution in 70% of the cases with a PPV of 100%, independent of the fulfillment of the 2010 ACR/EULAR criteria. Conclusions The highest degrees of synovial B cell infiltration and aggregation are most frequently observed in patients with polyarticular disease who are at need for MTX initiation. Although larger prospective studies are awaited in order to validate these finding, our preliminary study suggests that the assessment of specific histopathologic features can contribute to the prognostic definition of inflammatory arthritides. References Bugatti S, Manzo A, Bombardieri M, et al. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2011;13:440-8. Aletaha D, Neogi T, Silman AJ, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2010;62:2569-81. Scirè CA, Epis O, Codullo V, et al. Arthritis Res Ther 2007;9:R101. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Introduction: Actinomyces colonies in tonsillectomy specimens are often ignored as commensals and histopathology reports do not carry any information about them. But evidence suggests that under favourable conditions these may become invasive and pathogenic, serving as precursors to later systemic disease. Early identification of mucosal breach by these bacteria may have a role in the clinical management and future prognosis. Aim: To determine the frequency of occurrence of Actinomyces colonies in tonsillectomy specimens and study the various associated histological alterations which may provide a clue to their pathogenicity. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study on 140 tonsillectomy specimens, from 70 patients who had undergone elective, bilateral tonsillar surgery. Tonsils were examined for Actinomyces colonies and histological alterations as per two different grading criteria. Different clinicopathological features were associated, those with and without Actinomyces colonies using appropriate statistical tools (t-test, Chi-square and Fisher's exact test; Statistical Package for the Social Sciences {SPSS} version 23.0). Results: A total of 140 tonsillar tissue specimens were analysed from 70 patients and divided into two groups Group 1 (with actinomycosis) and Group 2 (without actinomycosis) with a mean age of 13.6±6.63 years and 11.8±7.19 years, respectively. The frequency of Actinomyces colonies was found to be 40% (28 of 70 patients) with bilateral presence in 28.5% (8 of 28 patients). Tissue reaction was present in 36.11% (13/36 tonsillar specimens) of the tonsillectomy specimens harbouring Actinomyces. Deeply situated colonies elicited tissue reaction more frequently (11/19 tonsillar specimens; 57.89%) compared to superficial ones (2/17 tonsillar specimens; 11.76%). Tonsillar cryptitis was the most statistically significant histopathological finding associated with the presence of Actinomyces colonies (p=0.029). Conclusion: Tonsillar cryptitis was found to be a consistent histological finding in tonsillar actinomycosis. The frequent acute inflammatory responses generated by deeply located Actinomyces colonies refutes their role as mere commensals. It is suggested that tonsil histopathology reports should mention the presence/ location/ tissue reaction surrounding Actinomyces colonies to differentiate mere colonisation from invasion. This could have profound clinical implications in terms of necessity of antibiotic use for prophylaxis/ and or treatment.


Abstract : This guide identifies and provides details on 72 commercially available electronic data interchange (EDI) translation software packages. It was developed for use by the Military Departments and Defense agencies as they procure EDI translation software packages in support of the Department of Defense's (DoD's) EDI program for transportation. However, other DoD entitles with an EDI program should find this guide useful. This guide assesses the key features of each package, details a list of functions available in a particular software package, and highlights those features required to meet the EDI needs of Defense transportation in specific operating environments.


Broadening and height reduction of X-ray diffraction peaks were observed after cold-pressing of unmilled Co-W powder mixture. It seems the effect of cold pressing has slightly reduced the lattice parameter of W from 3.165 to 3.143?. Consequent annealing of unmilled compacts yielded metastable phases. Upon 10 and 20 h ball milling of Co-W powder, no alloying was obtained. Although milling did not yield significant crystal changes in W and Co ground state structures, its effect is evident during subsequent annealing. An eta phase is obtained for the first time from unmilled-annealed Co-W powder mixture in the absence of interstitial elements like carbon, while the milled counterpart yielded the rhombohedral Co7W6-type phase with composition deviated from stoichiometric value.


Abstract Feeding in the wild of the tortoise Homopus signatus signatus in South Africa was recorded and the diet compared to previously reported fecal analysis. Several new plant species were identified in the diet, and analyses differed by ca. 24% in terms of species present. Tortoises did not feed on all plant species or parts to the same extent, indicating selective feeding.


Objective: this research analyzed the hospital incidence and mortality due to burns in children aged less than 15 who live in Londrina, and were treated in emergency services, hospitalized or who died because of this in 2001. Methods: This is a descriptive study. Morbidity data were obtained from the five geral hospitals of Londrina, and mortality data came from the Municipal Mortality Information Nucleus of the city. The Software Epi Info, version 6.04d was used for data analysis. Results: 182 Children under age 15, victims of burns have been studied, being 82.4% wounded by hot materials or heat source, 14.3% by exposition to smoke/fire/flame and 3.3% by exposition to electric current. Male victims were predominant (56.6%), with the highest coefficient for the age of one year (6.1 per 1000 children). The hospitalization rate was 12.6%; one death occurred. 56.5% of the cases stayed in hospital for one to three days. Conclusions: the findings


Hair is a useful aid and sometimes even the only matrix in the analytical strategy in drug-facilitated crime (DFC) investigations. In this novel study, segmental hair analysis was performed after a single 10 mg dose of zolpidem was given to 20 Chinese volunteers. Hair was collected 1 month after administration and was analyzed using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Zolpidem concentrations were found to be in the range of 135.0-554.6 pg/mg in the proximal 0-2 cm segments. These results were markedly different from those reported by Villain et al., who used volunteers administered equal doses of zolpidem. The analytical method used, as well as the volunteers' hair color, inter-individual variations such as metabolic capacity, hair growth rate, drug incorporation rates, physical state of the hair, age, gender, body weight, etc. and diffusion from sweat or other secretions are all factors that should be considered when interpreting the DFC results.


Water hyacinth is a noxious aquatic weed growing over a wide variety of wetland. One of the effective methods of its treatment is rotary drum composting. Hence, microbial succession in the rotary drum composting of water hyacinth was studied along with stability and maturity. Different ratios of water hyacinth, cow dung and sawdust, i.e. 8: 1: 1, 7: 2: 1, 6: 3: 1, 5: 4: 1 and 10: 0: 0 (control), respectively, were taken. A total weight of 150 kg was maintained. Maximum degradation was observed in the trial 3 (6: 3: 1), which showed maximum temperature rise up to 56.5°C. The total mesophilic bacterial count changed from 4.73 × 1012 to 2.5 × 107 colony forming unit (CFU)/g compost during the composting period. Spore forming population reached the highest count of 3.3 × 1010 CFU/g in the thermophilic phase of composting. Actinomycetes, streptomycetes and fungi counts decreased to about 2.4 × 107 CFU/g, 6.5×105 CFU/g and 6.79 × 105 CFU/g, respectively, at the end of composting period. A maximum reduction of 78.7% in oxygen uptake rate and 90.6% in CO2 evolution rate was observed. This showed the highest stability of the compost sample. But the maximum volatile solids reduction of 45.9% signified the high content of recalcitrant lignocellulosic material. Indicator organisms were reduced to acceptable standards of sanitation.


To characterize the structure and function of ribosomal protein S13 (RPS13), we identified fulllength open reading frames (ORFs) of three RPS13 genes (RPS13-1, RPS13-2, and RPS13-3) of the Chinese medicinal plant, Sophora flavescens. The target genes were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), ligated into the pET22b(+) vector, and then transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 competent cells for protein expression. The physicochemical properties, protein motif, evolution, and structural organization of the three RPS13 genes were analyzed using bioinformatics tools. The full-length ORFs (453 bp) of the three RPS13 genes of S. flavescens were cloned, and each encodes a protein of 151 amino acids in length, and their expression was detected by Western blotting. Bioinformatics analysis showed that RPS13s are stable proteins that are closely related to the 40S RPS13s of Vigna radiate var. radiate. Their three-dimensional structures included three α-helices at the C-terminal and four α-helices at the N-terminal, and the two clusters of helices were connected by a long random coil, which may help maintain the dynamic bridging interactions between the large and small subunits of the ribosome. The full-length ORFs of three RPS13 genes of S. flavescens were successfully cloned and expressed in vitro. The study of the physicochemical properties, evolution, and secondary and three-dimensional structures of the three proteins will provide the theoretical basis for further studies on the function of RPS13s in plants.


Received Jan 22, 2022 Revised Aug 9, 2022 Accepted Aug 23, 2022 Given the recent events worldwide due to viral diseases that affect human health, automatic monitoring systems are one of the strong points of research that has gained strength, where the detection of biohazardous waste of a sanitary nature is highlighted related to viral diseases stands out. It is essential in this field to generate developments aimed at saving lives, where robotic systems can operate as assistants in various fields. In this work an artificial intelligence algorithm based on two stages is presented, one is the recognition of paper debris using a ResNet-50, chosen for its object localization capacity, and the other is a fuzzy inference system for the generation of alarm states due to biological risk by such debris, where fuzzy logic helps to establish a model for a non-predictive system as the one exposed. A biohazard detection algorithm for paper waste is described, oriented to operate on an assistive robot in a residential environment. The training parameters of the network, which achieve 100% accuracy with confidence levels between 82% for very small waste and 100% in direct view, are presented. Timing cycles are established for validation of the exposure time of the waste, where through the fuzzy system, risk alarms are generated, which allows establishing a system with an average reliability of 98%.


We introduced an experiment to study the performance of pneumatic cylinder.In order to meet the requirements of the line/rotation clamping cylinder in CNC machine tools pneumatic clamp accompanied system.Using PLC controller,valves,cylinders,sensors and other components to build an experimental platform.The main experimental steps have been analysed in details.Through the different kinds of experimental data demonstrating the Festo CLR line/rotation clamping cylinder is fit for the requirement of practical work.


An attempt was made to monitor the level of chromium from chrome buffing dust waste (CBD) from Nilest tannery through preliminary investigation of the physicochemical characteristic of dried buffing dust (CBD) waste: pH, temperature (°C), alkalinity (mg/L), ash content (%), crude fibre (%) for example, using effluent and reference water sample as (control). Comparative study of the mean values of CBD, effluent and reference water sample were also assessed. Comparative studies of fungal isolates from CBD, effluent and reference water were also assessed in situ. A total of four fungi species were observed from CBD: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp., Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus fumigatus with fungal count of 5.43 × 103 CFU/ml, followed by effluent sample: A. niger and A. flavus with fungal count of 2.48 × 103 CFU/ml and none was observed in reference water sample. The study recommended the combination of pyrolysis incineration and bioremediation methods for effective treatment of chrome buffing dust (CBD).

 Key words: Buffing dust, physical properties, pathogenic fungi.


Purpose: This study is aiming to demonstrate the efficiency of combined physiotherapy techniques: clearance techniques, respiratory muscle training (RMT) and sport activities, in order to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life in cystic fibrosis teenagers. Method: This prospective study was conducted in the Romanian Cystic Fibrosis Centre and included a number of 40 patients, aged between 12 and 18 years. We have used classic techniques of clearance in the daily physiotherapy: the active cycle of breathing techniques, autogenic drainage, oscillating PEP, high frequency chest wall oscillation (5 times a week), sport programmes (2-4 times a week) and RMT (3 times a week using TrainAir computer system). We have evaluated at baseline and after 24 months of intervention the quality of life (using CFQOL questionnaire) and functional respiratory parameters FVC, FEV 1 , FEF 25-75% . The statistical processing of data was made using a non-parametric test: the Wilcoxon matched pairs test. Results: On a long term we noticed a substantial improvement in the clinical outcomes (less acute respiratory hospitalization and medication) and CFQOL scores. We also noticed significant statistical difference (p Conclusions: All cystic fibrosis patients should be encouraged to combine airway clearance techniques with respiratory muscle training and sport activities for better clinical outcomes and quality of life. Funding Acknowledgements : This paper was supported by a research grant from UEFISCDI Romania, code TE 36.


C429 Mn sites. Thus, there is a considerable orbital component to the magnetic moment. Bader topological analysis shows an absence of Mn-Mn bonding and the magnetic ordering is via super-exchange through the oxygen bridges. Formal electron counting suggests mixed valence Mn sites, but this is not supported by the Bader atomic charges, Mn(1)=+0.11, Mn(2)= +0.17. The topological measures show the dominant metal-ligand interactions to be electrostatic, and a simple exponential correlation is derived between Mn-O bond lengths and the values of 2 at the bond critical points.


In this study, the pedotransfer functions for the vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity, water contents at the suctions of 0- (saturation), 60- (drainable porosity), 100-, 330- (field capacity), 1000-, and 15000-cm (permanent wilting point) were developed using easily measurable soil physical and chemical properties obtained from 34 horizons of nine profiles from a lake origin of Northwest Ohio plain. For this analysis, the multiple-linear regression analysis by stepwise method was employed. The accuracy of these functions were evaluated using the measured vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity and water contents at the field capacity and wilting points from the soils of 19 horizons of five profiles of an alluvial Yesilirmak River valley close to the downtown of Tokat city. The results of evaluation showed that the developed pedotransfer functions for the vertical saturated hydraulic conductivity and field capacity produced under and over predictions, respectively. The developed pedotransfer functions for the wilting point yielded fair results.


This paper proposes a confusion-line separating algorithm in a CIE Lab color space using color segmentation for protanopia and deuteranopia. Images are segmented into regions by grouping adjacent pixels with similar color information using the hue components of the images. To this end, the region growing method and the seed points used in this method are the pixels that correspond to peak points in hue histograms that went through a low pass filter. In order to establish a color vision deficiency (CVD) confusion line map, we established 512 virtual boxes in an RGB 3-D space so that boxes existing on the same confusion line can be easily identified. After that, we checked if segmented regions existed on the same confusion line and then performed color adjustment in an CIE Lab color space so that all adjacent regions exist on different confusion lines in order to provide the best color identification effect to people with CVDs.


The actor nodes are the spine of wireless sensor and actor networks (WSANs) that collaborate to perform a specific task in an unverified and uneven environment. Thus, there is a possibility of high failure rate in such unfriendly scenarios due to several factors such as power consumption of devices, electronic circuit failure, software errors in nodes or physical impairment of the actor nodes and inter-actor connectivity problem. Therefore, it is extremely important to discover the failure of a cut-vertex actor and network-disjoint in order to improve the Quality-of-Service (QoS). In this paper, we propose an Efficient Actor Recovery (EAR) paradigm to guarantee the contention-free traffic-forwarding capacity. The EAR paradigm consists of a Node Monitoring and Critical Node Detection (NMCND) algorithm that monitors the activities of the nodes to determine the critical node. In addition, it replaces the critical node with backup node prior to complete node-failure which helps balancing the network performance. The packets are handled using Network Integration and Message Forwarding (NIMF) algorithm that determines the source of forwarding the packets; either from actor or sensor. This decision-making capability of the algorithm controls the packet forwarding rate to maintain the network for a longer time. Furthermore, for handling the proper routing strategy, Priority-Based Routing for Node Failure Avoidance (PRNFA) algorithm is deployed to decide the priority of the packets to be forwarded based on the significance of information available in the packet. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed EAR paradigm, the proposed algorithms were tested using OMNET++ simulation.


The first two authors contributed to the work equally and should be regarded as co-first authors. This work evaluated the influence of extrusion on the physicochemical properties of oat polysaccharides and its improvement in flour dough quality. Solubility, solvent retention capacity, and water binding capacity of extruded oat bran polysaccharides (EOPs) were effectively improved when compared to normal oat bran polysaccharides (NOP S ), whereas the gelation temperature markedly decreased. The EOP solution revealed strong viscoelasticity. Moreover, the extensibility and gumminess of EOP-added dough were significantly improved when compared to blank dough. Therefore, EOPs are highly potential for use as new functional ingredients in food.


A recent tridimensional analysis of the lymph node demonstrated that its deep cortex is composed of grossly hemispherical "units," adjoining a portion of its peripheral cortex. Each deep cortex unit can be distinguished into a center and a periphery. The periphery was concluded to be a site for migration of circulating lymphocytes, the center, a site where T cells would participate in cellular immune responses. The aim of the present work was to determine the influence of the congenital athymic state on the development of the units and of other components in the lymph nodes of the nude mouse. For this, the lymph nodes at various anatomical locations in adult athymic nude mice were analyzed. The present study revealed that the athymic state did not inhibit the development of the units but severely depleted the lymphocyte population of their center only. However, it did inhibit the development of an area of peripheral cortex located over the middle part of a unit. Such an area of peripheral cortex is, thus, concluded to be thymus dependent, as is the center of a deep cortex unit. The athymic state also prevented the development of the cells of the nodules (germinal centers) and of much of the plasmocytes. On the other hand, it yielded to the enlargement of the follicles, the formation of new structures: medullary "lymphocyte clusters" and the transformation of the medullary venules into high endothelial venules. The various modifications of the nodal structures resulting from the congenital athymic state are discussed in relation to some functions of the organ.


The force and stiffness characteristics for rectangular-pole geometries are derived as a function of the parameters gap width, pole width and pole displacement. The Schwarz-Christoffel transformation technique is employed, with the simpler cases giving directly integrable solutions, or solutions in terms of elliptic integrals. For the most general case, numerical integration is used to determine the transformation and the force characteristics. The analysis shows that the restoring force and initial stiffness for the finite-width geometry are bounded by those for the infinite-width and line-potential geometries, and that the unbalance force and stiffness vary linearly with pole-width.


Since the 1800s, a very large number of naturally occurring and industrially synthesized alternatives to sucrose have been discovered or developed, though many of these only began to appear more widely in foods within the past 20 years. These 'alternative' sweeteners include high-potency sweeteners (which in practice are essentially non-energetic), reduced-energy sweeteners having an intermediate energetic value, and bulk sweeteners which are isoenergetic with sucrose. These latter two categories typically claim additional health or technical (cost, flavour profile, etc.) benefits relative to sucrose. In twenty-seven well-organized chapters, largely arranged by specific sweetener, this book comprehensively addresses the discovery, chemistry, sensory characteristics, food technology, metabolism, toxicology, and current and potential applications of virtually all of the established and many of the recently discovered alternative sweeteners, as well as their use in combinations. The chapters are generally consistent in style and layout, covering each of these major points in reasonable depth, aided by numerous tables and figures. This is therefore a very well-edited, authoritative, and comprehensive reference resource for the technological and regulatory aspects of alternative sweeteners. Having said that, certain biases and omissions are also apparent. The book appears to be a production of (and is edited via) the Calorie Control Council, a trade organization which directly supports the marketing and use of reducedenergy products. This book is therefore not intended to showcase controversial views on the value of alternative sweeteners, and the chapters are mostly authored by individuals with a direct commercial interest in their subject. Their working familiarity with the ingredients can be seen in the timely and authoritative nature of the information on technological and regulatory issues. However, a certain positive 'spin' is sometimes apparent in the interpretation or presentation of information relating to the putative benefits or potential negatives of specific sweeteners. Those more familiar with some of the sweeteners will see these biases, but other readers must simply bear this caveat in mind. The book is clearly oriented towards technologists, not nutritionists. Some of the chapters go into reasonable depth on nutritional issues (e.g. metabolic fate, side effects and derivation of the energy values of polyols). However, for those seeking a more general overview of the nutritional or health aspects of alternative sweeteners, there may be some disappointments. No chapter actually focuses on sucrose itself, nor on the questions of when and where and why its replacement by alternatives is appropriate. This might have made an interesting starting point. There is, for example, no serious attempt to address the issue of whether use of intense or reduced-energy sweeteners actually offers a benefit to consumers, particularly with regard to weight control. This has undoubtedly been a major stimulus for consumer interest in reduced-sugar foods, and hence a key driver of the development and marketing efforts of sucrose alternatives. Furthermore, those familiar with this area will know that this topic provoked a vigorous scientific debate and a large number of research trials through the 1980s and 1990s, which continue today. The value of sucrose alternatives in weight control remains open to differential interpretations. The book's index is unfortunately centred on specific sweeteners as main headings. This is somewhat redundant, since it is also how the chapters themselves are arranged. Thus, no independent entries can be found for nutritional interests such as 'diabetes', 'appetite', 'malabsorption', or 'energy (intake or value)', even though many of these issues are listed and addressed under multiple chapters. Marketing and consumer issues are further areas which are not addressed, i.e. who uses alternatively sweetened products, why, and what are the trends? What benefits do consumers expect or want from these products? What are some of the marketing successes and failures? Once again, those familiar with the industry will recognize that there are some interesting and valuable stories to be told here, but perhaps this will have to wait for a later edition. These latter comments are not intended to convey dissatisfaction with the overall value of the book, but merely to point out some shortcomings which may be particularly relevant to readers of the British Journal of Nutrition. Although somewhat costly, I believe this volume would be a highly recommended addition to the shelves of any group working in food product research and development, and an excellent background technical reference for nutritionists and dietitians.


In PMU calibration, response time and delay time are measured by feeding to the PMU an AC signal with a step change in magnitude or phase. Estimating accurately the reference step location is an important task in this process. In a paper presented at the 2019 IEEE AMPS, we proposed a Hybrid Step Location Estimator (HSLE), which is based on the Hilbert's transform (HT) analysis of the AC signal to obtain the related instantaneous magnitude and phase, upon which the estimation is carried out. We found that the performance of the HSLE decreased with the SNRdB of the AC signal. To render the HSLE more robust to noise, in this paper, we propose using the so called Polynomial Approximation Total Variation (PATV) decomposition to extract a noiseless step component from the instantaneous functions. The modified estimator (HSLE_PATV) is evaluated against the HSLE. Experimental results show that, for SNRdB > 55 dB, the HSLE_PATV and the HSLE perform similarly. For SNRdB E {30,40} dB, the HSLE_PATV outperforms the HSLE, providing more accurate step location estimates, with higher confidence levels, but at a higher computational cost.


In January 1991 the winter meeting of the Surgical Research Society was held at St. Bartholomew's Hospital and the Institute of Education, London. During the meeting a symposium was held entitled 'Shedding light on lasers'. Speakers addressed the general principles of lasers, laser–tissue interactions and the applications of lasers in gastroenterology and in vascular disease. This was followed by an open discussion of the current indications, complications and outcome, together with future possible applications for lasers in medicine.


Infrastructure less communication strategies havegreatly evolved and found its way to most of our real lifeapplications like sensor networks, terrestrial communications,military communications etc. The communication pattern for allthese scenarios being identical i.e. encounter basedcommunication,characteristics of each communication domainare distinct. Hence the protocols applied for each environmentshould be defined carefully by considering its owncommunication patterns. While designing a routing protocol themain aspects under consideration include delay, connectivity,cost etc. In case of applications having limited connectivity,concept of Delay tolerant network (DTN) is deployed, whichassists delivering messages even in partitioned networks withlimited connectivity by using store and forward architecture.Node properties like contact duration, inter contact duration,location, community, direction of movement, angle of contact etc.were used for designing different classes of routing protocols forDTN. This paper introduces a new protocol that exploits thefeatures of both community based as well as location basedrouting protocols to achieve higher data delivery ratio invehicular scenarios. Results obtained show that proposedalgorithms have much improved delivery ratio comparedtoexisting routing algorithms which use any one of the aboveproperty individually.