Purpose of Study ATL is a peripheral T-cell neoplasm(PTCL) associated with human T-cell lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) infection. Currently there is no established therapy for relapsed/refractory disease. Initial in-vitro studies of HDAC inhibitors showed selective apoptosis of HTLV-1 infected T cell lines. In phase II trial for relapsed/refractory PTCL, 2 patients had EBV and 1 patient had HBV reactivation. It was unclear if this was from HDAC induced immunosuppression or direct promotion of viral replication or underlying disease process. All HDAC inhibitors trials in last 6 years excluded ATL patients although they are approved for this disease. We here describe our experience of 3 patients with relapsed/refractory ATL treated with HDAC inhibitor romidepsin. Methods Used Chart review of patients with relapsed/refractory ATL treated with romidepsin at King's County Hospital. Summary of Results Case 1: 43 year old male with acute ATL who progressed on EPOCH after 4 cycles. Romidepsin was started at 14 mg/m2 IV Day 1, 8, 15 Q28 days. He tolerated cycle 1 well but continued to have progressive disease. Patient died 40 days after initiation of therapy from infection. Case 2: 37 year old male with acute ATL who had disease progression on EPOCH×2 cycles. He was started on romidepsin 10 mg/m2 IV (dose reduced due to T. bili 3.5 gm/dl). After first dose, his platelets dropped to to 20 k/mm3 necessitating treatment delay and dose reduction to 6 mg/m2. He had temporary response as evidenced by reduction in WBC count from 103 kmm3 to 5 k/mm3 and improvement in liver function. He only received 1 cycle and died on Day 50 from disease progression. Case 3: 47 year old male with ATL lymphoma intially treated with CHOP×6 cycles and relapsed after 1 year with peripheral lymphocytosis to 57 k/mm3 and diffuse lymphadenopathy. He received ICE×2 cycles with progressive disease. He was started on romidepsin 14 mg/m2. He received 1 dose and had Grade IV anemia/thrombocytopenia. He developed urosepsis and expired on Day 20. Conclusions In our small experience of romidepsin in relapsed/refractory ATL, patients appear to have modest response rates and higher rate of cytopenias when compared to other PTCL subtypes in clinical trials. Given the concerns for viral reactivation and lack of data for use of romidepsin in ATL, it should be used cautiously.


Abstract:In this interview Leo Olper, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at LatinWorks with headquarters in Austin, talks about the growing importance of multicultural perspectives in advertising today, as well as his own career path through the multicultural advertising landscape. Olper shares perspectives on the history and rise of multicultural advertising, including changes needed in today's overall advertising industry. He speaks to advertising's role in shaping culture and society, and how a changing demography in the United States will impact American advertising. Olper addresses the thorny issue of discrimination in advertising and, while he states there are no easy answers, he provides some ideas on reaching out and pulling up a younger, more diverse pool of talent, while providing advice on recruiting and retaining a diverse pool of advertising professionals. In short, he encourages change in the advertising industry, for diversity begets diversity.


OBJECTIVES
The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of endometrial premalignancies in women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

METHODS
Endometrial and ovarian specimens of 186 patients with EOC were retrospectively selected using the nationwide pathology network and registry, and sections were comprehensively reviewed: 136 (73%) serous, 19 (10%) endometrioid, 15 (8%) mucinous, seven (4%) clear cell, and nine (5%) undifferentiated. Immunohistochemical phenotypes were compared for patients with serous EOC with concurrent endometrial pathology.

RESULTS
In 31%, endometrial (pre)malignancy was found: carcinoma in 3%, endometrial intraepithelial carcinoma (EIC) in 4%, and atypical hyperplasia in 24%. Atypical hyperplasia was found in 47% of endometrioid EOCs but in 7% to 33% of other subtypes. Body mass index was higher concurrent to atypical hyperplasia (P=.001). Serous EOC and EIC immunophenotypes were comparable, whereas atypical hyperplasia was expressed differently.

CONCLUSIONS
Apart from synchronous endometrial carcinoma, endometrial premalignancies should be taken into account when determining optimal treatment for women diagnosed with EOC.


IMPORTANCE
Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks are a morbid condition associated with operative intervention for treatment. Understanding associations are key to diagnosis, treatment, and possible early detection.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the clinical association and odds of having obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and spontaneous CSF leaks.

DATA SOURCES
A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted using PubMed (MEDLINE), Cochrane Library, and relevant article bibliographies.

STUDY SELECTION
Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies from 2005 to 2015 investigating spontaneous CSF leaks in patients with OSA. The CSF leaks were considered spontaneous when they occurred in the absence of trauma, surgery, infection, and neoplasm. Included studies provided the number of patients diagnosed as having OSA and spontaneous CSF leaks.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS
Two independent investigators reviewed all studies for inclusion. The numbers of patients with OSA were systematically extracted from each study. Studies that compared the prevalence of OSA with spontaneous CSF leaks against their control cohort were pooled in the meta-analysis using a random-effects model.

MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURE
To determine whether there was increased incidence of OSA in patients with spontaneous CSF leaks. This hypothesis was formulated prior to data collection.

RESULTS
The search criteria yielded 384 abstracts, and 6 clinical studies involving OSA and CSF leaks met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were all retrospective in nature and included 3 comparative (case-control) studies, 2 case series, and 1 case report. The cumulative reported prevalence of having OSA and spontaneous CSF leaks is 16.9% (232 of 1376 patients). Three of the studies were eligible for the meta-analysis. The odds of having OSA with a spontaneous CSF leak were 4.73 times more likely than in control cohorts (95% CI, 1.56-14.31; P = .006; I² = 35%). In a subgroup analysis of studies including nonspontaneous CSF leaks as their control cohort, the odds of having OSA with a spontaneous CSF leak were 2.85 times more likely than OSA with a nonspontaneous CSF leak (95% CI, 1.22-6.63; P = .02; I² = 0%). There was a notable difference in the age, BMI, or patients with hypertension in the comparative studies.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
The association between OSA and spontaneous CSF leaks as demonstrated by retrospective studies is confounded by heterogeneous patient characteristics. Large prospective controlled studies using polysomnography and elevated intracranial pressure measurements are required to further evaluate the relationship between OSA and spontaneous CSF leaks.


Offshore equipment and facilities are some of the most capital intensive and strategically located assets that require millions to billions of dollars to setup. Thus, it is important to put in place a stout security and surveillance system to ultimately protect these assets from vandalisation and theft. Monitoring of intruders/ unfamiliar objects within and outside the offshore platform requires a round-the-clock observation through provided security personnel who are stationed so as to quickly respond to any threat within a safe distance in the event of any physical intrusion but this measure is fraught with some challenges. Some of these challenges include fatigue, error in human judgement, and the limited vision of humans to mention but a few. To remedy these weaknesses and ensure a robust protection, the design and implementation/ setting up of a surveillance system to detect and track real time security concerns with a much wider and effective coverage area to enable the control unit make a well informed decision appropriately is an imperative. The system presented in this paper is designed to operate in harsh (sea waves, and fog) and unprotected (extreme heat, cold precipitation) environment.


As interests in the management of government-owned corporation rise, in these days, debt reduction and normalization of management of those companies have been proceeding under the lead of government. At this point, it is very important to seek internal marketing method for improvement of internal employees' satisfaction, loyalty and organization performance. This study analyzes impact of factors of internal marketing effect on organization satisfaction, loyalty and organization performance in the context of the domestic public companies, the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-WATER)"s employees empirically. There are some significant differences between the two publics. It is proved that delegation of the authority influences on internal satisfaction and organization performance in the case of KEPCO, and education and training influence on internal satisfaction and organization performance in the case of K-WATER. On the other hand, in the case of K-WATER, any internal marketing factors don't influence on loyalty. The results of this study show somewhat different characteristics depending on the characteristics of firm, however, it is expected that this study can be very useful in regards to similar public enterprises or businesses.


Permanent magnet machines including a magnetic gearing effect are attractive for low-speed high-torque applications. This paper proposes a dual-stator axial-flux machine topology with a high ratio for the number of rotor poles to concentrated stator coils. The stator consists of a relatively small number of teeth, with each tooth including multiple smaller/auxiliary teeth. The rotor employs spoke-type permanent magnets, which result in high flux concentration, thereby further improving the torque density. The paper discusses the principle of operation of the proposed machine topology. Finite element results on example designs with 6 stator teeth, each having 2 and 3 auxiliary teeth, and with 20, 32, and 34 rotor poles are presented, respectively. Other feasible slot-pole combinations are also identified.


Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy calibrations that will allow prediction of the solid fat content (SFC) of milk fat extracted from butter by one measurement during manufacture were developed. SFC is a measure of the amount of the solid fraction of fat crystallized at a temperature expressed as a percentage (w/w). At-line SFC determinations are currently performed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which involves a 16 h delay period for tempering of the milk fat at 0 degrees C prior to the SFC measurements, from 0 to 35 degrees C in a series of 5 degrees C increments. The NIR spectra (400-2500 nm) were obtained using a sample holder maintained at 60 degrees C. Accurate predictions for the SFC (%) were developed by principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares (PLS) regression models to relate the NIR spectra to the corresponding NMR values. The independent validation samples (N = 22) had a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 0.385-0.762% for SFC between 0 and 25 degrees C, with SFC reference values ranging between 70.42 and 8.96% with a standard deviation range of 3.36-1.47. The low bias (from -0.351 to -0.025), the slopes (0.935-1.077), and the excellent predictive ability (R2; 0.923-0.978) supported the validity of these calibrations.


At Nissan we have developed a new parallel hybrid system for rear-wheel-drive hybrid vehicles. As the main components of the hybrid system, both the motor and the inverter have been developed and are manufactured in house to attain high power density for providing responsive acceleration, a quiet EV drive mode and improved fuel economy.

Because the motor is located between the engine and the transmission, it had to be shortened to be within the length allowed for the powertrain. Therefore, new technologies have been developed such as high-density, square-shaped windings and an optimized magnetic circuit specially designed for concentrated winding motors.

The inverter is sized to a 12V battery, which it replaces in the engine compartment. Despite its compact size, the inverter must have rather large current capacity to drive a high-power motor. Heat management is critical to the design of a small but high-power inverter. The inverter was designed not only to transfer heat efficiently to a heat sink but also to control the gate driver sequence so as to reduce heat generation in the power semiconductors due to the switching loss.

An integrated motor-clutch control method has also been developed as an effective solution for starting the engine in the motor-only drive mode without causing either uncomfortable vibration or a decrease in traction force.


We consider some two dynamic models of entry in mobile telephony, with and without strategic pricing, and taking into account market penetration at entry, locked-in consumers and tariff-mediated network externalities. We show that on/off-net differentials may reduce the possibility of entry if incumbents are large, while they have no long-run effects if there are no locked-in consumers, or reduce the difference in subscriber numbers in their presence. Asymmetric fixed-to-mobile or mobile-to-mobile termination rates increase (decrease) market share and profit of the network with the higher (lower) rate. While the fixed-to-mobile waterbed effect is not full at the network level, it will be full in the aggregate.


Over this recent year, a growing population that increase the economic development, capacity of landfills and critical environmental impact are gaining the importance role of remanufacturing activities. Moreover, many durable products are disposed in landfills at the end of their useful lives without undergoing by any recovery process that affect the landfill space has been decreasing in all over the world including by our country. Remanufacturing is the process by which used products are returned to their new state with minimum waste and expenditure on materials and energy. This study focus on the concept concept of remanufacturing practice in automotive sector. Malaysians have been generated wastes at a manufacturing sector especially in the automotive sector. On top of that, the conventional remanufacturing systems that have been constructed in Malaysia are not widely marketed and lack of practical applications. This study provides a remanufacturing analysis for improvement to the automotive sectors on engine block. Furthermore, this study presents the information based on the discussion of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to encourage the implementation of remanufacturing activities. By making the remanufacturing activities possible to implement efficiently, manufacturer may decrease their production costs, decrease refuse and landfill materials, and increase their quality management.


Evidence has been accumulated demonstrating that heavy metals may accumulate in various organs, leading to tissue damage and toxic effects in mammals. In particular, the Central Nervous System (CNS) seems to be particularly vulnerable to cumulative concentrations of heavy metals, though the pathophysiological mechanisms is still to be clarified. In particular, the potential role of oligodendrocyte dysfunction and myelin production after exposure to subtoxic concentration I confirmed. It is ok of heavy metals is to be better assessed. Here we investigated on the effect of sub-toxic concentration of several essential (Cu2 +, Cr3 +, Ni2 +, Co2+) and non-essential (Pb2 +, Cd2+, Al3+) heavy metals on human oligodendrocyte MO3.13 and human neuronal SHSY5Y cell lines (grown individually or in co-culture). MO3.13 cells are an immortal human–human hybrid cell line with the phenotypic characteristics of primary oligodendrocytes but following the differentiation assume the morphological and biochemical features of mature oligodendrocytes. For this reason, we decided to use differentiated MO3.13 cell line. In particular, exposure of both cell lines to heavy metals produced a reduced cell viability of co-cultured cell lines compared to cells grown separately. This effect was more pronounced in neurons that were more sensitive to metals than oligodendrocytes when the cells were grown in co-culture. On the other hand, a significant reduction of lipid component in cells occurred after their exposure to heavy metals, an effect accompanied by substantial reduction of the main protein that makes up myelin (MBP) in co-cultured cells. Finally, the effect of heavy metals in oligodendrocytes were associated to imbalanced intracellular calcium ion concentration as measured through the fluorescent Rhod-2 probe, thus confirming that heavy metals, even used at subtoxic concentrations, lead to dysfunctional oligodendrocytes. In conclusion, our data show, for the first time, that sub-toxic concentrations of several heavy metals lead to dysfunctional oligodendrocytes, an effect highlighted when these cells are co-cultured with neurons. The pathophysiological mechanism(s) underlying this effect is to be better clarified. However, imbalanced intracellular calcium ion regulation, altered lipid formation and, finally, imbalanced myelin formation seem to play a major role in early stages of heavy metal-related oligodendrocyte dysfunction.


This paper attempts to uncover the reasons behind the discrepancies between perceived "greenness" of an IT brand and an objective evaluation of the company's sustainability practices through the study of corporate websites as brand positioning tools. Different elements of a corporate branding strategy are examined. Key findings include: 1) Corporate websites of all studied companies are similar in terms of content and design, indicating websites are not a differentiating factor. 2) IT company websites appeal to the functional dimension of green brand positioning strategies and less on the emotional dimension. 3) IT companies are mindful of accusations of greenwashing and are careful about their environmental claims. Areas for further research are suggested.


In this article, a system which combines computer vision with electrical devices for enrichment is proposed in order to prevent risks that can occur in the future and contribute to reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other contagious infections that can happen in the future as well. According to the researches related to the current pandemic situation (COVID-19), the policies that should be taken are clear such as social distancing and wearing masks, but due to many reasons depending on human behaviors, people lose their attention to keep the rules. This system will help to prevent these risks. In this work, occupations that contact many people daily, but not under the control, sterilized area, and not affordable to work from home were considered as well as the target objects in our system. Contribution in this research work is to develop an expanded monitoring system which helps to prevent and reduce risk of the pandemic continuing currently and can occur in future by combining computer vision with electrical sensors to increase its efficiency. Machine learning based image recognition techniques were used to detect and monitor specified actions. In order to increase its functionality and efficiency, thermal sensors, camera, and microphones were deployed as well. Therefore, IoT was used for collecting the data result from monitoring for future applications.


This thesis investigates the factors underlying farm business development in Sweden, and the economic and social implications related to different development strategies. The thesis consists of four papers. Paper I uncovers the values that underlie farmers' strategic choices for business development. The results indicated that a mixed set of use- and non-use values guide choices for farm strategic orientation. Paper II examines the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and farmers' satisfaction with business performance while considering the moderating effects of the farm diversification strategy and the environmental conditions in which a farm business operates. The findings suggested that the combination of farm diversification strategy with the environmental conditions has a significant relationship with farmers' satisfaction with business performance. These two papers differ in their methodological approaches, however, they focus on the farmer as the unit of analysis, whereas Papers III and IV that follow, focus on the farm business as the unit of analysis. In particular, Paper III investigates the role of diversification strategies in enhancing farm financial performance. The results show a heterogeneous relationship between agricultural and farm diversification with farm financial performance across farm types. Finally, Paper IV examines the impact of diversification strategies on farm-level employment and farm income variability. It suggests that farm diversification is a labour-saving strategy and that it increases farm income variability. In contrast, agricultural diversification is positively related to farm-level employment but negatively related to farm income variability.


Non-thermal C/H/Ar plasmas are widely applied to carbonaceous material production and processing. In this work, plasma parameters and gaseous species of the atmospheric non-thermal C/H/Ar plasmas produced by an atmospheric-pressure DC arc discharge generator in CH4/Ar were investigated. The voltage-current characteristics were measured for different CH4/Ar ratios. Optical emission spectroscopy was employed to analyze the electron excitation temperature, gas temperature and electron density under various discharge conditions. The hydrocarbon molecules produced in the CH4/Ar plasmas were detected with photoionization mass spectrometry. The optical spectral results demonstrated that the electron excitation temperature was 0.4-1 eV, the gas temperature was 2800-4200 K and the electron density was in the range of (5-20)×1015 cm−3. The mass spectrum indicated that a variety of unsaturated hydrocarbons (C2H4, C3H6, C6H6, etc.) and several highly unsaturated hydrocarbons (C4H2, C5H6, etc.) were produced in the non-thermal arc plasmas.


ABSTRACT
The use of the laryngeal mask (LMA) during flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) is more advantageous compared to other airway devices. In this study, the use of LMA for airway maintenance in FOB in pediatric patients was planned to be reviewed in the light of the literature by evaluating the postoperative complications encountered with the demographics of the patients, the duration of anesthesia and bronchoscopic diagnoses. Between January 2017 and January 2022, the files of pediatric patients who underwent FOB were reviewed retrospectively. The patients' demographics, the airway device used for airway maintenance in FOB (LMA, endotracheal tube, tracheal tube), bronchoscopy indications, bronchoscopic diagnoses, duration of anesthesia, post-procedure hypoxia, laryngospasm, and the number of patients requiring bronchospasm were all recorded. The study included 162 pediatric patients ranging in age from 0 to 17. The median age was 6.9 years old (interquartile range 0-17 years old), and the median weight was 24.5 kg (interquartile range 2.5-89). The patient group having thoracic CT abnormalities and requiring an operation to support the diagnosis was the most prevalent FOB indication (n=37, 22.8%). In all, 28 patients (17.3%) experienced temporary hypoxia, whereas 62 patients (38.3%) experienced bronchospasm.In pediatric patients, FOB via LMA is a safe method. Appropriate equipment, experienced personnel, good patient selection and adequate follow-up of the patient after bronchoscopy are among the most important factors in the prevention and reduction of complications.


About the Editors vii About the Contributors viii Preface xv 1 What We Have Learned about Memory from Neuroimaging 1 Andrea Greve and Richard Henson 2 Activation and Information in Working Memory Research 21 Bradley R. Postle 3 The Outer Limits of Implicit Memory 44 Anthony J. Ryals and Joel L. Voss 4 The Neural Bases of Conceptual Knowledge: Revisiting a Golden Age Hypothesis in the Era of Cognitive Neuroscience 60 Timothy T. Rogers and Christopher R. Cox 5 Encoding and Retrieval in Episodic Memory: Insights from fMRI 84 Michael D. Rugg, Jeffrey D. Johnson, and Melina R. Uncapher 6 Medial Temporal Lobe Subregional Function in Human Episodic Memory: Insights from High ]Resolution fMRI 108 Jackson C. Liang and Alison R. Preston 7 Memory Retrieval and the Functional Organization of Frontal Cortex 131 Erika Nyhus and David Badre 8 Functional Neuroimaging of False Memories 150 Nancy A. Dennis, Caitlin R. Bowman, and Indira C. Turney 9 Deja Vu: A Window into Understanding the Cognitive Neuroscience of Familiarity 172 Chris B. Martin, Chris M. Fiacconi, and Stefan Kohler 10 Medial Temporal Lobe Contributions to Memory and Perception: Evidence from Amnesia 190 Danielle Douglas and Andy Lee 11 The Memory Function of Sleep: How the Sleeping Brain Promotes Learning 218 Alexis M. Chambers and Jessica D. Payne 12 Memory Reconsolidation 244 Almut Hupbach, Rebecca Gomez, and Lynn Nadel 13 Neural Correlates of Autobiographical Memory: Methodological Considerations 265 Peggy L. St. Jacques and Felipe De Brigard 14 Contributions of Episodic Memory to Imagining the Future 287 Victoria C. McLelland, Daniel L. Schacter, and Donna Rose Addis 15 Episodic Memory Across the Lifespan: General Trajectories and Modifiers 309 Yana Fandakova, Ulman Lindenberger, and Yee Lee Shing 16 The Development of Episodic Memory: Evidence from Event ]Related Potentials 326 Axel Mecklinger, Volker Sprondel, and Kerstin H. Kipp 17 Episodic Memory in Healthy Older Adults: The Role of Prefrontal and Parietal Cortices 347 M. Natasha Rajah, David Maillet, and Cheryl L. Grady 18 Relational Memory and its Relevance to Aging 371 Kelly S. Giovanello and Ilana T. Z. Dew 19 Memory for Emotional and Social Information in Adulthood and Old Age 393 Elizabeth A. Kensinger and Angela Gutchess 20 Episodic Memory in Neurodegenerative Disorders: Past, Present, and Future 415 Muireann Irish and Michael Hornberger 21 Memory Rehabilitation in Neurological Patients 434 Laurie A. Miller and Kylie A. Radford Index 453


Larger numbers of colonists can be more likely to establish and spread due to the benefits provided by either more individuals (quantity) or a greater diversity of genotypes or phenotypes (genetic diversity). However, the value of higher colonist quantity or genetic diversity varies widely across studies, leaving a great deal of uncertainty in how these respective mechanisms affect colonization success. This variability is potentially driven by differences in which traits are present in respective colonist pools ('colonist identity'). Studies with high‐performing colonizers (e.g. genotypes pre‐adapted to the colonizing environment) may find increasing quantity or diversity to be beneficial because it increases the chance high‐performers are sampled, while studies with no high‐performers may find no effects of quantity or diversity. Alternatively, quantity and genetic diversity may play little to no role if the smallest populations already contain high‐performing colonists because there is no scope for a sampling effect to operate. We conducted a field mesocosm experiment to determine if variability in the benefits provided by increased quantity or genetic diversity relates to colonist traits. Nine distinct genotypes of Daphnia pulex characterized also by phenotype, were introduced in 'single' (one individual) or 'many' (nine individuals) introduction quantities and at 'low' (monoclonal) and 'high' (mixed genotypes) genetic diversities. We found that larger‐bodied D. pulex genotypes benefited less from increased colonist quantity, while increasing genetic diversity tended to have a lower effect on higher growth rate genotypes. Our results show that the trait values of the colonists can determine the benefits gained when colonist quantity or genetic diversity are increased, with potential applications to future research and practical efforts to promote, or prevent, population establishment.


The author proves the existence of an exponential rate of growth for the second derivative of a one-dimensional dynamical system with positive Lyapunov exponent, and prove that the second order Lyapunov exponent thus defined is equal to precisely twice the first order derivative. Similar techniques shed some light on the multidimensional case. This work extends results of Dressler and Farmer (1991) and verifies a conjecture of Farmer and Sidorowich (1987) related to a priori estimates for time series forecasting.


Purpose The majority of small animal species used in research are nocturnal, with retinae that are anatomically and functionally dissimilar from humans, complicating their use as disease models. Herein we characterize the retinal structure and electrophysiological function of the diurnal, cone-dominant 13-lined ground squirrel (13-LGS) retina during euthermia and in hibernation. Methods Full-field electroretinography (ERG) was performed in 13-LGS and Brown Norway (BN) rat models to establish baseline values for retinal function in each species, including following intravitreal injection of pharmacologic agents to selectively block the contributions of ON- and OFF-bipolar cells. The effect of hibernation-associated retinal remodeling on electrophysiological function was assessed in 13-LGS during torpor and emergence, with correlative histology performed using transmission electron microscopy. Results Under light-adapted conditions, the a-, b-, and d-wave amplitude of the 13-LGS was significantly greater than that of the BN rat. Retinal function was absent in the 13-LGS during hibernation and correlated to widespread disruption of photoreceptor and RPE structure. Remarkably, both retinal function and structure recovered rapidly on emergence from hibernation, with ERG responses reaching normal amplitude within 6 hours. Conclusions ERG responses for both BN rats and 13-LGS reflect the relative proportions of cone photoreceptors present within the retinae, indicating that the cone-dominant 13-LGS may be a potentially useful model for studying human central retinal function and disease. That retinal remodeling and restoration of electrophysiological function occurs rapidly on emergence from hibernation implies the 13-LGS may also be a useful tool for studying aspects of retinal physiology and recovery from injury.


Timely mapping of crime locations and accurate detection of spatial concentrations of crime help to identify where crime tends to concentrate in space and time and thus provide important information for law enforcement crime reduction efforts. The main objective of this work is to design and implement a Web-based Geographic Information System (GIS) for crime mapping and decision support. Four hotspot mapping techniques, i.e., choropleth mapping, grid mapping, spatial ellipse mapping and kernel density mapping, are implemented in the system. The system is a rich Internet application and is entirely based on open source software, making it affordable and efficient for many small and medium-sized police departments in developing countries. Results from the prototype development demonstrate that for a Web-based crime hotspot mapping system, rich Internet application technology in combination with open source software is an effective solution.


Aim of this research article embodies the measurement of attitude of teaching faculty in Peshawar University to assess cultural impediments with reference to women employment. A sample size of 210 respondents (university male teachers with different cadres) was randomly selected through proportional allocation basis. Chi square (χ2) and Kendall's tau-b statistics were used to determine the level of association and strength and direction of relationship. Majority of the respondents i.e. 199 (94.8%) opined that illiteracy serves as barrier to women employment in Pakhtun society, family income is controlled by male in Pakhtun culture (94.3%), households men mostly decide over the spending of money earned by female (63.3%), female ratio is less as compared to men in Pakhtun society 209 (95.5%) and the utilization of savings is usually determined by male members of the family (64.3%). Moreover, at bivariate level a positive (Tb = .166) with significant relationship (P < 0.05) was discovered between female ratio is less as compared to men amongst Pakhtun with women employment. Similarly, a positive (Tb = .166) with significant relationship (P < 0.05) was discovered between undue religious injunctions serve as barrier to women paid jobs and women employment. Less number of women to men at household composition with fallacies based on poor interpretation of religious injunctions, where women has been misunderstood under the prevalent cultural shadows with little autonomy in society and economy based on strong patriarchal system, was found as major impediments to women participation in job market. Scholarly endeavors are recommended as remedial paths jointly devised by religious and cultural custodians.


Consistent relationship was not found between the serum concentrations of immunoglobulin IgM and IgG and the concentration of blood lymphocytes (Bendixen index) in 289 Holstein-Friesian heifers and cows from a dairy herd in which bovine lymphoma had been identified repeatedly. Serum IgM was present in all cattle, and those cows with highest concentrations of blood lymphocytes generally had higher levels of IgM.


This dissertation presents the history of Russian-to-Japanese translation, from the end of the Edo period to the present through descriptions of translators' lives and activities. It's specific concern focuses on the methods of translation used by the translators. It has been argued that recently a free style of easy-to-read translation has become more common, while the importance of word-for-word translation has been decreasing. These two dominant methods - word-for-word, literal and free translations - are defined after examinations of firstly, the historical distinctions of the two opposing notions, and then, the translators' preferred methods, with a goal of clarifying the processes involved in the development of free style translation. This examination covers literature and song, both of which have influenced Japanese culture. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the early history of Russian education in Japan, and describes the roles of the Russian Orthodox Church and Narodniks in establishing the foundation of Russian language and literature education. Chapter 3 deals with Futabatei Shimei's methods of translation and his work for the Genbun-itchi movement which modernized written Japanese. The chapter also reviews the activities of Futabatei's contemporaries and later generations of translators. Chapter 4 covers the leading translators who worked actively after World War II, including former POWs in Siberia. A dispute on the two translation methods is also analyzed. In Chapter 5, as a result of examinations of present-day translators' activities through interviews, I demonstrate two processes that lead to a free type of translation: the `audio source' process, which directly leads to contents-based free translation, and the `written source' process which incorporates the word-for-word, literal translation process as well as the process of assimilation to contemporary Japanese. In conclusion, the new, easy to understand free type of present-day translation usually begins with the process of word-for-word, literal translation, but the end result appears to be free style due to the tendency of present-day translators to emphasize their originality in the pursuit of assimilating the text to natural, contemporary Japanese, as style which is demanded by readers and publishers.


The Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) are often used as a wireless extension to the typical office network infrastructure providing mobility to the users. In addition Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) serve interconnection to computer and mobile phone peripherals as headsets, input devices, printers etc. Thus it is common that WLANs and WPANs have to operate in the same area. IEEE 802.11b/g is the most popular WLAN technology operating in the 2.4GHz Industrial Medical and Scientific (ISM) band. On the other hand Bluetooth (BT) is the technology often used to support WPANs. As BT also uses the 2.4GHz ISM band, there an issue of interference between WLANs and PANs. In this work the performance degradation in Wireless Local Area Networks and Wireless Local Area Networks due to coexistence is examined by real measurements. Both 802.11 to 802.11 and 802.11 to Bluetooth coexistence is addressed.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a unique tool in nanotechnology owing to their exceptional properties that offer a variety of opportunities for applications in different fields. Nevertheless, their low dispersibility in organic solvents and in aqueous media hampers their development. The functionalization of their surface allows overcoming this issue, while exploiting and tuning their properties. Thanks to their high specific surface area, multi-functionalization strategies give the possibility to conjugate several copies of different molecules to endow the nanotubes with multiple functionalities. In this context, this review wishes to focus on the preparation of multimodal CNTs designed by covalent multi-functionalization. More specifically, we describe the different approaches that have been developed to prepare multi-functionalized CNTs through double and triple covalent functionalization of the nanotube framework. We also emphasize the strategies used to control the derivatization of multi-functionalized CNTs with molecules of interest mainly via sequential or simultaneous methodologies.


Editors:  V Alers (MSc OT, BA Soc Work.) Director, Acting through Ukubuyiselwa) R Crouch (PhD OT)  Mellon Research Mentor, University of the Witwatersrand) Book Information: Publisher:  Sarah Shorten Publishers Publication Date: 2010 ISBN no:  978 0 620 46486 4 Paperback No of pages:  344 pages Price:   R380 (OTARG Website) This long-awaited book aims at giving a voice to occupational therapists from Africa.  It is the culmination of a dream of the members of the Occupational Therapy Africa Regional Group (OTARG) who, since its inception in 1966, visualised an "All African book on occupational therapy" (p16). Occupational therapists working in Africa have developed unique skills to enable them to continue delivering services, despite having to cope with abject poverty and lack of resources.  The "rich diversity of cultures, traditions and spirituality" (p17) in Africa and its influence on occupational therapy have been well described in this book, showing clearly how exciting and rewarding practising in Africa can be!  Contributors include occupational therapists practising in countries such as Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa as well as international authors, many of whom are well-recognised locally and internationally for their contributions to occupational therapy.  The book consists of three parts: Part one: Introduction.  In Chapter one, the results of a survey of therapists on OTARG's mailing list are discussed.  This chapter provides valuable insights as to the service settings in which occupational therapists work in both rural and urban areas in Africa, as well as the diversity of roles these therapists fulfil in their daily work, truly giving a voice to the occupational therapists participating in this study. Part two: The African Context. Chapters two and three highlight the impact of culture on our occupations and emphasise not only the importance of cultural competence, but also the African occupational therapists' ability to adapt to different cultures.  The impact of poverty and the African worldview on occupational therapy theory is discussed.  Chapter four describes the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in an African context of limited resources and emphasises the importance of team members such as the family and other non-traditional partners.  Case studies illustrate how each client needed the OT to work with different "team members" in a unique way to ensure the best outcome. Part three: Theory into practice Chapter five describes the impact of poverty on occupational therapy services, assisting practitioners with strategies that will enable them to make a difference to service-users, as well as providing information on resources to combat the isolation that often faces therapists working in under-serviced and –resourced areas.  Case studies illustrate different strategies to prevent the harsh effects of poverty. Chapter six provides fundamentals, illustrated by case studies, on clinical reasoning and is aptly entitled: thinking in practice.  This chapter explains the essence of clinical reasoning in simple, easily understandable language without detracting from the importance of "think[ing] carefully, evaluat[ing] the situation and decid[ing] on the most appropriate course of action" (p112). Chapter seven provides invaluable information on the construction, production and use of low-cost assistive devices, aids and adapted equipment.  Pictures and diagrams illustrate what these low-cost devices look like.  Devices for use by adults and children are described and range from toys to adaptations to the home, devices for personal management and posture.  A section on equipment donated from overseas provides pointers for safe usage thereof. Chapter eight contributes to the knowledge-base of occupational therapy based on experiences of therapists practising in Tanzania.  It describes a model of practice used in East Africa for mentally and physically challenged children.  Diagrams elucidate the text and provide information on posture, seating, personal management and low-cost toys. Chapter nine provides information on forensic occupational therapy for women and children and has a strong emphasis on the human rights of the imprisoned clients.  The chapter describes the possible role of the occupational therapist working in a forensic setting, using two examples – one from Zambia, working with mentally ill prisoners and the other from Sudan, working with the children of imprisoned mothers.  This chapter provides valuable insights into the roles of the occupational therapist providing services to these very vulnerable populations. Chapter ten describes occupational therapy with children with developmental delay.  First, an overview of the areas of development is given, after which, causes of developmental delay are discussed, followed by a discussion of occupational therapy intervention for children with physical, cognitive and social developmental difficulties. The importance of early childhood intervention to minimise the impact of disabilities from a South African perspective, is discussed in Chapter eleven.  Various challenges in early childhood intervention are described as well as considerations for intervention.  The importance of play and providing positive experiences for children with disabilities are emphasised throughout the chapter.  Pictures and a case study are used to apply the information provided in the chapter. Chapters twelve and thirteen provide valuable insights into the impact of HIV on human occupations and the role of the occupational therapist in palliative care settings in Africa.  The importance of both practice settings cannot be denied and case studies are used in both chapters to illustrate the role and value of the occupational therapist. Chapter fourteen describes the role of the occupational therapist working with trauma survivors and explains the cultural aspects of trauma in an African context, with reference to aspects such as the importance of the traditional health practitioner, bewitchment and ancestral influences in the resolution of traumatic events, stigma, etc.  Different interventions are discussed, including group work and debriefing.  The chapter ends with a section in which pointers are given on sustaining community support groups. The "vital role of occupational therapy" (p286) in psychiatry and mental health is discussed in Chapter fifteen, with reference to the prevalence of mental illness in Africa and cultural influences on mental illness, against the backdrop of poverty, lack of resources and poor service delivery (particularly in rural areas).  The impact of mental illness on occupational performance is discussed.  Case studies and pictures illustrate occupational therapy intervention with clients with mental illness, emphasising engagement in meaningful activities. Chapters sixteen and seventeen provide invaluable information about developing services and focuses on the development of a Community Based Rehabilitation programme, whereas chapter seventeen focuses on developing occupational therapy services where previously there had been no service or infrastructure.  Both these chapters will provide essential information not only to newly qualified therapists embarking on community service, but also experienced therapists developing new services in under-resourced communities and areas. This book is written in a comfortable, easily readable language and provides examples of the different occupations in which Africans engage, with emphasis on the diversity in each occupation because of culture, traditions and spirituality.  There are interesting reflections on occupational therapy theory in an African context characterised by a participative rather than individual culture and a worldview that considers the influence of the ancestors and witchcraft on the life journey of the individual and community.  Full colour pictures and monochrome diagrams on almost every page of this book illustrate not only the context in which we practise in Africa, but also the ingenuity and innovation of occupational therapists and clients in Africa.  Throughout the book, the impact of the culture and worldview of Africans as well as the impact of poverty not only on service-users, but also on the provision of services is highlighted, all the while celebrating the ingenuity and creativity of occupational therapists in and from Africa.  Whilst entire chapters are dedicated to traditional practice areas of psychiatry and paediatrics, the only limitation of this book lies in the fact that there are no chapters dedicated to  neurology and biomechanical rehabilitation in Africa.  Limited information can be gleaned from the chapter on low-cost assistive devices and equipment for the rehabilitation of physical conditions in Africa. This book provides an informative and inspiring reading experience and is bound to become a highly sought-after resource for every practitioner wanting to practise in Africa – student, occupational therapist and occupational therapy technician/assistant alike. Royalties from the sale of Occupational Therapy: An African Perspective will accrue to OTARG to be used for bursaries for African occupational therapists to attend the OTARG Congresses.  It is available via the OTARG website, as well as from selected Van Schaik bookstores and the editors.


Inverted papilloma of the urinary bladder is rare, accounting for <1% of all bladder neoplasms. Although there is general consensus that inverted papilloma is benign in nature, little is known about its pathogenesis. Some have suggested that human papillomavirus (HPV) plays an etiologic role in the development of this neoplasm. These claims have not been adequately substantiated, and there is controversy as to the role of HPV in other urinary bladder neoplasms as well. To further investigate a possible etiologic role of HPV in urothelial neoplasia, we evaluated 27 inverted papillomas of the urinary bladder for the presence of HPV. Both immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization (ISH) studies for HPV and immunohistochemical analysis for p16, a surrogate marker for HPV infection, were used to assess HPV infection status. In the urinary bladder inverted papillomas of these 27 patients (age range, 35 to 78 y; M:F ratio, 11:1), no HPV was detected by HPV immunohistochemistry or by ISH. Immunoreactivity to p16 was detected in 11/27 (41%) of the cases. Expression of p16 is seen inconsistently within these neoplasms and does not correlate with the presence of HPV antigens or genes by immunohistochemistry or ISH, respectively. Therefore, p16 is not a reliable surrogate marker for HPV infection in urothelial inverted papilloma. Our findings indicate the absence of HPV in urothelial inverted papillomas. HPV testing should not be used as a diagnostic adjunct for inverted papilloma cases.


In April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the number of visits to ambulatory care practices and was reported to have declined by nearly 60%. The extent of this decline is alarming as outpatient visits help manage chronic diseases in patients, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. This trend sparked an interest in pharmacist and student pharmacist, Dr. Cynthia Koh-Knox Sharp and Stephanie Hendricks, respectively, as it offered an opportunity to help serve the Greater Lafayette community. We created Health to the Power of You (HealthYou), which targets two of Lafayette's neglected populations: community members experiencing homelessness, and members that are 62 years and older living in section 8 housing. Our community health initiative is currently in two facilities, Fairington Apartments of Lafayette and Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, and funded by the Purdue Student Service-Learning Program for Community Service Grant. Student pharmacists conduct weekly home visits and document trends in blood pressure, blood sugars, and blood oxygen levels, as well as facilitate a tobacco cessation program. Additionally, residents are provided health education from a list of 15 health topics, where they select up to three topics to learn over the course of nine weeks. These include, but are not limited to, education on their medications and disease states, vaccines, nutrition, prescription medication insurance, and current events such as COVID-19. Since inception, the program has offered student pharmacists the chance to bridge gaps in transitions of care, assist in the decline of outpatient visits, practice patient-friendly terminology, and motivate patients to take responsibility of their own health. Through this community health initiative, we are mentoring student pharmacists and empowering members of the community to become their biggest healthcare advocates through patient-care services and education.


Groundwater metal pollution is a major concern for societies, especially in areas where the mining industry is important. Index-based techniques, as the DRASTIC index, are often used to assess the intrinsic groundwater vulnerability and could be modified to evaluate the aquifer vulnerability to specific contaminants. Mines, mining wastes and related features are detectable with remote sensing techniques. In this work we evaluate the vulnerability of the Rio Sonora Aquifer to metallic pollution by the traditional DRASTIC method and by the addition of a land use (Lu) parameter in which possible sources of metals (detected by remote sensing) were considered (DRASTIC+Lu). The methodology allowed us to locate possible sources of metallic contamination. The Sonora River channel showed the higher vulnerability in both calculated vulnerability indices (DRASTIC and DRASTIC+Lu). Generally, the addition of the land use parameter caused a decrease in vulnerability but also a local increase where possible sources of metals were found. Thus, the modified method facilitated the identification of highly vulnerable areas which is relevant to better protect the studied aquifer.


The current research is aimed at studying the relationship between trait anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty, with its both facets: the inhibitory and the prospective anxiety and to establish whether or not the general self-efficacy plays a mediating role between the trait-anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty. Results show that a partial mediation takes part when general self-efficacy mediates the relationship between the intolerance of uncertainty, inhibitory anxiety, but a limited mediation when general selfefficacy interferes in the relationship between the trait-anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty, perspective anxiety. The main benefit of this paper is to demystify the impact of self-efficacy especially in unexpected, unknown situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.


Byron was a best-selling poet and a celebrity with a notorious reputation. This article seeks to examine how his public image and private person were related, the part clothing played in the projection of his public image, and the degree of control he exerted over his body and his self-image. The article examines a number of sources relating to Lord Byron — his journals and letters, his poetry and public output, biographies, bills and accounts, paintings and illustrations, and the surviving clothing associated with the poet. From these a clothing narrative of the poet's early life, up until the time of his departure for Europe in 1816, can be constructed and examined in relation to the fashions of his era and the idiosyncrasies of the poet. Some of the surviving clothes are examined for their cut and construction and discussed in relation to others of the period. A companion article, dealing with his life abroad until the time of his death in 1824, will follow at a later date.


The 30 years of planned economy that followed the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 brought a great deal of institutional support to the development of health care at the time. This chapter discusses the developments and changes within the field of Chinese reproductive health over the past 30 years. It intends to provide an overview of the major events in China's health care reforms (HCR) history, key choices that have been made and their influence on society. By taking as an example maternal and child health (MCH), the chapter gives a picture of the impact and change in attitude introduced by HCR in regards to reproductive health. Finally, it concludes that the health care reforms will find their right path to both suit China's current characteristics and promote its future health development. Keywords: China; health care reforms (HCR); maternal and child health (MCH); reproductive health


Environmental conditions in semi-arid areas limit the productivity of forage species used in animal feed; however, corn (Zea mays L.) has a wide adaptation to different environmental conditions of temperature, precipitation, altitude, soil, among others. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the yield and morphological composition of ten native corn genotypes, a hybrid and a synthetic variety, during the cycle Spring-Summer 2017. A randomized complete block experimental design was used, and an analysis of variance was performed; the means of the treatments were compared with the Tukey test. The variables evaluated were: yield of total dry matter (TDM), and by morphological component: leaf (lDM), stem (sDM), ear (eDM), panicle (pDM) and dead matter (dmDM), plant height (PH), number of leaves (NL), leaf length (LL), leaf width (LW) and the leaf/stem ratio (L/S). The highest and lowest TDM yield was obtained by the Raton×Tuxpeño Norteño genotype and the A6-069-B hybrid, with 8 888 and 3 113 kg DM ha, respectively. The highest height (180 cm) was obtained by the genotypes Raton×Tuxpeño Norteño and Olotillo×Tuxpeño. The largest number of leaves number was presented by the genotype Tuxpeño Norteño×Olotillo with 11.6. The largest leaf:stem ratio (2.1) was in the synthetic variety Breve Padilla. More research is needed on the improvement by recurrent selection of the Raton×Tuxpeño Norteño genotype to obtain a higher yield and nutritional value in corn fodder.


Though the cerium ternary phases CeNiGa2 and Ce2Ni2Ga are known since many years [1, 2], their magnetic behaviour has been studied in the past only down to 78 K [1, 3]. This paper describes for the first time the low-temperature magnetic properties of both materials. Polycrystalline samples of LaΝiGa 2 , CeNiGa2 and Ce 2Ni2Ga were prepared by arc-melting the constituent elements in an argon atmosphere and subsequent annealing in vacuum at 6500C for two weeks. The ingots were examined by X-ray powder diffraction and found to be single phases. Magnetic measurements were carried out in the temperature interval 1.7-300 h (4.2-800K for Ce2Ni2Ga) and magnetic flelds np to 50 kOe using a Quantum Design MΡMS-5 SQUID magnetometer. The electrical resistivity was measured in the range 4.5-300 K by conventional dc four-probe technique. In Fig. 1 the temperature variation of the magnetic snsceptibility of LaΝiGa2 and CeNiGa2 is shown. As the La-based componnd is a Pauli paramagnet, the magnetism in CeΝiGa 2 is apparently due to the cerium atoms only. Above 100 K the susceptibility of this gallide can be well described by the Curie-Weiss law with the effective magnetic moment of 2.55B and the paramagnetic Curie temperature of 44 K. The pronounced deviation of χ(T) from this law, observed at lower temperatures, probably originates from crystal field interactions. The experimental value


Diiodinated carbocycles and oxygen heterocycles can be readily synthesized by electrophilic carbocyclization of aryl propargylic alcohols in moderate to good yields under mild conditions. The resulting diiodide can be further exploited by subsequent oxidizing and coupling reactions. Both the iodine anion and cation generated from I(2) are used effectively. The presence of a trace amount of water is essential for this electrophilic cyclization.


Background Achieving a low DAS28 (disease activity score) of less than 3.2, is a common treatment goal for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). In clinics however, despite efforts, some patients still fail to reach treatment goals due to various barriers. Given the relatively high average disease activity level in the UAE with an average DAS28 of 4.3 (1), better understanding the barriers that exist in local clinics may yield novel information regarding how to better treat RA in the future. Objectives This study aims to better understand the factors that affect low disease activity (DAS28<3.2, LDA) and barriers in the UAE and propose a future course of action in order to improve the treatment of RA within the region. Methods Data was collected through chart reviews of 182 consecutive RA patients who were seen in a private clinic in Dubai over a 2-month period. Demographic/treatment data and DAS28 scores were collected. Patients were separated into a LDA group and a group comprised of moderate (DAS28 >3.2 and <5.1) and high disease activity (DAS 28 >5.1) (MHDA). We then examined variables that may be associated with LDA and re-examined the MHDA group for barriers such as irreversible joint damage, inability to pay for treatment, resistant disease, patient driven preferences, safety concerns and comorbidities. Results While 97 (53%) of the 182 patients had achieved the treatment target of DAS 28 <3.2, 21 (11.50%) had high disease activity and 64 (35%) had moderate disease activity. No substantial difference was found in delay to diagnosis, past methotrexate use, or rheumatoid factor or anti-CCP status between the LDA and MHDA group (Table 1). However, a significantly larger portion of LDA patients had been previously treated with sulfasalazine, SSA, (36 in LDA vs 14 in MHDA, P0.002) or were presently on biological treatments (24 vs 9, P0.013). For the 85 MHDA patients, 40 (22% of 182) exhibited resistant disease with 25 (13.7% of 182) failing their current first tier disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) treatment or combinations and 15 (8.2% of 182) failing current anti-TNF or biologic treatment. Notably 16 of the 25 failing DMARD treatment (40%) did not change treatment plans due to insufficient insurance. Other notable barriers were patient driven preferences (20%), non-inflammatory musculoskeletal pain (9%), and safety concerns (7%). Conclusions Over half the patients achieved the DAS28 LDA target. Factors that significantly influenced LDA were prior SSA use and current biological therapy. Among those who did not achieve target (MHDA), the most prominent barriers included resistant disease (47%) and patient driven preferences (20%). Reasons listed for resistant disease and patient-driven preference were primarily socio-economic with 40% of the resistant disease group unable to afford biological drugs and 59% of the patient-driven preference group discontinuing or refusing DMARDs against professional advice. Going forward, better educating patients on the proper use of anti-rheumatic drugs could help reduce the percentage of MHDA patients in the UAE. In addition, a longitudinal study that examines the results of treating the resistant disease group with biologicals would be of key interest. References Sokka T et al. (2009) Women, men, and rheumatoid arthritis: analyses of disease activity, disease characteristics, and treatments in the QUEST-RA study. Arthritis Res Ther 11: R7. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4275


Conceptual modelling of nodding syndrome (NS) has hardly been considered in most scientific literature although symptoms of the disease has been widely studied. A conceptual model is a representation of hypothesis about a system under investigation and enables a comparison between hypothesis and data. Since nodding syndrome is an unexplained neurological illness that mainly affects children aged between 5 to 15 years, without specific diagnosis and treatment, the aetiology remains unknown and under investigation, conceptual modelling may be a crucial ingredient in understanding the disease. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the study is therefore, to represent nodding syndrome occurrence and immune-pathogenic pathways in the causation of nodding syndrome using system dynamics approaches. Methodology: We have used systematic review method to filter literature on nodding syndrome from the year. We also used Systems Dynamic Approach and we emphasized confirmed scientific investigation to enable the relationships conform to reality. Vensim software was preferred for implementation of the casual-loop diagrams. Microsoft Office Visio 2007 was identified as suitable for implementation of the sequence conceptual model of nodding syndrome for its ability to show interactions between electrolytes and other actors. Findings: Our findings were that system dynamics approach has not been used research of nodding syndrome. More so, conceptual modeling were not considered by most articles.


To understand the role of medically significant hemodynamic wall parameters in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases, pulsatile blood flow in large human arteries of systemic, pulmonary and coronary circulation is investigated by mathematical modelling. To be medically realistic, the pressure gradient waveforms reported in the cardiology literature for the arteries considered are digitised and developed in Fourier series (McDonald's model). Three objectives of the article are to (i) compare qualitatively and quantitatively the pulsatile blood flow between the parallel plate and circular geometry, (ii) compare the hemodynamic wall parameters in the three major circulations mentioned above to gain new medical or physiological insights and (iii) understand if slip at the wall has significant influence on the hemodynamic wall parameters. Our model is reliable since the results obtained here through exact solutions are in great agreement with those reported in the medical literature. New insights gained from our study, documented here for the first time in the hemodynamic literature, are as follows: parallel plate geometry approximation is not reliable quantitatively; larger the radius (Womersley number), larger is the value of relative residence time and hence, higher the probability for vascular diseases; none of the commonly employed interface conditions are suitable for the hemodynamic studies. Comparing our results with earlier studies, we recommend that future research should focus on developing an interface condition exclusively for haemodynamics. We support the recent understanding that low wall shear stress and high oscillatory shear index need not co-locate. We have rendered new physiological insight for this result.


2s electron single photoionization, shake-up and shake-down cross sections and asymmetry parameters are calculated for Na atoms in the ground and excited 3p, 3d, 4s, 4p, 4d and 4f states. The relaxed orbital single-configuration Hartree-Fock approximation is used. A strong dependence of calculated cross sections on the atomic orbit that the valence electron occupies is found.


Children's engagement with blocks is a vital and joyful aspect of childhood shared across the world. While the physical manipulation of blocks is a core part of children's development (i.e., LEGO), there are also online platforms and apps available that provide virtual play experiences with blocks (i.e., digital building apps, virtual worlds). The open-ended nature of block play allows children to explore their creativity, experiment with different designs, and learn from trial and error. Furthermore, this type of play promotes imagination, encourages independent thinking, and enhances communication and collaboration as children engage in shared building experiences. The hands-on and interactive nature of block play also enables researchers to utilise this medium with children to learn about their perceptions and experiences in a participatory and active way. On a different front, blocks can also refer to different forms of stopping, including lies.
Due to the wide variety of excellent responses to the initial call for papers focussing on 'toys', this issue complements the previous 'toys' issue by focussing further on children's engagement with play forms and artefacts, specifically blocks (both physical and digital).
The editorial team drew on a range of complementary knowledge and experience to put together the 'blocks' issue. Louise Kay was a key researcher within the EU-funded MakEY – Makerspaces in the Early Years: Enhancing Digital Literacy and Creativity project. She is currently working on the Maker{Futures} project at the University of Sheffield, which supports schools, museums, libraries, and community spaces to set up makerspaces, providing playful and creative ways to develop digital and STEM skills through a STEAM approach that integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with the arts.
Lelia Green is a Chief Investigator in the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, and lead CI (after Donell Holloway's retirement) on the ARC Discovery Project DP180103922 – The Internet of Toys: Benefits and Risks of Connected Toys for Children. For Lelia, the 'blocks' issue raises matters of concern that might, could, or (possibly) should raise issues around consent, ethics, and children's data flows. Essentially, the questions asked by this 'blocks' collection include whether the balance of risk and benefit relating to certain toys might give parents cause to pause, blocking access to some younger children's (under 13) engagement with connected toys.
Tama Leaver brought critical analysis to the table, informed by his Chief Investigator (CI) role within the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. In addition, Tama's personal interest in LEGO is shared with his children, and they collaborated on the cover image for this issue.
In our feature article "The Toy Brick as a Communicative Device for Amplifying Children's Voices in Research", Kylie Stevenson, Emma Jayakumar, and Harrison See document the use of the LEGO brick toy as part of participatory play-based methods in the research project Digital Safety and Citizenship Roundtables, conducted with industry-partner the LEGO Group, Edith Cowan University, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. The use of multiple play-based, child-friendly participatory methods is explored, and how children's views about digital safety and citizenship in India, Korea, and Australia were collected and conveyed. The article explains how such toy play is an empowering communicative strategy that gives children agency so that they can creatively interject their voices into ongoing discussions about children's digital citizenship.
In "Platform Rhetoric and Fan Labour as the Building Blocks of LEGO Ideas", Travis Holland and Beck Wise examine the LEGO Ideas platform and its Guidelines as ways of positioning and constructing the relationship between the LEGO Group and fan builders, especially adult fans of LEGO. The combined infrastructures of the Ideas platform and other LEGO online properties is argued to provide the LEGO group with significant data about LEGO fans and users that the LEGO group can exploit commercially. Aligned with many studies of fan cultures, Holland and Wise see fan labour and the infrastructures around it as extracting commercial value from fans, even while fans take pleasure in this labour.
Along similar lines, in "LEGO and the Infrastructural Limits of Open Play" Nick Taylor explores the impact of the LEGO Group buying the Bricklink Website and platform, housing the largest LEGO adult fan community and their significant aftermarket trade of LEGO bricks, parts, and minifigs. Taylor argues that the LEGO Group is exercising a form of platform logic whereby it can utilise this digital infrastructure to impose and police ideological boundaries of what LEGO's values are, and how these values should be enacted in both official and fan spaces. While the patents that protect LEGO's monopoly on interlocking bricks have long since expired, purchasing Bricklink has solidified the LEGO Group's material and digital reach, reifying the point that "LEGO encourages connection, openness, and creativity—so long as we use its platform, and its platform exclusively, to do so".
Gemma Blackwood in "Roblox and Meta Verch: A Case Study of Walmart's Roblox Games" examines the two Walmart Roblox games (Walmart Land and Walmart Universe of Play) through an analysis of their gameplay, focussing on the ways that both games are incentivising play and how they link to in-game purchases and the Walmart brand. She argues that the games are designed to link gameplay with a highly personalised shopping experience, which blurs the boundaries between games and branded advertising. Issues are raised that link to broader debates regarding the commodification of, and impact on, children's gaming experiences.
Finally, Jo Ann Oravec's article "Promoting Honesty in Children, or Fostering Pathological Behavior? Emerging Varieties of Lie Detection Toys and Games" problematises the process which constructs lie detector technology as the stuff of children's games. Noting that these toys typically use physiological cues that regulate human responses to stress – generally beyond conscious control – the article asks about the ethics of children learning to lie. It speculates that such lie detector 'play' might be constructed as teaching children to lie more effectively. Are children learning to block their stress symptoms, or might parents and children choose instead to block out the possibility that such games are appropriate 'child's play'? Whether blocking stress, or blocking as lying, this article wraps this issue with a novel exploration of blocks.
Acknowledgments
The work on this special issue was partially supported by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council. Professor Lelia Green and Dr Louise Kay (together with Professors Bieke Zaman and Giovanna Mascheroni) were Investigators on the ARC Discovery Project DP180103922 – The Internet of Toys: Benefits and Risks of Connected Toys for Children (2018-22), and they acknowledge Dr Donell Holloway's past leadership of this grant. Professors Tama Leaver and Lelia Green are both Chief Investigators in the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child (CE200100022), which is led by QUT and also involves Curtin University, Deakin University, Edith Cowan University, University of Queensland, and University of Wollongong. The Centre of Excellence is funded through to the end of 2027. Tama would also like to thank his children for their input in to the design of the cover photo, and for letting their Lego figures be part of it!


Five sweet corn cultivars were evaluated for tolerance to bentazon in five field experiments conducted during 2 yr in Ontario. Bentazon was applied postemergence (POST) at 1.08 and 2.16 kg ai/ha, the highest registered rate and twice the highest registered rate, respectively, used in sweet corn in Ontario. When bentazon was applied POST at 1.08 and 2.16 kg/ha to sweet corn cultivar 'DelMonte 2038', injury included plant stunting and leaf damage ranging from 6 to 69% and 15 to 90%, respectively. Plant height was reduced to 48 and 100% of the untreated check when treated with bentazon at 1.08 and 2.16 kg/ha, respectively. The visual injury and height reductions were reflected in the marketable yields, which were reduced to 94% when treated with bentazon. Significant reductions in height and marketable yield were not observed in the other four cultivars tested. No correlation was observed between bentazon sensitivity and endosperm genotype. Based on visual injury ratings, sweet corn height, and marketable yield, it was concluded that 'Calico Belle', 'GH 2684', 'Reveille', and 'Rival' are tolerant to POST application of bentazon. Nomenclature: Bentazon; sweet corn, Zea mays L. 'Calico Belle', 'DelMonte 2038', 'GH 2684', 'Reveille', 'Rival'. Additional index words: Cultivar tolerance, herbicide injury, photosystem II–inhibiting herbicide. Abbreviations: DAT, days after treatment; POST, postemergence.


Abstract This article looks at ways of using Web-based language learning (WBLL) activities and reports the results of a WBLL project that developed a Web site as a supplementary resource for teaching English as a second language (ESL) and tested the Web site with a group of students in an ESL context. The Web site provides WBLL session plans for ESL teachers, containing three types of WBLL activities: pre-created Web activities for grammar, vocabulary, reading and listening; task-based Web activities that require students to use the Web to produce certain outcomes; and teacher-made Web activities. Participants in WBLL sessions using the Web site showed positive attitudes toward WBLL and expressed the view that they would like to use more Web activities during and outside class time.


During the operation of high-energy accelerators, the interaction of radiation with matter can lead to the activation of the machine components and of the surrounding infrastructures. As a result of maintenance operation and during decommissioning of the installation, considerable amounts of radioactive waste are evacuated and shall be managed according to the radiation-protection legislation. This paper gives an overview of the current practices in radioactive waste management and decommissioning of accelerators.


Background: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common musculoskeletal disorder in newborns and also one of the most common causes of hip arthritis in women. Many topics concerning DDH still remain controversial, and the global research trend in this field has not been well-studied yet. The aim of the present study was to illustrate the overall knowledge structure, development trends, and research hotspots of DDH. Methods: The publications related to DDH from 1998 to 2020 were identified from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). Three bibliometric tools were used to conduct visualization and knowledge maps. Annual trends of publications, contributions of countries, institutions, authors, funding agencies and journals, and clustering of keywords were analyzed. Results: A total of 2,691 publications were included. The annual number of DDH publications showed an increasing trend worldwide. The United States has made the greatest contribution, with the largest number of publications and the highest H-index. The most prolific institutions were Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Shriners Hospital for Children. Professors Tönnis D, Harris WH, Crowe JF, Graf R, and Salter RB have made great achievements in this field. However, the collaboration between international institutions or researchers was relatively low and mainly conducted in European and American countries. All the keywords could be divided into five clusters: hip osteoarthritis study, hip replacement study, hip ultrasound study, osteotomy surgery study, and etiology study. A trend of balanced and diversified development existed in these clusters. Keywords with the ongoing bursts, including clinical outcome, risk factor, femoroacetabular impingement, predictor, arthroscopy, morphology, and anteversion may continue to be the research hotspots in the near future. Conclusions: There will be an increasing number of publications on DDH research, and the United States stay ahead in this field. International collaboration needs to be further strengthened. The information can provide helpful references for researchers to explore hot issues or target a specific field of DDH.


Introduction: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a major complication of diabetes worldwide. Diabetic condition can be also complicated by diabetic dyslipidemia. The prevalence of CKD Cameroon, Africa or in other parts of the world of diabetics is not clearly estimated but, some studies tried to estimate prevalences in local areas or isolated zones. In addition, assessment of both prevelances of CKD and diabetic dyslipidaemia are not well documented. The present study is aimed at estimating the prevalence of CKD and diabetic dyslipidaemia in diabetic patients in Buea, Cameroon. Methodology: This was a cross-section study conducted at the diabetic clinic of Buea Regional Hospital and the Lambe Foundation for diabetes and hypertension in Buea, South-West Region of Cameroon. Result and discussion: Out of 120 diabetics enrolled, 63.33% were females. 53.33% were hypertensive, 74.16% overweight and obese and, 32.50% presented real obesity. The mean of eGFR was 92.76 ml/min/1.73m2 and, woman presented the lower value (89.55±43.49ml/min/1.73m2) compared to men (98.37±87.43 ml/min/1.73m2) (X2= 0.107; P = 0.466). The prevalence of CKD was 70.83% and the stage 2 was the high prevalent (36.60%). 20.83% presented CKD from stage 3 to 5. The prevalence of micro-albuminuria was 30% and macro-albuminuria was prevalent at 3.33%. Diabetic dyslipidaemia affected about half of the study population with a prevalence of 48.9%. The co-affection micro-albuminuria and diabetic dyslipidaemia was observed in 16.66% of the population individuals, against 2.50% for the co-affection macro-albuminuria and diabetic dyslipidaemia. The prevalence of diabetic dyslipidaemia among diabetic with CKD was 39.16% (X2=0.118). Conclusion: This study shown the high prevalence of CKD in diabetics and, was the first to assess the prevalences of both CKD and diabetic dyslipidaemia in diabetic Cameroonians. The findings advice on the assessment of the complications of diabetes in Cameroon in order to estimate, in more large population, risk factors and pattern of diabetic dyslipidaemia and CKD in diabetic Cameroonian


Immersed in notions of modernity and tradition, this dissertation will offer an insight into the transformations and tensions that arose as Australia evolved into a modern nation. By using the Vaucluse House Tearooms as a springboard, it will present an argument surrounding the interactions between the two concepts through the unique lens of afternoon tea. In doing so, the author contends that despite tensions between modern and traditional ideals, both concepts co-exist, shattering the notion that contemporary societies 'weaken' tradition (Gross 1992). Furthermore, this paper draws upon the work of Dugalic (2011) in suggesting that although the nature of afternoon tea is inherently traditional, it could be seen that Vaucluse House Tearooms have transformed this concept over time in order to create better relevance in contemporary society. This has led to the site's core enterprises incorporating modern functions and a variety of foreign tea. Ultimately, it will argue that an understanding of contemporary society enables Vaucluse House Tearooms to embrace and harness modernity, which in fact, preserves and reinvigorates traditions. This will seek to demonstrate how contemporary society is structured and progressed through the fusion of both tradition and modern frameworks (Dugalic, p. 1) and promote a deeper meaning to the Tearoom's complex, and enriched history.


Different connective tissue diseases (CTDs), such as dermatomyositis, mixed CTD, rheumatoid arthritis, polymyositis, lupus, and Behçet's, may affect the esophagus, impairing its motor function. The muscular atrophy and fibrosis caused by the autoimmune vasculitis and neuronal dysfunction affect the esophageal body and the lower esophageal sphincter, leading to a clinical presentation of dysphagia and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The belief that the impaired esophageal motility may negatively affect surgical outcome has led to the common recommendation of avoiding laparoscopic antireflux surgery (LARS) for fear of creating or worsening dysphagia. This review focuses on the evaluation of the outcome of LARS in patients with CTD. Specifically, this review shows that the literature on LARS and CTDs is scarce and most studies have a small number of patients and a short follow-up. Furthermore, a subanalysis of the outcome based on the type of CTD or the manometric profile is still elusive. In the setting of these limitations, it appears that results are good and comparable to those of patients with GERD and without a CTD. Morbidity and mortality are insignificant even considering the systemic manifestations of the CTD. LARS should not be denied to patients with CTD and GERD.


Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol (TRIS) were investigated by electron impact ionization and low energy electron attachment. Both compounds are components of biological buffers and often are used as DNA stabilizers in irradiation studies. hus it is of a great importance to understand their potential interactions with radiation. Our results revealed that at least one of them, EDTA, may influence the experimental outcomes by O− and OH− production upon electron attachment.


This book puts the spotlight on how a real-time kernel works using Micriums C/OS-III as a reference. The book consists of two complete parts. The first describes real-time kernels in generic terms. Part II provide examples for the reader, using Texas Instruments EVM-EVALBOT, a small, robotic evaluation board. The board is based on the Stellaris LM3S9B92 which combines the popular ARM Cortex-M3 architecture with Ethernet MAC+PHY, USB OTG (On-The-Go), and I2S. Together with the IAR Systems Embedded Workbench for ARM development tools, the evaluation board provides everything necessary to enable the reader to be up and running quickly, as well as a fun and educational experience, resulting in a high-level of proficiency in a short time. This book is written for serious embedded systems programmers, consultants, hobbyists, and students interested in understanding the inner workings of a real-time kernel. C/OS-III is not just a great learning platform, but also a full commercial-grade software package, ready to be part of a wide range of products. C/OS-III is a highly portable, ROMable, scalable, preemptive real-time, multitasking kernel designed specifically to address the demanding requirements of todays embedded systems. C/OS-III is the successor to the highly popular C/OS-II real-time kernel but can use most of C/OS-IIs ports with minor modifications. Some of the features of C/OS-III are: Preemptive multitasking with round-robin scheduling of tasks at the same priority Supports and unlimited number of tasks and other kernel objects Rich set of services: semaphores, mutual exclusion semaphores with full priority inheritance, event flags, message queues, timers, fixed-size memory block management, and more. Built-in performance measurements


Abstract I argue for the theological plausibility of reading contemporary environmental concern as a response to the prophetic voices of nonhuman nature, and in that sense as a movement of the Holy Spirit. The literature on pneumatology and the environment tends to concentrate either on the Spirit's role in creation (and the continuities between creation and new creation) or on the ecclesial location of the Spirit's transformation of material reality. While these approaches are sound and necessary, neither appears fully to address the specific theological challenge of the contemporary environmental movement and of contemporary environmental stress, as a historical moment between humanity and nonhuman nature. Pneumatology needs to take account of the specific ways in which the environment becomes an issue for theology and society, and of the historical 'discernment of spirits' involved in Christian and theological responses to the environmental crisis. In an attempt to address this need, I take up the now well-developed theological claim that nonhuman nature is a subject, rather than the backdrop of salvation-history, and develop it in relation to the idea that prophecy as the work of the Spirit both reveals and realises God's history with creation. I draw on Eugene Rogers' approach to pneumatology by exploring the non-identical repetitions of pneumatology's paradigmatic narratives, but, going beyond Rogers, I trace these repetitions in nonhuman and extra-ecclesial realities – in 'the environment'. The main paradigmatic pneumatological narratives considered in this article are those related to prophecy, and in particular to the miraculous extension of gifts of speech and hearing; rereading these narratives in the contemporary environmental crisis leads to an account of how the 'voices' of nonhuman nature are heard as prophetic speech that summons response. In a final section, I turn to another paradigmatic pneumatological narrative – that of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness – and propose, in dialogue with Donald MacKinnon and others, that it offers a starting-point for theological responses to the experience of despair, loss and failure in the context of environmental concern.


Several rehabilitation approaches have shown that robot-assisted therapy (robot-AT) can improve the quality of upper limb movements in children with cerebral palsy (CP). However, there is still no method for assessing upper limb motor function impairment using a combination of surface electromyography (sEMG) and inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors. The aim of this study was to develop a functional ability model to assess the effectiveness of robot-AT on improving upper limb function in children with CP. Fifteen healthy children and fifteen children with CP were included in this study. Children with CP performed eighteen robot-AT sessions and were evaluated twice, using EMG and three-axis IMU readings from accelerometer (IMU-ACC). Principal component analysis and the RELIEFF algorithm were used for dimensionality reduction of the feature space. The classification was performed by using support vector machines, linear discriminant analysis, and random forest. The proposed assessment method was evaluated by using leave-one-out cross validation. With this approach, it was possible to differentiate between healthy children and children with CP pre-robot-AT and post-robot-AT with an overall accuracy of 97.56%. This study suggests that there is potential for modeling the assessment of the upper limb motor function impairment in children with CP using sEMG and IMU-ACC sensors.


This paper addresses channel assignment and random medium access design for single-radio multi-channel mesh networks. Two prior approaches include: (i) designing MAC protocols that dynamically select channels based on local information and (ii) partitioning the mesh into subnetworks with different channels and using 802.11 as the medium access protocol. Both of these approaches suffer from limited throughput improvement; the first approach due to wrong or incomplete channel state information that inherently arises in a multi-hop wireless environment, while the second approach due to high interference within each subnetwork. In this paper, we first introduce D1C-CA, Distance-1 Constrained Channel Assignment. D1C-CA statically assigns channels to a set of links as a function of physical connectivity, contention, and the unique gateway functionality of mesh networks, i.e, all Internet (non-local) traffic has a gateway node as its source or destination. To design D1C-CA, we model the channel assignment problem as a new form of graph edge coloring in which edges at distance one are constrained. We prove that the problem is NP-complete and design an efficient heuristic solution for mesh networks. Second, we design an asynchronous control-channel-based MAC protocol that solves multi-channel coordination problems and employs the proposed channel assignment algorithm. Finally, we investigate the performance of our approach through extensive simulations and show considerable performance improvements compared to alternate schemes.


I was called recently to a patient who had collapsed in the carpark after church. This is a good place to collapse, implying a previous life of probity and devotion.

The bystanders are likely to be helpful. Collapsing outside a bar late at night, by contrast, you are unlikely to get a lift home from a friendly drug dealer; a better class of people attend church, although they may be more fastidious about mouth to mouth—perhaps not a bad thing. The doctor also feels more obliged to attend; there is something deserving about a church carpark. This collapse, we infer, is unrelated to debauchery.

I drove out at once, but some dogooder had already taken the patient to the surgery. And, returning to the surgery, I found, with a certain fatal satisfaction, that the entourage had inevitably returned to the church.

Eventually, a few laps later, I hounded the patient to earth. Invigorated by the chase, she was at first unwilling to accept cardiac pulmonary resuscitation, but a crowd had gathered and, as Pierre said in War and Peace, the common good is the only kind there is. Pleasing the mob always comes first, and saying all was fine would have been inconsiderately detumescent; doing nothing was too hard a proposition, the power was intoxicating, put a beggar on horseback and he'll ride to hell.

So, instead a symphony; excited oohs as I whip out the shock blanket like a magician's rabbit; somebody shouting, "Don't move her!" (because the conventions must be observed); the triumphant clash of the defib paddles as I flourish them theatrically on high; the patient's futile protests, "I'm fine, no really I am, really"; the crowd moaning and crooning and swaying with pleasure until the ambulance arrives, rabbits transfixed by the weasel's dance.

I accepted the plaudits modestly, mindful of La Rochefoucauld's maxim, "To refuse praise is to be praised twice." And as I led her up the steps into the ambulance, its interior lambent like a little piece of heaven, a ghostly Roman slave appeared at my elbow, whispering, "Remember thou art mortal, remember . . ." And I said, "Who the hell are you?"

The patient infarcted and died in the ambulance.

[Any resemblance to patients living or dead is entirely coincidental]


Mycosphaerella leaf disease (MLD) is a pathogen of eucalypt plantations causing leaf spots and defoliation, and affecting growth. In this study, two different dosages of nitrogen fertilisation together with a control treatment currently used for two clones being affected by MLD (C18 and C25) of Eucalyptus dunnii were tested. We measured root collar diameter (D) and height (H), and assessed disease severity in the apical, middle and basal portions of the crown at planting, three months after planting and five months after planting, and determined the Area Under Disease Curve Progress at the end of the study, for the following fertilisation treatments: reduced dosage 22.0 kg ha−1 of NH4NO3; control dosage 44.0 kg ha−1 of NH4NO3; and increased dosage 66.0 kg ha−1 of NH4NO3. We added 133.4 kg ha−1 of P2O5 and 28.0 kg ha−1 of KCl to each treatment. MLD severity was higher in the basal portion of the crown. Only for C18 did the control dosage and the increased dosage promote growth in root collar diameter and reduce MLD severity, respectively. For C25 there were no differences for the variables across the fertilisation treatments. For C18 correlation analysis indicated that increased nitrogen dosage reduced MLD severity (r = 0.83; p < 0.01). In conclusion, improved nitrogen fertilisation proved to be effective to reduce severity, but differences were observed between clones and fertilisation.


We propose an image steganographic algorithm called EncryptGAN, which disguises private image communication in an open communication channel. The insight is that content transform between two very different domains (e.g., face to flower) allows one to hide image messages in one domain (face) and communicate using its counterpart in another domain (flower). The key ingredient in our method, unlike related approaches, is a specially trained network to extract transformed images from both domains and use them as the public and private keys. We ensure the image communication remain secret except for the intended recipient even when the content transformation networks are exposed.
To communicate, one directly pastes the `message' image onto a larger public key image (face). Depending on the location and content of the message image, the `disguise' image (flower) alters its appearance and shape while maintaining its overall objectiveness (flower). The recipient decodes the alternated image to uncover the original image message using its message image key. We implement the entire procedure as a constrained Cycle-GAN, where the public and the private key generating network is used as an additional constraint to the cycle consistency. Comprehensive experimental results show our EncryptGAN outperforms the state-of-arts in terms of both encryption and security measures.


Head positioning systems of hard disk drives (HDDs) often have mechanical resonant modes above the Nyquist frequency. Suppressing the openloop gain of these modes is a complicated trade off issue in mechanical/control design. Criteria of the openloop gain above the Nyquist frequency is obtained based on frequency response analysis for multi-rate sampled system using frequency response matrix. Examples of designing controller for HDD simulation models show the method is helpful to deal with the trade-off issue.


Supply chains are real-world systems that transform raw materials and resources into end-products that are consumed by customers. Supply chains encompass a series of steps that add value through time, place and material transformation. Each manufacturer or distributor has some subset of the supply chain that it must manage and run profitably and efficiently to survive and grow. Decisions about how to plan a company's supply-chain operations can be operational, tactical or strategic. Strategic decisions are the most far-reaching and difficult decisions to make. These decisions are characterized by complexity, interdependence and uncertainty. Simulation and optimization modeling techniques are used to help make supply-chain strategic decisions. The "four-step methodology" (network optimization, network simulation, policy optimization, and design for robustness) is a proposed approach to supply-chain strategic planning that attempts to leverage the strength of multiple modeling techniques. Each step solves a different part of the master planning problem, using either optimization, simulation or simulation-optimization. By using complementary modeling approaches together in the four-step methodology, the supply-chain planner's activities and decisions can be greatly improved.


OBJECTIVES
Spontaneous breathing has been shown to improve global haemodynamics in patients with bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt. What has not been evaluated, however, is the effect of spontaneous breathing on the distribution of cardiac output after bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt. We investigated the effects of extubation on systemic haemodynamics and regional tissue oxygen saturation, and determined whether redistribution of cardiac output is present after extubation in these patients.

METHODS
In 24 patients undergoing bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt, standard haemodynamic variables including heart rate, arterial blood pressure and central venous pressure were monitored continuously. Near-infrared spectroscopy of the brain and mesenteric circulation was monitored and recorded every hour. Cardiac index, derived from ascending aorta flow, was measured by ultrasound at three time points: 30 min before, 30 min after and 12 h after extubation.

RESULTS
The central venous pressure decreased significantly from 19.50 ± 3.65 mmHg before extubation to 16.17 ± 3.41 mmHg 30 min after extubation (P = 0.006) and 13.96 ± 2.49 mmHg 12 h after extubation (P = 0.001). Cardiac index increased significantly from 3.32 ± 0.43 l/min/m(2) before extubation to 3.73 ± 0.51 l/min/m(2) 30 min after extubation (P = 0.012) and 3.98 ± 0.54 l/min/m(2) 12 h after extubation (P = 0.001). Cerebral oxygen saturation increased from 50.83 ± 5.84% before extubation to 56.79 ± 8.64% 30 min after extubation (P = 0.023), then remained unchanged for the following 12 h. Mesenteric oxygen saturation remained unchanged during the early period of extubation, but increased significantly 12 h after extubation (P = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS
The lower values of cerebral oxygen saturation before extubation indicated that the cerebral blood flow was less satisfactory. During the early period of extubation, despite the increase in cardiac index, the mesenteric oxygen saturation is lower than that at 12 h after extubation, suggesting that the obligatory increase in respiratory muscle perfusion and the increase in cerebral oxygen saturation have utilized most of the flow from the increased cardiac index. The increase in mesenteric oxygen saturation 12 h after extubation suggests a gradual improvement in microcirculation and macrocirculation.