The problem of detecting distributed targets in compound-Gaussian noise with unknown statistics is considered. At the design stage, in order to cope with the a priori uncertainty, we model noise returns as Gaussian vectors with the same structure of the covariance matrix, but possibly different power levels. We also assume that a set of secondary data, free of signal components, is available to estimate the covariance matrix of the disturbance. Since no uniformly most powerful test exists for the problem at hand we devise and assess two detection strategies based on the Rao test, and the Wald test respectively. Remarkably these detectors ensure the constant false alarm rate property with respect to both the structure of the covariance matrix as well as the power levels. Moreover, the performance assessment, conducted also in comparison with the generalized likelihood ratio test based receiver, shows that the Wald test outperforms the others and is very effective in scenarios of practical interest for radar systems.


The Jūgyūzu, or Ten Ox-herding Pictures, were drawn in China between the 12th and the 13th centuries by Guoan Xiyuan. Each picture is accompanied by a short prose comment and a poem by Guoan himself and his disciple Ciyuan. The whole set illustrates the main concepts of Zen Buddhism, and each picture represents a stage of the journey towards Enlightenment. The Jūgyūzu achieved the greatest popularity in Japan, where it is still considered a masterpiece of Zen Buddhism. After a brief introduction on the subject, the first part of this article analyses the ten pictures, also featuring a new translation (based on the Japanese version by Ueda and Yanagida). The second part of the article focuses on the analysis of the English and Italian translations which are available today, showing how the popularity of certain books does not always entail better quality and/or adherence to the original.


This is the third edition of the Uganda Economic Update series. The first part of this update provides a general overview on the state of Uganda's economy. Then the second part offers an examination of an economic topic of special interest and high relevance for the country, looking at how to improve service delivery by district governments. In 2013 Uganda managed to sustain macroeconomic stability and contain a short-lived uptick in inflation caused by fluctuations in regional food prices. This demonstrates the ability of the country's authorities to formulate and implement sound macroeconomic policies, and lays the foundation for continued achievement of economic growth rates in the range of 6-7 percent. The implementation of the large public infrastructure projects planned for the next several years should also contribute to growth. However, it will be as important as ever to keep budget deficits under control and to make sure that increased focus on infrastructure does not slow down progress in social outcomes. While healthy and educated population is critical for achieving Vision 2040, findings from the recent Service Delivery Indicators initiative launched by the World Bank show that the quality of Uganda's social services still lags behind the quality of its macroeconomic policies. This update proposes a set of reforms to improve value-for-money in service delivery, as well as contain the costs of local public administration.


The use of polypeptide models has proved to be a valuable tool to obtain accurate information on the collagen triple helix. Here we report the high resolution crystal structure of a collagen-like polypeptide with repeating sequence Pro-Hyp-Gly. The structure has been refined to an R(factor) of 0.137 and an R(free) of 0.163 using synchrotron diffraction data extending up to 1.4 A resolution. The polypeptide triple-helical structure binds a large number of water molecules, in contrast with a previous structure determination at lower resolution. The highly hydrated nature of this polypeptide confirms a number of previous studies conducted both in solution and in the crystal state. In addition, neighboring polypeptide triple helices are directly bound in the crystal through Hyp-Hyp hydrogen-bonding interactions. This finding supports the idea that Hyp residues may be important for the assembly of the triple helices in the collagen fibrils and may stabilize the fibrils by mediating direct contacts between neighboring molecules.


ABSTRACT:The last two decades have seen Governments across the world getting drawn into controversies regarding land acquisition. The controversies are more frequent and acute in emerging economies. In most Emerging economies and particularly in India, the extent of debate in the policy space regarding land acquisition for industrial usage is immense in the last few years. With an aim to achieve higher growth targets, increasingly efforts towards industrialization leads to higher amount of displacement and restatement of agricultural landowners. This has led to ever increasing unrest in the society leading to huge inefficiency both in terms of locked up values and loss of human lives and livelihoods. In this paper, we propose a mechanism that addresses the issue of compensation during land acquisition. We argue that compensation based on the market value will usually not work because land is not a liquid asset and hence there is a lack of price discovery. Moreover, the price at which it is transacted in rural parts of India are often very low owing to distressed sale by the owner. Further, what indeed queers the pitch for a 'market determined price' is the fact that, agricultural land is often seen as private values than common values. In other words, the compensation which a plot owner demands are entirely 'private value 'which may not be objectively quantifiable. Our mechanism is akin to the Dutch Auction where the buyer starts with an opening bid and gradually landowners drop out of the auction. If the buyer needs k plots, the price at which the k+1th landowner dropped out leaving behind exactly owners of k plots, is paid to all the remaining land owners. However, if with the opening offer by the buyer, less than equal to k plot owners stay in the auction, the land transfer is called off. We show that our mechanism is efficient, truth revealing as well as coordination proof. Our mechanism also helps in solving the holdup problem. Finally, the mechanism also forces the buyer to reveal his private value for the plots thereby lowering the chance of him acquiring the land under eminent domain and then putting it to alternative use.


This article compares the awarding patterns of the two senior Anglophone military decorations, the British/Commonwealth Victoria Cross and the American Medal of Honor, to challenge arguments that a shift to 'post-heroic' warfare has been in progress in Western societies since 1990. Despite the two decorations being independent of each other, each born of a particular military, political, and social context in their respective parent societies, the article reveals strong consistencies across the two. These include common understandings of military heroism centred on infantry- rather than machine-intensive combat, and a shared neglect of armoured, aerial, and naval combatants. Crucially, the medal data suggests that, despite academic suggestions to the contrary, there was no discernible shift towards 'post-heroism' in the post-Cold War era. Such a shift, however, is observable between 1916 and 1920, suggesting that the 'new Western way of war' began far earlier than is often suggested.


Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) are the main conduits for the supply of dissolved silicon (silicic acid) from the deep Southern Ocean to the low latitude surface ocean, and therefore have an important control on low latitude diatom productivity. Enhanced supply of silicic acid by AAIW (and SAMW) during glacial periods may have enabled tropical diatoms to outcompete carbonate-producing phytoplankton, decreasing the relative export of inorganic to organic carbon to the deep ocean and lowering atmospheric pCO2. This mechanism is known as the 'Silicic Acid Leakage Hypothesis' (SALH). Here we present records of neodymium and silicon isotopes from the western tropical Atlantic that provide the first direct evidence of increased silicic acid leakage from the Southern Ocean to the tropical Atlantic within AAIW during glacial Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 (~60–70 ka). This leakage was approximately coeval with enhanced diatom export in the NW Atlantic and across the eastern equatorial Atlantic and provides support for the SALH as a contributor to CO2 drawdown during full glacial development.


This work demonstrates the application of a method to optimize image reconstruction algorithms on the basis of the performance of specific visual tasks that are to be accomplished using the reconstructed images. The evaluation of task performance is numerically realized by a Monte Carlo simulation of the complete imaging chain, including the final inference based on the reconstructions. Fundamental to this evaluation is that it yields an average response by consideration of many initial scenes. It is shown that the use of the nonnegativity constraint in the Algebraic Reconstruction Technique can significantly improve performance in situations where there is a severe lack of measurements when the relaxation factor is optimized. There is no indication in any of the cases studied hitherto that the nonnegativity constraint can improve performance in situations where the data are complete, but noisy. It is also shown that neither the rms error nor the L1 error in constrained reconstructions are good predictors of task performance.


Sphingosine kinase (SK) catalyses the phosphorylation of sphingosine to generate sphingosine 1-phosphate, which is a second messenger involved in the proliferative responses of mammalian cells. Although the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has similar phosphorylated sphingoid bases which appear to be involved in growth regulation and the response to stress, SK activity had not been previously demonstrated in yeast. In this study, an in vitro system was set up to characterize yeast SK activity. Activity was detected in the cytosol at neutral pH and 37 degreesC. Yeast SK phosphorylated the sphingoid bases sphingosine, dihydrosphingosine and phytosphingosine. (d,l)-threo-dihydrosphingosine, an inhibitor of mammalian SK, did not inhibit the yeast enzyme. Unique properties of yeast SK were an optimal temperature of 43 degreesC, and in vivo activation during nutrient deprivation. Spontaneous mutants with diminished SK activity were isolated utilizing a screen for resistance to sphingosine in a sphingosine-phosphate-lyase deletion background. Abnormal growth and heat sensitivity were observed in these mutants. These findings suggest that SK may function as a stress-response protein in yeast.


The effects of four geometric parameters of an annular injection supersonic ejector, namely, the primary nozzle exit-to-throat area ratio, the contraction angle of the mixing chamber, the cross-sectional area and L/D ratio of the second-throat on the performance parameters including the secondary flow pressure, the starting pressure and unstarting pressure were investigated experimentally. The starting pressure exhibits linearly proportional dependence on the throat area ratio when the mixing chamber length is less than a certain critical value. For a longer mixing chamber, the starting pressure is proportional to the mixing chamber length while the unstarting pressure depends on the throat area ratio only. The geometric parameters of the second-throat do not affect the static pressure of the secondary flow. This implies that the secondary flow is aerodynamically choked in the mixing chamber and the static pressure of the secondary flow is determined by the choking condition since the mixing chamber of the annular injection ejector is relatively long. Based on the findings by the experiment, a simplified analytical model was proposed to predict the secondary flow pressure. The predicted secondary flow pressure agrees reasonably well with the measurement for a small contraction angle of the mixing chamber.


The lipoprotein and carbohydrate metabolism was studied during contraceptive treatment with levonorgestrel, released at a low rate (70 micrograms/day) from subcutaneous capsules, in five women who were treated for 180-403 days. The serum cholesterol concentration decreased slightly but significantly during treatment. This was attributable to a tendency to a reduction of cholesterol in high-density lipoproteins. The treatment did not affect the lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue. The elimination rates of intravenously injected fat and glucose were unchanged, as were the serum insulin concentrations. Thus, in this pilot study the concentration and composition of the serum lipoproteins altered to only a minor extent during treatment with levonorgestrel in a dose of 70 micrograms/day.


In vivo, some proteins exist as monomers (single polypeptide chains) and others as oligomers. The latter are composed of two or more chains (subunits) that are associated with each other through noncovalent interactions and, occasionally, disulfide bonds. Oligomers can be further classified into homo-oligomers (formed by identical subunits) and hetero-oligomers (formed by different subunits), and they form the structural basis of various biological functions such as cooperative effects, the allosteric mechanism and ion-channel gating. Therefore, it would be of less interest or of low priority for crystallographic scientists to crystallize a single protein chain and determine its three-dimensional structure if it is already known as part of an oligomer. However, it is both time-consuming and laborious to acquire such information on the quaternary structure attribute purely by experiment. In particular, with the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the post-genomic age, it is highly desirable to develop an automated method by which crystallographic scientists can rapidly and effectively identify which quaternary attribute a particular protein chain has according to its sequence information. In view of this, a computational method has been developed by hybridizing the approaches of functional domain composition and pseudo amino acid composition. For the convenience of crystallographic scientists, a user-friendly web server, PQSA-Pred, has been established at http://126.96.36.199:8080/bioinfo/pqsa-pred, by which the desired information can be easily obtained.


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The International Arctic Ocean Expedition (IAOE), lasting from August to mid-October 1991, provided a unique opportunity to characterize and quantify relationships within the natural sulfur cycle in the marine boundary layer under conditions of limited anthropogenic influence. Concentrations of dimethyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and submicrometer aerosol concentrations of methane sulfonate, non-sea-salt sulfate, ammonium and elemental carbon ranged from 17 to 0.05 nmol m −3 (380–1 ppt(v)), 1.7–0.04 nmol m −3 (38–0.9 ppt(v)), 1.4–0.002 nmol m −3 (31–0.05 ppt(v), 6.9–0.03 nmol m −3 (155–0.7 ppt(v)), 3.9–0.03 nmol m −3 (90–0.7 ppt(v)) and 0.51–0.009 nmol m −3 (11–0.2 ppt(v)), respectively. Observations showed a seasonal variation of concentrations with highest values for all the marine biogenic sulfur gas-aerosol parametres along the ice edge zone in August and lowest values over the pack ice in late September On average concentrations fell with a decline rate of about 20–40% per week. A similar seasonal change was also reflected in particulate ammonium. This therefore indicates links between the different sulfur compounds as well as between the biogenic sulfur and nitrogen cycles. Concentrations over the pack ice region were generally lower than over the open waters at the ice edge with an estimated net loss rate of roughly 35% per day of transport over the pack ice. Contrary to earlier marine sulfur studies performed outside the Arctic region, a constant methane sulfonate to non-sea-salt sulfate molar ratio was found in the submicrometer size fraction for samples with a minimal influence from fog and anthropogenic sources. This ratio had a value of 0.22 in spite of large seasonal changes in temperature and concentrations of methane sulfonate and non-sea-salt sulfate. Thus we conclude that the sum of the proceses controlling the measured particle properties do not exhibit a net temperature dependence. The one to one molar ratio of ammonium to non-sea-salt sulfate indicated a partly neutralised ammoniated sulfate aerosol. This was further verified by single particle analysis. Measurements of non-sea-salt sulfate and ammonium revealed a bimodal size distribution with about 70% of their mass found in the submicrometer size fraction. Methane sulfonate was mainly associated with submicrometer particles, with less than 8% of the mass observed in the largest particles. We have also shown that the interchange of air between the surface mixed layer and clouds, caused by atmospheric wave motions, dominated the short time variations in atmospheric DMS and submicrometer aerosol concentrations. This interchange will have a strong influence on the chemical and physical processes that control the properties of the aerosol, and deserves more attention in future work. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0889.48.issue2.1.x


Over the last decades, we have been witnessing an increasing frequency of urban floods often attributed to the interaction between intensification of rainfall extremes due to climate change and increasing urbanization. Consequently, many studies have been trying to propose different new alternatives to mitigate ground effects of ever more frequent and severe extreme rainfall events in a context of growing urbanization, such as rain gardens, green roofs, permeable parking lots, etc., which are commonly referred to as green infrastructures.

With this regard, one of the most promising mitigation solutions is represented by multilayer green roofs. These systems, coupling classical green roofs with a rainwater harvesting system, results in a high capacity in retaining rainwater, thus improving the potential effects acted by classical green roofs on pluvial floods mitigation. These systems are particularly suited for applications in semi-arid climate, where a fraction of the rainwater can be detained during the more severe rainfall events, significantly reducing the pressure on drainage systems, and released in a later moment or reused, for instance, to sustain the vegetation during driest periods.

This study describes a multilayer green roof installed at the Department of Engineering of the University of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) and its preliminary results on its capacity to reduce the pressure of rainfall events on drainage systems in a Mediterranean context. The green roof has an extension of almost 35 m2 and is made of three different areas with different soil thickness (a mixture of volcanic material) and different Mediterranean vegetation. The green roof is equipped with multiple sensors to monitor the water level in the storage layer, soil water content, air and water temperature, and rainfall. Besides, a weighted rain gauge, a disdrometer, and a meteorological station for the collection of meteorological data are available as well.

An equal size classical roof area bordering the green roof installation is also monitored. Four different thermometers are used to measure the temperatures in different points of the roofs and a system of two rain barrels and two pressure sensors allows to collect and compare the rainwater coming from the green and the original roofs. Such an installation, differently from many others, has the advantage to allow a complete characterization of the potential benefits of a multilayer green roof through a comparison of the rainwater released by the two roof configurations at a rainfall event scale.

The study provides the preliminary results arising from the analysis of the two roof configurations' response to a series of rainfall events characterized by different duration and intensity.


Using large–scale data analysis to assess life history and behavioural traits: the case of the reintroduced White stork Ciconia ciconia population in the Netherlands.— The White stork Ciconia ciconia has been the object of several successful reintroduction programmes in the last decades. As a consequence, populations have been monitored over large spatial scales. Despite these intense efforts, very few reliable estimates of life history traits are available for this species. Such general knowledge however constitutes a prerequisite for investigating the consequences of conservation measures. Using the large–scale and long–term ringing and resighting data set of White storks in the Netherlands, we investigated the variation of survival and resighting rates with age, time and previous individual resighting history, and in a second step supplementary feeding, using capture–recapture models. Providing food did not seem to affect survival directly, but may have an indirect effect via the alteration of migratory behaviour. Large–scale population monitoring is important in obtaining precise and reliable estimates of life history traits and assessing the consequences of conservation measures on these traits, which will prove useful for managers to take adequate measures in future conservation strategies.


Nonequilibrium conformational states in cytochrome P-450 in the presence and absence of substrates formed by reduction at subzero temperatures with hydrates electrons were obtained and characterized by their absorption spectra. Different absorption spectra between the relaxed (298 K) and the non-relaxed enzyme forms (77 K) indicate conformational changes proceeding in the relaxed form after reduction of the heme iron which lead to altered interactions between the active centre and its environment in the protein. The two maxima of the nonequilibrium form of cytochrome P-450 without substrate in the visible absorption spectrum (alpha-band, beta-band) and the ratio of their intensities indicate the low-spin character of the heme iron. These spectral properties give evidence for a reduced cytochrome P-450 with two heme-linked axial ligands.


Arts festivals are common happenings in South Africa. Despite the significant growth in the number and size of festivals and events, relatively little research is available on the arts festival package. This article determines which attributes and combination of attributes would drive the best practices of arts festivals. Three main arts festivals were studied, selecting like-minded respondents from among festival attendees on a scenario basis. Five different attributes describing arts festivals were developed, namely festival brands, ticket prices, entertainment activities, food and beverages (refreshments) and transport to venues. Conjoint analysis was used in a linear regression model with individual ratings for each festival product averaging r-squares of 0.83 in the study. The results reveal similarities regarding the attributes of transport and ticket prices and differ regarding the attribute of entertainment activities. Festivals A and B favoured the attribute level quality music while Festival C favoured quality performances. The attribute of food and beverages (refreshments) indicated that Festivals B and C both prefer the attribute level value for money, while Festival A prefers the attribute level a wide variety of good quality as the best possible combination of attributes for successful positioning.


In 1975 we were preparing a source book of the Northern Territory for the Northern Territory Curriculum Branch. There was a thick book at the end of it, but it was evident to us that only one section of the population was represented. That was the European, and only the literate part of that. The Aboriginal view of the past was simply not available from history books, nor, except to Aboriginal children, from anywhere else. It was obvious, that to produce an Aboriginal history of the Territory, we would have to move from reading the written word to listening to the spoken. This was the task we set ourselves for 1977–78. Employed by the Curriculum Branch, and backed by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, we would act as editors in the task of presenting an Aboriginal history of the Northern Territory to school children. All interviews and discussions would be taped, and cassettes made to go with each booklet of transcriptions and illustrations. Faced with an enormous amount of material, vast distances to cover, and not unlimited time, we decided, rather than produce a hotch-potch volume of what we had managed to record, to edit a series of shorter books on different themes. Some are on specific topics, like the Coniston massacre, or wartime recollections. Other topics are more general but no less interesting: how, when and why did Aboriginal people give up (or were forced to give up) traditional life; how they adapted to the European intrusion; why there has been a shift to out-stations and a preference for bicultural education? Obviously we have not been able to visit large areas of the Territory. We chose mostly to visit places where we already knew someone. Often this was the teacher, who would ask the community in advance if it were interested in taking part in the project. Almost everywhere, the older people were keen to tell stories of the early days, especially when they knew their words would be heard and read by children throughout the Territory. Generally the stories are no older than the third generation, and in English.


Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a highly prevalent, serious and chronic infection. It been associated causally with a diverse spectrum of gastrointestinal disorders including chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, gastric adenocarcinoma. We conducted a study to Evaluation of the role of breastfeeding and breast milk on the colonization of H. pylori in the gastrointestinal tract of 2-24 month old. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 92 children referred to Ali Asghar Hospital of Iran University of Medical Sciences for two years (from July 2015 to June 2017). At first, a questionnaire was recorded by the neonatal specialist including demographic and clinical characteristics of the infants. Stool samples were taken from infants at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months of age. We used the H. pylori stool antigen test to detection infection in the selected group of children. H. pylori status was evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: In the study of breastfeeding at 12 months of age, 51.1% were fed only dry milk and 28.3% were breastfed only. At 24 months, 22 infants (24%) were breastfed with supplemental feeding and 54 children (58.7%) were formula-fed only and 8 children (8.7%) were breastfed only. In our study, the prevalence of H. pylori in infants of Tehran, at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months, were 0%, 6.5%, 15.21%, and 34.4%, respectively. Of the 92 children studied, during the first month, 25 children (27.2%) only formula-fed and 49 children (53.3%) were breastfed only and (19.6%) 18 infants were breastfed with dry milk. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 28.3%. The prevalence of H. pylori infection was 20% in the breastfeeding group and 44% in the infant dry milk feeding group. The prevalence of H. pylori antigen was greater than 12 IU/ml in infants 2, 6, 12, and 24 months of age, including 19.92 (20.6%), 19.92 (20.6%), 24.92 (26.1%) and 21.92 (22.8%), respectively. Conclusion: According to the findings of the article, breastfed children compared to formula-fed children were less infected by Helicobacter pylori. Abstract


Semicompensatory models represent a choice process consisting of an elimination-based choice set formation on satisfaction of criterion thresholds and a utility-based choice. Current semicompensatory models assume a purely noncompensatory choice set formation and therefore do not support multinomial criteria that involve trade-offs between attributes at the choice set formation stage. This study proposes a novel behavioral paradigm consisting of a hybrid compensatory–noncompensatory choice set formation process, followed by compensatory choice. The behavioral paradigm is represented by a mathematical model that combines multinomial-response and ordered-response thresholds with a utility-based choice. The proposed model is applied to a stated preference experiment of off-campus rental apartment choices by students. Results demonstrate the applicability and feasibility of incorporating multinomial-response thresholds into semicompensatory models.


Most fault-controlled basin formation within plate interiors occurs by normal faulting in response to horizontal deviatoric tension in the continental crust. It is suggested that the tension originates either from the plate boundary forces acting at trenches or as a result of isostatically compensated uplifted regions such as East Africa. The tension produced by both mechanisms is greatest in high heat-flow regions where the upper elastic part of the lithosphere is thinned and weakened. Particularly widespread tension in the continental lithosphere occurs when subduction takes place on opposite sides of a large continental mass, such as Pangaea in the early Mesozoic, where it led to widespread graben formation and, in association with hot spot activity, to continental splitting.


This paper investigates two-phase cooperative diversity protocols for multihop wireless networks over generalized fading environments. We analyze their regenerative outage probability in term of symmetrical and asymmetrical network configurations. Their generalized diversity order expressions are derived at high average signal-to-noise ratio (ASNR). The theoretical and simulation results show that the cooperative systems can offer the full diversity order at some given manners. However, the generalized diversity order is determined by the sum of the two cooperative route diversities, not the total number of the cooperative nodes, where the smaller diversity order in two-hop route plays an important role


[reaction: see text] (S)-2-(tert-Butylmethylphosphino)phenol and its methyl ether were synthesized from tert-butyldichlorophosphine via optically active phosphine-boranes as the intermediates. The former compound was used as a P/O hybrid ligand in the Cu-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of diethylzinc to acyclic enones to achieve high enantioselectivity of up to 96%.


Tissue engineering aims to save lives by producing synthetic organs and bone. This study is attempting to determine what effects a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold will have on the blood flow of Rattus norvegicus, as measured by the number of platelets. Prior to experimentation, it was hypothesized that the polycaprolactone scaffold would maintain and/or increase the number of platelets when compared to the control group. This was developed based on prior research that showed polylactic acid (PLA), a polymer being used currently, and polycaprolactone had similar characteristics like boiling point, melting point, and glass transition temperature. To test this hypothesis, the PCL, created from an existing protocol, was used to mold a scaffold in vitro. Three groups of rats were identified, then further split into an "A" and "B" subdivision with 5 members in each. All "A" subdivision members received the scaffold, while the "B" factions lacked it. Each rat underwent surgery to remove 1mm of the right ventricle, which was replaced by the PCL scaffold in the experimental group. The control group did not have the scaffold replacement. Without this piece of the right ventricle, prior research conducted at the University of Virginia in 2006 suggests that the rats would die within one week. However, in the experimental group of rats, the missing piece of the ventricle was replaced with the scaffold, so if it were accepted then the rats would survive beyond 1week. All rats in the experimental group died exactly 1 week after the control group as predicted before experimentation. After all of the rats had a 1-week acclimation period, a 1mm^2 slice of the heart was extracted and then the number of platelets was counted using a phase contrast microscope. The heart extraction was prepared in a petri dish and then placed into a hemocytometer, splitting the dish into smaller sections making it possible to count. The data supports the hypothesis whereby an average 12% increase in the number of platelets in the rats with the PCL scaffold versus the group without it was seen. This increase in platelet count reflects an increase in blood flow. A statistical t-test was conducted on each trial (n=5 per group, n=10 total per trial) comparing experimental versus control group to calculate a p-value. The p-values were 0.034, 0.045, and 0.022, respectively which indicates statistical significance since the value is less than 0.05. After all experimentation, the benefits of using PCL in tissue engineering were examined. For example, PCL costs $80 less to produce per kilogram than polylactic acid. This study suggests that PCL would be a viable candidate for tissue engineering in humans.


Based on the grey system theory, this paper systematically analyzed and compared the change trends and driving factors of the urban and rural residents' consumption in Shanghai. Using the consumption data from 2001 to 2009, two GM(1,1) grey models were firstly bulit to predict their change trends. For analyzing the driving factors of the trends, we integrated the current research, considered the comprehensiveness, importance and measurability of all related factors, finally screened 10 relatively important factors, then grey relational analysis was adopted to analyze their relative importance quantitatively, according to which two GM(1,N) dynamic models were established for further analyzing the influence mode to consumption.


Pediatric patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PID) constitute life-threatening medical emergencies. In the absence of an HLA-identical hematopoietic stem cell donor, unrelated donor cord blood transplantation (CBT) is another treatment option. There are little data regarding the outcome of unrelated CBT for PID in Taiwan. We report the results of CBT performed in 8 patients with PID between 2004 and 2013 at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. The cases included severe combined immunodeficiency (n=4), chronic granulomatous disease (n=2), Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (n=1), and T-cell immunodeficiency (n=1). Median follow-up time was 73 months. Most UCB recipients received a myeloablative conditioning regimen. There were 7 boys and 1 girl with a median age of 2.5 months at diagnosis (range, antenatal to 17 mo). Median age at transplant was 5.5 months (range, 2 to 74 mo). All but 1 patients engrafted at a median time of 14 days. One developed significant grade III graft-versus-host disease after transplant. Our data show that unrelated CBT in PID is possible. However, no definite conclusions can be drawn from this small number of patients, and more studies are needed to further investigate and confirm these findings.


With recent advances of head-up display technology in cars, augmented reality becomes interesting in supporting the driving task to guide a driver's attention. We have set up an experiment to compare two different approaches to inform the driver about dangerous situations around the car. One approach used AR to visualize the source of danger in the driver's frame of reference while the other one presented information in an egocentric frame of reference. Both approaches were evaluated in user tests.


For much of the winter of 2012, communities in shack settlements across Cape Town took to the streets in some of the most active civil disobedience protests since 1994. Knowing that the mainstream political terrain often seeks to obfuscate and mislead the public about the true nature of these protests, this paper investigates claims by politicians from the Democratic Alliance (DA) that these protests were being coordinated by the Youth League of the African National Congress (ANCYL). These big political players moralize the debate, shifting the focus from the perfectly legitimate issues of service delivery and demands for meaningful engagement. Speaking directly to community members of Sweet Home Farm, an informal settlement of 15,000 people in the Philippi area, revealed a yawning chasm between what official players are saying about Sweet Home and the actual realities on the ground.


The paper discusses the possibility of smart thematic village development and presents the results of qualitative research aimed at determining why some smart thematic villages are developing while others are not. The grounded theory approach was used for semi-structured interviews. This empirical study investigates four thematic villages in Lithuania, which have an official status and are currently operating and one non-developing thematic village. The structured grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, Corbin & Strauss, 2015) was employed to analyse the collected data using open, axial and selective coding techniques. The grounded theory of the thematic village development was built around the core category (a critical success factor of the development of a smart thematic village), i.e. weighed involvement of thematic village actors in thematic village activities context. The main condition of thematic village development is context for thematic village actors weighed involvement. This is context for theming, digital solutions to facilitate collaboration, communication, accessibility and problem-solving at various levels in the thematic village. Thematic village actors get involved in thematic village activities only when they have specific context – Global, National, Local institutional, Village Community and Individual. The more favorable the context, the more weighted involvement is and the more benefits thematic village actors and other stakeholders get, the more possibilities they create for sustainable smart thematic village development.


Latent in the current environment of rapid technological advances are breakthroughs waiting to be discovered that will have profound impacts on how organizations will cope with the direction civilization is taking. Information Technology and Societal Development examines in depth the full range of impacts of information technology on civilization and the development of societies. Uniquely broad in the scope of examining the societal implications of informational technology, this groundbreaking reference work makes an essential contribution to research libraries worldwide.


AIM
Recently, it was reported that the development of breast tissue and secondary sex characteristics in girls occurred at much younger age and the incidences of premature thelarce (PT) and central idiopathic precocious puberty (ICPP) are increasing. In this context, we wanted to evaluate the mycoestrogen exposure as triggering factor for premature sexual development.

METHODS
The girls living in Mediterranean region of Turkey were divided in to three groups: control (N.=25; mean age: 6.45 ± 1), PT (N.=28; mean age: 6.86 ± 0.95) and ICPP (N.=25; mean age: 6.97 ± 0.87). Urinary ZEN levels were measured by using ELISA technique and were normalized by urinary creatinine levels. Body Mass Index (BMI) was evaluated and sex hormone levels were also measured.

RESULTS
We found that urinary ZEN was detectable in ~81% of all samples and observed an increase of ~2-fold in PT and a significant increase ~2.8-fold in ICPP group vs. control. We did not find any significant correlations between urinary ZEN levels and BMI and sex hormones in any of the groups.

CONCLUSION
To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating urinary ZEN levels in PT and ICPP Turkish patients. We can postulate that ZEN exposure can contribute to the etiology of PT and PP; however further studies on large number of subjects are needed to confirm the present data.


The current research assessed whether political satire viewing could indirectly promote interpersonal talk about politics by eliciting emotions. The theoretical model was tested utilizing both experimental and survey designs. The findings indicated good agreement, demonstrating that negative emotions significantly mediate and reinforce the effect of political satire viewing on interpersonal talk. Conversely, the process wherein traditional news sources motivate interpersonal talk is mostly direct, with little development of affective responses. The results suggest that political satire can help to paint a sanguine picture of a healthy deliberative democracy mainly through an affective rather than cognitive route.


We read with interest the article by Choueiri et al on the impact of salvage therapy on survival in men with biochemical recurrence (BCR) after prostate cancer surgery. They found, as had we, that survival after BCR was better in men with PSA doubling time (PSADT) 6months, and also in men who received salvage therapy. In our study, however, we found that the survival benefit of salvage radiotherapy or salvage androgen deprivation therapy (compared with no additional therapy) was only significant among men with PSADT <6 months; among men with PSADT of 6 months or greater salvage therapy did not significantly improve survival. This appeared to be because men with PSADT 6 months had very good survival regardless of additional therapy, so the incremental benefit of salvage therapy was not significant. Was the effect of salvage hormonal or radiation therapy similarly dependent on PSADT in the study by Choueiri et al? Also, the article did not explicitly define the timing of administering salvage therapies, which begs the question: did salvage treatment include hormonal therapy administered at the time of metastases?


Pampas fox (Pseudalopex gymnocercus) inhabits east-central South America, from southern Brazil to eastern Bolivia. The renal dysplasia comprises a spectrum of abnormalities and is often reported in dogs of various breeds; but this disease reports involve mostly necropsy findings. Congenital renal diseases in dogs have a progressive character, so that treatment is limited and directed to retard the disease. This report describes a laparoscopic nephrectomy in pampas fox with renal dysplasia. Right kidney disease was suspected by ultrasound and intravenous urography. For the surgical procedure we used three portal accesses (10, 10, 5mm), rigid endoscope 10mm/00 and clips for hemostasis of the renal vessels. Due the absence of reports of laparoscopic nephrectomy in pampas fox and scarcity of surgical techniques for this species, the operative technique used was similar to that used in the domestic dog. The pampas fox was monitored for 30 days after surgery without the occurrence of complications. This report demonstrates that the proposed technique is appropriate to perform laparoscopic nephrectomy in pampas fox.


PURPOSE Prostate cancer (CaP) incidence and mortality rate are increasing in Africa. Some have linked oxidative stress with the pathogenesis of cancer. This study assessed the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), total plasma peroxide (TPP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in Nigerian patients with CaP. PATIENTS AND METHODS One hundred twenty patients with CaP and 100 apparently healthy controls were consecutively recruited into this case-control study. The patients with CaP were divided into treatment-naïve and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)–treated groups. Anthropometric indices were measured, and MDA, NO, TAC, and TPP were assayed by colorimetric methods. The t test and analysis of variance were used in analysis of data; statistical significance was set at P < .05, and 95% CIs were reported. RESULTS The patients with CaP had significantly higher waist-hip ratios and NO (P = .0001), TPP (P = .001), oxidative stress index (OSI; P = .003), and MDA values (P = .002) than controls. The treatment-naive patients with CaP had significantly higher waist-hip ratios (P = .011) and TPP (P = .013), MDA (P = .011), and NO values (P = .0001) and lower TAC values (P = .013) compared with the controls. The ADT-treated patients had higher waist-hip ratios (P = .0001) and TPP (P = .005), OSI (P = .005), MDA (P = .011), and NO values (P = .0001) than the controls. However, the treatment-naive patients had significantly higher NO values (P = .05) only compared with the ADT-treated patients. There was a significantly positive correlation between MDA and duration of treatment (r = 0.280, P = .018) in ADT-treated patients with CaP. CONCLUSION This study demonstrated that patients with CaP have higher levels of TPP, MDA, and NO and lower levels of TAC compared with men without CaP. In addition, even in patients with CaP undergoing treatment, TPP and MDA levels remained high.


Blood samples from 20 patients with widely varying concentrations of erythrocytes and leukocyte subtypes were inoculated into BACTEC 6B bottles (Johnston Laboratories, Inc., Towson, Md.). There was no relationship between growth index value and hemogram. Although sterile blood is capable of generating small amounts of 14CO2, the mechanism for this phenomenon is not related to the concentration of a specific type of blood cell.


We have made 7Li and 51V NMR measurements on a single crystal to investigate the local symmetry and the charge disproportionation in the metallic phase of the quasi-one-dimensional conductor β-Li0.33V2O5. The electric quadrupole tensors at the Li sites are determined and the Li ordering is discussed on the basis of the recent X-ray diffraction results. We also report the temperature dependence of the 51V Knight shift and the 51V nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate, indicating the presence of the charge disproportionation even in the metallic phase.


Black brant ( Branta bernicla nigricans ) and lesser snow geese ( Chen c. caerulescens ) breeding in and near arctic Alaska oil fields could be affected by oil development actions such as releases of contaminants, alteration of tundra surfaces, creation of impoundments, and human activities. These actions could affect geese directly (e.g., through oil spills) or indirectly (e.g., by altering food supplies or predator populations). Studies to date indicate no changes in the distribution, abundance, or reproduction of these geese that clearly can be attributed to development; rather, their numbers and recruitment have responded in the oil fields, as elsewhere, mainly to weather and predation. When snowmelt in spring is later than usual, the birds postpone or forego nesting, with consequent diminishment in recruitment. Predation by arctic foxes ( Alopex lagopus ), glaucous gulls ( Larus hyperboreus ), and grizzly bears ( Ursus arctos ) sometimes causes substantial losses of eggs and young, and predation by ravens ( Corvus corax ) has also been observed. Development-related changes in weather (microclimate) and loss of feeding habitat have involved small percentages of the total areas traditionally used, and populations of the birds probably have not been affected by these changes. Some studies and observations suggest that development has elevated local populations of some predators, but whether the level of predation on geese has in consequence risen above that which would have occurred in the absence of development is unknown; further investigation of this mechanism of potential impact is recommended. Key words: Brant, Branta bernicla , snow goose, Chen caerulescens , oil development, Alaska, impact assessment, predation, nutrition


A new carbon based oxygen sensor for rate adaptive cardiac pacing has been developed. It measures oxygen partial pressure In mixed venous blood. The system was implanted in six sheep with a mean follow‐up time of 261 days after implant. The sensor reacted in a physiological manner when the animals were at rest as well as during exercise. Long‐term sensor stability and sensitivity were satisfactory, and we found excellent correlation with spontaneous heart rate variations and with oxygen saturation measurements. The sensor shows great promise although our experience is still limited and further development on the concept is on‐going.


Abstract Context Idiopathic type 1 diabetes is characterized by the absence of autoantibodies and the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Objective We aimed to study the epidemiology, describe the clinical characteristics, and report results of genetic studies in pediatric patients with idiopathic type 1 diabetes. Methods This was a prospective study of type 1 diabetes patients attending Sidra Medicine from 2018 to 2020. Autoantibodies (GAD65, IAA, IA-2A, and ZnT8) were measured and genetic testing was undertaken in patients negative for autoantibodies to rule out monogenic diabetes. Demographic and clinical data of patients with idiopathic type 1 diabetes were compared with patients with autoimmune type 1 diabetes. Results Of 1157 patients with type 1 diabetes, 63 were antibody-negative. Upon genome sequencing, 4 had maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY), 2 had Wolfram syndrome, 1 had H syndrome, and 3 had variants of uncertain significance in MODY genes; 53 patients had idiopathic type 1 diabetes. The most common age of diagnosis was 10 to 14 years. C-peptide level was low but detectable in 30 patients (56.6%) and normal in 23 patients (43.4%) The average body mass index was in the normal range and 33% of the patients had a history of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Conclusion Four percent of the children had idiopathic type 1 diabetes. There were statistically significant differences in the C-peptide level and insulin requirement between the 2 groups. DKA was less common in the idiopathic group. Mutations in MODY genes suggest the importance of autoantibody testing and genetic screening for known causes of monogenic diabetes in idiopathic type 1 diabetes. The mechanism of idiopathic type 1 diabetes is unknown but could be due to defects in antibody production or due to autoantibodies that are not yet detectable or discovered.


Background: When studying physical activity in relation to health it is important to use valid methods. Objective : To test the relative validity of a short physical activity questionnaire against 3 day physical activity records, and to describe leisure and occupational physical activity in men and women by body mass index(BMI).Design: The validation study included 133 men and 139 women, and the cross-sectional study 1380 men and 2281 women. All subjects were aged 37-60 years, with a BMI of 17.6-59.2 kg m-2. Results: Mean estimated physical activity level (PAL) from the 3 day activity records differed by reported grade of occupational physical activity from the short activity questionnaire (p<0.01 in both genders).Among men PAL values increased with increasing activity grade. The same pattern, although weaker, was seen for women. Estimated PAL values did not differ significantly by reported grade of leisure-time physical activity. Gender differences were noted in the 3 day activity records. Men recorded more sitting than women, whereas women were more engaged in walking and light activities. In the cross-sectional analysis physical activity, both in leisure time and at work, decreased with increasing degree of overweight and obesity among both men and women. Conclusions: Mean PAL values increased with increasing grade of occupational physical activity reported in a short physical activity questionnaire. Although PAL values were not related to reported leisure-time physical activity, high BMI was associated with less physical activity both during leisure time and at work in a large group of men and women with varying BMI. Keywords: activity record; gender difference; obesity; PAL; questionnaire


The paper deals with modelling a coolant flow in thermal networks. It is shown that the coolant flow can be modelled by heat flow controlled temperature sources. Normal circuit analysis programmes can be used to solve this kind of network. The model has been applied to a high-speed induction motor and to a standard induction motor. The test results are compared with the computed temperature values.


Abstract Women with antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are at risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including recurrent first-trimester pregnancy loss and late pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzyme levels, and low platelet levels) syndrome, premature delivery, intrauterine growth restriction, placental abruption, and intrauterine death. Current standard care in obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome includes aspirin and heparin and has resulted in live-birth rates of approximately 70%. However, 30% continue to have pregnancy complications. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is suggested as a new treatment approach, but no randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have assessed its efficacy. This study aims to assess pregnancy outcome in women with aPL treated with HCQ versus placebo in addition to standard treatment. The HYdroxychloroquine to improve Pregnancy outcome in women with AnTIphospholipid Antibodies (HYPATIA) study is a phase IV multicenter RCT, in which pregnant women with persistent aPL will receive either HCQ or placebo in addition to their usual medication. The primary endpoint is a composite of aPL-related adverse pregnancy outcomes: one or more pregnancy loss(es) (either < 10 or > 10 weeks of gestation) and premature birth before 34 weeks due to any of the following preeclampsia, eclampsia, or recognized features of placental insufficiency. The HYPATIA study is expected to provide evidence on the effect of HCQ in pregnant women with persistent aPL.


Expression of DLL3 was examined in additional tumor types, as it was found to be highly expressed in tumor-initiating cells (TIC) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), where a DLL3-targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC), rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T; SC16LD6.5; Saunders et al. 2015 Sci Transl Med 7:302ra136)) exerted clinically meaningful anti-tumor effects in a phase I trial (Spigel et al. 2016 Lancet Oncology; In Press). DLL3 expression was profiled by qRT-PCR, ELISA and immunohistochemistry in multiple tumor types. Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) from melanoma and ovarian small cell carcinoma were established and used for efficacy studies to determine the ability of Rova-T to impact tumor growth and TIC frequency. DLL3 expression was seen in metastatic melanoma (55%), low grade gliomas (90%), glioblastoma (70%), medullary thyroid cancer (65%), carcinoids (33%), dispersed neuroendocrine tumors in the pancreas (9%), bladder (57%) and prostate (24%), testicular cancer (90%), and lung adenocarcinomas with neuroendocrine features (80%). Unlike SCLC, where DLL3 does not predict clinical outcome on standard therapies, DLL3 expression negatively correlates with overall survival in melanoma and small cell bladder cancer. In mice bearing DLL3 positive melanoma PDX, treatment with a single dose of Rova-T resulted in effective and durable responses (>100 days), which correlated with a significant impact on TIC frequency. Similarly, in mice bearing DLL3-positive ovarian small cell PDX, a single dose of Rova-T resulted in effective and durable responses (>100 days). Our results show that DLL3 is expressed in many neuroendocrine tumors (lung, ovarian, prostate, bladder, etc), metastatic melanoma, medullary thyroid cancer, low-grade gliomas and glioblastoma. Given pre-clinical results showing efficacy of Rova-T in melanoma and ovarian small cell carcinoma, as well as encouraging clinical data with Rova-T in patients with recurrent/refractory SCLC, clinical evaluation of Rova-T in DLL3-positive melanoma, glioblastoma, medullary thyroid cancer and other high-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas is warranted. A "basket" trial enrolling patients with DLL3-positive solid tumors is now recruiting patients (NCT02709889). Citation Format: Laura R. Saunders, Samuel A. Williams, Sheila Bheddah, Kumiko Isse, Sarah Fong, Marybeth A. Pysz, Himisha Beltran, Loredana Puca, Verena Sailer, Juan M. Mosquera, Yu Yin, Jiaoti Huang, Andrew J. Armstrong, Jorge Garcia, Cristina Magi-Galluzzi, Vadim Koshkin, Petros Grivas, Farhad Kosari, John Cheville, Justin C. Moser, Thomas J. Flotte, Thorvardur Halfdanarson, Aaron Mansfield, Konstantinos N. Leventakos, Julian R. Molina, Douglas W. Ball, Barry D. Nelkin, Jill E. Shea, Courtney L. Scaife, Scott J. Dylla. Expression of DLL3 in metastatic melanoma, glioblastoma and high-grade extrapulmonary neuroendocrine carcinomas as potential indications for rovalpituzumab tesirine (Rova-T; SC16LD6.5), a delta-like protein 3 (DLL3)-targeted antibody drug conjugate (ADC) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3093. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-3093


OBJECTIVE
To determine the most frequent dermatoses in patients with kidney transplant in the dermatology consultation, Hospital de Especialidades, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, in Mexico City, in the period from March 2016 to March 2020.

METHOD
Descriptive, cross-sectional study that included 153 patients with a complete medical history with prior informed consent and authorization from the hospital ethics committee.

RESULTS
All patients presented one or more dermatoses. The most frequent were infectious (mycosis, viral) and, in decreasing order, other dermatoses (keratosis pilaris, melasma), tumorous (benign), inflammatory (seborrheic dermatitis, eczema), probably secondary to drugs and autoimmune (alopecia areata).

CONCLUSIONS
All kidney transplant patients presented at least one dermatosis, predominantly those of infectious origin. We recommend dermatological evaluation prior to transplantation for timely diagnosis and treatment of dermatoses that could increase the morbi-mortality of patients.


The reading of Codex Alexandrinus at 1 John 1:7 (where most MSS read λλλων) has not been clearly or accurately reported in modern critical editions. Some editions suggest there is some trace of ατο in the MS and/or that a corrector provided the reading λλλων. That portion of Alexandrinus is damaged and no trace remains of whatever word followed μeτ/μeτ (which is also not fully present) or of a corrector's hand at this point in the MS. As the earliest scholars to address this subject indicated, there does not seem to be sufficient space available for the missing word to have been λλλων.


This research paper begins the presentation, with the topic of the distribution of primes in a short interval. The lower and upper limits for the number of primes within the interval are defined unambiguously. This provides us with a solid foundation, to resolve conclusively the Second Hardy-Littlewood´s conjecture. The paper concludes with the Merit of a Prime Gap and the Second Harald Cramer´s conjecture.


This study aims to shed light on the market-sensing capabilities of retail entrepreneurs and the effect of these capabilities on their business performance. A conceptual model based on a literature review is presented, followed by an Internet survey of 226 K-retailers from the Finnish K-alliance. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the conceptual model and to investigate the effect of market-sensing capability on growth and profitability. The study reveals that most of the studied retail entrepreneurs have relatively well-developed market-sensing capabilities. A weak positive relationship is found to exist between market-sensing capability and company growth. However, no positive relationship is found between market-sensing capability and profitability. Factors other than market-sensing capability were not considered in the present study. However, other factors that might affect business performance in the present research context are identified and discussed. The article sensitizes practitioners to think how entrepreneurs' market-sensing capabilities should be conceptualized and developed in the retail chain context. The paper presents a novel and distinctive empirical investigation of the relationship between entrepreneurs' market-sensing capability and firm performance in the retailing context.

Keywords: Market-Sensing, Capability, Profitability, Growth, Retail Entrepreneurs


Purpose
With an increased focus on the need for higher levels of accountability and transparency in the public sector, this study aims to provide insights into non-financial reporting (NFR) practices as a mechanism in facilitating accountability. This study also aims to investigate the changing role of the public sector accountant in this process, specifically focusing on the Australian local government sector.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a mail survey across two time periods, 2009 and 2017, to analyse the role of accountants in NFR practices. Institutional theory provides a theoretical framing for the study.

Findings
The findings reveal an increase in the use of accountants across time in the preparation of voluntary information, being used in a variety of roles because of their financial abilities and analytical skills. The results also indicate a shift has occurred with more emphasis being placed on cross-departmental approaches to NFP incorporating the accountant. These results suggest a greater recognition of the role of accountants in NFR and a dilution of accountant's boundaries in relation to their existing traditional focus.

Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the academic NFR literature by providing evidence of an institutional shift that is occurring with the accountant's role widening to a broader context beyond their traditional roles.

Practical implications
This longitudinal study provides practical evidence to management of the potential offered by accountants as the public sector seeks to achieve higher levels of accountability and transparency. Policy implications also arise in relation to the need for development of quality assurance guidelines and further education and training as the public sector embarks on the journey of NFR.

Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first that has explored the evolution of NFR over a period of time through its focus on the role of accountants.


Image analysis techniques are described for the automatic detection, segmentation, feature description, and classification of tissue components, in liver tissue images. The result of the analysis is a quantitative description of the tissue, based on statistics of the components. A software package for analysis of these images has been developed by combining some newly developed algorithms with other techniques. The newly developed algorithms include the converging squares algorithm for location of cell nuclei, and the wedge filter technique for nuclei segmentation.


Diabetes is a rapidly growing global health crisis disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The emergence of diabetes as a global pandemic is one of the major challenges to human health, as long-term microvascular complications such as diabetic retinopathy (DR) can lead to irreversible blindness. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) technology may improve the diagnostic accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of DR screenings across LMICs. However, there is a gap between the potential of AI technology and its implementation in clinical practice. The main objective of this systematic review is to summarize the currently available literature on the health economic assessments of AI implementation for DR screening in LMICs. The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. We conducted an extensive systematic search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Web of Science on July 15, 2023. Our review included full-text English-language articles from any publication year. The Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) critical appraisal checklist for economic evaluations was used to rate the quality and rigor of the selected articles. The initial search generated 1,423 records and was narrowed to five full-text articles through comprehensive inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the five articles included in our systematic review, two used a cost-effectiveness analysis, two used a cost-utility analysis, and one used both a cost-effectiveness analysis and a cost-utility analysis. Across the five articles, LMICs such as China, Thailand, and Brazil were represented in the economic evaluations and models. Overall, three out of the five articles concluded that AI-based DR screening was more cost-effective in comparison to standard-of-care screening methods. Our systematic review highlights the need for more primary health economic analyses that carefully evaluate the economic implications of adopting AI technology for DR screening in LMICs. We hope this systematic review will offer valuable guidance to healthcare providers, scientists, and legislators to support appropriate decision-making regarding the implementation of AI algorithms for DR screening in healthcare workflows.


Abstract Quick changes in information society are presenting numerous difficulties to librarians. They are facing these changes with limited funds and numbers of staff, as well as without expert recommendations on how to introduce novelties into library activities. This also holds for the designing of library web pages. Possible solutions to the introduction of novelties are given on the case of creating a web homepage. Changes can be managed if we consider 1. – aims of the library (web pages), 2. – starting points for reaching the planned goal, 3. – collaboration among libraries and related institutions. Based on expert knowledge about libraries and key novelties from legislative practice, the author proposes certain elements, which can be used in designing the content of library web pages that would modernize the library and offer new electronic sources to its customers (users). On this point, the author recommends collaboration between libraries since this enhances the introduction of novelties and accelerates the speed of creating web homepages as well as improves cost benefits.


The stability and performance of a regulated converter is analysed based on its closed-loop output impedance. System theory is used to obtain a set of transfer functions that define the internal stability of an interconnected system consisting of source and load converters. The internal stability is described in terms of the ratio of the output impedance of the source converter and the input impedance of the load converter known as the minor-loop gain. Thus, the closed-loop output impedance of a source converter can be used to define safe operating areas that avoid instabilities in the load impedance. It is shown that the margins associated with the minor-loop gain (i.e. the gain and phase margins) do not generally match the margins of the output-voltage loop gain. The relationship is especially weak at frequencies close to and beyond the crossover frequency of the loop gain. This means that the margins given to the minor-loop gain should be gradually increased as the voltage-loop-gain crossover frequency is approached so as to avoid performance degradation (i.e. changes in margins and crossover frequency) in the supply converter. Experimental evidence is provided based on a buck converter under voltage- and peak-current-mode control.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

PTEN encodes a phosphatase for phosphatidylinositides and serves as a key negative regulator of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway. PTEN possesses a carboxyl-terminal Postsynaptic density-95/Dlg-1/ZO-1-binding domain (PDZ-BD) implicated in membrane targeting. Since the physiological function of this domain was unclear, a mouse strain lacking this domain was generated. PtenΔPDZ/ΔPDZ mice developed normally although the haploinsufficient mice (PtenΔPDZ/-) were under represented by 50% based on Mendelian ratio of inheritance. PtenΔPDZ/- mice that survived to adulthood harbored a ∼8 % increase in brain masses when compared to PTEN heterozygous (Pten+/-) animals. However, PtenΔPDZ/- mice do not have a greater propensity in neoplastic progression of the prostate, lymph nodes, and endometrium. Independently, the Primary astrocytes from PtenΔPDZ/ΔPDZ mice displayed marginally greater Akt activation following stimulation by epidermal growth factor although both proliferative and migratory capacities were not altered. Crossing PtenΔPDZ/ΔPDZ mice with a breast cancer model, MMTV-PyMT; and a glioblastoma model, GFAP-Ha-Ras, resulted in enhanced metastasis and reduced survival, respectively. Overall, these data provide the first demonstration of a physiological relevance of PTEN PDZ-BD in embryonic development, brain size regulation and tumor progression.

Citation Format: Andrew M. Chan, Hong Guan, Alex M. Many. Characterization of a mouse line lacking the PDZ-binding domain of PTEN. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1576. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1576


In this paper early detection of distributed attacks are discussed that are launched from multiple sites of the hybrid & public cloud networks. A prototype of Cloud Distributed Intrusion Detection System (CDIDS) is discussed with some basic experiments. The summation of security alerts has been applied which helps to detect distributed attacks while keeping the false positive at the minimum. Using the summation of security alerts mechanism the attacks that have slow iteration rate are detected at an early stage. The objective of our work is to propose a Security Management System (SMS) that can detect malicious activities as early as possible and camouflaging of attacks under the conditions when other security management systems become unstable due to intense events of attacks.


Abstract
The regulation of leaf thickness in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
S. Narawatthana
 One of the most important targets to improve crop yield is leaf photosynthetic capacity. Leaf thickness is one parameter closely associated with photosynthetic function and is strongly influenced by the level of irradiance. Generally, high light grown leaves are thicker, have higher light-saturated rates of photosynthesis, higher amounts of Rubisco and a higher chlorophyll a:b ratio than shade grown leaves. However, the developmental stage at which leaf thickness is set and how it is set are unclear. In this thesis I investigate the outcome on leaf thickness of changing irradiance level at specific points in the development of leaf 5 of rice plants via a series of transfer experiments from high light (HL) to low light (LL) at specific stages of leaf development. The results from these experiments show that the P2- to P4-stage of rice leaf development represents a developmental window during which final thickness can be altered via light regime. Analysis of photosynthetic capacity and gas exchange of the leaves from the transfer experiments indicated some correlation of leaf thickness with biochemical/physiological adaptation to the prevailing irradiance level. Interestingly, whilst HL induced the development of thicker rice leaves with a visibly larger mesophyll cell size, transferral of the leaves to LL conditions at any developmental stage led to a LL-acclimated photosynthetic response. To identify lead genes potentially involved in the growth response of young leaves to the prevailing light environment, I performed a microarray analysis of leaf primordia at P3-stage undergoing a leaf-thickness response to altered irradiance level. A number of lead genes were identified and a selection process based on independent expression analyses was performed to narrow the number of candidates for future functional analysis. An initial analysis of some of these genes is reported.


Experiments were conducted in a rotating two-pass cooling channel with an aspect ratio of 2:1 (Dh = 16.9 mm). Results for two surface conditions are presented: smooth and one ribbed configuration. For the ribbed channel, the leading and trailing walls are roughened with ribs (P/e = 10, e/Dh = 0.094) and are placed at an angle (α = 45°) to the mainstream flow. For each surface condition, two angles of rotation (β = 90°, 135°) were studied. For each angle of rotation, five Reynolds numbers (Re = 10K–40K) were considered. At each Reynolds number, five rotational speeds (Ω = 0–400 rpm) were considered. The maximum rotation number and buoyancy parameter reached were 0.45 and 0.85, respectively. Results showed that rotation effects are minimal in ribbed channels, at both angles of rotation, due to the strong interaction of rib and Coriolis induced vortices. In the smooth case, the channel orientation proved to be important and a beneficial heat transfer increase on the leading surface in the first pass (radially outward flow) was observed at high rotation numbers. The correlations developed in this study for predicting heat transfer enhancement due to rotation using the buoyancy parameter showed markedly good agreement with experimental data (+/-10%). Finally, heat transfer under rotating conditions on the tip cap showed to be quite dependent on channel orientation. The maximum tip cap Nu/Nus ratio observed was 2.8.Copyright © 2010 by ASME


Clarity Project is a fine jewelry company and social enterprise that recently began mining diamonds in Sierra Leone as part of its mission to improve the quality of life of artisanal miners in West African communities. This has presented a new challenge to the company: the site of Clarity Project's new mining compound is distant from the country's modest electric grid, leaving Clarity Project to procure its own electric power. The purpose of this project is to determine Clarity Project's electricity needs, analyze its alternatives for meeting those needs, and evaluate the costs and environmental impacts of those alternatives. Using data obtained on site in Sierra Leone and meteorological data from NASA, we developed a model that predicts the load profile of the mining compound, forecasts the expected amount and temporal availability of electricity from photovoltaic arrays on site, and projects the use of diesel generators and battery storage to supplement the solar power. The model then calculates the present value of the capital and operating expenses for the microgrid as well as the carbon dioxide emissions associated with generating electricity for the compound. Our analysis has determined that (1) the least expensive option, based on capital expenses and operating expenses discounted to present value, would be to rely solely on diesel generators; (2) the cost of relying solely on renewable energy during Sierra Leone's dry season would be approximately double the all-diesel option over a five-year time horizon and about 60 percent greater over a 25-year time horizon (and the availability of renewable energy falls significantly during the rainy season); and (3) incorporating solar power and battery storage, while more expensive, would allow Clarity Project to avoid emitting nearly 20 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Clarity Project is a fine jewelry company and social enterprise that recently began mining diamonds in Sierra Leone as part of its mission to improve the quality of life of artisanal miners in West African communities. This has presented a new challenge to the company: the site of Clarity Project's new mining compound is distant from the country's modest electric grid, leaving Clarity Project to procure its own electric power for its staff. The purpose of this project is to determine Clarity Project's electricity needs, analyze its alternatives for meeting those needs, and evaluate the costs and environmental impacts of those alternatives. Using data obtained on site in Sierra Leone and meteorological …


Semantic web services aim to automate the use of web services by adding some annotations to these services in order to improve semantic expression of their functionalities. With the evolution of organisations web services and their widespread use, searching for them based on a distributed context has become a real challenge. A functionality-based web service discovery mechanism is then necessary since the functionalities are the most important thing partners look for. In this paper, we present an automatic, scalable, and distributed discovery mechanism for web service execution environments. Our solution is based on P2P technologies that proved their efficiency and robustness as distributed systems.


Background: Today empowerment of women by health literacy has become a necessity. Researchers have shown that women are active seekers of health information and seeking behaviors are driven by various motivational factors. Paying attention to women's motivations for seeking health information could facilitate evidence-based policy making in promotion of public health literacy. As health information seeking develops within personal-social interactions and also the health system context, it seems that a qualitative paradigm is appropriate for studies in this field.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore Iranian women's motivations for seeking heath information.

Patients and Methods: In this qualitative content analysis study, data collection was conducted considering the inclusion criteria, through purposive sampling and by semi-structured interviews with 17 women, using documentation and field notes, until data saturation. Qualitative data analysis was done constantly and simultaneous with data collection.

Results: Five central themes emerged to explain the women's motivation for health information seeking including: a) dealing with fear and uncertainly b) understanding the nature of disease and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures c) performing parental duties d) promoting a healthy life style e) receiving safer health care.

Conclusions: It seemed that respecting client's concerns, providing comprehensive health information, as well as risk management and promoting safer health care is necessary.


The ground-state spins and magnetic moments of (49,51)K have been measured using bunched-beam high-resolution collinear laser spectroscopy at ISOLDE CERN. For 49K a ground-state spin I = 1/2 was firmly established. The observed hyperfine structure of 51K requires a spin I > 1/2 and strongly suggests I = 3/2. From its magnetic moment μ(51K) = +0.5129(22)μ(N) a spin-parity I(π) = 3/2+ with a dominant π1d(3/2)(-1) hole configuration was deduced. This establishes for the first time the reinversion of the single-particle levels and illustrates the prominent role of the residual monopole interaction for single-particle levels and shell evolution.


Most performance metrics for cooperative networks focus on the qualification of either spectrum efficiency or link reliability, without considering the spatial effect of radio transmission. Area spectral efficiency (ASE) was first introduced to qualify the spatial spectral utilization efficiency of cellular systems. In this paper, we generalize the definition of ASE and investigate this performance metric in a three-node cooperative network with decode-and-forward (DF) and amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying. We derive the mathematical expression of ASE with the consideration of path-loss and fading effects. We show through selected numerical examples that ASE provides a new perspective on the spectrum utilization efficiency and transmission power design.


In earlier work by March and Matthai [Phil. Mag. Lett. 84 335 (2004)], the energy gaps Eg of the diamond-type semiconductors C, Si, Ge and α-Sn were shown to correlate well with the mean interelectronic separation rs of the 4 valence electrons per atom. Furthermore for the III-V analogues such as GaAs and InSb, it was demonstrated that a useful extension could be effected by introducing additionally the electronegativity difference between the constituent atoms. Here, we consider available experimental data, and their interpretation, for such energy gaps, as a function of pressure. The intensity of the X-ray forbidden reflections will also be discussed under pressure.


Guanxi is the Chinese system of ideas and practices constituting social relationships and can be considered the foundation of Chinese societies. Protestant Christianity spread over guanxi networks from its first introduction to China, changing both guanxi and Christianity in the process. This paper proposes a causal model of guanxi and then analyzes how it was reconstituted in the indigenous Chinese Protestant group, the Local Churches. It is based on published writings by Local Church founders and members and on the author's thirty years of experience with the group. This case contributes to the academic understanding of guanxi and Chinese Christianity, finding that extension of family, supply of resources, and social interaction are the core aspects of guanxi , but that specific practices change in the Christian context to preserve biblical commandments. Because guanxi networks are bonding rather than bridging, Chinese Christian groups will tend to diverge more than they converge.關係是中國人構成社會交往的思想和實踐體系,可以說是中國社會的基礎。基督新教在中国的发展依赖于关系网络,在其传播过程中二者都发生了变化。本文先提出一个关于關係的因果模型,再分析關係如何在一個中國本土的新教團體—地方教會—中被重新構造。本項研究是基於地方教會創辦人和成員的寫作,也基於作者與該團體三十年的接触。這項個案研究 有助于擴展對關係與中國基督教的學術理解。關係最重要方面是家庭关系的延展,供應資源,以及社會交流,不過,基督徒為了遵守聖經的教訓, 改变了關係的某些实践。地方教会的关系网络强调内部团结,而不是对外开放,所以与其他基督教团体关系疏离,而不是趨向匯合。 (This article is in English.)


The single-particle dynamical properties of a strongly coupled, classical, symmetric electronic bilayer system have been investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Results for the velocity correlation function, the single-particle scattering function, and their respective Fourier transforms have been calculated, and their behavior, as a function of the interlayer separation d, has been analyzed. The single-particle scattering function in particular, shows dramatic effects when the bilayer attains a staggered square lattice structure. This occurs when the interlayer separation is around 0.8a (a is the Wigner-Seitz radius), where our previous study showed a marked decrease in the diffusion coefficient.


Purpose From static blurry images, it is difficult to perceive objects because high spatial frequency details are filtered out. However, in the context of events (defined as objects in motion), motion generates optic flow, which provides a depth map of 3D layout and allows good event perception. Visual motion measurement uses low spatial frequencies that remain available in blurry images, making events perceivable. Optic flow and image structure are intrinsically related in vision because optic flow takes one image to the next. Optic flow is powerful in specifying depth structures and it calibrates the degraded image structure; image structure is persistent and it preserves events perceived with ongoing motion, after it stops. Might optic flow and image structures interact and allow events to be perceived despite poor quality images? The answer to this question has implications for event perception with low vision. Methods Twenty blurry images depicting each of eight daily events were used as stimuli. Ten normally sighted participants perceived the stimuli and described the events in five ordered conditions: (1) when single frames were presented, (2) when all frames were presented with motion masks, (3) when all frames were presented without motion masks, (4) when single frames were presented, and (5) when single frames were presented 5 days later. Results With blurry static images alone, participants were unable to identify events. Events were perceptible when the blurred images were played in sequence, making motion-generated information available. Subsequently, when given the original blurry static images again, post-motion performance was vastly superior to the pre-motion performance. Furthermore, the high rate of recognition persisted after 5 days. Conclusions Optic flow calibrates low-quality image structure to allow accurate event perception during and after motion. This implies that low-vision observers should perform much better than allowed by weakened image structure information alone.


In this study the oil palm fruit bunch fibres were used as the filler or reinforcement in polypropylene. Thus the aim of this thesis was to achieve a greater understanding of the various parameters that contribute to the variations of water absorption, thermal stability and mechanical properties, and to manipulate these parameters in order to produce an improved oil palm fruit bunch fibre reinforced polypropylene composite material. Several characterization techniques, such as tensile test, flexural test, impact test, water absorption analysis, thermal analysis and chemical analysis were used to assess the effect of each parameter. OPFB/PP composites at four different sizes of 250 |im, 180 |im, 125 urn and 100 |im were investigated on the water uptake ability and were found to increase as the OPFB size increase. Meanwhile the thermal stability decrease at temperature range of 200°C - 450 °C. The investigations also showed that the tensile and flexural properties were increased with the increasing of OPFB size and indicated that the 250 ^tm OPFB/PP composites had the most enhances mechanical properties. PPnanoclay/PP composites were compounded at four PPnanoclay loadings of 10 phr, 25 phr, 40 phr and 100 phr. The water uptake of PP nanoclay/PP composites was found to increase as the PPnanoclay loading increase followed by the increase in thermal stability as well.


The beginnings of EU law: national ius commune in the opinions of the Advocates General Karl Roemer and Maurice Lagrange (1954–1964). – During the first decade of the European Communities' Court of Justice, Karl Roemer and Maurice Lagrange developed the principles of a European common law by borrowing from the Member States' national legal systems. Thus, many of the foundations of European Community law were rooted in a careful comparative analysis of the distinct national legal traditions.


The concept of stress was introduced by the German physiologist Hans Seyle in 1936, but it is still today a controversial topic among those involved with animal production, even to scientific community, probably due to the delicate relation between stress and animal welfare (BROSSI et al., 2009). The consumer market, national and international, is increasingly demanding to humanitarian breeding issues, mainly in relation with animal welfare that include from thermal comfort to environmental preservation (CORDEIRO et al., 2010). Since 1992, the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) conceptualizes the animal welfare as a physical and mental status with entitlement to the "five freedoms": 1) Freedom from hunger and thirst; 2) Freedom from discomfort and being housed in appropriate environment; 3) Freedom from pain, injury and disease; 4) Freedom to express normal behaviour; 5) Freedom from fear and distress. The animal welfare is the sum of each of these freedoms, as in that way evaluates comprehensively all the factors that interfere with the animal's quality of life (LUDTKE; GREGORY; DALLA COSTA, 2010). The heat stress, as example, is considered one of the reasons of welfare decrease, as well as the increase of economic losses by productive decrease or animals' death, being the outcome of the combination of broiler heat and humidity production, vehicle ventilation and weather conditions (BHANDARE; SHEARD, 2010). At ambient temperatures up to 21oC, the heat sensitive losses by radiation process, conduction and convections predominate; still at high temperatures, the main rote of heat dissipation is the respiratory evaporation (BROSSI et al., 2009). Birds normally respond to stress with physiologicals and behaviours changes and death, being that when the stress is acute, mainly occurs an increase in catecholamines' levels, such as adrenalin and noradrenalin (BHANDARE; SHEARD, 2010).


River basin management is receiving considerable attention at present. Part of the debate, now occurring worldwide, concerns the nature of the organisations that are required to manage river basins successfully, and whether special-purpose river basin organisations (RBOs) are always necessary and in what circumstance they are likely to (i) add to the management of the water resources and (ii) be successful. The development of river basin management requires a number of important elements to be developed to a point where the river basin can be managed successfully. These include the relevant laws, the public and non-government institutions, the technical capabilities of the people, the understanding and motivation of people, and the technical capacity and systems, including information. A river basin organisation (or RBO) is taken to mean a special-purpose organisation charged with some part of the management of the water resources of a particular river basin. Generally speaking, such organisations are responsible for various functions related to the supply, distribution, protection and allocation of water, and their boundaries follow the watershed of the river in question. However, the same functions can be carried out by various organisations, which are not configured on the geographical boundaries of a river basin. This paper outlines recent work on river basin organisation in Vietnam, and makes some comparisons with the situation in Australia.


This memo registers the Enumservice "vCard" using the URI schemes
"http" and "https". This Enumservice is to be used to refer from an
ENUM domain name to a vCard instance describing the user of the
respective E.164 number. Information gathered from those vCards could
be used before, during, or after inbound or outbound communication
takes place. For example, a callee might be presented with the name
and association of the caller before picking up the call. [STANDARDS-
TRACK]


PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of different surgical approaches to thoracic disc herniation, and to show the role of segmental fusion and selection of an appropriate microsurgical decompression technique for the successful outcome of surgery.

MATERIAL
A group of 27 patients, 10 men and 17 women, between 31 and 70 years (average age, 49.33 years) were included in this prospective study. They underwent surgery for thoracic degeneration disc disease in the period from June 1994 to August 2008.

METHODS
In all patients, the severity of myelopathy was assessed using the grading Frankel system and JOA score, axial and radicular pain intensity was evaluated with VAS and ODI rating systems. The diagnosis was established on the basis of thoracic spine radiography, thoracic spine MRI and a CT scan of the segment. A total of 30 thoracic segments, in the range of Th4/Th5 to Th12/L1, were indicated for surgery. Localisation of the hernia was medial at 19 segments, mediolateral at three and lateral at eight segments. Soft disc herniation was found in 17 cases and hard disc protrusion at the remaining 13 segments. Surgery for significant myelopathy was carried out in 23 patients and for pain in four patients. According to the surgical procedure used, the patients were allocated to two groups: group A comprised 10 patients treated without disc replacement through a laminectomy or a costotransversectomy exposure, and group B consisted of 17 patients undergo- ing intersomatic fusion via a thoracotomy. Clinical and radiographic examinations were made at regular intervals for at least 1 year of follow-up. The results of clinical assessment, including JOA scores, JOA Recovery Rate, VAS scores at rest and after exercise and ODI, were statistically analysed for each group and compared.

RESULTS
There was a statistically significant difference in JOA evaluation of myelopathy between the groups in group A, the mean JOA score declined from 7.9 to 7.0, i.e., -0.9 point, while in group B it increased from 6.71 to 9.12, i.e., +2.41 points. The mean JOA Recovery Rate did not reach a plus value in group A, while in group B it improved by 55 %. JOA Recovery Rate: Of the seven patients in group A evaluated for myelopathy, a fair result was in one, unchanged in two and worse in four patients. Of the 16 patients evaluated for myelopathy in group B, the results were excellent in four, good in six, fair in four and unchanged in two patients. Frankel grade function: In group A, one patient improved by one grade, two remained unchanged, two deteriorated by one grade and two by two grades. In group B, five patients improved by one grade, two patients by two grades and two patients by three grades. Eight patients remained unchanged and no patient deteriorated. The post-operative pain intensity, as assessed by the mean VAS score, was lower at rest and after exercise in both groups; the score was better in group B, but the difference was not statistically significant. The ODI was evaluated only in group B its mean value improved from 41.4% to 26.1%, i.e., by 15.3%.

DISCUSSION
Between 7 to 15 % of the patients have asymptomatic thoracic disc herniation, while symptomatic herniation is very rare and accounts for only 0.25 % to 0.57 % of herniated discs in the whole spine. Severe or progressive myelopathy is a clear indication for surgical intervention in thoracic disc herniation, but the role of surgery in pain control is controversial. There are five approaches for thoracic disc herniation. Transpleural anterolateral thoracotomy has an advantage over the other methods because it permits the treatment of all types of herniation, whether localised centrally, laterally or contralaterally, i.e., soft, calcified or sequestered intradural disc herniation. The results of treatment will depend on the outcome of surgical spinal cord decompression and the degree of spinal stabilisation achieved.

CONCLUSIONS
The surgical procedure via thoracotomy with intersomatic fusion resulted in a statistically more significant improvement of myelopathy than the posterior approach without disc replacement, and it provided greater pain relief. The authors recommend to treat thoracic disc herniation by discectomy via a thoracotomy and by intersomatic fusion.


In the recent issue of PNAS, Futrell et al. claims that their study of 37 languages gives the first large scale cross-language evidence for Dependency Length Minimization, which is an overstatement that ignores similar previous researches. In addition,this study seems to pay no attention to factors like the uniformity of genres,which weakens the validity of the argument that DLM is universal. Another problem is that this study sets the baseline random language as projective, which fails to truly uncover the difference between natural language and random language, since projectivity is an important feature of many natural languages. Finally, the paper contends an "apparent relationship between head finality and dependency length" despite the lack of an explicit statistical comparison, which renders this conclusion rather hasty and improper.


Let M be a complete n-dimensional Riemannian spin manifold, partitioned by q two-sided hypersurfaces which have a compact transverse intersection N and which in addition satisfy a certain coarse transversality condition. Let E be a Hermitean bundle on M with connection. We define a coarse multi-partitioned index of the spin Dirac operator on M twisted by E. Our main result is the computation of this multi-partitioned index as the Fredholm index of the Dirac operator on the compact manifold N, twisted by the restriction of E to N. We establish the following main application: if the scalar curvature of M is bounded below by a positive constant everywhere (or even if this happens only on one of the quadrants defined by the partitioning hypersurfaces) then the multi-partitioned index vanishes. Consequently, the multi-partitioned index is an obstruction to uniformly positive scalar curvature on M. The proof of the multi-partitioned index theorem proceeds in two steps: first we establish a strong new localization property of the multi-partitioned index which is the main novelty of this note. This we establish even when we twist with an arbitrary Hilbert A-module bundle E (for an auxiliary C*algebra A). This allows to reduce to the case where M is the product of N with Euclidean space of dimension q. For this special case, standard methods for the explicit calculation of the index in this product situation can be adapted to obtain the result.


To improve the toughness of Ni–P coatings, NiTi superelastic particles were introduced into the Ni–P matrix through the electroless co-depositing of Ni–P and Ti particles and annealing Ni–P–Ti coatings. The mechanical properties of the coatings were determined through bend testing bilayer specimens and tensile testing the standalone coating. The effects of Ti content and annealing on Young's modulus, toughness, and fracture strength were investigated. After annealing, the toughness and strength improved considerably. The formation of the superelastic NiTi phase after annealing led to the improvement of toughness and fracture strength of the composite coating through transformation toughening, crack deflection, bridging, and shielding. Different toughening mechanisms interacted with each other and operated together. This contributed to the enhancement of toughness and fracture strength.