Objective: To assess the problems faced by patients receiving orthodontic treatment as this procedure leads to more accumulation of plaque that effects oral health.
Methods: This epidemiological study was done among a group of 500 subjects consisting of 194 orthodontic and 306 non orthodontic patients. The age of all the participants ranges between 17 to 20 years with a mean age of 21.36 years. Clinical examination was done to know the presence of dental problems with orthodontic procedure. Data were analyzed with SPSS software version 16.0 at p<0.05.
Results: The dental problems noticed during the orthodontic procedure were oral ulcerations (47.6%), caries (34.3%) and periodontal diseases (18.1%). Significant difference was found in case of calculus and shallow pocket component (4-5 mm) (p<0.05) among both the groups. Overall significant difference of DMFT was surveyed among the groups with an increase in mean scores among orthodontic patients (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The study showed high prevalence of dental problems in the orthodontic patients as they feel difficulty in maintaining their oral hygiene due to the inconvenience caused by orthodontic appliances.


Low-pressure silane plasmas (2-20 Pa) diluted with the noble gases helium and argon as well as hydrogen were generated by microwave excitation in order to determine plasma parameters and absolute particle number densities. Specific silane radicals (SiH, Si, , H) were measured by means of optical emission spectroscopy, whereas particle densities of silane, disilane and molecular hydrogen were measured with mass spectroscopy. Experimental results confirm model calculations, which were carried out to determine number densities of all silane radicals and of higher silanes as well as electron temperature. The electron temperature varies from 1.5 to 4 eV depending on pressure and gas mixture. The temperature of heavy particles is 450 K and the electron number density is . The rotational temperatures of SiH are between room temperature and 2000 K due to increasing dissociative excitation. In the plasma the number density of silane is reduced, whereas the number density of molecular hydrogen is close to the silane density, which is fed in. Particle densities of , disilane and atomic hydrogen are in the range of a few per cent of the silane number density. At low pressure the density is similar to and decreases with increasing pressure due to heavy particle collisions with silane producing higher silanes. Particle densities of SiH and Si are only in the range of some of the silane density decreasing with increasing collisions of heavy particles with silane and molecular hydrogen. In mixtures with argon Penning reactions increase the silane dissociation.


We introduce a family of implementations of low-order, additive, geometric multilevel solvers for systems of Helmholtz equations arising from Schrödinger equations. Both grid spacing and arithmetics may comprise complex numbers, and we thus can apply complex scaling to the indefinite Helmholtz operator. Our implementations are based on the notion of a spacetree and work exclusively with a finite number of precomputed local element matrices. They are globally matrix-free. Combining various relaxation factors with two grid transfer operators allows us to switch from additive multigrid over a hierarchical basis method into a Bramble-Pasciak-Xu (BPX)-type solver, with several multiscale smoothing variants within one code base. Pipelining allows us to realize full approximation storage (FAS) within the additive environment where, amortized, each grid vertex carrying degrees of freedom is read/written only once per iteration. The codes realize a single-touch policy. Among the features facilitated by matrix-free FAS is arbitrary dynamic mesh refinement (AMR) for all solver variants. AMR as an enabler for full multigrid (FMG) cycling—the grid unfolds throughout the computation—allows us to reduce the cost per unknown. The present work primary contributes toward software realization and design questions. Our experiments show that the consolidation of single-touch FAS, dynamic AMR, and vectorization-friendly, complex scaled, matrix-free FMG cycles delivers a mature implementation blueprint for solvers of Helmholtz equations in general. For this blueprint, we put particular emphasis on a strict implementation formalism as well as some implementation correctness proofs.


Performing group analysis on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data with linear mixed-effects (LME) models is challenging due to its large dimensionality and inherent multi-level covariance structure. In addition, as large-scale collaborative projects become commonplace in neuroimaging, data must increasingly be stored and analysed at different locations. In such settings, substantial overheads occur in terms of data transfer and coordination between participating research groups. In some cases, data cannot be pooled together due to privacy or regulatory concerns. In this work, we propose a decentralized LME model to perform a large-scale analysis of data from different collaborations without sharing or pooling. This method is efficient as it overcomes the hurdles of data privacy for sharing and has lower bandwidth and memory requirements for analysis than the centralized modeling approach. We evaluate our model using features extracted from structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) data. Results highlight gray matter reductions in the temporal lobe/insula and medical front regions demonstrate the correctness of decentralized LME models. Our analysis also demonstrates that decentralized LME models achieve similar performance compared to the models trained with all the data in one location. We also implement the decentralized LME approach in COINSTAC, a decentralized platform for federating neuroimaging analysis, to demonstrate its value to the neuroimaging community.


PURPOSE
To investigate the factors influencing visual development in blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The study population comprised 20 patients with blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome who were referred for an oculoplastic opinion. The ocular examination included measurement of Snellen visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, ocular movements and alignment, and the presence of amblyopia. Patients were treated with spectacle correction, occlusion therapy, strabismus surgery, and oculoplastic surgery if necessary. Minimum follow-up was 2 years.

RESULTS
Nine (45%) patients had amblyopia; 5 (25%) of these patients had unilateral amblyopia and 4 (20%) had bilateral amblyopia. Six (67%) patients with amblyopia had a significant coexisting strabismus. A significant strabismus was present in 11 (55%) patients; 6 (55%) of these patients had unilateral or bilateral amblyopia. Patients with strabismus were more likely to have amblyopia than those without. A total of 14 (70%) patients had refractive error; 6 (43%) of these patients had amblyopia.

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with blepharophimosis-ptosis-epicanthus inversus syndrome had a high rate of amblyopia, especially bilateral amblyopia. Patients with strabismus were more likely to have amblyopia than those without. Patients also had a high incidence of refractive errors.


OBJECTIVE
to ascertain the seroprevalence of antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in the Madrid population prior to the introduction of vaccination.

STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional antibody seroprevalence study.

METHODS

POPULATION
persons aged 2 to 40 years in Madrid. Field work: September 1999 to April 2000. Data were collected on demographic and socio-economic variables and on a number of exposures. IgG antibodies were determined using Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA), and antibody prevalence broken down by age group. Logistic regression was used to analyse the association between the presence of antibodies and the respective study variables. The results were compared against those of an earlier seroprevalence survey in Madrid (1993).

RESULTS
A total of 2,131 subjects were included, with a non-response rate of 20.4%. Antibody prevalence was estimated at 90.2%; the 90% mark was reached at 11 years of age and almost 100% of adults presented with antibodies. In the case of children, school attendance associated with the presence of antibodies. No significant differences were observed vis-à-vis the results of the earlier survey.

CONCLUSIONS
The seroprevalence profile coincides with those of other Spanish regions and European countries, and remains stable over time. Antibody presence rises sharply in children from aged 2 years to adolescence. Further seroprevalence studies are called for to study the disease trend and assess preventive measures.


Human Wildlife conflict is an emerged problem in wildlife today. Our study deals with assessing the tolerance level of human towards wildlife by taking some parts of Coimbatore like Karamdai, Thondamuthur and Periyanaickenpalayam as study area. These are areas where human conflict with wildlife and wildlife conflict with human are often seen. Conflict with animals like wild boar, peacock, elephant and deer are seen here. The aim of our study is to analyze the original tolerance level of people towards human wildlife conflicts, to compare the tolerance level of people towards different animals, to compare the tolerance level of on comparing with different groups on basis of age, gender, occupation, forest area coverage and losses faced. Our study was conducted on December 2018 and about 48 peoples are investigated in our study area. The voices of people were recorded in phone and tolerance percentages were given. The mean tolerance level of the people was found to be 58.75%. About 23% of people showed 90% level of tolerance. The comparative tolerance levels between different groups of people were discussed. The reasons behind the factors which determine the tolerance level of groups were also discussed.


Thirty-seven patients with external gastrointestinal fistulas were treated with a combination of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and somatostatin (ST). There was a significant fall in fistula output within the first day of treatment (p less than 0.001). On the first day of combined therapy, the reduction of fistula output was 70%, and in 68% of the cases, the fistula output fell to less than 50% of the initial level. Spontaneous closure was observed in 82% of the cases, and the time taken to close the fistula ranged between 1 and 14 days of starting therapy [5.4 +/- 0.7 days (mean +/- SEM)]. The response to TPN-ST treatment occurred, irrespective of age and sex of patients, duration and daily output of the fistulas before ST use, and their location in the gastrointestinal tract. Infection of fistula output was a factor of adverse prognosis. In all cases, and in the absence of mechanical obstacles, treatment that combines TPN and ST could be tried and continued up to 14 days in cases in which the fistula output falls more than 50% on the first day of treatment.


It has been shown by Galston, Baker & King (1953) that, if sub-apical sections of pea epicotyl are floated on a sucrose solution containing an appropriate indole acetic acid (IAA) concentration, the sections will elongate considerably. If benzimidazole (BIA) is added in addition to the auxin there is a narrow concentration range of BIA over which elongation is strongly inhibited, while increase in section diameter is actually enhanced. This increase in diameter is due specifically to an increase in diameter of the cortical cells. It is shown in this paper that the cortical cells in tissues which have been induced to increase in diameter have a different wall structure from cortical cells in tissues which have increased mainly in length. In the latter case the cellulose microfibrils are arranged transversely to the longitudinal axis of the cell, but, in cells which have increased mainly in diameter, there are two distinct microfibrillar components: a transverse set of microfibrils, and organized bands of longitudinally oriented microfibrils on the outside of the cell wall. The structure of the wall and its plastic and elastic properties are discussed in relation to the way in which the wall may determine the shape of the cell. It is pointed out that changes in cell shape which result from alteration of the chemical environment of the cell could be explained by modification of the plastic and elastic properties of the wall due to change in wall structure. This hypothesis supports the idea that plasticity of the cell wall is an important factor in extension growth and also suggests that the arrangement of microfibrils plays an important part in determining the shape of the cell. If this hypothesis is correct it may have considerable bearing upon the mechanism of cell and tissue differentiation. The observed changes in cell wall structure favour the view that microfibril orientation is controlled through the agency of the protoplasm. The occurrence of bands of longitudinal microfibrils on the outside of the cell wall suggests that cellulose microfibrils can be laid down remote from the cytoplasm.


OBJECTIVE
To determine changing patterns in the main causes of mortality Brazilian regions between 1980 and 2000 taking into consideration the inequalities among territories and epidemiological transition.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Data was gathered from the Information System of the state of São Paulo. Age-standardized mortality rates were calculated using the European population as reference. The average annual increase was calculated using linear regression models.

RESULT
Mortality rates due to ill-defined causes of death, assaults and homicide, and HIV infection increased in men and women while mortality due to cardiovascular disease, pneumonia and influenza significantly decreased.

CONCLUSION
The epidemiological transition in Brazil differs from that of developed countries and other Latin American countries, since causes of death connected with both developed and developing countries coexist.


Satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth (AOD) can potentially provide an effective way to complement the spatial coverage limitation of a ground particulate air-pollution monitoring network such as the U.S. Environment Protection Agency's regulatory monitoring network. One of the current state-of-the-art AOD retrieval methods is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) operational algorithm, which has a spatial resolution of 17.6 km × 17.6 km. Although the MISR's aerosol products lead to exciting research opportunities to study particle composition at a regional scale, its spatial resolution is too coarse for analyzing urban areas, where the air pollution has stronger spatial variations and can severely impact public health and the environment. Accordingly, a novel AOD retrieval algorithm with a resolution of 4.4 km × 4.4 km has been recently developed, which is based on hierarchical Bayesian modeling and the Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) inference method. In this paper, we carry out detailed quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the new algorithm, which is called the HB-MCMC algorithm, using recent AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) campaign data obtained in the summer of 2011. These data, which were not available in a previous study, contain spatially dense ground measurements of the AOD and other aerosol particle characteristics from the Baltimore-Washington, DC region. Our results show that the HB-MCMC algorithm has 16.2% more AOD retrieval coverage and improves the root-mean-square error by 38.3% compared with the MISR operational algorithm. Our detailed analyses with various metrics show that the improvement of our scheme is coming from the novel modeling and inference method. Furthermore, the map overlay of the retrieval results qualitatively confirms the findings of the quantitative analyses.


This survey aimed to examine how patient-pharmacist communication using the drug profile book relates patient's behavior regarding its use. Among patients who visited one of the five pharmacies during the 4 months between July and October of 2013, 245 patients who had been prescribed antihypertensives were asked to complete a questionnaire. Items included patient attributes, whether the patient thought the drug profile book was useful to them ("sense of utility"), whether the patient has ever been questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug profile book ("experience of being questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug profile book"), and whether the patient has ever shown the drug profile book to the physician ("experience of showing the drug profile book to the physician"). In addition, pharmacists counted the frequency of patients bringing the drug profile book, and if so, the frequency of the sticker affix during the last 5 visits. 34.3% of responding patients answered that they had the "experience of being questioned while showing the drug profile book". Response rates of "frequency of bringing the drug profile book", "sense of utility", and "experience of showing the drug profile book to the physician" in the group with "experience of being questioned while showing the drug profile book" were significantly higher than those in the group without such experience. This survey indicated that experience of being questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug profile book related patient's behavior regarding its use.


A genetic intervention strategy is described to elucidate the specific biochemical pathways in identified types of neurons that underlie behavioral adaptations. This strategy contains three parts: A Herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) vector is used to obtain localized gene transfer, a cell type-specific promoter is used to target expression to a particular type of neuron, and a constitutively active signal transduction enzyme is expressed to alter neuronal physiology. To enable this approach, a constitutively active protein kinase C (PKC) was developed which causes a long-lasting, activation-dependent increase in neurotransmitter release from cultured sympathetic neurons. This genetic intervention strategy was tested using the nigrostriatal system: Microinjection of HSV-1 vectors that contain the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter targeted expression to dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons. Expression of the constitutively active PKC in a small percentage of nigrostriatal neurons (approximately 0.1-2%) produced a long-term (> or = 1 month) change in apomorphine-induced rotational behavior, the amount of rotational behavior correlated with the number of affected nigrostriatal neurons, and D2-like dopamine receptor levels were elevated in the striatal regions innervated by the affected nigrostriatal neurons. The strengths and limitations of this genetic intervention strategy are discussed.


Abstract Meigu goat (Capra hircus) is one of the indigenous goat breeds in China. Our research findings revealed that the entire mitochondrial genome of Meigu goat was 16,643 bp in length. The contents of A, C, T and G in the mitochondrial genome were 33.59%, 26.05%, 27.31% and 13.05%, respectively. The mitogenome of meigu goat contained 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and 1 control region. Components of the Meigu goat's mitogenome were similar to those of other Capra hircus in gene arrangement and composition. These results could provide essential information for molecular phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses of domestic goats.


The theory of multiple inhibition kinetics has been extended to enzymes for which one inhibitor is noncompetitive and the other exhibits mixed inhibition. Plots of reciprocal velocity versus the concentration of either inhibitor at various fixed concentrations of the second inhibitor are predicted to give parallel lines if binding of the inhibitors is mutually exclusive and intersecting lines if the inhibitors interact at different sites on the enzyme. Application of this analysis to the purple acid phosphatase from bovine spleen in the presence of molybdate (a noncompetitive inhibitor) and phosphate (which exhibits mixed inhibition) results in parallel lines in the reciprocal velocity plots, indicating that phosphate and molybdate compete for a common site; since molybdate is a noncompetitive inhibitor, this site is inferred to be distinct from the site at which substrate binds and is hydrolyzed. Extension of these ideas suggests that phosphate ester substrates should be capable of binding to the molybdate-binding site as well as to the active site, and evidence for substrate inhibition at high substrate concentrations has been obtained. The implications of these findings for interpretation of previous spectroscopic studies of purple acid phosphatase complexes with tetrahedral oxyanions are discussed.


Existing literature have rarely evaluated distributive effect of Joint Forest Management (JFM) augmented with improved market linkages for non-timber forest products nor have they accounted for heterogeneity in the welfare effects. We assess the distributional impact of a unique JFM in Ethiopia in which additional support for improved market linkages for non-timber forest products was provided. The analysis is based on matching and instrumental variable (IV) methods of quantile treatment effects (QTE) evaluation using household data from selected rural villages of Gimbo district, in southwest Ethiopia. The results confirm that the intervention affect outcomes heterogeneously across the welfare distribution. Specifically, the program was found to raise welfare for only those along upper half (median and above) of welfare distribution. Thus, we infer that the program is not pro-poor, and, therefore, is not equity enhancing. Our analysis also revealed that such distributional bias of the program benefit arises from elite capture.


Background: Personnel involved in essential services or residing in high risk areas during the COVID-19 pandemic are at increased risk of getting infected, and higher infection rates among such personnel can paralyze these services due to shortage of staff. Evaluating the proportion of personnel infected can be done using seroprevalence studies or serosurveys.Methods: During July to November, 2020, individuals from multiple high risk groups in 6 urban centres in the state of Odisha, India, which included health care workers, police personnel, municipality/ sanitation staff, residents of urban slums, vendors, press staff, and prisoners, were recruited into the study after obtaining written informed consent. Blood samples collected from the study participants were tested for IgG antibodies against COVID-19 in Roche Cobas e441. Information on socio-demographic variables, association with a confirmed or suspected case, symptoms profile of individuals within 30 days, travel and history of testing for COVID-19 were collected. All the statistical analyses were performed using STATA 16.0 (Stata corp., Texas). A P value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of the 5434 individuals included in the final analysis, the overall COVID-19 seroprevalence was found to be 34.9% (95% CI 33.6-36.2). The seroprevalence varied from 21.8% (95% CI 19.6-24.1) in Rourkela to 54.9% (95% CI 51.5-58.2) in Bhubaneswar. Seropositivity was maximum among prisoners (47.7%, 138/289), followed by municipality/ sanitation staff (43.5%, 330/758), other office going staff (40.8%, 183/448), slum residents and vendors (39.8%, 252/633), police personnel (38.3%, 354/922), health care workers (27.1%, 536/1977), press staff (27.2%, 18/66) and residents of containment zones (25.2%, 86/341). On multivariate logistic regression, participants aged 18-29 years, 30-44 years, residents of slums and vending zone, municipality staffs, prisoners, residents of urban sites Malkangiri, Cuttack, Paralakhemundi and Bhubaneswar and those with previous history of confirmed COVID-19 were found to be independent co-relates of seropositivity.Conclusions: Risk of COVID-19 infection varied among the various high risk groups of Odisha. Periodic seroprevalence studies in future is essential to protect personnel involved in frontline activities during the ongoing pandemic.


The financing model of the U.S. non-profit social marketing organization DKT International has changed dramatically since it was founded 31 years ago. In the early days, DKT was reliant on donor funding, and most of its products were heavily subsidized in order to reach low-income and marginalized populations. However, over the last three decades, DKT has become increasingly financially sustainable due to a fortuitous combination of clever marketing, rising incomes, and the stable and often declining cost of procuring contraceptives. This has been especially true in middle-income countries like Indonesia, Brazil, and Ghana but also in lower-income countries and regions like Ethiopia and Bihar, India. Because all DKT programs sell products, they earn revenue. Through a mixture of cost recovery and cross-subsidization strategies, DKT has been able to simultaneously serve a wide range of income segments while generating sales revenue that can offset costs and even turn a profit in some countries. Such profits are reinvested in activities that educate and shift behavior or deployed to other countries to start up new ventures. This article describes the transition experienced by DKT, from charity to social enterprise, and profiles country examples in three different stages of financial sustainability, providing potential lessons for other non-profits. As generating resources for non-profits becomes more challenging, organizations may wish to explore ways to generate revenues and increase cost recovery by monetizing the products and services they provide.


The increase in perception capabilities of connected mobile sensor platforms (e.g., self-driving vehicles, drones, and robots) leads to an extensive surge of sensed features at various temporal and spatial scales. Beyond their traditional use for safe operation, available observations could enable to see how and where people move on sidewalks and cycle paths, to eventually obtain a complete microscopic and macroscopic picture of the traffic flows in a larger area. This paper proposes a new method for advanced traffic applications, tracking an unknown and varying number of moving targets (e.g., pedestrians or cyclists) constrained by a road network, using mobile (e.g., vehicles) spatially distributed sensor platforms. The key contribution in this paper is to introduce the concept of network bound targets into the multi-target tracking problem, and hence to derive a network-constrained multi-hypotheses tracker (NC-MHT) to fully utilize the available road information. This is done by introducing a target representation, comprising a traditional target tracking representation and a discrete component placing the target on a given segment in the network. A simulation study shows that the method performs well in comparison to the standard MHT filter in free space. Results particularly highlight network-constraint effects for more efficient target predictions over extended periods of time, and in the simplification of the measurement association process, as compared to not utilizing a network structure. This theoretical work also directs attention to latent privacy concerns for potential applications.


In this work we study the diffusion of non-interacting overdamped particles, moving on unbiased disordered correlated potentials, subjected to Gaussian white noise. We obtain an exact expression for the diffusion coefficient which allows us to prove that the unbiased diffusion of overdamped particles on a random polymer does not depend on the correlations of the disordered potentials. This universal behavior of the unbiased diffusivity is a direct consequence of the validity of the Einstein relation and the decay of correlations of the random polymer. We test the independence on correlations of the diffusion coefficient for correlated polymers produced by two different stochastic processes, a one-step Markov chain and the expansion-modification system. Within the accuracy of our simulations, we found that the numerically obtained diffusion coefficient for these systems agree with the analytically calculated ones, confirming our predictions.


For the direct torque control of induction motor, the flux weakening operation is required when the motor speed beyond the rated speed. The determining of flux weakening operation point is the key of up speed control. In this paper, the definition of stator flux maximum average synchronous speed is introduced to the direct control algorithm and the estimation formula is given as well. On this basis, the torque-slip model of stator field-orientated control is established. The flux weakening operation region can be determined by two necessary conditions which are the maximum average synchronous speed and its torque must be more than the rated speed and the damping torque (damping torque and load torque when loaded) respectively, and the flux weakening operation point is determined according to the stator core utilization. The power and current formulas at flux weakening operation point are given respectively in order to check the security areas of operation. The experiment results demonstrate the correctness and effectiveness of the determined flux weakening operation point in this paper.


: The authors present data on the development and introduction of anesthetic techniques during cardiac surgery at the Institute of Thoracic Surgery, USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, in 1956-1960 and after its reorganization to the Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery, USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, in 1961-1965. It is shown that in the years of introduction of closed operations on the heart, the methods of one- and many component inhalational anesthesia were mastered, its techniques were developed, anesthesia apparatuses and an anesthesia schedule were designed, cardiac anesthesiological studies were conducted, training of physicians from the country's regions was initiated, and the first guidelines for general anesthesia were published. In these years, the firm foundation was laid for the development of cardiac anesthesia. Later on the Institute developed and introduces all basic types of inhalational anesthesia during operations on the open heart under both extracorporeal circulation and hypothermia. The gained experience allowed the laboratory staff to defend several dissertations, to issue two monographs, and to analyze errors and risks of general anesthesia in patients with cardiovascular diseases at surgery.


This study develops a modelling framework within which the effects of technology choice and policy on the sustainability of cities may be assessed. A life cycle accounting system for environmental impacts is combined with systems analysis, to represent the flows of resources into cities, the wastes and pollution generated and the technological choices available in an urban environment. The approach is demonstrated through a case study of the demand for paper and management of wastepaper. The case study questions the applicability for paper of the accepted 'hierarchy' of waste management techniques; incineration imposes lower environmental costs than recycling, and consequently lower total costs under some circumstances.


The Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome is the second most common cause of primary amenorrhea, it is characterized by congenital hypoplasia of the uterus and the upper part of the vagina. The incidence of MRKH syndrome has been estimated as 1 in 4500 women [1]. Most of the studies suggest that MRKH syndrome has been considered as a genetic disease, and genes such as the HOXA7, HOXA9-13, HOXD9-13, and WNT4 have been considered as possible offenders [2]. Malignancies of ovaries, uterus and renal were reported in association with this syndrome [3-5]. Here we are reporting the first case of MRKHS associated with AML in literature.


In this paper, the analytical expressions of Discriminative Signal to Noise Ratio (DSNR) of step-edge and ridge-edge via Hilbert Transform (HT) have been derived. Firstly we revisit those expressions evaluated for step-edge by using Canny's Edge Detector (CED) and Step Expansion Filter (SEF). Although SEF is optimal for step edges in terms of DSNR criterion, it is not optimal with respect to a variety of edge types. The matching filter has to be modified for different edge types. But a local energy measure obtained via HT can detect any kind of edges. The results obtained by HT are compared with the results of SEF and CED.


Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterised by a slow and progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). Despite intensive research, the cause of neuronal loss in PD is poorly understood. Inflammatory mechanisms have been implicated in the pathophysiology of PD. In this study, conducted on an experimental 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model, we investigated the expression of interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-6 and their receptors (IL-1RI, TNF-αRI, IL-6Rα) at the SN and caudate-putamen (CP) levels. In MPTP-treated animals we observed a significant increase in IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA expression levels both in the SN and CP in comparison with untreated mice. In addition, both mRNA and protein levels of IL-1RI, TNF-αRI and IL-6Rα were significantly enhanced in the SN of MPTP-treated mice in comparison to controls, whereas no significant differences were observed in the CP between treated and untreated mice. Overall, these results indicate a role of both pro-inflammatory cytokines and their receptors in the pathogenesis of PD.


This paper introduces compactness notions for frames which are expressed in terms of the convergence of suitably specified general filters. It establishes several preservation properties for them as well as their coreflectiveness in the setting of regular frames. Further, it shows that supercompact, compact, and frames can be described by compactness conditions of the present form so that various familiar facts become consequences of these general results. In addition, the Prime Ideal Theorem and the Axiom of Countable Choice are proved to be equivalent to certain conditions connected with the kind of compactness considered here.


Perceptual learning is defined by increased effectiveness of completing perceptual tasks as a result of experience or training. This review presents the analysis of changes in the components of event-related potentials (ERPs) after visual and auditory perceptual learning in humans. The use of the EEG method, which has a high temporal resolution, makes it possible to trace the spatio-temporal dynamics of changes in the functioning of the brain during learning, which remains hidden in behavioral experimental studies. A review of neurophysiological studies indicates that perceptual learning induces changes across all levels of cortical hierarchy, starting with the early sensory components of ERPs (C1) and ending with the later integrative components (N170, MMN, P2). We also analyzed the short-term and long-term effects of learning. The reviewed neurophysiological data can serve as the basis for the development of new approaches of effective learning, as well as for the objective evaluation of existing methodics by assessing neuronal dynamics at different stages of stimuli processing.


Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) causes a chronic infection that is recognised as the leading cause of genital ulcer disease worldwide and is known to increase the risk of HIV infection. In a cross-sectional study we examined risk factors for HSV-2 among 176 pregnant teenagers recruited from three primary health care clinics in Zimbabwe. The prevalence of HSV-2 and HIV were 41.6% and 29.2% respectively. HIV-infected teenagers were more likely to be HSV-2 seropositive compared with the HIV uninfected teenagers, odds ratio (OR) 7.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.7-16.9). In multivariate analysis having an older partner remained independently associated with HSV-2 seropositivity, OR 2.9 (95% CI 1.2-6.9) suggesting that risk factors for HSV-2 seropositivity among pregnant teenagers depend primarily on the behaviour of the male partners.


Factor analysis of a data set representing the global distribution of vascular plant families through time shows the broad pattern of vegetation history can be explained in terms of five Evolutionary Floras. The Rhyniophytic (=Eotrachyophytic) Flora represents the very earliest (Silurian and earliest Devonian) vascular plants, notably the Rhyniophytopsida. The Eophytic Flora represents the early (Early–Middle Devonian) mainly homosporous land plants, notably the Zosterophyllopsida, Trimerophytopsida and early Lycopsida. The Palaeophytic Flora represents the Late Devonian and Carboniferous vegetation, which saw the introduction of heterospory among the spore producing plants and of early gymnosperms. The Mesophytic Flora first appeared in the Late Carboniferous and Permian macrofossil record, although there is palynological evidence of these plants having grown earlier in extra-basinal habitats and was dominated by gymnosperms with more modern affinities. The Cenophytic Flora that first appeared during Cretaceous times was overwhelmingly dominated by angiosperms. The end-Devonian, end-Triassic and end-Cretaceous mass-extinction events recognized in the marine fossil record had little impact on the diversity dynamics of these Evolutionary Floras. Rather, the changes between floras mainly reflect key evolutionary innovations such as heterospory, ovules and angiospermy.


The effect of the human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV 16) E6 and E7 proteins was studied on the transcriptional activity of the human transforming growth factor beta2 (TGF-beta) promoter in different cell lines. Luciferase tests were performed after co-transfection of cells with TGF-beta2 reporter constructs and HPV 16 E6 or E7 expression vectors. HPV 16 E7, but not E6 significantly repressed TGF-beta2 promoter activity in NIH/3T3 cells, which have wild-type p53 and pRb proteins. The repressive effect of HPV 16 E7 on the transcriptional activity of the TGF-beta2 promoter could be localized to the promoter region -528 to -251 relative to the transcriptional start site. Ability of E7 to bind pRb was necessary to inhibit the TGF-beta2 promoter. Over-expression of the transcription factor E2F-1 had an effect on the TGF-beta2 promoter similar to that of E7, which may indicate that HPV 16 E7 represses the TGF-beta2 promoter by releasing E2F from pRb.


Growth, productivity and fruit quality of melons are closely linked to media water availability. Withholding of water for any length of time results in slowed growth. If drought continues yield may be lost. Melon plants can be manipulated to stimulate early defense mechanism by deceasing media water availability. By using an irrigation technique, which allows for separate zones with different media moisture status, it is possible to stimulate response mechanisms of the root system which are normally related to water stress. The difficulty of separating 'wet' and 'dry' zones was initially overcome by using split-root plant with root systems divided between two containers. Such experiments on split-root model plant resulted in the development of an irrigation technique termed partial root drying (PRD). The main objective of the study was to determine the effects of partial root drying (PRD) on the growth and physiological responses of melon plants. It was hypothesized that PRD-exposed plants would enhance their quality and water use efficiency. In this study, three experiments were conducted to meet the following objectives, 1) to investigate the effects of PRD interval and deficit irrigation (DI) on plant yield and quality. 2) to study the effects of different PRD irrigation and nutrient levels on growth, leaf gas exchange, macro and micro nutrients status of melons and 3) to examine the effects of PRD fertigation deficiency on growth and yield of plants. In experiment one, melon plants were exposed to different PRD interval viz full irrigation (control), deficit irrigation (50% of full irrigation), PRD 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days interval. Results showed that deficit irrigation had the most reduction in yield when compared to PRD and fully irrigated treatments. When the shifting time in PRD treatments increased to 8 and 10 days, the fruit yield was significantly reduced compared to the control and PRD 2, 4, 6 days interval. Total number of flower in full irrigation treatments was significantly higher than PRD and DI plants. There was no significant difference in number of flowers between PRD 2, 4 and 6. Total soluble solids (TSS) of PRD 8 and 10 days interval was the highest among the PRD, DI and control treatments. In the second experiment, melon plants were subjected to different irrigation and nutrient levels viz PRD 100%, 80%, 70% and 60% of full irrigation (FI), PRD 70% and 100% of full nutrients (FN). Results showed that there was a significant difference between media volumetric moisture amounts of irrigation levels during experiment. There was no significant difference between RWC of different irrigation levels, although the RWC amount of PRD 80%, 70% and 60% of FI was numerically less than control plants. By reducing the amount of water, LAI value significantly declined in different levels of PRD irrigation treatments. Total leaf nitrogen (N) was significantly (p≤0.01) declined in PRD 80%, 70% and 60% of FI, compared to control plants. However, there was no significant difference between PRD70% and 60% of FI. There was a significant interaction between irrigation and nutrient levels on photosynthesis rates (Pn). Stomata conductance value of FI was the highest and PRD 60% of FI were the lowest value compared to PRD 70% and 80% of FI. There was a significant interaction between irrigation and nutrient levels on water use efficiency (WUE). There was a significant interaction between irrigation and nutrient levels on yield. The highest amount of TSS was observed in PRD 60% of FI. In the third experiment, plants were exposed to PRD fertigation deficit viz: PRD 100% of FI (control), PRD 90%, 80%, 70% and 60% of FI. The treatments were arranged in RCBD and replicated four times. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the root to shoot ratio of PRD 100%, 90%, 80%, 70% and 60% of FI in 10, 20, 30 and 40 days after treatment. There was a significant relationship between NAR and Pn in PRD 80% and 100% of FI (p≤0.01). The results also indicated that the fruit fresh weight of PRD 90%, 80%, 70% and 60% of FI were 5%, 4%, 10% and 18% less than control plants, respectively. In conclusion, PRD two days interval with 80 % of FI and 100 % of FN could improve melon fruit quality with a little adverse effect on yield compared to control.


Selective attention enhances cortical responses to attended sensory inputs while suppressing others, which can be an effective strategy for speech-in-noise (SiN) understanding. Here, we introduce a training paradigm designed to reinforce attentional modulation of auditory evoked responses. Subjects attended one of two speech streams while our EEG-based attention decoder provided online feedback. After four weeks of this neurofeedback training, subjects exhibited enhanced cortical response to target speech and improved performance during a SiN task. Such training effects were not found in the Placebo group that underwent attention training without neurofeedback. These results suggest an effective rehabilitation for SiN deficits.


Background Most women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are diagnosed with the disease in their reproductive years, but the incidence and prevalence of SLE among women of childbearing age have not been studied. The objective of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of SLE among the Korean women of childbearing age. Methods Women aged 20 to 44 years with SLE were identified from National Health Insurance Service – National Health Information Database (2009-2016), which contain health information of approximately 97% of the Korean population. SLE was defined by International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision code, M32. Incidence and prevalence were calculated per 100,000 person-years and stratified by year and age. Results A total of 12,756 women with SLE were identified. The incidence of SLE from 2011 to 2016 among women in childbearing years was 8.18/100,000 person-years (95% CI 7.94–8.43), with the highest incidence in 2016 (8.56/100,000 person-years, 95% CI 7.95–9.17) and the lowest incidence in 2012 (7.85/100,000 person-years, 95% CI 7.28–8.42). The prevalence of SLE from 2009 to 2016 among women in childbearing years was 77.07/100,000 person-years (95% CI 75.76–78.39), with the highest prevalence in 2014 (79.47/100,000 person-years, 95% CI 77.64–81.30) and the lowest in 2010 (74.19/100,000 person-years, 95% CI 72.45–75.93). The peak age for SLE incidence was between 25–39 years, and lower incidence was seen in the early (20–24 years) and late (40–44 years) childbearing age periods. There was an increasing trend in prevalence according to age in women of childbearing age, with the highest prevalence occurring in the 40–44 age group. Conclusions The risk and burden of SLE are high among women during their childbearing years. This calls for special attention to this particular population group when allocating health resources.


---The growing energy demand across the globe has instigated us to synthesize bio-fuel from algae, a renewable resource. Algae Botryococcus braunii when subjected to anaerobic digestion and broken down by enzymes liberate methane and CO 2 . The CO 2 obtained is cultivated in open ponds and are passed through a fluidised bed chamber after pre-treatment. The chamber contains enzymes which breakdown the algal colloid into fatty acids. These fatty acids on decomposition release CO 2 that is internally cycled for algal cultivation and the methane can be profitably and cleanly extracted. This methane can be used as a fuel in vehicles (CNG) and also in various industrial and domestic fields, providing a low-cost solution to the global energy crisis.


The power produced by a hydrokinetic turbine depends on the interaction between the rotor and water. Therefore, the optimal rotor geometry must be designed and built to capture maximum water energy and convert it into usable energy. Hydropower is one of the potential renewable energy that can contribute to the need for electricity. Hydropower generator is pollution free so this generator can answer environmental problems and the availability of renewable energy sources. The aim to be achieved in this study is to produce a turbine hydropower with good performance if it operates on an irrigation channel and is applied as a power plant. This research was developed to get the right specifications for the use of hydrokinetic turbines in the irrigation canal area. There are several methods carried out in the design of hydrokenetic turbines, namely by designing blades based on the shape of water flow, repairing the transmission system, and selecting the right generator. In this study, we tested the sweet lemon irrigate applied and tested in the area of Padang Sumbar Sweet Limes Pauh, the results obtained were that the turbine can produce power of about 12.6 watts.


This submission builds on previous work by the author, conducted through a participant observation of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process (2002-2005). A typology of involved civil society actors, of their respective positions taken during the WSIS discussions, and of tensions between them, allowed to analyze the evolution of the WSIS participants configuration. This analysis has revealed a process of delegitimation of organized social actors, starting from WSIS 2nd phase.
This follow-up work has been conducted through the empirical analysis of exchanges on the mailing list of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus since the setting up of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in 2006. Additional data have been gathered from the discussions among some thematic IGF Dynamic Coalitions, as well as during the IGF open consultation processes, and the IGF meetings themselves.
We show that the establishment of the IGF, its advisory committees and its rules of procedure have reinforced the participation, in their individual capacity, of various kind of "experts" (academics, consultants, ...). Instead of NGOs, trade-unions and social movements, it is the figure of the "policy entrepreneur" that has thus found its "window of opportunity", in a context of a weakened role of the State.
There is a need to better understand these transformations of civil society presenting itself as one of the "stakeholders" of the triad formed together with government and the private sector. Our thesis is that it should be analyzed through the prism of the individualistic and liberal vision of the civil society, as theorized by the Scottish Enlightenment philosophers (most notably Ferguson and Smith) and then by Hegel. The Gramscian perspective - at least in its dimension identifying "civil society" as an organized sphere, independent from the market and the State spheres, and autonomous with respect to them – might indeed not fit anymore such evolution.
Furthermore, we show that these transformations deeply impact the definition and understanding of human rights, and of how they could translate in the information society context. "Communication Rights" were at the heart of heated debates during the WSIS first phase (2002-2003), most notably due to the involvement of organized civil society actors with strong and diverging viewpoints on how they should be defined (CRIS Campaign members, Civil Society Human Rights Caucus members, Media Caucus members). Research findings on the WSIS second phase (2003-2005), and even more since the establishment of the IGF, show a regression of the concerns related to socio-economic and development (or collective) rights, while the consensus may only be reached on some civil and political rights, namely freedom of expression and privacy, i.e. individual rights.
In conclusion, we relate these two sets of findings (on the one hand a more individualistic form of civil society participation; on the other hand the emphasis put on individual rights) to the crisis of the Nation State, at least in its understanding of a welfare State, in a globalization context.


We present radiation data, Total Ionizing Dose and Single Event Effects, on the LSI Logic 0.11 micron commercial process and two modified versions of this process. Modified versions include a buried layer to guarantee Single Event Latchup immunity.


Distinct spatiotemporal Ca2+ signalling events regulate fundamental aspects of eukaryotic cell physiology. Complex Ca2+ signals can be driven by release of Ca2+ from intracellular organelles that sequester Ca2+ such as the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) or through the opening of Ca2+-permeable channels in the plasma membrane and influx of extracellular Ca2+. Late endocytic pathway compartments including late-endosomes and lysosomes have recently been observed to sequester Ca2+ to levels comparable with those found within the ER lumen. These organelles harbour ligand-gated Ca2+-release channels and evidence indicates that they can operate as Ca2+-signalling platforms. Lysosomes sequester Ca2+ to a greater extent than any other endocytic compartment, and signalling from this organelle has been postulated to provide 'trigger' release events that can subsequently elicit more extensive Ca2+ signals from stores including the ER. In order to investigate lysosomal-specific Ca2+ signalling a simple method for measuring lysosomal Ca2+ release is essential. In the present study we describe the generation and characterization of a genetically encoded, lysosomally targeted, cameleon sensor which is capable of registering specific Ca2+ release in response to extracellular agonists and intracellular second messengers. This probe represents a novel tool that will permit detailed investigations examining the impact of lysosomal Ca2+ handling on cellular physiology.


Objectives
Because sequence learning is integral to cognitive functions across the lifespan, the present study examined the effect of healthy aging on deterministic judgment-based sequence learning.

Methods
College-aged, younger-old, and older-old adults completed a judgment-based sequence learning task which required them to learn a full sequence by chaining together single stimulus-response associations in a step-by-step fashion.

Results
Results showed that younger adults outperformed younger-old and older-old adults; older adults were less able to acquire the full sequence and committed significantly more errors during learning. Additionally, higher sequence learning errors was associated with advancing age among older adults, even when controlling for other factors known to contribute to sequence learning abilities. Such impairments were selective to learning sequential information, since adults of all ages performed equivalently on post-learning probe trials, as well as on learning simple stimulus-response associations.

Discussion
This pattern of age deficits during deterministic sequence learning challenges past reports of age preservation. Though the neural processes underlying learning cannot be determined here, our patterns of age deficits and preservation may reflect different brain regions that are involved in the task phases, adding behavioral evidence to the emerging hypothesis of frontostriatal declines despite spared hippocampal function with age.


Cholesterol is the most representative sterol present in vertebrate membranes and is the end product of the long and multistep sterol biosynthetic pathway. 7-Dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) and desmosterol are the immediate biosynthetic precursors of cholesterol in the Kandutsch-Russell and Bloch pathway. In this article, we have monitored the effect of cholesterol and its two immediate biosynthetic precursors on biophysical and dynamic properties of fluid and gel phase membranes. Toward this goal, we have used fluorescent membrane probes, DPH and TMA-DPH, and the hydrophobic probe, pyrene. Our results using these probes show that although both 7-DHC and desmosterol differ with cholesterol in one double bond, they exhibit differential effects on membrane organization and dynamics. Importantly, we show that the effect of cholesterol and desmosterol on membrane organization and dynamics is similar in most cases, while 7-DHC has a considerably different effect. This demonstrates that the position of the double bond in sterols is an important determinant in maintaining membrane order and dynamics. These results assume relevance since the accumulation of cholesterol precursors have been reported to result in severe pathological conditions.


A classification is given for differential substitutions admitted by autonomous evolution differential equations of second order with two independent variables. Extension of differential substitutions is presented as a generalization of the Painleve test for partial differential equations. Extensions for the equations under study are classified.


The severely dysfunctional family is a clinical phenomenon that includes families with a wide range of serious symptoms. These families have been characteristically difficult to engage in treatment, and many do not respond well to traditional family therapy techniques. Some of these families do respond to innovative approaches such as paradox. However, many agencies do not have the capability to implement such highly specialized procedures, nor do all severely dysfunctional families respond well to these techniques. Thus, this paper presents a generic approach to the severely dysfunctional family; the emphasis is on facilitating engagement and maintaining sensitivity to the family's need for stability.


Epibiosis occur frequently on the shells of some marine crustaceans, which often serve as substrate for various species of algae, there is few information on the associations between these. The objective of this study was to determine if the gastropod mollusk Aliger gigas (formerly Lobatus gigas) in larval had some sort of the association with algal. To the above was carried out collecting egg masses in the environment, the larvae were cultivated in seawater filtered 5 μm. The algal material found was observed in electron microscopy, for its identification and quantification. We analyzed 60 larvae aged 2–44 days for analyzing the structure of the shell and its epibionts. Of the larvae analyzed, 50 larvae presented epizoic. The algae community consisted of 28 taxa, and composed of 25 diatoms (Bacillariophyta) and three cyanophytes (Cyanobacteria). The H´ diversity values fluctuated between 0.2 a 1.2. The dominant and frequent species were formed by diatoms: Nitzschia panduriformis var. minor, Halamphora sp. and Cyclophora sp.


: Physical Human-Robot Interaction (PHRI) emphasize on human safety. In literature, two techniques were presented to improving this critical factor concerning moving devices; the first solution is purely mechanical, while the second one is based on the control. In this paper, we describe a new approach combining the two previous solutions. Our proposed paper explores a control scheme involving the use of a virtual component with an adjustable stiffness supposed to be placed between the motor shaft and the robot link. This scheme proposes a Variable Impedance Actuator (VIA) robot control methodology based on the integration of a virtual component, reflecting the behaviour of a real intrinsic Series Elastic Actuator (SEA). This novel method is potentially beneficial in reducing injuries in human/robot interaction by combining a mechanical operating principle and a control approach in order to reduce the collision forces in collaborative applications. This proposed approach was simulated and validated using a UR3 robot model, showing great capacities in reducing collision's peak forces. This paper begins with particular attention to the robot dynamics, then the articulation flexibility and force estimation have been tackled and finally ending the control architecture.


The WLAN system HiperLAN/2 (H/2) was standardized by the ETSI project BRAN during the last years. Due to the high data rate (up to 54 Mbit/s on the air interface) and the possibility to support QoS this system fulfills the requirements of mobile users in a multimedia world. H/2 operates in the 5 GHz band which offers indoors 19 and outdoor 9 frequency channels. These frequency channels may be used also by other systems, as for example by IEEE 802.11a, so that the resulting number of channels can be significantly reduced. H/2 offers link adaptation to adjust the modulation and coding scheme according to the interference. This leads to a high dependency between the available capacity and the load in the neighbor cells. Under these circumstances two approaches to deal with the radio resources are developed and evaluated. The first approach distributes the interference uniformly, by reducing the transmission power and selecting a more robust modulation/coding scheme. This reduces the variance of the interference which makes the selection of an appropriate modulation/coding scheme easier. The second approach uses maximum transmission power to reduce the transmission time as much as possible. If a frequency channel is not completely used the remaining time can be assigned to other access points. A method developed in this work allows to multiplex several neighbor access points on the same frequency channel. These approaches are based on a different view of a channel. While the first applies frequency channel (FDM), the second uses FDM/TDM channels. Based on this, different approaches for channel assignment are evaluated and their ability to support service classes is examined. In addition the spectral efficiency of the H/2 of system and its dependence on different parameters is evaluated in this work.


We explore the simulation challenges and requirements for experiments planned on facilities such as the NDCX-II ion accelerator at LBNL, currently undergoing commissioning. Hydrodynamic modeling of NDCX-II experiments include certain lower temperature effects, e.g., surface tension and target fragmentation, that are not generally present in extreme high-energy laser facility experiments, where targets are completely vaporized in an extremely short period of time. Target designs proposed for NDCX-II range from metal foils of order one micron thick (thin targets) to metallic foam targets several tens of microns thick (thick targets). These high-energy-density experiments allow for the study of fracture as well as the process of bubble and droplet formation. We incorporate these physics effects into a code called ALE-AMR that uses a combination of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian hydrodynamics and Adaptive Mesh Refinement. Inclusion of certain effects becomes tricky as we must deal with non-orthogonal meshes of various levels of refinement in three dimensions. A surface tension model used for droplet dynamics is implemented in ALE-AMR using curvature calculated from volume fractions. Thick foam target experiments provide information on how ion beam induced shock waves couple into kinetic energy of fluid flow. Although NDCX-II is not fully commissioned, experiments are being conducted that explore material defect production and dynamics.


A cDNA encoding barley hemoglobin (Hb) has been cloned into pUC 19 and expressed in Escherichia coli. The resulting fusion protein has five extra amino acids at the N terminus compared with the native protein, resulting in a protein of 168 amino acids (18.5 kDa). The recombinant Hb is expressed constitutively. Extracts made from the bacteria containing the recombinant fusion construct contain a protein with a subunit molecular mass of approximately 18.5 kDa comprising approximately 5% total soluble protein. Recombinant Hb was purified to homogeneity according to SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis by sequential polyethylene glycol precipitation and fast protein liquid chromatography. Its native molecular mass as assessed by fast protein liquid chromatography-size exclusion was 40 kDa suggesting that it is a dimer. Ligand binding experiments demonstrate that 1) barley Hb has a very slow oxygen dissociation rate constant (0.0272 s−1) relative to other Hbs, and 2) the heme of ferrous and ferric forms of the barley Hb is low spin six-coordinate. The subunit structure, optical spectrum, and oxygen dissociation rate of native barley hemoglobin are indistinguishable from those obtained for the recombinant protein. The implications of these kinetic data on the in vivo function of barley Hb are discussed.


Poly(L-lactic) acid (PLLA) is among the most promising polymers for bone fixation, repair, and tissue engineering due to its biodegradability and relatively good mechanical strength. Despite these beneficial characteristics, its poor bioactivity often requires incorporation of bioactive ceramic materials. A bioresorbable composite made of PLLA and hydroxyapatite (HA) may improve biocompatibility but typically causes deterioration in mechanical properties, and bioactive coatings inevitably carry a risk of coating delamination. Therefore, in this study, we embedded micropatterned HA on the surface of PLLA to improve bioactivity while eliminating the risk of HA delamination. An HA pattern was successfully embedded in a PLLA matrix without degeneration of the matrix's mechanical properties, thanks to a transfer technique involving conversion of Mg to HA. Furthermore, patterned HA/PLLA's biological response outperformed that of pure PLLA. These results confirm patterned HA/PLLA as a candidate for wide acceptance in biodegradable load-bearing implant applications.


As in today's semiconductor industries test costs can make up to 50 percent of the total production costs, an efficient test error detection becomes more and more important. In this paper, we present a new machine learning approach to test error detection that should provide a faster recognition of test system faults as well as an improved test error recall. The key idea is to learn a classifier ensemble, detecting typical test error patterns in wafer test results immediately after finishing these tests. Since test error detection has not yet been discussed in the machine learning community, we define central problem-relevant terms and provide an analysis of important domain properties. Finally, we present comparative studies reflecting the failure detection performance of three individual classifiers and three ensemble methods based upon them. As base classifiers we chose a decision tree learner, a support vector machine and a Bayesian network, while the compared ensemble methods were simple and weighted majority vote as well as stacking. For the evaluation, we used cross validation and a specially designed practical simulation. By implementing our approach in a semiconductor test department for the observation of two products, we proofed its practical applicability.


The article presents Lithuanian linguistic cultural image of Truth ( Tiesa ) reconstructed from lexicographic data. The analysis of the lexicographic definitions of this lexeme in Lithuanian dictionaries (The Dictionary of Lithuanian Language, The Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian,  the dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms and Lithuanian etymological sources) distinguishes two main aspects of its meaning: (1) archaic, associated with jurisdiction, when Truth also meant law, justice and court, and (2) contemporary, used in modern Lithuanian, when Truth is explained though its classical correspondence definition: truth is what corresponds to the reality. Therefore, two semantic levels are distinguished: synchronic and diachronic. The diachronic level analysis shows the semantic development of the word, the specification of its meaning (the loss of the primary judicial meaning), and the synchronic analysis shows that truth in Lithuanian language is a very complex and contradictory concept, containing numerous connotative meanings and semantic shades. The analysis of lexicographic data presents the following linguistic cultural image of Lithuanian Truth : it is a value which is honourable and sacred, unconcealable; on the one hand it possesses many positive aspects, such as courage and the ability to save the world, on the other hand, it is hardly distinguished from lie, very obscure and unfair, may not be integral and is often unpleasant. It is social and religious honesty, directness, avoiding intentional and unintentional deviation. Truth cannot be contrived or human-created.
Keywords: truth; concept; linguistic worldview; lexicography


Leaf rust is a major wheat disease in southern Spain, where durum wheat is an important crop. Until the 2019/2020 season, this disease was effectively managed, as the most widely planted cultivars in southern Spain had effective resistance genes. A problem arose in the spring of 2020, when every farm field and durum wheat trial examined displayed leaf rust symptoms. Leaves had few but large uredinial pustules, different from those of the normal leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina, and telia developed rapidly after only a few days. The symptoms clearly fitted with P. tritici-duri, another wheat leaf rust species already reported in the western Mediterranean Basin. This species is not new in southern Spain but has never been observed at such high severity on almost every durum wheat cultivar grown in that region. Leaf rust severity was assessed in durum wheat field trials in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 growing seasons in four provinces of southern Spain. During 2020 and 2021, 13 single pustule isolates of leaf rust were also collected from different cultivars of durum wheat. Inoculation of the isolates on a differential host set showed that four different races were present, two being of P. tritici-duri. Only cultivar Calero showed consistent resistance to the races of P. tritici-duri employed in this study.


Hernias are generally repaired using synthetic prostheses. Infection may already be present or develop during implantation. Based on the increasing resistance to antibiotics, and the well-known antimicrobial properties of silver (Ag), the possibility of coating hernia prostheses with a nanostructured layer containing Ag was explored. Prostheses (Clear Mesh Composite [CMC]) made up of two polypropylene layers (macroporous light mesh and thin transparent film) were tested with human mesothelial cells from omentum biopsies. Mesotheliocytes modulate abdominal wall healing producing cytokines, growth factors, and adhesion molecules. Evaluating the growth of these cells on CMC or film alone showed that cell numbers on CMC increased over time, and were higher than those on film alone. Vimentin immunostaining confirmed the cells to be mesotheliocytes. Subsequently, the biocompatibility of mesh layer, coated or not with a thin layer of Ag/SiO2 -nanoclusters, was analyzed, showing no difference in absence or presence of Ag/SiO2 . Differently, TGF-β2 production, involved in tissue repair and fibrosis, increased in the presence of Ag/SiO2 . Moreover, Ag/SiO2 -coated mesh showed antibacterial properties. In conclusion, the mesh layer coated with Ag/SiO2 afforded cell growth, and showed antibacterial activity. Coating only the mesh layer did not decrease film transparency, and did not favor the formation of adhesions on the visceral side. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 1586-1593, 2017.


The eighties mark the Québec government's setting up of a family policy. But all the facts indicate that this policy wavered between a family policy, a birth policy and a population policy. Women's groups and feminists, already reticent in dealing with traditional family and maternity institutions, were possessed with somewhat of an ambivalent attitude towards these policies mostly because of their fear of being trapped and undermined. All in all, it's the will to disseminate their point of view and to defend their interests that motivated women to get involved in these debates. The article concludes by advancing principles that should promote a family policy that is more sensitive to women's interests.


In three cases of lumbar disc herniation, autologous fat grafts were inserted over the dura mater and the exposed nerve roots during surgery with the aim of preventing postoperative epidural fibrosis. A second operation had to be performed in two of these cases as a result of the radiographic appearance of excessive scar formation in the epidural and adjacent regions of the nerve root giving rise to symptoms. In the third patient, myelographic studies revealed the development of this type of hypertrophic scarring; however, the patient refused a further operation. The hypertrophic epidural scarring occurred in these three cases despite the presence of autologous fat grafts. Histopathological examination of the fat removed from the two patients who were operated on a second time showed a fibrotic infiltration into the fat graft.


Community detection in social networks is a topic of central importance in modern graph mining, and the existence of overlapping communities has recently given rise to new interest in arc clustering. In this paper, we propose the notion of triangular random walk as a way to unveil arc-community structure in social graphs: a triangular walk is a random process that insists differently on arcs that close a triangle. We prove that triangular walks can be used effectively, by translating them into a standard weighted random walk on the line graph, our experiments show that the weights so defined are in fact very helpful in determining the similarity between arcs and yield high-quality clustering. Even if our technique gives a weighting scheme on the line graph and can be combined with any node-clustering method in the final phase, to make our approach more scalable we also propose an algorithm (ALP) that produces the clustering directly without the need to build the weighted line graph explicitly. Our experiments show that ALP, besides providing the largest accuracy, it is also the fastest and most scalable among all arc-clustering algorithms we are aware of.


Surveillance is an essential part of any security operation, with cameras playing an important role. Often these cameras are controlled by a single individual, but this can lead to inefficient surveillance that leaves areas uncovered and misses targets. We propose a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) solution to surveilling an area that maximizes the area seen in a region of interest (ROI), minimizes the time individual cells in the ROI goes unseen, and prioritizes targets for tracking. Cells in the ROI are weighted based on the time since they were last seen and whether or not a target is predicted to be in the cell. A virtual environment with cameras and targets is surveilled based on various parameters affecting camera actions. Several metrics are used to measure the performance of each set of parameters, including cell time unseen, average linear uncovered length (ALUL), and time a target is seen with results compared to another surveillance algorithm. The CSP was able to view all cells while greatly increasing the target tracking ability of rarely viewed targets at the cost of slightly fewer viewing steps for the more often viewed targets.


Real time monitoring in designated location using remote observation has become one topic chosen to be efficiently developed because it can be observed and anticipated earlier when the water quality is decreasing. One of the indicators of water quality is salinity, which is being developed through this study by using remote measurement system (telemetry) using Wi-Fi network. To determine the change of the indicator, a salinity sensor was used to determine the level of salinity. The sensors were mounted on a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) attach on the object being observed. Those sensors produced analog signal so the signal should be converted into digital signal using Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) on ATSAM3X8E microcontroller. The digital data were then sent using serial  communication from microcontroller to computer. The data were saved in the database and sent to Control Terminal Unit (CTU) using Wi-Fi network. A characterization was then conducted to a series of sensors produced from the previous phase using standard equipment to ADC value and a formula of sensor characteristic to ADC value was calculated which results in salinity equation value on y = 0,049 x – 35,306. The formula was then used in microcontroller program which results in coefficient of correlation on salinity sensor as R = 0,993 with 0,025 ppt  error. From the test on communication system between database in Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) and Control Terminal Unit (CTU), there is no additional and missing data from data sent and data received, so it can be concluded that there is no error.


The results of experimental research of influence of length of a direct insert between adjacent switches, laid according to the first scheme, on the traffic safety of cars (by criterion of the wheel stability against derailment).


Mesoscopic capacitances, in the quantum regime, are described as a quantum rotor coupled to a dissipative bath. We analyze the phase diagram of this model, as function of the capacitance, the coupling to the bath (that is, the conductance of the device), and the decay of the correlation functions in the bath, i. e., the strength of the many body effects within the leads. By combining Monte-Carlo and analytical techniques, we present the full phase diagram. The similarities and differences with other models of quantum junctions are discussed.


Abstract This article analyses the cooperation and the correspondence of the UN and EU's early warning approaches in a comparative manner and explains how early warnings activities relate to preventive policies and how the latter are integrated into their organisational programming. Furthermore, it surveys the literature on early warning and response strategies applied by international institutions and organisations and draws evidence from authors' experience in creating EW systems under the UNDP programmes in different countries. The article argues that the EU and UN early warning and conflict prevention models represent a mixture of top-down and bottom-up systems with complex network dynamics, partially overlapping and partially independent incremental policies. This process leads to a greater dialogue than in conflict prevention and contributes to a very slow but simultaneous change in the way that actors operate in crisis and post-conflict settings. Finally, it also evaluates strengths and weaknesses of the applied warning and response mechanisms and addresses some of the constraints to response and development strategies. Keywords: Early warning, conflict prevention, United Nations, European Union, international conflicts.


This paper presents a single chip class D audio power amplifier realized in a 0.35 mum CMOS technology. This chip consists of a high-linear single-loop feed-forward Sigma-Delta modulator with three level quantizer and a full H-bridge output stage. The three-level quantizer effectively reduces the switching activity of the output stage, especially when the input signal amplitude is low, hence improves the power efficiency. Direct feedback from H-bridge output improves the linearity of the amplifier. With a 3.3-V supply voltage and 4-Ohm load, the amplifier can deliver maximum 1-W output power with THD less than 0.8% at 8 kHz and reaches a maximum power efficiency more than 80%.


This report deals with lime modification of clay till. Lime modification means that the compaction properties of the soil are improved by the addition of lime. The report consists of three main parts: 1) Description of the geotechnical properties of clay till and how lime modification affects the properties; 2) Description of the implementation of lime modification and the tests conducted at a construction site in the northeast part of Lund, Sweden; 3) Evaluation of the test results.

Clay tills are complex soils in earthworks. To be able to pack a clay till, it is required that the soil is in a solid consistency condition. Clay till is rarely found in a solid consistency condition. An ion exchange occurs through the addition of lime where calcium ions replace the existing ions surrounding the clay particles. The ion exchange leads to a structural change, which lowers the plastic limit and makes the soil packable.

The modification has been carried out by Skanska and the measurements have been carried out by geotechnical consultants. The lime used during the modification has been quicklime and the amount of lime was 0.5 % and 1.0 %. The test methods used during the work have been plate load tests (static and dynamic), isotope meter and MCV test.

The most important parameter in lime modification is the moisture content. An optimum moisture content exists for clay till. Quicklime is suitable when the moisture content exceeds the optimum. The porosity increases and results in a low stiffness at low moisture contents. The compaction work becomes easier by adding water before the mixing of lime. The amount of lime affects the result. A lime content of 1.0 % results in a smaller spread of porosity compared to a lime content of 0.5 %. Lime modification is an effective method for improving clay till in earthworks.


Objective: to analyze the experience held at the Centro de Consejeria y Diagnostico Voluntarios (CCDV) of the Primary Care Unit "Dr. Jose Castro Villagrana (CSJCV) since 2001 to 2006, and from this point to contribute to build a social demographic profile in patients who use this service. Material and methods: descriptive, cross-sectional and retrospective study. It was made between 2001 and 2006 at the ccdv of the csjsc. Starting on January 2007, information of 100 General Data Cards (FDG) was stored weekly until gather 1,799. 1,802 persons were given advice. The statistical analysis was made with descriptive statistics: central, dispersion and briefing tendency measures. Results: female 1,017 (56.5%) and male 782 (43.5%). Scholar age: an average of 10.4 years with a standard deviation of 4.7 a minimum value of zero years and maximum of 20 years. The main motive of both women and men who asked for advised at the ccdv was that they had sexual relations without the use of any preservative in 997 cases (55.4%). Conclusions: it was obtained the profile of the users and the attention given at the ccdv was identified as high quality without the violation of any human right.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in multiple athletic performances, and to examine associations between athletic performance and Functional Movement Screen (FMS) in young soccer players. Forty-one soccer players were tested on peak height velocity (PHV), 5-, 10-, and 30-m sprint times, 505 change of direction (505 COD), Y-reactive agility tests, countermovement jump (CMJ), and squat jump (SJ) height. Significant main effects (P<0.01) were recorded in all tests except FMS total score whereas the U16 group outperformed U12 and U14 in almost each test. However, when the results were adjusted to the PHV 7 of 11 tests were nonsignificant. Significant associations were recorded between trunk stability push-up (TSPU) and 5 m (P=0.04) and 505 COD (preferred) times (P=0.01), and SJ height (P=0.03) in the U12. In the U14, significant associations were recoded between TSPU and SJ (P<0.01) and CMJ height (P=0.03). In the U16, significant associations were recorded between deep overhead squat and 5-m sprint time (P=0.02) and CMJ height (P=0.04). Results of this study indicate that athletic performance in young soccer players is multidimensional in nature, and it is a consequence of several factors including maturation, different training strategies, and movement proficiency.


ERP system is a technology to coordinate and integrate information system in a company and inter-companies on business processes area. It is used by word class manufactures to increase their performance. From many research results, there were found that ERP implementation can improve enterprise performance quickly but some of them say's the enterprise was fail. ERP system is a complex and expensive system, so in implementation is needed a tool which is capable to change company organization culture. To accelerate implementation of ERP, many research found organization culture for accelerate sharing knowledge have impact to accelerate implementation ERP with components i.e. key user affectivity team, commitment of top management, end user competency, vendor knowledge and consultant experience is needed. According to a survey which was conducted by means of interviews and questionnaires to 43 manufacturing industry practitioners in this research, it is found that in the preparation for an enterprise to implement ERP, knowledge sharing as an organization culture is a requirement from end user satisfaction and vendor & consultant experience are significant, even without the effective key users. Commitment top management directly impact to effective key user and end user satisfaction. An effective team of key users is able to give end user satisfaction.
Key words: ERP implementation, management commitment, knowledge sharing, key user, end user satisfaction


This paper aims to present the lessons learned during a control center design
project by revisiting another control center from the same company designed two and a half years before by the same project team. In light of the experience with the first project and its analysis, the designers and researchers had important feedback already used to suggest changes for the second project. The opportunity to learn from a previous project was unique, but the knowledge gotten out of it shows the importance of having this feedback from project to project instead of just 'repeating' previously used design solutions.


The modified Lapidus procedure (MLP), which consists of fusion between the first metatarsal (M1) and medial cuneiform, has been widely performed with satisfactory clinical outcomes, but it has a variable nonunion rate ranging between 4% and 10% and loss of correction in up to 5.8% of the cases. Excessive motion around the site of tarsometatarsal arthrodesis, specially at the intercuneiform joint, is probably the reason. The original Lapidus procedure (OLP), which includes fusion of the M1 to second metatarsal (M2), may be beneficial in preventing nonunion and recurrence. The objective of this study was to describe intraoperative technical tips in the OLP to improve M1 to M2 fusion, which may prevent complications. Since the Lapidus procedure continues to gain popularity, it is the authors opinion that the OLP requires special attention because it is a more technically demanding surgery compared to the MLP. Level of Evidence: Level V: Expert opinion


Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of thoracic spinal cord neurons was used to examine the neural correlates of visceral emotional responses. Participants completed four spinal fMRI runs involving passive viewing (i.e. no movement) and motoric responses to negative or neutral images. Negative images, particularly in the movement condition, elicited robust activity in motoric nuclei, indicating 'action preparedness'. These images also enhanced activity in autonomic and sensory nuclei, thus providing a clear neural representation of visceral responses to emotional stimuli.


A recent paper [I. Klebanov et al. \emph{Mod. Phys. Lett. B} \textbf{22} (2008) 3153; arXiv:0712.0433] claims that the exact solution of the Percus-Yevick (PY) integral equation for a system of hard spheres plus a step potential is obtained. The aim of this paper is to show that Klebanov et al.'s result is incompatible with the PY equation since it violates two known cases: the low-density limit and the hard-sphere limit.


The UTMC02 project for DETR is investigating traffic management across jurisdictional boundaries. The purpose of this report is to review relevant ongoing research and development and to review the technical, institutional and operational requirements of external system owners for inter-connection with Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) systems. Developments are taking place in North America and in the international and European standards organisations. In the UK there have been some demonstration projects, such as Mattisse in the West Midlands and the Highways Agency is actively developing information systems. The needs of non-UTMC authorities and the information that they could provide to other bodies have been surveyed and are reported. The conclusions of the report are broken down into four sections: the likely consequences of the current developments; the institutional; technical and operational issues that will effect the success of any system. (A)


This paper shows the concept and design of an ongoing project about ``behavior change'', that is one of the keywords for realizing a sustainable society based on information technology such as IoT and AI. ``Stand'' function that Apple Watch has is a touchstone of the arrival of a new age. The watch commands a human to stand up or meditate. It is a start of intervention to our behavior from AI. However, it is not so bad because we know that this suggestion must be good for our health. Based on this experience, we started an empirical research on behavior change that consists of activity recognition, just-in-time intervention, and gamification.


Transverse spatial modes of light offer a large state-space with interesting physical properties. For exploiting these special modes in future long-distance experiments, the modes will have to be transmitted over turbulent free-space links. Numerous recent lab-scale experiments have found significant degradation in the mode quality after transmission through simulated turbulence and consecutive coherent detection. Here, we experimentally analyze the transmission of one prominent class of spatial modes—orbital-angular momentum (OAM) modes—through 3 km of strong turbulence over the city of Vienna. Instead of performing a coherent phase-dependent measurement, we employ an incoherent detection scheme, which relies on the unambiguous intensity patterns of the different spatial modes. We use a pattern recognition algorithm (an artificial neural network) to identify the characteristic mode patterns displayed on a screen at the receiver. We were able to distinguish between 16 different OAM mode superpositions with only a ∼1.7% error rate and to use them to encode and transmit small grayscale images. Moreover, we found that the relative phase of the superposition modes is not affected by the atmosphere, establishing the feasibility for performing long-distance quantum experiments with the OAM of photons. Our detection method works for other classes of spatial modes with unambiguous intensity patterns as well, and can be further improved by modern techniques of pattern recognition.


In recent years, for partial discharge (PD) analysis signal processing techniques have been applied in the time-frequency domain as Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT), Wavelet Transform (WT) and Wigner Distribution (WD), among others. Local Polynomial Fourier Transform (LPFT) is a linear time-frequency representation which is a generalization of STFT when m = 1. The LPFT has been used in applications, such as: analysis of time-varying signal, radar, sonar and communications. This paper present a study of partial discharge based on time-frequency analysis using Local Polynomial Fourier Transform. The analyzed PD signals were simulated using two mathematical models: PD single-pulse model and PD pulse sequence model. As part of the study, the waveform of PD signals selected were characterize in the time domain and the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was used in the analysis at frequency domain. Finally, to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed signal processing technique (based on LPFT) and its application on PD signals, the results obtained with the LPFT of polinomial order m=2  were compared with those obtained applying STFT. The results show that the LPFT is able to reveal low and medium frequency components which are due to the secondary peaks and oscillations of the PD pulses, which are not detected when the STFT is used.


All drivers have their own distinct driving habits, and usually hold and operate the steering wheel differently in different driving scenarios. In this study, we proposed a novel Gaussian mixture model (GMM)-based method that can improve the traditional GMM in modeling driving behavior. This new method can be applied to build a better driver authentication system based on the accelerometer and orientation sensor of a smartwatch. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, we created an experimental system that analyzes driving behavior using the built-in sensors of a smartwatch. The experimental results for driver authentication—an equal error rate (EER) of 4.62% in the simulated environment and an EER of 7.86% in the real-traffic environment—confirm the feasibility of this approach.


This study was designed to examine the relationship between friendship factors and Greek female adolescents' and young adults' body-image concern, body dissatisfaction, and restrained eating. While each of these issues has received much research attention in the past, very few studies have addressed whether perceived social support from friends or friendship intimacy influence young women's body-image attitudes and eating behaviours, and whether heavier girls experience poorer friendship relations. The study was conducted in Greece and the total sample ( N = 131) consisted of 67 high-school students and 64 university students, all which were females. Data relied solely on self-report measures. Contrary to the hypothesis, lower perceived social support and friendship intimacy were not associated with increased levels of body-image concern, body dissatisfaction, or restrained eating, for either of the two age-groups. Additionally, higher levels of BMI were not associated with poorer levels of perceived social support or friendship intimacy. Finally, an additional finding-beyond the original hypotheses of this study- was that, even though levels of friendship intimacy were almost identical for the two age-groups, adolescents scored higher that young adults in body-image concern, body dissatisfaction, and restrained eating. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.


Background and aims Cost-effective serology tests may increase the predictive accuracy of colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening. Reportedly, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) is associated with oxidative stress and carcinogenesis and has been found to be elevated in the serum of cancer patients and colorectal adenoma tissue. We aimed to investigate the association between serum GGT levels and colorectal adenoma. Methods This single-center, health examination-based cohort enrolled 2475 subjects from 2006 to 2015. Baseline characteristics, laboratory data, bidirectional gastrointestinal endoscopy, and transabdominal ultrasonography were used to evaluate the severity of fatty liver. Results We found an elevated median GGT level in subjects with tubular adenoma compared with those without (23 IU/L and 20 IU/L, p<0.001). A GGT cutoff of ≥20 IU/L reached a maximal Youden index in receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses. Subsequent regression analyses showed an odds ratio of 1.46 (95% CI 1.17–1.82, p<0.001) for age, body mass index, diabetes diagnosis, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and positive Helicobacter pylori urease test, all being associated with an increased incidence of colon adenoma. Subgroup analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.15–1.68, p<0.001) is only significant and highest in patients with a negative or mild fatty liver and an ALT level of ≤40 IU/L. Conclusions The results suggested a positive correlation of GGT with colon adenoma incidence and a predictive value with a cutoff point of >20 IU/L, which is within the normal range. The effect may be most prominent for those without steatohepatitis.


Background Approximately half of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain undiagnosed. Chest CT scans are frequently acquired in clinical practice and present an opportunity to detect COPD. Purpose To assess the performance of radiomics features in COPD diagnosis using standard-dose and low-dose CT models. Materials and Methods This secondary analysis included participants enrolled in the Genetic Epidemiology of COPD, or COPDGene, study at baseline (visit 1) and 10 years after baseline (visit 3). COPD was defined by a forced expiratory volume in the 1st second of expiration to forced vital capacity ratio less than 0.70 at spirometry. The performance of demographics, CT emphysema percentage, radiomics features, and a combined feature set derived from inspiratory CT alone was evaluated. CatBoost (Yandex), a gradient boosting algorithm, was used to perform two classification experiments to detect COPD; the two models were trained and tested on standard-dose CT data from visit 1 (model I) and low-dose CT data from visit 3 (model II). Classification performance of the models was evaluated using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and precision-recall curve analysis. Results A total of 8878 participants (mean age, 57 years ± 9 [SD]; 4180 female, 4698 male) were evaluated. Radiomics features in model I achieved an AUC of 0.90 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.91) in the standard-dose CT test cohort versus demographics (AUC, 0.73; 95% CI: 0.71, 0.76; P < .001), emphysema percentage (AUC, 0.82; 95% CI 0.80, 0.84; P < .001), and combined features (AUC, 0.90; 95% CI: 0.89, 0.92; P = .16). Model II, trained on low-dose CT scans, achieved an AUC of 0.87 (95% CI: 0.83, 0.91) on the 20% held-out test set for radiomics features compared with demographics (AUC, 0.70; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.75; P = .001), emphysema percentage (AUC, 0.74; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.79; P = .002), and combined features (AUC, 0.88; 95% CI: 0.85, 0.92; P = .32). Density and texture features were the majority of the top 10 features in the standard-dose model, whereas shape features of lungs and airways were significant contributors in the low-dose CT model. Conclusion A combination of features representing parenchymal texture and lung and airway shape on inspiratory CT scans can be used to accurately detect COPD. ClinicalTrials.gov registration no. NCT00608764 © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Vliegenthart in this issue.


In this study, the problem of MHD micropolar nanofluid boundary layer flows over an exponentially stretching/shrinking sheet with radiation and suction effect is considered. The Buongiorno's nanofluid model is applied to the problem. The governing equations are first transformed to the coupled nonlinear similarity
equations by using similarity transformations. The resulting equations which is in ordinary differential equations form are then solved numerically by using shooting method.Triple solutions are observed to exist for the flows. A comparison with existing solutions in literature for specific case are made to assess the accuracy of the present results. Further, the flows profiles are examined, and it is found that the presence of suction parameter will contribute the occurrences of triple solutions.