ABSTRACT In disease information retrieval, usually, users only know a top of basic information about the disease such as headache and high fever symptoms. Most search engines rely on keyword search and do not return exact results because they only literally find the records matching with the keywords of the queries. In this work, we propose a novel interactive search for disease information by using data mining-based ontology. In particular, a human disease ontology is used as a knowledge base to semantically recognize the input for the search engine. The association rule is applied to generate associated relations among keywords (including symptoms, derives from, located in …) for interactive query refinement. A Bayesian-based ranking algorithm is also proposed to arrange the search result. Prospectively, our approach is valuable not only to increase the accuracy of searching human disease, but also provide a significant approach in data mining ontology.


M. Burch and B. Wood, Public Policy in Britain, Martin Robertson, Oxford, 1983, xii + 243 pp. £18.50, paper £6.50. The standard approach to textbooks on public policy making has been to adopt the political systems approach of David Easton and others with its 'wiring' diagram of inputs, outputs and feedbacks. This model has dominated discussions of policy making in political science. The book by Burch and Wood is no exception. They rightly point out that the systems approach focuses on issues which are not normally discussed in textbooks on British politics. They have extensive discussions of implementation and effectiveness, an interesting discussion of taxation under the general heading of 'Acquiring Resources', and a worthwhile analysis of public expenditure. These are all neglected or ignored in many standard texts. There are perhaps two essential weaknesses in the systems approach. Firstly it generates a number of empty 'boxes' which contain little information of interest and do not help to throw light on the policy process. For example, there is a desultory examination of 'demands', one of Easton's major inputs into the political system; but this says little which is not just commonplace observations. As an example of this we are told 'all individuals, taken either as independent units or as members of collective groups, have wants' (p. 122). The adoption of the systems framework makes it de rigeur to write this sort of trivia. The second problem of the systems view is that at its heart it provides a technocratic vision of society which uneasily squares with the reality of power and conflict. I searched in vain for a good discussion of the dominant theme in contemporary British politics cuts and the irrationalities and injustices they can produce. Instead there is the image of a gigantic machine humming away to itself, admittedly producing the occasional loud bang or hiss, but basically working very well. Overall, within the limitations of the systems paradigm, this is a good introductory textbook which one can recommend to students of British politics. But the basic paradigm is flawed and the authors do not really come to terms with this.


The paper discusses some of the basic developments in the field of direct measurements of the rotor temperature of an electrical motor. In the same context, the design of a state-of-the-art rotor temperature monitoring system for contact measurements is proposed. The data transmission between the rotating and stationary part is realized via infrared light. The used temperature sensors are thermocouples of type K. The design applies the simultaneous processing of up to 12 sensors. Power is supplied by a battery placed in the rotating instrumentation. As a whole, the system is characterized by high noise immunity, low power consumption for long experimental setups and mechanical rigidity for up to 6000 rpm. The mechanical assembly is appropriate for laboratory setup since adaptation on the motor are required. Finally, experimental results are presented to show system feasibility.


The thermometry system described is based upon the temperature dependence of the band edge absorption of infrared light in GaAs crystal. The design of the thermometry was completed, and the system was subjected to an extensive evaluation, including testing with tissue phantoms and microwave applicators. The system has up to 12 temperature sensors which are packaged in two basic probe coinfigurations: a single-sensor probe with a length of 1.2 m and a diameter of 0.6 mm; and a four-sensor linear array probe with a length of 1.2 m, diameter of 1.1 mm, and spacing of 1.5 cm between adjacent sensors. Results of thermometry evaluation are presented, including data on automatic calibration, temperature accuracy and stability, and EMI protection.


A novel solid-state dye laser with degradation recovery was proposed and demonstrated. Polydimethylsiloxane was used as a nanoporous solid matrix to enable the internal circulation of dye molecules in the solid state. An internal circulation model for the dye molecules was also proposed and verified numerically by assuming molecular mobility and using a proposed diffusion equation. The durability of the laser was increased 20.5-fold compared with that of a conventional polymethylmethacrylate laser. This novel laser solves the low-durability problem of dye-doped polymer lasers.


Author Institution: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Oberlin College,; Oberlin, OH 44074; Environmental and Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific; Northwest National Laboratory, P.O. Box 999, Mail Stop K8-88,; Richland, WA 99352


This article will briefly overview our efforts in the engineering of water soluble variants of a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) and its novel applications to develop biosensors using such water soluble variants of GPCR. While the technologies using water soluble GPCR are still under development, they offer new tools and strategies to study the function of GPCR, explore potential new compounds for potential clinical usage, and monitor endogenous peptides in various physiological and pathological conditions.


Background: Assessing in undergraduate medical education the educational effectiveness of a short computer-based session, integrating a lecturer's video with a standardized structure, for evidence based medicine (EBM) teaching, compared to a lecture-based teaching session of similar structure and duration. Method: A concealed, randomized controlled trial of computer based session versus lecture of equal duration (40 minutes) and identical content in EBM and systematic reviews. The study was based at the Medical School, University of Birmingham, UK involving one hundred and seventynine year one medical students. The main outcome measures were change from pre to post-intervention score measured using a validated questionnaire assessing knowledge (primary outcome) and attitudes (secondary outcome). Results: Participants' improvement in knowledge in the computer based group was equivalent to the lecture based group (gain in score: 0.8 [S.D = 3.2] versus 1.3 [S.D = 2.4]; p = 0.24). Attitudinal gains were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Computer based teaching and typical lecture sessions have similar educational gains.


Virtually all democracies around the world deal with national, religious and social rifts. This lecture deals with policy-making surrounding such rifts. My case study will be the policy that was shaped for Israel's Ultra-Orthodox population. Arend Lijphart established the consociationalism model, arguing that political elites succeed in handling social rifts in four different ways: mutual veto, autonomy, wide coalition and proportional allocation of resources (Jarstad, 2001; Lijphart, 1969; 1977; O?Leary & McGarry, 2004). Lijphart's critics argue that the power of consociationalism is restricted to routine situations (Deschouwer, 1994; Hanf, 1993; Horovitz, 2008). The critique demonstrates the need to adapt Lijphart's classical consociationalism model to changing realities.The rapid growth of the Ultra-Orthodox society in Israel challenged the status quo in various matters such as the Ultra-Orthodox exemption from military service. The lecture deals with two different policy strategies: (1) The Incremental Change attitude mainly used by bureaucrats (2) The Great Reform option, commonly preferred by politicians. The case studies about policies regarding the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel allow us to construct a new model of consociationalism. When consociationalism reaches a crisis, the political elites tend to deepen the divide between the groups, leading to an impasse. Conversely, non-political elites serve as moderating forces that have the power to generate new norms and bypass the old status quo.?New consociationalism? is dynamic and aims to generate change that will yield renewed stability while seeking maximum agreement between the fragmented parties. The new model is universal, and the paths proposed in the model are derived from present-day society and politics.


Abstract. Deep-learning-based image classification and object detection has been applied successfully to tree monitoring. However, studies of tree crowns and fallen trees, especially on flood inundated areas, remain largely unexplored. Detection of degraded tree trunks on natural environments such as water, mudflats, and natural vegetated areas is challenging due to the mixed colour image backgrounds. In this paper, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, with embedded RGB cameras were used to capture the fallen Acacia Xanthophloea trees from six designated plots around Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Motivated by the need to detect fallen trees around the lake, two well-established deep neural networks, i.e. Faster Region-based Convolution Neural Network (Faster R-CNN) and Retina-Net were used for fallen tree detection. A total of 7,590 annotations of three classes on 256×256 image patches were used for this study. Experimental results show the relevance of deep learning in this context, with Retina-Net model achieving 38.9% precision and 57.9% recall.


Abstract Starting from July 1992, the apparent inclination of the orbital plane of the satellites of Saturn has begun to be small enough to induce phenomena. This configuration occurs every 15 years and gives the opportunity to observe eclipses and occultations of the first eight Saturnian satellites by the planet. Moreover, in 1995 and 1996, the Earth and Sun will pass through the plane of the rings and we will also observe mutual events of the Saturnian satellites: the satellites will eclipse and occult one another. We have computed the whole set of these phenomena and we give in this paper a selected set of eclipses by the planet and mutual events which could be observed under the best conditions: we will observe 163 eclipses by Saturn from 1993 May to 1996 August and 182 mutual eclipses and occultations from 1995 January to 1996 September. The observation of this type of event gives the opportunity to get astrometric measurements with a very high precision and will permit us to improve our knowledge of the dynamical motion of these satellites. Furthermore these observations are an interesting method for physical investigations concerning the atmosphere of Saturn or Titan, and they can he used for a photometric study of the surface scattering. We will organize a campaign and we call for observations of eclipses of the satellites by Saturn and for observations of their mutual events.


In the past two decades, nanostructured materials including colloidal nanocrystals,
semiconductor nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanowires and porous materials have received
a great attention thanks to their unique physicochemical properties. Titanium dioxide
nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) excited by UV light can produce different reactive oxygen
species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radical, superoxide radical anion and singlet oxygen.
This special feature of TiO2 NPs so-called photocatalytic property can be exploited in
numerous fields, especially in water treatment technologies for removing toxic
compounds or inactivation various pathogens.
In this work we applied directly TiO2 NPs on the grapevine (Vitis vinifera cv.
Cabernet sauvignon) leaves as potential antimicrobial agent. Experiments were
performed under field conditions where the plants were exposed to sunlight.
Physiological responses, flavonol profile and micro- macroelements of the leaves were
studied. We found that TiO2 NPs with the concentration of 250 3 00 mg kg-1 increased
the stomatal conductance whereas decreased the photosynthetic rate. Despite of their
negative effect on photosynthesis, flavonol profile as a stress sensitive factor showed
only minor changes after the foliar exposure as revealed by HPLC-DAD measurements.
Elevated level of K, Mg, Ca, P and B were detected in the treated leaves which may be
related to the increased stomatal opening. Our results indicate that TiO2 NPs with the
applied concentration can be phytotoxic in the presence of UV irradiation which
probably stem from the excess of ROS production of nanoparticles. Consequently,
further studies are necessary for determining the parameters which allows safety and
efficient field applications of TiO2 NPs.


The main goal of this paper lies briefly in submitting and modifying some numerical methods for solving system of linear Fractional order Integro- Differential Equations of Fredholm type (L.FFIDE's). in this method four kinds of shifted Chybeshev polynomials (T * ,U * ,V * and W * ) are used as a bases of independed polynomials approximation f n(x) .The general fractional derivatives of these polynomials are formulated ) * α α α in the framework of the Riemann-liouville definition .Some numerical examples are solving to show that the different between these polynomials , furthermore Algorithms and programs by using MATLAB program are given .


Research has been done on the metaheuristic optimization of RSFQ circuits, but these are typically limited to single criteria (e.g., yield). The importance of using multiple criteria and the relevance of each of the criteria is discussed. The application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and an interactive normalization technique as multi-criteria evaluation methods for the optimization of RSFQ circuits are investigated. We find that these evaluation methods each have clear advantages and disadvantages over each other. The normalization technique requires the analysis designer to have a good understanding of circuit design to be accurate, while the DEA method may yield many results that are ranked equally efficient.


In this paper, an approach to inventory management EOQ-model optimisation taking into account the time value of money and deferrals available for the order cost payments is developed and presented. The research is performed for models with cost-effective supply chains when due to the specified deferral an order payment, storage and other business costs can be paid from revenue. These requirements/limitations require to establish the necessary and sufficient condition for single product and multiproduct models, where the condition provides an opportunity to pay required costs from revenue of the previous reorder interval. The corresponding estimation of the profitability of working capital of such models is given in this article. It can be used when optimising supply chains with the deferred payment of the order, and taking into account the TVM. The EOQ-formula modification for determining optimal parameters of inventory management strategy taking into account the mentioned features is presented in this research. It is also shown that taking the TVM into account for such models refers to the phenomenon of reducing the profitability of working capital.


In minimally invasive surgery (MIS), especially the neurosurgery, surgeons often suffer from occlusion region problem. Common surgical instruments, like endoscope and corresponding operating tools, are hard to solve it due to their size and rigid mechanical structure. In this paper, we present a visible forceps manipulator with novel linkage bending mechanism, which realizes the flexible bending capability and high output force, as well as the integrated endoscopic function. We present the simplified experiment to evaluate the results of mechanical performance and brain phantom test to evaluate feasibility and usefulness in neurosurgery. Preliminary results show that phantom experiments using the brain phantom verify the feasibility of the novel manipulator.


PURPOSE
Increasing numbers of institutions are beginning to utilize calculation-based methods (Monte Carlo or commercial software) of performing patient specific IMRT QA. In such systems the full three-dimensional (3-D) dose distribution may be available. In this work we determine the gamma pass rate calculated using the full 3-D dose distribution that is equivalent to the more conventional 2-D gamma pass rate.

METHODS
55 IMRT and SBRT plans with a variety of field sizes were selected. All plans were created using Pinnacle v9.0. The delivered dose for each plan was re-computed using Monte Carlo simulation and then compared to the planned dose. 2-D gamma analysis was performed on each of three planes (axial, sagittal and coronal) and the values were compared with those obtained through 3-D gamma analysis. Gamma criteria used included 2%/2mm, 3%/3mm and 5%/5mm.

RESULTS
3-D and 2-D gamma were linearly related (R2 = 0.84). The linear relationship held for all three 2-D planes and did not appear to depend on field size or on gamma criterion. For a given 2-D gamma value, the calculated 3-D gamma was always larger. For a 2-D gamma pass rate of 95% (range 92-97%), the average equivalent 3-D gamma was 97.5% (range 94.3 - 99.7%).

CONCLUSION
For patient-specific IMRT QA involving the full 3-D dose distribution, acceptable plans require a larger percentage of points to pass gamma analysis than for the equivalent 2-D analysis employed during measurement-based QA. If a plan shows a 95% pass rate for a 2-D planar gamma calculation, the corresponding acceptable 3-D plan will have a pass rate of 97.5%. Clinics that use the full 3-D dose distribution for QA will need to adjust their passing criteria accordingly.


We present results from the EDGE survey, a spatially resolved CO(1−0) follow-up to CALIFA, an optical Integral Field Unit survey of local galaxies. By combining the data products of EDGE and CALIFA, we study the variation in molecular gas depletion time (τdep) on kiloparsec scales in 52 galaxies. We divide each galaxy into two parts: the center, defined as the region within , and the disk, defined as the region between 0.1 and . We find that 14 galaxies show a shorter τdep (∼1 Gyr) in the center relative to that in the disk (τdep ∼ 2.4 Gyr), which means the central region in those galaxies is more efficient at forming stars per unit molecular gas mass. This finding implies that the centers with shorter τdep resemble the intermediate regime between galactic disks and starburst galaxies. Furthermore, the central drop in τdep is correlated with a central increase in the stellar surface density, suggesting that a shorter τdep is associated with molecular gas compression by the stellar gravitational potential. We argue that varying the CO-to-H2 conversion factor only exaggerates the central drop of τdep.


We determine all maximum weight downsets in the product of two chains, where the weight function is a strictly increasing function of the rank. Many discrete isoperimetric problems can be reduced to the maximum weight downset problem. Our results generalize Lindsay's edge-isoperimetric theorem in two dimensions in several directions. They also imply and strengthen (in several directions) a result of Ahlswede and Katona concerning graphs with maximal number of adjacent pairs of edges. We find all optimal shifted graphs in the Ahlswede-Katona problem. Furthermore, the results of Ahlswede-Katona are extended to posets with a rank increasing and rank constant weight function. Our results also strengthen a special case of a recent result by Keough and Radcliffe concerning graphs with the fewest matchings. All of these results are achieved by applications of a key lemma that we call the reflect-push method. This method is geometric and combinatorial. Most of the literature on edge-isoperimetric inequalities focuses on finding a solution, and there are no general methods for finding all possible solutions. Our results give a general approach for finding all compressed solutions for the above edge-isoperimetric problems. By using the Ahlswede-Cai local-global principle, one can conclude that lexicographic solutions are optimal for many cases of higher dimensional isoperimetric problems. With this and our two dimensional results we can prove Lindsay's edge-isoperimetric inequality in any dimension. Furthermore, our results show that lexicographic solutions are the unique solutions for which compression techniques can be applied in this general setting.


Studies of acquired immunity have revolved around the relative importance of humoral and cellular factors. As previously indicated (1), valid conclusions concerning the role of cells in acquired immunity against tuberculosis require analyses of bacterium-cell relationships during periods when the in dtro cell populations show no change in cell numbers. Under such conditions, it was observed that the virulent H37Rv strain of tubercle bacillus regularly induced degeneration of both normal and immune monocytes (derived from rabbits immunized with BCG) when these were cultivated in vitro in the presence of normal rabbit serum (derived from tuberculin-negative rabbits); in contrast, the serum of rabbits immunized with BCG protected immune but not normal cells against the degenerative effects of virulent tubercle bacilli. The first of these observations posed a possible relationship between virulence and the factor in tubercle bacilli which promoted degeneration of cells cultivated in vitro. The protection of immune monocytes by the serum of rabbits immunized with BCG suggested an hitherto unexplored role for serum components in resistance against tuberculosis.


- The existence of many risk management procedures helps institutions to cope with challenges and select acceptable risk management techniques. Cybersecurity risk management is one of the requirements of security management and it is significantly important in understanding the entire security profile of the institution. The aims of this study is to evaluate the impact of the cybersecurity risk management process applied in Malaysian higher education institutions. It will assess the effectiveness of existing cybersecurity risk management frameworks in Malaysian higher education institutions to monitor cybersecurity risk. The method of data collection utilised in this study is a semi-structured qualitative interview. Therefore, the sampling of 10 public universities and 12 cybersecurity risk management officers from the departments in charge of information security risk management contributed to this study and the data provided were enough to reach data saturation. Abstract- The existence of many risk management procedures helps institutions to cope with challenges and select acceptable risk management techniques. Cybersecurity risk management is one of the requirements of security management and it is significantly important in understanding the entire security profile of the institution. The aims of this study is to evaluate the impact of the cybersecurity risk management process applied in Malaysian higher education institutions. It will assess the effectiveness of existing cybersecurity risk management frameworks in Malaysian higher education institutions to monitor cybersecurity risk. The method of data collection utilised in this study is a semi-structured qualitative interview. Therefore, the sampling of 10 public universities and 12 cybersecurity risk management officers from the departments in charge of information security risk management contributed to this study and the data provided were enough to reach data saturation. The information gathered from respondents is transcribed and coded word by word to identify themes and sub-themes. As a result, a thematic analysis of the data is performed based on the information collected from participants. It expects to discover the strengths and deficiencies of the present frameworks used in higher education institutions. However, the participants from all the universities visited for this study deliberated that the cybersecurity risk management frameworks were considered as one of the most successful innovations in the area of higher education institutions in Malaysia. It is believed that this study would contribute significantly to understanding the performance and usefulness of cybersecurity risk management frameworks in Malaysian public universities.


A system for calibrating dc voltage dividers up to 100 kV with an uncertainty (1¿) of the order of 5 X 10-6 is described. The main component is a 200 M¿ guarded resistive device rated for the maximum voltage, forced-air cooled, and made up of 100 individually screened 2 M¿ resistors connected in series. An arrangement for series-to-parallel connection of the 100 resistors is provided in order to evaluate the total series resistance and the self-heating effect at full current and low voltage.


Abstract. Surface ozone concentrations have been increasing in many regions of China for the past few years, in contrast to policy-driven declines in other key air pollutants such as particulate matter. While the central role of meteorology in modulating ozone pollution is widely acknowledged, its quantitative contribution remains highly uncertain. Here, we use a data-driven machine learning approach to assess the impacts of meteorology on surface ozone variations in China for the years 2015 to 2019, considering the months of highest ozone pollution from April to October. To quantify the importance of various meteorological driver variables, we apply non-linear random forest regression (RFR) and linear ridge regression (RR) to learn relationships between meteorological variability and surface ozone in China, and contrast the results to those obtained with the widely used multiple linear regression (MLR) and stepwise MLR. We show that RFR outperforms the three linear methods when predicting ozone using only local meteorological predictor variables. This implies the importance of non-linear relationships between local meteorological factors and ozone, which are not captured by linear regression algorithms. In addition, we find that including non-local meteorological predictors can further improve the modelling skill of RR, particularly for Southern China, highlighting the importance of large-scale meteorological phenomena for ozone pollution in that region. Overall, RFR and RR are in close agreement concerning the leading meteorological drivers behind regional ozone pollution. For example, we find that temperature variations are the dominant meteorological driver for ozone pollution in Northern China (e.g., Beijing Tianjin Hebei region), whereas variations in relative humidity are the most important factor in Southern China (e.g., Pearl River Delta). Variability in surface solar radiation modulates photochemistry but was not considered as such in previous controlling factor analyses, and is found to be the most important predictor in the Yangtze River Delta and Sichuan Basin regions. In general, our analysis underlines that hot and dry weather conditions with high sunlight intensity are strongly related to high ozone pollution across China. This further validates our novel approach to quantify the central role of meteorology. By contrasting our meteorological ozone predictions with ozone measurements between 2015 and 2019, we estimate that almost half of the observed ozone trends across China might have been caused by meteorological variabilities on average. We highlight that these insights are of particular importance given possible increases in the frequency and intensity of weather extremes such as heatwaves under climate change.


Nine stream sites, spanning the range of water total phosphorus concentrations ([TP]) found in Eastern Ontario and Western Québec, were sampled in June 1992 to describe how the size distribution of invertebrates varied along a nutrient gradient and among substrate categories ranging from sand to small boulders. Despite clear differences in the taxonomic composition among sites, the shape of the size distribution was remarkably similar in all sites. Substrate composition affected the overall abundance of invertebrates more than their size distribution. Overall density peaked on fine and coarse gravel and was lower on sand and boulders. Total abundance of invertebrates was highest in eutrophic sites ([TP] > 40 μg/L), although only organisms larger than 1 mm (approximately 1 μg dry mass) showed higher abundances in richer sites. The increase in total invertebrate abundance with increasing total phosphorus concentration suggests that these streams are phosphorus limited. Animals smaller than 1 mm long account for less than 3% of the respiration of the benthic assemblage on all substrates in our streams. Size distribution of invertebrates, although affected by substrate composition and trophy, is remarkably constant and predictable in our streams. Most of the biomass, and consequently the consumption, respiration, and secondary production, is found in relatively large invertebrates. Meiofauna is relatively rare and consequently has little direct influence on community metabolism in the streams we studied.


Background: The use of antipsychotics has been crucial in the treatment of schizophrenic patients. However, clozapine, as well as most atypical antipsychotics, may lead to higher weight gain and metabolic changes. Objective: To compare the frequency of overweight and obesity between schizophrenic patients exposed to clozapine to the prevalence of patients exposed to other antipsychotics. Method: This study assessed 121 schizophrenic outpatients aged 18 years or older, both genders, consecutively referred to an outpatient clinic for schizophrenia and dementia at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, a public hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Anthropometric measures of 53 patients taking clozapine and of 68 taking other antipsychotics were assessed. All patients met DSM-IV and ICD-10 diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Results: There was no significant difference in body mass index between schizophrenic patients taking clozapine and patients taking other antipsychotics. Analyses showed high frequency of overweight and obesity (72.7%). Discussion: Due to higher frequency of overweight in the schizophrenic population, it was possible to confirm a higher risk of vascular and metabolic disorders in the sample. Absence of a significant difference with regard to the use of clozapine, compared to other antipsychotics, provides evidence for the need of prospective studies in order to determine the magnitude of weight gain and risk increase related to specific exposure to each antipsychotic drug.


Forest harvesting reduces the inputs of dead wood into stream systems which in turn can result in aquatic habitat simplification, reduced biodiversity, altered nutrient cycling, and reduced nutrient retention. Through cost-benefit analyses, Acuña and colleagues found that ecosystem service benefits derived from active restoration of dead wood loading in streams exceed monetary costs of such restoration, with the time required to realize the investment of restoration ranging from 15 to 20 years in lowto middle-order streams. Ecosystem services considered in the analyses included fish provisioning, opportunities for recreation and tourism, water purification, and erosion control. If biodiversity conservation is included as an additional ecosystem value, the authors predict that stream restoration would be even more economically profitable. Book Review


Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, preventive social paradigms and vaccine development have undergone serious renovations, which drastically reduced the viral spread and increased collective immunity. Although the technological advancements in diagnostic systems for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) detection are groundbreaking, the lack of sensitive, robust, and consumer‐end point‐of‐care (POC) devices with smartphone connectivity are conspicuously felt. Despite its revolutionary impact on biotechnology and molecular diagnostics, the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction technique as the gold standard in COVID‐19 diagnosis is not suitable for rapid testing. Today's POC tests are dominated by the lateral flow assay technique, with inadequate sensitivity and lack of internet connectivity. Herein, the biosensing advancements in Internet of Things (IoT)‐integrated electroanalytical tools as superior POC devices for SARS‐CoV‐2 detection will be demonstrated. Meanwhile, the impeding factors pivotal for the successful deployment of such novel bioanalytical devices, including the incongruous standards, redundant guidelines, and the limitations of IoT modules will be discussed.


BACKGROUND
Significant differences in outcomes have been demonstrated between Level I trauma centers. Usually these differences are ascribed to regional or administrative differences, although the influence of variation in clinical practice is rarely considered. This study was undertaken to determine whether differences in early mortality of patients receiving a massive transfusion (MT, ≥ 10 units pf RBCs within 24 hours of admission) persist after adjustment for patient and transfusion practice differences. We hypothesized differences among centers in 24-hour mortality could predominantly be accounted for by differences in transfusion practices as well as patient characteristics.

METHODS
Data were retrospectively collected over a 1-year period from 15 Level I centers on patients receiving an MT. A purposeful variable selection strategy was used to build the final multivariable logistic model to assess differences between centers in 24-hour mortality. Adjusted odds ratios for each center were calculated.

RESULTS
: There were 550 patients evaluated, but only 443 patients had complete data for the set of variables included in the final model. Unadjusted mortality varied considerably across centers, ranging from 10% to 75%. Multivariable logistic regression identified injury severity score (ISS), abbreviated injury scale (AIS) of the chest, admission base deficit, admission heart rate, and total units of RBC transfused, as well as ratios of plasma:RBC and platelet:RBC to be associated with 24-hour mortality. After adjusting for severity of injury and transfusion, treatment variables between center differences were no longer significant.

CONCLUSIONS
In the defined population of patients receiving an MT, between-center differences in 24-hour mortality may be accounted for by severity of injury as well as transfusion practices.


Background Environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors can induce citrullination of structural peptides by the enzyme PAD,which induce anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) preceding RA. Among the environmental factors are cigarette smoke, infections, such as P. gingivalis in periodontitis (PD) and Prevotella copri of intestinal microflora, and silica dust. Given the implication of these two exogenous factors, tobacco and PD,in citrullination, and tobacco enhancer factor in PD, we studied: Objectives 1. The risk of smoking for developing advanced PD in patients with RA. 2. Possible influence of smoking on the expression of severe PD and ACPA in RA patients. Methods Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study in RA patients older tan 18y.o.(ACR/EULAR 2010), with ≥4 teeth, without tooth cleaning nor antibiotic intake 6 months previously. Socio-demographic and anthropometric variables included smoking status, social indicators such as Graffar scale, stress level, annual dental prophylaxis, and co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, ischemic cardiovascular disease. Serum ACPA detection: semiquantification Ab IgG against citrullinated peptides (ELISA) with Immunoscan CCPlus®test kit. Eurodiagnostica: positive >25; ACPA title stratification: Low (25–75), moderate (76–300) and high (>300). Periodontal parameters: plaque index (PI), Bleeding on probing (Bop), probing pocket depth, recession, clinical attachment level (CAL). CAL loss was categorized according to European Workshop 2005 (Tonetti)1: T level 0 (abscence), TL1 (mild), TL2 (severe). Statistical analysis: t-student, Kruskal Wallis, Chi-cuadrado by Stata program 13.1. Results We studied 187 patients, F/M 78.6%/21.4%, mean age 54.4 y.o. Follow-up time 8.8 y.o. RF+ 74.2%, ACPA positive in 114/168 patients (67.86%). Smoking habit:Current smoker (19.25%), former smoker (24.6%); low socioeconomical status (36.4%)/ relative poverty (33.7%).PD was observed in 97.3%: TL1 52.4%, TL2 44.9%. A "risk gradient" was observed for PD related to smoking habit: former smoker OR 1.62 (95% CI 0.81–3.27),p=0.174; smokers, OR 2.27 (95% CI 1.05–4.91), p=0.037. When analyzing the influence of smoking on PD development according to ACPA profile, a gradient effect of developing severe PD was observed from former smokers OR 2.37 (IC95% 0.52–7.64) to current smokers OR 6.99 (IC95% 1.53–32.07) (p=0.029) in ACPA(-) patients. This relationship was not observed in ACPA (+) patients (p=0.383). Conclusions 1.There is a "risk gradient" to develop PD in RA in relation to past or current exposure to tobacco, so that, although not significant, former smokers are at greater risk than non-smokers, and current smokers have a significant risk 2.3 times higher. 2. This risk gradient is shown in ACPA (-) patients, but not in ACPA (+) patients, which suggests an independent relationship between PD and ACPA (+) RA. References Tonetti MS, et al. J Clin Periodontol 2005. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Adriamycin (Adriablastine), administered weekly at the dose of 5 mg/kg i.p. for 3 weeks in rats, produced a general decrease of vitality associated with a decrease of body weight, hypothermia, decreases of stroke volume and cardiac output. Hematocrit was decreased. Renal blood flow decreased whereas pulmonary blood flow increased. Mean blood pressure and heart rate remained unaffected. Biochemical evaluations revealed a decrease of blood urea and serum creatinine, which might be related to decreased food intake and protein metabolism. Morphological changes in the heart tissue could not be appreciated. Venoruton (HR), administered at the dose of 300 mg/kg p.o. daily for 28 days (5 days before and 23 days after the first injection of adriamycin), improved adriamycin-induced clinical signs and symptoms (loss of body weight, hypothermia and decreased general vitality). It tended to increase cardiac output and stroke volume.


Many of the factors in the pathogenesis and experimental production of acute pancreatitis are conflicting and controversial. It is generally conceded that interstitially extravasated, active trypsin in the pancreas plays a dominant role. 1,2 Evidence further indicates that if, in addition, ductal obstruction or ischemia supervenes, necrotic or hemorrhagic pancreatitis is likely to ensue. 1-4 The pivotal issues seem to be (1) the mechanism by which trypsin or trypsinogen is extravasated, (2) whether trypsinogen itself can cause pancreatitis, and (3) the manner in which trypsinogen is activated. The majority of investigators have utilized ductal perfusion of bile or pancreatic juice. 1,3 Stein and co-workers have produced hemorrhagic pancreatitis by injection of trypsin into the dog's pancreaticoduodenal artery and ligation of the pancreatic ducts. Hosie and Ziffren 5 have implicated collagenase, normally contained in pancreatic juice, as the initiator of pancreatitis. Since much of the experimental evidence indicating active trypsin as


PURPOSE
Development of a concept for structured diagnostic imaging in patients with multiple trauma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Evaluation of data from a prospective trial with over 2400 documented patients with multiple trauma. All diagnostic and therapeutic steps, primary and secondary death and the 90 days lethality were documented. Structured diagnostic imaging of multiple injured patients requires the integration of an experienced radiologist in an interdisciplinary trauma team consisting of anesthesia, radiology and trauma surgery. Radiology itself deserves standardized concepts for equipment, personnel and logistics to perform diagnostic imaging for a 24-h-coverage with constant quality.

RESULTS
This paper describes criteria for initiation of a shock room or emergency room treatment, strategies for documentation and interdisciplinary algorithms for the early clinical care coordinating diagnostic imaging and therapeutic procedures following standardized guidelines. Diagnostic imaging consists of basic diagnosis, radiological ABC-rule, radiological follow-up and structured organ diagnosis using CT. Radiological trauma scoring allows improved quality control of diagnosis and therapy of multiple injured patients.

CONCLUSION
Structured diagnostic imaging of multiple injured patients leads to a standardization of diagnosis and therapy and ensures constant process quality.


Muramyl dipeptide (MDP) and tuftsin are known biologically active compound displaying a significant influence on various cell populations of innate immune response. MDP, as a fragment of bacterial cell wall, stimulates not only macrophages and monocytes, but also dendritic cells. In contrast, little is known about tuftsin influence on these cells. Therefore it seemed vital to access whether tuftsin or its derivatives conjugated with MDP could influence the activity of this subpopulation of antigen presenting cells (APC). Immature dendritic cells (iDCs) were derived from human monocytes through eight-day tissue culture supplemented with hrIL-4 and hrGM-CSF. On the day 9 DCs were stimulated with newly synthesized conjugates of tuftsin and muramyl dipeptide. The influence of the examined compounds on the activity and maturity of monocyte-derived DCs was estimated by flow cytometry analysis. The flow cytometry analysis revealed that tuftsin and some of its analogues do stimulate maturation and activity of DCs but to a lesser extend in comparison to MDP. The obtained results suggest further development of the experiments concerning the influence of MDP and tuftsin analogues on the activity of dendritic cells.


InGaAs epitaxial layers lattice-matched to InP substrates are studied by photoluminescence measurements modulated by far-infrared radiation under the condition of cyclotron resonance or impurity cyclotron resonance. Based on the experimental results, the ionization energy of shallow donors is estimated to be 2.3 meV, which is lower than the value of 3.0 meV obtained from the effective mass approximation. In order to explain the difference between the two values, we propose a model of the existence of a Ga-rich region in samples. In addition to electron cyclotron resonance, hole cyclotron resonance is observed. The effective masses of electron and light hole are estimated to be 0.041m0 and 0.051m0, respectively.


Abstract Purpose To explore health professionals' acceptance of the guidelines for acute whiplash associated disorders (WAD), and to identify barriers and facilitators to adherence. Materials and methods Qualitative descriptive study involving focus group discussions among health professionals who treat people with WAD in primary and secondary care settings in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. Twenty-eight health professionals (physiotherapists = 19; chiropractors = 6; osteopaths = 3) participated in six semi-structured focus group discussions that were held in independent offices in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia between September and December 2015. Discussions were audio recorded and verbatim, de-identified transcripts produced. Thematic analysis was conducted using an inductive approach to identify commonly held beliefs. Results Acceptance of guideline recommendations appeared to be influenced by factors related to the guideline itself, practitioner and practice characteristics, and patient-related factors. Specifically, acceptance was hindered by conflicting belief systems, ambiguity in guideline recommendations, and patient characteristics and expectations. Conclusions Practitioners demonstrated a positive attitude towards the use of the guidelines in general; however, in some cases, acceptance of key recommendations appeared selective. Future guideline revision and implementation might focus on explaining the underlying principles of the guidelines, providing more detailed recommendations, and involving strategies that challenge inconsistent beliefs and promote informed decision-making. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Selective acceptance of guideline recommendations in favour of those not requiring practice change may present a challenge for the implementation of evidence-based practice in the management of whiplash. Participants demonstrated variable, sometimes polar attitudes to guideline key messages and recommendations. Guideline developers need to focus more strongly on changing practitioner beliefs and attitudes, as well as better explaining the underlying principles of the guidelines, and providing more detailed recommendations.


There is a growing consensus that there is a need to evaluate second language speech performance with respect to first language speech behavior. To support this need, the Crosslinguistic Corpus of Hesitation Phenomena was developed. This freely available corpus is designed to investigate the crosslinguistic influence of speech patterns and consists of recordings of speakers producing first and second language speech samples in response to parallel elicitation tasks in each language. Preliminary results from the corpus are consistent with other findings that second language performance is sometimes correlated with first language speech behavior. In particular, findings show that silent pause rate and duration as well as other hesitation phenomena correlate with first language performance while speech rate does not. Interestingly, repeats also differ from first language production. Results show that the corpus may be a useful tool for researchers who wish to investigate the correspondence between first and second language speech, particularly with respect to the use of hesitation phenomena.


For the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), 2012 was the culmination of a 5-year effort to establish an enabling regulatory framework for mobile money that opened the market to both bank and non-bank providers and extended services to Sri Lanka's unbanked population. Marking this shift was the launch of eZ Cash, a new mobile money service that has signed up over 1 million customers in just one year. eZ Cash is operated by Dialog Axiata PLC, a mobile network operator (MNO) that was awarded a licence to operate as a payment services provider following revisions to the central bank's regulations. The Sri Lankan case offers important lessons for both regulators and MNOs working to achieve the dual objectives of financial inclusion and economic growth.


Differential Geometry studies various kinds of geometric structures on ``nice'' spaces (manifolds). Such structures appear naturally, e.g. when trying to measure, or even make sense of, distances, areas, etc., or when formalising physical theories. For instance, to talk about distances on such nice spaces, one needs to look at the class of Riemannian structures; or, for the mathematical structure that supports Hamilton's formulation of classical mechanics, one looks at the class of symplectic (or even Poisson) structures. For each kind of geometric structures, one is interested in studying the entire class of them - let us call it S. While the main interest is on such ``S-structures'', one can also talk about ``almost S-structures'', which arise naturally as their ``shadows''. When saying ``shadow'', one should have in mind an ``over-simplified version'' - which gives a rough idea/first order approximation of the actual structure, but without going into intricate details. A fundamental question, known as the integrability problem, is to understand when such a ``shadow'' is actually real, i.e. when an almost S-structure arises from an S-structure. There are various frameworks to make precise sense of S-structures but, somehow, each framework has its own limitations: there are always more examples of geometric structures than the frameworks can accommodate. The situation is even more problematic when looking for a general theory allowing to handle also ``almost S-structures'': the existing literature is always restricted to the so-called ``transitive case'' (when symmetries allow one to pass from one point to another). This thesis presents a general framework for studying almost structures and for proving integrability results, which is not restricted to the ``transitive case''. The standard approach to (almost) geometric structures, at least in the transitive case, is via the theory of G-structures, for an appropriate group of symmetries $G$. Here is an important remark at the foundation of this thesis: in the non-transitive case, one has to allow for local symmetries as well. Accordingly, one should concentrate not only on groups G, but allow also more general, point-dependent, version of groups: groupoids and pseudogroups Γ. The key concept of our approach to almost structures is that of a ``principal Pfaffian bundle''. Roughly speaking, it consists of a principal action by a groupoid G on a space P, together with two differential forms, one on P and one on G, which are compatible in an appropriate sense. To make this precise, we draw techniques and inspiration from Poisson geometry and the formal theory of PDEs.


This paper describes a longitudinal H- beam profile scanner that utilizes laser light to detach convoy electrons and an MCP to collect and measure these electrons. The scanner is located in MEBT with H- energy of 2.5MeV and an RF frequency 402.5MHz. The picosecond pulsed laser runs at 80.5MHz in sync with the accelerator RF. The laser beam is delivered to the beam line through a 30m optical fiber. The pulse width after the fiber transmission measures about 10ps. Scanning the laser phase effectively allows measurements to move along ion bunch longitudinal position. We are able to reliably measure production beam bunch length with this method. The biggest problem we have encountered is background signal from electrons being stripped by vacuum. Several techniques of signal detection are discussed.


In the last years triangle meshes have become increasingly popular and are nowadays intensively used in many different areas of computer graphics and geometry processing. In classical CAGD irregular triangle meshes developed into a valuable alternative to traditional spline surfaces, since their conceptual simplicity allows for more flexible and highly efficient processing. Moreover, the consequent use of triangle meshes as surface representation avoids error-prone conversions, e.g., from CAD surfaces to mesh-based input data of numerical simulations. Besides classical geometric modeling, other major areas frequently employing triangle meshes are computer games and movie production. In this context geometric models are often acquired by 3D scanning techniques and have to undergo post-processing and shape optimization techniques before being actually used in production. This course discusses the whole geometry processing pipeline based on triangle meshes. We will first introduce general concepts of surface representations and point out the advantageous properties of triangle meshes in Chapter 2, and present efficient data structures for their implementation in Chapter 3. The different sources of input data and types of geometric and topological degeneracies and inconsistencies are described in Chapter 4, as well as techniques for their removal, resulting in clean two-manifold meshes suitable for further processing. Mesh quality criteria measuring geometric smoothness and element shape together with the corresponding analysis techniques are presented in Chapter 6. Mesh smoothing reduces noise in scanned surfaces by generalizing signal processing techniques to irregular triangle meshes (Chapter 7). Similarly, the underlying concepts from differential geometry are useful for surface parametrization as well (Chapter 8). Due to the enormous complexity of meshes acquired by 3D scanning, mesh decimation techniques are required for error-controlled simplification (Chapter 9). The shape of triangles, which is important for the robustness of numerical simulations, can be optimized by general remeshing methods (Chapter 10). After optimizing meshes with respect to the different quality criteria, we finally present techniques for intuitive and interactive shape deformation (Chapter 11). Since solving linear systems is a commonly required component for many of the presented mesh processing algorithms, we will discuss their efficient solution and compare several existing libraries in Chapter 12.


Three cohorts of normal Italian schoolchildren, 55 boys and 47 girls, were given Rorschachs at ages 6, 7, and 8; 9, 10, and 11; and 12 and 13. Regardless of sex or score, primary process (scored by Holt's method) tends to diminish with age; but significantly among the boys only for the sums of all primary process, of Level 2 responses, and of content. Measures of control showed similar developmental trends, mean form level advancing significantly in the total sample and among girls. Even stronger trends within cohorts were confounded by retest effects.


This paper reports on a randomized field experiment that uses price incentives to address economic and gender inequality in land tenure formalization. During the 1990s and 2000s, nearly two dozen African countries proposed de jure land reforms extending access to formal, freehold land tenure to millions of poor households. Many of these reforms stalled. Titled land remains the de facto preserve of wealthy households and, within households, men. Beginning in 2010, the study tested whether price instruments alone can generate greater inclusion by offering formal titles to residents of a low-income, unplanned settlement in Dar es Salaam at a range of subsidized prices, as well as additional price incentives to include women as owners or co-owners of household land. Estimated price elasticities of demand confirm that prices -- rather than other implementation failures or features of the titling regime -- are a key obstacle to broader inclusion in the land registry, and that some degree of pro-poor price discrimination is justified even from a narrow budgetary perspective. In terms of gender inequality, the study finds that even small price incentives for female co-titling achieve almost complete gender parity in land ownership with no reduction in demand.


We present calculations of the tt'-Hubbard model using Quantum Monte Carlo techniques. The parameters are chosen so that the van Hove Singularity in the density of states and the Fermi level coincide. We study the behaviour of the system with increasing Hubbard interaction U. Special emphasis is on the spin-spin correlation (SSC). Unusual behaviour for large U is observed there and in the momentum distribution function ( n(q)).


Transformation studies lean towards the more practical aspects of change processes and are not yet dealing adequately with their personal and political dimensions. They are arguably constrained in doing so in their current stances, either fixated on systems and how to control them or on individualistic values and behaviours. In this study we show the range of actually-occurring societal transformations that people face can be usefully approached through a combination of dialogical sense-making and critical phenomenology. While distinct, these approaches share a concern with experience and meaning-making, concerns which are often neglected when societal transformation becomes abstracted and alienated from people's lives. The two approaches reveal how societal transformational change is situated, shared, embodied and laden with diverse meanings. Dialogical sense-making expands the theorisation of the experiential, personal and political dimensions of transformation and shows how the practical dimension of change is always personal and political. Critical phenomenology addresses how the experience of transformation help shape subjectivity, as a lived relation to the world, and sheds light on taken-for-granted, lived norms about bodies and transformative change. Drawing together the three spheres of transformation – the practical, personal, and political - allows a fuller grasp of the complexity in which new worlds may emerge. Through a discussion of insights from these approaches, we develop a language and framework to understand how people interact with change processes. This development allows new questions about transformative change, based on a reframing of transformations that brings them closer to people's lives. Together these approaches broaden and deepen social-science and humanities contributions to transformation studies and sustainability science.


Millimeter wave sources at 60 GHz have been demonstrated using optically driven heterojunction bipolar transistors configured as photodetectors. Two techniques were used to optically generate the millimeter waves; the mixing of two cw lasers and the mode locking of a semiconductor laser. The millimeter wave power generated from these two configurations was radiated into free space using integrated planar twin‐dipole antennas and heterodyne detected with signal‐to‐noise ratios ≳40 dB. As part of these experiments, the dc optical gains and quantum efficiencies of the heterojunction bipolar transistor photodetectors were determined.


Supermassive black holes (SMBH) are essential for the production of jets in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN). Theoretical models based on (Blandford & Znajek 1977, MNRAS, 179, 433) extract the rotational energy from a Kerr black hole, which could be the case for NGC1052, to launch these jets. This requires magnetic fields on the order of 10(3) G to 10(4) G. We imaged the vicinity of the SMBH of the AGN NGC1052 with the Global Millimetre VLBI Array and found a bright and compact central feature that is smaller than 1.9 light days (100 Schwarzschild radii) in radius. Interpreting this as a blend of the unresolved jet bases, we derive the magnetic field at 1 Schwarzschild radius to lie between 200 G and similar to 8.3 x 10(4) G consistent with Blandford & Znajek models.


Video annotation technique delivers many additional video processing capabilities for several applications. Sports broadcast video content is unique in regard to wealth of information as compared to any other video. Sports video annotation is becoming popular among researchers in recent times because of wide range of applications and challenges it pose. The demand for optimized design of framework for sports video annotation is at peak. This paper surveys state-of-the-art in annotation framework design, particularly for sports applications and provides insight into future aspects. This survey may help researchers to further conceive and develop advanced universal frameworks applied to all sports.


The seismic imaging of salt diapirs in the Nordkapp Basin gave rise to considerable problems in defining their shape and volume. Independent information was added by integrating the interpretation with high resolution gravity and magnetic data. We developed a novel, iterative workflow, separated into sub‐categories: sediments, salt structures, basement and Moho. Distinctions between the sources of the anomalies from different depths was achieved by utilizing the different decay characteristics of gravity, gravity gradiometry and high resolution magnetic anomalies. The workflow was applied to the southern part of the Nordkapp Basin. It started with the sedimentary model derived from seismics, populated with measured densities and magnetic susceptibilities and a starting model for the base salt. The residual after the removal of this model was interpreted in terms of a crustal model, including flexural isostatic calculations for the Moho with the sedimentary load. The residual after the removal of crustal and early sedimentary model was used to tune the salt model. As these major and minor modelling steps depend on each other, an iterative process was applied to stepwise improve the density and magnetic susceptibility model. The first vertical gradient of gravity and the magnetic field were found to give most information about the cap rock of the diapirs. The improvement in salt imaging, integrated with results from controlled‐source electromagnetic and magneto‐telluric modelling is shown for the salt diapir Uranus, where a well, terminated in the salt, constrains the minimum of the depth to base salt.


Arizona State University's bachelor of science in software engineering is the first Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited software engineering program offered in an online modality. ASU's online software engineering program has experienced rapid growth, to over 1000 students in a 5-year span. The program's design is the same as the on-campus offering, featuring a unique curriculum centered on a professional spine comprised of team-oriented project-based learning courses. The scale of the program and its growth, combined with a hands-on applied learning approach, creates challenges that have mandated innovative and adaptable processes to be successful. Specifically, the faculty have led a three-year effort on pedagogical innovations and internal quality process improvements to address unique aspects of online software engineering education delivery. In this paper we will present the evolution of the online program and the innovations required to support scale and growth while producing industry-ready software engineers. These innovations have resulted in an upward trend in student satisfaction, reversing a prior three-year downward trend from the inception of the online program.


Abstract Benzilic acid rearrangement of i-steroid ketones and their subsequent opening gives access to 5(6→7)abeo-steroids. The functional group tolerance is demonstrated by several examples, including substrates with additional olefinic groups. The method opens a potential route to the synthesis of complex natural products such as solanioic acid from abundant steroid starting materials like ergosterol.


A new radiolabeling method using a microreactor was developed for the rapid synthesis of [(11)C]raclopride. A chip bearing a Y-shaped mixing junction with a 200 µm (width)×20 µm (depth)×250 mm (length) flow channel was designed, and the efficiency of O-[11C]methylation was evaluated. Dimethyl sulfoxide solutions containing the O-desmethyl precursor or [11C]CH3I were introduced into separate injection ports by infusion syringes, and the radiochemical yields were measured under various conditions. The decay-corrected radiochemical yield of microreactor-derived [11C]raclopride reached 12% in 20 s at 25 °C, which was observed to increase with increasing temperature. In contrast, batch synthesis at 25 °C produced a yield of 5%: this indicates that this device could effectively achieve O-[11C]methylation in a shorter period of time. The microreactor technique may facilitate simple and efficient routine production of 11C-labeled compounds via O-[11C]methylation with [11C]CH3I.


We discuss the potential of Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) to estimate the Q-factor in optical networks. CBR is an artificial intelligence technique which solves new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems. In this paper, as a first step, we consider a very simple scenario and develop a CBR method to estimate the Q-factor in optical links with cascades of amplifiers. While this is a toy problem, the results obtained are promising, as the CBR system performs a successful classification into good quality or low quality of transmission links in 94% of cases.


The current paper has presented the study results of collection winter bread wheat samples. The purpose of the study was to screen the world collection of winter bread wheat for disease resistance in the Nizhnevolzhsky region. The study was carried out on the basis of the FSBSI "Federal Agricultural Research Center of the South-East" (Saratov). In 2017–2021 there was conducted an estimation of the resistance of 152 winter bread wheat samples to the main pathogens. The samples were sown at the optimal time with the SSFC-8 seeder on plots of 3 m2 in a single repetition. The seeding rate was 450 germinating seeds per m2 . There have been studied the world collection varietal samples of winter bread wheat VIR (from breeding centers of the USA, Canada, Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, etc.), as well as the samples of domestic breeding (FANC of the South-East, NTsZ named after P.P. Lukyanenko, Severokavkazsky FNATS, etc.). There have been identified the most harmful leaf-stem diseases, such as brown rust (Puccinia triticina Erikss.) and stem rust (Puccinia graminis f. sp. Tritici), septoria (Septoria tritici Rob. et Desm.) and yellow leaf blotch (Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Died) Drechsler). There has been characterized the resistance of the winter bread wheat collection to the complex of leaf-stem diseases. There have been identified two samples with group resistance to brown and stem rusts, septoria and pyrenophorosis; one sample resistant to leaf rust and stem rust; three samples resistant to stem rust and septoria; one sample resistant to leaf and stem rust and septoria; six samples resistant to septoria and pyrenophorosis.


A Northern blot containing poly(A)+ RNA isolated from pregnant rabbit placenta, uterus, ovary, mammary gland, psoas muscle, and intestine was hybridized with an oligonucleotide probe to porcine preprorelaxin. Only the placenta and uterus exhibited high levels of a 1-kb mRNA that hybridized to the probe. Porcine preprorelaxin primers were used to generate and amplify cDNAs from placental and uterine poly(A)+ RNA. Southern blot analysis of the placental and uterine cDNAs each revealed a single PCR product that hybridized with the porcine relaxin probe. The sequence of the cDNAs exhibited 100% identity with SQ10, a preprorelaxin-like gene identified in rabbit tracheobronchial epithelial cells. Identical results were obtained with primers specific for SQ10. SQ10 is expressed in tracheobronchial epithelial cells during abnormal conditions, such as mechanical or toxic injury. The protein is believed to have a role in tracheal epithelial cell differentiation and transformation that occurs under the above conditions. This work shows, for the first time, the presence of high levels of message for SQ10 in normal reproductive tissues. The expression of SQ10 in the uterus and placenta may suggest an important role in cell differentiation and transformation that occurs in these tissues during pregnancy.


Conclusion. In this study, we concluded that electrode design and location did not have a high level of influence on the prevalence of facial nerve stimulation (FNS) in normal cochleae. Objective. To analysis the prevalence of FNS after cochlear implantation with Nucleus 24-channel devices according to types of electrodes arrays. Patients and methods. We retrospectively analyzed medical and mapping records of 394 patients who received cochlear implants (CIs) manufactured by Cochlear Corporation from April 1999 to March 2007. Results. In all, 23 of 394 (5.8%) patients had FNS (CI24M 4 of 39 [10.3%], CI24RCS 9 of 192 [4.7%], CI24RST 9 of 21 [42.9%], and CI24RECA 1 of 87 [1.1%]). In addition, 4 of 324 (1.2%) patients with normal cochleae complained of FNS (CI24M 1 of 33 [3.0%], CI24RCS 2 of 173 [1.2%], and CI24RECA 1 of 71 [1.4%]). There was no difference between straight and perimodiolar electrode arrays in patients with normal cochleae. In addition, when comparing two types of Contour™ electrodes, Contour Advance™ (soft-tip) electrodes offered significantly lower incidence of FNS than Contour™ electrode arrays. We could manage these patients with methods such as decrease of C-level, selective channel turning off, and changes of mapping strategies.


Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, real yields on inflation-protected government debt have shifted to the negative. First, and trivially, this article argues that irrespective of the specific assumptions about the stochastic nature of the underlying parameters, the observable yields are sensitive to nonstochastic factors that require only minor adjustments. More important, if real bonds only partially reflect the expected inflation (i.e., negative real rates of interest), this may create a quasi-arbitrage opportunity if the probability of negative inflation, as perceived by market participants, is nil. Therefore, the magnitude of the intertwined real rates, inflation risk premiums, and expected inflation are estimated empirically. The inflation risk premium has increased dramatically during the period in which the rates shifted to the negative. Interestingly, the highest levels of the inflation risk premium correspond to the second and fourth peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Traffic flow prediction is a crucial task in enabling efficient intelligent transportation systems and smart cities. Although there has been rapid progress in this area in the last few years, given the major advances of deep learning techniques, it remains a challenging task because of the inherent periodic characteristics of traffic flow sequence. To incorporate the periodicity in the prediction process, existing methods have observed three components separately as the input of prediction models, i.e., the closeness, period, and trend components. The long term relation of these components has not been fully addressed. In this paper, we present a novel architecture, TRAILER (TRAnsformer-based tIme-wise Long tErm Relation modeling), to predict traffic flows more effectively. First, we explicitly design a Transformer based long term relation prediction module to model the long term relation and predict the periodic relation to be used for the downstream task. Second, we propose a consistency module at the target time interval, in order to model the consistency of the predicted periodic relation and the relation inferred from the predicted traffic flow tensor. Finally, based on the consistency module, we introduce a consistency loss to stabilize the training process and further improve the prediction performance. Through extensive experiments, we show the superiority of the proposed method on three real-world datasets and the effectiveness of each module in TRAILER.


This paper's conceptual contribution is to highlight the need to place the identification and analysis of institutional logics at the centre of the hybrid framework for policy analysis, with a focus on air pollution as a wicked problem. Different post-structural approaches to policy development have been developed but there is a need to conceptualise and theorise further how different institutions, organisations, and groups, with different institutional logics, contextualise, construct and prioritise wicked problems as policy challenges; additionally, challenges encountered in specific local contexts have to be untangled. Conflicting institutional logics play an important but overlooked role in the analysis of regional policy cycles. This is the first paper to engage in these debates by identifying and exploring the role institutional logics play in conceptualising wicked problems as policy priorities. To do so, it applies and develops post-structuralist approaches to policy analysis developed in education, combined with an institutional logics approach to explore why no effective air quality policy is yet to emerge in East Africa and specifically in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Kampala (Uganda) and Nairobi (Kenya). Four contexts of policy formulation and implementation are identified: context of influence, policy formation, implementation and outcomes along with three types of institutional logics: 'science', based on rigor to render societal problems visible; 'influencer', led by NGOs and other stakeholders (e.g. citizens) involved in translating problems to foster awareness and support/fund specific programmes and actions to increase viability; and 'political' linked to decision-making and policy prioritisation. Conflicting institutional logics as we demonstrate can prevent the formulation and implementation of policy solutions.


Adropin, a peptide hormone expressed in liver and brain, is known to improve insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction. Serum levels of adropin are negatively associated with the severity of coronary artery disease. However, it remains unknown whether adropin could modulate atherogenesis. We assessed the effects of adropin on inflammatory molecule expression and human THP1 monocyte adhesion in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), foam cell formation in THP1 monocyte-derived macrophages, and the migration and proliferation of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) in vitro and atherogenesis in Apoe−/− mice in vivo. Adropin was expressed in THP1 monocytes, their derived macrophages, HASMCs, and HUVECs. Adropin suppressed tumor necrosis factor α-induced THP1 monocyte adhesion to HUVECs, which was associated with vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and intercellular adhesion molecule 1 downregulation in HUVECs. Adropin shifted the phenotype to anti-inflammatory M2 rather than pro-inflammatory M1 via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ upregulation during monocyte differentiation into macrophages. Adropin had no significant effects on oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced foam cell formation in macrophages. In HASMCs, adropin suppressed the migration and proliferation without inducing apoptosis via ERK1/2 and Bax downregulation and phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt/Bcl2 upregulation. Chronic administration of adropin to Apoe−/− mice attenuated the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta, with reduced the intra-plaque monocyte/macrophage infiltration and smooth muscle cell content. Thus, adropin could serve as a novel therapeutic target in atherosclerosis and related diseases.


In January 1993, representatives from 9 member states of the Permanent Inter-State Committee for the Struggle Against Desertification in the Sahel (CILSS) met to propose potential ecological observation sites for a subnetwork of a vast network covering member countries of the CILSS, the Arab Maghreb Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority Against Desertification for Development. The delegates identified 20 potential sites which represent principle agroecological, socioeconomic, and demographic zones of the Sahel. The identified sites included 8 protected areas, 5 with potential agrico-pastoral development activities, 4 with existing research and experimentation stations to collect scientific data over a long period, 2 with advancing sand, and 1 urban development zone. The ecoclimatic zones were Sahelian (45%), Saharan (30%), Sahelo-Sudanian (15%), and Sudanian (10%). This network will have to put in place an effective coordination mechanism involving all related organizations and to deliver a minimum resource base guaranteeing continuation of guiding activities. Taking in account demographic and socioeconomic aspects integrated with physical aspects will better allow formulation of solutions to identified problems. The blending of data collection and data analysis methods at the heart of the network will constitute an important gain allowing extrapolation of results and the proposition of interregional and international corrective measures. One should avoid duplications which waste these countries' rare resources by strengthening already existing regional and international coordination organizations.


Environment is an area where violent resistance prevails, but also an area where disobedience is undermined by calls to behavioral change. The latter can be understood as a refusal to think the place of man and the moral of environmental mutation, the abandonment of scientific methods and the exhaustion of representative democracy. A state using anachronistic approaches cannot promote the necessary changes which must be introduced with a respect to social justice. In order to escape the crisis and the failures generated by disobedience, it is necessary to legitimate other stakeholders besides elected officials, to create new methods of public action, and to introduce a non-governmental expertise that citizens can eventually take over.


In January of 1977, a questionnaire regarding existing and desired professional support services was distributed to 20 schools for the hearing-impaired across Canada. Respondents were requested to provide information pertaining to the last few months of 1976. In December of 1986, a similar questionnaire was distributed to these schools, in order to update the information received 10 years earlier, and to compare current services to those desired 10 years ago. The survey also presented an opportunity to examine changes in focus, client population and number of schools for the hearing impaired in Canada. Despite the disparity between available and needed services in the schools, as well as the differences in support staff between them, it is clear that the schools are, for the most part, fairly well staffed by a good range of professionals. There is, however, a continued need for the review of current and future needs. The change from residential to day students, as well as the increase in the number of additionally handicapped students, requires changes in and re-assessment of support services. Continued research may assist in defining priorities in the area of support services as the needs of the schools change over time.


In this paper a general-purpose procedure for optimizing a resonant inductive wireless power transfer link adopting a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration is presented. The wireless link is described in a general–purpose way as a multi-port electrical network that can be the result of either analytical calculations, full–wave simulations, or measurements. An eigenvalue problem is then derived to determine the link optimal impedance terminations for efficiency maximization. A step-by-step procedure is proposed to solve the eigenvalue problem using a computer algebra system, it provides the configuration of the link, optimal sources, and loads for maximizing the efficiency. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that it is general: it is valid for any strictly–passive multi–port network and is therefore applicable to any wireless power transfer (WPT) link. To validate the presented theory, an example of application is illustrated for a link using three transmitters and two receivers whose impedance matrix was derived from full-wave simulations.


Substantial progress was in several areas of accelerator dynamics. For developing understanding of longitudinal adiabatic dynamics, and for creating efficiency enhancements of recirculating free-electron lasers, was substantially completed. A computer code for analyzing the critical KAM tori that bound the dynamic aperture in circular machines was developed. Studies of modes that arise due to the interaction of coating beams with a narrow-spectrum impedance have begun. During this research educational and research ties with the accelerator community at large have been strengthened.


Winnie Mandela was one once. Nearer home, our own Mrs Bottomley too served her time as a social worker. For some years now I have worried a little about doctors who fall among politicians. Are there perhaps similar grounds for anxiety about social workers who do the same?

As with medicine, social work involves a professional exposure that might—in theory at least—make one a better politician. And to see distress and misery at first hand might engender a purer motivation for a career in politics than, say, merchant banking, public relations, being married to a millionaire, or inheriting the family constituency.

Or perhaps not. But I would never even have considered the question had I not recently come cross a dusty little book published in 1920 …


Throughout the International Monetary Fund's history it has been criticized for failing to address the negative impact its adjustment programs have on the poor in borrowing countries. This study examines the Fund's declared intention and actions regarding the construction of a social safety net in Indonesia from October 1997 until May 1998. A historical narrative using Constructivism as a theoretical framework is used to explain the relationship between the IMF, Suharto and the effect their interaction had on social safety net construction. This historical perspective reveals that rather than working towards building a social safety net, the Fund's main priority was the decentralization of Indonesian political and economic structures.


Myotonic dystrophy type 1 is an autosomal dominant disorder associated with the expansion of a CTG repeat in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the DMPK gene. Recent data suggest that pathogenesis is predominantly mediated by a gain of function of the mutant transcript. In patients, these expanded CUG repeat-containing transcripts are sequestered into ribonuclear foci that also contain the muscleblind-like proteins. To provide further insights into muscleblind function and the pathogenesis of myotonic dystrophy, we generated Drosophila incorporating CTG repeats in the 3'-UTR of a reporter gene. As in patients, expanded CUG repeats form discrete ribonuclear foci in Drosophila muscle cells that co-localize with muscleblind. Unexpectedly, however, foci are not observed in all cell types and muscleblind is neither necessary nor sufficient for their formation. The foci are dynamic transient structures with short half-lifes that do not co-localize with the proteasome, suggesting they are unlikely to contain mis-folded proteins. However, they do co-localize with non-A, the human orthologs of which are implicated in both RNA splicing and attachment of dsRNA to the nuclear matrix. Muscleblind is also revealed as having a previously unrecognized role in stabilizing CUG transcripts. Most interestingly, Drosophila expressing (CUG)162 repeats has no detectable pathological phenotype suggesting that in contrast to expanded polyglutamine-containing proteins, neither the expanded CUG repeat RNA nor the ribonuclear foci are directly toxic.


Molecular dynamics computer simulations with shell-model potentials have been used to calculate the light scattering (Raman) spectra of molten LiCl. A significant improvement in the level of agreement with experiment is found over previous simulations with rigid-ion potentials. The improvement is attributed to the better description of the relaxation of the charge-density fluctuations in the shell-model simulations.


In Australia nearly two-thirds of arthroplasty procedures are performed in the private setting, which is disproportionate to the dimensioning 43.5% of the population with private health cover. The rapid growth of shoulder arthroplasty surgery will be absorbed by both private and public sectors. This study aimed to assess the influence of healthcare setting on elective shoulder arthroplasty outcomes, defined by revision rate, and functional measures.Data was collected on all primary procedures performed from 2004 – 2019 within a regional area of Victoria, Australia. Patients were categorised into private or public settings. Trauma cases for acute proximal humerus fractures were excluded. The primary outcome of revision surgery was recorded as a cumulative percentage, and survival analysis conducted to calculate a hazard ratio (HR). Functional outcomes were measured through range-of-motion (ROM) and multiple validated patient-reported-outcome-measures (PROMs).458 patients were identified in the study: 290 private and 168 public. There was no difference in the revision rate (3.8% private, 4.8% public), with an adjusted HR of 1.25 (p=0.66) for public compared to private. Baseline and post-operative functional measures were significantly greater in the private setting for ROMs and PROMs analysis, in particular post-operative QuickDASH (15.9±14.7 to 32.7±23.5; p<0.001) and Oxford Shoulder Score (42.6±6.3 to 35.7±11.2; p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference for any of the functional measures in the amount of change from baseline to 12-months between settings.Although healthcare setting does not appear to influence revision rate for shoulder arthroplasty, clear differences were demonstrated for functional measures both pre and post operatively. This may be attributed to factors such as access to perioperative rehabilitation and should be an area to target future investigations.


The Auto Oil I Programme, as published by the Commission, consists of proposals for directives on fuel and car emission standards and a communication on a future strategy to control atmospheric emissions from transport. It was initially praised as a great success by both the Commission and the oil industry, as well as by the automobile industry, although to a much lesser degree. However, the Auto Oil I Programme has been fiercely criticised by the European Parliament and by environmental and consumer NGOs. In its common position, the Environment Council adopted considerably more stringent fuel standards than those put forward by the Commission. The European Parliament remained dissatisfied, and, following the adoption in its second reading of most of the amendments it had tabled during the first reading, remains in disagreement with the Council. Consequently the conciliation committee will now have to be set up to find compromise solutions. This article presents a critical analysis of the Auto Oil I Programme.


Abstract COVID-19 has become a public health concern around the world. The frequency of N440K variant was higher during the second wave in South India. The mutation was observed in the Receptor Binding Domain region (RBD) of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike (S) protein. The binding affinity of SARS-CoV-2-Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE-2) plays a major role in the transmission and severity of the disease. To understand the binding affinity of the wild and mutant SARS-CoV-2 S with ACE2, molecular modeling studies were carried out. We discovered that the wild SARS-CoV-2 S RBD-ACE-2 complex has a high binding affinity and stability than that of the mutant. The N440K strain escapes from antibody neutralization, which might increase reinfection and decrease vaccine efficiency. To find a potential inhibitor against mutant N440K SARS-CoV-2, a virtual screening process was carried out and found ZINC169293961, ZINC409421825 and ZINC22060839 as the best binding energy compounds. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.


Introduction. Most studies on information behaviour focus on individual behaviour, predominantly seeking, scanning and avoiding. This paper explores sharing, the understudied informal exchange of health information in everyday social settings.
Method. Forty qualitative in-depth interviews were held with adults in the age range of fifty to eighty in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern part of Belgium.
Analysis. Thematic data analysis was carried out to identify and single out sharing behaviour. Using a grounded analysis approach, data findings were compared with and placed within the literature and conceptual frameworks.
Results. The study finds that health information sharing is a common and frequently occurring type of health information behaviour, embedded in everyday social and supportive interactions. The sharing of knowledge, experiences and advice takes place intentionally and in a premeditated fashion, as well as spontaneously and unintentionally when opportunities arise. Respondents observe and learn from others about health conditions, although the doctor remains the foremost expert.
Conclusions. Driven by social motivations, sharing plays an important role in the acquisition, exchange and circulation of health information. This suggests that more attention should be paid to the social, collective and collaborative aspects of information behaviour, specifically everyday information sharing.


Data grid architectures must confront the antipodal problems of data locality and global data coherence. Here, we examine a new approach to meeting these conflicting needs that leverages a storage wide area network, a clustered file system, a distributed block system, and a distributed resource scheduler. We examine multi-site concurrent I/O performance on an emulated three-site data grid with inter-site separations ranging from 1000 km-5000 km. We examine workloads that require all sites to interact with a single, globally coherent data image. In particular, all three sites perform concurrent write operations to shared files within a single file system.


MicroRNAs, small non‐coding RNAs expressed by eukaryotic cells, play pivotal roles in shaping cell differentiation and organism development. Deregulated microRNA expression is associated with several types of diseases including cancers, immune disorders and infection. Acting at the post‐transcriptional level, miRNAs have expanded our understanding of the control of gene expression in regulatory networks involved in the adaptation to environmental situations such as biotic stress. It is increasingly clear that miRNAs are an important part of the host response to microbes. This review presents the current state of knowledge about the role of miRNAs in the response to both bacterial pathogens and commensal bacteria in human cells or animal experimental models. Some microRNAs, including miR‐146, miR‐155, miR‐125, let‐7 and miR‐21, are commonly affected during bacterial infection and contribute to immune responses protecting the organism against overwhelmed inflammation. Cell‐specific relationships between miRNAs and their targets are also engaged in the alterations induced by virulent bacteria in the proliferation/differentiation/apoptosis pathways of their host cells. In a separate role, miRNA modulation also represents a mechanism through which commensal bacteria impact the regulation of the barrier function and intestinal homeostasis.


252Cf has been used as a brachytherapy source since the early 1970s. The dominant mechanism of interactions of 252Cf neutrons with tissue is elastic scattering. The scattered neutrons lose part of their energy, which is released as kinetic energy of the recoiling nuclei. By multiple scattering, neutrons lose their energy and eventually become thermalized (in energetic equilibrium with tissue atoms with an average energy of 0.025 eV) and do not play any role in radiotherapy. These thermal neutrons may interact with hydrogen nuclei or with nitrogen, but the cell killing effects by these reaction products are negligibly small compared to the elastic scattering by fast neutrons or by photons emitted by californium. Nonetheless, these thermal neutrons are still potentially usable for neutron capture therapy and can be used to enhance californium brachytherapy effects. Neutron capture therapy is a two-part therapy relying on the selective loading of tumor cells with compounds containing 10B or 157Gd and subsequent irradiation with thermal neutrons. To calculate neutron capture doses one has to know thermal neutron flux. This paper presents results of an experimental study of thermal neutron flux and calculations of boron neutron capture and gadolinium neutron capture doses in the vicinity of 252Cf sources.


The surfzone associated with a wave breaking on a plane slope may be subdivided into three regions: the transition zone, the inner zone and the swash zone. The transition zone is the region just shoreward of the point of wave breaking and is characterised by rapid wave decay and also by constant wave setdown (and thus constant radiation stress). In this paper, an empirical expression for the width of this zone is developed from monochromatic wave data. Two techniques are proposed for the consideration of this phenomenon in the numerical modelling of surfzone hydrodynamics for random waves. The implications of a zone of nearly constant radiation stress inside the breakpoint are examined with respect to wave-induced current generation both cross-shore and longshore and sediment transport prediction. Comparisons are made to both field and laboratory data from plane and undulating profiles.


If a single ion channel record is observed in which two ion channels are never simultaneously open, then it is often of interest to know whether the observations indeed arose from the activity of only one ion channel. This question can be answered if it is possible to calculate the distribution of the duration of runs of single openings in a membrane patch that contains two active channels. If the observed run of single openings is much longer than that expected for a patch with two channels it is likely that only one channel was active. An approximate method is presented for calculating the distribution of the duration of runs of single openings in a patch with two active channels; this method has the advantage that it can be calculated from observable quantities, and requires no knowledge of the details of the ion-channel mechanism or its rate constants. The accuracy of this approximation is tested by exact calculations of the properties of runs of single openings, and of single bursts, for two specific mechanisms and a large range of rate constants. The approximation is good in all cases in which openings occur singly, or in closely spaced bursts. If, as is common in practice, openings occur in clusters that are separated by long shut periods, then overlap of clusters from two different channels may be detected, if no double opening is produced, as a period in the middle of a cluster in which the probability of being open doubles. The results derived here can be applied to such a period to test whether it results from the simultaneous activity of two channels, rather than from a change in the properties of a single channel.


Aim of Study: The report of the task group number 43(TG-43) of AAPM has been known as the most common method to obtain the dose distribution around brachytherapy sources. The error caused by independent obtaining and rounding and combinational error caused by algebraic operations of each TG-43 dosimetry parameters increase the total error in the calculation of the dose distribution around the brachytherapy sources. The aim of the present study is to present and evaluate a matrix-based approach for simplifying and reducing calculation errors. Materials and Methods: In this study, the simulation method with MCNPX code was used to obtain the dose distribution. Four sources were simulated, and the dose matrix around these sources was obtained. Finally, the dose distribution obtained from the matrix-based method was compared with the dose distribution obtained from the method of TG-43 report. Results: There is little difference between the values obtained from the two methods in some points. Absolute mean differences between the values obtained by these two methods were 1.4% for the 60Co, 3.52% for the 137Cs, 2.67% for the 192Ir, and 2.42% for the 103Pd sources. The advantage of the matrix-based method is its simple computing process and less computation time. Conclusion: Considering that the comparison of brachytherapy sources is not raised in calculations of treatment planning systems and also considering the more uncertainty in the calculation of the dose distribution in TG-43 method, it is recommended that dose distribution obtained from matrix-based method be used as input for treatment planning systems.


In recent years, as interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has increased, the development of UAV-based services in traffic monitoring, military defense, disaster prevention, logistics, and agricultural area has begun to be of interest. The main characteristic of these services is that it is effective to provide based on a plurality of UAVs rather than a single UAV. In addition, in order to expand the service provision, different types of UAVs, not the UAVs of a particular kind, should be able to operate in the same service together. In order for different types of UAVs to receive the same services efficiently, a standardized platform is needed and services need to be provided on that platform. In this paper, to address this issue, the platform based on the oneM2M global standard, which provides the Internet of Things (IoT) service layer for globally interoperable IoT solutions, is considered. Based on the global standard-based platform, we present UAV management and control system. Furthermore, we implemented an automated UAV-based surveillance system as an example of a service using the platform.


ABSTRACT Objective: To define the physiological properties of neurons projecting from the claustrum to the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Design: To identify the claustrum in live slices, we used a transgenic mouse line that expresses yellow fluorescent protein (YFP)-tagged Volvox channelrhodopsin-1 at high levels within the claustrum. Claustrum cells projecting to the ACC were identified by retrograde labelling. Whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from labelled claustrum neurons were used to characterize the intrinsic electrical properties of these neurons. Cells were classified according to their intrinsic electrical properties, based on a previous classification scheme. Results: Labelled neurons were found in the claustrum but not the insular cortex. Four types of ACC-projecting neurons were identified based on action potential adaptation and waveform: strongly adapting (SA) cell types 2, 3 and 4, and moderately adapting (MA) cell type 2. Labelled cells were predominantly SA4 in the anterior (44%) and posterior (63%) claustrum, while MA2 predominated (77%) in the central claustrum. The male anterior claustrum showed a bias toward SA3 cells (53%) while the female anterior claustrum showed a bias toward SA3 cells (76%). Conclusions: There is ipsilateral dominance for ACC-projecting claustrum neurons, with the intrinsic properties of these neurons varying along the anterior–posterior axis. Sexual dimorphism was observed in ACC-projecting claustrum cells. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the claustrum serves as a link between the insular cortex and the ACC.