Bayesian optimization with Gaussian process as surrogate model has been successfully applied to analog circuit synthesis. In the traditional Gaussian process regression model, the kernel functions are defined explicitly. The computational complexity of training is O(N3), and the computation complexity of prediction is O(N2), where N is the number of training data. Gaussian process model can also be derived from a weight space view, where the original data are mapped to feature space, and the kernel function is defined as the inner product of nonlinear features. In this paper, we propose a Bayesian optimization approach for analog circuit synthesis using neural network. We use deep neural network to extract good feature representations, and then define Gaussian process using the extracted features. Model averaging method is applied to improve the quality of uncertainty prediction. Compared to Gaussian process model with explicitly defined kernel functions, the neural-network-based Gaussian process model can automatically learn a kernel function from data, which makes it possible to provide more accurate predictions and thus accelerate the follow-up optimization procedure. Also, the neural-network-based model has O(N) training time and constant prediction time. The efficiency of the proposed method has been verified by two real-world analog circuits.


Cancer research involves the use of millions of nonhuman animals and billions of dollars in public funds each year, but cures for the disease remain elusive. This article suggests ways to reduce the use of animals and save money by identifying articles that garnered few citations over the 9 years after they were published. I obtained the citations received by 786 articles in 9 general cancer journals published in 1990 and the number of animals used (where possible) in the 220 animal-based research articles. By calculating the ratio of animal number to citation number, I identified the most effective (those with many citations and few animals used) and the least effective (those with many animals and few citations) articles. Using these ratios, I compared the effectiveness of their experiments/articles for the 9 journals, author affiliations and nationalities, and funding sources. This article recommends ways in which experiments with little chance of being influential can be avoided, thus freeing resources for more worthwhile assaults on cancer.


The efficient production of biodiesel in hydrophobic ionic liquids using immobilized lipase was demonstrated. The use of ionic liquids containing long alkyl chains on the cation has the important advantage of producing homogeneous systems at the start of the reaction but, when the reaction is complete, a three-phase system is created that allows selective extraction of the products using straightforward separation techniques, while the ionic liquid and the enzyme can be reused. Fifteen ionic liquids based on different alkyl chain length of the methyl imidazolium cation ([C10MIM], [C12MIM], [C14MIM], [C16MIM] and [C18MIM]) combined with [BF4], [PF6] or [NTf2] anions were assayed as reaction media for two immobilized lipases (Candida antarcticalipase B and Pseudomonas fluorescenslipase AK) for biodiesel production. The highest synthetic activity was obtained in [C16MIM] [NTf2] using Novozym 435 (immobilized Candida antarcticalipase with 245.13 U g−1IME), its activity being more than three times higher than in a solvent-free system. Additionally, in this IL the fatty acid methyl esters production was 90.29% after 3 h, while in the solvent-free system it was 27.3%. The influence of several reaction parameters, such as temperature, methanol-to-oil molar ratio, alkyl-chain length of the alcohols, IL : substrate volume ratios, amount of enzyme, and oils feedstock were studied and optimized.


The problem of control and stabilizing inherently non-linear and unstable magnetic levitation (Maglev) systems with uncertain equilibrium states has been studied. Accordingly, some significant works related to different control approaches have been highlighted to provide robust control and enhance the performance of the Maglev system. This work examines a method to control and stabilize the levitation system in the presence of disturbance and parameter variations to minimize the magnet gap deviation from the equilibrium position. To fulfill the stabilization and disturbance rejection for this non-linear dynamic system, the fractional order PID, fractional order sliding mode, and fractional order Fuzzy control approaches are conducted. In order to design the suitable control outlines based on fractional order controllers, a tuning hybrid method of GWO–PSO algorithms is applied by using the different performance criteria as Integrated Absolute Error (IAE), Integrated Time Weighted Absolute Error (ITAE), Integrated Squared Error (ISE), and Integrated Time Weighted Squared Error (ITSE). In general, these objectives are used by targeting the best tuning of specified control parameters. Finally, the simulation results are presented to determine which fractional controllers demonstrate better control performance, achieve fast and robust stability of the closed-loop system, and provide excellent disturbance suppression effect under nonlinear and uncertainty existing in the processing system.


New emission limits are needed to protect digital communication systems from radiated interference. Current standard emission limits were developed to protect amplitude- and frequency-modulated analog radio services. However, developments in digital technology require emission limits adapted to protect digital radio communication services. An approach to define emission limits on the amplitude probability distribution (APD) of the envelope of an interference source has been presented earlier. This approach is derived for coherent radio receivers utilizing no error-correction codes. However, since the most important digital radio systems today use error correction, it is necessary to develop the method to handle coded systems as well. This paper proposes a method to define emission limits on the APD of the interference to protect coded communication systems. The method is a further development of previously proposed emission limits derived for an uncoded system, which is modified in accordance with the coding gain.


A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of The University of Wolverhampton
for the Practitioner Doctorate in Counselling Psychology Award: D.Couns.Psych


A parametrization of a multidimensional Markov chain model (MDMC) is studied with the goal of capturing texture in training images. The conditional distribution function of each row in the image, given the previous rows, is described as a one-dimensional Markov random field (MRF) that depends only on information in the immediately preceding rows. Each of these conditional distribution functions is then an element of a Markov chain that is used to describe the entire image. The parametrization is based on the cliques in the MRF, using different parameters for different clique types with different colors, and for how many rows backward we can trace the same clique type with the same color. One of the advantages with the MDMC model is that we are able to calculate the normalizing constant very efficiently thanks to the forward-backward algorithm. When the normalizing constant can be calculated we are able to use a numerical optimization routine from R to estimate model parameters through maximum likelihood, and we can use the backward iterations of the forward-backward algorithm to draw realizations from the model. The method is tested on three different training images, and the results show that the method is able to capture some of the texture in all images, but that there is room for improvements. It is reasonable to believe that we can get better results if we change the parametrization. We also see that the result changes if we use the columns, instead of the rows, as the one-dimensional MRF. The method was only tested on images with two colors, and we suspect that it will not work for images with more colors, unless there are no correlation between the colors, due to the choice of parametrization.


Abstract Sinus radiographs have been carried out on 240 new cases of childhood otitis media with effusion (OME). When the films were suggestive of infection, maxillary sinus washouts were carried out as part of the surgical treatment. Abnormal X-rays were obtained in 28 per cent of the study group, but only 16 cases (seven per cent) of sinus infection were confirmed on antral lavage. In those with positive washouts, there was an apparent relationship between the findings in the maxillary sinuses and middle ears of the same side in some of the cases. There was also evidence of improvement of the middle ear disease when the sinus infection was successfully treated. It does not appear that sinus infection is an important cause of OME, though it may be relevant in a small number of cases.


Transcription factors play a key role in the development of diverse cancers, and therapeutically targeting them has remained a challenge. In prostate cancer, the gene encoding the transcription factor ERG is recurrently rearranged and plays a critical role in prostate oncogenesis. Here, we identified a series of peptides that interact specifically with the DNA binding domain of ERG. ERG inhibitory peptides and derived peptidomimetics (EIPs) bound with high affinity and specificity leading to proteolytic degradation of ERG protein. The EIPs attenuated ERG-mediated transcription, chromatin recruitment, protein-protein interactions, cell invasion, and tumor growth. Thus, peptidomimetic targeting of transcription factor fusion products may provide a promising therapeutic strategy for prostate cancer as well as other cancers. Citation Format: Xiaoju Wang. Development of peptidomimetic inhibitors of the ERG gene fusion product in prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 189. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-189


The aim of the study is adaptation of the " Problem Mobile Phone Use Scale " which was developed by Bianchi ve Phillips (2005) to Turkish. In order to adapt the scale, firstly scale items were translated to Turkish by the researcher. Then translation form was further developed by consulting ten specialists. English and Turkish forms of scale were both filled by 30 undergraduate students with two-week intervals respectively. Two forms were accepted as equal since the correlation between them was 0.78. Turkish version of the scale was implemented on 300 students for validity and reliability studies. In Turkish version of the scale alpha valid value was calculated as 0.94, and reliable value vas calculated 0.88. Therefore, it can be concluded that Turkish version of the scale was reliable and valid.


Hapete is the best and most complete thread manufacturer in Indonesia. This company applies make to order production strategy.  This production strategy makes the Production Planning and Inventory Control (PPIC) Division, the one who make the production planning, must have the efficient planning strategy. The program that PPIC Division use this time doesn't really efficient, because of the big memory of the used program. The use of macro and Visual Basic Application (VBA) will reduce the memory of the program. The analyzing that has been done is comparing the memory between the new program and the old program. The old simulation program has 4657 KB as its memory, while the new program has 558 KB as its memory. The old planning program has 7969 KB as its memory, while the new program has 297 KB as its memory. The old monitoring program has 2906 KB as its memory, while the new program has 101 KB as its memory. The guide book has been made for further development of the program, which will make the easier development process for the program.


In Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSBP), a caregiver fabricates or induces illness in another individual. In most cases, the parent is the perpetrator and the child, the victim. MSBP is a form of child abuse that in extreme cases may result in death. A large percentage of health care providers are not familiar with the syndrome. Early recognition of MSBP is necessary to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with the syndrome.


to radicalism and radicalism to the destruction of womanly virtue. They feared the loss of gender privilege that they associated with the Bolshevik revolution's supposed disregard for differences of sex. Mining largely untapped sources, Delegard paints a rich picture of a group of activist women who have received little attention from historians. Delegard's work offers an important missing piece to the history of women's politics. At points, however, she seems to disregard other factors that were critical to the eclipse of women's influence and to minimize the fact that the 1920s were a period generally hostile to progressive reform. Women's groups were not the only ones to come under scrutiny, nor were they the only ones to lose ground after the period of Progressive reform. Organized labor activists, immigrants, and African Americans, among others, found the 1920s to be a period inconducive to reform. The decade was marked by a series of conservative movements; Delegard has made a convincing case that the female antiradical activists should be included among these groups. Delegard's book challenges the presumption that conservative women were duped into adopting political stances that seemed inimical to women's rights. Her work contributes to a body of literature that rejects depictions of conservative women as irrational pawns of their male relatives and, instead, takes seriously the nature of their politics. Battling Miss Bolsheviki offers explicit parallels to the literature focusing on the effects of Cold War hysteria on feminism in the postWorld War II decades. Here, Delegard seeks to establish a framework for examining the long-term implications of the networks of conservative women. This part of the book, however, felt a bit thinly developed in relation to the rest of the work. Because she is not drawing from the rich organizational histories that she employs in her analysis of the 1920s, Delegard's discussion of post-World War II conservative women such as Phyllis Schlafly seems less persuasive. There is no doubt the women Delegard has unearthed left a legacy. It is perhaps too much to suggest that they be held responsible for the politics of women of the New Right. Delegard's subjects are significant enough—and their activism influential enough—to stand on their own, without any need to connect them to the conservatives of the 1970s and beyond. This book would be especially valuable to those studying the histories of American conservative politics and social movements and women's history.


We investigated the availability of human hepatoblastoma cell line (Hep G2), compared with human primary hepatocytes (HH) and porcine primary hepatocytes (PH), as a cell source for the hybrid artificial liver support system (HALSS) by using polyurethane foam (PUF). All three kinds of hepatocytes spontaneously formed spherical multicellular aggregates (spheroids) of 100–200 μm diameter in the pores of PUF within 3 days of culture. In a PUF stationary culture, Hep G2 spheroids recovered the ammonia removal activity that was lost in monolayer culture, although the removal for each unit cell number was about one tenth that of HH spheroids and about one eighth of PH spheroids. The synthesis activities of albumin and fibrinogen of each unit cell number of Hep G2 were also upregulated by PUF spheroid culture, and were about twice as high as in monolayer culture. The albumin secretion activity of Hep G2 spheroids was almost the same as that of PH spheroids. HH scarcely secreted these proteins in this experiment, probably because they were cultured in a serum-free medium. In the PUF module in a circulation culture, HH had high ammonia removal and low synthesis activities similar to stationary culture. Hep G2 proliferated to a high cell density, such as about 4.8 × 107 cells/cm3-module at 10 days of culture. Although Hep G2 spheroids had low ammonia removal activity in each cell, the removal rate in the PUF module was almost the same as for PH at 7 days of culture because of the high cell density culture by cell proliferation. The albumin secretion rate by Hep G2 in the PUF module also increased with cell proliferation and was about 10 times higher than the initial rate for PH at 7 days of culture. These results suggest that Hep G2 is a potential cell source for the PUF-HALSS.


The article presents the analysis of distribution of medical social characteristics and determinants of style of life of mothers in the groups with premature and urgent/delayed deliveries registered in the Register of deliveries of the Arkhangelsk oblast from 01.01.12 to 31.12.14 (n = 43 327). As compared with the group of urgent/delayed deliveries in the group of premature deliveries (n = 2458 or 5.8% of total number of deliveries), the analysis revealed a large percentage mothers characterizing by non-working, single or without marriage registration, smoking, alcohol abusing, lately registered with their pregnancy, lower education level, aged 35 and older, surplus body mass/obesity. The regression analysis generating odds ratio adjusted to all analyzed characteristics, established statistically reliable increasing of risk of premature delivery in primipara and secundipara females older than 35 years and also having the mentioned risk factors except absence of employment of mother. The established risk factors of premature delivery are to be considered in planning activities on their prevention at the individual level.


We observed IGR J16194-2810 in the low/hard state with the Suzaku X-ray satellite in 2009. The source is a Symbiotic X-ray Binary (SyXB) classified as a category of a Low-Mass X-ray Binary (LMXB), since the system is composed of an M-type giant and probably a neutron star (NS). We detected the 0.8-50 keV signal with the XIS and HXD-PIN. The 2-10 keV luminosity was L ~ 7 x 10^34 erg s^-1 corresponding to ~10^-3 L_Edd, where L_Edd is the Eddington Luminosity of a 1.4 M_o NS and a source distance of 3.7 kpc is assumed. The luminosity is similar to those of past observations. The spectral analysis showed that there are two emission components below and above ~2 keV. The hard emission component is represented by a Comptonized black-body emission model with the seed-photon temperature ~1.0 keV and the emission radius ~700 m. The seed photon is considered to come from a small fraction of the NS surface. The soft component is reproduced by either a raw black-body (~0.4 keV, ~1.7 km) or a Comptonized emission (~0.1 keV, ~75 km). We think the origin is the emission from other part of the NS surface or the accreting stream. The physical parameters of the hard emission component of IGR J16194-2810 are compared with those of an SyXB (4U 1700+24) and LMXBs (Aql X-1 and 4U 0614+091). This comparison reveals that these SyXBs in the low/hard state have a smaller radiation region (< 1 km) on the NS surface with a higher seed-photon temperature (~1 keV) than the compared LMXBs.


Long denigrated as dialects of Japanese, the Ryukyuan languages are today recognized as languages in their own right. However, speakers of Ryukyuan languages have suffered from stigmatization, oppressive language policies and domination from outside the Ryukyu Archipelago. As a result, the Ryukyuan languages are now severely endangered. This volume depicts, roughly in chronological order, aspects which have led to the language crisis in the Ryukyus today. Taking account of these factors is important because endangered languages can only be maintained and revitalized on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of why these languages became endangered in the first place. The chapters of this book have been written by leading experts in Ryukyuan sociolinguistics and the scope encompasses the entire field. It sheds light on the dark side of language modernization, on a misplaced obsession with monolingualism, and on Japan's difficulties in surmounting its invented self-image.


Intellectual and institutional history alike are bound to wonder where new ideas and new institutions originate from, whether they are really new, why and how change occurred. The end of the eighteenth century is widely regarded as one of those moments of change, witnessing "inter alia" a major turning point towards modern constitutionalism. A new notion of the constitution was introduced in theory and practice that went far beyond the mere requirement of the main features of the form of government to be written down in a single and special document. The rise of modern constitutionalism is usually portrayed as essentially innovative. Conversely, by analysing Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes' (1748-1836) 1789 pamphlet, "Qu'est-ce que le tiers etat?" as an illustration of the rise of modern constitutionalism and comparing its discourse with the rhetoric of the opposition to arbitrary royal power by the French parlements throughout the eighteenth century, this paper sets out to demonstrate that the transition from medieval to modern constitutionalism was rather a matter of modification and adaptation than a clear break with the past.


The purpose of this study was to determine whether a micro-pulsed electrical potential on the tooth surface could induce effective remodeling of the alveolar bone and enhance tooth movement. Twenty-eight cats were divided into 4 groups of 7 animals each for 1, 4, 7, and 14 days of treatment, respectively. A 60 gram orthodontic force was applied to distally tip the maxillary canines. In addition, the left canine only was subjected to a one hertz square wave form of 6 volts which induced a current of about 10 microA. Tooth movement and the amount of newly formed bone for the control and experimental sides were compared statistically using the Student's t test. Histochemical observations were also carried out. The results indicated that when electrical stimulus was applied to the surface of the canines in addition to mechanical force: 1) The periodontal tissue was affected. 2) The teeth moved more rapidly. 3) Wider areas of bone deposition and larger amounts of newly formed bone were observed on the tension side, and the amount of this newly formed bone increased with time. 4) More osteoblasts were observed on the tension side. 5) More tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) positive mononuclear and multinuclear cells were seen on the compression side. These results indicate that micro-pulsed electrical stimulation might play a role in the efficient remodeling of alveolar bone, and in inducing more rapid tooth movement.


Esophageal adenocarcinoma displays a poor prognosis and current treatments are often not curative. Pathological TNM-stage is a prognostic parameter, but a better understanding of the pathophysiology of esophageal adenocarcinoma is needed to better predict survival. Recent work in other malignancies indicated an important role for the regulator microRNA-126 (miR-126) in tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of miR-126 in esophageal adenocarcinoma and to correlate expression of miR-126 with tumor cell behavior and patient survival. Functional assays were performed in esophageal adenocarcinoma cell lines (OE33) in vitro by overexpressing or antagonizing miR-126 and assessing cellular processes linked to the hallmarks of cancer. In vivo pre-treatment biopsies of 58 patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery were analyzed for miR-126 expression in tumor cells by qRT-PCR and patient survival was analyzed by Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression. In OE33 cancer cells, stable overexpression of miR-126 modest though significantly altered expression of genes related to cell death (MEK1) and DNA repair (POLB and TERF1) was observed. Also the secretion of the angiogenic and pro-inflammatory factors, VEGF, IL-1β, and IL-6 were regulated by miR-126 (P < 0.029). Importantly, miR-126 was found to be a regulator of cell viability in OE33 cells. Overexpressing (P = 0.043) and antagonizing (P = 0.035) miR-126 showed reciprocal effects on tumor cell viability and significantly regulated expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic genes, TP53, and GATA6 (P < 0.031). In patients, high levels of miR-126 expression in pre-treatment tumors were significantly associated with poor survival (P = 0.031). In multivariable analysis, high miR-126 (P = 0.038) together with ypN-stage (P = 0.048) were shown to be independent risk factors for poor survival. In conclusion, high expression of miR-126 in esophageal adenocarcinoma prevents tumor-cell death and is associated with poor patient survival. This study warrants further analysis of miR-126 as biomarker or potential therapeutic target for OAC. Impact statement Esophageal adenocarcinoma is a common form of cancer of the esophagus. It has an increasing health impact as it is associated with very poor patient survival. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of this cancer is needed to identify better treatment strategies and to provide a better prognosis for these patients. MicroRNAs have emerged as important molecular regulators of cancer cell viability and proliferation. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of one very well established microRNA, miR-126, in esophageal adenocarcinoma. Our research shows clear experimental evidence that miR-126 controls cell viability of esophageal adenocarcinoma cells. High (over)expression of miR-126 increased the viability of these cells. Our preclinical data were shown to be clinically relevant for this field of oncology. In an independent validation study of esophageal adenocarcinoma biopsies, we confirmed that high miR-126 expression in tumor cells was an independent risk factor for poor patient survival.


Enteric bacterial overgrowth resulting from compromised gastrointestinal motility has been suggested to be important for the development of enteric bacterial translocation. In the present study, the effect of cisapride, a 5-hydroxytryptamine-4-receptor agonist and stimulant of intestinal motility, was evaluated concerning intestinal motility, as measured by intestinal transit time, enteric bacterial overgrowth, and bacterial translocation from the gut in rats with acute liver failure induced by 90% hepatectomy. The results demonstrated that (1) the incidence of bacterial translocation to the systemic and portal circulation as well as to the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lungs was nil, and 17-33% to MLN in hepatectomized animals treated with cisapride, i.e. significantly lower than in hepatectomized rats administered saline; (2) overgrowth of E. coli in the intestine was noted in hepatectomized animals given saline, but not following cisapride treatment; (3) cisapride improved the otherwise delayed intestinal transit time following hepatectomy as shown by an increase in the leading edge of isotopic propulsion and the linear slope of the cumulative percent of radioactivity through each intestinal segment. Thus, we conclude that intravenous administration of cisapride prevents enteric bacterial overgrowth and bacterial translocation by improving intestinal motility in rats with acute liver failure induced by subtotal hepatectomy.


The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak has covered almost 185 countries worldwide, causing infection to 32, 50,000 people and the death of approximately 2, 30,000 people to date World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared it a pandemic that seems to be unstoppable as no vaccine or drug is available as of now to kill the virus Several research labs are trying to develop a vaccine against the virus as soon as possible Several drugs, like a combination of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, have been shown to be beneficial in COVID-19 infected patients In-silico experiments suggest that methylcobalamin and valproic acid can reduce virus titer and thereby reducing the severity of the infection BCG vaccine may provide immunity against the infection of coronavirus As there is a strong correlation between the immune system of the infected person and the virulence of coronavirus, any therapy which could help in boosting the immune system shall be of prime importance Hence, the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy has been tried in COVID-19 infection, thinking that the antibodies from convalescent plasma might suppress viremia Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors have been shown to be the entry point in human cells for COVID-19 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of the virus could be a potent target for inhibitor drug design and discovery against COVID-19 Recently, non-classical actions of vitamin D have been recognized It affects upon cell proliferation and differentiation as well as immunologic functions resulting in an ability to maintain tolerance and to promote protective immunity Zinc has been shown to affect multiple aspects of the immune system Zinc has a significant role in the normal development and function of cells mediating innate immunity, neutrophils, and natural killer (NK) cells The deficiency of zinc affects macrophages, phagocytosis, cytokine production, and intracellular killing As there is a strong correlation between the immune system of the infected person and the virulence of coronavirus, any therapy which could help in boosting the immune system shall be of prime importance


The TBP (Tubulin-Based-Polymorphism) method, based on a nuclear ILP (Intron-Length-Polymorphism) molecular marker, has been used for genotyping 37 accessions of the genus Vitis inclusive of different species, rootstocks, wild and cultivated subspecies. A distinct DNA barcode made up by a different number of amplicons, was attributed to each of the different accessions. TBP data were compared with those obtained, with the use of an internationally validated set of six SSR markers. Genetic relationships among the different accessions, dendrogram distributions, correlation values and polymorphic index values (PICs) were definitively comparable when not in favor of TBP. Such an experimental consistency is based upon a genomic organization of the multiple members of the β-tubulin gene family, the targets of TBP-mediated amplification, that is conserved in Vitis as in any other plant species. The TBP amplicons can actually be used as a useful source of sequence polymorphisms for generating primer pairs capable of identifying specific cultivars in a simple assay. An example for the identification of the 'Sangiovese' cv. is reported. More generally, these data are discussed in terms of the actual advantages that the introduction of the TBP method in the field of grape characterization and genotyping can provide.


Policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bond are the focus of international cooperation of the "Belt and Road Initiative". Exports of the provinces in China to the "Belt and Road Initiative" area is the main content of the "Unimpeded trade and Financial integration," but research on trade between China and countries in the "Belt and Road Initiative" area are relatively rare,and trade interdependence remains unclear. According to the latest data from the International Trade Center, Chinese customs statistics in 2014, and Multi-regional Input-Output Table of China's 30 provinces in 2010, we analyzed the trade interdependence between China and countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, and the contribution of provincial export to the GDP of each province. The results show that: trade interdependence had deepen between China and countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative" area, but the interdependence was asymmetrical; at the provincial level, the relatively high GDP contribution of exports in coastal provinces shows that these provinces are more export-dependent. Xinjiang has the highest GDP contribution of export(to Central Asia)and is thus strongly export dependent.


Abstract
Aeration is conducted on the perennial grasses such as lawns to reduce soil compaction and enhances the growth as well as improves soil infiltration. In order to evaluate the effects of aeration and topdressing on water infiltration phenomenon in a perennial lawn a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted in the city of Isfahan in June 2009. Aeration, as the main experimental factor, consists of three levels, A0 (without aeration), A1 and A2 (with punching 1 cm diameter holes on the surface in a regular grid pattern and dimensions of 5×5 and 10×5 cm, respectively) and mulching, as the second experiment factor, consists of two levels, T0 and T1 (with and without any cover), were used for this purpose. To find the effects of the treatments on infiltration phenomena, infiltration was measured using Double Ring Method at three periodic times, i.e., 10, 70 and 130 days and data were analyzed ultimately using SAS software. The drawn results showed that applying A2T1 treatment, compared with A0T0 treatment as a control, increased cumulative infiltration by 286 percent and improved the final infiltration rate from 0.4 to 1 cm/h. On the other hand, A1T1 and A2T1 treatments application had no significant effect on the infiltration, but the effects of both treatments were significantly different from control, A0T0. On this basis, applying A2T1 treatment compared with A1T1 is technically and economically preferred, because of low Ip index. On overall, aeration improves soil permeability and its effects last by topdressing materials. By the way, aeration without topdressing is recommended for the lawn in flood prone areas.

Keywords: Aeration, Basic Infiltration Rate, Cumulative Infiltration, Loliumgrass, Topdressing


We consider spectral properties of sparse sample covariance matrices, which includes biadjacency matrices of the bipartite Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graph model. We prove a local law for the eigenvalue density up to the upper spectral edge. Under a suitable condition on the sparsity, we also prove that the limiting distribution of the rescaled, shifted extremal eigenvalues is given by the GOE Tracy-Widom law with an explicit formula on the deterministic shift of the spectral edge. For the biadjacency matrix of an Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi graph with two vertex sets of comparable sizes $M$ and $N$, this establishes Tracy-Widom fluctuations of the second largest eigenvalue when the connection probability $p$ is much larger than $N^{-2/3}$ with a deterministic shift of order $(Np)^{-1}$.


In the field of computer science, data mining is a hot topic. It is a mathematical method for identifying patterns in enormous amounts of data. Image mining is an important data mining technique involving a variety of fields. In image mining, art image organization is an interesting research field worthy of attention. The classification of art images into several predetermined sets is referred to as art image categorization. Image preprocessing, feature extraction, object identification, object categorization, object segmentation, object classification, and a variety of other approaches are all part of it. The purpose of this paper is to suggest an improved boosting algorithm that employs a specific method of traditional and simple, yet weak classifiers to create a complex, accurate, and strong classifier image as well as a realistic image. This paper investigated the characteristics of cartoon images, realistic images, painting images, and photo images, created color variance histogram features, and used them for classification. To execute classification experiments, this paper uses an image database of 10471 images, which are randomly distributed into two portions that are used as training data and test data, respectively. The training dataset contains 6971 images, while the test dataset contains 3478 images. The investigational results show that the planned algorithm has a classification accuracy of approximately 97%. The method proposed in this paper can be used as the basis of automatic large-scale image classification and has strong practicability.


Anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important complication in patients with CKD and in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). An important cause of anemia of CKD is iron deficiency. The general aim of this thesis was to assess the consequences of iron deficiency in CKD patients, RTRs, and in the general population. We identified in this thesis that iron deficiency independently of anemia is associated with adverse outcomes in RTRs. This is contrary to daily clinical practice, where iron deficiency is generally considered only relevant in presence of anemia. Importantly, in the following chapters we showed that the detrimental effects of iron deficiency seem, at least to a large extent, attributable to increased levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) in CKD patients, RTRs and in the general population. FGF23 is an osteocyte-derived hormone which is an essential regulator of phosphate and vitamin D metabolism. Similarly, we showed that the associations between erythropoietin (EPO), both endogenous as exogenous, and adverse outcomes are related to increased FGF23 levels. This thesis highlights the importance of iron deficiency, and unravels that both iron deficiency as high EPO levels are associated with increased levels of FGF23. Finally, this thesis contains the rationale and design study of TransplantLines, the largest biobank worldwide that comprises all types of solid organ transplant recipients. This study will be of uttermost importance in upcoming years for further unraveling the interplay between iron deficiency, high levels of EPO and FGF23, and outcomes.


Although thymomas are rare neoplasms, they are the most common tumor of the anterior mediastinum in adults. Preferred therapy for these neoplasms is complete surgical resection. If a thymoma cannot be completely resected, postoperative radiotherapy may produce satisfactory results in controlling the tumor. Significant 5- and 10-year survival rates have been recorded for patients with advanced thymomas who have been treated by radiation therapy alone. Chemotherapy may be used in patients with unresectable thymomas as well, but the results are less promising than with radiotherapy. Combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy used on patients with unresectable thymomas have produced encouraging results. Surveillance of patients with thymoma should be prolonged because late recurrence (more than 5 years after initial therapy) can be expected in a significant minority of patients. Aggressive therapy of late recurrence, including resection of new tumor masses and pleural metastases, has yielded successive disease-free intervals that validate persistent treatment.


STEKOM is an institution accommodating almost 500 employees, always evaluates their performance and giving awards to achievement every year's completed. Fuzzy logic is very suitable to be used in performance appraisal because it can process complex and variatif  data, as well as uncertain to be valid data. One of the models in fuzzy logic is the Consistency Induced Ordered Weighted Averaging method system by reducing the operator Averaging Mean and assigning a consistency index value used to analyze fuzzy preference relationships, then using the results of the analysis in the preference aggregation process. This article will explain how to apply the Consistency Induced Ordered Weighted Averaging model in fuzzy logic to assess the performance of STEKOM employees by assigning weight to each attribute and variable, then from the weights and variables will be rated according to the value obtained so that the decision will be taken as a solution in giving awards and promotions to employees that can meet the principles of fairness, equality and approriateness.


Background

log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) is a novel lymph node (LN) descriptor, demonstrating promising prognostic value in many tumors. However, there was limited information on LODDS in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, especially those receiving neoadjuvant therapy followed by lung surgery.
Methods

A total of 2,059 NSCLC patients who received neoadjuvant therapy and surgery were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We used the X-tile software to calculate the cut-off value of LODDS. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve were used to compare the predictive value of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) N staging descriptor and LODDS. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analyses were conducted to construct the model predicting the prognosis.
Results

LODDS showed better differentiating ability in survival analysis than N staging descriptor (Log-rank test, P<0.0001 vs. P=0.031). The ROC curve demonstrated that the AUC of LODDS was significantly higher than the N staging descriptor in 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival analyses (All P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that the LODDS was an independent risk factor for NSCLC patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery, both before and after IPTW (all P<0.001). A clinicopathological model with LODDS, age, gender, T, and radiotherapy could better predict the prognosis.
Conclusions

Compared with the AJCC N staging descriptor, LODDS exhibits better predictive ability for NSCLC patients receiving neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery. A multivariate clinicopathological model with LODDS included demonstrates sound performance in predicting the prognosis.


• The effect of vitrectomy on the severity and frequency of recurrent episodes of uveitis was studied in the rabbit model of protein-induced uveitis. Since the ciliary complex of the adult rabbit has distinctive anatomic features, the technical aspects of vitrectomy were first studied in the normal rabbit eye. We concluded that a lensectomy-vitrectomy could be best accomplished in the rabbit with the Peyman vitreophage through a transciliary body approach. Furthermore, postoperative inflammation was reduced by the preoperative administration of indomethacin (Indocin), as well as the use of Ringer's solution as the intraocular infusate.


The Tyee and Coaledo Formations of southwestern Oregon contain lateral and vertical transitions of delta to shelf facies within an Eocene forearc basin. Fluvial, marsh-swamp, delta-distributary channel, delta-front, prodelta-shelf, and delta-margin facies (wave-reworked deposits) are identified. Coarse-grained, plant-rich sandstones characterized by large-scale, contorted cross-bedding and northwest-trending paleocurrent indicators suggest fluvial contributions (during river-flood stages) within delta-distributary channels. In marine deposits, abundant hummocky cross-stratification, flat laminations, and symmetrical ripples indicate dominance of wave processes. Two types of vertical shoaling sequences are distinguished by their capping lithology. Type One sequences formed in moderate wave energy and are capped by delta-distributary sandstones. Type Two sequences are capped by delta-margin facies and indicate reworking during higher wave-energy conditions. Both successions record variations in shoreline progradation, basin subsidence, sea level change, or a combination of these processes. Wave-dominated deltaic deposition was a persistent style of Cenozoic sedimentation in western Oregon. This study may be useful for predicting facies relationships and geometries in similar Eocene systems, such as the gas-producing Cowlitz Formation (Mist field, northern Oregon) and may enable a better assessment of hydrocarbon accumulations in the Pacific Northwest.


ABSTRACT In the fall of 2001, Bacillus anthracis spores were spread through letters mailed in the United States. Twenty-two people are known to have been infected, and five of these individuals died. Together with the September 11 attacks, this resulted in a reevaluation of the risks and benefits of life science research with the potential for misuse. In this editorial, we review some of the results of these discussions and their implications for the future.


The study investigates the relationship between monetary policy and bank profitability in New Zealand using the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator. Our sample comprises 19 banks from New Zealand over the period 2006–2018. Our results suggest that an increase in short-term rate leads to an increase in the profitability of banks, while an increase in long-term interest rates reduces bank profitability. In addition to monetary policy variables, capital adequacy ratio, non-performing loan ratio, and cost to income ratio are also important determinants of the profitability of banks in New Zealand. Capital adequacy ratio has a positive impact on bank profitability, while non-performing loan ratio and cost to income ratio have a negative impact on bank profitability.


ABSTRACT Many science curricula and standards emphasise that students should learn both scientific knowledge and the skills associated with the construction of this knowledge. One way to achieve this goal is to use inquiry-learning activities that embed the use of science process skills. We investigated the influence of scientific reasoning skills (i.e. conceptual and procedural knowledge of the control-of-variables strategy) on students' conceptual learning gains in physics during an inquiry-learning activity. Eighth graders (n = 189) answered research questions about variables that influence the force of electromagnets and the brightness of light bulbs by designing, running, and interpreting experiments. We measured knowledge of electricity and electromagnets, scientific reasoning skills, and cognitive skills (analogical reasoning and reading ability). Using structural equation modelling we found no direct effects of cognitive skills on students' content knowledge learning gains; however, there were direct effects of scientific reasoning skills on content knowledge learning gains. Our results show that cognitive skills are not sufficient; students require specific scientific reasoning skills to learn science content from inquiry activities. Furthermore, our findings illustrate that what students learn during guided inquiry activities becomes visible when we examine both the skills used during inquiry learning and the process of knowledge construction. The implications of these findings for science teaching and research are discussed.


The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of food structure and composition on aroma release and sensory perception of composite foods. Dynamic sensory perception was assessed with Temporal-Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA) (n=72) while quantification of aroma release was done with in vivo nose space analysis using a commercial PTR-ToF-MS (Proton Transfer Reaction Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer, Ionicon Analytik, Innsbruck, Austria) (n=8, in triplicate). Six composite foods were prepared by combining two carriers (bread and wafer) with three formulations of chocolate-hazelnut spreads varying in fat and sugar content (high fat/high sugar; high fat/low sugar; low fat/high sugar). The spreads were spiked with a known quantity of 5 aroma compounds. Evaluations of the hazelnut spreads without carriers and for the carrier-spread combinations were performed. In general, fat and sugar content had little effect on flavour release and sensory perception of chocolate hazelnut spread. Addition of carriers increased aroma release and decreased flavour perception. We conclude that in vivo nose space analysis by direct injection mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and dynamic sensory method (TCATA) allowed to investigate aroma release and perception of real food matrices (spreads and composite foods). Flavour release and sensory perception of hazelnut chocolate spreads is strongly affected by addition of carriers. However, it seems that sensory perception of composite foods is modulated by cognitive mechanisms.


Abstract Imaging and modelling of regional aeromagnetic data indicate a significant change in crustal magnetization across a boundary which extends northeast-southwest across the Irish Sea. A concealed magnetic basement is interpreted to underlie the area to the southeast of the boundary at mid-crustal levels, whereas relatively non-magnetic rocks lie at these levels to the northwest. The boundary does not coincide with the Iapetus Suture as defined by seismic evidence in the Irish Sea and palaeontological evidence on the east coast of Ireland. Instead, it appears to extend towards the northern margin of the Precambrian rocks of southeast Ireland. Its orientation swings sharply in the vicinity of the Isle of Man from north-northeast-south-southwest in the south to east-northeast-west-southwest in the northeast. There is an apparent correlation between the magnetic basement structure and an overlying, shallow, anomalous zone along the axis of the island which is revealed by gravity and high-resolution aeromagnetic data. Modelling indicates that shallow and deep structures may be related if both are assumed to dip to the northwest, a dip direction supported by seismic reflection data acquired immediately to the south of the island. The preferred interpretation is that the mid-crustal magnetic block is of Precambrian age and represents the northern part of an Avalonian basement which was assembled in late Precambrian-early Cambrian times. The geometry of the boundary beneath the Isle of Man may have been inherited from the pre-existing Avalonian basement architecture. Planes of weakness could have been reactivated as major, early Palaeozoic extensional structures and subsequently been activeunder a compressional regime during the closure of the Iapetus Ocean and the Acadian Orogeny.


There is a huge gap between possibilities for achieving high treatment effectiveness and poor results in clinical practice. It is possible to achieve a more positive impact and better treatment outcome by individualizing and personalizing treatments in a more creative and rational manner. This review describes the short history and principles of creative psychopharmacotherapy.


Here we present and develop a receiver capable of capturing two RF channels at the same time with a single RF front end and only one IF stage. The idea is to use a low IF digital image rejection receiver that can separate two adjacent RF channels with a negligible cochannel's image interference. We analyze two procedures of compensating, in the IF range, any gain and phase misadjustment generated in the RF mixing section that could produce some residual images in any of the channels. The first one needs the help of an internal reference or pilot signal whereas the second one implements a blind procedure that only needs the current working signals.


In the history of Islamic thought from century to century, more and more figures of Islamic thought have emerged from all over the world. Especially from Indonesia itself also has figures of Islamic thought, one of which is H.M Rasjidi, who is very well known among Indonesian Islamic thought leaders. In this paper, we will discuss the biography and some topics of HM's thoughts. Rasjidi during his life. In this paper, we examine the Library Research method from the literature presented by the author later


CONTEXT
Patients with tuberculosis (TB) who are nonadherent to therapy or have complicated medical or social problems pose a threat to public health. In some cases, hospitalization may be a necessary component of a comprehensive TB control program.

OBJECTIVE
To describe experience with a new inpatient program for TB control.

DESIGN
Retrospective review.

SETTING
Eighteen-bed, secure, TB treatment unit in a state public health hospital providing a spectrum of acute and chronic care services.

PATIENTS
Patients with known or suspected TB who were unable to be treated as outpatients and were hospitalized from 1990 through 1995.

INTERVENTIONS
Voluntary or involuntary hospitalization, with medical, psychosocial, and legal services.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Admissions, treatment completion, and disposition.

RESULTS
A total of 166 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of TB accounted for 214 hospitalizations for TB. The mean age was 42 years, 132 (79.5%) were men, 84 (50.6%) were nonwhite, and 45 (27.1%) were foreign born. At the time of admission, 58 patients (34.5%) were homeless, 116 (69.9%) had a history of abuse of alcohol or other drugs, and 46 (31.7%) were positive for human immunodeficiency virus. The mean length of stay was 119.7 days (median, 70 days; range, 7-656 days), and was higher among homeless patients than nonhomeless patients (168.8 vs 93.4 days). Of 48 patients (28.9%) who were admitted involuntarily, 21 required long-term confinement under court order. Admission indications (not mutually exclusive) changed over 5 years: nonadherence decreased (95% to 34%), medical complexity increased (14% to 77%), short-term isolation increased (19% to 39%), and involuntary admission decreased (54% to 13%). Of 157 patients with positive cultures for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 36 (23.1%) were resistant to at least 1 drug, including 16 who were multidrug resistant. A total of 123 patients (74.7%) were discharged to an outpatient setting to complete therapy, 40 (24.1%) required inpatient care to complete therapy, and 3 died (1 from TB) before discharge.

CONCLUSIONS
A high proportion of patients with TB who failed outpatient therapy completed treatment in a combined medical and psychosocial inpatient unit. During the 5-year study period, involuntary admissions decreased and most patients completed therapy as outpatients. In Massachusetts, this program plays an important role in protecting public health and in providing specialized medical management for patients to complete therapy in a safe and supportive environment.


To quantify the degree of association, if any, between lung size and airway size in humans, the ratio of a measurement known to be sensitive to airway size (maximal expiratory flow divided by static recoil pressure at 50% of vital capacity) to one sensitive to lung size (vital capacity) was examined. If lung and airway size changed together, this ratio would be the same for large and small lungs, i.e., for persons with large and small vital capacities. If lung and airway size were independent, then, on average, the ratio would vary as (vital capacity)-1. Data for 21 men 20 to 50 yr of age showed that the ratio to decreased approximately as (vital capacity)-4/3. This is consistent with independence of airway diameter but dependence of airway length on lung size. Data for each of 7 females of comparable age fell below the adult male (smaller ratios at a given size), as did data for 5 boys less than 20 yr of age. These results suggest that women and boys have airways that are smaller relative to lung size than are those of men and that these sex differences develop late in the growth period.


Conventionally, the story of musical modernism has been told in terms of a catastrophic break with the (tonal) past and the search for entirely new techniques and modes of expression suitable to a new age. The resulting notion of a single, linear, modernist mainstream (predicated on the basis of a Schoenbergian model of musical progress) has served to conceal a more subtle relationship between past and present. Increasingly, it is being recognized that there exist many modernisms and their various identities are forged from a continual renegotiation between past and present, between tradition(s) and the avant-garde. This is especially relevant when attempting to discuss the reception of modernism outside central Europe, where the adoption of (Germanic) avant-garde attitudes was often interpreted as being "unpatriotic". The case of Great Britain is examined in detail: Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Mask of Orpheus (1973–83) forms the focus for a wider discussion of modernism within the context of late/post-modern thought.


Efficient synchronization primitives are essential for achieving high performance in fine-grain, shared-memory parallel programs. One function of synchronization primitives is to enable exclusive access to shared data and critical sections of code. This paper makes three contributions. (1) We enumerate the five sources of overhead that locking synchronization primitives can incur. (2) We describe four mechanisms (local spinning, queue-based locking, collocation, and synchronized prefetch) that reduce these synchronization overheads. (3) With detailed simulations, we show the extent to which these four mechanisms can improve the performance of shared-memory programs. We evaluate the space of these mechanisms using seventeen synchronization constructs, which are formed from six base typed of locks (TEST&SET, TEST&TEST&SET, MCS, LH, M, and QOLB). We show that large performance gains (speedups of more than 1.5 for three of five benchmarks) can be achieved if at least three optimizing mechanisms are used simultaneously. We find that QOLB, which incorporates all four mechanisms, outperforms all other primitives (including reactive synchronization) in all cases. Finally, we demonstrate the superior performance of a low-cost implementation of QOLB, which runs on an unmodified cluster of commodity workstations.


Spontaneous resolution of glaucoma in a patient with scleromalacia perforans is described. Fluorophotometric measurements established the presence of normal aqueous production. The reduced intraocular pressure is ascribed to either autolysis of the trabecular meshwork and/or maximization of the uveoscleral pathway.


This study aims to analyze the effect of schedules, fares and passenger complaints on consumer decisions to use the PT. ALS. The method used in this research is quantitative. The population in this study is ALS bus passengers with a total of 11,655 people using the ALS bus fleet for the last 3 months starting from December 2021 - February 2022. In this study, samples were taken using the Slovin formula, and using a probability sampling technique, namely proportionate stratified random sampling. The total number of respondents in this study were 101 consumers. The analytical method used is multiple linear regression method using SPSS Version 25.00 program. The results obtained from the coefficient value of 0.293, where the value of t-count > t-table (3.637 > 1.6602) and a significant value of 0.000 is smaller than 0.05, meaning that the schedule has a significant effect on consumer decisions, then Ha1 is accepted. The calculated F value is 70.779. With = 5%, dk of numerator: 4, dk of denominator: 101-3-1 (5%; 2; 97; Ftable 2.47) obtained F table value of 2.47. From this description it can be seen that F arithmetic (70,779) > F table (3,15), and a significance value of 0.000 <0.05, it can be concluded that the third hypothesis is accepted, meaning that the Schedule Variable (X1 ) , Tariff ( X2 ) and Passenger Complaints (X 3 ) have a simultaneous (simultaneous) effect on the Consumer Decision Variable (Y).


The sensitivity of exploration decisions to variations in several input parameters for maturity modeling was examined for the MITI Rumoi well, Hokkaido, Japan. Decisions were almost completely insensitive to uncertainties about formation age and erosional removal across some unconformities, but were more sensitive to changes in removal during unconformities which occurred near maximum paleotemperatures. Exploration decisions were not very sensitive to the choice of a particular kinetic model for hydrocarbon generation. Uncertainties in kerogen type and the kinetics of different kerogen types are more serious than differences among the various kinetic models. Results of modeling using the TTI method were unsatisfactory. Thermal history and timing and amount of hydrocarbon generation estimated or calculated using the TTI method were greatly different from those obtained using a purely kinetic model. We strongly recommend use of the kinetic R[o] method instead of the TTI method. If we had lacked measured R[o] data, subsurface temperature data, or both, our confidence in the modeling results would have been sharply reduced. Conceptual models for predicting heat flow and thermal conductivity are simply too weak at present to allow us to carry out highly meaningful modeling unless our input is constrained by measured data. Maturity modeling therefore requires the use of more, not fewer, measured temperature and maturity data. The use of sensitivity analysis in maturity modeling is very important for understanding the geologic system, for knowing what level of confidence to place on the results, and for determining what new types of data would be most necessary to improve our confidence. Sensitivity analysis can be carried out easily using a rapid, interactive maturity-modeling program.


One main concern of audiovisual speech research is the intelligibility of audiovisual speech (i.e., talking head). In fact, lip reading is crucial for challenged population as hard of hearing people. For audiovisual synthesis and animation, this suggests that one should pay careful attention to modeling the region of the face that participates actively during speech. Above all, a facial animation system needs extremely good representations of lip motion and deformation in order to achieve realism and effective communication.


Right-to-die societies are becoming increasingly popular in Switzerland as in other countries. Members are more likely to be female, older, and better educated than the general population. However research has paid limited attention to personal reasons and motivations for joining.
This communication reports a survey of the membership of a Swiss right-to-society – EXIT A.D.M.D. Suisse romande. A self-administered questionnaire was sent by mail to a random sample of members aged of 65 years old and more. The answers of approximately 1,200 participants (about 30% response rate) provide insight into reasons that had led to a decision to join.
Motives for membership included the concerns related to their own end-of-life (anticipation), the commitment to right-to-die philosophy (ideology), and the past involvement with serious illness or deaths of loved ones (experience). Reasons for joining vary according to the characteristics of the members. For instance, women mention more personal experiences than men (because they are more likely to live critical events and play more often the role of caregiver); people with a high level of education, and the non-religious, have more resort to ideological motivations.
The combined analysis of the current age of the members and the length of membership in the society allows identifying different profiles. The "early joiners", regardless of their current age, say more often to have adhered for ideological reasons. Among the most recent members, the older (75+) reported mainly concerns related to the end-of-life, while the youngest (65-74) cited more personal experiences.


This paper addresses some of the difficulties involved in the automatic generation of image content descriptors within a specific domain of airborne reconnaissance. The initial stages of the work concentrated on the development/collation of a set of feature detectors covering points (corners), lines (edges, ridges) and regions which operate on a variety of image sensors (e.g. SPOT, IRLS-Infra-red Linescan, dd5-Russian satellite data). We also consider the questions of combining several feature detectors to improve their performance and reliability on a wider variety of images. The descriptors once generated and represented in some suitable way could be used for the indexing, matching and searching as well as retrieval of data in an image database. These operations on the image database depend on a fundamentally reliable detection stage. For this reason the initial objective of our work was not to depend purely upon just one algorithm but to have several algorithms, the output of which may then be combined in a novel manner into a composite estimate of the feature(s) that are required.


ABSTRACT:During the 1920s and 1930s, the British surgeon Geoffrey Keynes (1887-1982) treated breast cancer with radium instead of the hegemonic radical mastectomy while vehemently attacking the "radicalists" for mutilating women. Keynes was also a leading bibliographer of literary figures from Sir Thomas Browne to William Blake through Jane Austen. This article argues that these endeavors did not inhabit separate worlds, but rather his bibliographic methods of collecting and sorting were deeply interwoven with his therapeutic practices and medical ways of knowing. The article also examines the profound influence his engagement with the works of William Blake had on his battle against the reigning medical orthodoxy and on the humanity of his relationship with his patients. It concludes that Keynes' story sheds light on a now distant medico-cultural world where literary studies, often centered on book collecting and critique, were not only highly valued, but were influential in guiding the vision and behavior of a number of physicians.


Introduction Treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) is challenging with high rates of treatment dropout and relapse, particularly among individuals with comorbid psychiatric conditions. Anxiety and insomnia are prevalent among those with SUD and exacerbate poor treatment outcomes. Interventions that concurrently target anxiety and insomnia during the early stages of SUD treatment are lacking. To this end, we investigated the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness in a single-arm pilot trial of an empirically informed group transdiagnostic intervention, Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy, to concurrently reduce anxiety and improve sleep among adults receiving treatment for SUD. Specifically, we hypothesized that participants would evidence declines in anxiety and insomnia and improvements in sleep health, a holistic, multidimensional pattern of sleep-wakefulness that promotes wellbeing. A secondary aim was to describe the protocol for Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy and how it may be implemented into a real-world addiction treatment setting. Method Participants were 163 adults (Mage = 43.23; 95.1% White; 39.93% female) participating in an intensive outpatient program for SUD who attended at least three of four Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy sessions. Participants had diverse SUDs (58.3% alcohol use disorder, 19.0% opioid use disorder) and nearly a third of the sample met criteria for two SUDs and comorbid mental health diagnoses (28.9% anxiety disorder, 24.6% major depressive disorder). Results As anticipated, anxiety and insomnia reduced significantly across the 4-week intervention period from clinical to subclinical severity, and sleep health significantly improved (ps < 0.001). These statistically significant improvements following Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy demonstrated medium to large effects (ds > 0.5). Conclusion Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy is designed to be flexibly administered in "real-world" clinical settings and, preliminarily, appears to be effective in improving emotional and behavioral factors that increase risk for return to substance use and poor SUD treatment outcomes. Additional work is needed to replicate these findings, determine the feasibility of widespread uptake of Transdiagnostic SUD Therapy, and examine whether the treatment effects translate to improvement in substance use outcomes.


The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of intermittent normobaric hypoxia on resting metabolic rate and substrate preference in sedentary males. After a 12-hour fast, 11 sedentary male subjects (acute) were individually exposed to 3 hours of intermittent normobaric hypoxia, achieving an isometabolic stress of ~80% oxygen saturation. A subset of 6 subjects (short term) continued with the hypoxia exposure for a further 6 sessions. Resting metabolic data was acquired immediately before and after the hypoxic exposure on day 1 for the acute exposure group and on days 1 and 7 for the short-term exposure group. Heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation and Acute Mountain Sickness Score were monitored and recorded. In the acute exposure group, there was a significant increase in oxygen consumption, from 315 ml·min (±10) to 371 ml·min (±10). As well, there was a significant reduction of the respiratory exchange ratio, from 0.89 (±0.1) to 0.76 (±0.06). There was also a significant increase in oxygen consumption in the short-term exposure group, from 322 ml·min (±10) on pre-exposure day 1, to 3 7 6 ml·min (±7) post exposure on day 7 and a significant reduction in respiratory exchange ratio from 0.86 (±0.09) on preexposure day 1 to 0.73 (±0.05) post exposure day 7. These results demonstrate that intermittent normobaric hypoxia, as described here, is sufficient to induce an increase in resting metabolic rate resulting in a switch from primarily carbohydrate to primarily lipid substrate as the main energy source.


Develops a model which operationalizes the different principles in lean production, with a focus on those that concern the work organization in the manufacturing part of a company. The model has been developed using available theory and has also been tried out in a clinical field study. The model has implications both for research and practice. For research, it can be used as a model for operationalizing lean production to be able to study change processes properly. In practice, the model can be used as a tool to assess the development taking place in an effort to become lean. Finally, it can be used as a checklist for what to aim at when trying to implement lean production. Lean should be seen as a direction, rather than as a state to be reached after a certain time and, therefore, the focus lies on the changes in the determinants, not on their actual values.


The epidemiology of hepatitis C virus varies widely across geographical regions and ethnic groups. Our previous study showed that 6 strains isolated from Baisha County, Hainan Island, China, were all new genotype 6 (gt6) subtypes which differed significantly from subtypes of other regions. In the current study, we conducted a comprehensive epidemiological survey of HCV in the Li ethnic group, native to Baisha County. Anti‐HCV antibodies were detected by 2 independent ELISAs in all participants, and positive results confirmed by the recombinant immunoblot assay (RIBA) and HCV RNA viral loads were measured. Univariate chi‐square test and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for HCV infection and spontaneous clearance rates. Indeterminate RIBA results were excluded or included in analyses; consequently, findings were expressed as a range. Direct sequencing of partial regions within NS5B and E1 was employed for genotyping. Among 1682 participants, 117 to 153 were anti‐HCV positive (7.0%‐9.1%), with 42.7%‐52.6% confirmed to have cleared infection. Anti‐HCV positivity was associated with older age (≥60 years) (OR = 0.02, 95% CI 0.01‐0.05, P < 0.01) and surgery (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 1.36‐5.57, P < 0.01), with no significant difference found between the HCV infection group and the HCV spontaneous clearance group. The gt6 subtype distribution characteristics of Baisha County were unique, complex and diverse. The sequences did not cluster with known gt6 subtypes but formed 4 Baisha community‐specific groups. HCV infection in members of the Li minority ethnic group is characterized by high prevalence rates in the elderly, high spontaneous clearance rates and broad gt6 diversity.


Recently, the criminal activities of human trafficking have been defined in rule of law. It has clear umbrella of law, so the process of law enforcement can be optimal. In general, the human trafficking frequently occurs in human exploitation. In this case, the victims are forced to work hard in bad situations and improper salary. The types of the exploitation cover woman sexual industry, servitude, taking inside human organ. As a whole, it can be called as slavery. The problem is how far the role of the government policy in preventing the victims of human trafficking in Cianjur regency and what concept model applied to create the public economic autonomy as one of empowerment concepts for women of human trafficking victims in Cianjur regency. This study applied juridical normative approach especially the descriptive analysis. In this case, it employed the primer and secondary data of law and then the data were analyzed without using numbers statistically. The findings show that Cianjur regency has implemented an alternative model concept in preventing the victims of human trafficking by applying the regulation and policy of the local government. It has been carried out through empowerment of public economy by giving some helps either in strengthening the finance or conducting some skill trainings to the victims. The program of the strengthening was carried out by the government of Cianjur and the stakeholders, through provision of estimates covering the estimates of income and budget in local, province, and central.


"We don't talk in other classes." This was Michael's response to the question, "What makes a good discussion?" posed by his middle-school resource-room teacher (the second author of this article and referred to henceforth as the teacher).


Abstract Representation theorems for additive conjoint structures with an infinite number of components were first developed by T. C. Koopmans (1960, Econometrica 28 , 287-309) for modelling dynamic decision behavior. However, he proved his theorems within a topological framework. Here, the theorems are adapted to and proved within a more general algebraic framework. Moreover, while Koopmans provided a representation only for bounded component sequences, here the representation is extended to unbounded sequences satisfying polynomial growth.


The nature of linguistic research and even the goals of research are changing as a result of information technology This paper discusses what counts as legitimate linguistic data, and the new standards of data collection, organisation and analysis associated with the methodology of corpus linguistics. Two of the more familiar kinds of text annotation are described, namely tagging and parsing, and attention is drawn to the problems of working on Asian languages, including the pitfalls of applying European categories. Two corpus-based projects currently underway in Malaysia are described, one on English and the other on Malay. The paper ends with a look forward to the possible contribution of corpus linguistics to language-based research in Malaysia.


ABSTRACT Thermal ablation is widely used in the treatment of lung cancer and is beneficial for the overall survival of patients in clinic. However, there is barely a priority in which ablation system should be chosen under different periods of tumor progression in lung cancer. The present study investigated different modes of thermal ablation systems in mice with transplanted Lewis lung carcinoma tumors and their various biological effects in local regions using untargeted metabolomics. The results showed that thermal ablation could significantly suppress tumor growth and the differentially expressed metabolites of tumors after ablation relative to untreated tumors concentrated on organic compounds, organic acids and derivatives, nucleosides, nucleotides, and lipids. The upregulated metabolites indicated an inflammatory reaction in the ablation groups at an early stage after ablation. Steroid hormone and tryptophan metabolism, which are associated with immune responses, were modulated after both cryoablation and hyperthermal ablation. Characteristically, the results also indicated that cryoablation suppressed glucose oxidation and carbohydrate metabolism of tumor, while hyperthermal ablation suppressed lipid metabolism of tumor. In conclusion, thermal ablation could inhibit tumor growth under either freezing or heating modes with characteristic different biological effects on tumors. Graphical abstract


Reinforcement learning (RL) is the problem faced by a controller that must learn and improve behavior through trial-and-error interactions with a dynamic environment. It is completely an on-line procedure and thus requires no model of the plant nor of the environment. Hence, it seems ideal for vehicle control where uncertainty abounds in terms of the ever-changing vehicle dynamics during its continuing interaction with the road environment. Furthermore, it could also be used in conjunction with supervised learning in that the RL controller may further enhance the performance of an already trained supervised controller without the need for any further training data. This proposed reinforcement learning architecture is found to have a sound on-line learning control performance especially at high speed road following of a high curvature road. Both computer simulation and actual experiments on a test vehicle have been performed.


In this paper, an iteration interference cancellation detector for multi-user MIMO uplink transmission system is proposed, which utilizes the special property of Orthogonal Space Time Block Code(OSTBC) equivalent channel of each user to simplify the decoding at the base station. With the proposed algorithm the number of receive antennas is significantly reduced as much as the number of users, and more spatial multiplexing gain can be obtained. Simulation results validate our proposed algorithm in terms of BER performance.


Foreword, Duane Rumbaugh (Georgia State University). Preface. Each Chapter ends with "Principles Introduced in this Chapter." 1. Introduction to the Field. What is Comparative Psychology? A Dynamic Systems Approach. Factors Involved in the Genesis of Behavior Characteristics. Phylogenetic Set. Individual Set. Ontogenetic Set. Experiential Set. Cultural Set. Historical Context of Comparative Psychology. Box: Clever Hans and Parsimony. Biographical Sketches. Science and the Study of Animal Behavior. Box: Explanation in Science. Evolution. Species-Typical Behavior. Behavioral Levels. Development. Learning. Motivation. 2. Biological Foundations of Behavior. Introduction. Evolution of Nervous Systems. How the Nervous System Works. The Brain and Behavior. Evolution and Behavior. Genetics: The Mechanism of Evolution. Genes. Genes and Behavior. Hormones and Behavior. Other Biological Factors. Allometry. Biological Rhythms. Sleep. Sensory Processes. 3. Orientation and Locomotion. The Problem of Orientation. Orientation and Motivation. Orientation and Approach/Withdrawal Theory. Specific Stimuli for Approach and Withdrawal. Additional Perspectives on Motivation. Locomotion and Physical Principles. Perception - as - Action in Locomotor Control. Locomotor Behavior and Individual Variation. Habitat Selection. Homing and Migration. The Evolution of Migration. Spawning Migrations of Salmon. Nesting Migration of Sea Turtles. Homing of Pigeons. Bird Migrations. Cognitive Behavior as a Factor in Orientation. 4. Feeding Behavior and Foraging. Feeding Behavior across the Animal Series. Protozoa. Phylum Porifera. Phylum Cnidaria. Phylum Echinodermata. Phylum Platyhelminthes. Phylum Mollusca. Phylum Arthropoda. Box: Honey Bee Language Controversy. Phylum Chordata, Sub Phylum Veretebrata. Class Osteichthyes. Class Amphibia. Class Reptilia. Class Aves. Class Mammalia. Analysis of Feeding Behavior Based on Levels of Complexity. Formal Treatments and Simulations of Foraging Behavior. 5. Social Behavior I. Grouping Patterns, Dominance Relations, Kin Selection and Territory. Advantages and Costs of Social Behavior. Examples of Social Grouping Across the Animal Series. Dominance and Submission. Altruistic Behavior and Kin Selection. Territoriality. 6. Social Behavior II. Communication and Social Development. Communication. Development of Social Behavior. Development of Social Attachment. Song Development in Birds. 7. Reproduction. Asexual Reproduction and the Evolution of Sex. Sexual Reproduction. Species and Sexual Identification. Courtship. Breeding Seasons. Mating Systems and Sexual Selection. Monogamy. Polygamy. Promiscuity. Additional Variations in Mating Systems. Competition For and Among Mates. A Phylogenetic Perspective on Reproductive Behavior. Invertebrates. Vertebrates. Fishes. Amphibians and Reptiles. Birds. Mammals/Primates. The Evolution of Parental Behavior. Insects. Fishes. Amphibia. Reptiles. Birds. Mammals. 8. Predator Defense and Protective Behaviors. Defensive Behaviors. Inducing Predator Avoidance. Mimicry. Defense of Young. Other Protective Behaviors. Defensive Burying. Sleep and Hibernation. Sheltering Behavior. 9. Learning as a Process of Development. Review of the Concept. Levels of Learning. Theoretical Perspectives and Comparative Psychology. Learning and Functional Utility across the Animal Series. General Laws and Species Variations. Constraints and Special Preparedness. The Shaping of Behavior by Experience. Limits of Behavioral Variation. The Resolution of Learning and Instinct. Learning and the Development of Behavior. 10. Cognition and the Evolution of Language. Animal Cognition. Cognition and Complex Learning. Navigation by Migrating Animals. Self Recognition in Nonhuman Primates. Cognition and Behavioral Levels. The Evolution of Language. 11. Principles of Comparative Psychology. Foundational Principles: Postulates. The Principle of Evolution. Correspondence of Biological and Psychological Variation. The Principle of Multiple Causation. The Principle of Hierarchical Levels. Derivative Principles: Corollaries. Species-typical Behavior. Functionality of Behavior Characteristics. Selective Orientation. Motor and Locomotor Capacities. Approach and Withdrawal. Motivation. Learning and Cognition. Formal Statement of Principles. Some Specific Deductions. Concluding Statement.


Introduction The incidence of oesophageal and junctional adenocarcinoma has increased sixfold in the last 30 years and 5-year survival remains <14%. Most patients present with advanced disease and current staging is limited in its ability to predict survival. We aimed to generate and externally validate a molecular prognostic signature for oesophageal adenocarcinoma. Methods Gene expression profiling was performed and the resulting 42 000 gene signatures correlated with clinical features for 91 snap frozen oesophageal and junctional resection specimens. External validation of selected targets was carried out on 371 independent cases using immunohistochemistry to maximise clinical applicability. Results Gene expression profiles were obtained from 75/91 of the samples (82%). 119 genes were significantly associated with survival and 270 genes with the number of involved lymph nodes. Ten of these genes were taken forward to external validation at the protein level. Three genes were prognostic in the external validation data set (TRIM44, SIRT2 and PAPSS2). Patients with dysregulation of none of these three genes had a significantly better outcome (5-year survival 48%) than those with dysregulation of one gene (5-year survival 29%), who in turn did better than those with two or more genes dysregulated (5-year survival 15%) (p=0.004). The three gene signature was independently prognostic in a multivariable model together with the existing clinical TNM staging system (p=0.003). Conclusion We have generated and externally validated an immunohistochemical prognostic gene signature which is independently highly prognostic in an external validation data set. In addition these three genes are possible therapeutic targets raising the possibility of personalised therapy based on a patient's molecular prognostic signature. Our three gene signature is suitable for application in routine clinical practice and this study may provide a framework for similar future projects.


In this paper, the design and simulation of a compact ultra-wide band (UWB) microstrip antenna with quadruple band-notched characteristics for short-distance wireless telecommunication applications were explored. The design process of the antenna is carried on FR4 substrate with dielectric constant 4.4, loss tangent 0.02, thickness of 0. 8mm and the size of the proposed antenna are 30×20 mm. The rectangular monopole antenna endures a rectangular radiating patch with chamfered bevel slots on the top side, and a defective ground planed on the bottom side of the substrate. To realize single, dual, triple and quadruple band notch characteristics, slot-1 is created on the patch to achieve first notch at 3.5 GHz, which eliminates WIMAX signal, slot-2 is created on the patch to achieve second notch at 4.6 GHz, which eliminates INSAT signal, slot-3 is created on the patch to achieve third notch at 5.5 GHz, which eliminates WLAN signal and also fourth notch is created at 9.5GHz which eliminates X-band frequency with slot-1 outer length. The proposed antenna is well miniaturized and can be easily integrated with any compact devices. The simulated result shows that proposed antenna gain a good range of UWB from (2.6 GHz to 13.4 GHz).


There is a new trend to consider Distributed Mobility Management (DMM) for flat network architectures to cope with the increased distributed nature of the mobile networks. DMM improves the routing optimization and reduces the scalability issues when compared with the centralized mobility management, through the traffic anchoring distribution at the Access Routers (ARs). However, the handover optimization, which also demands for fast and soft handovers to reduce/eliminate the handover latency and the respective packet loss, is not properly addressed in the DMM. Although current seamless handover approaches, already integrated in centralized mobility schemes, could also be adapted to the DMM schemes, they introduce new entities/functionalities, messages and buffering/bicasting mechanisms to reduce the handover latency or the packet loss. In this paper, the seamless IP handover is addressed from a novel make-without-break perspective, which is able to maintain two logical connections in the same physical interface with two Access Points (APs) from distinct IP networks. The outcome of the evaluation shows that make-without-break with a DMM scheme is able to reduce or even eliminate the handover latency and the packet loss from link disconnection, providing seamless IP session continuity in mobile environments.


A number of serological tests measuring the presence of Helicobacter pylori-specific serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) are now commercially available. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical accuracy of five commercial H. pylori antibody tests: GAP-IgG (Biomerica), HELpTEST (AMRAD, Kew, Victoria, Australia), HELICO-G (Porton Cambridge), Pyloriset (Orion Diagnostica), and ROCHE (Roche Diagnostics). A total of 162 subjects presenting for routine upper endoscopy were studied. H. pylori was diagnosed if culture, histology, or both were positive. Ten milliliters of venous blood was collected at the time of endoscopy for serological assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of each test (GAP-IgG, HELpTEST, HELICO-G, Pyloriset, and ROCHE) were as follows: 83 and 79%, 92 and 77%, 86 and 65%, 89 and 56%, and 98 and 69%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were 97 and 83%, 90 and 91%, 76 and 83%, 68 and 84%, and 86 and 97%, respectively. The specificity of most tests increased by approximately 10% when sera from subjects less than 45 years old were examined. The number of sera falling into the grey zone for each test (an indeterminate result with respect to H. pylori status) varied between 2.5 and 19%. This study highlights the need for all serological kits to be independently evaluated on the population to be studied by testing against a microbiologically defined panel of H. pylori-positive and -negative sera.


Temnodontosaurus platyodon, from the English lower Liassic (Hettangian and Sinemurian), is a large ichthyosaur that reached an estimated length of almost 9 m (29 ft). Although represented by at least 13 specimens, few are complete, and the species cannot be described as well known. A similarly sized species from the upper Liassic (Toarcian) of Germany has hitherto been referred to a separate genus, but is shown here to be referable to Temnodontosaurus. This species, T. burgundiae, shares several features in common with T. platyodon, including a small orbit, modestly sized teeth, a relatively long maxilla, forefins probably with four or less digits, notching in at least some of the elements of the first digit, a distally expanded humerus, and a discrete pubis and ischium. An emended diagnosis is given for Temnodontosaurus. Poorly known giants from the English lower Liassic, represented only by isolated teeth and girdle elements, may have reached lengths of 15 m (49 ft). This at least equals the size of the...


BACKGROUND
Vinegar is widely used as a food additive, in food preparation and as a food supplement. This study compared the phenolic acid profiles and in vivo toxicities, and antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of coconut, nipah and pineapple juice vinegars, which were respectively prepared via a two-step fermentation using Saccharomyces cerevisiae 7013 INRA and Acetobacter aceti vat Europeans.

RESULTS
Pineapple juice vinegar, which had the highest total phenolic acid content, also exhibited the greatest in vitro antioxidant capacity compared to coconut juice and nipah juice vinegars. Following acute and sub-chronic in vivo toxicity evaluation, no toxicity and mortality were evident and there were no significant differences in the serum biochemical profiles between mice administered the vinegars versus the control group. In the sub-chronic toxicity evaluation, the highest liver antioxidant levels were found in mice fed with pineapple juice vinegar, followed by coconut juice and nipah juice vinegars. However, compared to the pineapple juice and nipah juice vinegars, the mice fed with coconut juice vinegar, exhibited a higher population of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in the spleen, which was associated with greater levels of serum interleukin-2 and interferon-γ cytokines.

CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the data suggested that not all vinegar samples cause acute and sub-chronic toxicity in vivo. Moreover, the in vivo immunity and organ antioxidant levels were enhanced, to varying extents, by the phenolic acids present in the vinegars. The results obtained in this study provide appropriate guidelines for further in vivo bioactivity studies and pre-clinical assessments of vinegar consumption. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.


Field campaigns monitoring the aerosol optical properties and chemical components of PM_(10) were carried out in Beijing in 2006 summer. The average light extinction coefficient b_(ext), dry aerosol scattering coefficient b_(sp) and aerosol absorption coefficient b_(ap) were 895.0 ± 820.8 Mm^(-1), 364.0 ± 324.3 Mm^(-1) and 57.8 ± 31.1 Mm^(-1), respectively. b_(ext), b_(sp) and bap had the similar increasing trend during the formation process of haze. Pronounced diurnal cycles were observed for ω_(550) (aerosol single scattering albedo at 550 nm), b_(sp), b_(ap) and b_(ext). The dry b_(sp) was elevated during the daytime with a maximum mean value of 475.8 Mm^(-1) (LST 06:00). b_(ext), PM_(2.5) mass concentration and PM_(2.5)/PM_(10) ratio increased at night due to continuous emissions of pollutants to the lower nocturnal boundary layer, and decreased during the daytime due to convective mixing. b_(ap) increased at night, and decreased during the daytime and reached the minimum (37 Mm^(-1)) at LST 16:00. The single scattering albedo reached its maximum (0.87) at LST 11:00. This trend was consistent with the SNA (sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium)/PM_(10) ratio and was contrary to the BC (black carbon)/PM_(10) ratio, which demonstrated that secondary pollution largely influenced the scattering ability of aerosols. Ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, organic mass, elemental carbon and coarse mass contributed 26.5%, 15.2%, 21.8%, 16.1% and 20.4% to the total extinction coefficient during clean days, and 44.6%, 22.3%, 13.6%, 10.8% and 8.7% during hazy days. The fractional contributions of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate were significantly higher during the hazy time than those during the clean days. While the fractional contributions of organic mass, elemental carbon and coarse mass were lower during the haze time than those during the clean days.


Technological advances have given healthcare professionals the ability to correspond efficiently with medical professionals, specialists and consultants. This not only allows doctors to provide patients with the care they deserve, but also appropriate for their medical needs. These technological advances however, create concerns for patients if doctors and staff are not guarding their information.


Empowerment of Self Help Groups (SHGs) is a dominating aspect as the micro-finance industry ushers into an era of maturity. Today SHGs are widely recognized as the hubs for information dissemination within villages and entry points for financial institutions as well as consumer goods organizations, though less has been done to deal with this highly illiterate population in terms of upgrading their skill sets or making them competent enough to soak the deluge of knowledge intensive programs aligned for them. In this paper, we observe that mobile penetration, the ease with which rural population uses the voice interface, and acceptability of mobile related technologies, all bring us to the confluence of mobility and innovative interaction technologies that can help in designing a system for the next billion population. We propose a system that uses voice as a medium to percolate knowledge through the thick layers of illiteracy, thereby serving as an effective mechanism to bring about a paradigm shift in the way SHGs are formed, operate and interact with the Micro-finance Institution (MFI). This system enables low cost financial services to be comprehended and adopted by the SHGs while empowering them to raise concerns and undertake active participation. This kind of empowerment of SHGs is unseen till date and can lead to, especially in case of women, better representation in elections of local panchayats, dowry upliftment and other social advancements, not understating the success of MFIs. Our system is designed and realized using IBM's Spoken Web technology that employs an easy-to-use voice interface to create dynamic content in local vernacular language, based on the concept of 'Voice Sites', interconnected by 'Voice Links'.


An initial study of the characteristics of sub-natural line width resonances in iodine excited by polychromatic laser light has been made. Results of theoretical calculation are presented. Under proper experimental conditions super-narrow resonances with high contrast can be found.<<ETX>>


Paper abstract: This paper arises from a three-year longitudinal study of middle primary school literacies funded by an ARC SPIRT grant between 1998 and 2000. The project focused on the literate practices made available to, and taken up by, students in the years immediately after the early years. A major outcome of the study was the production of 18 case studies of children attending three South Australian schools serving communities living with high levels of poverty. This paper draws on one case study to discuss how different theoretical frames about literacy and literacy assessment make visible different kinds of literate practices and student achievements. In particular, I suggest that bringing aspects of a multiliteracies theoretical frame to data produced in the study constitutes the case study student as a differently literate subject and more successful student than he is constructed in his school report cards.


Background : The high prevalence of tooth decay is a major oral health problem in Indonesia. We aimed to determine the relationship between tooth decay and quality of life in children living in rural and urban areas in Indonesia. Methods : A pilot survey was carried out with 2550 students in rural, peri-urban and urban sites in 14 provinces in Indonesia. Age groups included 6-7 years old and 11-12 years old, and we used the pathfinder survey technique. Data collected were based on the WHO STEPS-wise framework using a dental examination by the WHO form (Annex 7) and quality of life questionnaire (Annex 8, Q10). Results : Tooth decay prevalence in 6-7 years old was 88.01%, and 70.27% in the 11-12 years old age group. Children aged 6-7 years old was reported that tooth decay affected their appearance (p=0.013), caused them to avoid smiling and laughing (p=0.003), caused other children to make fun of their teeth (p=0.002) and caused them to miss school hours (p=0.005). Among 11-12 years old children, tooth decay reportedly affected their appearance (p=0.001), caused them to avoid smiling and laughing (p=0.041) and caused them to have chewing difficulty chewing (p=0.031). Conclusions : Tooth decay affects children's quality of life, especially with regard to psychological health.


PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use a combination of resource-based theory and dynamic capabilities theory to explore the phenomenon of startup survival in an emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem.Design/methodology/approachThe study has a phenomenological research design, with an exploratory scope and qualitative approach. It uses in-depth interviews to identify the perceptions of ecosystem agents about the phenomenon of survival.FindingsThis paper argues that startup survival should be studied as a construct that is reflected by four conditions: break-even point, accelerated growth, cash stock and continuous operation. Furthermore, it is formed by the interaction of five mainly interacting resources: human capital, social capital, entrepreneurial capital, organizational capital and the incubation process.Originality/valueThe study offers a holistic model of survival that could be applicable to incipient entrepreneurial ecosystems such as the Peruvian one. This model presents survival as a reflexive-formative construct and not as a dichotomic variable (enterprise operating/enterprise closed) as has been commonly considered in the literature.