Author: Malin Glimhed
Title: Not just a picture (translated title) A qualitative study about the way the art therapists work with children.

Supervisor: Staffan Blomberg
The aim of this study is to give knowledge to the role of painting in art therapy with a child. I have south a greater understanding of how the art therapist chooses to work with the child. To achieve the purpose I have focused on the art therapist interpretation of the painting and how this can affect the child. The dilemma of whether the art therapist should interpret the painting, or how much, is an important question.
The study includes five interviews with art therapists who were asked to discuss these issues. All interviews were recorded with a tape recorder. The main section of assembling data has been made by using a qualitative method.
The results of my study shows that even though the art therapist is not supposed to interpret the picture, they tend to do. The results of my study also shows that art therapy is a good method for children, especially refugee children, to open themselves up and be able to talk about abuse and their feelings.


In this article, we argue that two distinct types of time should be taken into account in relativistic physics: a geometric time, which emanates from the structure of spacetime and its metrics, and a causal time, indicating the flow from the past to the future. A particularity of causal times is that its values have no intrinsic meaning, as their evolution alone is meaningful. In the context of relativistic Lagrangian mechanics, causal times corresponds to admissible parameterizations of paths, and we show that in order for a langragian to not depend on any particular causal time (as its values have no intrinsic meaning), it has to be homogeneous in its velocity argument. We illustrate this property with the example of a free particle in a potential. Then, using a geometric Lagrangian (i.e. a parameterization independent Lagrangian which is also manifestly covariant), we introduce the notion of ageodesicity of a path which measures to what extent a path is far from being a geodesic, and show how the notion can be used in the twin paradox to differentiate the paths followed by the two twins.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to understand the level of functional health literacy and its influence on perceived health status in Korean older adults.

METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Daegu, Kyungpook and Busan province. A total of 103 older adults aged 65 yr or older were interviewed in person between July 1 to August 30, 2007.

RESULTS
A high proportion of older adults were unable to read and understand written basic medical instructions. Only 40-50% were able to comprehend directions for taking medication four times a day or on an empty stomach. Only 11-38% were able to understand information regarding treatment procedure, informed consent, or educational material for elderly fall prevention. Individuals who were older, single, and had less education and income were more likely to have lower functional health literacy. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, individuals with lower health literacy had poorly perceived health status.

CONCLUSION
Many Korean older adults have a very low level of functional literacy. Low health literacy was independently associated with poorly perceived health status.


One principal source of unsubstantial meat production efficiency in commercial small ruminants is high kid/lamb mortality, where a larger proportion of kid/lamb crop fails to reach marketable age resulting in immense economic losses. There is apparent evidence accrued through extensive studies which point to the fact that heredity and some non-genetic factors drive kid/lamb mortality in goats and sheep production. In this respect, mortality of kids/lambs may vary with genotype, nutrition, litter size, dam age and parity order, nutrition, sex and age of kid/lamb and season and year of kidding/lambing. The present review will give an insight on the influence of genotype, birth weight and birth status as determinants of mortality in goat and sheep. The resultant effect of genotype on kid/lamb mortality is associated with traits imparted to both dams and/or kid/lamb such as birth weight size related to difficult birth, kid/lamb viability after kidding/lambing and maternal characteristics. Low birth weight kid/lamb may die due to failure to adapt to life after birth, incompetence to sustain body temperature as a result of low energy body reserves at birth result into death, low kid/lamb potency and poor maternal attachment exposes kid/lambs to less survival chances. On the other hand, multiple birth has an adverse effect on kid/lamb survival due to lower birth weight as litter size increases, which is a lead factor to more hazard to mortality. The major reason for high mortality in underweight kid/lamb at birth is probably due to lack of suckling and/or exposure to low body temperatures. Mature dams give birth to heavier kids and provide enough milk to nursed kids/lambs promoting faster growth rates subsequently enhancing survivability of kids/lambs. There is potentiality of manipulation of husbandry practices focusing on ensuring that all born kids/lambs are as close as possible to the acceptable birth weight average for that specific breed of choice. It should be noted that due to multifaceted nature of the determinants of mortality it is reasonable to assume that appreciation of specific cause and occurrence of kids'/lamb mortality could be advantageous to minimise mortality rates. A total eradication of kid/lamb mortality is probably unachievable as a result partly targeting the control of both environmental and animal-related factors is of paramount importance. High kid/lamb mortality necessitate for good management practices and improved dam nutrition to support nursing of multiple birth, in addition to the exploitation of crossbred's livability and survivability. The present review gives an insight on the determinants of mortality and associated factors in goat and sheep meat production.


Patient safety is an important objective in health care. Preventable adverse events (pAEs) as the counterpart to patient safety are harmful incidents that fell behind health care standards and have led to temporary or permanent harm or death. As safe communication and mutual understanding are of crucial importance for providing a high quality of care under everyday conditions, we aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that impact safe communication in obstetrics from the subjective perspective of health care workers. A qualitative study with 20 semi-structured interviews at two university hospitals in Germany was conducted to explore everyday perceptions from a subjective perspective (subjective theories). Physicians, midwives, and nurses in a wide span of professional experience and positions were enrolled. We identified a structural area of conflict at the professional interface between midwives and physicians. Mandatory interprofessional meetings, acceptance of subjective mistakes, mutual understanding, and debriefings of conflict situations are reported to improve collaboration. Additionally, emergency trainings, trainings in precise communication, and handovers are proposed to reduce risks for pAEs. Furthermore, the participants reported time-constraints and understaffing as a huge burden that hinders safe communication. Concluding, safety culture and organizational management are closely entwined and strategies should address various levels of which communication trainings are promising.


Abstract This paper introduces a new M atlab package, R act , aimed at solving a class of probabilistic analysis and synthesis problems arising in control. The package offers a convenient way for defining various types of structured uncertainties as well as formulating and analyzing the ensuing robustness analysis tasks from a probabilistic point of view. It also provides a full-featured framework for LMI-formulated probabilistic synthesis problems, which includes sequential probabilistic methods as well as scenario methods for robust design. The R act package is freely available at http://ract.sourceforge.net , and only requires the Y almip toolbox to be installed in the M atlab environment.


Streptomyces scabies, a causal agent of common scab, produces both melanin and a secondary metabolite called thaxtomin A. To establish a possible relation between melanin and thaxtomin A production in S. scabies, we carried out N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) mutagenesis and isolated 11 melanin-negative mutants of S. scabies EF-35. These mutants were characterized for thaxtomin A production, pathogenicity, sporulation, and stress resistance. Nine of these mutants showed a significant reduction in thaxtomin A production when compared with the wild strain. However, only a few mutants exhibited a reduced level of virulence or a loss in their ability to induce common scab symptoms on potato tubers. Other pleiotrophic effects, such as higher sensitivity to heavy metals and incapacity to sporulate under certain stress conditions, were also associated with a deficiency in melanin production.


ABSTRACT Hernández-Azcúnaga, L.; Carbajal, N., and Montaño-Ley, Y., 2014. Bedload transport of sediments and morphodynamics in the northern Gulf of California. Huge amounts of sediments have been supplied to the northern Gulf of California in recent geological time. Although water discharge and sediment supply have been suppressed from the Colorado River since about a century, satellite imagery reveals even now a persistently strong mobilization of sediments and the occurrence of marked sea bottom morphological features. To gain information on these processes, we applied a two-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical model to simulate bedload sediment transport caused by the dominant semidiurnal tidal component, M2, in the northern Gulf of California. The resulting transport of sediment encompasses areas of the Colorado River Delta, of the Adair and San Jorge bays, and of the southwestern sector of the study area. The model reproduces longitudinal and transversal bedforms observed in Adair Bay. The residual bedload transport reveals recirculation processes that retain sediments in the Colorado River Delta, and in the bays of Adair and San Jorge. Sediment dynamics occur in areas where tidal currents exceed the threshold velocity, where the incident tidal wave is reflected, and where Poincare waves are generated. This calculated general picture is consistent with satellite images depicting morphological features and mobilization of sediments. The production of bedforms coincides with theoretical predictions on the reflection and diffraction of Kelvin waves at closed boundaries and corners. Sediments mobilization and bedforms in the northern Gulf of California are strongly controlled by tidal dynamics.


BACKGROUND--This study describes the adhesion systems in the corneal epithelium in the recurrent erosion syndrome and the mechanisms by which binucleate and multinucleate cells are formed within the epithelium. METHODS--Twenty five samples of sliding epithelium were obtained from 23 patients and were examined by conventional light and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS--The separation of the anchoring system occurred either below the level of the anchoring plaques or at the level of the epithelial cell membrane. Normal and degenerate polymorphonuclear leucocytes were found within and between the epithelial cells and within the anchoring layer. Binucleate and multinucleate cells were found within all the layers of the epithelium as were cysts containing degenerate cellular material. CONCLUSION--The presence of leucocytes and degenerate epithelial cells within the sliding epithelium suggests that these are the source of the metalloproteinases which cleave Bowman's layer below the anchoring system. The formation of binucleate and multinucleate giant cells does not appear to occur by fusion of adjacent cells, but rather by nuclear indentation and cleaving due to an abnormal microtubular system in the cytoskeleton.


Intertransaction Class Association Rule Mining (CARM) is an efficient method to predict the stock movement using the data of many stocks within a few days. And a crisp intertransaction CARM method based on Genetic Network Programming (GNP) has been studied in our previous study. In this paper, a fuzzy intertransacion CARM method is presented to reduce the loss of information in discretization and obtain more profitability with less risk in the stock investment. The proposed method consists of two steps: fuzzy intertransaction rule extraction and classifier building. We applied the proposed method to Tokyo Stock Exchange Market and compared its experimental results with the crisp case as well as some other methods.


ABSTRACT Human and muskox lives in Northeast Greenland are entangled in movement. These movements are mutual; sometimes humans move muskoxen, and other times muskoxen move humans. Showing how the movements are both spatial and conceptual, the article explores four human-muskox movements. "Arrivals and Disappearances" concerns the disappearance of humans and arrival of muskoxen in Northeast Greenland in the nineteenth century. "Expansion" looks at the human exploration and mapping of Northeast Greenland by way of muskoxen. "Extinction" explores translocations of muskoxen owed to the perceived movement of muskox close to extinction. Finally, "Intrusions" looks at the mutual intrusions of Inuit and muskoxen across a legislative remove in Ittoqqortoormiit. These four human-muskox movements show how Northeast Greenland is brought into view as a world of movement.


Events that often occur in traffic accidents where the driver i s falling from the vehicle and the clash of heads in spite of wearing a motorcycle helmet, but the type of non-standard helmet. From these events we need to know how much impact energy received at the impact location that causes damage to the helmet. This study aims to obtain the variation of impact energy that was absorbed by motorcycle helmet to the height of fall and form the anvil. The method used in this study is in free fall impact method using free-fall impact tester multipurpose. Testing is done by giving the variation of the height of fall and forms the basis of test  ( anvil) . The test result on several types of anvil was found that the smallest energy that causes the damage occurred on helmet bullet type anvil, amounting to 3.24 J at a height of 0.3 m. This means that by using only a very small energy, the motorcycle helmet will fail. While on a flat plate type anvil energy required to cause failure on a motorcycle helmet is 16.50 J at a height of 0.75 m.


The Russian leadership views the Internet primarily as a battlefield of an information war, i.e. an alternative to military action in the context of the ongoing confrontation with the West. Kremlin regards Russian Internet users who spread content critical of the Russian authorities as 'enemy soldiers' in this war. Therefore, the government has stepped up its efforts to tighten control over the Internet by the intelligence services and law enforcement bodies. This manifested itself in a proliferation of preventive-repressive legal instruments as well as in an intensification of illegal practices targeting free expression, the secrecy of correspondence and unrestricted access to information. So far, the government's strategy has had limited success. This is due, to a large degree, to the Russian segment of the Internet being well-integrated into the global network. Together with other technical factors this creates an obstacle for more extensive government interference Hence, circulation of information in social media remains relatively unrestricted while Internet users are increasingly unsusceptible to official state propaganda which is being spread by more traditional media outlets. In this situation, the continuation of the struggle against the freedom of the Internet may pose a political risk for the Kremlin by stoking protest among Russian public.


This study was conducted with a pre-test–post-test design with a control group in which participants were divided into two experimental (ten persons) and control (ten persons) groups. The Smile 1 intervention took place in 16 sessions of 30 min, which consisted of eight sessions of 1 h owing to the time spent by the parents of the participants in the study. Additionally, a Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) was used to measure the effectiveness of this interventional game on reducing the behavioural problems of children that participated. The questionnaire consists of 113 questions in which 13 different behavioural factors are identified in the children. For this purpose, pre-test and post-test stages were performed for both groups. In fact, due to time constraints for holding intervention sessions, it was expected from the outset that significant changes in participant behaviour during the two months of interventions would not be


1 Palavras-chave: Inclusao digital. Terceira idade. Uso da tecnologia. Abstract: the aim of this study is to investigate if UATI UnG (Universidade Aberta da Terceira Idade da Universidade Guarulhos) really stimulates the digital inclusion of elder people. For this, it was necessary an exploratory study in which was used, besides bibliographical research, interviews with 19 students. The study used a roll of questions that evaluated three variables: capacity in relation to the use of technology, the acceptance of technology by the individual, and the access of the individual to the technology, as shown in the model proposed by Albertin (2007). The considered results indicated that the UATI promotes the digital inclusion.


This study aims to study empirically the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards on Corporate Image in intercultural communication, for CSR Indonesia Summit & Awards 2018 case study conducted by MePRindo Communication and Media CSR-Indonesia. The sample used in this study there are 75 respondents taken from participants in the event. The method used in this study is observation (observation) with the type of research and qualitative descriptive qualitative. This study aims to reveal the facts, circumstances, phenomena, variables and circumstances that occur when the study runs. The purpose of this study is to find out how researchers can process the results of research by analyzing the relationship or the relationship between the two, on research CSR Award role against corporate / corporate image in intercultural communication, with quantitative and qualitative descriptive approach. This method is suitable because it only provides an overview of research related to the role of csr awards to corporate image in case study (CSR Indonesia Summit & Awards 2018). Data collection techniques were conducted through the observation stage, questionnaire distribution, interview and documentation study. The analytical technique used in this study, is quantitative and qualitative descriptive. Analytical techniques used in this study, is descriptive quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research is intended to process data in the field then distribute it into the form of frequency / percentage tabulation, while to deepen the results of quantitative research conducted with qualitative research. The results of the research findings are to obtain in-depth results in analyzing or interpreting the data obtained from the results of the study.


Land subsidence is a global environmental geological hazard caused by natural or human activities. The high spatial resolution and continuous time coverage of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series analysis techniques provide data and a basis for the development of methods for the investigation and evolution mechanism study of regional land subsidence. Beijing, the capital city of China, has suffered from land subsidence for decades since it was first recorded in the 1950s. It was reported that uneven ground subsidence and fractures have seriously affected the normal operation of the Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) in recent years before the overhaul of the middle runway in April 2017. In this study, InSAR time series analysis was successfully used to detect the uneven local subsidence and ground fissure activity that has been gradually increasing in BCIA since 2010. A multi-temporal InSAR (MT-InSAR) technique was performed on 63 TerraSAR-X/TanDem-X (TSX/TDX) images acquired between 2010 and 2017, then deformation rate maps and time series for the airport area were generated. Comparisons of deformation rate and displacement time series from InSAR and ground-leveling were carried out in order to evaluate the accuracy of the InSAR-derived measurements. After an integrated analysis of the distribution characteristics of land subsidence, previous research results, and geological data was carried out, we found and located an active ground fissure. Then main cause of the ground fissures was preliminarily discussed. Finally, it can be conducted that InSAR technology can be used to identify and monitor geological processes, such as land subsidence and ground fissure activities, and can provide a scientific approach to better explore and study the cause and formation mechanism of regional subsidence and ground fissures.


An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of varying levels of energy on the performance, haematological and physiological parameters of mated does. Sixteen does were allocated to 4 dietary treatments. Diets 1, 2, 3 and 4 had metabolizable energy levels of 2400kcal/kg, 2500kcal/kg, 2600kcal/kg and 2700kcal/kg respectively, with diet 1 serving as a control diet. Growth performance parameters (body weight gain, feed intake and feed: gain ratio) were measured weekly while haematological (packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) and total protein (TP) of the does) and blood serum (Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)) parameters were measured at 56 days of age. Increase of dietary energy above recommended levels had varied effects on the does. It generally led to decreased (p 0.05) aspartate amino-transferase, packed cell volume, haemoglobin and total protein values of the does. No significant difference was detected in the Aspartate Aminotransferase. However, blood parameters largely remained within the physiological range. The result obtained in this study suggests that energy level of 2400kcal/kg, ME is adequate for the growth and maintenance of the health of does. Keywords: Energy levels,Performance,haematology,serum biochemistry, physiology,rabbits


Real-time monocular 3D reconstruction is a challenging problem that remains unsolved. Although recent end-to-end methods demonstrate promising results, tiny structures and geometric boundaries are hardly captured due to their insufficient supervision neglecting spatial details and oversimplified feature fusion ignoring temporal cues. To address the problems, we propose an end-to-end 3D reconstruction network SST, which utilizes Sparse estimated points from visual SLAM system as additional Spatial guidance and fuses Temporal features via a cross-modal attention mechanism, achieving more detailed reconstruction results. We propose a Local Spatial-Temporal Fusion module to exploit more informative spatial-temporal cues from multi-view color information and sparse priors, as well a Global Spatial-Temporal Fusion module to refine the local TSDF volumes with the world-frame model from coarse to fine. Extensive experiments on ScanNet and 7-Scenes demonstrate that SST outperforms all state-of-the-art competitors, whilst keeping a high inference speed at 59 FPS, enabling real-world applications with real-time requirements.


7.4% of children between the age of 3 17 have been diagnosed with anxiety. Psychological problems like anxiety and depression are quite prevalent in children. There can be many causes for this to happen, it can be anxiety due to schoolwork, social relationships, environmental stressors and the relationship of the child with his family especially parents. This paper aims to study the relationship of child with their parent and the impact it has on the anxiety levels. The paper analyzed over 90 research papers related to factors influencing child's anxiety levels. A PCR can either be positive when parents spend enough time with the child and encourage them in every field or negative when there are communication gaps between the children and the parents or when there is frustration amongst the parents themselves. The status of the Parent Child relationship influences the child accordingly. A child is more optimistic and looks forward to life when he gets a positive response from the parents. Whereas, a child may show negative traits, such as violence, when he/she feels neglected by the parents. The children interact the most with their parents.


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Patients with terminal ischemia often reveal chronic limb and foot ulcers with subsequent risk of infection and/or amputation. Adipose-derived Stem Cells (ASC) may secrete angiogenic and regenerative factors. The autologous transplantation of such cells is considered to be an attractive therapeutic strategy, but their functional properties of ASC are influenced by many biochemical and biophysical stimuli of the microenvironment. Thus, patient-derived ASC might not be functionally competent. To study ASCs in ischemic disease, we have generated ASC lines from fat tissue of twelve ischemic patients. Lines were characterized for cell surface phenotype, multipotent capacities, and production of factors involved in wound healing. We succeeded to amplify ASC lines from all twelve patients and confirmed an ASC identity by their ability to: (i) adhere and grow on a plastic surface in standard culture conditions; (ii) express an ASC expression profile; (iii) differentiate in vitro into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondroblasts. Full transcriptome analysis of four selected lines showed a gene expression profile compatible with healing properties including all of the functional families involved in the wound healing process: extracellular matrix proteins, cell growth factors, pro-inflammatory cytokines, angiogenic factors, and matrix remodeling proteins. Our pilot study confirms that high-quality adipose stem cells can be easily derived from ischemic patients. Their transcriptome and secretome show a regenerative profile which makes them promising candidates for autologous therapy of chronic ulcers.


Within Bangladesh there is evidence of gender discrimination which causes a lack of empowerment and poverty among women, particularly in rural areas. Thus, women in rural areas require improved service delivery with personal and customised services from the service providers (government and non-government organisations) of poverty alleviation programs to better combat poverty. To explore the differences in opinion between male and female beneficiaries in assessing the service delivery effectiveness of providers, the researcher has developed a multi-dimensional effectiveness scale. The methodology is based on primary data collected from 78 randomly chosen villages in Bangladesh. Significant differences of opinion between male and female beneficiaries have been identified. In most geographic areas, female beneficiaries reported a need for improvement across the entire scale of items measuring the effectiveness of service delivery. This suggests that they do not receive the same level of service as their male counterpart, a finding which carries the hallmarks of gender discrimination.


This contribution reviews current issues related to the distinction between quantity and syllable-cut languages. The dichotomy is first illustrated by means of some major European languages, mainly Standard German, and then applied to some data from Frignanese, an Italo-Romance variety spoken in Northern Italy. In this dialect vowel duration contrasts are accompanied by some minor quality differences. We argue that Frignanese shares some of the typical properties of a syllable-cut language, for example the fact that vowel duration contrasts crucially depend on word stress. Finally, some new experimental approaches to the close/loose contact dichotomy are briefly presented, which serve the search for physical and physiological correlates on both the acoustic and the articulatory side.


Oxidative stress appears to be implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases including hepatotoxicity. Although intracellular Ca2+ signals have been suggested to play a role in the oxidative damage of hepatocytes, the sources and effects of oxidant-induced intracellular Ca2+ increases are currently debatable. Thus, in this study we investigated the exact source and mechanism of oxidant-induced liver cell damage using HepG2 human hepatoma cells as a model liver cellular system. Treatment with 200 μM of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tBOOH) induced a sustained increase in the level of intracellular reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) and apoptosis, assessed by 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein fluorescence and flow cytometry, respectively. Antioxidants, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) or N,N′-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine significantly inhibited both the ROI generation and apoptosis. In addition, tBOOH induced a slow and sustained increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration, which was completely prevented by the antioxidants. An intracellular Ca2+ chelator, bis-(o-aminophenoxy)-ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid/cetoxymethyl ester significantly suppressed the tBOOH-induced apoptosis. These results imply that activation of an intracellular Ca2+ signal triggered by increased ROI may mediate the tBOOH-induced apoptosis. Both intracellular Ca2+ increase and induction of apoptosis were significantly inhibited by an extracellular Ca2+ chelator or Na+/Ca2+ exchanger blockers (bepridil and benzamil), whereas neither Ca2+ channel antagonists (verapamil and nifedipine) nor a nonselective cation channel blocker (flufenamic acid) had an effect. These results suggest that tBOOH may increase intracellular Ca2+ through the activation of reverse mode of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger. However, tBOOH decreased intracellular Na+ concentration, which was completely prevented by NAC. These results indicate that ROI generated by tBOOH may increase intracellular Ca2+ concentration by direct activation of the reverse mode of Na+/Ca>2+ exchanger, rather than indirect elevation of intracellular Na+ levels. Taken together, these results suggest that the oxidant, tBOOH induced apoptosis in human HepG2 cells and that intracellular Ca2+ may mediate this action of tBOOH. These results further suggest that Na+/Ca2+ exchanger may be a target for the management of oxidative hepatotoxicity.


A class of well-behaved modified gravity models with long enough matter domination epoch and a late-time accelerated expansion is confronted with SNIa, CMB, SDSS, BAO and H(z) galaxy ages data, as well as current measurements of the linear growth of structure. We show that the combination of geometrical probes and growth data exploited here allows to rule out f(R) gravity models, in particular, the logarithmic of curvature model. We also apply solar system tests to the models in agreement with the cosmological data. We find that the exponential of the inverse of the curvature model satisfies all the observational tests considered and we derive the allowed range of parameters. Current data still allows for small deviations of Einstein gravity. Future, high precision growth data, in combination with expansion history data, will be able to distinguish tiny modifications of standard gravity from the ΛCDM model.


Algorithm fusion has received significant attention in the machine learning community in supervised learning mode but it appears little has been done at this point in a novelty detection framework. This paper examines the merit of a fusion strategy wherein metrics from multiple algorithms are treated as entries of a vector whose probability density is subsequently estimated and used for detection. In the present paper the framework is investigated using two algorithms: 1) a robust version of a whiteness test on Kalman filter innovations and 2) a robust version of a scheme that operates with residuals obtained from an orthogonality test. The density estimation part of the process is replaced by the Kernel PCA algorithm which provides a decision boundary without having explicit density estimates. The fused scheme is implemented in a change detection format and is show to provide notable improvements over the use of either algorithm independently.


Purpose: Germ cell tumors (GCT) of the testis are highly curable, but those patients who are refractory to cisplatin (CDDP)-based combination chemotherapy have a poor prognosis. Therefore, identifying new alternatives for treatment remains a priority. Several studies support an important role for angiogenesis in GCTs, suggesting that antiangiogenic treatment might be a good alternative. Sunitinib is an oral multitarget tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor with antiangiogenic and antitumor activities. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of sunitinib, CDDP, or the combination of both drugs using an orthotopic model of human testicular GCT. Experimental Design: Mice were implanted with four different testicular tumors: a yolk sac, two choriocarcinomas, and a CDDP-resistant choriocarcinoma variant induced in mice by continuous exposure to CDDP. Mice were treated with vehicle, CDDP, sunitinib, or the combination of both drugs and their effects on tumors were analyzed. Results: We observed a significant inhibition in tumor growth accompanied by longer survival after sunitinib treatment. Combination therapy with CDDP significantly enhanced these effects. Sunitinib induced apoptosis, reduced tumor cell proliferation and tumor vasculature, and inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1, 2, and 3 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α phosphorylation without affecting phosphorylation of other tyrosine kinase receptors. More importantly, tumor growth inhibition induced by sunitinib was also observed in the induced CDDP-resistant choriocarcinoma model. Conclusions: Taken together, these results suggest that sunitinib might be a new alternative for treatment of CDDP-refractory patients.


ABSTRACT In this study, the weight of distribution type transformers and power transformers, which are used extensively in the industry, is optimized. A heuristic approach that uses the Firefly algorithm, Ant Colony algorithm, and the Bee algorithm to determine the weight of transformers is described. Optimization of the iron weight components effective in the weight of a transformer to be produced in multi-type is provided. It is aimed to reduce the transformer cost, increase the life cycle of the transformer, and increase the efficiency by obtaining the optimum current density (s) and iron section (C) values which are the variable parameters used in the iron weight calculation of the transformer. In the study, it is determined that heuristic optimization algorithms, which provide more effective and efficient values than traditional approaches, give better results. These popular algorithms, in the weight parameters of 50 and 1000 kVA transformer powers, can obtain a lower weight value of 9.6% with the weight obtained by the Bee algorithm, 7.4% by the Ant Colony algorithm and 11% by the firefly algorithm than the weight obtained through the classical method. According to the heuristic optimization results, it shown that optimum 50 and 1000 kVA transformer weights can be determined and less costly transformer designs can be made.


OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE
This case demonstrates a relationship between hydrocephalus with a huge diverticulum of the third ventricle and high serum levels of somatomedin-C. Somatomedin-C levels become high when the secretion of growth hormone from the adenohypophysis increases, and previous reports state that hydrocephalus decreases the secretion of growth hormone.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION
The patient suffered from diabetes mellitus and obesity, and serum somatomedin-C levels were high. A pituitary adenoma or ectopic growth hormone-producing tumor was suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal either of these abnormalities but indicated hydrocephalus with a diverticulum of the third ventricle.

INTERVENTION
After ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement, the blood glucose and serum somatomedin-C levels of the patient decreased toward normal. Six months later, the shunt tube became obstructed and serum somatomedin levels increased. The levels decreased again after shunt revision.

CONCLUSION
To our knowledge, this is the first published report of obstructive hydrocephalus with a diverticulum of the third ventricle compressing the hypothalamus and increasing the serum levels of somatomedin-C.


Abstract : Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a strong oxidizing agent. High concentration H2O2 or High Test Peroxide (HTP) has been used extensively in the past in propulsion applications as mono and bipropellant. At low temperature, HTP can be catalytically decomposed to water and oxygen. Drawbacks to this approach include catalyst poisoning due to the presence of stabilizers in HTP, and susceptibility of the metal catalyst to melting because of the intense heat release. This renders the use of catalysts not only inconvenient but also quite expensive. An alternate approach for HTP decomposition is thermal, where no catalyst is required. HTP decomposition is accompanied by the production of enormous amount of heat that often leads to runaway reactions and subsequent explosion. If the rate of thermal decomposition can be controlled, the ensuing technology would prove to be a viable and inexpensive alternative to using catalysts. This technology has the potential to replace any device that decomposes H2O2 catalytically. Also, the controlled thermal decomposer can be used as an accelerator to heat any substance quickly at the expense of very low power. In order to control non-catalytic HTP decomposition, a deeper understanding of the chemical mechanism for H2O2 decomposition must be developed. The current work reports the development of detailed kinetic steps for HTP decomposition over a wide range of temperature and pressure. The resulting mechanism is then used to perform CFD simulations of a commercial HTP decomposer (patented by Pratt & Whitney) to explore safe operating conditions. A similar strategy can be applied to model COIL technology.


This study was initiated to evaluate the cooling performance of CAC (charged air cooler) and radiator in the engine room of a mini bus. So we had firstly to predict the mass flow rate coming from radiator grille and front bumper opening using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation based on 3D configuration. And simulations were carried out for different cooling module layout and bumper opening hole size on same vehicle operating condition. Simulation results show that CAC cooling performance at reverse protecting plate-applying model was much efficient than that of the bumper opening hole size-increasing model in IMTD point of view. Part of the CFD simulation results was compared to with experimental data It was confirmed that the CFD approach using STAR-CD based on pursuing no-compromise solution could provide design engineers with useful design information in the early design stage of vehicle development


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The conventional representation of Zernike polynomials R_n^m(rho) gives unacceptable results for large values of the degree n. We present an algorithm for the computation of Zernike polynomials of arbitrary degree n. The algorithm has the form of a discrete cosine transform which comes with advantages over other methods in terms of computation time, accuracy and transparancy. As an application we consider the effect of NA-scaling on the lower-order aberrations of an optical system in the presence of a very high order aberration.


The successive application of pig slurry to pastures is a common practice in southern Brazil, serving as a method of waste disposal as well as an important alternative to chemical fertilization. Although there are economic benefits to the use of manure as fertilizer, it may be associated with environmental hazards and cause changes to composition and activity of soil fauna. This study aimed to study the effects of pig slurry on the soil biota of pastures. Composition and biological activity of pastures where manure was applied successively for 2 years (A2) and 14 years (A14) were evaluated, and native forest (NF) was analyzed as a reference area. Successive application of pig slurry to the soil changed its biological characteristics according to the time of implementation; influenced the composition and diversity of soil fauna, leading to an increase in the total number of individuals, especially springtails; and increased the activity of the soil biota, especially to a depth of 6cm.


In the year 2011 Indian Geospatial Market is on the verge of a exponential growth. The human actively depend on spatial information and with the wide spread availability of internet, broadband and mobile telephony, it is possible to access vast volumes of spatial information quickly at a relatively low cost by a vast audience. Many initiative of government of India, such as national land records modernization program (NLRMP), ADPRP, envisage a major role for GIS industry. And In the same way many of the private sectors utility companies (Telecom, Power, and Gas) are early adopter of GIS and lot of them will keep on enhancing their enterprise GIS systems. So the industry will witness state of art GIS based enterprise systems in coming years. As the industry is showing emerging trends, the company is also showing the same trends in current year,as revenues and profit both are increasing. And the debt to equity ratio is moving towards zero, in the same way EPS of company is increasing year by year. So, company's growth is sure as industry demand will be more in near future.


Severe reduction in precipitation over the last three decades has resulted in forest and woodland decline and mortality across the southwest of Western Australia (SWWA). This precipitation-reduction driven drought is shown to have come with significant increases in diurnal thermal variability. These bioclimatic changes are shown to correspond to declining forest and woodland condition and in the case of the Northern Jarrah Forest, the mortality of the endemic keystone species Eucalyptus marginata (jarrah) and Corymbia calophylla (marri). Quantifying the bioclimatic link between these localized events is a key to understanding the dynamic drivers of change and to the development of ongoing adaptive strategies to reduce the impact and severity of forest and woodland declines. A novel measure of crown health, named the total crown health index (TCHI), is proposed and validated by combining the use of remotely sensed airborne digital multispectral imagery (DMSI) and in-situ assessments of crown condition. The approach provides a means to quantify changes in individual tree crown condition through space and time. Landscape scale remote sensing and climatologies are used to develop a methodology for mapping forest mortality and quantifying the bioclimatic envelopes of seven eucalypt dominated forest and woodland zones across the SWWA. Reported decline events across SWWA are investigated and together, this cross-scale range of methodologies, constituting a framework, can be applied at a range of scales from an individual tree up to landscapes. The extent of forest and woodland declines are spatially aggregated using remotely sensed imagery at 0.5m, 10m, 250m, 500m and climatologies of around 5000m. A set of bioclimatic thresholds are determined for each of the seven forest and woodland zones across SWWA. These thresholds could have been used to predict the declines across SWWA up to 12 months in advance. I conclude with a set of recommendations suitable for land managers and policy makers that suggests how to apply these methods and tools for the ongoing monitoring and modelling of forested and woodland areas.


Dental implants have become an accepted form of permanent tooth replacement. Nearly all implants currently being placed are of the osseointegrated type. These typically consist of three parts: a fixture, an abutment, and a screw or threaded rod. The fixture, usually composed of titanium, can be placed in either a surgically created site in the alveolar ridge or a fresh extraction socket. Diagnostic imaging can play an important role in evaluating patients with such implants. Useful imaging studies include plain panoramic radiography, computed tomography, and computer-reformatted cross-sectional, panoramic, and three-dimensional imaging. Advanced imaging studies can be used to determine the suitability of implant placement, appropriate sites for implant placement, the size of the implant that can be placed, and the need for preimplantation ridge surgery. The intent of this article is to provide an overview of the diagnostic role of the dental implant imaging.


We compared the B1 efficiency of a newly developed dual-frequency surface coil operating at proton and low-g X-nuclei frequencies at 16.4T with that of traditional proton coil and X-nuclei coil, respectively. Both simulation and experimental results revealed that the B1 field strength of the new coil was similar to that of traditional coil at deuterium or oxygen-17 frequency though was significantly reduced at proton frequency, while their B1 distributions were identical for both proton and deuterium/oxygen-17 frequencies. The efficacy of the new coil for in-vivo deuterium metabolic imaging applications was demonstrated in normal and tumor rat brains.


Urban is a settlement area that has been untouched by the detailed planning, and be the largest population concentration where the human development done. Urban vulnerability is an indicator of high pressure to the city due to urbanization and globalization. Kampungs have become a key feature of cities in Indonesia. It is important to understand the role of kampungs in the urban development. Kampungs which are home to a large low-income people in general have environmental problems in lacking of basic service and infrastructure. Kampungs should be able to adapt in order to survive as a livable settlement. This paper will describe, how the kampungs (especially in Surabaya) can withstand the vulnerability of the city. The method applied in this paper is a qualitative descriptive study based on the literature and data compilation. The main data sources derived from statistical documents and the results of the study on the scope of the city of Surabaya. This paper is expected to provide a new paradigm, how the kampungs is able to survive in faceing the vulnerability of the city.


In the pre-Qin era, the xianneng 賢能 [those of virtue and talent] were a commonly discussed topic, on which every school of thought had its own views. Daoist discussions on the xianneng sometimes reflected strong aversion and rejection, yet at other times gave them abundant praise and approval. Because of uncertainty on the universality of moral principles, on the limitations of one's individual ability, and on the effectiveness of political actions, views in the Laozi 老子 and the Zhuangzi 莊子 on the xianneng saving society were skeptical in nature, sometimes even taking a mocking tone. Scholars of the Huang-Lao tradition had realized the limitations of individual ability and hoped that the greatest level of political benefit could be attained. Consequently, under the premise of safeguarding monarchical authority, fully displaying the skills and talents of all kinds of sages (imperial teachers and virtuous officials) through the practice of wuwei 無為 [inaction], and the highest leaders' respect for virtue became the main direction in the Huang-Lao understanding of the xianneng. This tendency has much in common with the Legalist school of thought.


Objectives
Frontline health workers (FLW) are needed for delivering interventions at scale to reduce maternal and child undernutrition, but low- and middle-income countries often face inadequate FLW performance. This study aimed to test whether and how intervention design elements such as training, supervision, and mass media improved FLW performance in delivering nutrition services.

Methods
Survey data were collected in 2010 and 2014 as part of impact evaluations of Alive & Thrive (A&T) interventions to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in Bangladesh and Vietnam. FLWs in A&T intensive (A&T-I) areas received specialized IYCF training, job aids, and regular supportive supervision. Those in A&T non-intensive (A&T-NI) areas received standard government training and supervision; there was mass media exposure in both areas. Multiple regression was used to test differences in exposure to intervention design elements and performance outcomes between the two intervention areas. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine the paths from exposure to performance outcomes measured at the FLW and end-user levels.

Results
Compared to FLWs in A&T-NI areas, those in A&T-I areas had higher scores in training (by 1.3-3.6 out of 10 points), supportive supervision (by 0.3-3.5 points), and mass media exposure (by 0.3-3.5 points). These intervention design elements were significantly associated with FLW knowledge and motivation, which in turn improved service delivery. FLW-level performance outcomes contributed to improving end-user-level outcomes such as higher service utilization (β = 0.12-1.04 in Bangladesh and 0.11-0.96 in Vietnam) and maternal knowledge (β = 0.12- 0.17 in Bangladesh and 0.04-0.21 in Vietnam).

Conclusions
Training, supervision, and mass media exposure can contribute to improved FLW service delivery by enhancing knowledge and motivation, which in turn positively influence mother's service utilization and IYCF knowledge. These elements and mechanisms should be considered by policy makers and program implementers when designing interventions or reinforcing the work context of FLWs.

Funding Sources
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through Alive & Thrive, managed by FHI 360.


Si3N4-Si2N2O composites were fabricated with amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders by the liquid phase sintering. The mass loss, relative density and average grain size increase with increasing sintering temperature. The average grain size is less than 500nm when the sintering temperature is lower than 1700°C. Friction coefficient is from 0.35 for sintering temperature 1650°C to 0.74 for 1600°C when the composites were worn by silicon nitride bearing ball. High hardness of 21.5GPa and relative wear resistance of 32 were observed at a sintering temperature of 1600°C. The wear surface are very smooth and no grooving and subsurface fracture, which indicates that they are worn slightly.


Modern power systems are characterized by the instant isolation of faults especially in the high voltage transmission lines. Therefore, the faults detection and categorization are very important to get a stable power system, and keep on integrity of the electrical equipment. This paper focuses on using the Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) as a technique of Artificial Intelligence to detect and categorize faults of the Basra-Karbala transmission line. The measurements of three phase voltages and current of the power system are used as input signals to the proposed design of neural networks. All types of faults that may occur in the studied transmission line are taken into account, while the high accuracy of the detection and categorization of faults are considered in the design. The adopted radial power system which is used as the case study, consists: main power station is connected with a substation across the transmission lines, transformers, bas bars, circuit breakers, and loads. The proposed design includes three ANNs instead of one to reduce the complexity and minimize response time. The performance of the studied power system and the operation results of ANNs are assessed by simulation.


Previous work has shown that picornavirus 5' nontranslated regions (NTRs) can initiate internal translation of downstream coding regions both in vitro and in transient in vivo assays. We have used 5' NTR sequences from encephalomyocarditis virus and poliovirus to construct retroviral vectors that are designed to express two proteins from a single mRNA. Inclusion of 5' NTR sequences did not adversely affect vector titer. Protein expression was studied with stable cell lines generated by vector infection of mouse NIH 3T3 cells and human and canine skin fibroblasts. Expression of a coding region in the downstream position was at levels from 25 to 100% of the same coding region in the upstream position. Expression of downstream coding regions in control vectors that did not contain the 5' NTR sequences was very low, in agreement with the predictions of the scanning model for eukaryotic translation. These experiments demonstrate coordinate expression of two coding regions from a single mRNA in stable cell lines and provide further support for the model of internal translation initiation by sequences in the 5' NTRs of picornaviruses.


Soluble, redox-active, organic materials hold promise as charge-storage species for flow batteries; however, their stability during extended operation remains a key challenge. While a number of spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques are currently used to probe these complex and often ill-defined decay pathways, each technique has limitations, including accessibility and direct evaluation of practical electrolytes without preparatory steps. Here, we use microelectrode voltammetry to directly observe nonaqueous flow battery electrolytes, simultaneously identifying the rate of charged materials decay (reversible material loss) and total material decay (irreversible material loss). We validate this technique using ferrocene as a stable model redox couple, examine and address sources of error, and finally, demonstrate its capability by assessing the decay of a well-studied and moderately-stable substituted dialkoxybenzene [2,5-di-tert-butyl-1,4-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)benzene]. These results suggest that microelectrodes may have utility for rapid assessment of redox electrolyte state-of-charge and state-of-health, both in-operando and post-mortem.


Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic disorder characterized by pelvic and/or bladder pain, along with lower urinary tract symptoms that have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life. The diverse range of symptoms and underlying causes in IC/BPS patients pose a significant challenge for effective disease management and the development of new and effective treatments. To facilitate the development of innovative therapies for IC/BPS, numerous preclinical animal models have been developed, each focusing on distinct pathophysiological components such as localized urothelial permeability or inflammation, psychological stress, autoimmunity, and central sensitization. However, since the precise etiopathophysiology of IC/BPS remains undefined, these animal models have primarily aimed to replicate the key clinical symptoms of bladder hypersensitivity and pain to enhance the translatability of potential therapeutics. Several animal models have now been characterized to mimic the major symptoms of IC/BPS, and significant progress has been made in refining these models to induce chronic symptomatology that more closely resembles the IC/BPS phenotype. Nevertheless, it's important to note that no single model can fully replicate all aspects of the human disease. When selecting an appropriate model for preclinical therapeutic evaluation, consideration must be given to the specific pathology believed to underlie the development of IC/BPS symptoms in a particular patient group, as well as the type and severity of the model, its duration, and the proposed intervention's mechanism of action. Therefore, it is likely that different models will continue to be necessary for preclinical drug development, depending on the unique etiology of IC/BPS being investigated.


Abstract The purpose of this survey was to assess the knowledge gap of recommendations in practice bulletins (PBs). A survey consisting of three questions for 12 selected PBs (six obstetric and six gynecologic) was developed and sent to members of the Central Association. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Of the 385 active members, 100 (26%) returned the survey. The overall correct score was 49%. Respondents were significantly more likely to know recommendations in obstetric PBs (60%) than gynecologic PBs (39%; OR 2.45, 95% CI 2.12–2.81). Maternal-fetal medicine sub-specialists (n=27), compared with obstetricians-gynecologists (n=66), did significantly better with obstetric PBs (67% vs. 59%; OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.32–1.77) and substantially worse with gynecologic topics (34% vs. 39%; OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.63–0.98). In conclusion, since members of the Central Association have a substantial knowledge gap, there are ample opportunities to educate and reinforce PB recommendations.


Seven biosimilar products have been approved in Japan since the March 2009 publication of the 'Guideline for quality, safety and efficacy assurance of biosimilar products' by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). Four years previously, the 'Guideline on similar biological medicinal products' was issued in the European Union (EU), and 13 products as of February 2016 have been approved as biosimilar. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first biosimilar product in the US in March 2015 and final Guidance was issued at the end of April 2015. Over the past decade, the challenges regarding the development of biosimilar products have been discussed extensively. In this article, the data packages of biosimilar products in Japan are compared with those overseas in order to clarify the concepts used by the Japanese regulatory authority, i.e., the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA). The challenges in the development of biosimilar products in Japan are also addressed.


This paper explores the impact of corporate control, measured by ownership structure, on top-executives' compensation in Japan. According to agency theory, the pay-performance link is expected to be affected by the firm's ownership structure. Using a sample of 4,411 firm-year observations (401 firms for the 11-years period from 2001 to 2011) for Japanese non-financial firms publicly traded on the first section and second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), this study demonstrates that institutional ownership (both financial and corporate) is negatively related to the level of executives' compensation. Such finding is in line with efficient monitoring hypothesis which claims that the presence of institutional shareholders provides direct monitoring over managers, limits managerial self-dealing and curves the increase in top-executives pay. On the other hand, the results also show that managerial ownership is positively related to their compensation which supports managerial power theory hypothesis, i.e. management-controlled firms are more likely to extract more compensation from the business than other firms. Overall, this study confirms that corporate control has significant impact on cash compensation paid to Japanese top-executives after controlling the conventional pay-performance relationship.


Urate, the final oxidation product of purine metabolism, is excreted into urine in humans. Clinically, increased serum urate levels are indicative of pregnancy‐induced hypertension (PIH). However, how urate is handled in the placenta is still largely unknown. In this study, we compared maternal serum urate levels with those of umbilical cord blood and investigated urate transport mechanisms in BeWo cells, a trophoblast‐derived cell line. The maternal and umbilical cord blood samples and placentas were collected from patients undergoing cesarean section at Kyorin University Hospital after obtaining informed consents. There were no significant differences in serum urate levels between maternal blood and umbilical cord blood, and between umbilical cord vein and arterial blood, suggesting that urate is freely movable at the placenta and that fetus is not a major source of urate production. RT‐PCR and immunohistochemistry showed that urate transporters including OAT4, OAT10, GLUT9/URATv1 and ABCG2 were expressed in the syncytiotrophoblast cells in the placenta as well as BeWo cells. Despite expressing aforementioned urate transporters BeWo cells did not take up urate. After confirming the formation of tight junctions of these cells cultured on the transwell, urate transport between upper and lower chambers was measured. Urate moved through BeWo cell monolayers with nonsaturation kinetics and this movement was observed even when the cells were incubated at 4°C, suggesting that urate moves through the paracellular route by simple diffusion.


Background Surgery and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) are both suitable treatment options for early stage Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for the majority of lung cancer. This study compared the outcomes of sublobar resection (SLR) and SBRT in patients with stage T1-2N0M0 NSCLC with tumor size ≤5 cm. Methods Patients with T1-2N0M0 lung cancer who underwent SLR or SBRT between January, 2012 and December, 2016 were included in this retrospective study. The survival outcomes and toxicity of the SLR and SBRT cohorts were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival plots. In a second exploratory analysis, propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to reduce selection bias between the two groups of patients. Results A total of 121 SLR and 109 SBRT cases were included. The average follow-up was 49.4 months. Prior to PSM, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates in the SLR group (82.8% and 89.0%, respectively) were superior to those in the SBRT group (67.0% and 75.3%; P=0.001 and P=0.013, respectively). There were no statistically significant differences in the five-year locoregional control and disease-free survival (DFS) rates between the groups. PSM identified 40 patients from each treatment group who shared similar characteristics. At 5 years, the OS rates in the SLR and SBRT groups were comparable (79.9% vs. 66.5%, respectively; P=0.154). After PSM, the rates of CSS, locoregional control, and DFS were also similar between the groups (P=0.458, 0.369, and 0.698, respectively). In the SBRT group, one patient developed grade 3 radioactive pneumonitis. No grade >3 toxicities or treatment-related deaths occurred in either group. Conclusions SBRT may be an alternative option to SLR for patients who cannot tolerate lobectomy because of medical comorbidities and has a similar level of effectiveness.


THE use of dielectric loss and power factor for testing the insulation of electrical equipment in service position in the field with one side grounded began with the advent of the apparatus and method described in this paper. Through its use, tables of standard values have been set up indicating when insulation is "good" for continued operation with an adequate factor of safety or when it is "bad" to a degree that warrants investigation and possible replacement in order to insure continuity of service until the next scheduled test. Types of insulation that were being discarded as inherently bad, judged by their high failure record, now are being re-established as good insulation after the tests have shown the defects to be largely of a secondary nature and removable or curable.


In the Eastern Region of Mekong Delta (South Vietnam) may contain brackish or saline water from land surface to great depth, both superficial Quaternary and deep Tertiary Alluvium. The combination of two geophysical methods, the Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) for shallow investigation, and the Magnetotelluric Sounding (MTS) for deep investigation, provides a complete electrical image of the sedimentary series from the surface to the deep crystalline basement. It turns out very efficient to delineate the groundwater contamination in both superficial and deep aquifers. The combined results reveal a close correlation of the extent of the contamination with the paleogeomorphology of laterites, and subsequently with the paleorelief during the Tertiary and Quaternary times. Because this study area is very complicated hydrogeological structure, it is necessary to survey the current status of deep-water storage floors with geophysical measurement technologies to prevent groundwater pollution when exploiting groundwater here.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the therapeutic effect of the chitosan/polyethylene glycols-succinate/ mitomycin C (CH/PEG-SA/MMC) film on epidural scarring tissues.

METHODS
According to a specific proportion of respective materials, the film of CH/PEG-SA/MMC was developed under some condition. Thirty SD rats were selected and randomized into 6 groups with 5 rats in each group. A rat model of lumbar laminectomy was used. The amount of 20 mg of the CH film was implanted into the animals in group I, 20 mg of CH/PEG film in group II, 20 mg of CH/PEG-SA film in group III, 0.05 mg/mL of the MMC soaking for 5 minutes in group IV, 20 mg of CH/PEG-SA/MMC film in group V, and nothing was done in group VI. Specimens were harvested 4 weeks after the above procedures and were then subjected to immunohistochemical and histological examinations to compare their therapeutic effects on epidural cicatricial tissues.

RESULTS
All rats were in good conditions after operation, without gait abnormality, restlessness, infection and death. There was no significant difference among the 6 groups in the postoperative Rydell score (P < 0.05). The content of hydroxyproline in groups I, II, III, IV, V and VI was (0.570 8 +/- 0.345 0), (0.728 6 +/- 0.150 6), (0.553 4 +/- 0.122 3), (0.313 3 +/- 0.106 4), (0.261 9 +/- 0.102 1) and (1.020 1 +/- 0.120 6) microg/mg, respectively. There was a significant difference between groups IV, V and groups I, II, III (P < 0.05), and there was significant difference between group VI and the rest 5 groups (P < 0.05). According to the histological observation, group V had less collagenous fiber paralleling the dura mater, with few inflammatory cells infiltration, with few capillary vessels and no reaction of macrophages.

CONCLUSION
CH/PEG-SA/MMC films can effectively reduce the amount of Hyp in epidural scarring tissues after lumbar laminectomy and therefore is a good treating method in preventing scarring tissue adhesion.


A patient with chronic pain who is on multiple medications raises important questions for the case manager. Is the patient's underlying problem actually pain, or is it addiction? Has the patient been thoroughly evaluated? Does the patient have a coordinated management plan, or are several physicians independently writing prescriptions and recommending treatment? How can the case manager facilitate appropriate management?


According to the Israeli human rights organization B'tselem, since the Second Intifada broke out in November 2000, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed more than 300 Palestinians during targeted operations against militia leaders. 130 victims were bystanders. Israel has long defended this practice as a necessary tactic in time of war. Starting from a decision issued by the Supreme Court of Israel in December 2006, in which the Court stated that it cannot determine if preventative strikes against Palestinian fighters are always legal, or that they are always illegal, this work addresses the IDF operations and the issue of targeted killings in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, from the standpoint of international humanitarian law and the law of human rights.


As readers of this journal will be well aware, the last decade has witnessed a transformation in our understanding of the pathophysiology of dementias, perhaps most especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as a much greater understanding of the undoubtedly complex and multifactorial etiology of the AD process. An increasing number of genetic risk and protective factors have been identified, as well as potentially modifiable risk factors, including vascular factors such as hypertension and exercise, education, lifestyle, and nutrition. In parallel, there has been considerable progress in developing and validating biomarkers for AD and other dementias. These have transformed the landscape for research, allowing in vivo patient stratification according to pathology, and now have fed through to inform our clinical diagnostic criteria. Particular examples include imaging biomarkers such as characteristic atrophy patterns on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), hypoperfusion/hypometabolism on functional brain imaging, increased cortical amyloid uptake on positron emission tomography (PET), as well as CSF alterations in tau and β-amyloid. Several changes in blood have also been shown, including altered inflammatory markers, which may prove to be important biomarkers in the future.


The present study aimed to assess the antibacterial activity of the methanol extract of Melastoma Malabathricum Leaves (MMML), active fraction of M. Malabathricum Leaves (ML5) and isolated kaempferol-3-O-(2",6"-di-O-p-trans-coumaroyl)-β-glucopyranoside (Kf) and to describe the preliminary mode of action against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The MMML extract was fractionated by Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (VLC) to afford M. malabathricum Leaves fractions (ML1-ML6) of increasing polarities. Bioassay-guided fractionation (direct-TLC bioautography) revealed that fraction of M. Malabathricum Leaves (ML5) had the highest antibacterial activity. Therefore, the ML5 was further subjected to Column Chromatography (CC) to afford Kaempferol-3-O-(2",6"-di-O-p-trans-coumaroyl)-β-glucopyranoside (Kf). The compound structure was elucidated using data obtained from 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectra. Antibacterial activity of MMML, ML5 and bioactive constituents Kf against Staphylococcus aureus reference strain, Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus reference strain (MRSA), 11 clinical MRSA isolates, 3 clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates and P. aeruginosa reference strain was evaluated through disk diffusion method and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The time kill assay and field emission scanning electron microscopy was used to determine the preliminary mode of action. The data obtained from disk diffusion method and MIC showed that the MMML, ML5 and Kf showed antibacterial activity against all test bacteria with various values. Generally, the ML5 and Kf exhibited the highest antibacterial activity with the largest zones of inhibition and lowest MIC values against S. aureus and all tested MRSA. The MMML exerted the strongest killing effect against all tested bacteria while the overall performance of ML5 and Kf were significantly more effective against S. aureus and MRSA than P. aeruginosa. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed irregular bacterial surface indicating that the MMML, ML5 and Kf disrupted the integrity of membrane. The results obtained showed that MMML, ML5 and Kf have potential alternative to antibiotics.


ABSTRACT Chlamydia trachomatis is a major cause of ocular and sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. While much of our knowledge about its genetic diversity comes from serotyping or ompA genotyping, no quantitative assessment of genetic diversity within serotypes has been performed. To accomplish this, 507 urogenital samples from a multicenter U.S. study were analyzed by phylogenetic and statistical modeling. No B, Da, or I serotypes were represented. Based on our analyses, all but one previous urogenital B serotype was identified as Ba. This, coupled with the lack of B serotypes in our population, suggests that B has specific tropism for ocular mucosa. We identified a Ba/D recombinant (putative crossover nucleotide 477; P < 0.0001) similar to a B/D mosaic we described previously from an African trachoma patient. Computational analyses of the Ba/D recombinant indicated that upstream changes were less important for tissue tropism than downstream incorporation of the D sequence. Since most serotypes had nonsynonymous/synonymous ratios of <1.0, the major outer membrane protein, encoded by ompA, has many functional constraints and is under purifying selection. Surprisingly, all serotype groups except for J had a unimodal population structure indicating rapid clonal expansion. Of the groups with a unimodal structure, E and Ia and, to a lesser extent, G and K were prevalent, had infrequent incorporation of mutations, and, compared to other groups, had a relatively greater degree of diversifying selection, consistent with a selective sweep of mutations within these groups. Collectively, these data suggest a diverse evolutionary strategy for different serogroups of the organism.


A 1.5-year-old Coonhound from Maryland aborted 7 fetuses. Placenta and internal tissues of 1 fetus were examined histologically. The predominant lesion was placentitis characterized by necrosis and infiltration of mixed leukocytes. Numerous Leishmania spp amastigotes were identified in placental trophoblasts, and the diagnosis was confirmed by use of immunohistochemical staining with Leishmania-specific antibodies. Protozoa were not found in the fetal tissues. An indirect fluorescent antibody test yielded a serum titer of 1:100, and a recombinant K39 immunoassay of serum yielded positive results for the K39 Leishmania antigen.


Christians, including many business students, are often uneasy about the discipline of marketing, and some characterize it as being a set of practices that are largely unethical or ungodly. In this article, our goal is to motivate Christian business practitioners and scholars to wrestle with the underlying philosophy of marketing — the market orientation — from a biblical perspective. We review the scholarly literature to highlight the history of marketing thought in this area and to identify the current consensus view of what a market orientation is. To encourage work in this area, we offer a preliminary scriptural appraisal of the market orientation philosophy and recommend directions for future research.


One common task of developing or maintaining software is searching the source code for information like specific method calls or write accesses to certain fields. This kind of information is required to correctly implement new features and to solve bugs. This paper presents an approach for querying source code with a natural language interface. It enables the developer to execute a huge range of precise searches while being as easy and intuitive to use as writing natural language. The evaluation shows that the prototype implementation, integrated with the Eclipse development environment for Java, supports a wide range of queries and is able to correctly understand most real developer queries.


The relationship between the quantitative submandibular gland secretion and neural motor function was examined in 157 patients with different types of peripheral facial paralysis. These two functions were followed up during the period of one year. In the patients with 40%, or more, of submandibular gland secretion one month after the onset of facial paralysis, the motor nerve function recovery was satisfactory, while, in the patients with submandibular gland secretion less than 20% the recovery was unsatisfying. When the submandibular gland secretion was more than 50% in the early stage of facial paralysis, the complete recovery was within 6 months. On the contrary, when it was less than 50%, the recovery period was much longer.


The objectives and scope of the Universal basic Education were discussed the junctions of the School Library service in support of the education programme in the school and the staff requirement for the effective proformance of the functions were also discussed the various designations usedfor librarians in schools in countries of the world and their qualifications were examined, and definite designation and qualifications were for librarians in Nigerian schools. The strategies for gelling qualified teacher-librarians and other school library personnel for Nigerian schools for the effective implementation of the Universal Basic Education Programme were highlighted and definite proposals were made to guide the UBE programme implementers.


A table is presented listing 204 polynuclear heterocyclic aromatics, with three or more aromatic rings, according to increasing values in millimicrons of the longest wavelength absorption band. Structural formulas, wavelengths in millimicrons of additional absorption bands, solvents, and literature references through 1958 also are given This table is supplemental to a previous table listing 408 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, with three or more aromatic rings


There is an overwhelming evidence that children and adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) have a characteristic behavioral phenotype. In particular, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates an unequivocal association between 22q11.2DS and schizophrenia, especially in adulthood. Deletion of 22q11.2 is the third highest risk for the development of schizophrenia, with only a greater risk conferred by being the child of two parents with schizophrenia or the monozygotic co-twin of an affected individual. Both linkage and association studies of people with schizophrenia have implicated several susceptibility genes, of which three are in the 22q11.2 region; catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT), proline dehydrogenase (PRODH), and Gnb1L. In addition, variation in Gnb1L is associated with the presence of psychosis in males with 22q11.2DS. In mouse models of 22q11.2DS, haploinsufficiency of Tbx1 and Gnb1L is associated with reduced prepulse inhibition, a schizophrenia endophenotype. The study of 22q11.2DS provides an attractive model to increase our understanding of the development and pathogenesis of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders in 22q11.2DS and in wider population.


This article investigates the effect on the mouse frailty index (FI), of factors known to influence lifespan and healthspan in mice: strain (short-lived DBA/2J mice vs long-lived C57BL/6J mice), calorie restriction (CR), and resveratrol treatment. The mouse FI, based on deficit accumulation, was recently validated in C57BL/6J mice by Whitehead JC, Hildebrand BA, Sun M, et al. (A clinical frailty index in aging mice: comparisons with frailty index data in humans. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014;69:621-632) and shares many characteristics of the human FI. FI scores were measured in male and female aged (18 months) ad-libitum fed and CR DBA/2J and C57BL/6J mice, as well as male aged (24 months) C57BL/6J mice ad-libitum fed with or without resveratrol (100 mg/kg/day) in the diet for 6 months. Mean scores of two raters were used, and the raters had excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.88, 95% CI [0.80, 0.92]). Furthermore, the interventions of CR and resveratrol were associated with a significant reduction in FI scores in C57BL/6J mice, compared to age-matched controls. The short-lived DBA/2J mice also had slightly higher FI scores than the C57BL/6J mice, for the male calorie-restricted groups (DBA/2J FI = 0.16±0.03, C57BL/6J FI = 0.11±0.03, p = .01). This study uses the mouse FI developed by Whitehead JC, Hildebrand BA, Sun M, et al. (A clinical frailty index in aging mice: comparisons with frailty index data in humans. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2014;69:621-632) in a different mouse colony and shows that this tool can be applied to quantify the effect of dietary and pharmaceutical interventions on frailty.


Introduction: Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital anomaly, which contributes to eustachian tube dysfunction leading to impaired middle ear ventilation and middle ear pathology. It has been stated that the timely repair of cleft palate reduces the incidence of otitis media with effusion.
Objective: To describe the ear findings in cleft palate patients who have undergone repair of cleft palate.
Methodology: A total of 36 (20 male and 16 female) post cleft repair patients underwent Otoscopy and Tympanometry between January to December 2018. Cases with isolated cleft lip, ears with perforation of tympanic membrane and attico-antral disease were excluded.
Results: The age range was from 4 years to 24 years, with a mean of 11.34 years. Maximum patients were of the age group of 10- 20 years (18, 50%) followed by that of 5-10 years range (15, 41.66%). Total number of ears examined were 72. Out of a total of 72 ears, 70 (97.2%) had abnormal otoscopic finding with dull tympanic membrane in 37 (51.39%) ears, retracted in 31 (43.05%) and bulging tympanic membrane in 2 (2.78%) cases. Type B curve was the commonest (36, 50%), followed by Type As (24, 33.3%). Type C curve was found in 11(15.3%) ears. Type A curve was found only in one ear. The duration of post-repair of cleft palate ranged from 6 months to up to 16 years with a mean of 8.52; 11 cases(30.56%) had history of repair of cleft palate of more than 10 years duration.16 cases (44.44%) had that of more than 5 years and 9 cases (25%) had less than 5 years history of duration of repair. When correlation was done statistically, the tympanometry findings and duration of repair had a very low correlation (Table 5). The time period of repair had no significant effect on tympanometric ear findings.
Conclusion Abnormal otoscopic findings and tympanometric findings were common in post cleft palate repaired patients. The duration of cleft palate repair had low correlation to the tympanometric ear findings.


In our previous work, we selected aptamers binding to ethanolamine, one of the smallest molecular aptamer targets so far (Mann, D., Reinemann, C., Stoltenburg, R. and Strehlitz, B. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2005, 338, 1928-1934). Two representatives of these aptamers (EA#14.3 and EA#9.4) were analyzed regarding their specificity. Ethanolamine is a very small organic molecule (M(w) = 61.08) with biological, medical, and industrial relevance. Its small size represented a challenge for aptamer development, as ethanolamine only consists of a short carbon chain (2C) and two functional groups (amino and hydroxyl group). Related organic molecules, ethanolamine derivatives, and some amino acids were tested to act as potential binding partners for these aptamers. In this way we were able to determine the exact binding domain within the target. The results revealed that both aptamers bind to various molecules, which contain a freely accessible ethyl- or methylamine group. In contrast to the amino group (in a primary, secondary, or tertiary amine) the hydroxyl group was not necessary for the aptamer binding. The aptamers were not able to bind to negatively charged organic molecules, despite containing an ethyl- or methylamine group, nor did they bind to molecules with quaternary amines. The selected ethanolamine binding aptamers are useful for the detection of molecules containing accessible ethyl- or methylamine groups; they can be used as linker elements to immobilize a target molecule of interest on a surface or to purify targets from complex samples.


Background: We compared the revised American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) scores determined during laparoscopic surgery to evaluate the effect of the location of the endometrioma (right vs. left ovary) on the severity of endometriosis. Methods: The medical records of 151 patients, including 58 right-sided and 93 left-sided cases, who underwent an initial laparoscopic surgery for unilateral ovarian endometrioma were reviewed retrospectively. We extracted the ASRM scores determined during surgery and some representative factors related to endometriosis that are separate from the tumour characteristics, such as the coexistence of uterine fibroids, adenomyoma, or other ovarian tumours, a history of use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), and tumour marker values. A statistical analysis was performed to assess the impact of each factor. We classified the ASRM scores into 4 categories to compare the tendency towards endometrial lesion spread with a focus on the "sidedness" of the endometrioma. We defined contralateral endometrial lesion (CEL), Douglas pouch endometrial lesion (DEL), same endometrial lesion (SEL) and peritoneal endometrial lesion (PEL). Results: The ASRM scores of patients with a right-sided endometrioma were significantly higher than patients with a left-sided endometrioma (41.5 ± 22.1 points vs. 32.9 ± 15.8 points, p<0.05). The higher ASRM scores of the patients with right-sided endometrioma may be caused by the frequent detection of endometrial lesions in the left tube, left ovary and Douglas pouch. According to the statistical analysis, the coexistence of uterine fibroids also exerted significant positive effects on increasing the ASRM score. Conclusions: Higher ASRM scores are possible in patients with right-sided endometrioma. The laterality of endometriosis severity should be considered.


In Chapter I we present the results on a study of cross polarization dynamics, between protons and carbon-13 in adamantane, by the direct observation of the dilute, carbon-13, spins. These dynamics are an important consideration in the efficiency of proton enhancement double-resonance techniques and they also provide good experimental models for statistical theories of cross relaxation. In order to test these theories we present a comparison of the experimental and theoretical proton dipolar fluctuation correlation time {tau}{sub c}, which is experimentally 110 {+-} 15 {micro}sec and theoretically 122 {micro}sec for adamantane. These double resonance considerations provide the background for extensions to deuterium and double quantum effects discussed in Chapter II. In Chapter II an approach to high resolution nmr of deuterium in solids is described. The m = 1 {yields} -1 transition is excited by a double quantum process and the decay of coherence Q({tau}) is monitored. Fourier transformation yields a deuterium spectrum devoid of quadrupole splittings and broadening. If the deuterium nuclei are dilute and the protons are spin decoupled, the double-quantum spectrum is a high resolution one and yields information on the deuterium chemical shifts {Delta}{omega}. The relationship Q({tau}) {approx} cos 2{Delta}{omega}{tau} is checked and the technique ismore » applied to a single crystal of oxalic acid dihydrate enriched to {approx} 10% in deuterium. The carboxyl and the water deuterium shifts are indeed resolved and the anisotropy of the carboxyl shielding tensor is estimated to be {Delta}{sigma} = 32 {+-} 3 ppm. A complete theoretical analysis is presented. The extension of cross relaxation techniques, both direct and indirect, to proton-deuterium double resonance is also described. The m = 1 {yields} -1 double quantum transition and the m = {+-} 1 {yields} 0 single quantum transitions may all be polarized and we present the derivation of the Hartmann-Hahn cross polarization conditions for each case. In addition the dynamics of the double quantum process, for monodeutero benzene are discussed, giving proton dipolar fluctuation correlation times, and spin heat capacities for the double quantum transition.« less


Human activities exert great pressures on the environment which in turn cause environmental stresses of various intensities depending on the factors involved and the sensitivity of the receiving environment.This study examines the effects of anthropogenic activities along the sub-urban lagoon fragile coastal ecosystem using DPSIR framework.The results show that the study area has undergone a tremendous change between 1964 and 2015 with the built up area increasing to about 1,080 ha (17.87%) in 2015 from 224 ha (1.32%) in 1964 at an average growth rate of 16.78ha per annum. The nature of the degradation includes an increasing fragility of the ecosystem through the emergence and expansion of wetlands, flooding and erosion as well as a reduction in the benefits from the ecosystem services. Population growth, between 2006 and 2015 for Ikorodu LGA, estimated at 8.84% per annum serves as the most important driving force in reducing the quality of the environment. This is in addition to Pressures emanating from anthropogenic activities. The state of the environment shows continuous resource exploitation (fishing and sand mining) with the impacts of the pressures coming from water pollution, bank erosion, biodiversity loss and flooding. Although there has been a strong policy formulation response from the government, weak implementation is a major challenge.The study recommends public awareness campaigns and the implementation of existing policies to ensure a sustainable sub-urban lagoon coastal environment..


Safety measurement and its analysis have been challenging and well-researched topics in transportation. Conventionally, surrogate safety measures have been used as safety indicators in simulation models for safety assessment, in control formulations for driver assistance systems, and in data analysis of naturalistic driving studies. However, surrogate indicators give partial insights on traffic safety; that is, these indicators only indicate a predetermined set of possible precrash situations for an interacting vehicle pair. Recently, a safety indicator called the "driving safety field," based on field theory, was proposed for two-dimensional vehicle interactions. However, the objectivity of its functional form and its validity have yet to be tested. A qualitative and quantitative comparison of different safety indicators was provided as a risk measure to demarcate their mathematical properties and evaluate their usefulness in quantifying trajectory risk. Five relevant safety indicators were compared: inverse time to collision, postencroachment time, potential indicator of collision with urgent decceleration, warning index, and safety field force. Their formulations were mathematically analyzed to yield qualitative insights and their values over simulated vehicle trajectories were evaluated to yield quantitative insights. The results acknowledge the limitations and demarcate the functional utilities of the selected safety indicators.


The aim of this randomised, prospective, blinded study was to evaluate if stimulating catheters can decrease the minimum effective anaesthetic volume in 50% of patients during lumbar plexus block using mepivacaine 1.5% compared with standard catheters. Fifty‐eight patients of ASA physical status 1–3 were randomly allocated to receive a lumbar plexus block via a stimulating or standard catheter, with 29 in each group. The first dose was 30 ml and subsequent doses were determined using the up‐and‐down staircase method. The minimum effective anaesthetic volume50 was 12.2 ml (95% CI 7.3–17.1 ml) using the stimulating catheter and 24.8 ml (95% CI 23.2–27.5 ml) with the standard catheter (p < 0.0001). Complete lumbar plexus block was achieved with the initial dose of mepivacaine in 29 (100%) patients in the stimulating catheter group and 20 (69%) patients in the standard catheter group (p = 0.002). This study showed that use of a stimulating catheter halves the minimum effective anaesthetic volume50 of mepivacaine 1.5% while increasing the success rate in patients receiving continuous lumbar plexus block.


Knowledge-based authentication systems generally rely upon users' explicit recollection of passwords, facts, or personal preferences. These systems impose a cognitive burden that often results in forgotten secrets or secrets with poor entropy. We propose an authentication system that instead draws on implicit memory - that is, the unconscious encoding and usage of information. In such a system, a user is initially presented with images of common objects in a casual familiarization task. When the user later authenticates, she is asked to perform a task involving a set of degraded images, some of which are based upon the images in the familiarization task. The prior exposure to those images influences the user's responses in the task, thereby eliciting authentication information. We ran a user study to investigate the plausibility of our system design. Our results suggest that implicit memory has potential as a basis for low-cognitive-overhead, high-stability, knowledge-based authentication.


A display and dispensing assembly for use in combination with a freezer cabinet ( 1 ) which has an internal temperature T 1, said display and dispensing assembly comprises (a) a housing ( 10 ) located externally of the freezer cabinet (b) a chamber ( 11 ) within the housing in which products can be stored and from which they can be dispensed, said products being stored at a temperature of T 2 which is higher than T 1 (c) first heat transfer means (18) within the housing (d) second heat transfer means ( 20 ) intended to be placed inside the freezer cabinet (e) means ( 19 ) for circulating a heat transfer fluid through the first and second heat transfer means.


Most future increases in global demand for food are expected to arise by 2050. By that time, demand could increase by 2.5 to 3.0 times the present level. Given present knowledge about agricultural production, prospective global supplies of land, water, plant genetic, and climate resources will be insufficient to meet future demand at acceptable economic and environmental costs. Nor will extending natural resource supplies by increased conservation of these resources suffice. The only hope of sustainably meeting future food needs is through investment to expand knowledge of agricultural production and its environmental consequences.


Due to the ever-increasing number and diversity of data sources, and the continuous flow of data that are inevitably redundant and unused to the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) brings several problems including network bandwidth, the consumption of network energy, cloud storage, especially for paid volume, and I/O throughput as well as handling huge amount of stored data in the cloud. These call for data pre-processing at the network edge before data transmission over the network takes place. Data reduction is a method for mitigating such problems. Most state-of-the-art data reduction approaches employ a single tier, such as gateways, or two tiers, such gateways and the cloud data center or sensor nodes and base station. In this paper, an approach for IoT data reduction is proposed using in-networking data filtering and fusion. The proposed approach consists of two layers that can be adapted at either a single tier or two tiers. The first layer of the proposed approach is the data filtering layer that is based on two techniques, namely data change detection and the deviation of real observations from their estimated values. The second layer is the data fusion layer. It is based on a minimum square error criterion and fuses the data of the same time domain for specific sensors deployed in a specific area. The proposed approach was implemented using Python and the evaluation of the approach was conducted based on a real-world dataset. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed approach is efficient in terms of data reduction in comparison with Least Mean Squares filter and Papageorgiou's (CLONE) method.


Resnik E, LeFevre CA. Fulminant Clostridium difficile colitis associated with paclitaxel and carboplatin chemotherapy. Pseudomembranous colitis is commonly associated with the use of antibiotics. Some antineoplastic agents even without associated antibiotic use can predispose patients to developing infection with Clostridium difficile. The infection is usually mild; however, in rare cases severe forms of pseudomembranous colitis may be encountered. A 66 year-old female with stage IIIC suboptimally debulked epithelial ovarian cancer was treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin. the patient developed fulminant C. difficile colitis three weeks after the second cycle of chemotherapy. Severe symptoms began 24 h prior to admission; however, mild nausea and diarrhea had been present for a week despite self-treatment with over-the-counter Imodium and Pepto-Bismol. Her last antibiotic use was seven weeks previously. The patient was hospitalized immediately for aggressive treatment. Notwithstanding all the efforts, her condition continued to deteriorate and she expired. Severe C. difficile colitis can be life threatening. Patients undergoing chemotherapy who develop significant diarrhea should be evaluated for C. difficile. Prompt diagnosis and intervention prior to onset of severe symptoms can potentially improve the outcome.


Antibody titers in response to injections of sheep erythrocytes were measured in several different groups of early and late feathering chicks from 8 to 35 days of age. Antibody titers and rate of development of antibody responses were similar in early and late feathering chicks, reaching a plateau by 21 days of age.