Objectives In an adverse event investigation, the patients have the potential to add a unique perspective because they can identify contributing factors that providers may miss. However, patients are rarely included in patient safety investigations. We aimed to identify the barriers to patient involvement in patient safety investigations and propose strategies to overcome them. Methods We reviewed literature on active participation by patients in safety investigations to construct a framework for healthcare institutions to use in approaching patients about a potential role in investigating an error in their care. We searched 3 electronic databases (PubMed, PSNet, Web of Science) for the years 1990 to 2018, without restrictions to language. Search terms included: "patient empowerment, "patient involvement," "patient participation," "patient safety investigation," "root cause analysis," "error analysis." We also examined reference lists of relevant studies to identify additional articles. Results Our electronic search produced 10,624 records with 30 potentially eligible articles. However, we identified only 6 relevant published articles. We used these as the basis for a proposed framework that is predicated on the thoughtful disclosure of adverse events and has 3 main levels (i.e., patient, clinician, and institutional level). For each level, we identify barriers to patient participation and potential strategies to overcome them. Conclusions The proposed framework can be used as a starting point to promote patient involvement in error investigations. Involving patients in patient safety investigations could increase patient centeredness, patient autonomy, and transparency and make analyses more effective by adding unique and potentially actionable information.


As 3D scanning solutions become increasingly popular, several deep learning setups have been developed geared towards that task of scan completion, i.e., plausibly filling in regions there were missed in the raw scans. These methods, however, largely rely on supervision in the form of paired training data, i.e., partial scans with corresponding desired completed scans. While these methods have been successfully demonstrated on synthetic data, the approaches cannot be directly used on real scans in absence of suitable paired training data. We develop a first approach that works directly on input point clouds, does not require paired training data, and hence can directly be applied to real scans for scan completion. We evaluate the approach qualitatively on several real-world datasets (ScanNet, Matterport, KITTI), quantitatively on 3D-EPN shape completion benchmark dataset, and demonstrate realistic completions under varying levels of incompleteness.


There have been significant developments in the area of vibrationbased bridge scour monitoring in recent years. Traditional scour monitoring using either visual assessment or diving inspections are now recognised to be very unreliable and highly subjective. There has been a concerted effort to move towards reliable systems capable of either direct measurement of scour or indirect measurement, based on monitoring the response of the structure to damage. The developments have unearthed new challenges and problems. This paper describes some recent developments in the field. In addition, remaining challenges that act as a barrier to the successful wide-scale deployment of the methodologies are discussed. In particular, it addresses issues related to how to measure key performance indicators (such as the vibration response of the structure) and the potential of these approaches in real-world applications.


The Livonian War (1558-1583) was responsible for many innovations in Russian warfare. For the first time Russian troops conquered a European state which had a higher level of development than Muscovy. Russian nobles built their own world in Russian Livonia, and for the first time Russian troops were evacuated from another country after a long period of time. All these factors influenced the mentality of the Russian nobles. Nevertheless, the sources demonstrate something quite different, that the Livonian War did not change the mentality of the Muscovite nobles or their attitude toward service. That service was considered fairly routine and was regarded as familiar everyday military labor. In this respect, contemporaries did not separate the Livonian War from an endless succession of wars that shook Russia in the sixteenth century. Apart from the tsar's early childhood, there were only three more or less peaceful years between 1547 and 1584; during the rest of Tsar Ivan IV's reign, service people certainly could not complain about the lack of opportunities for military service. The Livonian War hardly impressed the Russian nobles or influenced their outlook on life.


Mechanical energy dissipation was investigated in a cylindrical, flat bottomed vessel with four radial baffles and the pitched blade turbine impeller of varied size. This study was based upon the experimental data on the hydrodynamics of the turbulent flow of water in an agitated vessel. They were gained by means of the three-holes Pitot tube technique for three impeller-to-vessel diameter ratio d/D = 1/3, 1/4 and 1/5. The experimental results obtained for two levels below and two levels above the impeller were used in the present study. Radial profiles of the mean velocity components, static and total pressures were presented for one of the levels. Local contribution to the axial transport of the agitated charge and energy was presented. Using the assumption of the axial symmetry of the flow field the volumetric flow rates were determined for the four horizontal cross-sections. Regions of positive and negative values of the total pressure of the liquid were indicated. Energy dissipation rates in various regions of the agitated vessel were estimated in the range from 0.2 to 6.0 of the average value for the whole vessel. Hydraulic impeller efficiency amounting to about 68% was obtained. The mechanical energy transferred by the impellers is dissipated in the following ways: 54% in the space below the impeller, 32% in the impeller region, 14% in the remaining part of the agitated liquid.


Between January and December 1996, we observed 64 children (mean age 8.3 years range 4.2 to 11.2 years) who required dialysis for severe acute renal failure secondary to Falciparum Malaria. All received anti malarial therapy and other supportive therapy as well as peritoneal dialysis. Out of these 28 died (43.8%). The children who died (Group I) compared to those who survived (Group II) differed significantly in age (mean +/- SD) (7.2 +/- 1.3 years vs. 9.2 +/- 2.1 years P < 0.05), plasma creatinine at presentation (645 +/- 104 mumol/L vs. 438 +/- 87 mumol/L P < 0.05), plasma bilirubin (2.1 +/- 0.3 mg/dL vs. 1.2 +/- 0.2 mg/dL P > 0.02) systolic BP (50 +/- 11 mmHg vs. 90 +/- 12 mmHg P0 < 0.01), diastolic BP (20 +/- 4 mmHg vs. 60 +/- 9 mmHg P < .01) .Hb level 5.3 +/- 0.4 g/dL vs. 8 +/- 1.3 gm/dL P < .02), time from diagnosis to referral (5.3 +/- 1.3 days vs. 8.9 +/- 2.1 days P < .05) and urine output (200 +/- 49 mL/24 h vs. 600 mL +/- 131 mL P < .01). There was no significant difference in gender, alanine transaminase (ALT) level, degree of fever, plasma Na or plasma K. Diarrhea was present in 29% of the children who died and in only 11% of those who survived (P > 0.05) and splenomegaly was found in 3% and 18% respectively (PO > .05).


A medical practitioner who consults with persons with epilepsy has imposed upon him or her a duty of care in accordance with current Australian legal authority expressed or cited in Rogers v Whitaker, but may also have such a duty imposed in a number of circumstances not involving a treating doctor relationship. The requirement for sufficient proximity in legal terms exists where the relationship is not (or is) a standard doctor-patient relationship, but once duty and proximity have been established, it is open to argument, and possibly to future judicial determination, that a higher standard of care may exist in relation to persons with epilepsy, although the law has yet to recognise differing standards. Whilst case law involving claims for damages by workers with epilepsy against medical practitioners is sparse, considerable scope appears to exist for the novel extension of the duty of care requirements of doctors in employment matters involving employees with and without epilepsy.


This narrative review seeks to compare the various ways in which motor creativity has been measured and to critically evaluate those methods within the context of our contemporary understanding of motor creativity. Eligible studies included those of any study design, experimental or observational, as long as motor creativity was measured. Three databases (i.e., PubMed, Scopus, and ScienceDirect) were searched from the earliest possible start dates to December 2021. No risk of bias assessment was performed as the study outcomes were not the focus of the review. After screening for eligibility, 23 articles were included for review, all having measured motor creativity. Of the 23 articles, 16 measured generic motor creativity, while the remaining seven measured task-specific motor creativity. Furthermore, 16 of the studies tested motor creativity with largely static environmental constraints, while the remaining seven were conducted with dynamic environmental constraints. Using a contemporary understanding of motor creativity, most motor creativity tests presently do not possess sufficient task specificity and environmental dynamism, which may not provide an appropriate context for the emergence of creative motor action.


Six media (MA:Mating agar, HA:Hay agar, HCA:Hay cube agar, RSA:Rice shell agar, IHA:additional nutrition in HA and SDA:Sabouraudia dextrose agar) were compared for their efficiencies of the mating test for Cryptococcus neoformans. The positive rates in 2-week-cultivation were 95% (HCA and RSA), 86% (HA), 38% (MA and SDA) and 24% (IHA). The streaking inoculation was equally replaced by the dot inoculation for the mating tests. However, the dot method saves much more materials, and is suitable for testing in large number of isolates. Additionally, the precultivation of the tester and tested isolates in broth medium (YMPDB) could enhance the positive mating rates.


A genetic neural network (GNN) classification method using acoustic signals is proposed for real-time accident detection at intersections. Backpropagation neural networks (BPNNs) have been widely used in pattern classification. They have fast computation speeds that are desirable for real-time detection systems. However, they tend to converge to local optimums, which consequently affects classification accuracy. The proposed GNN uses a genetic algorithm to improve the global searching ability of BPNNs. GNN performance (i.e., detection rate, false alarm rate, and detection time) is compared with that of a widely used probabilistic neural network (PNN). Test results indicate that the GNN performs comparably to a PNN but with much less computation time. Results of the GNN transferability analysis indicate that the GNN method also is robust and can be successfully applied to intersection accident detection with training data from different sources. Computationally inexpensive and highly accurate, the new GNN is thus suitable for real-time application.


Analog silicon neurons were proven to be a promising solution for VLSI neuromorphic platform to implement massively scalable computing systems. They possess the advantages of consuming less power and silicon area than digitally designed neurons. This paper compares the differences in power and area consumption between two methods of synapse design for analog neuron models: time-based modulation and current-based modulation. The obtained results demonstrate that under the same technology process (ST CMOS 65nm), the neuron that uses time-based modulation consumes less power (almost six times) and silicon area (about thirty times) but higher energy (twelve times) than that of the current-based modulation.


【A study was conducted to estimate Na intake in 30 young and 62 middle-aged female Koreans. For each subject, nondiscretionary Na intake was estimated from 2-day dietary records optimum gustation of salt was tested using beef broth with different salt concentra-tions. and 24-hour urinary Na excretion was measeured from pooled 2-day urine samples. Total daily Na intake was calculated from 24-hour urinary excretion and discretionary Na intake was calculated as difference between total and nondiscretionary Na intake was calculated as difference between total and nondiscretionary Na intake. Mean daily 24-hour urinary Na excretion of the young and middle-aged women was 184.6mEq and 224.6mEq. Mean values of optimum gustation of salt in young and middle-aged subjects were 0.431% and 0.489% The differences between the two groups were significant. Nodiscre-tionary Na intakes of the two groups were not significantly different, . Calculated total and discretionary Na intake of middle-aged women(245.1mEq) were significantly higher than young women(220.3mEq and 211.0mEq) were significantly higher than young women(210, 3mEq and 169, 7mEq) Percent of discretionary to total Na intake was 85.7% in middle-aged and 79.4% in young women. Age BMI urinary Na and K excretions optimum gustation of salt were signficantly correlated with blood pressure of the subjects. Results of the present study confirms the high level of sodium intake especia-lly of discretionary Na intake among Korean women.】


The effect of exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H202) on phagocytic function and apoptosis incoelomocytes from Eisenia hortensis was investigated. Treating coelomocytes with H202 (0.26 to 8.4 mM) evoked a significant increase in phagocytosis for one or more of the concentrations of H202 employed in 67 % of cases. Using annexin V-FITC we show that H202 induced apoptosis of coelomocytes in vitro. We found that 100 % of viable coelomocyte populations exhibited significant increases in phosphatidylserine translocation for one or more of the concentrations of H202 tested (8.4 to 67.6 mM). Using a fluorescent inhibitor of caspases, we revealed the presence of activated caspases observing increased caspase activity in 67 % of viable coelomocyte populations treated with 33.8mM H202, and in 100 % of cases treated with 67.6 mM H202. Agarose gel electrophoresis and the TUNEL assay showed DNA fragmentation in samples treated with 16.9 and 33.8 mM H202. In addition, endogenous H202 production during phagocytosis by hyaline amoebocytes was detected using a fluorogenic substrate. Thus, free radicals not only appear to facilitate phagocytosis and are produced during phagocytosis, but they also promote an oxidative-stress-induced apoptosis that may play an important function in regulating innate immune responses in E. hortensis.


Theophylline pharmacokinetics were studied in 16 black Zimbabwean volunteers aged 20–41 years. Following a single intravenous dose of 5 mg/kg, four serum levels were collected over 24 h. Data were analyzed using a one-compartment open model. The correlation coefficient was 0.995 ± 0.004. The mean extrapolated peak level was 8.5 ± 0.9 mg/L. The mean half-life and volume of distribution were 10.1 ± 3.1 h and 0.55 ± 0.7 L/kg, respectively. The mean clearance was 0.62 ± 0.17 ml/kg/min. The mean weight was 7 kg less than the calculated ideal body weight. These data suggest a larger volume of distribution and longer half-life than in other reported populations. The clearance is on the low end of previously reported values. We postulate that the primary cause of the large volume is the decreased body fat and consequent increase in body water per kilogram. The slightly decreased clearance may have been partially due to the high carbohydrate, low protein diet of our subjects. The long half-life is simply a reflection of a large volume and a moderately low clearance. We suggest that standard per kilogram maintenance doses can be employed in this population. A larger loading dose of 8 mg/kg aminophylline is recommended. Finally, the lack of sustained release theophylline in Zimbabwe may not be a problem, given the longer half lives observed in this study.


Physical model and numerical solver are the basis of current cloth simulation engines. Currently, research in cloth animation has focused on improving realism as well as computation speed. In this paper we present an improved Verlet algorithm which enhances the capabilities of initial one in three aspects. The first one is using 2-level Taylor series as the startup method. The second one is using a more simplified way to obtain the velocity of the particle through approximate substitution. The third one is using Beeman algorithm when the change of force is greater than the threshold value. The experiment results indicate that this approach is efficient and accurate, and can be used in real-time cloth simulation system.


In this paper, we consider the design problem of simultaneous stabilizing controller which takes into account various closed-loop performances, e.g. sensitivity or robust stability etc.. Using the parametrization of simultaneous stabilizing controller, this problem is formulated as a standard model-matching-type problem whose objective function is affine in the design parameter. Under this formulation, a simple sufficient condition to achieve simultaneous stabilization is derived as in the form of an inequality H•‡ norm constraint on the design parameter. Moreover, we show that the presented design problem including above constraint can be cast as convex optimization problem. By a design example, the effectiveness of the proposed method is presented.


High-reflection interference mirrors for current gravitational wave detectors (aLIGO, Advanced Virgo, KAGRA) are made of high-quality oxide multi-layers deposited by ion beam sputtering (IBS) at the Laboratoire des Matériaux Avancés (LMA). For this task, LMA uses a large IBS custom-made machine (the grand coater GC) able to deposit very uniform coatings over very large surfaces, with diameter of some tens of cm. We report for the first time about the optical characterization by spectroscopic ellipsometry of oxide coatings deposited by the GC under strictly the same conditions used for the production of interference mirrors. We have investigated oxide materials like silica (SiO2), tantala (Ta2O5) and titania-doped tantala (Ti:Ta2O5), providing for each material a broad-band (190–1700 nm) accurate determination of the complex index of refraction, with particular attention to wavelengths used in interferometers. Particular focus has been dedicated to the influence of Ti-doping on tantala coating. The doping induces a red-shift of the optical gap and an increase of the NIR refractive index. Furthermore, doping induces a decrease of the so-called Urbach energy, consistent with the well-known reduction of the internal friction in these kind of systems.


A system and method for optimizing signal recognition in a light communication system by approximately maximizing the minimum distance between received constellation points; the method comprising identifying the constellation region containing points for transmitting symbols, identifying chan nel impairments, transforming the constellation region according to the channel impairments into a constellation region of potential received symbols, using signal processing circuitry to apply an algorithm that operates to maximize the minimum distance between constellation points to obtain a symbol constellation in the receiver constellation region, and inverting the transformation to obtain the designed transmit ted-symbol constellation. The system comprises signal pro cessing circuitry for performing a preferred methodology.


Using the low energy effective Hamiltonian with the generalized factorization, we calculate the new physics contributions to B → ππ,Kπ and Kη in the Topcolorassisted-Technicolor(TC2) model, and compare the results with the available data. By using F 0 (0) = 0.20 ± 0.04 preferred by the CLEO data of B → ππ decay, we find that the new physics enhancements to B → Kη decays are significant in size, ∼ 50% with respect to the standard model predictions, insensitive to the variations of input parameters and hence provide a simple and plausible new physics interpretation for the observed unexpectedly large B → Kη decay rates. PACS numbers: 13.25.Hw, 12.15.Ji, 12.38.Bx, 12.60.Nz


A method to improve census accuracy using air photography is introduced and the application of the method in the 1985 sample census of Transkei South Africa is described. The author relates how results obtained from detailed air photographs were checked with data collected in the traditional way by enumerators. (ANNOTATION)


The brain contains a large variety and number of peptides some of which were known earlier as hypothalamic hormones (vasopressin, oxytocin, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, somatostatin) or as pituitary hormones (the family of opiomelanocortins), while others, not primarily known as hypothalamic or pituitary hormones, may also have endocrine effects (substance P, angiotensin II, neurotensin, bombesin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), gastrin-cholecystokinin, glucagon, carnosine, bradykinin). These peptides, which form a new class of putative neurotransmitters, are present early in brain development and show important sex differences in both their pattern of innervation and their effects. Their peripheral effects may include intrauterine growth of the placenta and fetus, the timing of birth, acceleration of the course of labour and responses to haemorrhage (redistribution of cardiac output and stimulation of blood cell formation). Endogenous peptides are probably involved in brain development, which may explain their general, permanent and sex-dependent effects when given in the period of rapid brain development. Although peptides might in the future be useful for stimulating recovery from retarded brain development, at present one should be aware of the potential dangers of their use in, for example, obstetrics.


In chemical uranium enrichment, which is a multi-stage separation process utilizing adsorption-desorption reactions, the results of enrichment experiments conducted at various temperatures between 55°C and 130°C with an solution containing certain non-uranium metal ions indicated that the degree of separation obtained with maximum enrichment at the end boundary of the uranium adsorption band is approximately 10 times as great as when no such metal ions are present. (This result is expressed as α0 which is a normalized value for 1h of separation operation.) This striking improvement in enrichment behavior was attributed to the acceleration of the electron exchange reaction between U4+ and UO22+ by the catalytic effect of the coexistent metal ions, because, under the experimental conditions used in this investigation, the rate determining step of reactions in the enrichment process is reportedly the electron exchange reaction. In addition, an examination of the catalytic reaction mechanism of the electron exchange from the viewpoint of the free energy levels of various oxidation states of the coexistent metal ions strongly implied that the catalytic effect is dependent on differences in the free energy levels of the oxidation states of the metal ions added, which correspond to the standard redox potentials of these metal ions.


Charter school authorizers shape which charter schools open, where they open, and who they serve. We draw on principal agent theory to investigate how the priorities and practices of nine authorizers intersected with charter school applications' attention to the needs of historically marginalized students. Using data from interviews and applications, we find authorizers vary in orientations toward equity and the ways in which they signal that orientation to charter applicants. Our analysis suggests a robust relationship between authorizer mission and the content found in charter applications, demonstrating the influence of authorizing practices on the contents of charter school applications.


US is indicated in the study of the impingement syndrome. A series of 152 shoulders was examined in a clinical-US study carried out following a standard protocol including a physical examination first and then a US examination. The study was aimed at investigating the agreement between clinical and US findings and at assessing the diagnostic reliability of US. 57% of the shoulders were positive to clinics (1 test at least) and were then divided in 4 groups. Positivity rate was high (85-87% for at least 3 or 4 tests). US findings included several different patterns. Our results demonstrate that a correct clinical-diagnostic protocol increases reliability, besides reducing the use of more complex and expensive imaging modalities--e.g., CT and MR.


In this letter, we present a new nonorthogonal algorithm for joint diagonalization of a set of symmetric matrices. The algorithm alternates between updates of individual demixing matrix rows, and the update of each row is transferred to solving the eigenvector problem. By using some blind source separation simulations, we show that the algorithm obviously obtains an improved performance when the signal-to-noise ratio of the observed signals is relatively low.


The Synechococcales is a large cyanobacterial order comprising both unicellular and filamentous forms, with parietal thylakoid arrangement. Previously, this order has been the subject of taxonomic revisions with new families being erected. During studies of the phototrophic communities on the limestone walls of the Old Cathedral of Coimbra (UNESCO monument), a coccoid Aphanocapsa‐like cyanobacterium was isolated. It was characterized using a polyphasic approach, based on morphology, 16S rRNA phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses, internal transcribed spacer (ITS) secondary structure, and ecology. The 16S rRNA phylogenetic analyses showed that this strain is placed in a separate and highly supported family‐level clade, as part of a large group comprising the families Prochlorococcaceae and Prochlorotrichaceae, with Lagosinema as the closest (although quite distant) taxon. Additionally, the phylogenomic analysis also placed this strain in a separate lineage, situated distantly apart from the family Thermosynechococcaceae, but with strains assigned to Acaryochloris marina MBIC 11017 and Aphanocapsa montana BDHKU210001 as the closest taxa. Based on these data, as well as on the results from the secondary ITS structure, morphology, and ecology, we here propose the establishment of Petrachlorosaceae fam. nov., along with the description of Petrachloros gen. nov. and Petrachloros mirabilis sp. nov. We also address additional considerations regarding some cyanobacterial taxa within the order Synechococcales, which we believe deserve further revisions.


Background : The use of a combined graft of both semitendinosus (ST) and gracilis (G) tendons in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction may cause weakness in knee flexion. It has since been proposed that ST be used alone since sparing G leads to near complete preservation of flexion strength. The use of the semitendinosus tendon as a solitary graft for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament requires adequate tendon length (>28 cm) and four strand construct diameter (>8 mm). This study sought to determine the dimensions of the semitendinosus tendon graft among Kenyans. Methods : Forty pairs of ST tendons were harvested from formalin fixed cadavers by use of a tendon stripper. Their lengths were measured after which they were folded into four strand constructs whose diameter was obtained by sizing tunnels. Descriptive statistics and analysis was done using SPSS version 21.0. Results : The average ST tendon length was 29.80 ± 3.59 cm and 67.5% of all tendons had a length ≥ 28.0 cm. The mean four strand construct diameter was 7.89 ± 0.61 mm and 56% of all tendons had a thickness ≥ 8.00 mm. Considering tendon adequacy to be the presence of both sufficient ST tendon length and four strand construct thickness, 51% of all tendons were adequate for solitary use.  Conclusion : The use of ST as a solitary graft in ACL reconstruction may be feasible among Kenyans as a good proportion of our sample had adequate dimensions. We suggest that the ST tendon be harvested first during reconstruction as it may be sufficient by itself hence no need to harvest gracilis tendon. Keywords : ACL Reconstruction, Semitendinosus Tendinosus, Solitary Use, Adequacy


Background: Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to the human populations everywhere. However, less attention is given to its concern in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. There is information gap for the prescribers regarding antibiotic resistance and its pattern. The aim of this study was to review the antimicrobial resistance pattern of bacteria in Wolaita Sodo University Teaching Referral Hospital. Methods: Three years retrospective data of cultures and records of 330 patients were used to analyze the antibiotic sensitivity pattern. The statistical softwares including Epidata 3.5.1 and SPSS version 21 were used. Laboratory records lacking age, sex, culture isolation or drug susceptibility test data were excluded. Results: Out of 330 samples extracted from the microbiology laboratory, 150 samples were culture positive for bacteria isolates. From positive culture growth, 73.3% were gram positive bacteria whereas 26.7% were gram negative. Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent isolate among gram-positive isolates as Escherichia coli was for gram negative isolates. Overall antimicrobial resistance of gram positive isolates was 54.2% where as that of gram negative bacteria was 60.0%.Conclusion: As per this study, S. aureus and E. coli were the pathogenic isolates of highest prevalence among gram positive and gram-negative bacteria, respectively, in the study population. Most of the isolated pathogens showed high resistance towards the commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents.


Two structural forms of the tetradentate bispidine ligand (3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane, pyridine-substituted at C2 and C4), coordinated to CuI, are known: a pentacoordinate square pyramidal structure with an acetonitrile completing the coordination sphere, and a tetracoordinate distorted tetrahedral structure, where one of the pyridine groups is dissociated. Similar structures are observed in crystals of the CuI complexes of another tetradentate and two pentadentate bispidine ligands. The structural dynamics in the CuI coordination sphere of the four ligands are probed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy, supported by approximate density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DFT and NMR spectroscopy indicate that there is an additional isomeric form, and experimental as well as computational data lead to the conclusion that the potential energy surfaces are very flat with various shallow minima.


P o o k General Hospiral, Poole BH15 2JB correctly points out that this will never go unrecognised. We are aware of the second possibility that Dr Sweeney created; however, we feel that this could only occur when the flow control knob is used incorrectly as a method of turning off the ventilator, and only during the inspiratory phase. This would not typically occur, since the established and accepted method for turning off any Manley ventilator is to disconnect the gas supply. Should any user feel that their ventilator needs special adaptation to prevent the flow control knob being used to switch off the ventilator, Blease will be happy to assist. B. SWEENEY


Biological invasions are a worldwide threat to the aquatic systems and have the potential to homogenize entire foodwebs and shift species abundance distributions to more skewed ones. Invasion impacts include effects on the foodweb structure and ecosystem functioning leading to a loss in native fish biodiversity and commercially important fisheries in many open water systems. The impacts of invasives are generally devastating as they spread in the foodweb with each species potentially interacting with multiple species. The foodweb modeling studies conducted in different inland aquatic ecosystems show that not all exotics cause a detrimental effect on the resilience of an ecosystem. Information on the foodweb structure and ecosystem properties is a prerequisite for formulating management protocols for conserving biodiversity, enhancement programmes and sustaining fisheries. The present paper reviews the impacts of invasive fishes in Indian aquatic ecosystems in the context of a changing foodweb scenario due to exotic fish species invasions. The information generated here could be applied for future research on similar ecosystems for deducing management actions.


STUDY OBJECTIVE Although national variation in short-term prognosis (that is, 30 day mortality) after a patient's first hospitalisation for heart failure may depend on individual differences between patients, dissimilarities in hospital practices may also influence prognosis. This study, therefore, sought to disentangle patient determinants from institutional factors that might explain such variation. DESIGN A multilevel logistic regression modelling was performed with patients (1st level) nested in hospitals (2nd level). Institutional effects (that is, 2nd level variance and intra-hospital correlation) were calculated unadjusted and adjusted for specific patient (that is, age and previous diseases) and institutional (that is, size of hospital) characteristics. Patients were followed up until death or 30 days from hospital admission. SETTING Hospitals in Sweden. PATIENTS The study identified all the 20 420 men and 17 923 women (ages 65 to 85) admitted to the 90 acute care hospitals in Sweden during the period 1992–1995 for their first hospitalisation attributable to heart failure. MAIN RESULTS Patient age and previous diseases (particularly senile dementia) were major determinants of impaired prognosis. Institutional factors explained only 1.6% and 2.3% of the total variation in 30 day mortality in men and women, respectively. These modest institutional effects remained after adjusting for patient age and previous diseases, but were in part explained by hospital size. CONCLUSIONS National variation in short-term prognosis after an initial hospitalisation for heart failure was mainly explained by differences between patients, with hospital factors playing a minor part. Of the latter, hospital size seemed to emerge as one determinant (that is, the greater the number of patients, the better the individual prognosis).


Mainstream Internet of Things (IoT) techniques for smart homes focus on appliances and surveillance in smart cities. Most of the researchers utilize vision sensors in IoT environment targeting only adult users for various applications such as abnormal activity recognition. This paper introduces a new paradigm in vision sensor IoT technologies by analyzing the behavior of baby through an intelligent multimodal system. Traditional wearable sensors such as heartbeat if attached to any body part of the baby make him uncomfortable and also some babies are paranoid toward sensors. Our vision based baby monitoring framework employs one of the process improvement techniques known as control charts to analyze the baby behavior. We construct control chart in a specific interval for real-time frames generated by Raspberry Pi (RPi) with attached vision sensor. Baby motion is represented through points on control chart, if it exceeds upper control limit (UCL) or falls from lower control limits (LCL), it indicates abnormal behavior of the baby. Whenever such a behavior is encountered, a signal is transmitted to the interconnected devices in IoT as an alert to baby care takers in smart health care centers. Our proposed framework is adaptable, a single RPi can be used to monitor a baby in home or a network of RPi's for an IoT in a children nursery for multiple babies monitoring. Performance evaluation on our own created dataset indicates the better accuracy and efficiency of our proposed framework.


The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview and critique of Quality Assurance (QA), its role, function and effectiveness as practised and researched in education organisations. To place contemporary QA in its historical context, some well-trodden ground will be revisited. There is nothing new about government and other authorities' inspectorial interest (some of it demeaning) in the effectiveness of teaching. Despite this, terms such as 'quality', 'quality assurance' and 'management' are still hotly contested, particularly in Higher Education (HE) since the increased focus on 'accountability' over the last three decades. Much antagonism both overt and covert is shown towards those responsible for quality – amply demonstrated by letters and occasional articles published in the educational press. This is a fact of life in universities, university colleges, further education (FE) colleges and schools, though to a less extent, perhaps, in schools and FE Colleges. What follows is an attempt to come to grips with some of the reasons, historical, conceptual, methodological and cultural.


A highly selective C-H amination reaction under iron catalysis has been developed. This novel system, which employs an inexpensive, nontoxic [Fe(III)Pc] catalyst (typically used as an industrial ink additive), displays a strong preference for allylic C-H amination over aziridination and all other C-H bond types (i.e., allylic > benzylic > ethereal > 3° > 2° ≫ 1°). Moreover, in polyolefinic substrates, the site selectivity can be controlled by the electronic and steric character of the allylic C-H bond. Although this reaction is shown to proceed via a stepwise mechanism, the stereoretentive nature of C-H amination for 3° aliphatic C-H bonds suggests a very rapid radical rebound step.


Extract: Explants of fetal rat (13 days to term) and fetal human liver (crown to rump length = 9–20 cm) were grown in organ culture. The survival of the explants was examined by histological appearance, mitotic index, and incorporation of precursors of ribonucleic acid (RNA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and protein. Tissues adjusted to the culture system by the 24th hr and remained so throughout the duration of the experiments. A slight increase in tyrosine transaminase activity occurred in control explants during the 3-day period in culture. Eighteen-hour incubation with hydrocortisone (10-6 M), glucagon (5–25 μg/ml), and insulin (0.05–0.5 U/ml) increased tyrosine transaminase levels, 3.1–6.5, 2.5, and 2.3 times the control values, respectively, in 18-day to term fetal rat liver explants. Actinomycin D and cycloheximide completely inhibited the corticosteroid stimulation. Thirteen-day fetal rat liver exhibited no increase in tyrosine transaminase activity after hydrocortisone incubation for 24 hr, whereas glucagon plus dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) did stimulate tyrosine transaminase activity twofold at this developmental stage. No increase in human fetal liver tyrosine transaminase occurred with any of the agents tested.Speculation: These studies support the hypothesis that mammalian liver is incompetent to respond to hormone-induced enzyme synthesis before a certain developmental stage is reached.


In [Vel94], Velazquez constructed a countable collection of mean curvature flow solutions in $\mathbb{R}^N$ in every dimension $N \ge 8$. Each of these solutions becomes singular in finite time at which time the second fundamental form blows up. In contrast, we confirm here that, in every dimension $N \ge 8$, a nontrivial subset of these solutions has uniformly bounded mean curvature.


This paper examines foreign direct investment (FDI) and the impact on labour relations and labour regulations in China in the context of globalisation. It seeks to identify the relationships of the process of globalisation, the behaviour of multi-national enterprises (MNEs) and labour relations. Issues such as labour recruitment, forms of employment status, wages and welfare, human resource management (HRM) and the role of trade unions in foreign owned enterprises (FOEs) are examined. The paper also tackles the problems within FOEs and the response of the Government at both central and local levels. It concludes by identifying the major issues related to the relations between the globalisation and changes of labour relations and regulations, and the possible direction for developing economies to use FDI more effectively in an institutionalised environment.


Background: The study of hand washing practices in Ntungamo district is part of a larger strategy being implemented in different countries to decrease the prevalence of childhood diarrhea, in the frame work of the global public – private partnership for hand washing with soap. Purpose: This study of hand washing practices using soap in Ntungamo district aimed at reducing childhood diarrhea prevalence in the district. It represents a preliminary study designed to collect the information necessary to design appropriate strategies to reduce diarrhea prevalence in under five years of age. Methods: The study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data from a representative sample of several supervision areas of Ntungamo district. Results: The practice of hand washing after latrine use among the respondents was very low (52%) compared to washing hands before and after meals (77%). The study also revealed a low use of soap during hand washing where (52%) who washed their hands after contact with feces, only 14.6% used soap. Whereas whose who washed their hands while handling food were77%, but out of 77% only 28% used soap There was no diarrhea reported among respondents that had A-level education and only 20% of those that had post-secondary education reported having diarrhea episodes among the under-five compared to 64% that reported diarrhea among the under-fives for those that had incomplete primary level of education, 57% among the households of functional adult learning graduates and 49% for those that completed primary level of education.


This article aims to analyse a little known, yet extremely important, phenomenon of reception of Сlassical antiquity and its legacy in the Middle Ages. It deals with the Compendium historiae in genealogia Christi, a biblical anthology created at the end of the 12th century by Peter of Poitiers, theologian and teacher at the Cathedral school of Paris. In the prologues, Peter himself declared that the purpose of his work was to help his students to fix in memory the complex biblical material. For this reason the text was written in a simplified and resumptive way, and it was also accompanied by an 15 On this very interesting manuscript see [11, p. 165] and [16, pp. 180–183, no. 21]. unusual apparatus of images that immediately visualized the main concepts which the students should learn and remember. Peter seems to have derived the figurative system from Greek and Roman mnemonic treatises. Through selected case studies, I aim to demonstrate how Сlassical antiquity and its legacy made a contribution in the creation of that specific art system, tracing the connections between ancient theory and mediaeval practice.


A new detailed model of pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants (NPP) has been developed and combined with the power system midterm dynamic simulation program (MDSP). The authors show how this model can be used to study the transient and midterm dynamic processes of power systems with PWR NPP under large disturbances. The simulation results are found to be satisfactory.<<ETX>>


A comparison of experimentally and theoretically obtained Stark level shifts of the neon atom permits one to assign the magnetic quantum numbers |M| of the total angular momentum J to most of the experimentally observed levels nl jc [K]J. In many cases the Stark levels can be designated more informatively using a set of quantum numbers nl jc |mi| (|mc|, |MK|) |M|.


A plasmacytoma is a rare malignant, unifocal, monoclonal, neoplastic plasma cell proliferation tumor that usually occurs within the bone. In soft tissue, it is often seen, in which case the term extramedullary plasmacytoma is used. Some researchers believe this lesion is the least aggressive part of a plasma cell neoplasm spectrum that extends to multiple myeloma. The diagnosis of Solitary Plasmacytoma of Bone (SPB) is established by histopathological examination, and the histopathological presentation is identical to that of multiple myeloma. We present a case of a 55-year-old patient with the increased facial volume on the left side and a year of evolution, intraorally with exophytic and erythematous lesions and pseudomembranous plaques in the jaw on the left side, which at histopathological study resulted in plasmacytoma. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons should know about this disease's etiology and clinical characteristics, and the oral cavity presence since a late treatment compromises the patient's life.


Wood treatment was conducted by paraffin/acrylate compound emulsion. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied for modeling and to determine the relationship between hydrophobicity and influencing factors. The results showed that the paraffin emulsion concentration and acrylate emulsion percentage had significant influences on water absorption (WA) and mass percentage gain (MG). The WA decreased obviously with increasing acrylate emulsion percentage. The correlation models for WA and MG showed a good prediction due to the straight-line distribution in the normal probability plot of residuals. The optimal conditions (5.57% paraffin emulsion concentration, 20% acrylate emulsion percentage, and 10 min treatment time) provided by RSM were acceptable for predicting the MG and WA. Compared to untreated (66°) and paraffin emulsion treated wood (94°), the wood treated by compound emulsion showed the highest water contact angle (133°) and better dimensional stability. This could be ascribed to a synergistic effect (bulking effect and filling effect) provided by paraffin and acrylate, which could form a completely hydrophobic film in wood.


A charge coupled device (CCD)-based image processor that performs 2D filtering of a gray-level image with 20 programmable 8-b 7*7 spatial filters is described. The processor consists of an analog input buffer, 49 multipliers, and 49 8-b 20-stage local memories in a 29-mm/sup 2/ chip area. Better than 99.999% charge transfer efficiency and greater than 42-dB dynamic range have been achieved by the processor, which performs one billion arithmetic operations per second and dissipates less than 1 W when clocked at 10 MHz. The device is also suited for neural networks with local connections and replicated weights. Implementation of a specific neural network, the neocognitron, based on this CCD processor has been simulated. The effect of weight quantization imposed by use of this CCD device on the performance of the neocognitron is presented. >


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the preliminary clinical results of application of All-on-4 immediate function in edentulous patients.

METHODS
Twenty nine edentulous patients with 140 immediately loaded implants supporting fixed complete-arch all-acrylic prostheses from April 2008 to October 2009 in Peking University School of Stomatology were included. The implant-supported fixed complete-arch all-acrylic prostheses were delivery on the operation day. At time of abutments connection, a panoramic radiograph was taken. And radiographic assessment of the marginal bone level was performed in every 2 months. Clinical observe items included marginal bone level, integrity of the restoration, survival of the implants and degree of satisfaction of the patients.

RESULTS
A total of 140 implants were immediate loading. Eight implants were lost during 6 - 8 weeks after immediate loading, giving survival rate of 94.3%. The marginal bone level was (0.8 ± 0.4) mm. The All patients were satisfied with the clinical results.

CONCLUSIONS
The data and the experience described in this study indicate that All-on-four immediate function technique can be a predictable technique for edentulous patients. Further study is needed to determine the long-term result of the technology.


Internet romance fraud is a global canker with severe consequences to the victims ranging from significant financial loss, emotional trauma, to loss of life and property. The paper examines how internet romance offenders rationalize their deviant criminal behaviours and how these criminals use victim precipitation to commit internet romance fraud. The three dimensions of victim precipitation theory in this study are victim facilitation, victim provocation and victim openness. The research explains how internet romance offenders rationalize and justify their deviant behaviour. The data from this research model elicited 320 individual responses from hotspots associated with internet fraud activities. The findings from this study highlight the conditions under which victim precipitation theory dimensions in the context of internet romance fraud occur. The findings shows that offenders of internet romance fraud rely heavily on victim precipitation to perpetuate their criminal activities: all the three dimensions studied are used by these criminals as justification techniques to increases offenders' predisposition to commit internet romance fraud. All three victim precipittion techniues ae used; victim openness, victim facilitation and victim provocation, respectively. This expands the boundaries of victim precipitation theory. The study contributes to new dimensions of victim precipitation in online romance fraud. This study has theoretical and criminology implications; and it gives a new perspective of how victims should conduct themselves in internet romance fraud cases. It also enriches the debate of victim precipitation in criminology discipline.
Citation:Offei, M. O. (2021). How does Victim Precipitation Theory explain Deviant Behaviours of Internet Romance Offenders? Gamer's Perspective of Victim  Precipitation.
International Journal of Technology and Management Research (IJTMR), Vol. 6 (2): Pp.59-72
Received: March 3, 2021Accepted: September 1, 2021


ABSTRACT In the context of the global jihadist mobilization triggered by the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2012 and the subsequent emergence of Islamic State, child and adolescent recruitment has reached unprecedented levels in Spain. Between 2013 and 2019, 44 jihadists were arrested in this country due to their involvement in the indoctrination and recruitment of individuals below 18 years of age. How did they carry out the mobilization of minors in support of global jihadism? Adopting a qualitative approach guided by grounded theory methods to address the question, this article relies on evidence collected mostly from primary sources (police reports, criminal proceedings, court hearings, as well as semi-structured interviews with police experts and front-line practitioners). The results indicate that their radicalization strategies varied as a function of the existence of previous personal ties between the recruiter and the minor; the age of the minor; and the environment in which the process unfolded. The interaction of these three factors generates the outline of three different formulas used in Spain for jihadist indoctrination of underage youth: one unfolds within the family milieu, another within the immediate social environment and a third via cyberspace.


This paper proposes a method to detect bank frauds using a mixed approach combining a stochastic intensity model with the probability of fraud observed on transactions. It is a dynamic unsupervised approach which is able to predict financial frauds. The fraud prediction probability on the financial transaction is derived as a function of the dynamic intensities. In this context, the Kalman filter method is proposed to estimate the dynamic intensities. The application of our methodology to financial datasets shows a better predictive power in higher imbalanced data compared to other intensity-based models.


Objective To reduce the inappropriate use of broad-spectrum antibiotics in a 1000+ bed acute tertiary care hospital by the introduction of cascade antimicrobial susceptibility reporting for Enterobacterales. Methods Over a 1-year period, we selectively suppressed reporting of susceptibility to the broad-spectrum antibiotics piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) and meropenem (MEM) for Enterobacterales strains susceptible to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (AMC) and negative for extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). We measured the effects on hospital-wide antibiotic consumption (defined daily doses/1000 admissions) and resistance of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae on two levels. First, we compared resistance and antibiotic use for the antibiotics impacted by the intervention (AMC, TZP and MEM) with control antibiotics that were consistently reported (fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and third-generation cephalosporins). Second, we compared the resistance for TZP and MEM with a control pathogen (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and studied the impact on rate of Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhoea in our hospital. Results We observed an overall increased use of AMC relative to overall antibiotic consumption (20.0%, p<0.0001) together with a decreased use of TZP (−11.9%, p=0.049) and unchanged use of MEM (p=0.68) relative to overall antibiotic consumption. As for resistance, the number of ESBL-positive K. pneumoniae strains diminished by 5.9% (p<0.0001). When focusing on intensive care units, the carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) rate also decreased by 4.5% (p=0.0091). For E. coli, no significant difference in ESBL (p=0.33) and CPE (p=0.48) rates were observed. No significant difference in the rate of C. difficile infections was observed (p=0.40). Conclusions Restricted susceptibility reporting of TZP and MEM was associated with a significant increased use of AMC and decreased use of TZP relative to overall antibiotic consumption and significant reduction in ESBL- and CPE-positive K. pneumoniae strains.


Our tribe is Yaqui, or Yoeme, or Hiaki Yoeme. Our traditional language is known as Yoemem; it is connected to the Uto-Aztecan language families that encompasses, among others, the O'odham, Tarahumara, Pima, Mayo and Huichol peoples of the Sonoran Desert regions of North and Central America. There are songs and dances that are shared between some of these language families that frequently contain images of the natural world, such as moths, flowers, deer, or mountains – elements that evoke connection in order to encourage the restoration of wellness and healing through telling stories of cycles of life. For our tribe, these are the songs and dances that one hears most often at ceremony. Repeating and rhythmic, growing up from the landscape, these songs and dances are the ones that call us home.


---------------------------------------------------------------------***--------------------------------------------------------------------Abstract Turbo codes are a new class of forward error correcting codes that have proved to give a performance close to the channel capacity as proposed by C. Shannon. A turbo code encoder is formed by the parallel concatenation of two identical recursive convolutional encoders separated by an interleaver. The turbo code decoder utilizes two cascaded decoding blocks where each block in turn shares a priori information produced by the other. The decoding scheme has the benefit to work iteratively such that the overall performance can be improved. In this paper, a performance analysis of turbo codes is carried out. Log maximum a posteriori probability (Log-MAP) algorithm is used in the performance analysis. The effect of using different decoding schemes is studied on both punctured and unpunctured codes. Simulations are carried out with the help of MATLAB tools.


SUMMARY
Present-day pollen assemblages from 38 sites within differing but closely juxtaposed plant communities from the Storbreen glacier foreland in southern Norway, provide evidence for the degree to which these plant communities can be characterized by distinctive pollen assemblages. Multivariate statistical analyses of the data demonstrate a broad, tripartite division in the pollen record which reflects the three major vegetation types: (i) Pioneer Poa alpina–Trisetum spicatum community; (ii) Snowbed Salix herbacea-dominated community; (iii) Dwarf-shrub heath community. Occasional overrepresentation of Salix, Oxyria and Cyperaceae pollen leads to assemblages that are difficult to characterize and remain outside all major groups. Four general pollen indices are derived, each of which provide maximum limiting estimates for the proportion of pollen derived from different potential source areas. Combined with isopollen mapping the indices suggest that in pioneer communities between 20–40% of pollen collected within the community could have derived locally i.e. within the 16 m2 quadrat, whereas in the dwarf-shrub heath this figure rises to over 60%. The remaining pollen largely originates from long distance transport, i.e. < 1 km, with little movement of foreland-derived pollen across the foreland itself. Thus the 'extra-local' component appears to play a relatively insignificant role within the area of study. The ability to separate such local and long-distance elements will prove of particular value in the reconstruction of the history of plant communities beyond the tree-line.


An apparatus for receiving and storing a plurality of nestable articles comprising an elongate tubular receptacle for receiving and storing the plurality of articles as a nested stack of articles. The receptacle has an open article-receiving end and a partially open other end for retaining the nested stack of articles in the receptacle. Attachment means are provided on an exterior surface of the receptacle for pivotally suspending the receptacle from a waste container for rotation relative to the waste container about a pivot point. In use, the receptacle is held on the waste container with the open article-receiving end positioned above the partially open other end. Upon rotation of the receptacle about the pivot point so that the article-receiving end is positioned below the partially open other end, the nested stack of articles are removable under gravity from the receptacle through the open article-receiving end.


Although 25%-50% of white dwarfs (WDs) display evidence for remnant planetary systems, their orbital architectures and overall sizes remain unknown. Vibrant close-in (~1 Solar radius) circumstellar activity is detected at WDs spanning many Gyrs in age, suggestive of planets further away. Here we demonstrate how systems with 4 and 10 closely-packed planets that remain stable and ordered on the main sequence can become unpacked when the star evolves into a WD and experience pervasive inward planetary incursions throughout WD cooling. Our full-lifetime simulations run for the age of the Universe and adopt main sequence stellar masses of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 Solar masses, which correspond to the mass range occupied by the progenitors of typical present-day WDs. These results provide (i) a natural way to generate an ever-changing dynamical architecture in post-main-sequence planetary systems, (ii) an avenue for planets to achieve temporary close-in orbits that are potentially detectable by transit photometry, and (iii) a dynamical explanation for how residual asteroids might pollute particularly old WDs.


In this research, the effect of the addition of fly ash particles with different weight
ratios of 15%, 20%, and 25% as well as the addition steel fibers with different
volume fractions of 0.25%, 0.75%, and 1.25% on the mechanical properties of
concrete (compressive strength and modulus of rupture) was studied. To carry out
this research, ten concrete mixes were prepared, one of which is the reference
normal concrete (without any additives), the others contain steel fibers and fly ash
as additives with the mentioned volumetric and weight proportions. For each type
of concrete mix, three standard 150×300 mm cylinders and three standard prisms
100×100×500 mm were casted, water to cementing material ratio was fixed for all
concrete mixes (W/cm = 0.435) and the superplasticizer was used with ratio of
0.98%-1.22% by weight of the cementitious material in mixtures that contain steel
fibers and fly ash particles as a partial replacement of cement weight. The results
showed that the addition of fly ash particles had little effect on the mechanical
properties of normal concrete, while the steel fibers had the greatest effect. The
highest increase in compressive strength and flexural strength compared with
reference concrete was 61.60% and 78.84%, respectively in the volume fractions
1.25% of steel fiber.


We have observed CH absorption lines (J = 3/2, N = 1 <- J = 1/2, N = 1) against the continuum source Sgr B2(M) using the Herschel/HIFI instrument. With the high spectral resolution and wide velocity coverage provided by HIFI, 31 CH absorption features with different radial velocities and line widths are detected and identified. The narrower line width and lower column density clouds show "spiral arm" cloud characteristics, while the absorption component with the broadest line width and highest column density corresponds to the gas from the Sgr B2 envelope. The observations show that each "spiral arm" harbors multiple velocity components, indicating that the clouds are not uniform and that they have internal structure. This line-of-sight through almost the entire Galaxy offers unique possibilities to study the basic chemistry of simple molecules in diffuse clouds, as a variety of different cloud classes are sampled simultaneously. We find that the linear relationship between CH and H-2 column densities found at lower AV by UV observations does not continue into the range of higher visual extinction. There, the curve flattens, which probably means that CH is depleted in the denser cores of these clouds.


Background Mental disorders (MD) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) patients has been poorly described and recognized. Objective To describe the frequency and spectrum of mental disorders in SLE and APS patients. Methods 71 patients with mean (M±SD) age 38,8±11,7 years were enrolled in the study: 21 of proven SLE patients, 26 – SLE with secondary APS and 24 – with proven primary APS (PAPS). 54 (76,1%) patients were women. SLE activity was measured by SLEDAI scale. MD were diagnosed by psychiatrist in accordance with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and ICD-10 in semi-structured interview. The severity of depression and anxiety was evaluated by Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). CD were diagnosed with psychology and neuropsychology methods. Results The patients with SLE, SLE+APS and PAPS didn't differ in age, but in PAPS group men met more often. The groups didn't differ in SLE activity. The rate of MD (mainly anxiety-depressive disorders) were high, highest in SLE patients. Recurrent depressive disorder met more often. The prevalence of anxiety-depressive disorders: recurrent depressive disorder, single depressive disorder, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder was significantly higher in SLE than in SLE+APS groups (p=0,03). Bipolar disorder didn't meet in PAPS patients. Epileptic syndrome met more often (ns) in SLE+APS patients. The prevalence of schizotypal disorder was higher (ns) in patients with SLE (SLE and SLE+APS groups) (also higher than in population). Vascular dementia was diagnosed more often (ns) in APS patients (SLE+APS and PAPS groups). The rate of cognitive difficulties was very high in all groups, with predominance of mild and moderate impairment. Conclusion Chronic depressive and cognitive disorders are typical for patients with SLE, SLE+APS and PAPS. Mild and moderate cognitive disorders diagnosed in PAPS-patients significantly more often (p


GTOPO30 is a global raster digital elevation model (DEM) providing terrain elevation data with a horizontal grid spacing of 30 arc seconds (approximately 1 kilometer). GTOPO30 was derived from several raster and vector sources of topographic information. For easier distribution, GTOPO30 has been divided into tiles [http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds758.0/docs/tiles.gif]. Detailed information on the characteristics of GTOPO30 including the data distribution format, the data sources, production methods, accuracy, and hints for users, is found in the GTOPO30 README [http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds758.0/docs/readme.txt] file.\n\n GTOPO30, completed in late 1996, was developed over a three year period through a collaborative effort led by staff at the U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS). The following organizations participated by contributing funding or source data: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United Nations Environment Program and Global Resource Information Database (UNEP and GRID), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Instituto Nacional de Estadistica Geografica e Informatica (INEGI) of Mexico, the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) of Japan, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research of New Zealand, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).


The problem of the development of a small literary genre of historical anecdote in Russia in the second half of the 18th century is researched. The question is raised on the manuscript of the translation of "Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great" by Academician J. Shtelin (1709—1785) into Russian, which was made by the famous person of the Age of Enlightenment A. A. Nartov (1736/1737—1813) in 1785. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the article is the first study of the manuscript, which remained unpublished and was not the subject of research. It is proved that Nartov's translation of Shtelin's work became an impetus for him to create his own historical and literary work, now known as Nartov's Tales of Peter the Great (1786). It is concluded that Nartov's collection of historical anecdotes is a literary work, which was created with extensive use of Shtelin's "Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great". The study of Nartov's manuscript also made it possible to establish that the author of the first translation of Shtelin's work published in Russia (1785) was the famous translator and publisher P. I. Bogdanovich.


Spectacular achievements have been attained in the angiographic diagnosis and surgical treatment of vascular disease in recent years. The benefits have extended to sundry vascular territories including the mesenteric circulation.1-3Additional information appears desirable especially with respect to borderline degrees of circulatory embarrassment such as are associated with intestinal disorders other than infarction. The most dramatic but by no means the only manifestation of borderline mesenteric arterial insufficiency is abdominal angina, a syndrome for which many synonyms are found in the literature: visceral angina,4intestinal angina,5intermittent anemic dysperistalsis,6abdominal intermittent claudication,7abdominal pain of vascular origin,8chronic midgut ischemia,9intermittent ischemia of mesenteric arteries,10and others. Materials and Methods The observations here to be reported are based on an angiographic study of the mesenteric arterial circulation carried out post mortem on a population with an average age of about 60 years. This study reported on in a.


Pediatric liver transplantation (PLT) has very good results at experienced transplant centers. However, there is still an ongoing discussion about inferior outcomes, especially in young infants. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate outcomes of infants compared to older recipients in a single center over 20 years. We conducted a retrospective study of children who received liver transplants at our center between 1991 and 2011. Only patients without other limiting organ involvement were included and compared according to age. The inclusion criteria were fulfilled by 351 patients (173 vs. 178). The most common indication in both groups was biliary atresia (82.1% vs. 49.4%). The 1‐, 5‐, and 10‐year patient survivals were 93.8%/91.8%/91.1% and 93%/90.8%/90.1%, and the graft survivals were 90.4%/83.5%/79.6% and 89.4%/81.8%/77.5%, respectively. Complications such as postoperative bleeding, biliary complications, or perfusion impairment occurred more often in infants. Leading indications for retransplantation (vascular complications/primary nonfunction) and leading causes of death (sepsis/multiorgan failure) were the same in both groups. Significant predictors for patient loss were decade of transplantation, retransplantation, postoperative bleeding, and infections for infants. Predictors for graft loss were bowel perforation, arterial thrombosis, and age >12 months. Children can have excellent results, independent of age at PLT.


It is unclear whether Mediator complex in yeast is necessary for all RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription or if it is limited to genes activated by environmental stress. In mammals, amino acid limitation induces SNAT2 transcription through ATF4 binding at an amino acid response element. ATF4 is the functional counterpart to the yeast amino acid-dependent regulator GCN4 and GCN4 recruits Mediator during transcriptional activation. Consistent with enhanced SNAT2 transcription activity, the present data demonstrate that amino acid limitation increased SNAT2 promoter association of the general transcription factors that make up the preinitiation complex, including Pol II, but there was no increase in Mediator recruitment. Furthermore, siRNA knockdown of eight Mediator subunits caused no significant decrease in SNAT2 transcription. The estrogen-dependent pS2 gene was used as a positive control for both the ChIP and the siRNA approaches and the data demonstrated the requirement for Mediator recruitment. These results document that activation of the SNAT2 gene by the mammalian amino acid response pathway occurs independently of enhanced Mediator recruitment.


It is known that the recovery period after laparoscopic surgery is quicker than open surgery. Therefore, it is important to know the variations of the renal calyceal pattern prior to the laparoscopic surgery during renal surgeries. We analyzed the calyceal system in kidney donors using 64-Slice Computed Tomography Angiography. A total 99 healthy kidney donors were included to study the pattern of pelvicalyceal pattern and to classify further into bi-calyceal, tri-calyceal and multi-calyceal. This study found that bi-calyceal pattern is the most common pattern and further this pattern was more in right side in males and left side in females. The numbers of minor calyces were significantly more in right multi-calyceal pattern than left multi-calyceal, tri-calyceal and bi-calyceal patterns. The association of occurrence in these patterns was significant in males with strong association and insignificant in females. A detailed description of intrarenal arterial patternand its relationship with calyceal pattern could give great significance in renal transplantation and also for other urological procedures.


We hypothesized that reactive arthritis can be induced in the knees and ankles of wild-type C57BL/6 mice following infection with Chlamydia muridarum through the involvement of inflammatory mediators. Reactive arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis, which can also result in conjunctivitis and inflammation of the genital, urinary, or gastrointestinal systems. C. muridarum is a gram-negative obligate intracellular pathogen which can infect the epithelium of the cervix, urethra, and rectum. The exact pathological mechanism of reactive arthritis is unknown. It is understood to result from CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and factors including TNF-alpha and perforin. Five groups of C57BL/6J mice were used including a positive control group, CD4+ T cells knockout mice, TNF-alpha knockout mice, perforin knockout mice and TNFRSF knockout mice. Mice from each group were intra-vaginally infected with 5×104 inclusion forming units of C. muridarum, marked as day 0. The mice were swabbed a few days after infection to confirm C. muridarum. The mice from each group were euthanized on day 7 and day 14, and sera was collected and analyzed for cytokine expression using an antibody array. Ankles collected from C57BL/6J positive control mice were histologically processed and graded to determine pathology. C57BL/6J positive control mice showed increased synovial lining thickening 14 days following infection. Cytokine expression from TNF-alpha knockout mice, CD4+ T cells knockout mice, perforin knockout mice, and TNFRSF knockout mice was generally reduced. The results show that chlamydial induced reactive arthritis can be detected in the ankles of C57BL/6J mice and suggest that TNF-alpha and CD4+ T cells may be involved in this inflammatory process.


Exposure of human bodies to the electromagnetic waves emitted in various ways in our daily lives has become a growing concern. The extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic waves generated from ordinary products and electric power facilities are closely related to our daily lives. Nevertheless, there has been no clear solution suggested to shield the ELF electromagnetic waves from electronic products used by the general public. This study investigated the electromagneticwave shielding effects when exposed to ELF-emitting heating products. We (i) installed an actual surface heater on the floor of the classroom, (ii) measured the electromagnetic wave exposure at different settings (shielding/non-shielding/isolation distance), (iii) compared the measured results with the applicable international standards, and (iv) suggested a solution to shield electromagnetic waves and underscored the importance of isolation distance.


This report presents a methodology for developing criteria for design evaluation of safety-related actions by nuclear power plant reactor operators, and identifies a supporting data base. It is the eleventh and final NUREG/CR Report on the Safety-Related Operator Actions Program, conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The operator performance data were developed from training simulator experiments involving operator responses to simulated scenarios of plant disturbances; from field data on events with similar scenarios; and from task analytic data. A conceptual model to integrate the data was developed and a computer simulation of the model was run, using the SAINT modeling language. Proposed is a quantitative predictive model of operator performance, the Operator Personnel Performance Simulation (OPPS) Model, driven by task requirements, information presentation, and system dynamics. The model output, a probability distribution of predicted time to correctly complete safety-related operator actions, provides data for objective evaluation of quantitative design criteria.


This study examined the effectiveness of Telegram social network on the writing performance of adult English as foreign language (EFL) learners at intermediate level. To achieve this, Oxford Quick Placement Test (2004) was administered to 46 EFL learners at Zaban-e No language institute in Talesh, Iran. Those who met the selection criterion, i.e., performed one standard deviation above and below the mean on the test were divided into two classes ( n = 30): control group ( n = 15) and experimental group ( n = 15). Participants in the experimental group were provided with writing instruction and contributed cooperatively to the task of writing through Telegram for 8 weeks (2 sessions each week, and 90 minutes per session) while the control group underwent a traditional instruction of writing. Pretests and posttests of writing task were administered and t tests were used to compare means of test scores within and between groups. The results revealed that while the two groups were homogeneous in terms of their writing performance before the treatment, the experimental group outperformed the control group on the posttest. That is, teaching writing through the Telegram social network was a significantly effective model to improve EFL learners' writing performance.


Current standard meteorological balloon types do not meet Army world-wide tactical requirements for a high-altitude (100,000 ft) balloon in that they perform in-adequately at the extreme climatic conditions that exist in both arctic and tropic regions at night. Investigative studies have led to the development of experimental balloon models that have penetrated the very cold tropical stratosphere with a high degree of success. Performance in the arctic night, although somewhat improved, still lacks the consistent reliability required for field use. The balloon developed is similar in physical dimensions and appearance to the balloon used by Army, USAF, and Weather Bureau rawinsonde stations in temperate latitudes.


It seems that rye is a twice domesticated cereal. Then, in the course of the Early Iron Age in Central or Eastern Europe, it is again transformed from weed to crop plant. We summarized the development of rye and his spread in the Carpathian Basin based on archaeobotanical data. The grains of the rye were found always in charcoal form. The rye appeared in Carpathian Basin during the Neolithic Age. Sporadic occurrences of rye were also found in Early Bronze Age Bell Beaker-Csepel Group and Early Iron age Scythian cultures. The prehistoric grains were small and longshaped. In the Prehistoric Ages rye should be exist as weed of hulled wheats. His cultivation started in the Roman Age. The grains found in roman sites are always big and reel shaped like recently. Only a few grains were found in the Migration Periode. Among cereals of the conquering Hungarians rye is present. Rye became common product in the Late Medieval Ages. It was grown in a big quantity everywhere, but not independently, but mixed with the wheat.


Some individuals die before a trait is measured or expressed (the invisible fraction), and some relevant traits are not measured in any individual (missing traits). This paper discusses how these concepts can be cast in terms of missing data problems from statistics. Using missing data theory, I show formally the conditions under which a valid evolutionary inference is possible when the invisible fraction and/or missing traits are ignored. These conditions are restrictive and unlikely to be met in even the most comprehensive long-term studies. When these conditions are not met, many selection and quantitative genetic parameters cannot be estimated accurately unless the missing data process is explicitly modelled. Surprisingly, this does not seem to have been attempted in evolutionary biology. In the case of the invisible fraction, viability selection and the missing data process are often intimately linked. In such cases, models used in survival analysis can be extended to provide a flexible and justified model of the missing data mechanism. Although missing traits pose a more difficult problem, important biological parameters can still be estimated without bias when appropriate techniques are used. This is in contrast to current methods which have large biases and poor precision. Generally, the quantitative genetic approach is shown to be superior to phenotypic studies of selection when invisible fractions or missing traits exist because part of the missing information can be recovered from relatives.


The goal of this study was to complete a systematic review of research on the occurrence the levels of physical activity (PA), forms of intervention and factors associated with this practice among preschool children. Studies published in the period between 2006 and 2016 were investigated, using the PubMed and SPORTDiscus databases. The search terms identified 177 articles, of which 41 met the inclusion criteria. Goals, methodologies and results were analysed. The studies used various cut-off points to establish the desired level of PA, along with different types of interventions. Overall, the problem of low level of PA among preschool children appears to be increasing. Involvement and participation of parents and teachers, guidance from booklets and other information sources, parent instruction and availability of extracurricular activities were considered positive factors that tended to increase children's PA levels, whereas parental obesity was a negative factor. New studies to define sedentary behaviour in preschool children are required to clarify the nature of this problem, along with the establishment of prevention programmes with ecological design aimed at schools, families and other sectors of society.


Purpose: To determine the pattern of antihypertensive medication prescription in a referral hospital in Nigeria and its use by patients. Methods: By method of convenience sampling, 4954 prescriptions were collected from 376 files of hypertensive patients (> 18 years) visiting a referral hospital in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria between June and July 2009, were retrospectively surveyed. Data on visits, antihypertensive medication, nonantihypertensive medication and drug adverse effects were extracted, coded and analyzed. Results: The mean age of hypertensive patients was 61 years, and an almost equal number of females (49 %) and males (51 %) visited the hospital. The average number of antihypertensive drug per patient was 2.63 ± 0.92 and 90 % of the patients were prescribed more than one drug in their last visit. For individual antihypertensive drugs, hydrochlorothiazide (29.7 %) and lisinopril (20.3 %) were the most prescribed with low-dose aspirin (39.7 %) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (16.7 %) occurring as most co-prescribed medication. Adverse effects were reported by 11 % of the patients while 18 % of the patients were non-adherent. Conclusion: The study showed a high use of more than one drug as supported by applicable guidelines hypertension, with diuretics and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors ACEIs the being most prescribed probably due to their low-cost and observed efficacy in this setting. Keywords: Antihypertensives, Prescribing, Referral, Drug utilization, Nigeria


The paper intends to evaluate the behavior of states before the rules negotiated in WTO in the GATT, GATS and TRIPS agendas. Using the concepts proposed by Botcheva and Martin (2001) of convergence and divergence as well as success and non success of the rules negotiated, we analyze a sample of 30 states.


Galloway–Mowat syndrome (GAMOS) is a very rare condition characterized by early‐onset nephrotic syndrome and microcephaly with variable neurologic features. While considerable genetic heterogeneity of GAMOS has been identified, the majority of cases are caused by pathogenic variants in genes encoding the four components of the Kinase, endopeptidase, and other proteins of small size (KEOPS) complex, one of which is TP53RK. Here we describe a 3‐year‐old male with progressive microcephaly, neurodevelopmental deficits, and glomerular proteinuria. He was found to carry a novel homozygous TP53RK missense variant, c.163C>G (p.Arg55Gly), which was considered as potentially disease‐causing. We generated a morpholino tp53rk knockdown model in Xenopus laevis showing that the depletion of endogenous Tp53rk caused abnormal eye and head development. This phenotype could be rescued by the expression of human wildtype TP53RK but not by the c.163C>G mutant nor by another previously described GAMOS‐associated mutant c.125G>A (p.Gly42Asp). These findings support the pathogenic role of the novel TP53RK variant.


It is difficult to see what class of readers this book is really aimed at. It is far from being the straightforward exposition of the subject which the title might suggest. Indeed, references to Sanskrit sources are outweighed three or four times over by quotations from Western writers. Every mention of a point of Indian doctrine is followed by a breathless rush to Valery or Wordsworth or Bergson, so that at times the book reads like a 400-page essay in name-dropping. On the two pages 220-221, which are by no means exceptional, we meet Milton C. Nahm, Arthur R. Howell, Kant, Claudel, Norman MacCaig, John Wain, Blake, Max Schoen, and, of all people, Theodore Watts-Dunton (Swinburne appears on p. 109). Eliot, of course, abounds (not always well-understood—the quotation from him on p. 392, "And after this our exile'", hardly supports the point being made, for the noun "exile" is governed by the preposition). All this, like the lack of diacritic marks, will no doubt prove profoundly irritating to the Sanskritist, who, however, will find it difficult to disagree directly with the author, since he presents Sanskrit theories so obliquely and so much in his own terms. When he is more explicit, one is uneasy: talking of the Natya Sastra's rasa-sutra, he says (p. 2), "But since this formula is given after referring to the very important concept of the Sthayi Bhava, a fuller rendering would be this: 'When the Vibhavas, Anubhavas and the Vyabhichari Bhavas combine to awaken the Sthayi Bhaya, the awakened Sthayi Bhava finally develops into Rasa.' " In fact, however, sthdyibhdva is nowhere in the preceding context (it has not been mentioned since verse 17): in view of the Natya Sastra's subsequent language, this omission may be no more than a happy accident, but even the Natya $astra does not suggest that the anubhavas could help in awakening the sthdyibhdva, and certainly the notion that sthdyibhdva should figure at all in this definition was quite discounted by later theorists from Sankuka onwards—as Abhinavagupta says, any mention of it here would be a thorn in the side {Natya Sdstra G.O.S. 2nd ed. p. 284, "ata eva sutre sthayigrahanam na krtam. tat pratyuta salyabhutam syat"). What indeed would be the point of saying that actual anger or sorrow is awakened at any stage in the aesthetic experience? All that is awakened is the raudra or the karuna rasa. The intention of the book is to relate Sanskrit poetics to Western thought, or as the dust-jacket puts it "integrate it with world currents", and make its speculations available to non-Sanskritists; but it is doubtful whether the author's restless, magpie approach could ever achieve this. It is one thing to strip the subject of technicalities intelligible only to the specialist, quite another to obscure its framework beneath a plastering of alien jargon. Mr. Chaitanya's style of writing is repellent. The following comma-less sentence (p. 213) is not untypical: "Sanskrit poetics has developed an important concept to clarify the capacity of the aesthetic context to raise the threshold against the power of stimuli to develop the urge towards practical participation or elicit emotions which have the rawness of confrontations in day-to-day living". I do not think many Western readers will struggle successfully with several hundred pages of this, or gain any very precise notion of Sanskrit poetics from the inextricable confusion of Eastern and Western ideas in which the subject is presented. This is a great pity, for one feels that he has been more deeply stirred by his theme than have many more sober and pedantic expositors.


Dynamic photoacoustic spectroscopy (DPAS) is a high sensitivity technique for standoff detection of trace vapors. A field-portable DPAS system has potential as an early warning provider for gaseous-based chemical threats. For the first time, we utilize DPAS to successfully detect the presence of trace aerosols. Aerosol identification via long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) spectra is demonstrated. We estimate the sensitivity of our DPAS system to aerosols comprised of silica particles is comparable to that of SF(6) gas based on a signal level per absorbance unit metric for the two materials. The implications of these measurements are discussed.


Background: Proteasome inhibitors (PIs) are standard treatments for multiple myeloma (MM). The risk of cardiac adverse events (CAEs) with PIs has been documented with bortezomib and carfilzomib; however, only a few studies have been reported on ixazomib. Furthermore, the effects of concomitant medications including dexamethasone and lenalidomide remain unclear. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the safety signals of adverse events related to CAEs, the effect of concomitant medications, the time to the occurrence of CAEs, and the incidence of fatal clinical outcomes after the occurrence of CAEs for three PIs using the US Pharmacovigilance database. Methods: We examined 1,567,240 cases of 231 drugs registered as anticancer drugs in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) database from January 1997 to March 2021. We compared the odds of developing CAEs between patients who received PIs and those who received non-PI anticancer drugs. Results: Bortezomib treatment resulted in significantly higher reporting odds ratios (RORs) for cardiac failure, cardiac failure congestive, and atrial fibrillation. Carfilzomib treatment resulted in significantly higher RORs for cardiac failure, congestive cardiac failure, atrial fibrillation, and QT prolonged. However, no adverse event CAE signals were observed with ixazomib treatment. A signal was detected for the safety of cardiac failure with bortezomib or carfilzomib, regardless of the presence or absence of concomitant medications. Safety signals for cardiac failure congestive with bortezomib and for cardiac failure congestive, atrial fibrillation, and QT prolonged with carfilzomib were observed only with dexamethasone combination therapy. Co-administration of lenalidomide and its derivatives did not affect the safety of bortezomib and carfilzomib. Conclusion: We identified CAE safety signals for bortezomib and carfilzomib exposure when compared with 231 other anticancer agents. The safety signal for developing cardiac failure for both the drugs did not differ between patients with and without concomitantly administered medications.


Theory suggests that relations between authorities affect implementation. This article studies the link between central and local government agencies in the Swedish labour market sector. The analysis is based on new quantitative data. The results indicate that central and local government agencies have very different priorities, but they nonetheless cooperate to a considerable extent. However, cooperation and 'good' implementation only coincide under certain conditions. If the collaborative endeavours are explicitly designed to lead to implementation of a specific and demanding task, cooperation is positively related to implementation performance. Agencies that collaborate to a considerable extent at a general level do not, however, perform better than others. Thus, I argue that theories should be developed and tested to indicate when cooperation between public authorities will promote implementation, instead of assuming that cooperation, in general, is a 'good thing'.


Social complexity may drive complexity in communicative systems due to an individual's need to navigate unpredictable interactions with multiple conspecifics. Cooperative breeding primates (marmosets and tamarins; family: Callitrichidae) live in groups with moderate to high reproductive skew, particularly in females, whereby sexually mature individuals are frequently prevented from breeding. Remarkably, dispersal from natal groups is not stereotyped upon reaching reproductive maturity. Individuals are often observed remaining in their natal groups until the same-sex breeder in their group or a neighboring group dies, experiencing hormonal reproductive suppression, aggression, and limited access to potential mates. Here we examined whether emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator) might use vocal signals to reduce dispersal risks and maximize the likelihood of attaining a breeding position. Using six consecutive years of mark-recapture data, we showed that sexually mature non-breeders (herein "secondary breeders") are more likely to leave their groups from one year to the next than sexually mature breeders ("primary breeders"). This confirmed that, unlike primary breeders who do not need to disperse in order to reproduce, secondary breeders are choosing to accept the risks associated with dispersal and emigrating from their natal groups. We used neural networks to classify vocalizations according to individual breeding status, and conducted a series of playback experiments which demonstrated that tamarins discriminated between the calls of primary and secondary breeders. Our data support the hypotheses that secondary breeders disperse to increase mating opportunities and use vocalizations to signal their availability to potential mates. This species of cooperative breeder appears to use vocalization to navigate its social and reproductive systems, minimizing risks of dispersal and in turn increasing the likelihood of reproductive success. This research has important implications for our understanding of sexual signaling, partner choice, and reproductive success in cooperative breeders.


ABSTRACT The flower fly genus Asiobaccha Violovitsh is revised and 10 new species are described: A. aea Mengual & Thompson, A. albipeza Mengual, A. aquila Thompson & Mengual, A. doesburgi Mengual, A. marissae Mengual, A. maculosa Mengual & Thompson, A. notofasciata Thompson & Mengual, A. samoaensis Mengual, A. selsi Mengual and A. taronja Mengual. Moreover, lectotypes are designated for Baccha semifumosa Meijere, Baccha luteolimbata Meijere, Asiobaccha nubilipennis (Austen), A. praefica (Bezzi), A. virtuosa (Curran) and A. sauteri (Kertész), and a neotype for A. loriae (Meijere) is also designated. New synonyms are proposed: Baccha schistaceifrons Meijere and Baccha semifumosa Meijer are synonymised under Asiobaccha bicolor (Austen); Baccha luteolimbata Meijere is a junior synonym of Asiobaccha tinctiventris (Meijere); Baccha flavipes Doesburg is a junior synonym of Asiobaccha tripartita (Walker); Baccha gigas Curran is a junior synonym of Asiobaccha virtuosa Curran; and the syntypes of Baccha sulica Austen are synonymised under Asiobaccha bicolor (Austen) and Asiobaccha tripartita. Diagnoses, illustrations, synonymies and distributional data are given for all described species. Descriptions of new species as well as an identification key to all known species are also provided. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6B627B0F-9440-47F1-90F4-9AF4C7308A99


Abstract To evaluate the influence of the size of the defect and the age of surgical repair on left ventricular mechanics, including geometry, shape, diastolic and systolic function as well as myocardial contractility, we used cross-sectional echo-Doppler to study 20 patients (12 males, 8 females) who had undergone successful surgical closure of a ventricular septal defect. The patients were divided in two groups, corrected early and late, on the basis of the degree of left-to-right shunting (ratio of pulmonary to systemic output of greater or less than 2.5/1) and the age at the surgical repair (older or younger than 2 years of age). The group undergoing early correction included 11 patients, mean age 7.1 ± 1.8 years (range 4.2–11.8 years) having surgery at mean age of 1.3±0.6 years for a large ventricular septal defect (mean ratio of pulmonary to systemic output of 3.1/1; range 3.4–2.7/1) with a mean postoperative follow-up 4.6±1.9 years. The group of nine patients undergoing late correction had a mean age of 11.3±4.9 years (range 6.7–17.2 years), with a later surgical repair (mean age 4.7±2.7 years) for a moderate-sized ventricular septal defect (mean pulmonary/systemic output ratio 2.1/1; range 2.3–1.7) and a mean postoperative follow-up of 7±4.2 years. Each group of surgically repaired patients was compared with a control group matched for age, body surface area and gender. No significant differences were found between the normal controls and those undergoing early correction for any assessed functional index regarding left ventricular geometry (normalized volumes and mass for body surface area, mass/volume and thickness/radius ratios), shape (long axis–short axis ratio), diastolic (mitral and pulmonary venous flow patterns) and systolic (fractional shortening and rate-corrected mean velocity of circumferential fibre shortening) function. In addition, the data points for each patient for the rate-corrected mean velocity of circumferential fibre shortening to end-systolic stress relationship were within the 95% confidence limits of normal, suggesting normal left ventricular contractility. On the other hand, the patients undergoing surgery at a later age showed a persistent increase of the normalized left ventricular end-diastolic volume and mass, with an higher mass/volume ratio and reduced end-systolic stress compared with normal controls. Furthermore, left ventricular shape (long axis–short axis ratio) was abnormal at end-diastole but with its normal values at end-systole. Our data suggest that, in the presence of a large ventricular septal defect, early successful surgical repair <2 years of age results in complete recovery of left ventricular mechanics in the postoperative follow-up. In ntrast, surgical closure at >2 years of age, even for a moderately sized ventricular septal defect, deleteriously affects postoperative left ventricular geometry and shape. Since prolonged volume overload may be detrimental to myocardial function, earlier surgical repair should be recommended.