Laparoscopic cancer surgery has been reported to facilitate tumor dissemination. In our experience with 158 laparoscopic cholecystectomies, we encountered 2 cases (1.3%) of unsuspected gallbladder cancer. We report these 2 cases to illustrate the disadvantages of laparoscopic tumor resection. In Case 1, a 60-year-old woman with symptomatic cholecystolithiasis underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy revealing an unsuspected gallbladder cancer (pT2). Five months later, localized peritoneal carcinomatosis developed in the right subphrenic space, and she died from disseminated disease 19 months postoperatively. Laparoscopic manipulation may have caused the unusual, localized seeding. In Case 2, laparoscopic cholecystectomy was initiated for a polypoid lesion of the gallbladder in a 69-year-old man. When laparoscopy revealed a concomitant cancer (pT3), resection was converted to an open radical cholecystectomy. He remains alive without evidence of disease 31 months postoperatively. Conversion to open surgery may have contributed to the favorable outcome. The contrast between the 2 cases suggests that laparoscopic cholecystectomy should be converted to open surgery whenever malignancy is suspected. Surgeons should note that laparoscopic resection may disseminate cancer.


Freshwater acidification continues to be a major problem affecting large areas of Europe, and while there is evidence for chemical recovery, similar evidence for biological recovery of freshwaters is sparse. The need for a methodology to identify waterbodies impacted acidification and to assess the extent of biological recovery is relevant to the EU Water Framework Directive, which requires methods to quantify differences in biology between impacted and unimpacted or reference sites. This study presents a new WFD-compliant metric based on diatoms (Diatom Acidification Metric: DAM) for assessing the acidification status of rivers. A database of 558 benthic diatom samples and associated water chemistry data was assembled. Diatom taxa were assigned to one of 5 indicator classes on the basis of their pH optimum, assessed using Gaussian logistic regression, and these indicator values used to calculate a DAM score for each site using weighted averaging. Reference sites were selected on the basis of their acid neutralising capacity (ANC) and calcium concentration, and a regression model developed to predict expected DAM for each site using pH and total organic carbon (TOC) concentration. Site-specific DAM scores were used to calculate ecological quality ratios ranging from ≥1, where the diatom assemblage showed no impact, to (theoretically) 0, when the diatom assemblage long-term data from 11 sites from the UK Uplands Waters Monitoring Network and is shown to perform well in discriminating naturally acid from acidified sites.


Influence of mechanical stresses on AC losses in two kinds of multi-filamentary Bi2223/Ag sheathed wires, twisted and non-twisted, was investigated. The uni-axial tensile stress was applied to the sample wires in liquid nitrogen at atmospheric pressure, and the AC losses (transport, magnetization and total AC losses) were measured by an electric method. The experimental results show that there were differences in the stress dependences of the critical currents which affected the AC loss characteristics. However, the tensile stresses do not influence the AC loss characteristics in both of the two kinds of the samples in reversible critical current region where the stress dependent critical current recovers its virgin value at zero stress by releasing the stresses.


Introduction Contracture is a pathological scar tissue resulting from local skin tissue damage, secondary to different local factors. It can restrict joint mobility, resulting in deformity and disability. This study aimed to investigate the outcomes of skin grafts compared to local flaps to reconstruct post-burn elbow contractures. These parameters included regaining function, range of movement, recurrence, and local wound complications. Methodology A retrospective study reviewed 21 patients for elbow reconstruction over 12 months. Only patients with post-burn elbow contracture were included. Other causes, including previous corrective surgery, associated elbow stiffness, and patients who opted out of post-operative physiotherapy, were excluded. Patients were categorized according to the method of coverage into three groups: graft alone (G1), local flap (G2), or combined approach (G3). Results Females were three times at higher risk to suffer a burn injury, while almost half of the cases were children. Scald injury represented 81% of burn causes. G1,2,3 were used in 47.6%, 42.9% and 9.5% of cases retrospectively. The overall rate of infection was 28.6%. Hundred percent graft taken was recorded in 83.3 % of cases; however, flap take was 91.1%. After 12 months of follow-up, re-contracture was 60% and 22.8% in G1 and G2; however, the satisfaction rate was 70% and 100% in both groups retrospectively. The overall satisfaction was 85.7% in all groups. Conclusion Grafts and local flaps are reasonable options for post contracture release; however, flaps are superior. Coverage selection depends on the lost tissue area and exposure of underlying deep structures. Physiotherapy and patient satisfaction are crucial in the outcomes.


Capsaicin 8% patch (Qutenza) is mainly used to treat postherpetic neuralgia and human immunodeficiency virus-associated neuropathy. However, evidence of the efficacy of Qutenza in other forms of neuropathic pain is lacking. A 24-year old Libyan man, with no previous medical history, sustained multiple wounds in the right side of the chest and back after a bomb explosion. The patient experienced pain, which persisted in a wide location around the surgical intervention for a long time, beyond the usual course of natural healing of an acute pain and was different from that suffered preoperatively. The characteristics of the pain included burning, electric shock-like sensation, tingling, and numbness, and it was paroxysmal. The pain was associated with hyperalgesia and intense allodynia in a wide area, approximately of 1,100 cm2. Our initial treatment strategy included pregabalin, tramadol, and duloxetine. However, our patient's pain responded to treatment with capsaicin 8% patch when the initial treatments showed only minimal effectiveness regarding the intensity of pain. Interestingly, the most important finding was that capsaicin 8% patch showed a more than 80% reduction of the area of allodynia associated with the pain, when other treatments failed. Moreover, although recent data showed that in patients who respond to Qutenza, analgesia starts within a few days of treatment and lasts on average 5 months, our patient showed an initial response within 7 days of treatment but a longer duration of more than 18 months. Although further controlled studies are needed to explore the efficacy of the capsaicin 8% patch in patients who experience posttraumatic neuropathic pain, we encourage clinicians to try the capsaicin 8% patch when alternative treatments fail.


The improved prognosis for life in retinoblastoma challenges us to readdress the severe morbidity associated with late presentation and treatment, particularly in unilateral disease. Three cases of unilateral sporadic retinoblastoma are presented to illustrate the range of therapeutic options that need to be considered in management and to show that early recognition of the tumour and local treatment have the potential to minimise morbidity and to enable binocular vision to be retained.


Discrimination is a crucial issue while considering the legality and morality of data mining. People never like to be distinguished on basis of their caste, gender, nationality, etc. specifically while making decisions with consideration of this attributes, like offering them a job, property, loan, and so forth. Also when a data is released for analysis, there are chances that personal data may be misused for different reasons. Therefore, many companies and institutions are trying to bridge the gap between mining and sharing user data so that their services are improved and user privacy is ensured. We are trying to adapt an approach which will publish the discrimination free data such that probability of learning sensitive value of individual will be reduced. Concept of Slicing is used for preserving privacy. Slicing is better approach of privacy publishing in comparison with other approaches like generalization and bucketization, as it preserves correlation between attributes and it prevents attribute disclosure. The input to the system is discriminated dataset and output will be the sliced data that helps to preserve privacy.


Acute infectious diarrhea is a worldwide public health problem. In developing countries it remains a major cause infant mortality despite therapeutic progress, especially with regard to the efficacy of oral rehydration, during the last two decades. Mortality in industrialized countries is much lower and generally stable. In most cases, acute diarrhea is a self-limiting illness that resolves with or without symptomatic treatment in a few days. In view of the high frequency and generally benign course of diarrheal diseases, management must emphasize a cost-effective approach with selective use of available diagnostic methods. The initial approach should be based on the patient's history, physical examination, and risk factors to identify infections that require more specific measures. The purpose of this report is to review currently available drug therapies and to describe treatment guidelines for adolescents and adults with uncompromised immune systems. Early rehydration is still the mainstay of treatment. Use of "etiological" treatment using antimicrobial or antiparasitic agents depends on the severity of disease and risk factors.


Background: To acquire self-management skills that affect clinical outcomes, collaboration and communication with one's health care team is essential, yet many health care systems are not designed adequately to be responsive to a patient's efforts to self-manage. This review synthesizes the intervention methodology of current studies facilitating the efforts of health care providers who wish to design, develop, and implement evidence-based SMS programs for patients with diabetes, focusing on clinical outcomes of A1C values, medication adherence rates, and participant satisfaction. Methods: This integrative review was conducted using an integrative taxonomic analysis approach. This approach involves creating a classification system with domains or characteristics, defining the relationships between those domains, and creating a foundation for new theories or constructs. Results: Synthesis of the evidence included in this integrated review suggests the best design for a SMS diabetes management program aimed at improving A1C levels, medication adherence rates, and participant satisfaction is an intervention providing weekly SMS education, with 2-way message direction, that is 3 months in length. Conclusions: The studies in this review have demonstrated that SMS interventions can be an important part of a viable and effective program in the effort to better manage adults with type 2 diabetes.


Rolled out as a solution to the problem of displacement in the new post-tsunami context of sudden natural disaster and unprecedented international humanitarian assistance, so-called "barracks camps", it is argued here, must be understood against the backdrop of pre-tsunami militarized conflict, internal displacement, forced relocation and involuntary return. However, this analysis also shows that, once introduced, barracks camps also emerged as (contested) sites for the further elaboration of the problem of displacement in the wider context of the far-reaching transformations underway in post-tsunami Aceh. That is, the materialization of barracks as a preferred mode of governmentality of displacement in post-tsunami Aceh anticipated the (in this context novel) institutionalization of (international) humanitarian needs assessments and aid delivery targeting such camp-like relocation complexes. In this way, the barracks camps also contributed to the making of new experiences of displacement, which, in turn, came to shape the orientation and practice of barracks populations. As such populations have mobilized in collective protest, this article seeks to show, they have also rendered visible the political effects of the very governmentality that has formed such an integral part of the conceptualization and implementation of the reconstruction of displaced communities in post-tsunami Aceh.


The aim of this study was to develop a deposition process using RF magnetron sputtering for the production of zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films on glass substrates. These ZnO films were to be used as the active piezoelectric element in very high frequency ultrasound transducers (> 300 MHz). In order to achieve piezoelectric activity the films had to be oriented with the c-axis of the ZnO grains perpendicular to the substrate surface. At the same time, a moderately high, at least 1 m=hr (17 nm=min) deposition rate was required for the production of practical devices. Prior to a full investigation into the sputtering parameters, an initial evaluation of the HHV Auto500 RF magnetron sputter coater system was performed. Using the original chamber configuration it was not possible to deposit ZnO at the required deposition rates. A modification of the growth chamber to allow a reduced target-substrate distance was successful in producing ZnO films at the required deposition rates. A systematic study into the deposition parameters and their effect on the ZnO film quality and deposition rates was then performed and it was found that strong c-axis oriented films could be deposited only when depositing at rates below 15 nm=min at a low substrate temperature (< 50 C). Depositions above this rate resulted in the growth of polycrystalline films. A two-step deposition process was designed to preserve c-axis orientation at high deposition rates up to 28 nm=min. The ZnO films were found to be highly strained due to inherent stress from the sputtering process. The deposition pressure was identified as the most critical deposition parameter for stress control. It was found that deposition above a critical pressure of 1:2 x10-² mbar was essential to prevent mechanical failure of the films. Post growth annealing was investigated and determined to be a viable technique to relax stress and improve the crystalline quality of the films. Finally a four-step deposition process was proposed to facilitate the growth of c-axis oriented ZnO films at relatively high deposition rates whilst minimising film stress.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune inflammatory disease. It presents with a myriad of clinical manifestations affecting every other organ system in the human body. The gastrointestinal (GI) system is one of the most commonly affected systems and it involves any part of the GI tract with an incidence ranging from 1.3% to 27.5%. GI manifestations as a presenting feature of SLE are unusual. Chronic diarrhea due to protein-losing enteropathy as the presenting manifestation of SLE is very rare, and a diagnosis of SLE should be kept in mind when other systemic manifestations are absent. Hence, we report a 29-year-old female with chronic diarrhea as the main manifestation of SLE.


SUMMARY Gaits (footfall patterns) and external mechanical energy patterns of the center of mass were quantified in a generalized, semi-erect mammal in order to address three general questions. First, do semi-erect mammals exhibit the walk/run gait transitions that have been proposed as the primitive condition for tetrapods? Second, do small, semi-erect mammals employ the energy-saving pendular and spring-based mechanics used by erect mammals? Third, how well do mechanical locomotor patterns of the center of mass correlate with gaits? Monodelphis domestica utilizes only fast walking and running trot gaits over a fivefold increase in speed, over which we could illicit constant velocity steps, although running trots were their preferred gait. In sustained level locomotion the opossums did not use other walking gaits presumed to be primitive for tetrapods. Across the full range of speeds their trotting gaits exhibited force patterns and in-phase mechanical energy fluctuations that are characteristic of spring-mass mechanics. Thus, opossums appear to prefer trotting gaits with bouncing mechanics for sustained locomotion. Integration of center-of-mass versus footfall perspectives reveals that spring-mass mechanics is associated with both walking trot and running trot gaits. Furthermore, the onset of an aerial phase was not clearly associated with either the walk/run gait transition (50% duty factor) or a change in center-of-mass mechanics. The assumption that energy-saving mechanisms are ubiquitous among mammals is tenuous because small non-cursorial mammals do not appear to use pendular-based mechanics for sustained locomotion and, although they prefer spring-based mechanics, they probably lack clear musculoskeletal spring elements that could store energy during running. Thus, it appears that simply paying for locomotion with muscular work may be the primitive condition for mammals.


The contribution of technology to the Indian banking industry, the role played by IDRBT and the significance of banking technology awards, in fostering the technological developments of banks. Issues in the area of business-technology alignment that are critical in fully leveraging the benefits of technology by banks. [IDRBT Banking Technology Awards at Hyderabad]. URL:[http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Speeches/PDFs/TEBA120811.pdf


Overlap syndrome is a term used to describe two or more systemic rheumatic diseases identified in the same patient, in which
each disease fulfils its own diagnostic criteria. Inflammatory myopathies such as Dermatomyositis are associated with an increased
risk of malignancy and interstitial lung disease. It may overlap with Systemic Sclerosis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Mixed
Connective Tissue Disease and less often Rheumatoid Arthritis.


In this study, the mechanisms of polyamine spermidine (Spd) uptake were investigated in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Spd uptake followed a sigmoidal kinetics with [S]90/[S]10 = 3 microM and Hill interaction coefficient (n) = 2. The order of magnitude of uptake and efflux was similar (t1/2 = 45 min). The equilibrium potential for Spd, calculated by Nenrst equation, was 90.78 mV. Free energy change for the uptake (delta G) was found to be 2.31 Kcal/mole of Spd. During efflux, Spd was not converted into putrescine or spermine. It seems that there are two types of Spd uptake pathways: Na(+)-dependent and Na(+)-independent since replacement of Na+ from incubation medium did not completely abolish the Spd uptake. The Na(+)-dependent component of Spd uptake was shared neither by system A nor by system ASC amino acids.


Infestation level of fruit flies in the boundary zone in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil Fruit flies are considered the major pests of fruit worldwide. Tefritids and lonchaeids are major pests in this group of insects. However, little information exists regarding the potential for harm of lonchaeids. The aim of this study was to identify the infestation levels of fruit flies in the boundary zone of Rio Grande do Sul with Argentina and Uruguay. The study was conducted in 2011 and 2012 in Itaqui, Quarai, Santana do Livramento and Uruguaiana, RS. Fruits were collected from19 exotic and native plant species, and the infestation levels in pupae/kg of fruit and pupae/ fruit were calculated. The highest rate of Ceratitis capitata infestation occurred in nectarine, with 72.01 pupae/kg and 2.51 pupae/fruit. Anastrepha fraterculus showed high levels in cherry, corresponding to 57.57 pupae/kg and 0.23 pupae/fruit. Lonchaeids were represented by Neosilba and Lonchaea, infesting papaya and star fruits, respectively . In the studied municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul, the following species of fruit flies occurred: C. capitata, A. fraterculus, Neosilba zadolicha and Lonchaea sp.


Although only 4–5% of patients with severe Hemophilia B (HB) develop factor IX (FIX) antibodies that cause inactivation of transfused FIX concentrate (conc), about 1/3 of these are associated with life-threatening anaphylactic reactions; immune tolerance induction (ITI) with high-dose FIX conc is often unsuccessful. We present individualized novel approaches to ITI in 2 boys with severe HB and high-responding inhibitors. ELISA assays utilizing recombinant FIX (rFIX) to capture patient IgG followed by detection with subclass specific monoclonal antibodies were developed to evaluate the characteristics of the factor IX inhibitors before, during and following ITI. Patient 1, a 2 yo boy, presented with a subdural hemorrhage; his inhibitor titer was 14 BU. He was treated with recombinant VIIa (rVIIa), 200 mcg/kg followed by 100 mcg/kg q2 hours plus rFIX conc (BeneFix), 1000 U/kg prior to and post subdural hematoma evacuation; a continuous infusion, 40U/kg/hour rFIX conc was started. FIX:C was >100%, so rVIIa was discontinued and the rFIX infusion was continued to maintain FIX:C levels above 50%. Rituximab (375 mg/m2 q week x 4) was started. On the 6th day, he developed anamnesis; plasma FIX:C dropped to the 20% range in spite of increases in his rFIX conc drip to 68 u/kg/hour. Investigation of right leg edema revealed a large thrombus involving the popliteal, iliac and inferior vena cava with pulmonary embolism. In order to remove the inhibitor antibody and achieve plasma FIX levels that would allow safe anticoagulation with heparin, plasmapheresis with an immunoadsorption Protein A sepharose column (Fresenius) was undertaken. FIX:C levels were unexpectedly lower immediately following each cycle. Investigation of FIX: Ag and anti-FIX IgG, IgG1 and IgG4 by ELISA assays before and after each cycle revealed the presence of FIX: Ag and specific anti-FIX IgG in the column eluates. After the 5th cycle, increasing FIX:C levels allowed weaning of the rFIX conc; the thromboses completely resolved. The patient currently is on standard prophylactic doses of rFIX conc with expected recoveries with no evidence of inhibitor. Patient 2 was a 9 year old boy with a high responding anaphylactoid inhibitor; he had severe and frequent hemarthroses treated with rVIIa with variable success resulting in significant hemophilic arthropathy. He had previously received 2 courses of rituximab with recurrence of inhibitor 3 weeks post-therapy. Therefore, in order to suppress T-cell as well as B-cell immune responses, after desensitization with increasing infusions of rFIX conc, he was treated with cyclophosphamide (10 mg/kg IV on days 2, 3 and PO on days 4 and 5) a standard course of rituximab (375 mg/m2 on days 1, 8, 15, 22), IVIG (100 mg/kg on days 2–5) initially, and high dose rFIX conc, 100U/kg/day. He is now maintained on every-other monthly doses of rituximab and replacement doses of IVIG. As FIX levels rose during ITI, rFIX conc was weaned; eight months after initiation of ITI, he has expected recoveries of FIX: C on standard prophylactic doses of rFIX conc. Investigation of the nature of the patient's inhibitors revealed that both patients had high titer IgG1 and IgG 4 anti-factor IX antibodies that disappeared after ITI. Unlike the persistence of non-inhibitory IgG4 factor VIII antibodies reported in some patients with hemophilia A, in these two patients, there was no detectable FIX-specific pan-IgG, IgG1 or IgG4 following ITI. We conclude that novel approaches to ITI can be successfully undertaken in severe HB patients with high titer factor IX inhibitors.


We describe new QCD fits to diffractive cross sections measured at HERA and we use the parton densities derived from these fits to predict the shape of the dijet mass fraction in double Pomeron exchange at the Tevatron. We discuss the existence of exclusive events in this dijet channel and some prospects are given for the LHC.


: Multi-agent Systems (MAS) through their intrinsically distributed nature offer a promising software modelling and implementation framework for Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications. WSNs are characterised by limited resources from a computational and energy perspective; in addition, the integrity of the WSN coverage area may be compromised over the duration of the network"s operational lifetime, as environmental effects amongst others take their toll. Thus a significant problem arises – how can an agent construct an accurate model of the prevailing situation in order that it can make effective decisions about future courses of action within these constraints? In this paper, one popular agent architecture, the BDI architecture, is examined from this perspective. In particular, the fundamental issue of belief generation within WSN constraints using classical reasoning augmented with a fuzzy component in a hybrid fashion is explored in terms of energy-awareness and utility.


This paper presents an empirical study and related activity system analysis regarding the implementation and use of Moodle specifically, and learning management systems in general, in problem-based learning. The research involved an exploration of the characteristics that defined use of Moodle at a Danish university, the reasons why Moodle was or was not used in specific contexts and the way in which Moodle use was perceived by students. Some of the obstacles and challenges identified through this study highlighted the need for a deeper analysis of the elements that characterised the activity system(s) and their contradictions in this contextual setting, leading to a consideration of possible implications for change processes. The investigation consisted of a literature review, a survey of 345 students regarding their experiences with Moodle in conjunction with a nomination for the best Moodle course, an analysis of the 178 nominated courses and interviews with four university teachers about their use of Moodle. This examination revealed that many existing Moodle activities at Aalborg University focus more on sharing information and teaching materials and less on the students' problem-based learning activities and projects. This finding is intriguing, as use of Moodle does not reflect that problem-based learning comprises the pedagogical foundation of Aalborg University's academic programme. The investigation uncovered several reasons for the lack of focus on problem-based learning in Moodle structures and content and explored them through the contradictions identified within the activity systems and between the double contextual frame surrounding the interacting activity system.


Background: Human metapneumovirus (HMPV), discovered in the 21st century, has emerged as an important cause of influenza-like illness in children and adults causing mild upper respiratory tract infection to severe bronchiolitis and community-associated pneumonia. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of HMPV in the Union Territory of Puducherry, India, as part of National Influenza Surveillance Programme. Materials and Methods: From November 2011 to December 2013, a total of 447 nasopharyngeal samples were collected from patients with acute respiratory infections and tested for HMPV RNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: HMPV was identified in 23/447 (5%) samples with 11/23 in the age group of 14–30 years. Most of the HMPV infections were mild with no fatalities. Two patients were co-infected with the respiratory syncytial virus and one with influenza B virus. The seasonal distribution showed increasing HMPV infection cases in rainy months except for a peak in summer of 2012. Phylogenetic analysis based on the sequences of the nucleoprotein gene of one HMPV strain showed a high degree of sequence identity with Indian strains obtained during 2006 and 2011. Conclusion: This study shows that HMPV infection is more common in adults than in children. Sequence homology suggests the circulation of closely related HMPV strains within the country.


Abstract. Kristiana R, Sibero MT, Farisa MY, Ayuningrum D, Dirgantara D, Hanafi M, Radjasa OK, Sabdono A, Trianto A. 2019. Antibacterial potential of nudibranch-associated bacteria from Saparua and Nusa Laut Islands, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 1811-1819. Infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria are the international health issue that triggers the urgency of finding new antibacterial agents. The aim of this study was to obtain the nudibranchs-associated bacteria that have bioactivity against multidrug-resistant bacteria. A total of 13 species of nudibranch were identified based on morphological characterization. Overlay methods were used for the screening of the isolates bioactivity against six pathogenic multidrug-resistant bacteria. The Minimum Inhibition Concentration (MIC) of the crude extract was evaluated against Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia, Micrococcus luteus, and Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases E. coli (ESBL) using MTT method. A total of 145 isolates were obtained which eleven of the isolates showed antibacterial activity against the pathogenic bacteria. The MIC tests showed that the best acivity was isolate SM-S-9-15 and SM-N-3-7. The methanolic extract of isolate SM-S-9-15 active to all of the pathogenic bacteria, while the ethyl acetate extract of the isolate SM-N-3-7 active to the E. coli, B. subtilis, K. pneumonia at the concentration of 500 mg/mL. According to 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence-based identification, all active isolates belong to Virgibacillus marismortui, V. dokdonensis, Bacillus kochii, Vibrio algynoliticus, and Pseudoalteromonas piscicida.


To predict efficiency of interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) for traction motor and to cope with the risk of demagnetization in the permanent magnets, accurate iron loss analysis and understanding of the characteristic of the iron loss are very important at motor design stage. In this paper, we present the method to estimate the iron loss for the IPMSM considering the driving conditions such as both field weakening control and maximum torque per ampere control.


We investigate the thermal QCD phase transition and its scaling properties on the lattice. The simulations are performed with 𝑁 𝑓 = 2 + 1 + 1 Wilson twisted mass fermions at pion masses from physical up to heavy quark regime. We introduce a novel chiral order parameter, which is free from linear mass contributions and turns out to be very useful for the study of scaling behaviour. Our results are compatible with 𝑂 ( 4 ) universal scaling for the physical pion mass and the temperature range [ 120 : 300 ] MeV. Violations to scaling at larger masses and other possible scenarios, including mean field behaviour and 𝑍 ( 2 ) scaling scenario are also discussed. We provide an estimation for the critical temperature in the chiral limit 𝑇 0 .


The fluorinated diamond-like carbon (F-DLC) films were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering under different radio-frequency power with trifluoromethane (CHF 3 ) and argon (Ar) as source gases and pure graphite as a target. The hydrophobic nature of F-DLC films was studied. The result of measuring contact angle between double-stilled water and film surface shows that the maximal contact angle of film surface is approximately 115°. Factors influencing the hydrophobic nature of films were discussed by film surface morphology measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectra as well as FTIR spectra. The result demonstrates that the hydrophobic nature of films lies on roughness and bonding configuration of film surfaces. The more the roughness,the stroncer the hydrophobic nature is,but it doesnt show a simple decrease or increase with the content of F in films and the ratio of sp 3 /sp 2 . Radio-frequency power influences the deposition rate,which correlates with the roughness of the film,proportion of mononuclear aromatics and bonding configuration of films surface (ways of F combination).


Background While birth asphyxia is the leading cause of neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 23% of neonatal deaths, little is known of the morbidity of birth asphyxia in developing countries. Survivors of birth asphyxia are at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnoses and early neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants evaluated in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) follow-up clinic in a developing country in sub-Saharan Africa. Design/Methods All inborn and outborn admissions to the University of Zambia NICU who survived to discharge were referred to the NICU follow-up clinic for further evaluation and monitoring. A cross-sectional, prospective chart review was completed on all infants followed in this clinic for a 4-week period between March and April 2005. All infants evaluated in this clinic were under 12 months of age at the time of the visit. Descriptive statistics were completed using maternal and infant characteristics, data from the initial hospitalization, physical examination findings during the follow-up visit, and plan of care. Only the most recent examination results were included in the analyses for any infants with multiple visits during the study period. Results Forty-three of the 183 infants (23%) seen in the NICU follow-up clinic had a clinical diagnosis of birth asphyxia. Twenty-two of the 43 infants (51%) with birth asphyxia were male. Thirty-two of the 43 infants (74%) were also diagnosed with sepsis while 3 infants (7%) were also diagnosed as preterm. On physical examination, 13 of the 43 infants with birth asphyxia (30%) were noted to have an abnormal neurological examination during the clinic visit. Conclusions Birth asphyxia survivors account for almost a quarter of infants seen in a NICU follow-up clinic in a developing country. Thirty percent of infants with birth asphyxia had abnormal neurological examinations using early neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first year of life. Because early neurodevelopmental outcomes were utilized in this study, this likely underestimate the percent of birth asphyxia survivors who will eventually develop motor, cognitive, and learning disabilities. Funding by the NICHD Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


The British NHS faces major challenges recruiting, motivating and retaining staff in a period of sustained growth and change. This paper examines the prevalence of skill shortages and organisations' coping strategies, as well the factors that motivate staff in the workplace and in the NHS in particular. It argues that the evidence base for informed policy-making needs radical improvement. It then considers a number of approaches to pay that are being used or suggested to attract, motivate and retain staff. These include performance pay, team pay and local pay determination, as well as considering broader factors such as morale and staff development. The paper then draws together some conclusions for policy-makers. These argue that better evidence is needed as to what is happening in the public sector labour market in order to frame appropriate responses and that thorough evaluation of policy initiatives is necessary to establish their utility before their widespread implementation.


The aim of this paper is to present a systematic approach to fuzzy traffic controller. Firstly, the choice of signal phases is determined by the traffic flows, then the fuzzy traffic controller based on Rough Sets is used to control the extension of the present green phase, the result of the simulation proves that the total delay can be less than the traditional control.


OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of burnout among active practicing members of the American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS).

METHODS
This was an anonymous electronic survey of AUGS nontrainee physician members. Basic demographic, personal, and professional characteristics were collected. Levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment, as defined by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey, were utilized to categorize participants into burnout profiles and to determine 2 alternative burnout definitions. Descriptive statistics and models were used to summarize provider characteristics and to explore differences among the burnout profiles.

RESULTS
Of the 1039 active members of AUGS, 280 (26.9%) responded to the survey. Burnout profiles were delineated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey. Forty-three percent fit the Engaged profile, whereas 13% fit the Burnout profile. Significant differences were seen in the distribution of the burnout profiles for physicians who take call (P=0.015), have a current mentor (P=0.016), screen positive for major depression (P < 0.001), experience suicidal ideation (P=0.018), have a feeling of control regarding their schedule (P < 0.001) and those who would become a physician again (P < 0.001). The overall rate of burnout in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery providers was significantly different depending on the definition utilized (P < 0.01) and ranged from as low as 6.5% to as high as 51.9%.

CONCLUSIONS
There were some differences in respondent characteristics seen among the burnout profiles. The chosen definition of burnout significantly affected the purported rate of burnout, complicating comparisons among provider populations.


The existing formalism used to describe spin observables in neutron transmission experiments is found to be inadequate. A suitable formalism is developed, through which time-reversal violating (and parity non-conserving) forward scattering amplitudes are identified, along with their corresponding spin observables. It is noted that new and more precise tests ofT-symmetry are provided in transmission experiments and that such investigations are applicable more generally in nuclear and particle physics.


Critical wetting transition for short-range forces in three dimensions (d=3) is reinvestigated by means of Monte Carlo simulation. Using an anisotropic finite size scaling approach, as well as approaches that do not rely on finite size scaling, we show that the critical wetting transition shows clear deviation from mean-field behavior. We estimate that the effective critical exponent ν_{∥}^{eff}=1.76 ± 0.08 for J/kT=0.35 and ν_{∥}^{eff}=1.85 ± 0.07 for J/kT=0.25. These values are in accord with predictions of Parry et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 136105 (2008)]. We also point out that the anisotropic finite size scaling approach in d=3 requires additional modification in order to reach full consistency of simulational results.


This thesis is a global study of the changes in the plant emissions of the dominant Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) in the last millennium resulting from changing environmental conditions, largely induced by humans. BVOC emitted by vegetation have multiple impacts on atmospheric chemistry and physics, for instance changes in BVOC emissions significantly change the concentrations of aerosol in continental regions, affect ozone formation and change the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere. These processes are relevant from a climate change and air quality perspectives. The variability of global fluxes of isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes (terpenoid BVOC) over the last millennium is evaluated using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). The model is driven with meteorology input data from an Earth System Model, CO2 atmospheric concentrations estimated from ice samples and model reconstructions of the global changes of vegetation.

The results show that global isoprene emissions have decreased 7.3%, monoterpene emissions have increased 9.8% and sesquiterpene emissions have increased 15.1% during the period 1950-1990 as compared to 1000-1800. The results suggest that the variation of isoprene emissions is governed by land-use changes, while monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes variations are dominated by temperature. Regional changes on the isoprene, monoterpene and sesquiterpene emission distribution are larger than global changes in many locations and could have had a significant impact on the chemistry and aerosol dynamic processes in the atmosphere in the last millennium. This thesis lays a basis for a future quantification of the effect on atmospheric chemistry cycles and the organic aerosol yield from biogenic organic precursors.


Attentional cost of graphic patterns generation was investigated using the classic dual-task procedure, in which a concurrent reaction time (RT) task was used as an index of the attentional cost incurred by the motor task. Participants had to trace graphic patterns characterized by 0°, 45°, 90°, 135° and 180° relative phase, while responding by a keypress as fast as possible to an auditory signal. The results evidenced a strong and significant correlation between the stability of the produced pattern and the associated attentional cost measures. The size of minor and major axes of the ellipsoids, capturing the amplitude of graphic patterns, decreased as movement frequency increased, as expected by nonlinear models of pattern generation. In cursive writing, this decrease in amplitude with increasing movement frequency is at origin of most frequent letter malformation.


This volume charts the interpretation of Genesis 3:16-21 in a number of patristic and classical rabbinic sources. It is a case study in the reception of a biblical fragment in two intrinsically related yet distinct interpretative communities: early Christianity and rabbinic Judaism. Following the lead of the biblical text, this study sheds new light on each traditions' view of the human condition, more specifically on the way Church Fathers and Rabbis approach the themes of procreation, labour, mortality and corporeality. The book carefully studies the reading of the biblical text as proposed by a number of representative and influential authors or documents, including Ambrose of Milan, Didymus the Blind, John Chrysostom and Augustine, as well as Genesis Rabbah and Avot de Rabbi Nathan. The introductions at the beginning of each chapter enable also the non-specialist to enter the distinct literary worlds of midrash and patristic Bible interpretation.


Polyelectrolyte complex coacervates represent a wide class of materials with applications ranging from coatings and adhesives to pharmaceutical technologies. They also underpin multiple biological processes, which are only now beginning to be deciphered. The means by which molecular-scale architecture propagates into macroscopic structure, thermodynamics, and dynamics in complex coacervates is of central concern in physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science. How does polyion charge sequence dictate thermodynamic behavior? How does one tailor rheology or interfacial tension using macromolecular architecture? What emergent functionality from polymer complex coacervates has biological consequences? Recent developments in coacervate science shed light on many of these issues and raise exciting new challenges for the close integration of theory, simulations, and experiment.


The primary objective of this study was to analyze the level of parents' satisfaction with the behaviour and roles of office staffs, receptionists, and roles of teachers. This study has applied the quantitative approach along with the survey method. The survey instrument was used to collect two hundred (N =200) data from the parents of Montessori schools in Gaindakot 1 and 2, Nawalpur. Random sampling was used to select the parents of Montessori schools. The results show positive association between the behaviour and roles of office staff, receptionists, and parents, satisfaction.
Similarly, the results show a negative association between the facilities of Montessori schools, the influence of Montessori quality and behaviour and the roles of Montessori teachers. This study has concluded that there was an association between the quality of Montessori education and parental satisfaction. This study's implications would benefit new researchers, scholars, colleges, local government, Montessori schools, school administrators and owners and investors of private schools in Nepal.


Based on the microbumps of graphene nanosheets and the nanostructure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), novel graphene/CNTs composite films with hierarchical micro- and nanoscale surface roughness were successfully fabricated by simply spraying the mixed acetone dispersion of graphene nanosheets and CNTs onto stainless steel substrates. The as-prepared composite films exhibited controlled surface hydrophobic, adhesive and electrowetting properties via altering the film surface structure and surface energy. Among them the composite film with a 1:5 mass ratio of graphene to CNTs showed high hydrophobicity and conductivity, low water adhesion and contact angle sensitivity to the external electric field, which would help to resolve the surface electrostatic problems and unstable hydrophobicity under applied potential that exist in many conventional insulating hydrophobic materials, and could be useful in some application fields.


The electromechanical behavior of hardened portland cement paste has been investigated as a function of measurement frequency and dc electrical bias, using an interferometric technique. Large field-induced shape changes on the order of 100 {angstrom} have been found in millimeter-thick specimens exposed to moisture. In addition, strong hysteresis effects were found on cycling a large ac field. Dry samples were found to exhibit no field-induced deformations. The mechanism underlying this anomalous behavior is believed to be an electro-osmotically induced swelling of the pore structures. Evidence in support of this hypothesis was found by corresponding investigations of porous silica gels.


The Vacuum Insulated Glazing is a highly thermally insulating structure consisting of two (or more) glass sheets, separated by an evacuated gap, and sealed hermetically at the glass edges. An array of support pillars maintains the separation of the panes under the constant load of atmospheric pressure. The performance and durability of the VIG, in terms of thermal loads and atmospheric pressure, has been well studied and ISO Standards have recently been published (ISO 19916-1:2018 and 19916-3:2021). However, the mechanical performance of the VIG, especially when exposed to dynamic loads, has not been dealt with in the scientific literature. The goal of this work is to investigate the mechanical performance of VIG's subjected to soft body impact and gain insight into the failure mechanisms of the VIG when exposed to dynamic loads. Measurements of the surface stress on the glass were performed, when the VIG is subjected to the twin-tire pendulum impact test, as outlined in the Standard DIN EN 12600:2002. Two VIG units and one laminated VIG unit were tested and the results were compared to numerical data of a monolithic glass pane. It was found that the VIG failed at drop heights much lower than that prescribed in the Standard. An examination of the glass fracture patterns highlighted an origin of fracture caused by the contact of pillar-to-glass.


Abstract 1554

Granulopoiesis is a multistep process controlled by a complex system of cytokines and transcription factors that modulate expression of downstream genes and mediate proliferation and differentiation signals. Recent findings demonstrate that miRNAs may provide an additional level of control. We used the 32D murine myeloid progenitor cell line as a model system to study G-CSF-induced granulocytic differentiation. Based on miRNA-expression analyzed by microarray and miR-qRT-PCR, we identified several miRNAs (including miR-34a-c, -125b, -155, 181b, 223, 291a, 370) potentially involved in regulation of granulocytic differentiation. To define the role of individual miRNAs, stable gain- and loss-of-function phenotypes were generated using lentiviral gene transfer of pre-miRNAs and antagomiRs, respectively. We found that enforced expression of miR-125b in undifferentiated 32D myeloid precursors resulted in a complete block of granulocytic differentiation upon G-CSF treatment and partially protected the cells from IL-3 withdrawal-induced cell death. The pivotal role of miR-125b in myeloid differentiation was demonstrated in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the chromosomal translocation t(2;11)(p21;q23) resulting in miR-125b over-expression [Bousquet M, et al. JEM 2008]. Furthermore, clonogenic assays of primary Lin- cells revealed that miR-125b cultures generated more and larger colonies as compared to miR-control, indicating a proliferative advantage of miR-125b over-expressing progenitor cells. Correspondingly, enforced miR-125b expression in murine bone marrow has recently been shown to induce a lethal myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) in transplanted mice [O'Connell RM, et al. PNAS 2010]. However, the molecular mechanisms mediated by miR-125b in hematopoietic cells remain largely unknown. By utilizing different miRNA-target prediction programs including Target Scan, DIANA microT v 0.3 and RNA22, we identified Bcl-2 family members Bak1, Mcl-1, Bmf and Puma as putative targets of miR-125b. We confirmed diminished Bak1 protein expression in 32D cells (reduction by ∼40%); however, lentivirus-mediated RNAi targeting Bak1 to the similar level as induced by enforced miR-125b expression resulted only in a delay of cell death in the presence of G-CSF but not in granulocytic differentiation block. Further computational analysis revealed two putative miR-125b binding sites in 3' UTR of Stat3, the principal Stat protein activated following G-CSF treatment and robustly involved in myeloid differentiation. Specific binding of miR-125b to Stat3 3'UTR was validated by luciferase reporter assay and confirmed by western blotting (reduction by ∼30-40%). We found that shRNA-mediated strong reduction of Stat3 protein (reduction by ∼80%) enables G-CSF dependent cell proliferation (with a delay of some days), and induces a complete block of cellular differentiation. On the contrary, a mild reduction of Stat3 protein expression(by ∼30–40%), as induced by enforced expression of miR-125b, resulted only in a slight delay of cell death but not in block of granulocytic differentiation. Interestingly, simultaneous reduction of both Bak1 and Stat3 by combinatorial RNAi to similar levels as observed in the presence of enforced miR-125b expression, cooperatively delays cell death upon G-CSF treatment as compared to knock-down of Bak1 or Stat3 solely. Since miR-125b has approximately 500 predicted target genes and neither mild knock-down of Bak1 nor Stat3 alone resulted in a block of granulocytic differentiation, we may either miss an additional/unknown important target or the miR-125b-induced phenotype requires simultaneous repression of more targets in addition to Stat3 and Bak1. Nevertheless our study provides experimental evidence that miR-125-mediated phenotypes arise from mild and simultaneous down-regulation of multiple targets/signalling pathways. Therefore the precise and quantitative analysis of miRNA-targets is required to evaluate the safety and benefit of eventual miRNA-based therapeutic strategies to modulate complex cellular phenotypes.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


A 68-year-old man who was given a diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia. Chest computerized tomography (CT) revealed subpleural honeycomb formations and traction bronchiectasis. Three months after the diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia, he noticed neurological symptoms, such as facial spasms, dysphagia, muscle rigidity and muscle cramp, and repeatedly received clonazepam. He was diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome on electromyography when he was hospitalized due to aspiration pneumonia. He has needed continuous rehabilitation due to the progression of neurological symptoms despite the partial efficacy of anti-epilepsy agents. We report a case of interstitial pneumonia with stiff-person syndrome.


Introduction: A virtual reality application might be a promising tool to increase exercise in the homes of patients with Heart failure (HF). However, the feasibility to use an exergame for elderly heart failure patients, from patient and provider perspective is currently not known. The aim is to assess the feasibility to increase daily activity in HF patients using the Wii game console.Method: A descriptive study design will be used. Nintendo Wii sport will be used by 40 patients with HF. Intervention: Nintendo Wii sport will be installed in the home of 10 heart failure patients for a period of 3 months. A personalized exercise plan will be made with the patient for 10 weeks by a physiotherapist or nurse. An instructor will help the patient to install and set up the program, to make a training plan and to help the patient to use the system.Data collection: At baseline, at 3 and 6 months data will be collected on self care behavior, heart failure knowledge, exercise self-efficacy, exercise motivation and depression and anxiety. During the use of the Wii computer patients fill in a diary which contains questions about heart failure symptom monitoring, global well-being, perceived exertion and daily activity. At 3 and 6 months a qualitative interview will be conducted to assess the feasibility of using the Wii computer. Patients will also use activity monitors (SenseWear and Direct Life) to assess the total daily activity. Actual use, problems and questions to the instructor will also be assessed.Results: The first patients are recruited for the study and data are planned to be available during the conferenceConclusion: This study will provide insight on the feasibly to apply virtual reality application in HF patients to increase their physical activity in their home.


A cyclodextrin-modified micellar electrokinetic chromatography (CD-MEKC) technique has been developed for enantioseparation of vinpocetine using an inexpensive 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD) as the chiral selector (CS). The best chiral separation was achieved using 40 mM HP-β-CD as the CS in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) consisting of 40 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at a separation temperature and separation voltage of 25°C and 25 kV, respectively. To the author's best knowledge, this is the first CD-MEKC study able to successfully separate the four stereoisomer of vinpocetine in separation time of 9.5 min and resolution of 1.04-3.87.


Objective: To evaluate the effects of Crassocephalum (C.) bauchiense (Hutch) leaf aqueous extract on the biochemical markers of toxicity, oxidative stress indicators and reproductive parameters in rabbit does (Oryctolagus cuniculus) exposed to potassium dichromate. Methods: A total of 36 nulliparous and sexually mature female rabbit does, aged 8 months and weighing 2.8-3.0 kg, were divided into 6 groups of 6 animals. After mating, group T0 received distilled water (1 mL/kg body weight), while groups T0-, VC100, AE100, AE200 and AE400 were treated with 40 mg/mL/kg body weight of potassium dichromate. In addition, group VC100 received 100 mg/mL/kg body weight of vitamin C, while groups AE100, AE200 and AE400 received aqueous extract of C. bauchiense leaves at 100, 200 and 400 mg/mL/kg body weight, by oral gavage for 27 days, respectively. On the 28th day post-coïtum, animals were sacrificed. Biochemical indicators such as creatinine, urea, alanine amino tranferase, aspartate amino transferase, total protein and total cholesterol were measured by using a spectrophotometer. Follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and progesterone were measured by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay. Oxidative stress markers like malondialdehyde, catalase, superoxide dismutase and total peroxidase in ovary homogenates were measured by spectrophotometer. Results: Serum concentrations of urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and total cholesterol were significantly higher (P<0.05), and total protein level was significantly lower in T0- group (receiving potassium dichromate only) compared to other groups. Administration of ethanolic extract of C. bauchiense significantly decreased serum concentrations of urea, creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and total cholesterol, and significantly increased total protein level. However, ethanolic extract of C. bauchiense had no significant effect on the foetotoxic characteristics. The serum concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone were significantly (P<0.05) lower in T0- group as compared to the control group while progesterone were comparable (P>0.05) among all groups; C. bauchiense leaf extracts significantly (P<0.05) increased the level of follicle stimulating hormone, but the increase in luteinizing hormone was not significant (P>0.05). Catalase and total peroxidase activities significantly decreased (P<0.05), and malondialdehyde significantly increased in T0- group compared to other groups. The administration of C. bauchiense leaf extracts significantly (P<0.05) increased the activities of catalase and peroxidase. Received 27 January 2019 Revision 6 April 2019 Accepted 20 July 2019 Available online 7 November 2019 Crassocephalum bauchiense Foetotoxicity Potassium dichromate Rabbit doe Reproduction Conclusions: Potassium dichromate-induced oxidative stress involves in hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity and reprotoxicity. The aqueous extract of C. bauchiense leaves could mitigate these adverse effects via antioxidant properties.


This note studies the energy-based control for swinging up two pendulums on a cart and it presents an original analysis of the convergence of the energy and the motion of the two pendulums. For the two pendulums with the different natural frequencies, irrespective of initial state of the two pendulums, it is shown that the energy of each pendulum converges to either of two values, and the motion of the two pendulums can be described by four invariant sets. Moreover, the stability analysis of the motion of the two pendulums is performed via the concept of stability of an invariant set. The results obtained in this note not only show theoretically the effectiveness of the energy-based control for swinging up the two pendulums, but also pave one way for analyzing and designing the energy-based control for more complicated underactuated mechanical systems.


The development of an accurate probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model for any complex system requires a quantitative model of human-involved failures. Quantifying failure probabilities in the human-space of complex systems requires a high-level understanding of how and why such failures occur, the underlying factors that impact the specific action and situation and the dependency structures that exist between failure events and situational factors. According to the U.S. NRC (2006), there are roughly two dozen HRA (Human Reliability Analysis) methods in use for nuclear power applications alone, all of which use different terminology, assumptions and parameters to accomplish the same goal of determining the reliability of human-machine teams (HMTs) at work in a complex system. Few methods consider dependency relationships between Human Failure Events (HFEs) and Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs) in a detailed manner. As a result, there has been relatively little headway made towards a truly quantitative HRA method in recent years compared to the strides made toward robust prognostic and diagnostic risk models for systems. This paper provides a unified basis for a quantitative HRA method by collecting and standardizing definitions for key terms and parameters, as well as outlining the basic mathematics employed in HRA. Further, this paper presents an overview of contemporary treatments of dependency in HRA and proposes a new paradigm for considering dependency structures between failure events.


A lot of research has been done on comparing the forecasting accuracy of different univariate time series forecasting methods. The biggest such study, using empirical data, was undertaken by Makridakis et al. (1982). The evidence from such comparative studies indicate that there is not one "best" method for all kinds of data. Furthermore, there also seems to be evidence to suggest that the simpler methods, such as exponential smoothing, often perform as well as or even better than the more complex methods. This is particularly true for short term forecasting. Unfortunately, there has been limited success in identifying the factors that contribute to the relative advantage of one method over another. Consequently a practitioner is still faced with the problem of objectively choosing one out of several methods available to use in forecasting a given time series. In this paper we address this problem by considering certain characteristics of a time series in order to calculate its discriminant score. This score is then used to calculate the probability of a particular method being "best" in forecasting that series. Three forecasting methods, simple exponential smoothing, Holt-Winters method and basic structural time series model using the STAMP package, are considered. Quarterly time series from Makridakis et al. (1982) "M-Competition" are used as data.


This study features Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising, William J. Simmons's 1887 collection of short biographies of 178 prominent African American men, as a significant, yet overlooked site of post-Reconstruction-era African American rhetorical education. Making good on his opening promise "to furnish specimens of Negro eloquence, that young men might find … handy for declamations and apt quotations"—including speeches, resolutions, narratives, editorials, epistles, poems, sermons, and petitions that serve as models of powerful rhetoric worthy of emulation—Simmons sets forth a practical, inclusive pedagogy of civic engagement based on exemplars for imitation and general guidance, rather than textbook principles, abstractions, or theories. He also provides additional texts and commentary to help readers understand the value of his subjects' rhetorical practice. Furthermore, Simmons constructs an approach to acquiring rhetorical power emphasizing activist, progressive, primarily secular discourse and constitutive race pride.


Obesity is a serious public health issue and associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease events and mortality. The risk of cardiovascular complications is directly related to excess body fat mass and ectopic fat deposition, but also other obesity-related complications such as pre-type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Body mass index and waist circumference are used to classify a patient as overweight or obese and to stratify cardiovascular risk. Physical activity and diet, despite being key points in preventing adverse events and reducing cardiovascular risk, are not always successful strategies. Pharmacological treatments for weight reduction are promising strategies, but are restricted by possible safety issues and cost. Nonetheless, these treatments are associated with improvements in cardiovascular risk factors, and studies are ongoing to better evaluate cardiovascular outcomes. Bariatric surgery is effective in reducing the incidence of death and cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Cardiac rehabilitation programs in obese patients improve cardiovascular disease risk factors, quality of life, and exercise capacity. The aim of this review was to critically analyze the current role and future aspects of lifestyle changes, medical and surgical treatments, and cardiac rehabilitation in obese patients, to reduce cardiovascular disease risk and mortality, and to highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach to improving cardiovascular outcomes.


Neutrophils exhibit self-amplified swarming to sites of injury and infection. How swarming is controlled to ensure the proper level of neutrophil recruitment is unknown. Using an ex vivo model of infection, we find that human neutrophils use active relay to generate multiple pulsatile waves of swarming signals. Unlike classic active relay systems such as action potentials, neutrophil swarming relay waves are self-extinguishing, limiting the spatial range of cell recruitment. We identify an NADPH-oxidase-based negative feedback loop that is needed for this self-extinguishing behavior. Through this circuit, neutrophils adjust the number and size of swarming waves for homeostatic levels of cell recruitment over a wide range of initial cell densities. We link a broken homeostat to neutrophil over-recruitment in the context of human chronic granulomatous disease.


a lack of which can also influence the onset and frequency of such behaviour. Extraversion, psychoticism and positive/negative affectivity were found to be positively correlated to alcohol and drug use (Wicki, Kuntsche, & Gmel, 2010). Sensation seeking, as a personality variable that describes an individual's tendency to seek out for novelties and exiting stimuli, also can have impact on alcohol, drugs use and other types of risky behaviour (Hansen & Breivik, 2011; Negreiros, 2006; Zuckerman, 1979). The purpose of our study was to find out how much risky behaviour is common among university students and to reveal interrelations between risky behaviour and sensation seeking. 664 students from eight universities in Lithuania have been interviewed. The average age of students surveyed – 20,4 years (SD = 2,21), 76% of them represented women, 24% – men. We used a specially designed questionnaire to detect 12 types of risky behaviours: drug use, frequent alcohol use, binge drinking, smoking, driving under the influence of alcohol, riding with a drunk driver, not using seat belts, SMS writing while driving, extreme sports, suicidal thoughts, unprotected sexual intercourse and ≥2 sex partners during a one year period. The Sensation Seeking Scale, Form V (SSS-V, Zuckerman, 2007), was used. Only 5.2% of students are not involved in any risky behaviour. The most prevalent risky behaviour among students – excessive alcohol consumption (binge drinking). 67.3% of students declared such behaviour (over 6 standard drinks in one occasion). 50.8% admitted that they drove under the influence of alcohol. About one-third of students engage in such risky behaviour, such as smoking, frequent alcohol consumption, drug use, extreme sports, unsafe sex or texting while driving a car. Student men are more likely to exhibit risk behaviour than women: namely, the excessive use of alcohol, trying drugs, driving under the influence of alcohol, texting while driving, cultivating extreme sports and having more than 2 sexual partners during the last 12 months. The results revealed strong correlations between different types of risky behaviour in students. 11.3% of students engaged in a single type of risky behaviour, 49% – 2–4 types, 34.5% – 5 and more types of risky behaviour. Our results revealed that sensation seeking is a good predictor of the number of risky behaviours one might take part in – higher scores of the sensation seeking scale predict more types of student risky behaviour. In conclusion, it could be stated that sensation seeking is a personal variable, which gives up a lot information about behaviour in young people and could be used not only as a predictor of numbers of risky behaviour, but as a predictor of such types of risky behaviour, as drug use and extreme sports. The evaluation of sensation seeking in students allows us to choose the appropriate methods of prevention and early intervention of risky behaviour.


Objective. Detection and early prediction of mental fatigue (i.e. shifts in vigilance), could be used to adapt neuromodulation strategies to effectively treat patients suffering from brain injury and other indications with prominent chronic mental fatigue. Approach. In this study, we analyzed electrocorticography (ECoG) signals chronically recorded from two healthy non-human primates (NHP) as they performed a sustained attention task over extended periods of time. We employed a set of spectrotemporal and connectivity biomarkers of the ECoG signals to identify periods of mental fatigue and a gradient boosting classifier to predict performance, up to several seconds prior to the behavioral response. Main results. Wavelet entropy and the instantaneous amplitude and frequency were among the best single features across sessions in both NHPs. The classification performance using higher order spectral-temporal (HOST) features was significantly higher than that of conventional spectral power features in both NHPs. Across the 99 sessions analyzed, average F1 scores of 77.5% ± 8.2% and 91.2% ± 3.6%, and accuracy of 79.5% ± 8.9% and 87.6% ± 3.9% for the classifier were obtained for each animal, respectively. Significance. Our results here demonstrate the feasibility of predicting performance and detecting periods of mental fatigue by analyzing ECoG signals, and that this general approach, in principle, could be used for closed-loop control of neuromodulation strategies.


The huge increase in HIV/AIDS in southern Africa has disrupted family life and the means of making a living. This has made Oxfam examine its definitions of a ¿household¿ and changed the kind of support it had given people affected by HIV/AIDS. It is shown that there are more than 23 million HIV-positive people living in southern Africa; nearly 70% of global cases in a region which has only 10% of the global population. When chronic illness and death strikes, the composition of a household change dramatically and affects the roles of household members. It is usually the women who have to cope with the increased burden of caring for the sick, and take the greater responsibility of earning money and providing food. Also, girls often take over the roles of their sick mothers and care for other family members and are taken out of school to save money on school expenses so that they can provide care for the sick. In view of this, Oxfam has been working to incorporate a gender analysis and pays more attention to gender roles in both male- and female-headed households.


Drawing on the case of France during the 2017 presidential election, which was marked by the victory of the centrist Emmanuel Macron and the surge of the populist radical right (Marine Le Pen) and left (Jean-Luc Melenchon), this paper analyses the impact of social insecurity on voting, using a multidimensional indicator of "precariousness" that combines measures of economic hardship and social and cultural isolation. On the basis of the 2017 French Election Study, a series of logistic regressions estimate the impact of precariousness on individual vote choice (including abstention) in both rounds, controlling for socio-demographic and attitudinal variables. Precariousness mainly has a strong negative impact on turnout, silencing the most deprived. Among those who vote, it has a strong negative impact on support for Emmanuel Macron. It also has a positive impact on support for the populist radical right and, to a lesser extent, on support for the populist radical left when controlling for socio-demographic variables. But this effect practically disappears after controlling for attitudes. Social insecurity does not necessarily breed populism. Ideological divisions make the difference, especially attitudes towards the European Union, immigration, and the left-right divide.


ABSTRACT Websites that are usable and accessible can have a positive impact on the overall user experience. Usability Inspection Methods (UIMs) can be applied to evaluate and measure the usability. The current research in the fields of Web Accessibility and Human –Computer Interaction (HCI) is in need of additional UIMs that can be applied to also measure the accessibility, in addition to the usability alone. In this article, a novel UIM in the form of a heuristic evaluation is presented. The heuristic evaluation aims to support HCI experts and Web developers in designing and evaluating websites that provide positive user experiences to users who are deaf. This article discusses the development of the Heuristic Evaluation for Deaf Web User Experience (HE4DWUX). Following an iteration cycle, version 2 of the HE4DWUX is presented in Appendix A. An existing three-phase process to develop heuristics for specific application domains was applied to construct the HE4DWUX. The outcome of this research is 12 heuristics, with each containing its own set of checklist items to operationalize its applicability in measuring the Web user experience for users who are deaf. The heuristics and their checklist items can identify important aspects of design that will impact the Web user experience for this particular user group.


The dispersion of testing results is due not only to an error in the representative choice of specimens for an experiment, but also to the specific features of each specific experiment. In defining the confidence interval of the value of insecticidal activity it should not be oriented to data on variability of individual tests rather than to the error in the dose-mortality regression representativeness. The test permits one to establish differences in the insecticidal activity of the agents which differ in this index at least by 1.5-fold.


This paper argues that semelfactive and degree achievement verbs are morphosyntactically distinct, despite the fact that the morphemes they are made of are often syncretic even in languages with synthetic verb morphology like Czech or Polish. We use the mechanisms of Nanosyntax, a theory of the architecture of grammar in which the lexicon stores entire syntactic subtrees, to show that there is a structural containment between semelfactives and degree achievements such that semelfactives include more syntactic structure than degree achievements. In this respect, the relative structure of these two verb classes contributes to Bobaljik's (2012) general claim that syncretism anchors structural containment as well as to the ongoing discussion about the form of spell out in syntax. The resulting picture supports the view whereby the semantics of lexical items is determined by their fine-grained internal syntax.


More and more system-on-chip designs require the integration of analog circuits on large digital chips and therefore suffer from substrate noise coupling. To investigate the impact of substrate noise on the analog circuits, information is needed about digital substrate noise generation. A methodology for modelling and simulating the time-domain waveform of the generated substrate noise of large digital circuits is verified with measurements on an 86k-gate CMOS ASIC. The difference between simulated and measured substrate noise RMS voltage is <10% and simulation time is of the same order of magnitude as a gate-level VHDL simulation. For smaller circuits, e.g., a 1k-gate multiplier, a speedup in simulation time of 3 orders of magnitude is obtained with respect to a full SPICE simulation.


Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The disease causes mild to severe symptoms, mainly respiratory, some patients can develop pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death. Any patient can develop mild to severe illness, but old age and severe underlying medical conditions like chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, ect. seem to be higher risk factors for developing more serious complications from COVID-19. There is no specific treatment for COVID-19. However, many of the symptoms can be treated according to the patient's clinical condition. Adiantum capillus-veneris (Maidenhair fern) is a medicinal herb of the family Pteridaceae. The plant extract showed potential efficacy as ancient physicians used it for curing different diseases. In modern medicine, the plant was proven to possess pharmacological efficacy to treat many symptoms similar to that caused by COVID-19 and underlying medical conditions. Therefore, this ongoing study is done to examine possible effectiveness of modern therapeutic application of this plant extract-based drug to treat symptoms of patients with COVID-19.


Weather and climate simulations produce petabytes of high-resolution data that are later analyzed by researchers in order to understand climate change or severe weather. We propose a new method of compressing this multidimensional weather and climate data: a coordinate-based neural network is trained to overfit the data, and the resulting parameters are taken as a compact representation of the original grid-based data. While compression ratios range from 300x to more than 3,000x, our method outperforms the state-of-the-art compressor SZ3 in terms of weighted RMSE, MAE. It can faithfully preserve important large scale atmosphere structures and does not introduce artifacts. When using the resulting neural network as a 790x compressed dataloader to train the WeatherBench forecasting model, its RMSE increases by less than 2%. The three orders of magnitude compression democratizes access to high-resolution climate data and enables numerous new research directions.


In the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer randomized phase III trial (08975), 480 patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer received the standard arm of cisplatin/paclitaxel or one of two experimental arms; gemcitabine/cisplatin or gemcitabine/paclitaxel. Cisplatin was given at 80 mg/m(2) on day 1, gemcitabine was administered at 1,250 mg/m(2) on days 1 and 8, and paclitaxel at 175 mg/m(2) as a 3-hour infusion on day 1, every 3 weeks. The cisplatin/paclitaxel and gemcitabine/cisplatin regimens were comparably active. The nonplatinum arm, gemcitabine/paclitaxel, was well tolerated, but had a trend toward lower median, 1-year, and progression-free survival compared with the standard arm. Further follow-up and analysis of quality of life may clarify this possible difference in treatment outcome.


Th17 cells represent a distinct subset of CD4+ effector T cells with potent pathogenic qualities, capable of directly mediating tumor cell destruction. IL-2 has frequently been shown to have a negative effect on Th17 differentiation while supporting regulatory T-cell (FoxP3+CD4+, TREG) growth and development in both in vitro models and in vivo animal models. We investigated the effect of in vivo IL-2 on both the Th17 and FoxP3+CD4+ T-cell compartments in a human model of cancer. High-dose IL-2 (HDIL-2) was administered at a dose of 720,000 IU/kg to patients with melanoma (n=7) and peripheral blood was collected at baseline and at 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours posttreatment. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated and subjected to intracellular cytokine and extracellular receptor staining for flow cytometry. We report that HDIL-2 increased both frequencies and absolute numbers of Th17 cells on day 4 of treatment. The administration of HDIL-2 to patients with melanoma increased IL-6 production by peripheral immune cells, a cytokine vital in the downregulation of FoxP3 expression and expansion of the Th17-cell population. Furthermore, we demonstrated that FoxP3+CD4+ T cells express IL-17 in patients with melanoma undergoing HDIL-2 therapy. Taken together, our findings indicate that HDIL-2 combined with the conditions of malignancy create an immune environment supportive of Th17 differentiation and that expansion of this compartment may occur through the transdifferentiation of IL-17-secreting FoxP3+CD4+ T cells.


Tooth brushing is such a familiar process that it is easy to forget how crucial it is to oral health and how important it is to brush properly. Twenty three patients were selected in the age-group of 30-40 having tooth brushing abrasion in the cervical region of at least three teeth and taught the Modified Stillman's Brushing Technique during a four week pre-test period. Plaque disclosing agent was used prior to and after brushing to educate the subjects .At the end of the pre-test period  a complete oral prophylaxis was done to obtain a' zero' plaque score. The patient was asked to refrain from any oral hygiene procedure for next 48 hours and nonfibrous regular diet was advised. After 48 hours pre-brushing plaque scoring was recorded according to Turesky-Gilmore-Glickman Modification of the Quigley-Hein plaque index. A split mouth design was followed to record the post brushing plaque scores.  Each time the patients were asked to brush on both upper and lower quadrants of one side for recording post-brushing plaque scores  'without dentifrice' first and then brush on the upper and lower quadrants of the other side for recording plaque scores' with dentifrice'. The three treatment groups viz. Pre-brushing, Post-brushing without dentifrice and Post-brushing with dentifrice when subjected to ANOVA confirmed that the Modified Stillman's Technique effectively removes plaque in both post-brushing situations (p<0.01).The subjects showed a reduction in plaque levels in the Post-brushing trials as indicated by C.D. value (0.0179) (p<0.05). It can be derived from the statistical analysis that if properly done tooth brushing removes plaque effectively when used with or without dentifrice. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjdre.v5i1.22451 Bangladesh Journal of Dental Research and Education Vol.5(1) 2015: 06-10


Gastric duplication was diagnosed in a 50 year-old patient who was initially thought to have a pancreatic pseudo-cyst until laparotomy was performed. There are many clinical and radiological similarities between gastric duplication and pancreatic pseudo-cyst. However, the following elements can suggest the diagnosis of gastric duplication in the case of the discovery of a cystic mass in the gastric or pancreatic area: normal pancreatic enzyme levels, ultrasonic identification of a hyperechoic inner rim and a hypoechoic outer rim with peristaltic movements into the cyst, visualization of a communication between the cyst and the gastro-intestinal tract, and detection of associated vertebral abnormalities. Surgical treatment of gastric duplication is only necessary in symptomatic cases.


As part of an on-going effort to verify the long-term fitness for service of the PWR-plants at the Swedish Ringhals site, weld material relevant for the two most modern units has been irradiated in the OECD Halden Materials test reactor (MTR) for up to three cycles of operation. The dose level achieved for each cycle is approximately equivalent to 20 years of operation during Light Water Reactor (LWR) conditions. The purpose of the test was three-fold. The first objective was to study the effect of the dose rate, the flux, -level on these kind of materials in order to verify or to discard the use of MTR-irradiated materials as part of the model building to understand the evolution of the mechanical behaviour under LWR conditions. The second objective was to enhance the available database of post-irradiation mechanical properties for analyses purposes, such as reactor pressure-temperature limit curves and defect tolerance analyses. Finally, the third objective was to produce ample amount of relevant irradiated material, enabling a comprehensive microscopy analysis of the evolution of the structure in the material to establish the occurrence frequency and type of precipitates and agglomerates, and if possible to study the occurrence of late blooming phases in high Ni and Mn bearing materials. This study will concentrate on the two first objectives. From the study, it appears clear that with these materials, it is possible to enhance the flux to speed up the irradiation induced degradation and still produce results that fall well in line with data extracted from the normal surveillance programs of the reactors. The flux effect as analysed from the mechanical property data appears to be negligible, if any.


We consider the terminal value problem (or called final value problem, initial inverse problem, backward in time problem) of determining the initial value, in a general class of time-fractional wave equations with Caputo derivative, from a given final value. We are concerned with the existence, regularity of solutions upon the terminal value. Under several assumptions on the nonlinearity, we address and show the well-posedness (namely, the existence, uniqueness, and continuous dependence) for the terminal value problem. Some regularity results for the mild solution and its derivatives of first and fractional orders are also derived. The effectiveness of our methods are shown by applying the results to two interesting models: time fractional Ginzburg–Landau equation, and time fractional Burgers equation, where time and spatial regularity estimates are obtained.


The tumor microenvironment is formed by both malignant and non-malignant cells as well as by extracellular matrix (ECM) components. Stromal cells located in the tumor are primarily considered as sources of promalignant factors. Toward this end, we here address the issue of testing whether ECM affects vessel growth, considering the impact of a potent effector for conversion of fibroblasts to myofibroblasts and ECM production, i.e. the adhesion/growth-regulatory galectin-1. This endogenous lectin, known for triggering diverse cellular responses such as growth modulation, invasion or motility and production of vascular endothelial growth factor-C, is here studied for its impact on the qualities of ECM to sustain proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Fibroblasts had been cultured for 10 days with the lectin, followed by removing cellular constituents after an osmotic shock. Freshly isolated HUVECs were placed on the ECM. In parallel, HUVECs were seeded on untreated and gelatin-coated surfaces as controls. A positive control for growth of HUVECs culture using medium supplemented with vascular endothelial growth factor completed the test panel. Cells were kept in contact to the substratum for two days and then processed for immunocytochemistry. HUVECs seeded on fibroblast-generated ECM presented a comparatively high degree of proliferation. Furthermore, contact to substratum produced by tumor-associated fibroblasts led to generation a meshwork especially rich in fibronectin. Galetctin-1 is apparently capable to trigger ECM production favorable for growth of HUVECs, prompting further work on characterizing structural features of the ECM and in situ correlation of lectin presence, ECM constitution and neo-angiogenesis. Acknowledgement This study was supported in part by the Agency for Science and Research under the contract no. APVV-0408-12 and by VEGA-1/0299/13. Citation Format: Lenka Varinska, Jan Mojzis, Hans-Joachim Gabius, Karel Smetana, Jr., Peter Gal. Galectin-1-exposed dermal and tumor-associated fibroblasts produce biologically active extracellular matrix which improves growth of endothelial cells in vitro. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr A200.


This article explores the relationship between the level and identity of the largest equity blockholding and the proportion of outside directors on the boards of New Zealand corporations between 2002 and 2007, using models that allow for nonlinearity in the relationship as well as interaction between the two exploratory variables. New Zealand provides a unique governance setting for the study, with significant blockholder presence and an inactive (relative to other developed countries) market for corporate control co-existing with a high number of outside directors. The evidence suggests that the proportion of outside directors on New Zealand boards is related to both the level of ownership and identity of the largest blockholder, with the latter influence dominating the former. The evidence regarding blockholder identity suggests that the number of outside directors is likely to be greatest when the stakeholder is governmental or corporate in nature.


Infections that normally occur in animal hosts, zoonoses are transmitted occasionally between animals and humans. Zoonoses occur worldwide, and the traveler may engage in activities increasing the risk of acquiring these otherwise rare infections. This article reviews selected zoonoses in the context of travel to the tropics.


Thermal welding is a common joining technique for polymers. In this work we study the effect of various process parameters on the strength and ductility of a symmetric thermally welded joint through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on carefully prepared and equilibrated macromolecular ensembles. Interdiffusion of mostly chain ends across the interface and formation of entanglements with chains on the other side constitutes the most important mechanism which determines the strength and ductility of the joint. At high temperatures, the entanglement distribution at the interface can become almost indistinguishable from the bulk rather quickly and without motions of the entire chains. The temperature at which the welding is performed and the welding time are the most important process parameters that control the number of entanglements formed across the interface, the interface width, the mechanical properties and mode of failure of the joint. Pressure and quenching rate have marginal effects on the ultimate properties of a thermally welded joint. Our results also indicate that the interface thickness of the welded joint varies linearly with the welding time. The toughness of the welded joint, for chain lengths more than the entanglement length, varies linearly with it. The toughness also scales as the one-fourth power of the time for which the polymers are held at the welding temperature.


Background: The advent of all-oral regimens for the management of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) makes the implementation of community-based directly observed therapy (CB-DOT) a possibility for this group of patients. We set out to determine patient preferences for different attributes of a community-based model for the management of MDR-TB in Uganda. Methods: The study was conducted at five tertiary referral hospitals. We used a parallel convergent mixed methods study design. To collect quantitative data, we conducted a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with three different attributes of community-based care (provider type, location of care, and type of support) combined into eight choice sets, each with two options and an opt-out. We collected additional qualitative data by eliciting patient reasons for selection of each choice set. We fitted a mixed logit choice model to determine patient preferences for different attributes of community-based care. Thematic analysis using NVivo12 was done to understand the reasons for the choices made. Results: From December 2019 to January 2020, we interviewed 103 patients with MDR-TB. Majority (58.3%) were male; 61.2% were HIV negative; and the median age was 37 (IQR 30-47) years. Two thirds (65.1%) earned less than $1 per day. Study participants preferred at least one of the CB-DOT models of care to none (current standard of care). The most preferred model consisted of a community health worker (CHW) giving DOT at home and travel vouchers to enable attendance at monthly clinic follow-up visits. Qualitative interviews revealed that patients perceived CHWs as knowledgeable and able to offer psychosocial support. Patients also indicated a preference for taking medication at home because it saves both time and money and presents a lower risk of being stigmatized. Conclusion: People with MDR-TB prefer to be supported to take their medicine at home by a member of their community. The effectiveness of this model of care will be further evaluated.


Based on the author's first-hand experience as an ambulance driver during World War I, this first novel is noteworthy for its vivid and colorful portrait of France at that time and for its passionate indictment of war. The author's disillusionment with war, for a time, turned him toward socialism and against capitalism. Finally, after being labeled "pro-German" and "pacifist," Dos Passos concluded that the quasi-religion of Marxism was far more brutal than "poor old Capitalism ever dreamed of." Reprinted from the unexpurgated original edition published by Cornell University Press in 1969.


With the aim to improve the quality of service of the modern distributed application, we propose a multi-criteria routing algorithm running in a mesh structured overlay network. Using a grid pattern can improve routing remarkably, since it provides alternative and partly disjunctive paths of equal length as well as the ability to measure distances between nodes in the overlay network. A Thermal Field approach is used to represent buffer stages on the nodes. The decisionmaking algorithms use fuzzy logic techniques to select the optimal path considering multiple constraints. The proposed algorithm is evaluated using P2PNetSim, a network simulation tool. The approach is compared to Shortest Path routing and probability functions using deterministic or adaptive approach. The result of routing with fuzzy logic shows superior routing performance than others both in delivery ratio and routing time.


Background: Intramyocardial hemorrhage (IMH) is a result of ischemia-reperfusion injury in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). Despite patients with IMH show poorer prognoses, studies investigating predictors of IMH occurrence are scarce. This study firstly investigated the effectiveness of regulatory T cell (Treg), peak value of Creatine Kinase MB (pCKMB), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) as predictors for IMH in STEMI patients received PPCI.Methods: A prospective observational cohort study was performed in STEMI patients with cardiac magnetic resonance examination 6.3±2.3 days after PPCI. Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the risk factors for IMH. The predictive ability of risk factors for IMH were determined by Receiver operating characteristic curves, net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) and C-index.Results: Of the 182 patients, 80 patients (44.0%) developed IMH. On multivariable analysis, all 4 biomarkers were independent predictors of IMH [odds radio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.350(0.202-0.606) for Treg, 1.004(1.001-1.006) for pCKMB, 1.060(1.022-1.100) for hsCRP, and 3.329(1.346-8.236) for LVESD]. After propensity score matching, the biomarkers individually and together significantly predicted IMH with areas under the curve of 0.750 for Treg, 0.721 for pCKMB, 0.656 for hsCRP, 0.633 for LVESD, and 0.821 for the integrated 4-marker panel. The addition of integrated 4-marker panel to a baseline risk model had an incremental effect on the predictive value for IMH [NRI: 0.197 (0.039 to 0.356); IDI: 0.200 (0.142 to 0.259); C-index: 0.806 (0.744 to 0.869), all p < 0.05].Conclusions: Treg individually or in combination with pCKMB, hsCRP, and LVESD can effectively predict the existence of IMH in STEMI patients received PPCI.Name of the registry: ClinicalTrials. govTrial registration number: NCT03939338Date of registration: 6 May 2019URL of trial registry record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03939338?term=03939338&cntry=CN&draw=2&rank=1


In two patients, men aged 39 and 66 years, a sternal mass in combination with pain developed. One patient was diagnosed with a non-Hodgkin lymphoma located in the sternum and the other one with a primary chondrosarcoma of the sternum. They both recovered after treatment. The differential diagnosis of disorders of the chest wall is troublesome and includes haematologic, rheumatologic and infectious processes. Tietze's syndrome is a rare cause of pain and non-suppurative swelling of the costosternal joints. However, tumours of the anterior chest wall can also cause these symptoms and these must therefore be excluded if the complaints persist or the swelling progresses. The most common malignant tumours of the chest wall are non-Hodgkin lymphoma, primary chondrosarcoma and metastases. Diagnostics should consist of blood tests and X-rays. CT and MRI scans are more helpful in establishing the diagnosis. A definitive diagnosis can only be determined by biopsy.


We present a detection scheme for nanoscale particles based on the optical gradient force and torque near a tightly focused laser beam. The focus affects the path of nanoparticles passing by and a quadrant detector records the particle trajectory. A feedback system continuously adjusts the laser power thereby preventing the particles from being trapped. Particle size and shape can be assessed by evaluating the time-trace of the quadrant detector signal.


Abstract The homeless have been identified as a group at risk of significant anxiety and depression and screening is therefore highly desirable to identify those needing psychological and psychiatric support. However, the psychometric properties of routine screening instruments have yet to be established in this group. This study sought to determine the psychometric properties of the widely used Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale in this group. Using a cross-sectional design, 314 clients presenting at homelessness units (shelters) supported by The Salvation Army were administered the HADS. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three-factor models offered the best fit to the data (best-fit model CFI = .98, RMSEA = .06, WRMR = .87). This investigation confirms contemporary research findings that the HADS comprises an underlying tri-dimensional factor structure. However, the internal consistency of the HADS anxiety (alpha = .81) and depression (alpha = .90) sub-scales was excellent. The findings of the current study suggest that the HADS is a suitable screening tool in this group.