When a navigation lock, dam, or any other structure with water is subjected to an earthquake, one of the dynamic loads will be hydrodynamic pressure. This is the pressure exerted by the fluid on the structure as a result of the different behavior in motion of solid and fluid. To determine this pressure there are several available methods which focus mainly on large dams or fluid storage containers. However, the hydrodynamic behavior of these types of structures is different and these methods may or may not be applicable for navigation locks. Therefore an analysis is made to determine the factors that contribute to the hydrodynamic pressure distribution on large lock structures. As a case study the Third Set of Locks Project of the Panama Canal is used. This expansion project ensures that the Panama Canal can process larger ships than the current Panamax class of ships, which dimensions are limited by the existing locks. Therefore larger locks are required which will operate next to the existing locks. The new locks are planned to be operational in 2014-2015. The Panama region is prone to earthquakes which could result in large hydrodynamic pressures on the locks. For the evaluation of hydrodynamic pressure on large lock structures, two analytical (1D and 2D) and one 2D finite-element model using DIANA are made. Three main aspects that contribute to hydrodynamic pressure are treated in detail: - Lock dimensions and water levels; - The effect of surface waves on the hydrodynamic pressure distribution; - The flexibility of the structure.


Safe‐yield concepts historically focused attention on the economic and legal aspects of ground water development. Sustainability concerns have brought environmental aspects more to the forefront and have resulted in a more integrated outlook. Water resources sustainability is not a purely scientific concept, but rather a perspective that can frame scientific analysis. The evolving concept of sustainability presents a challenge to hydrologists to translate complex, and sometimes vague, socioeconomic and political questions into technical questions that can be quantified systematically. Hydrologists can contribute to sustainable water resources management by presenting the longer‐term implications of ground water development as an integral part of their analyses.


This is a study of predictions made by the press during the financial crisis in Asia in the autumn of 1997. The study includes a qualitative, quantitative and comparative analysis of the Swedish newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Industri. In the last chapter a quantitative analysis of the newspaper Finanstidningen, that today no longer exists, has also been made for comparative reasons. A theoretical framework is also set in the study to explain how the predictions can affect the economy. The quantitative analysis shows that 2/3 of the texts in the traditional morning papers Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet included predictions about the crisis from an Asian or global perspective, while only 1/3 of the texts in the financial newspapers Dagens Industri and Finanstidningen included such predictions. In the qualitative analysis a categorization of different types of predictions are made. Finally there is a discussion about the possible impacts of predictions in the financial news. The conclusion is that unconditional non-analytical predictions paint pictures decreed by Fate and leave the readers uninformed and should therefore be avoided by the press. The conditional analytical predictions have a much better potential to give good guidance for the readers.


High temperature fatigue in nickel‐base superalloys for aero‐engine applications requires consideration of cycle‐ and time‐dependent phenomena. For waveforms with dwells and/or low frequencies crack growth rates may be significantly accelerated up to the point of fully time‐dependent crack growth. In the paper, the interaction of fatigue (cycle‐dependent) and dwell (time‐dependent) crack growth is addressed using a broad database for IN 718 tested at 600°C. Waveforms with dwells at as well as below maximum load levels are applied to standard CT and CC specimens and blunt notched specimens. It is demonstrated that both the level of dwells with respect to the maximum load level within a cycle as well as the specific conditions at the notch root considerably affect the significance of dwells for fatigue crack growth.


The aim of this study was to observe the impact of dexmedetomidine on postoperative myocardial injury in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) grafting. One hundred and sixty-two patients who were undergoing OPCAB surgery were randomly divided into control and dexmedetomidine groups (groups C and Dex, respectively). Following the first vascular anastomosis grafting, the patients in group Dex received a continuous intravenous infusion of 0.2–0.5 μg/kg/h dexmedetomidine, until they were transferred to the Cardiac Surgery intensive care unit (ICU) for 12 h. Patients in group C received physiological saline intraoperatively and an intravenous infusion of 2–4 mg/kg/h isopropylphenol for postoperative sedation. Invasive arterial pressure and heart rate were continuously monitored for 5 min subsequent to entry into the operating theatre (T0), immediately following surgery (T1), 12 h post-surgery (T2), 24 h post-surgery(T3), 48 h post-surgery(T4) and 72 h post-surgery (T5). Blood samples were taken to determine the plasma levels of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) at each time point. At 72 h post-surgery, a dynamic electrocardiogram was monitored. The blood pressure, heart rate, levels of cTnI, CK-MB, norepinephrine and cortisol, and postoperative arrhythmic events in the patients in group Dex all decreased compared with those in group C. The duration of mechanical ventilation and ICU residence time were also shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05). Dexmedetomidine reduced post-surgical myocardial injury in patients who had undergone OPCAB surgery.


A 65-year-old man with back pain showed a hypovascular lesion of the head of the pancreas on dynamic computed tomography and abdominal ultrasonography. The distal portion of the pancreas was not visible. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed pancreatic duct obstruction, and the duodenal minor papilla was not visible. Therefore, we diagnosed the patient's condition as stage IVa pancreatic cancer with congenital agenesis of the dorsal pancreas. The patient underwent successful chemotherapy with 3 courses of gemcitabine and S-1, which was followed by pancreaticoduodenectomy. Pathological staging revealed invasive ductal carcinoma, pT3, pN0, pM0, stage III. We report a rare case of pancreatic cancer with congenital agenesis of the dorsal pancreas.


AIM
Chronic radial epicondylitis (tennis elbow) is not a serious disease but patients may suffer greatly. If standard conservative and possibly operative treatment modalities have not been effective, patients need further therapy. First trials with injection of Botulinum toxin A (Btx A) have shown promising results. The purpose of the study was to clarify if a single injection of Btx A could be an efficient therapy for chronic radial epicondylitis.

METHODS
In this study 16 patients received injections into the forearm extensors. The site of injection was determined by local tenderness and pain provocation on finger and wrist extension.

RESULTS
A significant clinical improvement was already seen at 2 weeks following injection. The effect was noted up to the last follow-up at 2 years. Continuous and maximal pain during the last 48 h, as self-assessed on a visual analogue scale, was also significantly reduced. In a few cases a significant decrease of muscle strength was seen for the third finger two weeks after injection. It slowly returned thereafter.

CONCLUSION
A single injection of Btx A was effective as therapy for chronic tennis elbow. It can be carried out in an out-patient setting, and allows the patient to continue working.


Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA) undergoes several post-translational modifications including phosphorylation leading to its regulation in mammalian and yeast systems. Plasmodium falciparum possesses two PCNAs (PCNA1 & PCNA2) with an edge of PfPCNA1 over PfPCNA2 for DNA replication. Recent phospho-proteome data report phosphorylation of S191 residue without its functional implication. In mammalian cells, phosphorylation of HsPCNA at Y211 stabilizes chromatin bound PCNA. We find tyrosine (but not S191) to be conserved in PfPCNAs and it is important for its nuclear localization and foci formation of PfPCNA1. Further, a Y213F mutation in PfPCNA1 leads to its functional loss both in yeast and parasite. We highlight the importance of evolutionarily conserved tyrosine in PCNA from parasite to mammal linked with DNA replication and cell proliferation.


Although the therapeutic array has significantly widened, over the past decades predicting treatment persistence in IBD patients is still a challenge. In this study we collected longitudinal data to determine drug survival on the medications currently available for IBD.

 Patients treated in the IBD outpatient clinic of the Goethe University Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Laboratory parameters and data on treatment adherence were collected via the electronic patient file. We investigated how many patients continued on the respective substances after the induction period and after the 1-year mark.

 A total of 601 patients were included. 321 patients were female (53.4), 280 patients were male (46.6). The median age was 43 (range 19–86). The median disease duration was 14 years (range 1–52). 320 patients (53.2) suffered from CD and 281 (46,8) patients suffered from UC.
 95 patients were treated with Infliximab (IFX) with a median duration of 912 days (20–5273). 91 patients (96.8) were still on IFX after the induction period. 73 patients (76.8) patients reached the 1-year mark. At the endpoint of this investigation, 39 patients (41.9) were still on IFX. 172 patients were started on Adalimumab (ADA) with a median of 1054 (48–4458) days on the medication. Of this collective, 172 (100%) patients continued on ADA after the end of the induction period. 136 patients (79.1) reached the 1-year mark. At the endpoint of this investigation, 90 patients (52.3) were still on ADA. Of the entire cohort, 124 patients were treated with Vedolizumab (VDZ) with a median of 745.50 (0-2204) days on the medication. After the induction period for this medication, 123 patients (99.2%) were still on VDZ. 89 patients (71.8%) achieved the 1-year mark. At the endpoint of this investigation, 82 patients (66.1%) were still on VDZ. Lastly, 66 patients were treated with Ustekinumab (UST) with a median duration of 720 days (50–1777). 64 patients (98.5%) achieved clinical remission. 48 patients (72.7%) achieved the 1-year mark. At the endpoint of this investigation, 54 patients (83.1%) were still on UST. As we provided longitudinal data some patients have been exposed to several medications which in part explains the lower patient numbers in the more recently approved drugs.

 Conclusion: The majority of patients were still on the medication after the respective induction in all treatment groups. 1-year treatment persistence was higher for and ADA in comparison to VDZ and UST. Our study provides further evidence on drug survival in IBD and may aid in advising patients in this matter.


This study was aimed to examine the effect of iron deficiency and supplementation on player's performance: in case of lemo and Ambericho super league football clubs. Experimental study design was employed. Sampling size determination and sampling technique was used purposive sampling technique method and sampling size was determined by classifying player's age level. The instrument of data collection were anthropometric (age, height, weight and BMI) measured by meter and kilogram, cardiovascular endurance test measured by 12 minute run test and Astrand tridmile test resting heart rate measured by counting heart beat after interval training. The analyses were carried out by using paired sample T test to analyze player's hematological change and performance change before and after supplementations by using. The result show that there is significant change was scored on hematological and performance efficiency after supplementation of Iron and 12 week training. Based on the result football players in addition to daily food menu they should have supplement iron with managed training intensity.


Cyclic prefix (CP) in multicarrier modulation systems has been considered as an alternative to the training sequences to track channel estimates. In this paper, two new algorithms are developed that exploit CP from their data detection part and employ systolic block Householder transformation recursive least squares (SBHT-RLS) algorithms for channel tracking in multicarrier systems. The new methods are compared with the existing CP exploiting correlation matrix based block RLS (CMB-RLS) channel tracking approach to outline their relative advantages. Aspects of computational complexity and parallel implementation are addressed, and the algorithms are tested in terms of their channel estimation and tracking capabilities. Performance of the algorithms is also evaluated for varying forgetting factor parameter values, constellation size, and word lengths. Floating-point and fixed-point simulations are tailored to illustrate pertinent tradeoffs.


Plasminogen activators (PAs) play a role in fibrinolysis, tissue remodelling, tumor invasion, and reparative processes. Vascular endothelial cells produce tissue-type PA (t-PA), an important regulator of fibrinolysis, and PA inhibitor 1. They can also synthesize a second type of PA, urokinase-type PA (u-PA). The regulation of synthesis and secretion of these PAs by human and bovine endothelial cells in vitro is reviewed. The synthesis of t-PA and u-PA varies between endothelial cells, depending on their vascular origin. The production of PA activity by endothelial cells is regulated at various levels: (1) induction of newly synthesized t-PA or u-PA molecules; (2) rapid release of t-PA from endothelial cells; (3) conversion of single-chain u-PA in the more active two-chain u-PA; (4) interaction of PAs with cellular receptors and matrix components, and (5) interaction of PAs with specific inhibitors.


Phase transformation in titanium alloys on high temperature exposure has been studied. The central theme of review includes the study of basic development in phase transformation, microstructural features, acceptability of crystalline modification, precipitation and intermetallics formation. Effects of alloying elements to the standard systems have been studied. Lamellar microstructure in titanium aluminide systems forms various typical fronts of microstructural changes, where equiax, duplex, ultra fine grained combinations in lamellar or other phases produce versatile implications to the scenario. Ti-6Al-4V systems have been referred to as the 'work horse' of component manufacturing in industry and airways. Twinning, an important deformation mechanism, arises from stress fields associated to misfitting interfacial dislocation or shear reshuffle. Mostly lamellar topography of these systems shows a better creep life after reduction of dislocation climb process by segregated solutes at ledges of lamella. Industrial, biomedical, airways, aerospace and electrical sensors industry are main component manufacturer from these different standard alloy systems.


In the investment area, bond as a usual financial instrument, often holds the leading role in the structure of a portfolio. From the investment hand, the purpose is to control and minimize the portfolio's risks, by managing assets in such a way as to reflect the characteristics of their liabilities. The dissertation focus on immunisation strategies of a bond portfolio in the case of multiple liabilities. Bond's characteristics, the risks of investing in them while useful financial meanings and definitions are presented. The thesis emphasizes duration and convexity, which are measures that manage the exposure of interest rate rirk. In addition, mathematical tools are referred too, in order to facilitate the reader. Finally, strategies based on single or multiple measure of risks in actuarial models that are based on multiple shocks in the term structure of interest rates, are presented. The problem of immunization will be presented as an optimization problem, under a fixed - open loop strategy. New risk measures associated with changes of the term structure are also defined.


The Ada language software developed to control the NASA Lewis Research Center's Power Management and Distribution testbed is described. The testbed is a reduced-scale prototype of the electric power system to be used on Space Station Freedom. It is designed to develop and test hardware and software for a 20 kHz power distribution system. The distributed, multiprocessor, testbed control system has an easy-to-use operator interface with an understandable English-text format. A simple interface for algorithm writers that used the same commands as the operator interface is provided, encouraging interactive exploration of the system.<<ETX>>


abstract:Norvelt is a New Deal subsistence homestead community in western Pennsylvania established to provide secure and comfortable homes, access to healthy food, and an affirming cooperative community to unemployed miners and their families. It succeeded in these aims, but its virtual exclusion of African American residents affirmed the racial prejudice and discrimination that permeated much of the New Deal. Creating an integrated community would have met with great resistance from white residents, who voted to exclude African American applicants, and from powerful regional voices already suspicious of what they considered to be a socialist experiment. Accommodating racial prejudice perpetuated injustices that denied African Americans access to opportunities available to whites.


Fifty-two mental hospital cases of acute and chronic schizophrenia and gross behaviour disorders were investigated and observed for 6-12 months during treatment with clozapine. Three-quarters of the acute cases recovered with full occupation capacity. Two-thirds of the chronic cases improved markedly. Antisocial behaviour was controlled in 12 out of the 13 behaviour-disordered group. The improvement in initiative and social capacity was striking and appeared to be due to improved awareness of the environment and the acquisition and handling of useful knowledge. The response to clozapine appears to be specific and relapses occurred when maintenance medication was stopped. It is of value in treating temper states in epilepsy and has the advantage of not causing extrapyramidal symptoms and side-effects are slight after the first week. Maximum improvement may not be reached before 8 weeks. Thereafter the maintenance dose can be small and fluctuations in the illness do not seem to occur. The dosage, side-effects and precautions are discussed. A rating system to display the effect of clozapine on individual parameters as well as on the over-all state was devised for this study.


A series of 27 analogs of the general anesthetic propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) were examined for general anesthetic activity in Xenopus laevis tadpoles and for the ability to produce enhancement of submaximal GABA responses and/or direct activation at recombinant GABA(A) receptors. Fourteen of the propofol analogs produced loss of righting reflex in the tadpoles, whereas 13 were inactive as anesthetics. The same pattern of activity was noted with the actions of the compounds at the GABA(A) alpha(1)beta(2)gamma(2s) receptor. The potencies of the analogs as general anesthetics in tadpoles correlated better with potentiation of GABA responses than direct activation at the GABA(A) alpha(1)beta(2)gamma(2s) receptor. The calculated octanol/water partition coefficients for the analogs did not explain the lack of activity exhibited by the 13 nonanesthetic analogs, although this physicochemical parameter did correlate modestly with in vivo anesthetic potency. The actions of one nonanesthetic analog, 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol, were examined in detail. 2,6-Di-tert-butylphenol was inactive at GABA(A) receptors, did not function as an anesthetic in the tadpoles, and did not antagonize any of the actions of propofol at GABA(A) receptors or in tadpoles. A key influence on the potency of propofol analogs appears to be the size and shape of the alkyl groups at positions 2 and 6 of the aromatic ring relative to the substituent at position 1. These data suggest steric constraints for the binding site for propofol on the GABA(A) receptor.


Variability of cluster weight, soluble solids, and titratable acidity of 'Concord' grapes (Vitis labruscana Bailey) was quantified with respect to several fixed and random factors. All 3 measurements were affected by cluster position while only cluster weight and soluble solids were affected by sunlight exposure. Estimates of variance components indicated that the greatest percentage variability was among vines. Variance components were used to examine efficient sampling plans that would detect a specified difference at a selected level of Type I error. Graphs illustrate various schemes of sample allocation which would achieve the desired level of precision.


The present study was designed to evaluate the time-dependent effects of Nanpao, a kampo medicine, on age-related changes in the estrous cycle of female rats, and to investigate the utility of measuring electrical impedance in the vagina (EIV) for studying transitional changes in the estrous cycle. Rats were allocated to 3 groups: control, Nanpao 30 mg/kg/day, and 100 mg/kg/day groups. EIV measurements and cytology samples were taken for 14 days at the age of 6 months before the initial treatment. After the start of the treatment, these data were collected at about monthly intervals until the age of 10 months in the same manner. Observations at the ages of 7 (weeks 2-3 of dosing) and 8 months (weeks 6-7 of dosing) showed that loss of a regular estrous cycle in the 100 mg/kg/day group was inhibited as compared to the control group. Moreover, at the ages of 9 (weeks 11-12 of dosing) and 10 months (weeks 17-18 of dosing), these effects were identified not only in the 100 mg/kg/day group, but also in the 30 mg/kg/day group. Since vaginal cytology and EIV gave almost concordant results as indicators of estrous cyclicity, we concluded that the measurement of EIV was capable of detecting time-dependent changes in the estrous cycle as well as observations of vaginal smears. A short period of Nanpao administration inhibited loss of regular estrous cycles, and the EIV method is a worthwhile approach to a more precise study of estrous cyclicity in rats exhibiting abnormal estrous cycles.


This digest summarizes the progress and status of maintenance engineering research under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Five tables are included which list the following: Research in Progress; Pending Research; Available NCHRP Series Publications; Uncorrected Agency Final Reports; and Agency Final Reports Receiving Special Treatment.


The general form for the ABCD matrix in an arbitrarily tapered quadratic-index waveguide is given in terms of the two independent solutions of the second-order differential ray-tracing equation. A procedure for finding taper functions which admit analytical solutions in terms of known functions is presented with several examples.


Privacy needs on today's internet differ from the information privacy needs in traditional e-commerce settings due to their focus on interactions among online peers rather than merely transactions with an online vendor. Peer-oriented online interactions have critical implications for an individual's virtual presence and self-cognition. Yet existing conceptualizations of internet privacy concerns have solely focused on the control of personal information release and on online interactions with online vendors. Drawing on the theory of personal boundaries, this study revisits the theoretical foundation of online privacy and proposes a multidimensional peer-related privacy concern construct, that focuses on privacy violations from online peers. We term this new construct "Peer Privacy Concern" (PrPC) and define it as the general feeling of being unable to maintain functional personal boundaries in online activities as a result of the behavior of online peers. This construct consists of four dimensions comprised of a reconceptualization of information privacy concerns to also reflect privacy concerns with respect to peers' handling of self-shared information and with respect to peer-shared information about one's self, and three new dimensions that tap into the arising privacy needs from virtual interactions (i.e., virtual territory privacy concern and communication privacy concern) as well as from the need to maintain psychological independence (i.e., psychological privacy concern). These new dimensions, which are rooted in the theory of personal boundaries, are prominent privacy needs in online social interactions with peers. However, they are absent from previous privacy concern conceptualizations. Scales for measuring this new construct are developed and empirically validated.


Mass spectrometry has become an indispensable tool for the characterisation of glycosylation across biological systems. Our ability to generate rich fragmentation of glycopeptides has dramatically improved over the last decade yet our informatic approaches still lag behind. While glycoproteomic informatics approaches using glycan databases have attracted considerable attention, database independent approaches have not. This has significantly limited high throughput studies of unusual or atypical glycosylation events such as those observed in bacteria. As such, computational approaches to examine bacterial glycosylation and identify chemically diverse glycans are desperately needed. Here we describe the use of wide-tolerance (up to 2000 Da) open searching as a means to rapidly examine bacterial glycoproteomes. We benchmarked this approach using N-linked glycopeptides of Campylobacter fetus subsp. fetus as well as O-linked glycopeptides of Acinetobacter baumannii and Burkholderia cenocepacia revealing glycopeptides modified with a range of glycans can be readily identified without defining the glycan masses prior to database searching. Utilising this approach, we demonstrate how wide tolerance searching can be used to compare glycan utilisation across bacterial species by examining the glycoproteomes of eight Burkholderia species (B. pseudomallei; B. multivorans; B. dolosa; B. humptydooensis; B. ubonensis, B. anthina; B. diffusa; B. pseudomultivorans). Finally, we demonstrate how open searching enables the identification of low frequency glycoforms based on shared modified peptides sequences. Combined, these results show that open searching is a robust computational approach for the determination of glycan diversity within bacterial proteomes.


The introduction of language creates a separation between words and things, a movement that in Lacanian terms can be defined as a transposition of register. Through symbolization, something dies in the real, where, to be rigorous, it had only ex-sistence (term which Lacan borrows from Heidegger), and emerges in the symbolic, where it becomes part of reality (which in Lacan differs from the real as a register). Already in Freud the founding act of the symbolic order is linked to death: the murder of the father of the primal horde and his subsequent reappearance as totem paradigmatically represents the death of the thing that gives rise to the significant. More precisely, the symbolic is related to the concept of death drive: the transition from nature to culture implies that man functions in a regime of excess, other than that of the normal biological functioning; the symbolic is like a prosthesis, an artificial device attached to the human organism, which makes man a kind of cyborg and mortifies him. The satisfaction aimed by the death drive is the enjoyment, an unbridled urge for pleasure generating repetition, excess, displeasure, devastating sensations which put in check our balance. The symbolic arises with the inscriptions of the enjoyment in the infant and, at the same time, establishes retrospectively the enjoyment and limits it. Thus, human life draws a symbolic arch between the undifferentiated real of absolute enjoyment and the undifferentiated real of death. a Palavra e a morte da Coisa: simboliCo, Gozo e Pulsao de morte 1407 Revista Mal-estaR e subjetividade FoRtaleza vol.Xi No4 p. 14051428 dez/2011


Background: Human being recognition is significant for a variety of purposes, including for the humanitarian and sentimental needs for others, for relatives as well as for the court before rendering a decision. In forensic radiology, the radiographic tests and procedures that are relevant to the law or the courts are performed, interpreted, and then reported. Comparing radiography to three-dimensional (3D) cone beam computed tomography, radiography has the benefits of being more widely available, having a lower radiation dose, and having a lower cast. The systemic change in size or shape between individuals of varying sexes belonging to the same species is known as sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism is reflected by different species' maxillary sinuses. The first paranasal sinus to develop in utero at the age of 10 weeks are the maxillary sinuses, which are two air-filled cavities found in the maxillary bone. They are the largest of the paranasal sinuses. Bones like the pelvis, skull, and femur are used in radiology to identify gender. Maxillary sinuses can be utilized for identification in mass tragedies like aero plane accidents, war, explosions, burnt, decomposing remains, and other calamities. In these situations, all the bones suffer severe damage, but the sinuses are left undamaged. Aim and objective: This research used digital radiography to identify gender based on the morphology of the maxillary sinus. Materials and Methods: From the radiographs (A.P view) of 128 subjects ( 64 males and 64 females), the morphometric characteristics of the maxillary sinus were assessed using microdicom software. Results: The right maxillary sinus average height and width in males was 28.15mm and 25.04mm whereas, in females it 22.39mm and 22.54mm respectively and was found statistically highly significant. Likewise, the left maxillary sinus average height and width in males was 28.91mm and 25.33mm and in females it was 22.39mm and 20.81mm respectively and was statistically highly significant. Conclusion: It was concluded from my study that the anteroposterior (AP) view of digital radiographs can be used to detect the gender based on the height and width of the maxillary sinuses. Keywords: Forensic radiography, maxillary sinus, sexual dimorphism, gender determination mass disaster.


Measured breakdown characteristics of a capacitively coupled rf argon discharge at 13.56 MHz are compared with breakdown criterion derived from the electron balance model in which the difference between the longitudinal and transverse electron diffusion coefficients is taken into account. For the right-hand branch of the minimum of V-shaped breakdown voltage curves, good agreement between the observed and predicted criteria is found in the case of short electrode separations when the electron formation rate is calculated in terms of the time-averaged ionization frequency.


Background: Patients with chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis (CIMF) usually present with anaemia. Treatment is often palliative and the majority of patients receive regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions. Although recombinant human erythropoietin (rhu-EPO) has been proved effective for the treatment of anaemia in several chronic diseases, including haematological malignancies, its role in the treatment of the anaemia in CIMF is not well established. We report the beneficial effect of rhu-EPO administration in 20 patients with CIMF and discuss the parameters predicting favourable response. Patients: Twenty patients with CIMF (9 women and 11 men) regularly treated with supportive RBC transfusions were included in the study. The median age was 70 years (range 45–81 years). Rhu-EPO, 10,000 U, was given subcutaneously 3 times a week. The median duration of therapy was 83 months, ranging from 13 to 87 months. Results: Treatment was considered effective if haemoglobin levels increased over 2 g/dl within 12 weeks after enrolment or the RBC transfusion requirements were reduced by 50% within the same interval. Twelve patients (60%) responded to therapy. Responders were mainly female, had smaller spleen size (p = 0.024), low RBC transfusion requirements (≤1–2 units per month), and significantly lower endogenous serum erythropoietin (EPO) and β2-microglobulin (β2-M) levels when compared with non-responders (p < 0.0001 and 0.00001, respectively). Treatment was well tolerated and none of the patients was withdrawn from the treatment protocol because of side effects. Conclusions: Rhu-EPO administration is an effective, safe and well-tolerated treatment for patients with CIMF and anaemia leading to a significant reduction in RBC transfusion requirements. Factors predicting favourable response are low endogenous EPO and β2-M serum levels and slight to moderate splenomegaly.


The structure of poison gland of Sphex f lavipennis was investigated by using, scannig electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Poison apparatus consists of poison gland, poison sac, Dufour's gland and poison needle. Poison is produced in a gland consisting of two ramified glandular tubules terminating in a common sac. Each tubule is 6-8 mm in length and approximately 90 μm in diameter. These tubules are lined with the secretory cells and duct cells. The secretory cells have a well-developed secretory unit which is open to the lumen of tubules. In addition, there are free ribosomes, large secretory vesicle and a few mitochondria in the cells. Apical surface of cells are lined by irregular microvilli. Glandular tubules go into pear-like sac. Apical surface of the cells in the poison sac are lined cuticle. Outer surface of poison sac is surrounded muscle fibril and connective tissue. Lumen side of glandular tubules and poison sac are surrounded with monolayer epithelial cells.


In this paper, we address the problem of makeup transfer, which aims at transplanting the makeup from the reference face to the source face while preserving the identity of the source. Existing makeup transfer methods have made notable progress in generating realistic makeup faces, but do not perform well in terms of color fidelity and spatial transformation. To tackle these issues, we propose a novel Facial Attribute Transformer (FAT) and its variant Spatial FAT for high-quality makeup transfer. Drawing inspirations from the Transformer in NLP, FAT is able to model the semantic correspondences and interactions between the source face and reference face, and then precisely estimate and transfer the facial attributes. To further facilitate shape deformation and transformation of facial parts, we also integrate thin plate splines (TPS) into FAT, thus creating Spatial FAT, which is the first method that can transfer geometric attributes in addition to color and texture. Extensive qualitative and quantitative experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of our proposed FATs in the following aspects: (1) ensuring high-fidelity color transfer; (2) allowing for geometric transformation of facial parts; (3) handling facial variations (such as poses and shadows) and (4) supporting high-resolution face generation.


Herbs have been used by all cultures for centuries; each area of the world uses herbs local to that area. Western herbs tend to work slowly to restore health and balance to the body, while Chinese herbology contains some fast acting herbs. Oriental herbs can be divided into two categories, food and medical. Herbal medicines have always been a form of therapy for livestock among resource poor smallholder farmers. This article is a review of present literature data on the usage of medical herbs properties (including improve digestibility, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, anti-oxidant and immunostimulant) in animal's nutrition.


The effects of cefoxitin and cefotetan on vitamin K metabolism and clotting parameters in five healthy subjects were investigated. No changes in prothrombin time or in the formation of abnormal prothrombin were seen either during or following the cefoxitin or cefotetan phase. However, when phytonadione (10 mg) (vitamin K1) was administered at the completion of each course of antibiotics, formation of vitamin K 2,3-epoxide was observed only during the cefotetan phase. It is probable, therefore, that cefotetan, a cephamycin antibiotic containing the N-methylthiotetrazole side chain, inhibits hepatic vitamin K 2,3-epoxide reductase. While hypoprothrombinemia and formation of abnormal prothrombin were not seen in healthy subjects, the effect of cefotetan on the coagulation status of vitamin K-depleted patients may be adverse.


A Multilevel Inverter is a power electronic device built to synthesize a desired AC voltage from several levels of DC voltages. Nowadays, modern industrial devices are mostly based on electronic devices such as programmable logic controllers and electronic drives. The electronic devices are very sensitive to disturbances and become less tolerant to power quality problems such as under voltage and over voltage conditions. In general under voltage and over voltage conditions will occur more at source side. In this paper a closed loop Control system is designed using PI controller in order to maintain load voltage constant for under voltage and Over voltage conditions. The triggering pulses to Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) MLI is given using multi carrier phase shifted technique and MATLAB simulations have been carried out.


This study is an experimental study using the UTM (Universal Testing Machine) where the bolts are the main object of the test. Testing independent variables are used only in the varying positions. Testing was conducted using 3 (three) bolts located at the 5 (five) pieces in a jig (test tool of the shear bolts), with different positions for each test. Number of bolt position is that as many as 5 variations of the entire position will be obtained in the optimal position to receive style. Objectives to be achieved is to know the phenomena that occur in the process of loading on the bolts. Besides the above objectives, this study also to identify and analyze the characteristics of the material properties of the shear plate is fastened with two bolts, on a variety of positions so we get a position that would result in fracture or shear bolt receiving optimal shear forces. Optimal position to receive a shear force is position 2 and 3. The position is not optimal receive shear force is position 4


Conjugated linoleic acid (c9, t11 CLA) is a dietary fatty acid produced mainly by ruminant animals and exhibits promising health-promoting biological effects. For lipid fatty acid composition analyses, including CLA, lipids must be pre-treated so that the free and esterified fatty acids (triacylglycerols, phospholipids, etc) are available for determination. The most common treatments involve fatty acid methyl ester derivatives from relatively simple chemical reactions, but this becomes complicated when esterification of CLA is involved because of potential changes in its positional and geometrical isomers by reaction with certain reagents. In this review we explain concisely the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular methods (acid- and base-catalysed methods) generally employed for total fatty acid derivatization and their determination on a gas chromatograph. Based on our experiences we put forward the (trimethylsilyl)diazomethane method as an alternative and successful approach for ruminant tissue lipid determinations. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry


We present results based on X-ray, optical, and radio observations of the massive galaxy cluster CIZA J0107.7+5408. We find that this system is a post-core-passage, dissociative, binary merger, with the optical galaxy density peaks of each subcluster leading their associated X-ray emission peaks. This separation occurs because the diffuse gas experiences ram pressure forces, while the effectively collisionless galaxies (and presumably their associated dark matter (DM) halos) do not. This system contains double-peaked diffuse radio emission,possibly a double radio relic with the relics lying along the merger axis and also leading the X-ray cores. We find evidence for a temperature peak associated with the SW relic, likely created by the same merger shock that is powering the relic radio emission in this region. Thus, this system is a relatively rare, clean example of a dissociative binary merger, which can in principle be used to place constraints on the self-interaction cross-section of DM. Low-frequency radio observations reveal ultra-steep spectrum diffuse radio emission that is not correlated with the X-ray, optical, or high-frequency radio emission. We suggest that these sources are radio phoenixes, which are preexisting nonthermal particle populations that have been re-energized through adiabatic compression by the same merger shocks that power the radio relics. Finally, we place upper limits on inverse Compton emission from the SW radio relic.


In recent years erythropoietin (EPO) has emerged as a useful neuroprotective and neurotrophic molecule that produces antidepressant and cognitive enhancing effects in psychiatric disorders. However, EPO robustly induces erythropoiesis and elevates red blood cell counts. Chronic administration is therefore likely to increase blood viscosity and produce adverse effects in non-anemic populations. Carbamyolated erythropoietin (CEPO), a chemically engineered modification of EPO, is non-erythropoietic but retains the neurotrophic and neurotrophic activity of EPO. Blood profile analysis after EPO and CEPO administration showed that CEPO has no effect on red blood cell or platelet counts. We conducted an unbiased, quantitative, mass spectrometry-based proteomics study to comparatively investigate EPO and CEPO-induced protein profiles in neuronal phenotype PC12 cells. Bioinformatics enrichment analysis of the protein expression profiles revealed the upregulation of protein functions related to memory formation such as synaptic plasticity, long term potentiation (LTP), neurotransmitter transport, synaptic vesicle priming, and dendritic spine development. The regulated proteins, with roles in LTP and synaptic plasticity, include Neudesin, Chromogranin b, Cortactin, Elongation initiation factor 3a and Proteasome 26s subunit, ATPase. We examined the expression of a subset of regulated proteins by immunohistochemical analysis in mouse brain. The results of our study sheds light on potential mechanisms whereby EPO and CEPO produce cognitive enhancing effects in clinical and preclinical studies.


Forty patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), 70% of whom were intravenous drug abusers (IVDAs), were seen over a 20-month period (July 1, 1981, through Feb 28, 1983). Most of the patients came from two inner-city sections of New York City and from nearby correctional facilities. Eighty-five percent of the patients were black or Hispanic; only 15% were white. Unique features of AIDS in this mostly heterosexual population were the high incidence of opportunistic infections (90% of the patients), the low incidence of Kaposi's sarcoma (10%), and the high mortality rate (34% died during initial hospitalization, 74% after one year of follow-up). Tuberculosis occurred in 10% of cases, preceding other opportunistic infections by four to 24 months. We found that AIDS was a common disease among inpatient IVDAs, and in one of the participating hospitals, its incidence was similar to that of infective endocarditis. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome should be considered as the underlying illness in all IVDAs with oral thrush, shortness of breath, pneumonia, or extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.


The kidney of Malayan Pangolins (Manis javanica) in normal and dehydrated conditions were collected for a histological study. The microscopic morphology of normal kidney was similar to those of other mammals, except the prominence of proximal straight tubules. The tubules were lined by high columnar epithelial cells which were higher than those in proximal convoluted tubules. It was thus supposed that proximal straight tubules in Malayan Pangolin's kidney were the most active renal tubule in maintaining fluid and electrolyte balance. The kidney of dehydrated pangolin showed intense acidophilic staining in proximal straight tubules. The lumen of affected tubules was narrower due to swollen tubular epithelial cells. Certain tubular cells were mildly vacuolated. These appearances were the signs of degenerative cell. Since the proximal straight tubules needed more blood supply than other due to high metabolic activity, it is likely that the proximal straight tubules are more prone to hypoxia than other kinds of renal tubules when the animal was in starvation and dehydration.


29th NOVEMBER – 1st DECEMBER 2001 3rd Biennial International Meeting of the Flemish Gynaecological Oncology Group (FGOG): Endocrine Treatment and Prevention of Breast and Gynaecological Cancers Brussels, Belgium Contact: Angele Segers, University Hospitals Leuven, Gynaecologic Oncology, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Tel: +32 478 5983 80. Fax: +32 1634 7687. Email: vwog2001@ yahoo.com. Website: www.kuleuven.ac.be/vwog2001


Based on a meta-analysis of human genome methylation data, we tested a theoretical model in which aging is explained by the redistribution of limited resources in cells between two main tasks of the organism: its self-sustenance based on the function of the housekeeping gene group (HG) and functional differentiation, provided by the (IntG) integrative gene group. A meta-analysis of methylation of 100 genes, 50 in the HG group and 50 in IntG, showed significant differences (p<0.0001) between our groups in the level of absolute methylation values of genes bodies and its promoters. We showed a reliable decrease of absolute methylation values in IntG with rising age in contrast to HG, where this level remained constant. The one-sided decrease in methylation in the IntG group is indirectly confirmed by the dispersion data analysis, which also decreased in the genes of this group. The imbalance between HG and IntG in methylation levels suggests that this IntG-shift is a side effect of the ontogenesis grownup program and the main cause of aging. The theoretical model of functional genome division also suggests the leading role of slow dividing and post mitotic cells in triggering and implementing the aging process.


The goal of Combat Identification (CID), and as well, Situational Awareness (SA), is to combine data and information at the appropriate information representation in order to declare a positive ID according to a classification structure. CID includes the ultimate determination of the intent and prediction of future actions of an object or entity via the establishment of tactical knowledge. To facilitate CID, we utilize the concept of conceptual spaces to represent cooperative and non-cooperative CID. The Choquet integral combined with Bayes risk enables methods that provide a statistical approach to adversary intent prediction through the CID knowledge spaces. The use of the Choquet Integral for CID is applied in the context of a Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) example.


Introduction: Ingesting some foods can trigger headache attacks in migraine patients. Diet-sourced citrulline activates the l-arginine-nitric oxide pathway, acting on the pathophysiology of migraine. Methods: The study was a clinical trial, interventional, controlled, and with group comparison. The sample was non-random, composed of 38 volunteers with migraine and 38 without headache (control). Both groups ingested a portion of watermelon to determine the onset of headache attacks. Before and after ingesting watermelon, they underwent blood collections to determine serum nitrite levels. Results: There were 38 volunteers diagnosed with migraine without aura and 38 controls, whose mean age was, respectively, 22.4 ± 1.5 and 22.9 ± 3.1 years (p = 0.791). Headache was triggered by watermelon ingestion after 124.3 ± 20.5 min of ingestion in 23.7% (9/38) of the migraine volunteers and in none of the controls (p = 0.002). There was an increase in serum nitrite levels, both in migraine volunteers (23.4%) and in the control group (24.3%), after watermelon ingestion. This difference was significant (p < 0.001). Discussion: Watermelon ingestion triggered headache attacks in migraine patients and increased serum nitrite levels, attesting to a possible activation of the l-arginine-nitric oxide pathway.


Human seminal plasma allergy is a rare phenomenon. Its clinical manifestations are diverse, and range from mild local pruritus to fatal anaphylaxis. Treatment varies with severity of the reactions: abstinence, condom usage or immunotherapy (subcutaneous or intravaginal) with seminal fluid. Local allergic reactions can be managed by prophylactic use of antihistamines or local cromolyn cream. A 33-year-old female visited the Asthma and Allergy Clinic in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital for the recurrent generalized urticarial reactions after sexual intercourse. She had been suffering from asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic dermatitis for 10 years. She gave birth to a baby 6 months ago and no problem before. However, recently she began to recognize unexpected generalized urticaria that occurred after the sexual intercourse with husband. She wanted to have the second baby but hesitated because of the recurrent symptoms after the intercourse. She showed positive response to skin prick test with her husband's seminal fluid. The IgE-binding components were 15, 22, 28, and 35 kDa. Considering her moderate cutaneous reactions, we decided to try prophylactic treatments with oral anti-histamine one hour before sexual intercourse. She did not experience urticarial reactions with intercourse while oral anti-histamine was administered in advance. Finally, treatment outcome was successful, and the couple successfully gave birth to their second baby. We suppose that prophylactic antihistamine may be also applied in seminal plasma allergy patients if systemic reactions are limited to mild to moderate generalized urticaria.


Voltage source converters (VSC) have been widely utilized to provide instantaneous reactive power support to power systems, an application referred to as static synchronous compensator (StatCom). Integration of energy storage (ES) into a StatCom makes it possible for the StatCom to provide a certain amount of active power as well as reactive power support. The possible benefit of the additional active power support of a StatCom can be power oscillation damping capability, mitigation of phase-jump related disturbances, etc. Direct connection of an ES device to the dc link of the VSC incurs unnecessarily high voltage rating of the VSC due to the considerable voltage swing associated with the ES device. In order to reduce the total cost, a dual thyristor converter topology has been proposed as the interface between the ES and the dc link of the VSC. In this paper, dynamics of the proposed system are investigated. Control strategies are proposed and verified by simulations with PSCAD/EMTDC.


Abstract Let F be an algebraically closed field and let R be a locally finite algebra over F. This paper aims to show that any element of R is a product of at most three unipotent elements from R if and only if the element lies in the first derived subgroup of the unit group of R. In addition, this necessary and sufficient condition is applied to twisted group algebras of locally finite groups over a field of either zero characteristic or characteristic p ≠ 0 {p\not=0} for some prime p. Moreover, we explore some crucial properties satisfied by certain algebras like the conditions concerned with the connections between unipotent elements of index 2 and commutators, as well as we investigate the unipotent radical of some subgroups of a finite-dimensional algebra R over a field F with at least four elements. In particular, we again apply these results to twisted group algebras.


Background: Hospital palliative care is an essential part of the COVID-19 response, but relevant data are lacking. The recent literature underscores the need to implement protocols for symptom control and the training of non-specialists by palliative care teams. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe a palliative care unit's consultation and assistance intervention at the request of an Infectious Diseases Unit during the COVID-19 pandemic, determining what changes needed to be made in delivering palliative care. Design: This is a single holistic case study design using data triangulation, for example, audio recordings of team meetings and field notes. Setting/participants: This study was conducted in the Palliative Care Unit of the AUSL-IRCCS hospital of Reggio Emilia, which has no designated beds, consulting with the Infectious Diseases Unit of the same hospital. Results: A total of 9 physicians and 22 nurses of the Infectious Diseases Unit and two physicians of the Palliative Care Unit participated in the study. Our Palliative Care Unit developed a feasible 18-day multicomponent consultation intervention. Three macro themes were identified: (1) new answers to new needs, (2) symptom relief and decision-making process, and (3) educational and training issues. Conclusion: From the perspective of palliative care, some changes in usual care needed to be made. These included breaking bad news, patients' use of communication devices, the limited time available for the delivery of care, managing death necessarily only inside the hospital, and relationships with families.


The adoption of celebrities by Indian advertising agencies has experienced a tremendous increase in the last 15 years. Celebrity advertisement is considered as an effective communication strategy between the marketer and consumers. A good number of companies have adopted this strategy as an effective tool to penetrate the product in to the different segment of the market. The paper attempts to evaluate the pattern and trends in celebrity endorsement in India. The products are classified into five categories like medicine and toiletries, drinks and confectionery, personal appearances, home appliances and miscellaneous items. A sample of 125 advertisements belongs to five product categories featuring celebrities were considered and study reveals that film stars are frequently used as endorsers and dominated all product categories.


We first demonstrated that boric acid, an inexpensive and easily handled inorganic compound, can be used to dramatically enhance methane uptake kinetics in the formation of methane hydrate under static conditions. Furthermore, we revealed the synergistic effects between inorganic and organic promoters on the methane hydrate formation with a gravimetric capacity up to 146 mg g−1 (approximately 97 wt% of water was converted into hydrate). We also showed that sodium disilicate, a more cost-effective inorganic salt, can be employed as an effective promoter for the formation of methane hydrate.


Previous research has demonstrated a graded relationship between cumulative childhood adversity and adverse later outcomes. Individuals with out-of-home care (OHC) experience constitute a population characterised by both childhood and educational disadvantages. Based on a fifty-year follow-up of a Stockholm cohort born in 1953, the purpose of this study was to examine the associations between cumulative childhood adversity and long-term educational outcomes in this group. The cumulative disadvantage perspective suggests that there would be a negative association, while the disadvantage saturation perspective implies that cumulative adversity would be less consequential for disadvantaged individuals. By means of multigroup path analysis, we furthermore asked whether this association may differ in relation to individuals with child welfare contact (CWC) and to the general population (GP). Adjusting for socioeconomic conditions and cognitive ability, cumulative childhood adversity had a negative influence on midlife educational attainment in the GP. However, it did not seem to influence the educational outcomes of neither OHC experienced individuals nor individuals with other types of CWC. The results of this study thus lend support to the disadvantage saturation perspective. Further studies are needed to explore this relationship.


This longitudinal study of 39 patients who underwent treatment involving osseointegrated implants examined problems in oral and psychosocial functioning, expectations and experiences of difficulties with surgery, satisfaction with surgery, body image, neuroticism, self-concept, and extroversion. Patients completed six questionnaires from before phase 1 surgery to the final recall appointment for the new prosthesis (12 to 18 months after phase 1 surgery). The most common problems reported before treatment were those associated with eating; esthetics was less of a concern. Significant improvements in all problem areas were observed immediately after phase 2 surgery. Expectations of surgery-related problems were generally consistent with experiences immediately after phase 1 surgery, but more negative than experiences following phase 2 surgery. Body image before treatment was most negative vis-à-vis teeth. Significant improvements were found not only regarding teeth, but also on facial, mouth, and even overall body image. Satisfaction scores were generally high, but showed continued improvements through the final assessment. The only group experiencing negative outcomes consisted of patients scoring high on neuroticism.


Photograph of the Apogee Stadium, taken during UNT homecoming events for the game against the University of Texas at El Paso.


We present a novel nonparametric approach for identification of nonlinear systems. Exploiting the framework of Gaussian regression, the unknown nonlinear system is seen as a realization from a Gaussian random field. Its covariance encodes the idea of "fading" memory in the predictor and consists of a mixture of Gaussian kernels parametrized by few hyperparameters describing the interactions among past inputs and outputs. The kernel structure and the unknown hyperparameters are estimated maximizing their marginal likelihood so that the user is not required to define any part of the algorithmic architecture, e.g., the regressors and the model order. Once the kernel is estimated, the nonlinear model is obtained solving a Tikhonov-type variational problem. The Hilbert space the estimator belongs to is characterized. Benchmarks problems taken from the literature show the effectiveness of the new approach, also comparing its performance with a recently proposed algorithm based on direct weight optimization and with parametric approaches with model order estimated by AIC or BIC.


A new algorithm for Direction-of-Arrival (DOA) estimation is presented in α -stable distribution noise environment. Since the DOA estimation algorithms based on the second order cyclic stationary correlation degrade seriously in nonGaussian noise environment and need a large amount of calculation, this new algorithm based on fractional lower order statistics can get the accurate DOA estimation in impulsive noise environment and also it is fast because it avoids searching the spatial spectrum. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the algorithm.


This paper draws primarily on my own scholarship, supplemented by the limited academic resources available in the "peripheries" of the world where I live and work (namely, Somali society and Darfur, Sudan), to consider the relationship between colonialism and psychology. I first consider the history of psychology in justifying and bolstering oppression and colonialism. I then consider the ongoing intersection of colonialism and psychology in the form of metacolonialism (or coloniality). I end with thoughts about decolonizing psychological science in teaching, social, and clinical practice. To decolonize psychological science, it is necessary to transform its focus from promotion of individual happiness to cultivation of collective well-being, from a concern with instinct to promotion of human needs, from prescriptions for adjustment to affordances for empowerment, from treatment of passive victims to creation of self-determining actors, and from globalizing, top-down approaches to context-sensitive, bottom-up approaches. Only then will the field realize its potential to advance Frantz Fanon's call for humane and just social order.


Background:

The lack of effective biomarkers for screening gastric cancer (GC) and premalignant lesions (PMLs) is a significant roadblock in the prevention and early intervention of GC. We aimed to identify noninvasive biomarkers to improve the screening of high-risk populations.
Methods:

We evaluated 25,000 adults residing in Wuwei. We collected baseline characteristics, GC risk indicators, including trefoil factors (TFF1–3), endoscopy diagnosis, and pathological information. We analyzed the data to determine the association of risk biomarkers with the progression of GC and the prediction capacities of these biomarkers using odds ratio (OR)-adjusted models and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.
Results:

TFF1 and TFF2 serum levels showed incremental changes from the PMLs to the GC group, with the highest serum TFF3 levels reported in the intestinal metaplasia group. TFF1 and TFF2 had significant predictive values in the PMLs and GC in the three OR-adjusted models but not in the non-atrophic gastritis group. Similar results were obtained after adjusting for all biomarkers and risk factors wherein the ORs (95 % confidence intervals) of TFF1 and TFF2 in the GC group were 2.71 (1.57–4.67) and 2.87 (1.75–4.71), respectively (P < 0.001). The combination of TFF1–3 showed the largest area under the curve across all four groups (chronic atrophic gastritis [0.74], intestinal metaplasia [0.79], low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia/dysplasia [0.79], and GC [0.84]), making it the best-fit ROC.
Conclusions:

TFF1, TFF2, and the combination of TFF1–3 can serve as sensitive, specific, and noninvasive biomarkers for detecting GC and PMLs, facilitating the early identification of these lesions.


This paper presents an enhanced internal model control (EIMC) scheme for a time-delayed second order unstable process, which is subjected to exogenous disturbance and model variations. Even though the conventional internal model control (IMC) can provide an asymptotic tracking response with desired stability margins, the major limitation of conventional IMC is that it cannot be applied for an unstable system because a small exogenous disturbance can trigger the control signal to grow unbounded. Hence, modifying the conventional IMC structure to guarantee the internal stability, we present an EIMC scheme which can offer better trade-off between setpoint tracking and disturbance rejection characteristics. To improve the load disturbance rejection characteristics and attenuate the effect of sensor noise, we solve the selection of controller gains as an H∞ optimization problem. One of the key aspects of the EIMC scheme is that the robustness of the closed loop system can be tuned via a single tuning parameter. The performance of the EIMC scheme is experimentally assessed on a magnetic levitation plant for reference tracking application. Experimental results substantiate that the EIMC scheme can effectively counteract the inherent time delay in the model and offer precise tracking, even in the presence of exogenous disturbance. Moreover, by comparing the trajectory tracking performance of EIMC with that of the proportional integral velocity (PIV) controller through cumulative power spectral density (CPSD) of the tracking error, we show that the EIMC can offer better low frequency servo response with minimal vibrations.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Introduction: Neonates with severe Pierre Robin sequence (PRS) can be treated by mandibular distraction osteogenesis (MDO), tongue-lip adhesion, or tracheostomy; however, there is an active debate regarding the indications of MDO in this patient population. Published algorithms identify tracheomalacia, bronchomalacia, laryngomalacia, hypotonic syndromes, and central sleep apnea as contraindications for MDO and indications for tracheostomy, but these comorbidities may exist along a spectrum of severity. The authors propose that appropriately selected neonates with PRS who concurrently express 1 or more of these traditional contraindications may be successfully treated with MDO. Methods: The authors performed a 5-year retrospective chart review of all neonates who underwent MDO for treatment of severe PRS. All patients expressed a comorbidity previously identified as an indication for tracheostomy. Pre- and postoperative characteristics were recorded. Apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) before and after MDO were compared using 2-tailed repeated measures t-test. Results: The authors identified 12 patients with severe PRS and conditions associated with contraindications to MDO: 9 (75.0%) patients had laryngomalacia, 6 (50.0%) patients had tracheomalacia, 2 (16.6%) patients had bronchomalacia, 1 (8.3%) patient had central sleep apnea, and 3 (25.0%) patients had hypotonia. Five (41.7%) patients underwent concurrent gastrostomy tube placement due to feeding insufficiency. Average birthweight was 3.0 kg. Average pre-op AHI was 34.8. Average post-op AHI was 7.3. All patients successfully underwent MDO with avoidance of tracheostomy. Conclusions: By employing an interdisciplinary evaluation of patient candidacy, MDO can safely and effectively treat upper airway obstruction and avoid tracheostomy in higher-risk neonatal patients with traditional indications for tracheostomy.


The existing robust digital watermarking schemes mainly embed information in the fixed positions or with fixed embedding strength, while seldom considering adaptive adjustment based on the characteristics of the cover image, thus it reduces the imperceptibility and the robustness of watermarking. Aiming at these issues, we propose a scheme which can be able to dynamically adjust the watermark embedding position and strength. Therefore, it guarantees the trade-off between robustness and imperceptibility. The appropriate embedding positions are dynamically selected for the watermark by comparing the image entropy, and the embedding strength of the image blocks are adaptively adjusted according to the entropy and the Just Noticeable Difference (JND) model in the Human Visual System (HVS)-based wavelet domain. Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) is performed on the image blocks to ensure the resistant ability of geometric attacks. The experimental results show that the scheme has good imperceptibility as well as strong robustness against various attacks. The robustness in common attacks is improved by at least 1% compared with similar watermarking schemes.


One of the main goals of the Committee on the Status of Blacks (CSB) is to assess how well African-American political scientists are faring in the discipline. Given the nature of the academy, we believe an important element for success is effective mentoring. Our position is supported by the American Political Science Association (APSA) which established a Task Force on Mentoring in 2002 to address issues facing underrepresented groups within the profession. One of the initiatives is a Mentor Database designed to connect interested minority graduate students and minority faculty with political scientists who are willing to share their experiences and knowledge and give their advice and council to participants. The Committee is supportive of this initiative whose goal is to help underrepresented groups have satisfying professional careers.


This paper aims to describe the importance of internalizing character education through media that is appropriate to the development of ICT and student characteristics. Considering several facts revealing that the achievement of the internalization of character education in schools is still relatively low, given the low interest in student learning and the use of learning media that tends to be static, whereas in learning in the digital era where students are familiar with the use of technology, of course, it must receive attention given the great potential if opportunities for using ICT in the learning process can be optimized. This paper uses a descriptive qualitative design approach with a literature review method, data is collected from the results of reading orientation of authentic sources namely books, journals and relevant literature and analyzed through reduction, display and verification as conclusions. Internalization of character education in the digital era requires the integration and synergy of ICT, the existence of ICT packaged in the form of educational games will be able to create greater opportunities in optimizing the internalization of character education based on local wisdom, such as Wayang.. .


Orbital angular momentum (OAM) has demonstrated great success in the optical communication field, which theoretically allows an infinite increase of the transmitted capacity. The resolution of a receiver to precisely recognize OAM modes is crucial to expand the communication capacity. Here, we propose a deep learning (DL) method to precisely recognize OAM modes with fractional topological charges. The minimum interval recognized between adjacent modes decreases to 0.01, which as far as we know is the first time this superhigh resolution has been realized. To exhibit its efficiency in the optical communication process, we transfer an Einstein portrait by a superhigh-resolution OAM multiplexing system. As the convolutional neuron networks can be trained by data up to an infinitely large volume in theory, this work exhibits a huge potential of generalized suitability for next generation DL based ultrafine OAM optical communication, which might even be applied to microwave, millimeter wave, and terahertz OAM communication systems.


Lagophthalmos secondary to facial nerve damage is a serious complication that can lead to exposure to keratopathy, ulceration and even blindness. For definitive treatment and eye rehabilitation, several surgical strategies are available (tarsorrhaphy, palpebral springs, eyelid lengthening, upper lid weights, or dynamic procedures), an appropriate management depending on the severity and duration of recovery.


ABSTRACT Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) increases mortality in patients with multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (MODS). This study evaluates the feasibility of intrapleural steroid instillation (IPSI) in patients with ARDS and MODS unresponsive to conventional extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Ninety-two of 467 patients who underwent ECMO between 2005 and 2009 had ARDS, and 30 consecutive adult patients of these 92 patients with severe ARDS and MODS were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Nine of these 30 patients, who did not respond to therapy and whose condition deteriorated, were managed with IPSI. All patients met the inclusion criteria of hemodynamic instability with high catecholamine infusion requirement and 100% oxygen demand in ventilation and ECMO flow. On initial diagnosis of ARDS, no differences in prognostic scorings were observed in patients who underwent conventional treatment (n = 21) and those who underwent IPSI (n = 9). Blood oxygenation, tidal volume, changing in chest radiographic findings, and survival rates were analyzed. The primary outcome was survival until discharge from the hospital. Pulmonary radiographic appearance improved after 3 days of IPSI treatment (P = 0.008); the ratio of arterial partial pressure of oxygen to fraction of inspired oxygen also increased significantly after 5 days of IPSI treatment (P = 0.028). Moreover, the 28-day mortality rate (P = 0.017), 60-day mortality rate (P = 0.003), and survival rate (78% vs. 19%; P = 0.003) significantly improved in patients undergoing IPSI, which therefore appears to be an easily implemented and highly effective treatment for patients with severe ARDS in combination with MODS, particularly in patients who fail to respond to conventional treatment.


The photocatalytic destruction of methyl orange in aqueous solution has been studied over single crystal ZnO surfaces under UV irradiation. Differences in the apparent reaction rates between the polar surfaces (first order) and the nonpolar ZnO(10-10) surface (zero order) were observed. Reaction rates for different crystallographic orientations showed the highest activity for ZnO(10-10) followed by ZnO(0001)-Zn and the lowest activity for ZnO(000-1)-O surfaces. In addition, the etching of surfaces by photolysis has been studied. For this process, strongly face-dependent behavior was also observed. Possible reasons for the face dependencies are discussed.


In unconventional reservoirs, such as Bakken Fm, the stimulation application is the required method to develop and produce economically from this vast reserve. However, the production process is still only through primary depletion mechanism with low recovery factor in ranging of 3-5% due to sharp decline in oil production by depletion in natural fracture networks as well as unsuccessful implementation hydraulic fracturing design. This paper aims to investigate the application of HVFRs with surfactant in high TDS condition to enhance Bakken oil wells production performance using an integral methodology between 3D/2D Pseudo hydraulic fracturing simulator and numerical reservoir simulation. Four types of fracturing fluids as follows: Linear Gel, HVFR-A (mixed with freshwater), HVFR-B (mixed with produced water plus surfactant as additives), and HVFR-C (mixed with produced water) were tested using an integral approach. The workflow in this paper was started by modeling the optimal fracture half-length using 2D/PKN model based on the slurry volume per stage. As a next step, the optimum pump schedule was created using 3D Pseudo hydraulic fracturing simulator. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis was performed on HVFR-B at different pump rate, final proppant concentration, and proppant size to investigate the proppant transport and production performance. Finally, reservoir simulation tool was utilized to investigate the changing in fracture parameters and evaluating the Bakken oil production. The results showed that HVFRs with surfactant is the optimum hydraulic fracture fluids that showed better performance in proppant transport, which responded by high fracture capability to improve oil production. The findings can be applied and compared to other unconventional shale plays, such as Eagle Ford and Permian Basin.


PURPOSE OF REVIEW
The purpose of this review is to summarize current evidence regarding dysphagia in anterior cervical spine surgeries (ACSS) and to present recent advances in evaluation and surgical technique.

RECENT FINDINGS
Various risk factors for dysphagia have been identified, and they include female sex, smoking history, prior surgery and cervical lordotic angle. EAT-10 is a validated tool for the assessment of individuals with dysphagia post-ACSS. Local intraoperative corticosteroid application significantly reduced the incidence and magnitude of dysphagia in four out of five studies that were reviewed. Individuals who had undergone cervical disc replacement (CDR) and revision surgery by a zero-profile anchored spacer (ROI-C) device experienced less dysphagia than those who had anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF). Videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) after ACSS demonstrated pharyngeal weakness and increased posterior pharyngeal wall thickness, while no other abnormality was found.

SUMMARY
Different technique variations can reduce dysphagia severity in individuals undergoing ACSS. Surgeons are encouraged to continue performing randomized control studies to assist in choosing the most favourable technique for the patient.


This work reviews present knowledge of double-diffusive convection at low Prandtl number obtained using direct numerical simulations, in both the fingering regime and the oscillatory regime. Particular emphasis is given to modeling the induced turbulent mixing and its impact in various astrophysical applications. The nonlinear saturation of fingering convection at low Prandtl number usually drives small-scale turbulent motions whose transport properties can be predicted reasonably accurately using a simple semi-analytical model. In some instances, large-scale internal gravity waves can be excited by a collective instability and eventually cause layering. The nonlinear saturation of oscillatory double-diffusive convection exhibits much more complex behavior. Weakly stratified systems always spontaneously transition into layered convection associated with very efficient mixing. More strongly stratified systems remain dominated by weak wave turbulence unless they are initialized into a layered state. The eff...


Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common cancer and consists of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). SCC metastases account for up to 20% of all deaths from skin cancer. The major risk factor for the development of NMSC is solar ultraviolet radiation (UV). UVA and UVB both function as initiators and promoters in carcinogenesis and possess immunosuppressive activity. Given the prevalence of this disease, there remains a pressing need for the development of novel prevention and treatment strategies for NMSC. In a recent study (Srivastava et al. 2015. Mol. Carcinog. doi:10.1002/mc.22335), we evaluated the effect of Twist1, a transcription factor that is known to play a role in tumor progression, during epithelial carcinogenesis. Using the two-stage chemical carcinogenesis model, we identified that BK5.Cre x Twist1 flox/flox mice, which have a keratinocyte-specific Twist1 knockout (Twist1 KO), developed significantly reduced numbers of papillomas (70% reduction) and SCCs (75% reduction) as well as delayed tumor latency compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Twist1 KO mice also exhibited significantly reduced epidermal proliferation in response to chemical promotion that correlated with reduced levels of cell cycle regulators and increased levels of p53 and p21. In further studies, we have begun analyzing the effects of UVB irradiation in Twist1 KO mice. Specifically, Twist1 KO mice exhibited heightened sensitivity to UVB-induced apoptosis and decreased epidermal proliferation as compared to similarly exposed WT mice. In addition, the accumulation of mast cells in the skin was significantly decreased in Twist1 KO mice as compared to WT mice. Further preliminary experiments showed that the protein expression levels of c-Myc, phospho-p65 (S536) and phospho-p50 (S337) decreased following UVB irradiation whereas levels of the cell cycle inhibitors p21 and p27 exhibited an increased expression in Twist1 KO mice as compared to WT mice. Further experiments have suggested that Twist1 may play a pivotal role in the proliferation/migration of bulge region keratinocyte stem cells (KSCs) following exposure to UVB. These and other results from ongoing experiments will be presented. Collectively, these findings suggest that Twist1 may have a novel role in UVB-induced epithelial carcinogenesis by regulating proliferation and migration of keratinocytes and KSCs. Research supported by CPRIT RP150346, CPRIT RP140108, and NIH T32 ES007247. Citation Format: Jaya Srivastava, Okkyung Rho, John DiGiovanni. Twist1 regulates UVB-induced epidermal cell proliferation in non-melanoma skin cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2022.


In this paper we focus on Dynamic Spatial Logic, the extension of Hennessy-Milner logic with the parallel operator. We develop a sound complete Hilbert-style axiomatic system for it comprehending the behavior of spatial operators in relation with dynamic/temporal ones. Underpining on a new congruence we define over the class of processes - the structural bisimulation - we prove the finite model property for this logic that provides the decidability for satisfiability, validity and model checking against process semantics. Eventualy we propose algorithms for validity, satisfiability and model checking.


SUMMARY In Drosophila, two related G-protein-coupled receptors are members of the corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) receptor subfamily. We have previously reported that one of these receptors, encoded by CG8422 is a functional receptor for a diuretic hormone, DH44. Here, we report that the other CRF receptor subfamily member, encoded by CG12370, is also a receptor for the DH44 neuropeptide. The lines of evidence to support this identification include increases in cAMP levels due to CG12370 receptor activation and the recruitment of β-arrestin–GFP to the plasma membrane in response to DH44 application. We compared these features of the receptors DH44-R2 (encoded by CG12370) and DH44-R1 (encoded by CG8422) and found fundamental differences in signaling, association with the arrestins, and peptide sensitivity. We found that the sensitivity of DH44-R2 to the DH44 peptide is lower than that of DH44-R1, specifically an estimated EC50 of 7.98E-07 moll–1 for DH44 by DH44-R2 to an EC50 of 5.12E-09 moll–1 by DH44-R1 and found that previous reports on the sensitivity of the tubule to DH44 is in agreement with our measurements of DH44-R2 sensitivity. We employed a specific RNAi construct to selectively knock-down DH44-R2 expression and this led to heightened sensitivity to osmotic challenges. The functional characterization of this diuretic hormone receptor in Drosophila demonstrates a high degree of conservation of CRF-like signaling.


The detection of fungal elements and their characterization in patient specimens provides fundamental information. On histological sections fungi are most frequently seen on skin or mucosal surfaces or as mycotic thrombi or emboli that can occlude both arteries and veins in surgical specimen from immunocompromised patients or tissues obtained from autopsies. Microbial culture continues to be the central method for diagnosing fungal infection but is complemented by histomorphology using specific stains capable of identifying previously unsuspected fungal infections or for evaluating tissue invasion. These stains employ oxidizing reagents to create aldehyde binding sites on polysaccharides (1,2-glycol groups) of fungal cell walls for either Schiff's reagent or Silver ions. Gomori methenamine silver (GMS) and Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) or their modifications are the most commonly used for tissue sections and in cytology specimens.


For layered transition metal oxides cathode-based lithium batteries, the chemical degradation of electrolytes leads to fast battery capacity decay, severely challenging their practical applications. This kind of chemical degradation of electrolytes is caused by the oxidation of reactive oxygen (e.g., singlet oxygen) and the attack of free radicals during cycling. To address this, we first report a biologically inspired antiaging strategy of developing the photostabilizer with singlet oxygen- and free radicals-scavenging abilities as a cathode binder additive. It is fully evidenced that this binder system consisting of the binder additive and a commercially available polyvinylidene difluoride can scavenge singlet oxygen and free radicals generated during high-voltage cycling, thus significantly restraining electrolyte decomposition. As a result, high-voltage layered transition metal oxides-based lithium batteries with reproducibly superior electrochemical performance, even under elevated temperatures, can be achieved. This bioinspired strategy to scavenge reactive oxygen and free radicals heralds a new paradigm for manipulating the cathode/electrolyte interphase chemistry of various rechargeable batteries involving layered transition metal oxides-based cathodes.


'A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.' The celebrated opening of T. S. Eliot's 'Journey of the Magi' adapts a passage from Lancelot Andrewes' fifteenth sermon on the Nativity (1622). This is well known, but less familiar may be the fact that Andrews himself was making free use of St. John Chrysostom's Homily vi on Matt. 2:1,2—the scriptural text which describes the coming of the 'wise men' from the east to Jerusalem to worship Jesus. The number of wise men (once thought to be twelve), their station in life, their origin, and the nature and meaning of their journey were questions which gave rise to a long tradition of patristic and later commentary on the Epiphany, as the manifestation of Christ to the world and the commemorative feast of the Church came to be called.


Deep neural networks continue to show improved performance with increasing depth, an encouraging trend that implies an explosion in the possible permutations of network architectures and hyperparameters for which there is little intuitive guidance. To address this increasing complexity, we propose Evolutionary DEep Networks (EDEN), a computationally efficient neuro-evolutionary algorithm which interfaces to any deep neural network platform, such as TensorFlow. We show that EDEN evolves simple yet successful architectures built from embedding, 1D and 2D convolutional, max pooling and fully connected layers along with their hyperparameters. Evaluation of EDEN across seven image and sentiment classification datasets shows that it reliably finds good networks — and in three cases achieves state-of-the-art results — even on a single GPU, in just 6–24 hours. Our study provides a first attempt at applying neuro-evolution to the creation of 1D convolutional networks for sentiment analysis including the optimisation of the embedding layer.


Two growth factors, interleukin 2 (T cell growth factor) and colony-stimulating factor, are produced concomitantly by a murine EL-4 thymoma cell line after stimulation by phorbol myristate acetate. As shown elsewhere, these thymoma-derived factors appear to be biochemically and functionally indistinguishable from the interleukin 2 and colony-stimulating factor produced by mitogen-stimulated mouse spleen cells. Both factors co-elute during gel filtration with apparent m.w. in the range of 30,000, and both exhibit overlapping isoelectric point profiles between pH 4 and pH 5. Because we were unable to separate these 2 factors by methods based on either m.w. or charge, we have used phenyl-Sepharose chromatography, a method based on hydrophobic interactions, to completely separate murine interleukin 2 and colony-stimulating factor. In contrast with published reports, each of the separated factors exhibits unique biologic activities on lymphocytes and macrophages. Interleukin 2 provides help for antibody synthesis in the nude mouse, but neither enhances interferon production by macrophages nor stimulates macrophage growth. Colony-stimulating factor does not enhance antibody synthesis in the nude mouse but does enhance interferon production by macrophages and stimulate macrophage growth.


Recent claims have been made regarding the putative erosive effects of regularly ingesting low-pH beverages on the integrity of tooth enamel. The purpose of this study was to determine whether fluid consumption during exercise affects the body's defenses against enamel erosion: saliva flow and salivary pH. Males and females (n=50) exercised in the heat (26.7 degrees C, 40 % RH) for 75 min on four occasions. Within each session, subjects consumed ad-lib either water, a sports drink (Gatorade), diluted orange juice, or a homemade sports drink, with the latter three fluids all having low pH values (3.0 to 4.0). Prior to and following exercise, subjects performed a standard stimulated saliva collection procedure. Immediately following collection, saliva flow rate and pH were determined for each sample. Repeated-measures ANOVA were used to evaluate the data. Compared to pre-exercise salivary flow rates (2.6+/- 0.8 ml/min), the post-exercise rate was not different when consuming the sports drink (2.6+/- 0.9 ml/min), but decreased when water or the homemade sports drink was ingested (2.4+/- 0.9 ml/min; p<0.05). A time-by-drink interaction (p<0.05) revealed slight differences in saliva pH after exercise, depending on the beverage consumed; post-exercise saliva pH was highest for water (7.2+/- 0.2) and lowest for the homemade sports drink (7.1+/- 0.2), with the sports drink and diluted orange juice values falling in between. The results suggest that minimal changes occur in saliva pH and the rate of stimulated saliva flow with beverage consumption during exercise. Subsequent research is needed to determine whether maintenance of saliva production by drinking beverages during exercise influences the body's defenses against dental erosion via saliva production.


Surgical-pathological staging of patients with NSCLC, we believe, should form the basis of protocol development and design. To a large extent, it has been the lack of precise surgical staging of patients with NSCLC before therapy that has complicated the appropriate interpretation of treatment results in reported series. We now have the opportunity, with the advent of minimally invasive techniques, to build on the foundations laid by Harken, Carlen, Pearson, and others who developed mediastinoscopy to its full extent. We can further refine preresectional staging of patients with lung cancer to bring maximal application of standard staging systems and molecular prognostic variables to protocol design. There should be no room and no need for treatment strategies or protocol designs that do not incorporate rigorous surgical pathological staging before therapy in patients with NSCLC.


In this paper, we test for the stationarity and sustainability of European Union budget de…cits over the period 1971 to 2006, using a panel of thirteen member countries. Our testing strategy addresses two key concerns with regard to unit root panel data testing, namely (i) the identi…cation of which members-states are stationary, and (ii) the presence of cross-sectional dependence. We employ a moving block bootstrap approach to the Hadri (2000) procedure that tests the null of joint stationarity. In contrast to the existing literature, we …nd that the EU countries considered are characterised by …scal sustainability over the full sample period. This conclusion also holds when analysing sub-periods based on before and after the Maastricht treaty. JEL Classi…cation: C33; F32; F41. Keywords: Heterogeneous dynamic panels, …scal sustainability, mean reversion, panel stationarity test. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com yE-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com zE-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


SAFAR is a mobile Augmented Reality application that makes possible to see in real-time the 'Sagrada Familia' as it will look like when it be finished. The application successfully integrates outdoor tracking and 3D rendering processes to provide an augmented view of this under construction monument to city travellers, equipped with Nokia mobile phones. This outdoor tracking process includes a custom skyline detection algorithm, which provides real-time tracking and avoids not only external calibrations, but also additional sensors connected to the mobile phone. Moreover, the occlusion problem of the resulting images are improved by means of predefined drawings sequences, which control the combination between computer-generated and displayed video images. The performance evaluation results show that both the outdoor tracking and the 3D rendering techniques combined in SAFAR requires relatively low computational load, while providing a proper accuracy.


The magnetic behaviour of thin ferromagnetic itinerant-electron films is investigated within the strongly correlated single-band Hubbard model. For its approximate solution we apply a generalization of the modified alloy analogy (MAA) to deal with the modifications due to the reduced translational symmetry. The theory is based on exact results in the limit of strong Coulomb interaction which are important for a reliable description of ferromagnetism. Within the MAA the actual type of the alloy analogy is determined self-consistently. The MAA allows, in particular, the investigation of quasiparticle lifetime effects in the paramagnetic as well as the ferromagnetic phase. For thin fcc(100) and fcc(111) films the layer magnetizations are discussed as a function of temperature as well as film thickness. The magnetization at the surface layer is found to be reduced compared to that in the inner layers. This reduction is stronger in fcc(100) than in fcc(111) films. The magnetic behaviour can be microscopically understood by means of the layer-dependent spectral density and the quasiparticle density of states. The quasiparticle lifetime that corresponds to the width of the quasiparticle peaks in the spectral density is found to be strongly spin and temperature dependent.


One of the most criticized points in tinnitus clinical studies arise from the lack of consensus about measurement methods. Aim To evaluate the correlation between audiometric thresholds, pitch matching (PM), minimum masking level (MML), Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in tinnitus patients. Study design Prospective, cross-sectional. Materials and methods Subjects were submitted to tonal audiometry, PM and MML for tinnitus. They also filled out the THI and BDI. Data was statistically compared for correlation purposes between audiometric thresholds, psycho-acoustic measures and questionnaires. Results There was no statistically significant correlation between THI and MML, both in patients with BDI scores under and over 14 points. There was no statistically significant correlation between the worst hearing frequency and PM, as well as between the cut-off frequency and the PM in patients with descending hearing curves in their audiograms. Conclusions There is no statistically significant correlation between psycho-acoustic measures (PM and MML), audiometric thresholds, THI and BDI. Tinnitus is a very complex symptom and isolated measures by psycho-acoustic methods; tinnitus and depression questionnaires are not satisfactory.


Background: Clozapine is the most effective medication for treatment–refractory schizophrenia but is associated with significant adverse drug effects, including hypotension and dizziness, which have a negative impact on quality of life and treatment compliance. Available evidence for the management of clozapine-induced hypotension is scant. Objectives: Due to limited guidance on the safety and efficacy of pharmacological treatments for clozapine-induced hypotension, we set out to systematically review and assess the evidence for the management of clozapine-induced hypotension and provide guidance to clinicians, patients, and carers. Design: We undertook a systematic review of the safety and efficacy of interventions for clozapine-induced hypotension given the limited available evidence. Data Sources and Methods: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane trial Registry were searched from inception to November 2021 for literature on the treatment strategies for clozapine-induced hypotension and dizziness using a PROSPERO pre-registered search strategy. For orthostatic hypotension, we developed a management framework to assist in the choice of intervention. Results: We identified nine case studies and four case series describing interventions in 15 patients. Hypotension interventions included temporary clozapine dose reduction, non-pharmacological treatments, and pharmacological treatments. Midodrine, fludrocortisone, moclobemide and Bovril® combination, and etilefrine were associated with improvement in symptoms or reduction in orthostatic hypotension. Angiotensin II, arginine vasopressin, and noradrenaline successfully restored and maintained mean arterial pressure in critical care situations. A paradoxical reaction of severe hypotension was reported with adrenaline use. Conclusion: Orthostatic hypotension is a common side effect during clozapine titration. Following an assessment of the titration schedule, salt and fluid intake, and review of hypertensive and nonselective α1-adrenergic agents, first-line treatment should be a temporary reduction in clozapine dose or non-pharmacological interventions. If orthostatic hypotension persists, fludrocortisone should be trialled with monitoring of potassium levels and sodium and fluid intake. Midodrine may be considered second-line or where fludrocortisone is contraindicated or poorly tolerated. For patients on clozapine with hypotension in critical care settings, the use of adrenaline to maintain mean arterial pressure should be avoided. Registration: PROSPERO (Registration No. CRD42020191530)