Image fusion provides a useful tool to integrate multiple images into a composite image that is more suitable for the purposes of human visual perception and can help us to extract more features. In this paper we compare the wavelets-based schemes which are based on ordinary wavelet transform, wavelet packet analysis and the nonlinear fusion scheme. It is concluded that the nonlinear fusion scheme has the best performance and more wavelet decomposition levels will give better results during the fusion process


The main purpose of this study is to introduce a new species of features to improve the diagnosis efficiency of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia from microscopic images. First, the authors segmented nuclei by the k
-means and watershed algorithms. They extracted three sets of geometrical, statistical, and chaotic features from nuclei images. Six chaotic features were extracted by calculating the fractal dimension from five sub-images driven from the nuclei images, with their grey levels being modified. The authors classified the images into binary and multiclass types via the support vector machine algorithm. They conducted principal component analysis for dimensional reduction of feature space and then evaluated the proposed algorithm for the overfitting problem. The obtained overall results represent 99% accuracy, 99% specificity, and 97% sensitivity values in the classification of six-cell groups. The difference between the train and test errors was <;3%, which proves that the classification performance had improved by using the multifractal features.


From 16 to 23 August 2016, typhoons T1607, T1609, and T1611 hit eastern Hokkaido in northern Japan and caused heavy rainfall that resulted in severe disasters. To understand future changes in typhoon-related precipitation (TRP) in midlatitude regions, climate change experiments on these three typhoons were conducted using a high-resolution three-dimensional atmosphere– ocean coupled regional model in current and pseudo-global warming (PGW) climates. All PGW simulations projected decreases in precipitation frequency with an increased frequency of strong TRP and decreased frequency of weak TRP in eastern Hokkaido. In the current climate, snow-dominant precipitation systems start to cause precipitation in eastern Hokkaido about 24 hours before landfall. In the PGW climate, increases in convective available potential energy (CAPE) developed tall and intense updrafts and the snow-dominant precipitation systems turned to have more convective property with less snow mixing ratio (QS). Decreased QS reduced precipitation area, although strong precipitation increased or remained almost the same. Only TRP of T1607 increased the amounts before landfall. In contrast, all typhoons projected to increase TRP amount associated with landfall, because in addition to increased CAPE, the PGW typhoon and thereby its circulations intensified, and a large amount of rain was produced in the core region. (Citation: Kanada, S., H. Aiki, K. Tsuboki, and I. Takayabu, 2019: Future changes of typhoon-related precipitation in eastern Hokkaido. SOLA, 15, 244−249, doi:10.2151/sola.2019-044.)


Metal ions are essential to the structure and physiological functions of bacteriorhodopsin. Experimental evidence suggests the existence of specific cation binding to the negatively charged groups of Asp85 and Asp212 via an electrostatic interaction. However, only using electrostatic force is not enough to explain the role of the metal cations because the carboxylate of Asp85 is well known to be protonated in the M intermediate. Considering the presence of some aromatic amino acid residues in the vicinity of the retinal pocket, the existence of cation-π interactions between the metal cation and aromatic amino acid residues is suggested. Obviously, introduction of this kind of interaction is conducive to understanding the effects of the metal cations and aromatic amino acid residues inside the protein on the structural stability and proton pumping of bacteriorhodopsin.


Variations in plasma growth hormone (GH) concentrations following iv or sc administration of synthetic thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH, Pyr-His-Pro-NH2) have been followed in immature and adult domestic fowl. TRH markedly stimulated GH secretion in newly hatched (1 and 2 day old) chicks and in 6-week-old cockerels but in adult male or female birds of two strains had very little effect, if any. Intravenous injection of 4 TRH analogues (Pyr-His-Mep-NH2, Pyr-Meh-Mep-NH2, Pyr-Meh-Mep-NH and Pyr-Meh-Pro-NH2) were also potent GH secretagogues in 6-week-old birds. The stimulatory effect of TRH or the TRH-analogues on GH secretion was not dose-related.


We use data from the first-year (Y1) observations of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) collaboration to measure the galaxy angular power spectrum, and search for its bary-onic acoustic oscillations (BAO) feature using a template-fitting method. We test our methodology in a sample of 1800 DES Y1-like mock catalogs. The angular power spectrum ( C (cid:96) ) is measured with the pseudo- C (cid:96) method, using pixelized maps constructed from the mock catalogs and the DES mask. The covariance matrix of the C (cid:96) 's in these tests are also obtained from the mock catalogs. We use templates to model the measured spectra and estimate template parameters firstly from the C (cid:96) 's of the mocks using two different methods, a maximum likelihood estimator and a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method, finding consistent results with a good reduced χ 2 . Robustness tests are performed to estimate the impact of different choices of settings used in our analysis. After these tests on mocks, we apply our method to a galaxy sample constructed from DES Y1 data specifically for large scale structure studies. This catalog comprises galaxies within an effective area of 1318 deg 2 and redshifts in the range 0 . 6 < z < 1 . 0. We fit the observed spectra with our optimized templates, consider-ing models with and without BAO features. We find that the DES Y1 data favors a model with BAO wiggles at the 2 . 6 σ confidence level with a best-fit shift parameter of α = 1 . 023 ± 0 . 047. However, the goodness-of-fit is somewhat poor, with χ 2 / (dof) = 1.49. We identify a possible cause of this issue and show that using a theoretical covariance matrix obtained from C (cid:96) 's that are better adjusted to data results in an improved value of χ 2 / (dof) = 1.36 which is similar to the value obtained with the real-space analysis. Our results correspond to a measurement of the ratio of the angular diameter distance to the effective redshift of our sample, z eff = 0 . 81 and the BAO physical scale r d of D A ( z eff = 0 . 81) /r d = 10 . 65 ± 0 . 49, consistent with the main DES BAO findings. This is a companion paper to the main DES BAO article showing the details of the harmonic space analysis.


To help plan for the future of undergraduate education in geriatric medicine in Japan, we reviewed the literature concerning undergraduate teaching of geriatric medicine in western countries. Undergraduate teaching in geriatric medicine in the UK is well developed: 22 of 25 universities have a full department of geriatric medicine. Training in geriatric medicine is mandatory in almost all universities. In contrast, geriatric medicine is an elective in most universities in the US. There is a shortage of geriatric medicine faculty in the US, which is similar to the situation in Japan. Clinical and basic research in geriatric medicine and gerontology should be encouraged to attract persons into this field.


A great deal of research over the past decade or so has been concerned with understanding the processes of objectification of "custom" or "traditional culture" in Melanesia and other parts of the South Pacific, reifications which have accompanied, or are accompanying, the emergence of new ethnic and national identities (see, for instance, Jolly and Thomas 1992b; Keesing and Tonkinson 1982; Linnekin and Poyer 1990a; Norton 1993). As Foster (1992:284) among others has noted, colonialism has been viewed in much of this research as the key factor giving rise to these hypostatisations of culture, especially hypostatisations involving objectifications of entire "traditional" ways of life as cultural wholes.


Background: AmBisome is a small unilamellar vesicle containing amphotericin B. AmBisome is generally unable to pass through the blood-brain barrier, but the distribution of AmBisome in the brain is increased by inflammation, and in consequence, AmBisome exhibits activity against fungal meningitis. We investigated the influence of the progression of cryptococcal meningitis on the brain penetration and efficacy of AmBisome. Method: Mice were infected intracerebroventricularly with Cryptococcus neoformans 4 h or 5 days prior to a single dose treatment. Results: The brain tissue level and efficacy of AmBisome when administered 5 days after infection were greater than 4 h after infection. An immunohistochemical study showed that AmBisome-derived amphotericin B was localized at the infected site in the subarachnoid space. When AmBisome was compared with Fungizone at the maximum tolerated dose, 10 mg/kg AmBisome exhibited greater efficacy than 1 mg/kg Fungizone in both regimens. Conclusion: The brain penetration of AmBisome was enhanced by the progression of cryptococcal meningitis and correlated with the in vivo activity.


Sleep is a physiological and behavioral technique that is essential for the proper functioning of the human body. measurement of sleep quality has become an crucial clinical device to identify health problems. Sleep disturbances can be related to fatigue, mood changes, and decreased pain tolerance. Impaired sleep may lead to metabolic dysfunctions because hormones, which play a vital position inside the functioning of the body, are produced and released for the duration of the sleep cycle. Obstructive sleep apnea changed into clinically recognized more than 30 years ago, but recognition of this condition outside the field of sleep remedy was gradual to develop. The state of affairs changed significantly when population-based studies uncovered a suddenly high incidence of OSA in adults Health care systems around the area. The purpose of this look at changed into to find out the risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) among middle aged adults selected tertiary area, Tamilnadu, India.


To the Editor. —As chairman of the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Quality Improvement Committee, I feel obligated to share my observations regarding the article by Dr Kleinman and colleagues. 1 Before the April 27, 1994, issue of JAMA , no attempt was made by VHS or its insurance company clients to disseminate their criteria among the very physicians they now criticize. As one can easily see in their Table 2, there are 64 scenarios with 43 inappropriate choices, 15 equivocal choices, and only six appropriate choices. It seems miraculous that only 23% of the proposed surgeries were found to be inappropriate! Dr Kleinman and associates have set themselves up as judges in a kangaroo court, and I find that professionally and morally offensive. The methods permitted the authors to change a rating from appropriate to equivocal arbitrarily. One could have rated more of the equivocal in the appropriate


By analysing the multifarious concepts of NPOs' functions in literature and the definitions of the particular functions, the paper frames an overarching theoretical concept to structure the functions of NPOs. The framework delivered displays a triangle with the three main functions of NPOs, service delivery, public advocacy, and community building in its corners, which is empirically grounded in findings from a qualitative study in Austria and the Czech Republic. Although data show that NPOs in both countries fulfil identical functions, the relative importance of them varies: Austrian NPOs tend to specialize on one or two functions - mainly service and advocacy, while NPOs in the Czech Republic are multi-function oriented with a strong focus on community building. Against the background of the democratic development in both countries, the paper discusses possible explanations for these differences and raises ideas for the measurement of NPOs' functions on the organisational level. (author´s abstract)


A default rule tells a court how to fill a gap in a contract. A penalty default tells a court to fill the gap in a way that is undesirable to at least one of the parties. The threat of a penalty default rules is meant to induce parties to reveal information, to each other or the courts, by contracting around the penalty. Since the concept was first introduced by Ian Ayres & Robert Gertner in Filling Gaps in Incomplete Contracts: An Economic Theory of Default Rules, 99 YALE L.J. 87 (1990), major scholars have argued over which rules, if any, might qualify.A prime candidate has been nominated but never elected. Contra proferentem, the doctrine that ambiguities in a contract should be construed against the drafter, is mentioned as a likely penalty default repeatedly, including in the original Ayres & Gertner article and in a major critique by Eric Posner in 2006. Surprisingly, despite the shared intuition that contra proferentem is a penalty default rule, this article is the first to seriously take it on.Insurance contra proferentem provides an unusual test case because it is actively conceived of by many courts as punitive, aimed at producing more information in the form of a redrafted contract clause. If contra proferentem is not a penalty default, prospects look dim for the rules' existence. The doctrine is predominately applied in the insurance context and I am the first insurance scholar to fully take the field.By scrutinizing the candidate, this article makes two contributions. To the study of contractual gaps, it proves there is at least one penalty default rule in the world, but one that does not operate in either of the two ways the existing literature envisions. This new category sharpens our understanding of the remaining defaults. To the interpretation of consumer contracts, and insurance contracts in particular, this article sounds a warning about the dangers of penalty default rules. Contra proferentem operates as a regrettable penalty default, and for reasons that hold for consumer contracts more broadly. In short, the rule does not consistently force the sophisticated party to better inform the consumer but it does exact consumer cost. In a non-trivial subset of cases, the rule widens the misunderstanding between contract drafter and consumer.There is a fundamental difficulty with information-forcing rules in insurance, at least to the extent the information is meant to be revealed to the policyholder and not the courts; the less informed party is tough to inform. In addition, the incentive to inform — the incentive to escape the penalty — is anemic when applied unilaterally to a class of drafters who are indifferent to a penalty as long as (a) it applies to its competitors equally and (b) the costs of the penalty are ultimately paid by the buyer.Conclusion: The nature of insurance interpretation makes contra proferentem and related doctrines excellent candidates for a penalty default rule, descriptively, and poor candidates for the rules normatively. Parallel problems can be expected if a penalty default is applied to boilerplate consumer contracts.


Abstract  This paper deals with reflection spectra and polarized reflection spectra of 20 sorts of rock in 2π space, and then creates a model of reflection spectra of rock surface in 2π space. We measured the change of reflection and polarized reflection spectra as altering the incidence angle, vertex angle, azimuth angle, band and polarization. The results show that influence of the incidence angle on spectral curves is very strong. And when the vertex angle is constant, the horizontal azimuth polarizes rock spectra, and distorts the circular spectrum to become elliptic. The polarization influences the reflection intensity of rock spectra, but has no evident influence on the characteristics of wave forms of rock in 2π space. Therefore, we can describe the whole reflection spectral characteristics, including polarization, of rock surface in 2π space by measuring and calculating the e and p values in several key directions.


Abstract The degree to which invasive species drive or respond to environmental change has important implications for conservation and invasion management. Often characterized as a driver of change in North American woodlands, the invasive herb garlic mustard may instead respond to declines in native plant cover and diversity. We tested effects of native herb cover, richness, and light availability on garlic mustard invasion in a Minnesota oak woodland. We planted 50 garlic mustard seeds into plots previously planted with 0 to 10 native herb species. We measured garlic mustard seedling establishment, survival to rosette and adult stages, and average (per plant) and total (per plot) biomass and silique production. With the use of structural equation models, we analyzed direct, indirect, and net effects of native cover, richness, and light on successive garlic mustard life stages. Native plant cover had a significant negative effect on all life stages. Species richness had a significant positive effect on native cover, resulting in indirect negative effects on all garlic mustard stages, and net negative effects on adult numbers, total biomass, and silique production. Light had a strong negative effect on garlic mustard seedling establishment and a positive effect on native herb cover, resulting in significant negative net effects on garlic mustard rosette and adult numbers. However, light's net effect on total garlic mustard biomass and silique production was positive; reproductive output was high even in low-light/high-cover conditions. Combined effects of cover, richness, and light suggest that native herbs provide biotic resistance to invasion by responding to increased light availability and suppressing garlic mustard responses, although this resistance may be overwhelmed by high propagule pressure. Garlic mustard invasion may occur, in part, in response to native plant decline. Restoring native herbs and controlling garlic mustard seed production may effectively reduce garlic mustard spread and restore woodland diversity. Nomenclature: Garlic mustard [Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara & Grande]. Management Implications: Observations of native herb decline and garlic mustard spread are often presented as evidence of garlic mustard's impacts on woodland plant communities. Alternative explanations include native plants affect garlic mustard invasion, both garlic mustard and native plants influence each other, or neither interact directly but are instead responding in opposite directions to other environmental pressures. Understanding the relationship between garlic mustard and native plants can inform invasion control and woodland management. To test the hypothesis that garlic mustard invades in response to declining herb richness and cover, we planted garlic mustard seeds into experimental native herb communities across a range of light levels and analyzed garlic mustard seedling establishment, survival to rosette and adult stages, and biomass and seed capsule (silique) production. We found that native cover strongly suppressed garlic mustard at every life stage. Higher herb species richness produced greater percent cover and thus contributed indirectly to invasion resistance. Garlic mustard demonstrated a flexible response to light: fewer garlic mustard seedlings established in high light plots, but these individuals were highly productive in the second year, whereas in low-light plots, garlic mustard plants were more numerous but less productive. Managing woodland light levels alone is therefore unlikely to prevent garlic mustard invasion. Woodlands with high resource availability and minimal native herb cover may be most vulnerable to invasion. Restoration of woodland herbaceous communities may play an important role in reducing invasibility, especially following management activities that reduce canopy cover and increase light availability at the forest floor. However, identifying and controlling drivers of native plant decline (e.g., white-tailed deer herbivory and earthworm invasion) may be necessary to restore native herb communities to densities sufficient to suppress garlic mustard. Additionally, garlic mustard's substantial seed production, even in competitive conditions, suggests that propagule pressure may potentially overwhelm biotic resistance to invasion. A comprehensive management strategy that focuses on herb restoration, minimizing environmental stressors, and reducing propagule pressure via targeted control of second-year garlic mustard plants may be most effective at increasing woodland resistance to invasion.


The article analyzes the diary records of the outstanding Soviet physicist, Academician and President of the USSR Academy of Sciences Sergei Ivanovich Vavilov (1891—1951), dedicated to his reader's perception of contemporary Soviet literature. Widely-read S.I. Vavilov collected his private library of 37 thousand volumes; he regularly visited bookstores, mainly antiquarian and second-hand bookshops. Despite the prevailing interest to the old books, S.I. Vavilov knew Soviet literature, used its images in his popular science works (S.A. Yesenin) and diary characteristics (I. Ilf and E. Petrov). The few diary entries with the assessments of the works of Soviet writers (A.N. Tolstoy, A.E. Korneychuk, K.I. Chukovsky, A. Bely, A.K. Vinogradov, V.V. Veresaev, M.A. Bulgakov, etc.) most commonly demonstrate critical attitude to them. It was defined by both his classical aesthetic preferences, formed in his youth on the material of Russian literature of the 19th century, and by his unflattering attitude to the Soviet reality, which Academician did not show publicly, allowing just certain statements in his private diaries. The generally negative perception of Soviet literature indicates that, contrary to the claims of some researchers, S.I. Vavilov was not a Stalinist and was quite sceptical of the socialist reality.


Interactions in Fermi systems can induce a Pomeranchuk instability leading to orientational symmetry breaking, that is, nematic order. In a metallic system close to such an instability the Fermi surface is easily deformed by anisotropic perturbations, and exhibits enhanced collective fluctuations. We discuss electrons on a square lattice near a Pomeranchuk instability with d-wave symmetry. The strong response of such a system to a small orthorhombic perturbation can explain naturally the large in-plane anisotropy of electronic and magnetic properties observed in detwinned YBCO crystals. Fluctuations in a quantum critical regime near the instability provide a mechanism for non-Fermi liquid behavior. They lead to a singular forward scattering interaction, which destroys fermionic quasi-particles on the whole Fermi surface except at cold spots on the Brillouin zone diagonal. The decay rate for DC transport is linear in temperature except at the cold spots, where conventional Fermi liquid behavior survives. In clean systems this gives rise to a T3/2 temperature dependence of the DC resistivity, as observed in some overdoped cuprates. In the presence of disorder, the resistivity is linear in T at low temperatures.


In this article gesture recognition and speech recognition applications are implemented on embedded systems with Tiny Machine Learning (TinyML). It features 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis magnetometer. The gesture recognition,provides an innovative approach nonverbal communication. It has wide applications in human-computer interaction and sign language. Here in the implementation of hand gesture recognition, TinyML model is trained and deployed from EdgeImpulse framework for hand gesture recognition and based on the hand movements, Arduino Nano 33 BLE device having 6-axis IMU can find out the direction of movement of hand. The Speech is a mode of communication. Speech recognition is a way by which the statements or commands of human speech is understood by the computer which reacts accordingly. The main aim of speech recognition is to achieve communication between man and machine. Here in the implementation of speech recognition, TinyML model is trained and deployed from EdgeImpulse framework for speech recognition and based on the keywords pronounced by human, Arduino Nano 33 BLE device having built-in microphone can make an RGB LED glow like red, green or blue based on keyword pronounced. The results of each application are obtained and listed in the results section and given the analysis upon the results.


Fireworks are low explosive pyrotechnics that are frequently used around the world during holidays such as New Year´s. Even though fireworks are entertaining to a lot of people, they are not fun for everyone. Among those last named you can find the dog (Canis lupus familiaris). This review shows that pyrotechnics are a reason to possible decreased welfare in dogs. Fireworks affect dogs in both behavioural and physiological ways. Excessive licking, hyperactivity, raised cortisol -levels and heart rates are a few of those.
Both dogs and owners are shown to suffer a great deal of stress from fireworks, dogs because they are scared and owners because they do not know how to protect and help their dogs. Owners should therefore be encouraged to seek help if they suspect their dog to suffer during firework events. The sound of fireworks can also cause dogs to suffer from other closely related stimuli such as thunderstorms or gunshots. It is therefore important that owners seek help if their dogs are sensitive to noise in general.
Pheromones, medication, pressure vests and behavioral treatment programs have all been tested as possible remedies for this problem. Unfortunately, this review also shows that neither of these works for all individuals suffering from fear of fireworks.
In view of the findings in this study, legislation should regulate the decrease of fireworks use. It is well on its way where several local authorities in Sweden has both decreased the use of pyrotechnics and regulated the use of it in their local regulations. It is partly regulated in such a way that specific timeframes determine when fireworks are legal to use.


Progress achieved in surgical approach to hand injuries have called for reconsideration of earlier recommendations for expert assessment. While in the past, emphasis used to be laid on judgement of loss caused by amputation, today primary attention must be given to assessment of the individual finger which had been surgically reconstructed but has been left with impaired function. An account is given of the functional relevance that should be attributed to each of the functional elements of a hand, and reference is made to consequences from loss of functions. Some recommendations are suggested for expert assessment.


The purpose of this study is to interpret a house as material into culture. Main method is an ethnographic interview with dwellers as a part of a participant observation, a kind qualitative study. Significantly two different types of folk housing are discovered in East and West areas of the Cheju Island. In the East, kitchen itself forms a separated building, Jeongji-gori, whereas in the West, kitchen is within a main building, An-gori. Different type of kitchen is formed by the different family system. While independent family system of son and father selects a separate kitchen building as a general rule of Cheju Island, an extended family system between father and son selects same kitchen, Jeongji-gori, in the east area. Natural environment of infertile soil of east area makes family work together and eat together. Inner space of the kitchen building is utilized not only in cooking but also in eating, working, and sleeping. In order to explain folk house type, a 'culture area' concept is suggested. The interrelated 'cultural type' of architecture behind a physical surface 'type' is suggested as a new typology.


DOU Han-qing (1196-1280 A.D.) is a famous acupuncturist of the Jin and Yuan dynasties in ancient China. His academic thoughts about acupuncture and moxibustion have a higher clinical practical and theoretical value and received extensive attention in China. In the present paper, we make systematic analysis and summary about the current researches on Master DOU's academic thoughts after retrieval and screening the related research literature (published from the foundation of the People's Republic of China till now) by using electronic databases. The results showed that our understanding about Master DOU's academic thoughts are mainly based on Zhenjing Zhinan (《》,A Guide to the Classic of Acupuncture), especially the Biaoyou Fu (《》,Lyrics of Recondite Principles) and the eight influential acupoints of meridians, but less attention has been paid to books DOU Taishi Zhenjing (《》,Master DOU's Acupuncture Classics), Zhenjiu Jicheng (《》,Compendium of Acupuncture-moxibustion) and Panshijin Zhici Michuan (《》,Panshijin Esoteric Techniques on Perpendicular Insertion of Acupuncture Needles). The systematicness and depth of research on Master DOU's academic theory need being improved. We propose that we should make a comprehensive study about Master DOU's books and his life stories under the academic development history of overall background of Chinese acupuncture and moxibustion, so as to get a clear, complete and objective understanding on DOU's academic thoughts.


Since the National Smallpox Vaccination Program began in 2002, over 2.4 million military servicemembers have been inoculated. Use of bifurcated needles to introduce live vaccinia virus by repeated skin trauma is largely the same process that was first developed over 200 years ago, and is similar to that of tattoo administration. Both tattoos and smallpox inoculation can cause local immune dysregulation, with prior research cautioning further complications if they are placed in the same area within a close timeframe. Here we present the case of a soldier with smallpox autoinoculation, who reported receiving a tattoo directly over his inoculation site 4 days after vaccination. Initial scattered flesh-colored papules evolved over several days to classic umbilicated lesions with additional fevers, chills, myalgias, and suspected secondary infection. Thirteen cases of tattoo and smallpox inoculation complications have been reported in the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) database in 15 years. Current US Army Public Health Command (USAPHC) guidance mandates no new tattoos for 30 days post-inoculation, although the Military Vaccine Agency notes that this period may be extended to a window of greater than 60 days on a case-by-case basis. This incident illustrates the risks of current smallpox vaccination practice and poor patient adherence to post-vaccination care instructions. Continued use of traditional smallpox vaccination administration necessitates increased education and emphasis on proper inoculation site aftercare.


The trouble with customers is that if they are not buying from you, they are buying from someone else. The "never satisfied" customer is presenting radical challenges to thinking on the supply chain and the biggest threat for manufacturers is the threat of supply chain obsolescence. The article looks at how you can make sure your product is at the right place at the right time.


Precocious puberty in an infant is an alarming and infrequent finding, making the differential diagnosis difficult for practitioners. Precocious puberty secondary to a sclerosing stromal tumor (SST) of the ovary is rare. We present a case of a child that began precocious puberty at 3 months of age including development of breast buds, pubic hair, growth spurt, and menarche 5 days prior to presenting to pediatric endocrinology at 10 months. She underwent right salpingo-oophorectomy which demonstrated a soft tissue mass occupying almost the entire ovary with a tan-pink fleshy cut surface. Histological examination confirmed a variant of SST. This case represents an extremely young onset of precocious puberty secondary to a variant of SST without hormonal elevation.


Background Numerous studies documented that lower socio-economic status (SES) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, the impact of SE determinants on health of patients with a musculoskeletal condition (MSKC) received less attention. Objectives To explore the impact of PROGRESS-plus factors (Place of Residence, Race/Ethnicity, Occupation, Gender, Religion, Education, SES, Social Capital, and Plus representing Age, Disability, Sexual Orientation and Literacy) on physical and mental health of patients with MSKCs. Methods Analyses were based on a subgroup of patients with self-reported, physician-diagnosed MSKCs, who were part of an epidemiological study in a representative sample of the Dutch population. Participants (n=8904, >18 y.o.) completed a survey on socio-demographics, physician-diagnosed comorbidities, and the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). To explore the impact of available PROGRESS factors on the SF-12 physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) subscales, a series of linear regression models were computed first entering as PROGRESS factors education (5 groups, from no education to university level), age, gender, origin (western vs. non-western) and secondly limiting analyses to persons expected to have paid work and entering the same explanatory variables and also work status (paid work, unemployed, or assistance allowance). All regressions were adjusted for the number of physician-diagnosed comorbidities (excluding MSKC). Interactions were tested. Results MSKC confirmed by a physician was reported by 1766 (20%) participants (mean age 59 years, 38% male). PSC and MSC were 6.6 and 3.2 points, respectively, lower in patients with MSKC who had no education compared to those with a university education (model I, table, adjusted for factors as described). In patients with potential to work (Model II), education and work status were both associated with PCS, while these were not significantly associated with MCS. PCS in patients with lower education or receiving assistance allowance was 5.8 and 5.5 points lower than that of patients with university education or a paid job, respectively. Origin was never associated with health but experienced health was always strongly dependent on number of comorbidities. Conclusions Of the PROGRESS factors explored among Dutch patients with MSKC, age, gender and education had a strong relation with both physical and mental health, while the role of work status and origin was less pronounced. The strong gradient by level of education is in principle unfair and requires attention and action. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


The purpose of this study was to determine mitochondrial biogenesis-related mRNA expression, binding of transcription factors to the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1-α (PGC-1α) promoter, and subcellular location of PGC-1α protein in human skeletal muscle following exercise in a hot environment compared with a room temperature environment. Recreationally trained males (n = 11) completed two trials in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environmental chamber. Each trial consisted of cycling in either a hot (H) or room temperature (C) environment (33 and 20°C, respectively) for 1 h at 60% of maximum wattage (Wmax) followed by 3 h of supine recovery at room temperature. Muscle biopsies were taken from the vastus lateralis pre-, post-, and 3 h postexercise. PGC-1α mRNA increased post (P = 0.039)- and 3 h postexercise in C (P = 0.002). PGC-1α, estrogen-related receptor-α (ERRα), and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) mRNA was all lower in H than C post (P = 0.038, P < 0.001, and P = 0.030, respectively)- and 3 h postexercise (P = 0.035, P = 0.007, and P < 0.001, respectively). Binding of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) (P = 0.005), myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) (P = 0.047), and FoxO forkhead box class-O1 (FoxO1) (P = 0.010) to the promoter region of the PGC-1α gene was lower in H than C. Nuclear PGC-1α protein increased postexercise in both H and C (P = 0.029) but was not different between trials (P = 0.602). These data indicate that acute exercise in a hot environment blunts expression of mitochondrial biogenesis-related mRNA, due to decreased binding of CREB, MEF2, and FoxO1 to the PGC-1α promoter.


The transport of calcium through the membranes of the sarcoplasmic reticulum plays an important role in the relaxation-contraction cycle of the heart. To study and characterize this system, fragmented sarcotubular vesicles from dog hearts were prepared by ultracentrifugation. The fraction between 15,000 and 40,000 g was partially purified by gradient centrifugation. Calcium accumulation by the vesicles in the presence of ATP, Mg, 45Ca, and oxalate was studied. The rate of calcium uptake increased with the ATP concentration and was not affected by changes in K or Na concentration nor by substitution of isosmotic amounts of sucrose for 75% of the Na ions. Splitting of ATP was increased upon substitution of sucrose. In aged preparations of vesicles, ouabain or acetylstrophanthidin decreased the rate of their calcium accumulation and partially reversed the inhibition of myofibrillar ATPase by the vesicles. It is suggested that the partial inhibition of calcium uptake increases the concentraton of free calcium, and thus makes more calcium available for contraction of the myofibril.


Genus Trichoderma is one of the most important filamentous fungi used as a biocontrol agent. Because of the absence of sexual reproduction in this fungus, other methods of genetic improvement have been developed such as proptoplast fusion to enhance its bicontrol potential. Therefore the objectives of this study were; 1) protoplast fusion and regeneration of two fungicide tolerant mutants of Trichoderma viride and T. harzianum 2) using ISSR for fingerprinting of inter-specific protoplast fusants and 3) assessment of antagonistic ability of Trichoderma fusants against three soil born diseases. Protoplast was isolated from two fungicide tolerant mutants PTv-V and PTz-F of Trichoderma,. The frequency of fusion tolerant to both pesticides was about 0.3 % and eight fusants were selected for further studies. In fusant stability experiments, only five of these fusants were the result of nuclear fusion of parental cells. Molecular characterization of two stable fusants using ISSR indicated the presence of novel fragments which may be due to recombination events between parents. In dual culture biocontrol experiments, five selected fusants showed growth inhibition against three pathogens namely; Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporum and Pythium ultimum.. However, Fus 7 indicated the best ability of inhibition the growth of the three pathogens. In greenhouse experiments Fus 7 demonstrated a great ability to reduce tomato damping off of the three pathogens in the presence of the two fungicides understudy. It was concluded that, the protoplast fusion is a powerful tool to enhance the biocontrol ability of Trichoderma sp. against diseases. (A. I. Fahmi, A. D. Al-Talhi and M. M. Hassan Protoplast fusion enhances antagonistic activity in Trichoderma sp.) Nature and Science 2012; 10(5): 100-106). (ISSN: 1545-0740). http://www.sciencepub.net.


In recent years, the challenges of mass customisation (MC) have been increasing sales conversion rate and effectively matching supply with demand. Additionally, online customer communities (OCCs) have become increasingly popular and have proven to provide substantial value to both customers and enterprises. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to (1) propose a mathematical online community-based dynamic customisation model, (2) explain its practical mechanism and (3) solve its dynamic trade-off challenge. Accordingly, first, the trade-off challenge was formulated according to a multi-objective optimisation model to optimise the trade-off between customer satisfaction and enterprise profit. Second, based on the mechanism of the model, three different matching modes of production between customised products and manufacturers were delineated and analysed. Finally, genetic algorithm (GA) was developed to solve the proposed mathematical model. To validate the proposed model, a case study of an enterprise that provides customised menswear was selected. The degree of customisation and the weights given to the functions of enterprise profit and customer satisfaction were further analysed. The proposed model assists researchers and practitioners to decide the cooperation mode with manufacturers, pricing strategy and the degree of customisation for an optimal trade-off in the context of online community-based dynamic customisation.


The mismatching phenomena are ubiquitous in complex and advanced self-assembly, such as hierarchical assembly, macroscopic supramolecular assembly, and so on. Recently, for macroscopic supramolecular assembly, the strategy of maximizing the interactive surface area was used and supposed to handle this problem; however, now there is little understanding of whether interactive surface area is the dominant factor to guide the assembly patterns. Herein by taking millimeter cylinder building blocks with different diameter/height (d/h) ratios as model systems, we have investigated the interactive-surface-area-dependent assembling behaviors in macroscopic supramolecular assembly. The results showed that the increasing d/h ratio of cylinders contributed to selectivity of face-to-face assembled pattern over face-to-side or side-to-side geometries, thus having improved the ordering degree of the assembled structures; however, the mismatching phenomena could not be totally avoided due to high colliding chances in kinetics and the thermally favorable stability of these structures. We further confirmed the above hypothesis by in situ measurements of interactive forces of building blocks with different assembled patterns. This work of macroscopic supramolecular assembly provides an in situ visible platform, which is significant to clarify the influences of interactive surface area on the assembly behaviors.


It is the purpose of this note to show that serum reactions may offer considerable aid in the differentiation of various species and sub-species of yeasts—a tedious and difficult task by current methods. Schütze (1) in 1902 found that anti-yeast sera in rather high concentrations caused non-specific precipitation when mixed with press juice: agglutination reactions, as carried out by him were also found to be non-specific. The tendency of many yeasts to flocculate spontaneously led me to abandon work on agglutination phenomena. But in repeating Schütze's precipitin experiments, it was found that while some yeasts, notably S. logos, yielded non-specific sera, others, particularly if the dilutions were carried quite far, gave nicely specific results.
 Ten authentic cultures were used, five of them races, or subspecies, of S. cervisiae, and therefore very closely related. These were first kept for nine months on the same medium, a cane molasses phosphate agar, grown aerobically with monthly transplants.


A method for measuring total core loss by means of a modified Hay bridge is established. It is shown from Kirchhoff's laws that the new method is applicable when the time rate of change of flux in the core is nonsinusoidal and exhibits quarter-wave symmetry. An experimental comparison of the modified Hay bridge method and the reflecting wattmeter indicates agreement within about 2% when the waveform has said symmetry.


Damage experiments of absorbing filters (Schott BG18 and BG36) were performed with Ti:sapphire laser pulses with durations from 30 fs to 340 fs (800 nm, 1 kHz) in air. The direct focusing technique was employed under single- and multi-pulse irradiation conditions. Ablation threshold fluences were determined from a semi-logarithmic plot of the ablation crater diameter vs. laser fluence. The damage threshold fluence decreases for shorter pulse durations. In the investigated pulse duration range, the measured multi-pulse ablation threshold fluences are practically similar to those of undoped glass material (~1 Jcm-2). That means that the multi-pulse ablation threshold is independent on the doping level of the filters. For more than 100 pulses per spot and all pulse durations applied, the threshold fluence saturates. This leads to technically relevant damage threshold values in the femtosecond laser pulse duration domain.


Purpose: Optimal head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient selection for anti–EGFR-based therapy remains an unmet need since only a minority of patients derive long-term benefit from cetuximab treatment. We assessed the ability of state-of-the-art noninvasive in vivo metabolic imaging to probe metabolic shift in cetuximab-sensitive and -resistant HNSCC patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTXs). Experimental Design: Three models selected based on their known sensitivity to cetuximab in patients (cetuximab-sensitive or acquired-resistant HNC007 PDTXs, cetuximab-naïve UCLHN4 PDTXs, and cetuximab-resistant HNC010 PDTXs) were inoculated in athymic nude mice. Results: Cetuximab induced tumor size stabilization in mice for 4 weeks in cetuximab-sensitive and -naïve models treated with weekly injections (30 mg/kg) of cetuximab. Hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate–13C-lactate exchange was significantly decreased in vivo in cetuximab-sensitive xenograft models 8 days after treatment initiation, whereas it was not modified in cetuximab-resistant xenografts. Ex vivo analysis of sensitive tumors resected at day 8 after treatment highlighted specific metabolic changes, likely to participate in the decrease in the lactate to pyruvate ratio in vivo. Diffusion MRI showed a decrease in tumor cellularity in the HNC007-sensitive tumors, but failed to show sensitivity to cetuximab in the UCLHN4 model. Conclusions: This study constitutes the first in vivo demonstration of cetuximab-induced metabolic changes in cetuximab-sensitive HNSCC PDTXs that were not present in resistant tumors. Using metabolic imaging, we were able to identify hyperpolarized 13C-pyruvate as a potential marker for response and resistance to the EGFR inhibitor in HNSCC.


Synchronization is an important dynamical phenomenon in coupled nonlinear systems, which has been studied extensively in recent years. However, analysis focused on individual orbits seems hard to extend to complex systems, while a global statistical approach is overly cursory. Koopman operator technique seems to balance well the two approaches. In this paper we extend Koopman analysis to the study of synchronization of coupled oscillators by extracting important eigenvalues and eigenfunctions from the observed time series. A renormalization group analysis is designed to derive an analytic approximation of the eigenfunction in the case of weak coupling that dominates the oscillation. For moderate or strong couplings, numerical computation further confirms the importance of the average frequencies and the associated eigenfunctions. The synchronization transition points could be located with quite high accuracy by checking the correlation of neighboring eigenfunctions at different coupling strengths, which is readily applied to other nonlinear systems.


This book demonstrates that moral reasoning can provide practical help in making judgements about how to handle particular clinical cases. It clearly explains the way in which conflicting moral considerations must be taken into account in medical decision-making and how their weight can be increased or decreased by specific factors. One of the book's greatest strengths is the cases - forty, all based on actual cases the author has encountered - which are constructed to convey the complexities of real-life support cases. They are difficult cases whose presentation and discussion will challenge readers, clarify the ethical issues involved, and indicate how theory and practice can be integrated. The first four chapters deal with moral theory, the last three chapters present cases and apply theory to their resolution. The author's approach is pluralistic in that it supposes that there are many different moral appeals that are irreducible to each other, often in conflict with each other, and yet necessary to complement each other. It is casuistical in that it attends to the range of differences between particular cases and attempts to apply appropriately the different moral appeals to particular cases in different ways.


Determine elapsed wallclock time in seconds. SYNOPSIS double precision function MPI WALL () ARGUMENTS None DESCRIPTION MPI WALL determines the wallclock time in seconds that has elapsed on the calling process since the process was created.


Acute lung injury (ALI) is characterized by the acute onset of hypoxemia (ratio of PaO2 to fraction of inspired oxygen [FIO2] 300 mm Hg) and bilateral infiltrates on a frontal chest radiograph, not explained by the presence of left atrial hypertension. ALI associated with the most severe hypoxemia (PaO2/FIO2 200 mm Hg) is termed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).1 ALI and ARDS have a crude incidence of 79 cases and 59 cases per 100,000 persons per year, respectively, and ALI and ARDS cause substantial mortality (34–58%) and economic burden.2,3 The lung-protective ventilation strategy, which involves small tidal volume and low airway pressure, is the only intervention found to reduce mortality from ALI and ARDS.4 However, the lung-protective strategy may be associated with progressive lung derecruitment and worsening oxygenation.5 Recruitment refers to the dynamic process of reopening airless alveoli with an intentional transient increase in transpulmonary pressure. Recruitment maneuvers significantly increase oxygenation in some patients, and have few serious adverse effects.6 The rationale for recruitment maneuvers in ALI is to improve alveolar recruitment and increase end-expiratory lung volume, which improves gas exchange, reduces overdistention of relatively healthy lung units, and prevents repetitive opening and closing of unstable alveoli, all of which attenuate ventilator-induced lung injury.7,8 Despite the physiologic benefits of recruitment maneuvers in ALI, clinical studies have yielded variable results.9-11 The targets (maximum recruitment vs limiting overdistention), time of initiation (early vs late), duration, optimal pressure, and frequency of recruitment maneuvers are still unclear. Furthermore, the various recruitment-maneuver methods (eg, sustained inflation maneuvers, high pressure controlled ventilation, incremental positive end-expiratory pressure [PEEP], and intermittent sighs) have different physiologic responses in the lungs.12 In randomized controlled trials, ventilatory strategies that use recruitment and an "open-lung" approach have not demonstrated a mortality benefit over pressure-limited ventilation.13-15 In this edition of the Journal, Badet et al present the findings of a single-center trial of sighs and PEEP in patients with ALI/ARDS.16 They evaluated a method to identify an "optimal" PEEP that would prevent lung derecruitment, and the effects of sustained inflations and sigh breaths (with twice the baseline tidal volume, and a plateau pressure of 40 cm H2O, every 25 breaths) on lung-volume recruitment. The study was well performed and adds to the growing body of literature on the potential role of recruitment maneuvers and PEEP in the management of ARDS.


Transient temperature rises in vertical-cavity surface-emitting semiconductor lasers (VCSEL's) have been calculated using Green's function methods. The influence of current spreading, material parameters, and operating conditions on the transient thermal response have been investigated. The results show that current spreading plays an important role in the transient thermal properties of VCSEL's; under pulsed operation the temperature profile in the active layer changes with time up to a delay of several microseconds. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured data. >


Channel-engineered MOSFETs with retrograde doping profiles are expected to provide increased carrier mobility and immunity to short channel effects. However, the physical mechanisms responsible for device performance of retrograde designs in the deep-submicron regime are not fully understood, and general device scaling trends are not well documented. Also, little effort has been devoted to the study of hot-electron-induced device degradation. In this paper, we employ a comprehensive simulation methodology to investigate scaling and device performance trends in channel-engineered n-MOSFETs. The method features an advanced ensemble Monte Carlo device simulator to extract hot-carrier reliability for super-steep-retrograde and more conventional silicon n-MOS designs with effective channel lengths scaled from 800 to 100 nm. With decreasing channel length, our simulations indicate that the retrograde design shows increasingly less total hot-electron injection into the oxide than the conventional design. However, near the 100-nm regime, the retrograde design provides less current drive, loses its advantage of higher carrier mobility, and exhibits much greater sensitivity to hot-electron-induced interface states when compared to the conventional device.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Since the first stages of the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak smell and/or taste dysfunction (STD), has been described from 5% to 88% in COVID-19 patients. Objective: we aimed to assess STD in healthcare professionals (HCP), mainly allergists, affected with COVID-19, by means of a survey, and to evaluate the association of STD and their severity with demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities, and hospital admission. METHODS: A 15-item questionnaire was designed including different sections as follows: demographics, diagnostic characteristics, STD patterns, medication use as well as comorbidities. The questionnaire was developed using Google forms, implemented and distributed to members of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC) and spread via Social Media to be completed by HCP affected with COVID-19. RESULTS: HCP (n=234), 76.5% ≤55 yrs, 73.5% female, completed the survey. There was STD in up to 74.4% of the respondents, 95.6% reporting a moderate-severe impairment. Mean recovery time of taste dysfunction was 21.6±24.0 days in HCP ≤55 yrs and 33.61±26.2 days in >55 yrs (p=0.019). Stratified analysis by severity of STD showed that more than a half of COVID-19 subjects presented severe loss of smell. An older age (>55 yrs) was associated with fever, anorexia, less headache and with a longer persistence of taste dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: STD is a common symptom in COVID-19, even as a unique or preceding symptom. HCP who declared smell dysfunction (SD) were younger than those not affected with STD. Taste dysfunction (TD) may imply more systemic involvement in COVID-19-positive HCP.


We have used ionosonde data from Ouagadougou (Geo. Lat.12.40 N, Long. 358.50, Magnetic declination -5.1320) to study the morphology of M(3000)F2 and to investigate the performance of IRI-12 during 1991 and 1995, years of high and low solar activities respectively. Results show that M(3000)F2 exhibits diurnal and solar cycle characteristics with no distinctive monthly/seasonal features. The two peaks which characterize the diurnal M(3000)F2 during high solar activity (HSA) are reduced to just one (the sunrise peak) during low solar activity (LSA). The study also shows that IRI-12 gives good representations of the observed values of M(3000)F2 with high correlation coefficient, R ranging between 0.9 and 0.95 during LSA and 0.94 and 0.99 during HSA. The model gives its best performance in the months of April irrespective of the solar activity. It either under-estimates or over-estimates the observed values of M(3000)F2 during other months.


Laser beams generated from high-magnification on-axis unstable resonators using hard-edged axial scraper mirrors and output couplers consisting of axial spot reflectors typically have an annular distribution in the near field (i.e., a flat-top profile with a hole in the middle for an axially coupled beam). We employ a new model, based on the flattened Gaussian beam (FGB) concept, to describe the propagation of such annular near-field beams. The superposition of two FGBs, whose flatness and steepness of edges are controlled by defined parameters (i.e., the beam width and the order), is used to analyze the output beam intensity profile along the propagation axis. We apply this model to characterize the output beams of copper vapour lasers employing unstable resonators of different magnifications (M = 80, 200, and 400). We show that once the model is fitted to the beam intensity profile at any two positions along the axis of propagation, it can be used to predict the beam shape at any position.PACS Nos.: 42....


Abstract Ecotourism is often suggested as a tool for promoting conservation but evidence for its usefulness is mixed. The success of conservation projects is widely recognized to depend upon the positive attitudes of local communities and thus it is important to know if ecotourism affects local perceptions of natural resources and conservation, as these can be important determinants of conservation behaviour. Rapid Rural Appraisal and questionnaire-based interviews were used to investigate this issue in the village of Grande Riviere, Trinidad. This has a community-based ecotourism programme for leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea, and is also one of the few sites where the Critically Endangered endemic Trinidad piping-guan Pipile pipile may be sighted. Topics addressed were knowledge and awareness of local conservation issues, focusing on attitudes to the environment in general, turtles and the Trinidad piping-guan. Ecotourism significantly affected perceptions. Villagers showed more awareness and support for turtle conservation than for the piping-guan or any other wildlife. Moreover, those households directly benefiting from the ecotourism industry had better knowledge of local natural resources and greater general awareness of conservation issues (not limited to turtles). Other socio-economic factors such as education and income also affected attitudes and knowledge but the ecotourism effect was still present after accounting for these. Hunting was seen as the main threat to wildlife but was also a popular pastime, illustrating the potential for mismatch between attitudes and conservation behaviours.


Prevention is an action to stop a disease or disability from occurring or progressingin an individual or in a population. Large public health initiatives only began in the 19th century, when it was realized that the health of individual members of society isprofoundly influenced by society's collective characteristics. Primordial preventiontargets prevention of the risk factors themselves, mainly via health education to promotelifestyle changes. Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention arrest the progression ofhearing loss through impairment, disability and handicap. However newer understandingfrom the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and theUN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) links the medical andsocial models of disability with a more positive approach ("function and structure" ratherthan "impairment, "activity" rather than "disability", "participation" rather than"handicap") and the involvement of environmental and personal factors. The rights ofpersons with disabilities are not incompatible with prevention, provided their rights anddignities are recognized.A strategy for effective prevention makes changes in the population as a whole andnot just in the high-risk minority. This occurs through mass public health initiatives orchanges in behaviour that target key risk factors. More data needs to be gathered on theburden caused by risk factors for hearing loss as well as on the size of the burden aroundthe world. This is being addressed by the new Global Burden of Disease initiative.Reducing hearing loss by relatively small amounts in the many people in apopulation with mild, moderate and moderately severe hearing loss will have a greatereffect on the burden than targeting the few with severe or profound loss. The WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) and other organizations are adopting this approach in orderto set up large-scale interventions to make a difference in populations.Excessive noise is an important risk factor for hearing loss; effective populationinterventions are needed against this and other high frequency causes of hearing loss andgeneric risk factors such as poverty, poor personal hygiene, and inaccessible health care.The most effective vehicle for these interventions is Primary Ear and Hearing Care, usingWHO manuals for training in developing countries.The principles and methods of prevention for particular causes have been publicisedby WHO and others. Priorities for action include adopting a comprehensive approach,instituting multisectoral action and enabling sustainable development. Surveillance andmonitoring ensures that interventions are effective and that their cost-effectiveness mustbe compared. However available resources to address hearing loss are stillinappropriately small compared to other NCDs, despite its huge cost to society, and itseffects on equity.© 2012 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.


Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are powerful sequence models that were believed to be difficult to train, and as a result they were rarely used in machine learning applications. This thesis presents methods that overcome the difficulty of training RNNs, and applications of RNNs to challenging problems.
We first describe a new probabilistic sequence model that combines Restricted Boltzmann Machines and RNNs. The new model is more powerful than similar models while being less difficult to train.
Next, we present a new variant of the Hessian-free (HF) optimizer and show that it can train RNNs on tasks that have extreme long-range temporal dependencies, which were previously considered to be impossibly hard. We then apply HF to character-level language modelling and get excellent results.
We also apply HF to optimal control and obtain RNN control laws that can successfully operate under conditions of delayed feedback and unknown disturbances.
Finally, we describe a random parameter initialization scheme that allows gradient descent with momentum to train RNNs on problems with long-term dependencies. This directly contradicts widespread beliefs about the inability of first-order methods to do so, and suggests that previous attempts at training RNNs failed partly due to flaws in the random initialization.


The role of the thalamic parafascicular complex in cognitive processes was studied in free behaviour of cats on an original model of alternative choice with generalization of different signals systems by the principle of formation of preverbal concept "more-less". It is shown that the lateral part of the complex is involved in the mechanisms of generalization and abstraction, and the medial one--in conditioned activity. Biological bases of thalamic dementia are discussed.


Image retrieval technology has made great breakthroughs in the development of computer vision. Feature extraction is crucial to image retrieval as a good method not only brings convenience to image recognition, but also improves the performance of image retrieval system. Many traditional methods only extract shallow features like the statistics of brightness, color components and texture measures, which miss the contextual semantic information and cannot behave well in image retrieval. However, feature extraction based on deep learning is able to obtain better features with semantic information. Therefore, much work has shown that integrating neural network with hash codes performs better in retrieval tasks. Encouraged by this, we propose an image hash retrieval algorithm by optimizing structures in deep layer aggregation network (DlaNet). This model is mainly composed of an improved net called DlaNet-V and a four-valued hash code scheme. The DlaNet-V is optimized on the basis of DlaNet, improving the efficiency. Meanwhile, the binary hash codes are switched into the quaternary hash codes to make the model more robust and efficient. Experiments are conducted on the CIFAR-10 data set and a medical device image data set collected by authors. Results show that the image retrieval based on DlaNet-V and quaternary hash code is more accurate and stable.


OBJECTIVE
Transurethral electrovaporization of the prostate (TVP) for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has proven to be efficacious with lower morbidity than transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) on clinical studies. However, no histopathologic data are available to support the clinical findings in human studies. The following study was done using a canine model in an effort to evaluate these histopathologic changes.

METHODS
Nine canines received antegrade electrovaporization or resection of the prostate, via an open cystoma, using Storz series resectoscope and video equipment. The dogs were sacrificed and their prostates harvested at 0 week (immediately after operation), 1 week or 5 weeks after electrovaporization or resection. The prostates were evaluated grossly as well as histologically for cavitary defects and depth of necrosis.

RESULTS
Prostate examination revealed superficial necrosis (less than 1.8 mm deep) at 0 week following the 270 watts operation, and less than 3 mm deep necrosis with acute inflammation and focal hemorrhage at 1 week. The depths of necrosis were less than 1.3 mm and 2.2 mm at 0 week and 1 week after the 180 W electrovaporizion. And the 120 W resection resulted in necrosis 1.1 mm and 1.6 mm deep at most, which was localized in the vaporized prostate only, with no histopathologic change in the surrounding tissues. Epithelial stratification was underway by the fifth week, but with inflammation.

CONCLUSION
TVP in the canine model showed only shallow necrosis at the site of the vaporization. These data provide a histopathologic rationale for the minimal morbidity and efficacious nature of this technique demonstrated in clinical studies.


IHEEM's recent seminar in Birmingham, 'Dirty Little Secrets', not only focused on the key priorities for keeping surgical instruments clean and sterile (HEJ--April 2012), but also featured a timely presentation by Dr Jimmy Walker, principal investigator, Decontamination, HPA Microbiology Services, at the Health Protection Agency, in which the highly experienced microbiologist shared his expertise on what appears to be becoming an increasingly prevalent problem for healthcare estates and engineering personnel--how to ensure that levels of Pseudomonas, a waterborne bacterium potentially particularly harmful to immunocompromised patients, and often found in hospital water supplies, are rapidly detected, kept to a minimum, and, wherever possible, eliminated.


Perception is an essential ability for autonomous robots in non-standardized conditions. However, the appearance of objects can change between different conditions. A system visually tracking a target based on its appearance could lose its target in those cases. A tracker learning the appearance of the target in different conditions should perform better at this task. To learn reliably, the system needs feedback. In this study, feedback is provided by a secondary teacher system that trains the tracker. The learning tracker is compared to a baseline non-learning tracker using data from an autonomous mobile robot operating in realistic conditions. In this experiment, the learning tracker outperforms the non-learning tracker. This shows that we successfully used the teacher system to train a visual tracking system on an autonomous robot.


Advances in FPGA technology and in design automation tools have changed the way digital electronics are created. Shematic entry of gates is becoming deprecated by hardware description languages (HDLs) and sophisticated synthesis tools. This requires that the designer have a complete understanding of the entire design flow so that they can utilize the efficiency of HDLs while thinking about the hardware that will be created. This paper reviews three years worth of experience in teaching a two-semester senior/graduate course sequence on Hardware Design Methodologies using the Mentor Graphic's HDL Designer series tools and targeting FPGAs. Currently, all project use an ARM-embedded FPGA as their target. Given the complexity of these new devices, the tools, and only two semesters, we discuss the potential, the limitations/difficulties and the general sanity of this approach.


The integration of people with disabilities into the working world is an important, yet challenging field of research. While different inclusion efforts exist, people with disabilities are still under-represented in the open labor market. This paper investigates the approach of using a collaborative robot arm to support people with disabilities with their reintegration into the workplace. However, there is currently little literature about the acceptance of an industrial robot by people with disabilities and in cases where a robot leads to stress, fear, or any other form of discomfort, this approach is not feasible. For this reason, a first user study was performed in a sheltered workshop to investigate the acceptance of a robot arm by workers with disabilities. As a first step in this underdeveloped field, two main aspects were covered. Firstly, the reaction and familiarization to the robot arm within a study situation was closely examined in order to separate any effects that were not caused by the moving robot. Secondly, the reaction toward the robot arm during collaboration was investigated. In doing so, five different distances between the robot arm and the participants were considered to make collaboration in the workplace as pleasant as possible. The results revealed that it took the participants about 20 min to get used to the situation, while the robot was immediately accepted very well and did not cause fear or discomfort at any time. Surprisingly, in some cases, short distances were accepted even better than the larger distances. For these reasons, the presented approach showed to promise for future investigations.


The purpose of this study was to describe the procedure and results of salivary cotinine testing and to examine correlations between cotinine levels, self-reported smoking behavior, and other demographic variables in outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). Twenty-one participants completed salivary cotinine measures. Sixteen reported smoking cigarettes (mean = 1.2 packs per day; SD = 0.8; range = 0.25 to 3.0) for a mean of 27.4 years (SD = 16.3 years, range = 1 to 46 years). Age was significantly positively correlated with self-report of packs smoked per day (r = 0.52; p = 0.04) and years smoked (r = 0.63; p = 0.02). There was no clear pattern of relationship between salivary cotinine level and self-reported smoking behavior. This pilot study adds to a small body of literature describing salivary cotinine measures in individuals with SSDs, yet further investigation is warranted to definitively determine the utility of this objective measure of nicotine use.


Originally published in 1955, The Moral Decision remains today a fresh, lively, and literate quest for moral guides in the American system of law. Each topic is introduced with a real courtroom case followed by a summary of the uncontroverted facts, the issues before the court, the judge's opinion, and Edmond Cahn's objective and penetrating discussion of the ethical issues involved. The cases chosen operate as prisms, revealing an entire spectrum of moral forces personal ambitions, group standards, lusts, sufferings, and ideals. A new foreword by Norman Redlich, Dean of the New York University School of Law, affirms the value of The Moral Decision as an authoritative and humane introduction to law and morality."


Background. Side effects of antineoplastic agents (especially leukopenia and neutropenia) could be the main limiting factors for efficient treatment.
Objective. The research is aimed at the study of myeloprotective capability of biosimilars of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) and granular carbon oral adsorbent C2 in melphalan-induced bone marrow suppression in Guerin carcinoma-grafted rats.
Methods. Melphalan at the dose of 5.5 mg/kg was used to promote bone marrow suppression in the Guerin carcinoma grafted rats. To fight myelosuppression, we used filgrastim and its analogue, designed and produced by IEPOR, a recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (r-GCSF). Carbon granulated enterosorbent C2 was used for enteral sorption therapy (bulk density γ=0.18 g/cm3, diameter of granules 0.15-0.25 mm, BET pore surface – 2162 m2/g). All rats were sacrificed on the 17th day after carcinoma cells inoculation or on the 8th day after Melphalan injection.
Results. Alkylating cytostatic agent caused severe leukopenia (by 95.7%), neutropenia (by 73.9%), and thrombocytopenia (by 84.9%) in the experimental rats. Mortality rate was 57%. Filgrastim and enterosorption with carbon oral adsorbent C2 increased the studied indices, but the most prominent results were observed when combination of both factors was used. Studied means did not affect the anti-tumor efficacy of Melphalan alone and in combination.
Conclusions. Our results are perspective for further investigation of the efficacy of the combination of carbon oral adsorbents and hematopoietic cytokines in cases of ameliorate anti-cancer chemotherapy side effects, and its implementation into clinics.


Sixteen individuals were sampled for study of variation in 17 anatomical and morphological characters. Only individuals of low polycormic growth (trait typical for Pinus mugo Turra) connected with incurved one-year-cone stipes (a similar situation exists in Pinus sylvestris L.) were chosen, thus the sample studied cannot be treated as a random one. It has been shown by multivariate statistical analysis that these 16 individuals are quite different from each other, Mahalanobis'generalized distances between them being nearly 50% significantly different from 0. The sample studied in this respect is distinctly different from pure stands of both putative parental species (i.e. Pinus mugo and P. sylvestris ). Every plant studied shows a different combination of traits typical (or nearly typical) for both the above-mentioned species and traits that are truly intermediate between them. The results support the frequently expressed opinion that the mountain pine population from the peat bog "Bor na Czerwonem" is, in fact, a hybrid swarm formed by hybridization between Pinus mugo and Pinus sylvestris .


Leopard frog saccular hair cells exhibit an electrical resonance in response to a depolarizing stimulus that has been proposed to contribute to the tuning properties of the frog sacculus by acting as an electrical band-pass filter. With the whole cell patch-clamp technique, we have investigated the effect of temperature on electrical resonances in isolated saccular hair cells, and we have described the effects of temperature on the currents and channel kinetics underlying electrical resonance. A hair cell's onset resonant frequency in response to a constant depolarizing current pulse increases linearly with temperature at a rate of 11 Hz/1 degrees C, exhibiting a mean Q10 of 1.7 between 15 and 35 degrees C. However, offset resonant frequencies continue to double every 10 degrees C, exhibiting a mean Q10 of 2.1. If steady-state voltage during the stimulus is held constant, all oscillatory frequencies increase with a mean Q10 of 2.1. The average level of steady-state depolarization during a +150-pA depolarizing current pulse decreases with increasing temperature (-6 mV from 15 to 25 degrees C). This temperature-dependent reduction of the steady-state membrane potential causes a shift in the voltage-dependent channel kinetics to slower rates, thus reducing the apparent Q10 for onset resonant frequencies. The peak outward tail current and net steady-state outward current, which is the sum of a voltage-dependent inward calcium current (ICa) and an outward calcium-dependent potassium current (IK(Ca)), increase with temperature, exhibiting a mean Q10 of 1.7 between 15 and 25 degrees C. The activation rate (T1/2) of the outward current exhibits a mean Q10 of 2.3 between 15 and 25 degrees C, while the deactivation rate (taurel) exhibits a mean Q10 of 2.9 over the same temperature range. These results support previous models of the molecular determination of resonant frequency, which have proposed that a combination of IK(Ca) channel kinetics and the overall magnitude of the outward current are primarily responsible for determining the resonant frequency of an isolated hair cell. The robust temperature sensitivity of the hair cell receptor potential contrasts sharply with the temperature-insensitive tuning properties of in vivo saccular nerve fiber recordings. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are discussed.


In 1980, we developed a Localized Hyperthermia Solidification Apparatus (LHSA), which can produce localized controllable hyperthermia and solidify the tumor tissues. Without the interference of the Corporal and visceral physiology. Animal experiments and pathological study proved it an effective and Safe means to deal with visceral cancers. From 1982 to 1988, 34 cases of liver cancer patients received the LHSA therapy combined with operations. The therapy was effective in 86.19% of cases, and the longest survival time was 5 years.


Human behavior is strongly driven by the pursuit of rewards. In daily life, however, benefits mostly come at a cost, often requiring that effort be exerted in order to obtain potential benefits. Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are frequently implicated in the expectation of effortful control, showing increased activity as a function of predicted task difficulty. Such activity partially overlaps with expectation of reward, and has been observed both during decision-making and during task preparation. Recently, novel computational frameworks have been developed to explain activity in these regions during cognitive control, based on the principle of prediction and prediction error (PRO model, Alexander and Brown, 2011, HER Model, Alexander and Brown, 2015). Despite the broad explanatory power of these models, it is not clear whether they can also accommodate effects related to the expectation of effort observed in MPFC and DLPFC. Here, we propose a translation of these computational frameworks to the domain of effort-based behavior. First, we discuss how the PRO model, based on prediction error, can explain effort-related activity in MPFC, by reframing effort-based behavior in a predictive context. We propose that MPFC activity reflects monitoring of motivationally relevant variables (such as effort and reward), by coding expectations, and discrepancies from such expectations. Moreover, we derive behavioral and neural model-based predictions for healthy controls and clinical populations with impairments of motivation. Second, we illustrate the possible translation to effort-based behavior of the HER model, an extended version of PRO model based on hierarchical error prediction, developed to explain MPFC-DLPFC interactions. We derive behavioral predictions which describe how effort and reward information is coded in PFC, and how changing the configuration of such environmental information might affect decision-making and task-performance involving motivation.


Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted health care systems worldwide. This is due to both to the reallocation of resources toward COVID-19 patients as well as concern for the risk of nosocomial severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure. The interruption of routine care is especially problematic for patients with chronic conditions requiring regular follow-up, such as lung transplant (LTx) recipients. Introduction: New methods such as telemedicine are needed to bridge the gap in follow-up care caused by the pandemic. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of video consultations (VCs) in comparison with on-site visits (OSVs) was performed during a 6-week period in an LTx center in Germany. VC included a structured work-up questionnaire and vital sign documentation. Results: During the 6-week study period, 75 VCs were performed for 53 patients and 75 OSVs by 51 patients occurred. By the end of our study period, 77% of physician-patient contacts occurred through VC. Physician-patient consultations were reduced by 47% compared with the equivalent time frame in 2019. In 62% of cases, VC resulted in a concrete clinical decision. One COVID-19 patient in home quarantine was admitted due to respiratory failure detected by VC. Patient satisfaction with VC was high. Discussion: Implementation of VC helped to reduce the need for OSV and thus the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in our patient cohort. This technology can be adopted to provide care for a wide range of chronic illnesses. Conclusions: VC can preserve access to specialist care while reducing SARS-CoV-2 exposure for patients with chronic illnesses during the pandemic.


The paper investigates a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method to solve multi-attribute decision making problems with bipolar neutrosophic information. We define Hamming distance function and Euclidean distance function to determine the distance between bipolar neutrosophic numbers. In the decision making situation, the rating of performance values of the alternatives with respect to the attributes are provided by the decision maker in terms of bipolar neutrosophic numbers. The weights of the attributes are determined using maximizing deviation method. We define bipolar neutrosophic relative positive ideal solution (BNRPIS) and bipolar neutrosophic relative negative ideal solution (BNRNIS). Then, the ranking order of the alternatives is obtained by TOPSIS method and most desirable alternative is selected. Finally, a numerical example for car selection is solved to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach and comparison with other existing method is also provided.


The quality of aluminum casts is necessary in order to reach sufficient properties required for application. The decreasing in the properties of aluminum cast mainly related with microstructure, especially with size and morphology of second phases. One of such second phases in aluminum alloys are the β-phases. These phases are unwonted mainly because of the decreasing of mechanical properties. The contribution is deal with influence of addition of Mn to affecting the formation of β-phases in the AlSi7Mg0.3 and AlSi7Mg0.6 cast alloys. These materials are used for application especially automotive industry. The results shows, that addition of Mn is not sufficient for affecting of formation of the Fe-rich phases in AlSi7Mg0.6 cat alloys, but in the AlSi7Mg0.3 this addition lead to changes in formation of Fe-rich intermetallic phases.


Leveraging the power of the global financial sector is emerging as a powerful, targeted strategy in tobacco control. The tobacco epidemic has been in decline in many high income nations since the 1960s but shows few signs of abating in low and middle income nations, with the tobacco industry offsetting regulatory restrictions and shrinking markets in industrialised countries by actively promoting tobacco use in poorer countries with weaker tobacco control. Lung cancer rates and tobacco-related mortality statistics reflect these changes with levels declining in high income countries but yet to peak in low and middle income countries. This contrast calls for new approaches that can cross borders, transcend the barriers between legislative domains and offer a truly international approach. Tobacco Free Portfolios works collaboratively with the global finance sector to inform, advance and prioritise tobacco-free investment. This initiative aims to encourage finance leaders to reflect on and reconsider commercial relationships with the tobacco industry, urging them to be part of the solution when it comes to addressing one of greatest global challenges of our time.


Heading towards sustainable logistic is a popular tendency. However it is widely discussed in case of supply chain, there are many studies concerning warehouse and warehousing. Introducing and developing sustainable warehouse solutions is often a challenge. In the article, the authors analysed the literature sources (scientific publications and professional studies) to indicate directions and changes in technological, managerial, social, environmental and economic aspects of warehouse functioning that are required to go forward to sustainable tendency. To summarize the studies, the application model presenting assessment of the status of sustainable warehouse is proposed. The purpose of this model is to provide policy-makers insights to identify actual state of warehouse in a company and perspectives of its development.


Synopsis : The effects of Nb and Mn on the microstructure and the toughness of simulated HAZ of 590 MPa class low carbon bainitic steels were investigated. It was found that the toughness of the low carbon bainitic steel, of which hardenability is increased by adding Mn, is superior to the that increase gained by adding Nb. It was also revealed that the facets of Charpy impact surface in the Mn addition steel are more refined than those in the Nb addition steel. Therefore it was supposed that the coarse facets impaired the toughness of the Nb addition steel . The observations of the microstructures also clarified that the bainite blocks of the Mn addition steel are more refined than those of the Nb addition steel. The reason why adding Nb coarsened the bainite blocks may be explained by a decrease of the interfacial energy on austenite grain boundaries.


Most university curricula consider software processes to be on the fringes of software engineering (SE). Students are told there exists a plethora of software processes ranging from RUP over V-shaped processes to agile methods. Furthermore, the usual students' programming tasks are of a size that either one student or a small group of students can manage the work. Comprehensive processes being essential for large companies in terms of reflecting the organization structure, coordinating teams, or interfaces to business processes such as contracting or sales, are complex and hard to teach in a lecture, and, therefore, often out of scope. We experienced tutorials on using Java or C#, or on developing applications for the iPhone to gather more attention by students, simply speaking, as these are more fun for them. So, why should students spend their time in software processes? From our experiences and the discussions with a variety of industrial partners, we learned that students often face trouble when taking their first "real" jobs, even if the company is organized in a lean or agile shape. Therefore, we propose to include software processes more explicitly into the SE curricula. We designed and implemented a course at Master's level in which students learn why software processes are necessary, and how they can be analyzed, designed, implemented, and continuously improved. In this paper, we present our course's structure, its goals, and corresponding teaching methods. We evaluate the course and further discuss our experiences so that lecturers and researchers can directly use our lessons learned in their own curricula.


We aimed to compare the sonographic measurement of median nerve cross-section area (CSA) in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and healthy individuals. The effect of duration of the disease on correlations between paraclinical findings and ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS) were secondarily aimed to be evaluated. The cross-sectional study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Iran University of Medical Sciences and conducted between January 2017 and December 2018. We evaluated the median nerve surface area by means of sonography in 35 ALS patients and 35 healthy controls. Compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes during nerve conduction study and ALSFRS were recorded by the same trained specialist. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18. We did not find a significant difference between CSA in ALS patients and the normal population (P>0.05). Comparing to normal individuals, the mean CMAP decreased significantly in ALS patients (6.6±3.07 mV versus 10.25±2.2 mV, P<0.001). ALSFRS correlated with both CSA of the median nerve at the wrist (P:<0.001, r:0.78) and the CMAP (P:<0.001, r:0.74) that were confirmed by regression models designed to consider the effect of disease duration on these correlations. CSA was not different between ALS patients and the normal population, but CMAP decreased in ALS patients. ALSFRS correlated with both CSA and CMAP of the median nerve.


Allen, Jennifer L. PhD, Purdue University, December 2016. Macronutrient-Flavonoid Interactions, Effects in Model Food Matrices. Major Professor: Mario G. Ferruzzi. Macronutrient-flavonoid interactions have been well documented through the years. Chapter 1 of this document provides an introduction of the literature documenting the theoretical and mechanical framework of their importance in human health, biological interactions, macronutrient interaction, and general bioaccessibility and bioavailability. Though macronutrient interactions have been characterized, often the levels utilized are above those that may be seen in processed food products due to undesirable effects. This document covers the effects two commonly used plant extracts, green tea extract and grape seed, may have on the macronutrient functionality in model food matrices. In Chapter 2 the effects of crude extracts (green tea and grape seed) and a purified green tea extract (composed primarily of EGCG) were examined for their effects on various protein functions within a gel, emulsion, and foam matrix. Due to their occurrence in many packaged food products the dairy proteins, sodium caseinate and whey protein isolate were utilized. These extracts were incorporated into each of the above stated matrices at levels that may be plausible in consumer packaged food products with minimal effects on the sensorial properties. It was determined that though level of incorporation were modest, an impact may still be had on the functional properties of these matrices. The addition of grape seed and green tea extracts may moderately alter gelation properties, including gel strength and gelation time. Likewise, emulsion stability was negatively modified while foam stability exhibited an inverse alteration.


Achievement of target blood pressure (BP) is one of the key strategies of primary prevention of cardiovascular complications in patients with arterial hypertension (AH). Aim . To assess and compare antihypertensive effects of azilsartan medoxomil (AZM) with chlorthalidone or indapamide-retard combination in patients with AH in real clinical setting. Material and methods . The open randomized comparative study included 50 patients with uncontrolled AH who were randomized to the starting therapy with combination of AZM with chlorthalidone (Edarbi Clo 40/12,5 mg) (group 1) or indapamide-retard 1,5 mg (group 2) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks, up-titration of one of the drugs was done in the patients who didn't achieve target BP level (<140/<90 mm Hg): chlorthalidone from 12,5 mg to 25 mg in G1 and AZM from 40 to 80 mg in group 2. Duration of the study was 12 weeks. Treatment efficacy was assessed by the target office BP achievement and changes in 24-h peripheral and central BP. Results were considered statistically significant at p<0,05. Results . At the end of the 12-week period target BP was achieved in 88% of group 1 and 72% of group 2 patients. According to 24-h blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) mean peripheral BP decline was 19,3/11,1 vs 17,1/9,1 mm Hg for 24h, 20,1/11,4 vs 19,1/9,9 mm Hg for daytime, 19,5/9,1 vs 17,6/8,9 mmHg for nighttime (p<0,05 for trend). Target 24-h BP levels <130/<80 mm Hg were achieved in 40 vs 32% of patients respectively (р<0,05). Increase of the portion of dippers was observed from 60 to 64% and from 58 to 62% respectively (p<0,05). Conclusion . In patients with uncontrolled AH combination of AZM with chlorthalidone compared has led to more pronounced antihypertensive effect compared to combination of AZM with indapamide-retard.


Mobile robots are a crucial element of present and future scientific missions to explore the surfaces of foreign celestial bodies such as Moon and Mars. The deployment of teams of robots allows to improve efficiency and robustness in such challenging environments. As long communication round-trip times to Earth render the teleoperation of robotic systems inefficient to impossible, on-board autonomy is a key to success. The robots operate in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied environments and thus have to rely on space-suitable on-board sensors such as stereo camera systems. They need to be able to localize themselves online, to model their surroundings, as well as to share information about the environment and their position therein. These capabilities constitute the basis for the local autonomy of each system as well as for any coordinated joint action within the team, such as collaborative autonomous exploration. In this thesis, we present a novel approach for stereo vision-based on-board and online Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) for multi-robot teams given the challenges imposed by planetary exploration missions. We combine distributed local and decentralized global estimation methods to get the best of both worlds: A local reference filter on each robot provides real-time local state estimates required for robot control and fast reactive behaviors. We designed a novel graph topology to incorporate these state estimates into an online incremental graph optimization to compute global pose and map estimates that serve as input to higher-level autonomy functions. In order to model the 3D geometry of the environment, we generate dense 3D point cloud and probabilistic voxel-grid maps from noisy stereo data. We distribute the computational load and reduce the required communication bandwidth between robots by locally aggregating high-bandwidth vision data into partial maps that are then exchanged between robots and composed into global models of the environment. We developed methods for intra- and inter-robot map matching to recognize previously visited locations in semi- and unstructured environments based on their estimated local geometry, which is mostly invariant to light conditions as well as different sensors and viewpoints in heterogeneous multi-robot teams. A decoupling of observable and unobservable states in the local filter allows us to introduce a novel optimization: Enforcing all submaps to be gravity-aligned, we can reduce the dimensionality of the map matching from 6D to 4D. In addition to map matches, the robots use visual fiducial markers to detect each other. In this context, we present a novel method for modeling the errors of the loop closure transformations that are estimated from these detections. We demonstrate the robustness of our methods by integrating them on a total of five different ground-based and aerial mobile robots that were deployed in a total of 31 real-world experiments for quantitative evaluations in semi- and unstructured indoor and outdoor settings. In addition, we validated our SLAM framework through several different demonstrations at four public events in Moon and Mars-like environments. These include, among others, autonomous multi-robot exploration tests at a Moon-analogue site on top of the volcano Mt. Etna, Italy, as well as the collaborative mapping of a Mars-like environment with a heterogeneous robotic team of flying and driving robots in more than 35 public demonstration runs.


ABSTRACT Trichotillomania (TTM) is a disorder characterized by repetitive hair pulling resulting in hair loss and it is usually difficult to treat with a chronic course of illness. Currently, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most frequently prescribed drugs for adults with TTM. Various studies and case reports give mixed results. Therefore, the treatment effectiveness of SSRIs remains uncertain. There is a growing interest regarding the use of glutamatergic agents in obsessive compulsive disorder and obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder. Here, we report an 18-year-old female patient with TTM, which successfully treated with glutamate modulator n-acetylcysteine.


Abstruct- A new personal communications services (PCS) hand-off scheme is proposed. This scheme provides for hand-off to radio ports on which there is no free channel by "sub-rating" an existing connection. With sub-rating, an occupied full-rate channel is temporarily divided into two half-rate channels: one to serve the existing call and the other to serve the hand-off request. The blocking probabilities (combined forced terminations of existing calk and blocking of new call attempts) of this new scheme compare favorably with the standard scheme (nonprioritizing) and the previously proposed prioritizing schemes. The "costs" for this scheme are presented and discussed, as well as the additional procedural complexity of implementing on-the-fly subrating and the impact of continuing the conversation on a lower rate channel (which may lower speech quality or increase battery drain). Analytical models and simulations investigating the trafEc impacts are presented, as are the results that show that even in the highest offered load considered a 3-min conversation in the busy hour experiences less than half a second of subrated conversation on average and only about 3% of the calls experience more than 5.12 s of sub-rated conversation. This scheme can increase capacity by 8-35% for systems with 1% call incompletion probability.