The giant H oil field was discovered in 1976 and put into development in 2008. The Mishrif reservoir has half of the geological reserves, and the current development challenges are greater. First, the sedimentary evolution is very complicated (inner ramp, lagoon, shallow sea, et al), the existing facies model is generally derived from rock type interpolation with kriging algorithm, and does not reflect sedimentary understanding, and is quite different from the actual situation displayed by seismic data. Furthermore, the variogram of rock types is also difficult to be accurate, resulting in poor fitting of reservoir simulation. Second, the seismic data quality is generally low, and its correlation with rock types is worse. If it is directly used to constrain rock type interpolation, the accuracy is generally unsatisfactory.
 In order to solve these problems, this study first comprehensively studied the core, thin slices, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron probe and other data for sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary research. Secondly, based on the single well facies interpretation, combined with the inversion data, the dimension, spatial relationship and variogram of each depositional element were studied. Thirdly, the facies model was built using the Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS) algorithm, and was manually modified zone by zone according to the sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary understanding. Finally, the relationship between depositional elements and rock types was studied, and the probability bodies of different depositional elements with different rock types were obtained. Based on this, the SIS algorithm was used to simulate rock types. Then this could be further used as a constraint to build petrophysical models.
 The results showed that the correlation between the depositional elements and the rock type was obviously better than the inversion wave impedance. The artificially modified facies model could better reflect sedimentary appearance, and various static and dynamic data. The rock type model obtained under the constraint of the facies model also bypassed the problem that the seismic data quality was not good enough for direct rock type interpolation.
 It was verified that with the new modeling workflow, the preliminary numerical simulation fitting rate reach over 80%. The facies model was then verified with water flooding test in H oil field and had good results. This workflow could provide a good reference for similar oilfields in the Middle East.


We have recently introduced a new approach based on Holland's formalism to deal with the thin oblique wire in the FDTD method. The approach is versatile in use and allows us to simulate a very complex topology of cables in-situ. In this paper, we propose an original extension of the thin oblique wire formalism in order to handle shielded cables. Efficiency in memory occupation and in time consuming are other benefits of our approach.


AbstractLocalized Surface Plasmon Resonance: Single Particle to Ensemble Binding Measurements.byJamie Nicholas KulpDoctor of Philosophy in ChemistryUniversity of California, BerkeleyProfessor Marcin Majda, Chair Plasmonic nanoparticles are an emerging technology, which demonstrates immense utility in the field of sensitive, label-free, molecular detection assays. Plasmonic nanoparticles exhibit a physical phenomenon known as Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance or LSPR. LSPR is a phenomenon based on the collective oscillations of free, surface electrons in certain metals such as silver and gold. The surface electrons couple to incident light at a specific frequency corresponding to the resonance frequency of these surface electron's oscillations. These oscillations scatter the incident light at the resonant frequency with a very high efficiency. The frequency of these oscillations and the scattered light is not only dependent on physical characteristics of the particles, such as their material composition, geometric shape and size, but also on the refractive index of both the particle and the surrounding medium in which the particles are located. Changes in the refractive index at the interface between the particle's surface and the surrounding medium, is the physical basis of analytical methods utilizing plasmonic nanoparticles. The sensitivity of the LSPR frequency to the surrounding medium's refractive index allows for the ability to observe changes in the refractive index at the particles surface due to molecular binding events. The monitoring of changes in the refractive index is accomplished by analyzing the peak LSPR frequency as a function of the refractive index at the surface interface of the particle and the surrounding medium. As molecular binding events occur at the surface interface between the particle and the surrounding medium, an increase in the local refractive index occurs. This increase in the local refractive index is accompanied by a red shift in the maximum LSPR wavelength of the scattered light. By monitoring changes in the maximum wavelength of scattered light, a calibration curve can be constructed, which relates the changes in the LSPR frequency to changes in the local refractive index at the particles surface. Changes in refractive index are ultimately related to a change in the mass of absorbed particles at the particle's surface due to molecular binding. There are various instrumental methods that have been shown to be capable of detecting these refractive index changes at the plasmonic particles surface. These methods include solution-based ensemble techniques, as well as single particle scattering measurements. Solution-based ensemble measurements commonly utilize UV-Visible spectrophotometers, but can also include the use of the backscattering interferometer. Single particle methods are predominately performed using the dark field scattering microscopy. The dark field scattering microscope is ideal for single particle measurements on plasmonic nanoparticles due to the particles remarkably high scattering coefficients relative to their geometrical size. The dark field scattering microscope also has relatively low background noise, which is particularly important for experiments on the single particle level where the signal-to-noise ratio must be maximized. Single particle dark field scattering methods involve the coupling of a dark field scattering microscope with a spectrometer in order to collect and analyze the scattered light of individual nanoparticles. The limitations and benefits of each of these experimental designs are discussed further in the body of this dissertation. Briefly, solution-based assays offer the benefit of being performed in colloidal suspensions of nanoparticles without the need to utilize specialized surface chemistry as a means to immobilize the particles to the underlying substrate. Solution-based measurements are also compatible, in most situations, with instrumentation that is commonly found in laboratories. As a result of the compatibility of solution-based measurements with common laboratory instruments, such as the UV-visible spectrometer, measurements do not generally require dedicated, specialized instrumentation. This of course is not universally true as will be seen with experiments are performed using the backscattering interferometer. However, many examples of solution-based assays utilizing more common laboratory instrumentation are now available in the literature. Despite these advantages, solution-based colloidal measurements are ensemble measurements and due to the statistical nature of these measurements, individual, unique features that may occur on the single particle level are obscured due to the averaging of many particles contribution to the collected signal. To overcome this statistical limitation, single particle assays have been developed. Most notably among these single particle experiments is the use of dark field scattering microscopy, coupled with spectroscopic measurements of the scattered light to examine the optical properties of individual nanoparticles. While this platform has shown that it is possible to interrogate individual particles, as well molecular binding events occurring at the surface of the particles, there are a few technical drawbacks to this method as well. The first of these technical drawbacks is the need to immobilize the particle onto the underlying substrate. This is to prevent random Brownian motion of the particles when performing experiments in aqueous environments. When observing the particles in a vacuum or air environment this need is not as rigorous as the electrostatic interactions between the particle and the underlying substrate are sufficient to immobilize the particle during measurements. In order to explore binding events occurring in aqueous systems, which include receptor-ligand binding, DNA-DNA base pairing and other solution-based molecular recognition events, it is necessary to develop a method of immobilizing the particle to the surface of the underlying substrate utilizing surface chemistry techniques. In this dissertation it is shown that the use of the supported lipid bilayer is a very effective and versatile means of accomplishing this immobilization of the particle to the underlying substrate used in dark field microscopy. This can be accomplished by incorporating biotin-functionalized lipids into the composition of a supported lipid bilayer formed on the particles, as well as the supported bilayer formed on the underlying substrate. The formation of a supported lipid bilayer containing a fraction of biotin-functionalized lipids on the underlying substrate, as well as the nanoparticle, it is possible to tether the particles to the substrate surface through streptavidin-biotin molecular interactions. This proves to be a robust and simple method of immobilizing particles to a substrate capable of supporting the formation of a supported lipid bilayer. Silica oxide or glass is a material, which allows for the spontaneous formation of a supported lipid bilayer from single unilaminar vesicles. Presented here is the synthesis of cubic geometry nanoparticles that are surrounded with a thin silica shell of nanometer thickness. This thin silica shell allows for the spontaneous formation of a supported lipid bilayer on individual nanoparticles. This feature facilitates the immobilization of the particles for studies using the dark field scattering microscope. Nanoparticle-based analytical platforms, regardless of being implemented on the single particle level or using colloidal, solution-based ensemble measurements, offer a very robust and sensitive, label-free analytical technique for quantify molecular binding events occurring at the particle's surface.


This study examined the effect of Parkia biglobosa (Locust bean) husk extract and honey blend on the chemical, sensory and bacterial qualities of traditional West African soft cheese. In this study, soft cheese was treated with blends of honey and ethanol extract of P. biglobosa husk at varied levels of 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4% (being percentages of the milk used) for both of the components immediately after coagulation. Seven (7) treatments were studied in a completely randomized design and assessment of the proximate composition and sensory attributes of the cheese was done. The Total Bacterial Count (TBC) was also monitored throughout a five days period. The result revealed that the control cheese was highest in moisture, and ash, but lower in cheese fat content. General acceptability was highest for the cheese curds fortified at 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1 % Honey/P. biglobosa. The 3/1: Honey/P. biglobosa treated cheese showed the highest inhibition rate against bacterial growth. The treatments fortified with 1:3, 2:2 and 3:1 % Honey/P. biglobosa also had the lowest TBC for the days of microbial assay. Seratia odonrifera and Seratia liqueficiens were prominently identified at days 2 and 4 of storage. The study recommend the use of 1:3 , 2:2 and 3/1 % Honey/ P. biglobosa cheese curd fortification as an improvement of the nutritional, sensory and bacterial attributes of West African soft cheese.


In the Original Investigation titled "Association of Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes With Gut Microbial Diversity: A Microbiome-Wide Analysis From Population Studies,"1 published July 29, 2021, 2 sentences in the Key Points have been amended. In Findings, the new sentence now reads, "In this cross-sectional study of 2166 participants in 2 large population-based studies, higher microbiome Shannon index and richness were associated with less insulin resistance, and patients with type 2 diabetes (n = 193) had lower richness than participants without diabetes." The sentence under Meaning now reads, "These findings suggest that gut microbial diversity, along with specifically butyrate-producing bacteria, may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes, which may help guide future prevention and treatment strategies." This article has been corrected.1


The ardA gene, found in many prokaryotes including important pathogenic species, allows associated mobile genetic elements to evade the ubiquitous Type I DNA restriction systems and thereby assist the spread of resistance genes in bacterial populations. As such, ardA contributes to a major healthcare problem. We have solved the structure of the ArdA protein from the conjugative transposon Tn916 and find that it has a novel extremely elongated curved cylindrical structure with defined helical grooves. The high density of aspartate and glutamate residues on the surface follow a helical pattern and the whole protein mimics a 42-base pair stretch of B-form DNA making ArdA by far the largest DNA mimic known. Each monomer of this dimeric structure comprises three alpha–beta domains, each with a different fold. These domains have the same fold as previously determined proteins possessing entirely different functions. This DNA mimicry explains how ArdA can bind and inhibit the Type I restriction enzymes and we demonstrate that 6 different ardA from pathogenic bacteria can function in Escherichia coli hosting a range of different Type I restriction systems.


The igneous rocks in and around Edinburgh have been faithfully and accurately described by many geologists. Good service was rendered in this work by our late President, Mr Charles Maclaren, at a time when these rocks were more keenly studied than they are at present. Their study has been now very much superseded by the more interesting and attractive pursuit of palæontology. Mr Maclaren, in the original edition of his work on ‶The Geology of Fife and the Lothians,″ enumerates nine localities where trap-dykes occur in Edinburgh; and in the second edition of that book, three additional localities are mentioned.* Over and above those described by Mr Maclaren, I have succeeded in adding other ten localities where the trap has been discovered, and which have hitherto escaped notice and description. Their general average direction bears north-west and south-east, and across the strike of the strata. Some geological writers have referred the occurrence of these trap-dykes and veins to one common centre of volcanic disturbance in the district, but I cannot support this idea, which I imagine to be more fanciful than real. The evidence goes to show that these dykes generally run parallel to each other, and are connected, it may be, with lines of fault. Trap-dykes are extravasated portions of igneous fluid matter, which has been injected into the fissures of the rocks, filling up all cracks and rents, and that at a period towards the close, apparently, of the Carboniferous era. For the information of those who may be interested in this subject, I subjoin the following lists of the trap-dykes of Edinburgh and neighbourhood, so far as these are known at the present time:— 1. List of Trap-Dykes in Edinburgh. Drummond Place and Broughton Place.—This is a large dyke of greenstone, sixty feet broad, running from Drummond Place to Broughton Place, thence eastwards towards Lochend. It can be traced seaward. This dyke was admirably seen when the foundations were being cleared for St Mary's Church, Albany Street. Direction, north-west by south-east. Lothian Street.—Two thin dykes occur here—one opposite the shops Nos. 2 and 4; the other at the corner of the Potterrow. Merchant Street.—A vein was exposed while digging the foundations of George IV. Bridge. South Back of Canongate.—At Berwick's Brewery a bed of trap exists three feet thick. Mr Maclaren considers this to be a continuation of the St Leonard's bed, 1000 feet south of this spot.* Bell's Mills and Stockbridge.—A large mass of intrusive trap is to be seen at Bell's Mills, close to the bridge over the Water of Leith. Its position is between the shale and sandstone, and dips to the north-west. A dyke was seen at Allan Street, Stockbridge, which is in all likelihood a continuation of the trap at Bell's Mills. Water of Leith and St Bernard's Well.—A dyke occurs in the bed of the stream, which Williams says may be more properly called a ‶slip-dyke,″ it being upon the line of a fault.† Two veins, one twelve and the other six feet broad, are seen at St Bernard's Well. Their direction is west-north-west by south-east. Bread Street and Corner of Grindlay Street.—A bed is seen here. In its upheaval it has thrown the sandstone into confusion. This bed, though still exposed, will shortly be quarried out for the foundations of the houses of Grindlay Street. Lauriston.—A dyke exists in Lauriston between Watson's and Heriot's Hospitals, and was observed by Mr Jardine while tunnelling between these houses. Canonmills Village.—A dyke was found on the east side of this village, and another upon Eyre's ground, to the west. Fountainbridge.—A dyke was discovered at the North British Rubber Works by Dr Page, with a direction of north-west and south-east. South Hanover Street.—A large dyke was seen here some years ago, when the main drain of Hanover Street was being sunk. The upheaval of the trap has thrown the sandstones into a complete anticline immediately under the present City of Glasgow Bank at No. 14 of the street.* Nicolson Street and Simon Square.—A broad dyke of porphyritic greenstone has been noted here. Foot of Pleasance.—A dyke runs from the foot of the Pleasance to Drummond Street, crossing Richmond Place to Simon's Square, and thence to Haddon's Court. St John's Hill.—A vein at this place, close to Mr Ritchie's brewery. St Leonard Street.—A dyke from ten to twelve feet broad was seen a short distance to the south of the present gate into the railway station. Buccleuch Street.—A bedded porphyritic greenstone occurs opposite the Archer's Hall. Brown's Close.—At this close, No. 70 Canongate, at the northern side, a dyke runs due north and south. It is composed of greenstone porphyry, and is not unlikely to be a continuation of the porphyritic greenstone of the Calton Hill. Fountain Close.—A vein opposite John Knox's House at the Netherbow, and the opening into this close. Little King Street.—At the top of this street, in St James' Street and Square,† according to Mr Rhind, the houses are built upon a foundation of trap‡—probably an upheaval. Note.—Nos. 1 to 9 inclusive in this list have been previously observed and noted by Mr Maclaren, and are repeated here, with some additional observations of my own, in order that the present list may be rendered as complete as possible. A map of the city, upon which the Trap localities have been carefully marked and laid down, has been deposited by me in the library of the Society, where it may be seen and consulted. 2. List of Trap-Dykes in the Neighbourhood of Edinburgh, some of which are already well known to the local Student of Geology. Calton Hill and Castle Rock.—Numerous beds and dykes occur in these hills. Arthur Seat.—At Salisbury Crags two dykes cut through the greenstone of the cliff, one of which is situated at the Cat-Nick; and the other a little to the north of it. At the rifle range, Hunter's Bog, a small vein strikes through the ridge above the powder magazine at the butts. Hawkhill.—Two beds of greenstone make their appearance at this place — one of a coarse, the other of a fine-grained texture. Lochend.—A cliff of greenstone appears at Lochend, which is supposed to have a connection with the greenstone of Whinny Hill, Arthur's Seat. Shore from Granton to Cramond.—Numerous dykes are visible along the shore between these two places. Prestonpans.—A large dyke runs for seven miles at this village, and is conjectured to be a continuation of the greenstone outburst of Lochend and Whinny Hill, above referred to. Niddry.—A dyke, commencing at Brunstane House, runs east and west at this point.


Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, progressive, inflammatory arthropathy associated with psoriasis as well as a complex pathogenesis. Genetic and environmental factors trigger the development of the immune-mediated auto-inflammatory response in different sites: skin, bone marrow, entheses and synovial tissues. Studies of the last two decades have changed the view of PsA from a mild, non-progressive arthritis to an inflammatory systemic disease with serious health consequences, not only associated with joint dysfunction, but also with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and socioeconomic consequences with significantly reduced quality of life. The joint damage starts early in the course of the disease, thus early recognition and treatment with modern biological treatments, which may modify the natural history and slow down progression of this debilitating disease, is essential for the patient long-term outcome.


Background. Studies have shown that poverty has reduced in households receiving a child support grant (CSG), and that it has contributed to improving the lives of beneficiaries. Objectives. The study objectives were to determine the contribution of the CSG to the diet and nutritional status of children under 5 years old. Method s. The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey with an analytical component of 189 caregiver-child pairs receiving CSGs from Mogalakwena Municipality. Data were collected by using a validated questionnaire and anthropometric measurements. Results. About 36.5% of caregivers were between the ages of 26 and 35 years, 75.7% unmarried, and 84.1% unemployed. The mean (standard deviation (SD)) age of children was 2.84 (1.33) years of whom 77.8% lived in a household of more than 5 people. Most caregivers received nutritional education from relatives, 71.1% were never educated about nutrition, and 57.9% of children were fed 3 times/day. The child support grant was used by 94.2% of recipients to buy food, with an average monthly expenditure of ZAR171.55 (155.25), while the proportion of the total grant spent on food was 44%. There was a 53.5% prevalence of stunting, 32.3% of wasting and 5.3% underweight among the children, while 22.1% of caregivers were overweight and 12.1% obese. Conclusion. Most caregivers were not taught about child feeding. The proportion of CSG spent on food was less than 50%, with most bought food being of low nutritional quality. The prevalence of wasting and stunting was very high, accompanied by a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in caregivers.


This paper presents a numerical method for modelling a compressible multiphase flow that involves phase transition between liquid and vapour in the context of gasoline injection. A discontinuous compressible two fluid mixture based on the Volume of Fluid (VOF) implementation is employed to represent the phases of liquid, vapour and air. The mass transfer between phases is modelled by standard models such as Kunz or Schnerr-Sauer but including the presence of air in the gas phase. Turbulence is modelled using a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach to catch instationnarities and coherent structures. Eventually the modelling approach matches favourably experimental data concerning the effect of cavitation on atomisation process.


A high-resolution calorimetric study of the specific heat (Cp) has been carried out for the isotropic to nematic phase transition in an aligned liquid crystal (octylcyanobiphenyl 8CB) and aerosil nano-colloid gel. A stable alignment was achieved by repeated thermal cycling of the samples in the presence of a strong uniform magnetic field, which introduces anisotropy to the quenched random disorder of the silica gel. In general, the specific heat features of the I2N transition in aligned (anisotropic) gel samples are consistent with those seen in random (isotropic) gel samples, namely the observance of two Cp peaks and non-monotonic transition temperature shifts with increasing silica concentration. However, larger transition temperature shifts with silica density, modification of the phase conversion process in the two-phase coexistence region, and a larger effective transition enthalpy are observed for the aligned samples. The lower-temperature aligned Cp peak is larger and broader while exhibiting less dispersion than the equivalent peak for the random gel. This may be a consequence of the alignment altering the evolution from random-dilution-dominated to random-field-dominated effects. The exact origin of the larger transition temperature shifts is uncertain but the larger enthalpy suggests that the nematic state is different in the aligned system than in random gels. The general non-monotonic behaviour of the transition temperature is interpreted using dimensional analysis as a combination of an effective elastic stiffening of the liquid crystal combined with a liquid crystal and aerosil surface interaction energy.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To compare the efficacy of two sequential therapy regimens of IV cefuroxime followed by oral cefuroxime axetil for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

DESIGN
Prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group study.

SETTING
Sixty-six centers in 11 countries (Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, and the United Kingdom).

PATIENTS
Six hundred thirty-six adults with CAP requiring hospitalization and initial IV antibiotic treatment.

INTERVENTIONS
Cefuroxime, 1.5 g IV tid or bid for 48 to 72 h followed by oral cefuroxime axetil, 500 mg bid for 7 days.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
For clinically evaluable patients, the clinical response rates were equivalent for cefuroxime tid and bid groups posttreatment (cure/improvement, 79% and 84%, respectively) and at follow-up (maintained cure, 87% and 82%, respectively). All signs and symptoms of pneumonia showed improvement at the time of switch from IV to oral therapy. A total of 111 pathogens were isolated, the most common being Streptococcus pneumoniae (23%), Haemophilus influenzae (18%), and Enterobacteriaceae (15%). Bacteriologic clearance was obtained posttreatment in 47 of 49 and 36 of 42 of bacteriologically evaluable patients in the cefuroxime tid and bid groups, respectively. Both regimens were well tolerated with a low incidence of drug-related adverse events, the most common being GI.

CONCLUSIONS
Twice daily IV cefuroxime followed by oral cefuroxime axetil is a simple and effective sequential therapy regimen for the treatment of CAP. It offers potential cost savings and can replace the current tid regimen in this indication.


Autism is a childhood‐onset neurodevelopmental disorder with complex genetic mechanism underlying its etiology. Recent studies revealed that a few single de novo copy number variants of genomic DNA (copy number variants [CNVs]) are pathogenic and causal in some sporadic cases, adding support to the hypothesis that some sporadic autism might be caused by single rare mutation with large clinical effect. In this study, we report the detection of two novel private CNVs simultaneously in a male patient with autism. These two CNVs include a microduplication of ∼4.5 Mb at chromosome 4q12‐13.1 that was transmitted from his mother and a microdeletion of ∼1.8 Mb at 5q32 that was transmitted from his father. Several genes such as LPHN3, POU4F3, SH3RF2, and TCERG1 mapped to these two regions have psychiatric implications. However, the parents had only mild degree of attention deficit symptoms but did not demonstrate any obvious autistic symptoms or psychopathology. Our findings indicate that each of these two CNVs alone may not be pathogenic enough to cause clinical symptoms in their respective carriers, and hence they can be transmitted within each individual family. However, concomitant presence of these two CNVs might result in the clinical phenotypes of the affected patient reported here. Thus, our report of this family may represent an example to show that two hits of CNV and the presence of compound heterozygosity might be important mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of autism. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


Sedentary lifestyle significantly increases the risks of chronic disease and all-cause mortality. Nevertheless, low levels of physical activity among young adults remain a serious nationwide problem, with 69% of Americans 18 to 24 years of age failing to meet the federal guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity in 2014. Among all the social and environmental factors affecting physical activity levels, interpersonal social networks are one of the most prominent targets for cost-effective interventions. In particular, online social networks are a highly attractive resource for large scale health initiatives given their capacity to disseminate interventions easily while simultaneously facilitating social influence dynamics. This dissertation examines online social networks' efficacy and mechanisms in increasing physical activity among young adults. The dissertation comprises three experiment studies. The first study employed a 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effects of basic website, promotional media messaging, and web-based anonymous online networks in increasing exercise class enrollment. The results showed among 217 university graduate students anonymous online networks were more effective than the basic website in increasing exercise class enrollment. The second study built upon the first study and employed a 2 by 2 factorial RCT to compare the effects of supportive versus competitive interactions and individual versus team incentives through web-based online networks in increasing exercise class attendance. The results showed among 790 university graduate students, social comparison was more effective in increasing exercise class attendance than social support. There was no significant difference between individual and team incentives in increasing class attendance. The third study shifted the technological platform and employed a mobile application. It tested the efficacy of an online network mobile app intervention in increasing daily active minutes objectively recorded by a fitness tracking device (Fitbit zip) in comparison with a control condition where individuals used the app by themselves without any connection with other people. Results showed among 91 young African American women, the online networks did not impact the primary outcome, daily active minutes. Self-reported physical activity significantly increased after the intervention program irrespective of intervention arms. Online networks were effective in increasing daily engagement with the fitness tracking device and the mobile app in comparison with the control condition. In addition, descriptive analyses on theoretical variables indicated that young African American women perceived low levels of peer norm and social support on physical activity in general. Online networks entail great potentials in promoting physical activity for young adults. More research is needed to fully understand the long-term effects and mechanisms of online networks in promoting physical activity and in other health behavior domains. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Communication This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/2124 First Advisor John B. Jemmott


Environmental stimuli that are reliably paired with alcohol may acquire incentive salience, a property that can operate in the use and abuse of alcohol. Here we investigated the incentive salience of Pavlovian alcohol cues using a preclinical animal model. Male, Long-Evans rats (Harlan) with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol (v/v) in their home-cages. Rats then received Pavlovian autoshaping training in which the 10 s presentation of a retractable lever served as the conditioned stimulus (CS) and 15% ethanol served as the unconditioned stimulus (US) (0.2 ml/CS; 12 CS presentations/session; 27 sessions). Next, in an operant test of conditioned reinforcement, nose pokes into an active aperture delivered presentations of the lever-CS, whereas nose pokes into an inactive aperture had no consequences. Across initial autoshaping sessions, goal-tracking behavior, as measured by entries into the fluid port where ethanol was delivered, developed rapidly. However, with extended training goal-tracking diminished, and sign-tracking responses, as measured by lever-CS activations, emerged. Control rats that received explicitly unpaired CS and US presentations did not show goal-tracking or sign-tracking responses. In the test for conditioned reinforcement, rats with CS-US pairings during autoshaping training made more active relative to inactive nose pokes, whereas rats in the unpaired control group did not. Moreover, active nose pokes were positively correlated with sign-tracking behavior during autoshaping. Extended training may produce a shift in the learned properties of Pavlovian alcohol cues, such that after initially predicting alcohol availability they acquire robust incentive salience.


Accurate estimation of the impact of bottom fishing on vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) requires knowledge of the distribution of those communities relative to the fishing footprint. If high target species catch rates are associated with habitats where VMEs are found, impacts from fishing would be higher than if VMEs are distributed randomly with respect to fishing locations. This study used the catch of the six most common vulnerable invertebrate taxa reported by observers on New Zealand vessels during the 2009/10 Ross Sea longline fisheries to correlate toothfish catch rates and benthic invertebrate catch rates at the scale of a longline segment, ~1 200 m. Analysis of the data available showed no evidence that the presence of any of six VME indicator taxa was informative in predicting Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) catch at the scale of a longline segment. This supports conclusions of previous work finding no relationship between aggregate VME indicator taxa weight and toothfish catch at the scale of a longline set, ~7 km. Further studies at intermediate scales (10–100 km) would be useful to determine if both toothfish and individual VME indicator taxa have regionally concentrated distributions, showing a high degree of spatial overlap with the fishery.


Detrital ooids, from 0.1 to 0.5 mm diameter, almost completely dominate two 0.3 m thick layers between one and two metres depth at a site in clay-size-rich, isostatically uplifted, glaciomarine, Champlain Sea sediments north of Gatineau, Quebec. The ooids, composed of layers of tangentially oriented, platy particles, are physical aggregations of glacially ground, rock flour with the identical mineral suite that constitutes the regional Champlain Sea sediments. The ooids are not cemented and there is no evidence of diagenetic formation of minerals. A hydrodynamic "hail-stone" model, which requires a somewhat turbulent sedimentary environment within the water column, probably created by wind–wave action that kept ooid nuclei in suspension while the flocculating effect of brackish to marine conditions induced particle accretion onto their surface, is proposed for their formation.


Abstract Both the theory and the terminology of Albertus Magnus's philosophical psychology in the thirteenth century bear an extraordinary resemblance to twenty-first century descriptions of emergent systems. In Albert's description of the temporal drama of human foetal life, the emergent, 'intellectual' energies of human psyche or anima or soul cannot be at all predicated on the material or psychic agents that give rise to them. Though standing in a real continuity with those natural, causal agents, human psyche knows itself as existing discontinuously from them and as enacting, in and through the dimension of time, kinds of knowledge and types of experience which display complex potentialities that appear to be irreducible, or, at the least, not fully measurable: in art, in science, and also in cultic action.


Background Targeted immunotherapy with CTL019, CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T cells, can produce potent and sustained responses in children with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, a subset of patients has limited persistence, which can increase the risk of relapse. Most CAR single chain variable fragment (scFv) domains, including that of CTL019, are of murine origin; therefore, anti-mouse reactivity is one potential cause of immune-mediated rejection that may be overcome by fully human or humanized CAR designs. We developed a humanized anti-CD19 scFv domain and now report on treatment with humanized CD19-directed CAR T cells (CTL119). Design A pilot/phase 1 study of CAR-modified T cells containing a humanized anti-CD19 scFv domain (CTL119) enrolled children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-ALL with or without prior exposure to a CAR T cell product. Patients previously treated with CD19-specific CAR-modified T cells were eligible if they met 1 of 3 criteria: 1) CD19+ relapse 2) no response to prior CAR T cell therapy or 3) early B cell recovery indicating poor persistence of CAR T cells. Patient-derived T cells were transduced ex vivo with a lentiviral vector encoding a CAR composed of CD3z, 4-1BB, and humanized anti-CD19 scFv domains and activated/expanded with anti-CD3/CD28 beads. The humanized scFv domain was developed by grafting the complementary determining regions of both the heavy and light chains onto human germline acceptor frameworks. Patients received lymphodepletion with cyclophosphamide and fludarabine 1 week prior to infusion with CTL119. Results Thirty children and young adults aged 29 mo-24 yr were infused with CTL119. Eighteen patients had received prior allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT). Eleven patients who previously received murine-derived CD19-specific CAR-modified T cells (CTL019, n=7; other, n=4) were retreated for B cell recovery (n=5), CD19+ relapse (n=5), or no response to prior CAR T cells (n=1). CNS disease or other extramedullary disease was the indication for enrollment in 6 and 3 patients, respectively. At assessment 1 month after infusion, 26/30 patients (87%) achieved a complete response (CR), defined as morphologic remission with B cell aplasia. Of 11 patients previously treated with murine CD19-specific CAR-modified T cells, 7 (64%) achieved a CR at 1 month, 4 demonstrated no response. Multiparameter flow cytometry for minimal residual disease (MRD) was negative at a detection level of 0.01% in 5/7 responding patients. Two responding patients with positive MRD progressed to CD19+ relapse at 1.6 and 3 mo. In patients with no prior exposure to a CD19 CAR T cell product, MRD-negative CR was achieved in 19/19 patients (100%). One patient relapsed with CD19+ extramedullary disease at 2.8 mo. With a median follow-up of 4.2 mo (range, 1.0-14.1 mo) for all responding patients in both cohorts, 23/26 remain in remission with 1 proceeding to SCT in remission. B cell aplasia, a functional marker of CD19-targeted CAR T cell persistence, continued for 3 months or more in 11/18 patients with adequate follow-up: 1/6 retreatment, 10/12 CAR-naive. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was observed in 28/30 patients and mild in most patients (grade 1, n=6; grade 2, n=18). Three patients experienced grade 3 CRS requiring supplemental oxygen or low-dose vasopressor support and 1 experienced grade 4 CRS requiring high-dose vasopressor and ventilatory support. Severe CRS was successfully managed with the IL6R antagonist tocilizumab in 3 patients. Neurologic toxicity included encephalopathy (n=5) and seizure (n=4) and was fully reversible. Conclusion In the first study of humanized anti-CD19 CAR T cells, CTL119 induced remissions in children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-ALL, including 64% of patients previously treated with murine CD19-directed CAR T cells and 100% of CAR-naive patients. Further investigation into CAR T cell persistence and anti-CAR responses will be vital to improve durable remission rates in this highly refractory population. Disclosures Maude: Novartis: Consultancy. Barrett: Novartis: Research Funding. Teachey: Novartis: Research Funding. Shaw: Novartis: Research Funding; Vitality Institute: Research Funding. Brogdon: Novartis: Employment. Scholler: Novartis: Patents & Royalties: Royalties, Research Funding. Marcucci: Novartis: Research Funding. Levine: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences: Consultancy; Novartis: Patents & Royalties, Research Funding. Frey: Amgen: Consultancy; Novartis: Research Funding. Porter: Novartis: Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Genentech: Employment. Lacey: Novartis: Research Funding. Melenhorst: Novartis: Research Funding. June: Novartis: Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Celldex: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Pfizer: Honoraria; Immune Design: Consultancy, Equity Ownership; Johnson & Johnson: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Patents & Royalties, Research Funding; Tmunity Therapeutics: Equity Ownership. Grupp: Pfizer: Consultancy; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding.


The coast of Odisha extends from Balasore in the north to Ganjam in the south spreading 480 km. It exhibits a depositional terrain formed by the action of fluvio-marine, lacustrine, estuarine and aeolian agents. The river system coupled with marine action help in generating diversified physiographic and dynamic coastal features. Over the period, the coastal tract also witnesses the vagary of nature. Vast alluvial plain, meandering pattern of rivers, low lying swamps and swamp forests, sand dunes, beach ridges, beaches and swales are typical landforms associated with the coastal tract. The Bhitarkanika Marine National Park region, the study area is situated on the northern part of the coast which mostly exhibit swampy habitat due to large fine clastic deposits by riverine action. Mangroves on the swampy region occupy around 18,348 ha and regarded as the second largest mangrove formation in the subcontinent. Besides, the coastal tract also exhibits a congenial place for mass nesting of sea turtles coming from Pacific Ocean. The study area is now under stress due to various natural as well as anthropogenic pressure. The degradation of mangroves is mainly due to human encroachment and reclamation of land for aquaculture practices. It is observed that the occurrence of vegetation cover decreases continuously from 1973 to 2017. Dense vegetation cover is recorded as 35.23 % ( 1973) which decreased to 22.43 % ( 2017). On the southern end of the study area lies an all-weather port named Paradeep and on the northern side one emerging new port called Dhamra port. Their activities and impact as well as blooming aquaculture practices have bearing on the ecosystem of the mangroves. The assessment of vegetation vigor of the region portrays the condition of the environment shaped after years of degradation activities due to natural as well as anthropogenic activities induced from 595 villages having 50,6930 population. The objective of the study is to analyze the changes of vegetation vigor using NDVI from multi date satellite data and record the changes for better monitoring of the area. It may be inferred that the existing conservation measures and protection plans are inadequate to hold the coastal natural resources intact. The community participation and public awareness are not sufficient to abate the brittle coastal environment. Public participation, education programme, awareness initiatives are the foundation of success of any sustainable development in the sensitive coastal region. [


The role of glutamate neurotoxicity in cerebral ischemia has long been advocated but still remains controversial, because various glutamate receptor (GluR) antagonists showed inconsistent protective efficacy in brain ischemia models. To address this central issue of ischemic brain damage more directly, we used mutant mice deficient in the GluRepsilon1 (NR2A) subunit of NMDA receptor with or without additional heterozygous mutation in the GluRepsilon2 (NR2B) subunit. Those mutant mice, as well as their littermates, were subjected to focal cerebral ischemia by introducing a 6-0 nylon suture from left common carotid artery. Brain injury volumes after 2 hr of suture insertion, as evaluated by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining at 24 hr after ischemia, revealed significantly smaller injury size in GluRepsilon1 subunit knock-out mice compared with their wild-type littermates. The reduction in injury volume was not attributable to differences in body temperature or in blood flow during ischemia. Additional heterozygous GluRepsilon2 subunit disruption did not result in further reduction in injury volume. These data directly demonstrate relevance of NMDA receptor-mediated tissue injury after brain ischemia and provide evidence that GluRepsilon1 subunit is involved in these injurious mechanisms.


Recently developed synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM) is a new MEG signal analysis introducing a high performance spatial filtering technique. SAM is not an inverse solution like dipole analysis, but rather an adaptive beamformer for estimating source activity at each selected voxel inside of the brain. SAM can estimate source changes as a function of time, or power changes subjected to statistical analysis from the non-averaged raw MEG data. Thus this method enables to display the regional currentodensitogram of the arbitrary selected brain tissue as if depth electrodes were inserted (SAM virtual sensor), and to detect the origin of epileptic discharges and their spread. By applying statistical discrimination, SAM can also demonstrate the spatial distribution of event-related changes of brain rhythm (SAM statistical method), in other words activated cerebral cortex during task performance. We will present the usefulness of noninvasive SAM methods in epilepsy surgery detecting the epileptogenic zone by SAM virtual sensor method as well as eloquent brain by SAM statistical method.


perspective ABSTRACT An overview of the variety in New Zealand bred pasture cultivars is obtained by comparing the group against the variety that has developed in the whole spectrum of herbaceous plants during evolution. This was done by classifying each cultivar into one of seven different ecological groupings termed strategies. Each strategy grouping represents a different mature functional type; the seven groupings collectively cover the full range of mature plant types. This preliminary classification confirmed that there are different ecological strategies in our cultivar range but, as might be expected, they represent only a small part of the full range of ecological options. All cultivars are best suited to moderate grazing and high to medium fertility. The information obtained by viewing pasture cultivars in this wider context is used to predict that further breeding is needed to develop pasture cultivars for extreme situations and for use in mixtures. Stress tolerance associated with a rapid, contracted life-span appears to, be the best option for cultivars for dry or low-fertility pastures. It is also predicted that complex pasture mixtures are likely to be easier to maintain and of more value in lower fertility or moderately droughted pastures than in highly fertile pastures. Opportunities exist to develop additional cultivars suited to the different niches in these pastures. Amalgamation of knowledge from agricultural and non-agricultural research can clearly help solve agricultural problems and is an efficient use of science. Means should be sought to use information from both fields to look at finer-scale questions about cultivars.


Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma(IPD) is a well-known benchmark for studying the long term behaviors of rational agents, such as how cooperation can emerge among selfish and unrelated agents that need to co-exist over long term. Many well-known strategies have been studied, from the simple tit-for-tat(TFT) strategy made famous by Axelrod after his influential tournaments to more involved ones like zero determinant strategies studied recently by Press and Dyson. In this paper, following Press and Dyson, we consider one memory probabilistic strategies. We consider that we call invincible strategies: a strategy is invincible if it never loses against any other strategy in terms of average payoff in the limit, if the limit exists. We show a strategy is invincible for infinite repeated iterated prisoner's dilemma.


Abstract This cohort study evaluated the associations of different treatments with the prognosis of follicular variant papillary thyroid carcinoma (FVPTC) and classical papillary thyroid carcinoma (CPTC) patients. The data of 69034 PTC patients were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The 5-year mortality of CPTC and FVPTC patients receiving surgery, radiation and combination therapy were compared. The univariable and multivariable cox proportional risk models explored the associations between different treatments and the 5-year mortality in CPTC and FVPTC patients. The 5-year mortality of CPTC patients was 2.81% and FVPTC patients was 2.47%. Compared with CPTC receiving lobectomy and/or isthmectomy, those not receiving surgery were associated with increased risk of 5-year mortality [Hazards ratio (HR)=3.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.55–4.20] while total thyroidectomy was correlated with reduced risk of 5-year mortality (HR=0.67, 95%CI: 0.55–0.80). Radioactive iodine (RAI) was linked with decreased risk of 5-year mortality in CPTC patients (HR=0.57, 95%CI: 0.50–0.65). CPTC patients undergoing both surgery and radiation were related to decreased risk of 5-year mortality compared with those receiving surgery only (HR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.48–0.63). CPTC patients receiving neither surgery nor radiation (HR=4.53, 95%CI: 3.72–5.51) or those receiving radiation (HR=1.98, 95%CI: 1.13–3.48) were correlated with elevated risk of 5-year mortality. The elevated risk of 5-year mortality in FVPTC patients was reduced in those undergoing RAI (HR=0.63, 95%CI: 0.51–0.76). In conclusion, combination therapy was associated with decreased risk of 5-year mortality in CPTC and FVPTC patients, which might provide a reference for the management of these patients.


Advances of genome sequencing techniques have risen an overwhelming increase in the literature on discovered genes, proteins and their role in biological processes. However, the biomedical literature remains a greatly unexploited source of biological information. Information extraction (IE) techniques are necessary to map this information into structured representations that allow facts relating domain-relevant entities to be automatically recognized. In this paper, we present a framework that supports biologists in the task of automatic extraction of information from texts. The framework integrates a data mining module that discovers extraction rules from a set of manually labelled texts. Extraction models are subsequently applied in an automatic mode on unseen texts. We report an application to a real-world dataset composed by publications selected to support biologists in the annotation of the HmtDB database


Pyogenic granuloma is a common tumor-like growth of the oral cavity that is supposed to be non-neoplastic in nature. It is a reactional response to minor trauma or chronic irritation and due to hormonal changes. Clinically oral pyogenic granuloma is a smooth or lobulated exophytic lesion on a pedunculated or sessile base, which is mostly haemorrhagic. Although pyogenic granuloma is a non-neoplastic growth in the oral cavity, proper diagnosis, prevention, management and treatment is very important. This case report draws attention towards the uncommon location of the pyogenic granuloma on the upper lip. Surgical excision was done because of the cosmetic disfigurement and discomfort to the patient.


Tomato is considered one of the most important crops worldwide from nutritional and economic standpoints, and, in this respect, sustainable production should be a prime objective, particularly in terms of fertilization and irrigation management. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two fertilization types (chemical or organic) and two irrigation regimes (67% or 100% of evapotranspiration replenishment) on biometrical, biochemical, and yield parameters of three indeterminate cultivars of tomato grown in a greenhouse. The results showed that the effect of organic fertilization was better compared to chemical fertilization for lycopene accumulation and antioxidant activity, as well as for the lower concentrations of any of the macroelements in the tomato fruits; therefore, organic fertilization can be used as an alternative to chemical fertilization in sustainable horticulture. In each cultivar under the same fertilization type, the effect of irrigation was significant on yield and the number of fruits, but the 100% evapotranspiration restoration did not enhance the fruit concentration of all the macroelements and microelements compared to 67% irrigation regime. Higher concentrations of macro- and microelements in the chemically fertilized fruits compared to the organic ones, regardless of the cultivar and the irrigation regime, suggest that the inorganic substances are more easily absorbed by plants under a protected environment. Organic fertilization positively affected the lycopene and antioxidant activities of tomato fruits, thus proving to be a valuable alternative to chemical fertilization in sustainable agriculture, although the product premium quality also depends on the cultivar used.


Abstract. Faults and fractures are crucial parameters for geothermal systems as they provide secondary permeability allowing fluids to circulate and heat up in the subsurface. In this study, we use an ambient seismic noise technique referred to as three-component (3C) beamforming to detect and characterize faults and fractures at a geothermal field in Mexico. We perform 3C beamforming on ambient noise data collected at the Los Humeros Geothermal Field (LHGF) in Mexico. The LHGF is situated in a complicated geological area, part of a volcanic complex with an active tectonic fault system. Although the LHGF has been exploited for geothermal resources for over 3 decades, the field has yet to be explored at depths greater than 3 km. Consequently, it is currently unknown how deep faults and fractures permeate, and the LHGF has yet to be exploited to its full capacity. Three-component beamforming extracts the polarizations, azimuths and phase velocities of coherent waves as a function of frequency, providing a detailed characterization of the seismic wavefield. In this study, 3C beamforming of ambient seismic noise is used to determine surface wave velocities as a function of depth and propagation direction. Anisotropic velocities are assumed to relate to the presence of faults giving an indication of the maximum depth of permeability, a vital parameter for fluid circulation and heat flow throughout a geothermal field. Three-component beamforming was used to determine if the complex surface fracture system permeates deeper than is currently known. Our results show that anisotropy of seismic velocities does not decline significantly with depth, suggesting that faults and fractures, and hence permeability, persist below 3 km. Moreover, estimates of fast and slow directions, with respect to surface wave velocities, are used to determine the orientation of faults with depth. The north-east (NE) and north–north-west (NNW) orientation of the fast direction corresponds to the orientation of the Arroyo Grande and Maxtaloya–Los Humeros Fault swarms, respectively. NE and NNW orientations of anisotropy align with other major faults within the LHGF at depths permeating to 6 km.


Text analysis is an important computational task, as unstructured data including text abound and can potentially provide interesting information and knowledge in a variety of areas. In our collaboration with Digital Humanists, we have started to examine the opportunities that the cloud offers to improving the response times of text-analysis tools so that users can comparatively analyze large text corpora across a variety of dimensions. To that end, we have started migrating existing text analysis tools to the cloud, beginning with TAPoR, the Text Analysis Portal for Research. In this paper, we discuss our experience redesigning and re-implementing four basic TAPoR operations on Hadoop and we report on the performance improvements enabled by the migration.


A detailed investigation of the electromagnetic field distributions in high frequency printed circuits, high-speed interconnects and microstrip-lines is very useful for physical understanding, circuit design, studies of electromagnetic coupling effects for EMC and EMI. The full-wave analysis is carried out by using a finite-difference time domain technique. Its measurement is carried out by using a small coaxial probe antenna and complicated measurement system is not required. The upper limit of the operating frequency and the resolution for this measurement will be clarified.


A methodology was developed for fully automated measurements of nuclear features in Feulgen-stained tissue sections by means of videomicroscopy and image analysis. Segmentation is performed within one minute on 512 X 512 optical density (OD) images covering about 75 nuclei, resulting in a graphic contour overlay. The corresponding image subset is scanned by an object data extraction program, producing the raw figures for statistical interpretation. The segmentation software was evaluated by three tests, involving comparison with manual delineation and assessment of the influence of OD. Two case studies (ACTH-stimulated adrenal cortex and pancreatic carcinoma) illustrate the biologic accuracy and medical significance of the described methodology.


Abstract. The 1946 Aleutian earthquake was a typical tsunami earthquake which generated abnormally larger tsunami than expected from its seismic waves. Previously, Johnson and Satake (1997) estimated the fault model of this earthquake using the tsunami waveforms observed at tide gauges. However, they did not model the second pulse of the tsunami at Honolulu although that was much larger than the first pulse. In this paper, we numerically computed the tsunami waveforms using the linear Boussinesq equation to determine the fault model which explains the observed tsunami waveforms including the large second pulse observed at Honolulu. The estimated fault width is 40–60 km which is much narrower than the fault widths of the typical great underthrust earthquakes, the 1957 Aleutian and the 1964 Alasuka earthquakes. A previous study of the 1896 Sanriku earthquake, another typical tsunami earthquake, suggested that the additional uplift of the sediments near the Japan Trench had a large effect on the tsunami generation. In this study, we also show that the additional uplift of the sediments near the trench, due to a large coseismic horizon-tal movement of the backstop, had a significant effect on the tsunami generation of the 1946 Aleutian earthquake. The estimated seismic moment of the 1946 Aleutian earthquake is 17–19 × 1020 20 Nm (Mw 8.1).


This article deals with financial accounting and financial strategy at Schneider during the period of early French industrialization. The charging of all capital expenditure to net income led both to an underestimation of assets and a reduction of distributable income. Schneider managed to reconcile this accounting choice with a generous dividend policy. The means by which the company's capital was increased are also considered.


The incidence of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) varies between 8 and 28% on patients with invasive mechanical ventilation, and it is associated with high mortality rates. The international literature indicates that the VAP has some risk factors that cannot be changed and some other that are closely related to nursing care procedures. The aim of this study is to analyze compliance level to the protocol of nursing prevention of the VAP in the ICU of "General Hospital" in Castellon de la Plana (Spain) within the project "Neumonía Zero". The data were collected during the months of May and June 2012 through direct observation which lasted 33 days. 5 check lists based on international recommendations were used for the objective evaluation on the adoption of preventive treatments. 58 patients in invasive mechanical ventilation and 43 ICU nurses were enrolled. Compliance procedure showed no significant differences among each other with an average adhesion of 78% of the observations. The observations trend shows a tendency of improvement in accordance with the checklists of cuff pressure and of the inclination of the bed head. An incidence rate of VAP 13,37/1000 was observed. In conclusion, direct observation showed good compliance to the protocols used in the ward. The obtained data allows to re-direct educational choices and assume a systematic application of this methodology with an important contribution to nursing.


The United States was hit by a wave of corporate scandals that crested between late 2001 and the end of 2002. Some were traditional scandals involving insiders looting company assets the most prominent being Tyco, HealthSouth, and Adelphia. But most were what might be called "financial scandals": attempts by an issuer to maximize the market price of its securities by creating misimpressions as to what its future cash flows were likely to be. Enron and WorldCom were the most spectacular examples of these financial scandals. In scores of additional cases, the companies involved and their executives were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and, in a number, executives were criminally prosecuted (p. 15). Hundreds of issuers were forced to restate their financial statements (p. 15). Why did this rash of financial scandals occur and what lessons for reform can be learned from the explanation? These are the questions addressed by Professor John Coffee1 in Gatekeepers: The Professions and Corporate Governance. Coffee's focus is on what he calls the "gatekeepers": auditors, lawyers, securities analysts, and credit ratings agencies. Each of these professions can serve as a watchdog for the public. Each, at least in theory, has a particular position that allows for the acquisition of more information than the investing public has about an issuer's prospects and that provides them an opportunity to warn the public when that information is different than the impression given by management in the issuer's disclosures. In each of these financial scandals, the watchdogs failed to bark when the issuer's disclosures obscured the less favorable underlying reality of its economic situation. Because of this en masse gatekeeper failure, Coffee contends, the "United States' much vaunted system of corporate governance was suddenly compromised" (p. 15). Coffee begins his book by demonstrating that gatekeeper failures played a large role in permitting the Enron and WorldCom disasters. He goes on to


We consider robust empirical risk minimization (ERM), where model parameters are chosen to minimize the worst-case empirical loss when each data point varies over a given convex uncertainty set. In some simple cases, such problems can be expressed in an analytical form. In general the problem can be made tractable via dualization, which turns a min-max problem into a min-min problem. Dualization requires expertise and is tedious and error-prone. We demonstrate how CVXPY can be used to automate this dualization procedure in a user-friendly manner. Our framework allows practitioners to specify and solve robust ERM problems with a general class of convex losses, capturing many standard regression and classification problems. Users can easily specify any complex uncertainty set that is representable via disciplined convex programming (DCP) constraints.


Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) evolved to be sophisticated technologies used in a variety of applications. However, a combined approach called Wireless Mesh Software Defined Network (wmSDN) has not been widely addressed in the research community. Our idea in this field consists of WiFi-based point-to-point links managed by the OpenFlow protocol. We investigate two different issues regarding this idea. First, which WiFi operational mode is suitable in an OpenFlow managed broadcast domain? Second, does the performance decrease compared with other routing or switching principles? Therefore, we set up a real-world testbed and a suitable simulation environment. Unlike previous work, we show that it is possible to use WiFi links without conducting Media Access Control (MAC) address rewriting at each hop by utilizing the 4-address-mode. Keywords–SDN; OpenFlow; WDS; wmSDN; SDWN; WiFi


The paper discusses means to predict sound source position emitted by fault machine components based on a single microphone moving in a linear track with constant speed. The position of sound source that consists of some frequency spectrum is detected by time-frequency distribution of the sound signal through Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT) and Continues Wavelet Transform (CWT). As the amplitude of sound pressure increases when the microphone moves closer, the source position and frequency are predicted from the peaks of time-frequency contour map. Firstly, numerical simulation is conducted using two sound sources that generate four different frequencies of sound. The second case is experimental analysis using rotating machine being monitored with unbalanced, misalignment and bearing defect. The result shows that application of both STFT and CWT are able to detect multiple sound sources position with multiple frequency peaks caused by machine fault. The STFT can indicate the frequency very clearly, but not for the peak position. On the other hand, the CWT is able to predict the position of sound at low frequency very clearly. However, it is failed to detect the exact frequency because of overlapping.


Global warming is hot issue to keep the earth everlastingly. Despite the increase of the world population and the energy demand, the world oil supply and the oil price are hold the steady state. If we are not decrease the world population and the energy consumption, unforeseeable energy crisis will come in the immediate future. AMT acronym of Advanced Materials for Transportation is a non-profitable IEA-affiliated organization to mitigate the oil consumption and the environment contamination for the transportation. In recent, Annex X Multimaterials Joining was added to enhance the car body weight reduction cause the high fuel efficiency and the low emission of exhaust gas. Multi-materials are the advanced materials application technology to optimize the weight, the performance and the cost with the combination of different materials such as Al-alloy, Mgalloy, AHSS and CFRP. In this study, the trends of AMT strategy and Al-alloy based multi-materials joining technology were review. Also several technologies for Al-alloy dissimilar joining were investigated.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the difference (or lack of difference) in the efficiency level of Islamic and conventional banking in Malaysia. Are the Islamic banks performing as good as the conventional banks, even though they are constrained by Islamic tenets? Design/methodology/approach - Data envelopment analysis is used to measure the efficiency levels of banks in both sectors. Findings - It is found that there is no significant difference in the level of efficiency between Islamic banks and conventional banks. Research limitations/implications - The period of study is only three years, with only two banks which have been operating for more than three years, while the other Islamic banks in this study are just beginning their operation in Islamic banking. The inclusion of foreign banks operating in Malaysia in this analysis might distort the findings, as foreign banks have different capital structures and objectives compared to local ones. Practical implications - The paper shows that even though Islamic banks are limited by Islamic tenets in their operations, they are able to maintain a performance that is equivalent to the conventional banks. Originality/value - The paper makes comparisons of the efficiency levels between two different banking systems.


The Third Domain. The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology. By Tim Friend. Joseph Henry Press, Washington, DC, 2007. 312 pp. $27.95, C$32.95. ISBN 9780309102377. Although the author centers his account on the work of Carl Woese, he spends much of his time describing the distribution, ecology, and potential biotech applications of the Archaea.


The biofilm-forming ability of Burkholderia pseudomallei is crucial for its survival in unsuitable environments and is correlated with antibiotic resistance and relapsing cases of melioidosis. Extracellular DNA (eDNA) is an essential component for biofilm development and maturation in many bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the eDNA released by B. pseudomallei during biofilm formation using DNase treatment. The extent of biofilm formation and quantity of eDNA were assessed by crystal-violet staining and fluorescent dye-based quantification, respectively, and visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Variation in B. pseudomallei biofilm formation and eDNA quantity was demonstrated among isolates. CLSM images of biofilms stained with FITC-ConA (biofilm) and TOTO-3 (eDNA) revealed the localization of eDNA in the biofilm matrix. A positive correlation of biofilm biomass with quantity of eDNA during the 2-day biofilm-formation observation period was found. The increasing eDNA quantity over time, despite constant living/dead ratios of bacterial cells during the experiment suggests that eDNA is delivered from living bacterial cells. CLSM images demonstrated that depletion of eDNA by DNase I significantly lessened bacterial attachment (if DNase added at 0 h) and biofilm developing stages (if added at 24 h) but had no effect on mature biofilm (if added at 45 h). Collectively, our results reveal that eDNA is released from living B. pseudomallei and is correlated with biofilm formation. It was also apparent that eDNA is essential during bacterial cell attachment and biofilm-forming steps. The depletion of eDNA by DNase may provide an option for the prevention or dispersal of B. pseudomallei biofilm.


In this paper we have analyzed an 8-bit multiplier circuit using non clocked pass gate families with help of carry save multiplier (CSA) technique. The multiplier cell of the adder is designed by using pass transistors (n-transistors), p-transistors used as cross-coupled devices. The adder cell is designed by using multiplexing control input techniques. A combination of n- and p-transistors used on the mirror logic and inverters of full adder circuit. These multipliers are useful in the portable battery operated multimedia devices for energy efficient. The 8 bit multiplier circuit has been simulated using microwind3 VLSI layout CAD tool. We have analyzed the power dissipation, propagation delay, PDP and EPI (energy per instruction) and compared our results with other pass transistor logics as well as published results. From the simulated results it was found that the power dissipation and propagation delay are low in our designed non-clocked pass transistor logics. Our multiplier circuit shows a power dissipation improvement of 97.6% from Amir et.al and 46.30%, 23.24% and 0.15% from Rizwan et.al. Our multipliers gives better propagation delay compared to Rizwan et.al that are 89.56%, 88.39% and 88.31%.


The actuation performance of smart beams with extension and shear mode segments is investigated. The beam models are based on the first-order and higher-order shear deformation beam theories. The piezoelectric stress resultants are expressed in terms of Heaviside discontinuity functions. The state-space approach along with the Jordan canonical form is used to obtain an analytical solution for the static deflection of smart beams with arbitrary boundary conditions. Through demonstrative examples, a comparative study of a beam with extension mode actuators and the corresponding beam with a shear mode actuator is attained. The effects of actuator length and location on the deflected shape of the beam are studied. Results show that shear patches create the largest deflection if they are placed near the support, whereas extension patches create the largest deflection if they are placed at the beam center. For clamped-hinged and clamped-clamped beams, the actuation performance of the shear patches is superior to that of the extension patches.


Anisotropic particles suspended in a nematic liquid crystal disturb the alignment of the liquid crystal molecules and experience small forces that depend on the particles' orientation. We have measured these forces using magnetic nanowires. The torque on a wire and its orientation-dependent repulsion from a flat surface are quantitatively consistent with theoretical predictions based on the elastic properties of the liquid crystal. These forces can also be used to manipulate submicrometer-scale particles. We show that controlled spatial variations in the liquid crystal's alignment convert the torque on a wire to a translational force that levitates the wire to a specified height.


Background  Prevalence of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) may be higher in women with Down syndrome due to syndrome specific characteristics in biochemistry, psychopathology and lifestyle. Recognition of PMS may be difficult for women with intellectual disabilities and their carers.

Method  A daily diary, used to diagnose PMS with typical women, was adapted. Following its validation, the diary was completed by 33 women with Down syndrome, then adapted, and completed by a further 32 women with Down syndrome/carers.

Results  PMS was diagnosed in 18–20% although a higher proportion (54%) of mothers thought their daughter had PMS.

Conclusions  The hypotheses that PMS would be higher or go unrecognized in women with Down syndrome was not supported. The diary was well received by both carers and women with Down syndrome and could be an educative, clinical and research tool for use with any woman with intellectual disability.


Two-component system (TCS) is responsible for cytokinin signaling, which plays critical roles in plant development and physiological process. This system is generally composed of two signaling factors, a histidine kinase (HK) and a response regulator (RR) that is associated with a histidine phosphotransfer (HP) protein. In this study, we performed systematic investigation on TCS genes in melon (Cucumis melon L.). We identified 44 TCS genes in melon, including 18 HK(L)s (9 HKs and 9 HKLs), 5 HPs (4 authentic and 1 pseudo), and 21 RRs (7 Type-A, 8 Type-B, and 6 pseudo). The classification and structure of these melon TCS members were introduced in detail as well. Our results provided new insights into the characteristics of the melon TCS genes and might benefit their functional study in future.


This article presents the application of acoustic stress wave emission for diagnosing Common-Rail injection systems of engines. Failures typical to such systems, as well as problems connected with faulty operation of injectors, have been presented. One of the methods of acoustic emission signal analysis has been discussed. It enables a non-invasive way of diagnosing the injection system of an engine with self-ignition and the Common-Rail system.


Background Femoral nerve block combined with general anesthesia is commonly used for patients undergoing knee arthroscopy in ambulatory care centers. An ideal analgesic agent would selectively (differentially) block sensory fibers, with little or no effect on motor nerves. Ropivacaine is considered to cause less motor block than others. This study investigated the median effective concentration (EC50) of ropivacaine for differential femoral nerve block in adults either younger or older than 60 years. Methods Patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I–III and scheduled for knee arthroscopy were categorized as 18- to 60-years-old (Group 1), or older than 60 years (Group 2). Surgeries were performed under general anesthesia combined with femoral nerve block via 22 mL ropivacaine. The EC50 of ropivacaine for differential femoral nerve block was determined using the up-and-down method and probit regression. The primary outcome was the EC50 (95% confidence interval [CI]) of the 2 groups. Data on the sensory block, analgesic effect, complications, and hemodynamics during surgery were also recorded. Results The EC50 of 22 mL ropivacaine for differential femoral nerve block of Group 1 (0.124%, 95% CI 0.097–0.143%) was significantly higher than that of Group 2 (0.088%, 95% CI 0.076–0.103%). The sensory block and hemodynamic data of the 2 groups were comparable. None of the patients experienced neurological complications. Conclusion The EC50 of ropivacaine administered for differential femoral nerve block during knee arthroscopy was lower in patients older than 60 years, relative to younger adults.


Weeds have been a major constraint in maize cultivation resulting in huge economic loss to farmers. A field experiment was conducted at Dhading Besi, Nepal to evaluate the effect of different weed management practices on weed dynamics, yield and economics of spring maize in 2020. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) comprising of eight treatments with three replications. Rajkumar hybrid maize variety was used in the experiment. The treatments consisted of weedy check, weed free, atrazine as PE @1.0 kg a.i./ha, pendimethalin as PE @1.0 kg a.i./ha, atrazine @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha as PE followed by (fb) 2,4-D EE @0.5 kg a.i./ha as PoE, pendimethalin @ 1.0 kg a.i./ha as PE fb 2,4-D EE @ 0.5 kg a.i./ha as PoE, 2 hand weeding @ 20 and 40 DAS and Farmer's practice. The experiment result revealed that sequential application of atrazine fb 2,4-D EE treatment resulted in highest grain yield (11.37 t/ha) which was statistically similar with weed free (11.24 t/ha) and followed by the treatment atrazine (10.36 t/ha). 16 weed species belonging to 6 different families were identified. The broad leaf weeds and grassy weeds were more prominent than sedges. The total density and dry weight of weeds were found significantly lower in sequential application of atrazine fb 2,4-D EE than other treatments. Similarly, application of atrazine fb 2,4-D EE resulted in maximum weed control efficiency of 87.59 %, 95.91 % and 92.17% at 30, 45 and 60 DAS respectively. The lowest weed index (-1.27%) was also obtained in the application of atrazine fb 2,4-D EE. Yield loss due to weed in the weedy check treatment was found to be 50.99% followed by farmer's practice (43.17%). The benefit cost ratio and increment in benefit over weedy check were highest in atrazine fb 2,4-D EE followed by atrazine and significantly better than other weed management treatments. The sequential application of atrazine fb 2,4- D EE was found to be the most effective in controlling weeds, high yielding and economical among the different weed control treatments. The application of atrazine one time as PE was found to be next better option for weed control in spring maize.


To the Editor.— The new β-2-adrenergic bronchodilator drugs are well known to cause muscle tremor by stimulation of β-2-adrenergic receptors in skeletal muscle. Not previously noted is that in predisposed persons they may also cause persistent and widespread muscle twitching and cramping. Report of a Case.— At 60 years of age a male physician had left radical nephrectomy for localized renal cell carcinoma. This left him with stable mild uremia (serum creatinine level, 1.5 to 1.9 mg/dl; urea level, 30 to 36 mg/dl), manifested symptomatically only by polyuria and occasional nocturnal leg cramp. Five years later following acute viral sinusitis, chronic intrinsic asthma developed and was severe enough to require corticosteroid (aerosol beclomethasone) and β-2-adrenergic agents. Terbutaline sulfate, 5 mg three times daily at intervals of six to eight hours, caused not only prominent muscle tremor but also widespread muscle twitchings and frequent (numerous times daily) muscle cramping involving not


The renin-angiotensin system was studied in 14 normotensive and hypertensive patients with scleroderma and polyarteritis nodosa (PAN). The variations in blood pressure, plasma renin activity (PRA) and serum aldosterone were compared after the Captopril test. Mean arterial pressure fell 15,7 +/- 2,6 p. 100 (p less than 0,01) in hypertensive patients, but no change was observed in normotensive subjects. PRA and serum aldosterone did not change significantly in hypertensives with scleroderma. Large variations in blood pressure, PRA and serum aldosterone were observed in 2 out of 3 patients with PAN, the third one presenting a fall in blood pressure without significant changes in PRA or serum aldosterone. These results suggest that other mechanisms are responsible for hypertension in these patients and that the Captopril acted on other factors than the renin-angiotensin system.


Unidirectional liquid spreading is of significant interest for a wide range of applications, such as microfluidic devices, self-lubrication, controllable chemical reaction, and biomedical. Although the surfaces with wettable gradient or asymmetric nanowires could harness the liquid to spread unidirectionally, the spreading is remarkable slow over a short distance and just occurs with specific surface chemistry property. Nature inspired one-dimensional fibers from spider silks and cactus spines give a way of combining surface energy gradient and curvature gradient to drive the droplet directionally, while they are difficult to be applied as two-dimensional surfaces anticipated in microfluidics devices, biomedical devices and so on. Recently, continuous uni-directional liquid spreading with fast speed was firstly discovered on the peristome of Nepenthes alata as shown in Fig.1, which possesses superhydrophilic hierarchical microgrooves and duck-billed microcavities with arc-shaped edge and gradient wedge corner [1].

Inspired from the surface structure on peristome, a novel bio-inspired uni-directional liquid spreading surface was built via two-step and inclined UV exposure photolithography as shown in Fig.2. The controlling of its uni-directional liquid spreading was realized by changing surface wettability and structural features of microcavities as shown in Fig.3, and the underlying mechanisms were experimentally demonstrated [2,3]. Moreover, gradient Taylor rise was built to support the mechanism of uni-directional liquid transport on basis of traditional Taylor rise. Combining this structure surface with thermoresponsive material, a novel smart temperature-controlled uni-directional liquid spreading surface was carried out, which can be used in medical and microfluid devices [4].

As another typical natural surface with unique water transport function, tree frog toe pads possess superior wet friction as shown in Fig.4. This wet friction also comes from the characteristic surface structure i.e. hexagonal pillar. Liquid on the toe pad of tree frog demonstrated directional spreading from surrounded channels to the top of hexagonal pillars during separating from substrate. In this process, liquid film crushes into pieces and each pillar was left with a drop on it. This effect efficiently enhanced the friction under wet condition and can be applied in medical devices, such as surgical grasper [5].

Finally, all of these investigations were applied in the minimally invasive surgical devices to demonstrate their efficiency. On basis of uni-directional liquid transport mechanism, bio-inspired anti-adhesion electrosurgical knife was proposed and developed to prevent soft tissue adhesion. Experimental results shows that the anti-adhesion force of bio-inspired electrosurgical knife is reduced about 80% as compared with conventional electrosurgical knife. Bio-inspired anti-slipping grasper was also developed under the inspiration of tree frog toe pads. The wet friction force was improved about 20%, and the soft tissue deformation was clarified to be decreased about 100 times.


Background The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) has been the most widely used risk assessment tool to predict clinical outcome in MDS. Recently, the revised IPSS (IPSS-R) was introduced to allow a greater discriminating capacity in assessing cytogenetic abnormalities and cytopenias and further refines prognostication. However, like the IPSS, the IPSS-R was developed in pts with primary MDS and its utility in pts with secondary (s)MDS is unclear.

Material and Methods We conducted an IRB-approved analysis of 765 pts diagnosed with MDS (per 2008 WHO criteria) and evaluated at the Cleveland Clinic between 9/1998 and 1/2013. IPSS-R was calculated as described previously (Greenberg et al, Blood 2012). Cytogenetic risk subgroups were per IPSS-R. Overall survival (OS) was measured from the time of diagnosis to time of death or last follow up. Time-to-event analyses were performed by the Kaplan-Meier method, and curves were compared with the 2-tailed log rank test. Differences among variables were evaluated by the chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.

Results We identified 56 pts (7%) with sMDS: 14 (25%) pts had prior antecedent hematologic disorder, 32 (57%) had prior radiation therapy, and 10 (18%) received prior chemotherapies. Eleven pts (20%) were untreated and 45 pts (80%) received treatment: 17 (30%) with single agent 5-azacitidine, 12 (21%) with supportive measures, 9 (16%) with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), and 7 (11%) with other therapies. For all pts, the median age was 66 years (range, 24-81). Median white blood cell count at diagnosis was 3.8 k/mL (range, 0.9-179.7), median absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was 2.2 k/mL (range, 0.1-145.6), median hemoglobin was 9.6 g/dL (range, 0.4-14), median platelet count was 65 X 103/mL (range, 4-460), and median bone marrow blasts was 5% (range, 0-26). The distribution of cytogenetic categories based on IPSS-R criteria was similar in pts with sMDS [2 (4%) very good, 28 (50%) good, 8 (14%) intermediate, 10 (18%) poor and 8 (14%) very poor] compared to primary MDS [28 (4%) very good, 351 (50%) good, 109 (15%) intermediate, 84 (12%) poor and 137 (19%) very poor]. IPSS-R risk categories in pts with sMDS [3 (5%) very low, 15 (27%) low, 11 (20%) intermediate, 15 (27%) high, and 12 (21%) very high] compared to primary MDS [75 (11%) very low ( P = 0.15), 221 (31%) low ( P = 0.3), 162 (23%) intermediate ( P = 0.3), 145 (20%) high ( P = 0.1), and 106 (15%) very high ( P = 0.1)] were also similar. With a median follow up of 18.4 months (m, range, 1.8-104.6), the median OS for sMDS pts was not reached for very low risk pts, 31.6 m for low risk, 13.7 m for intermediate risk, 27.3 m for poor risk and 39 m for very poor risk ( P = 0.15, [Figure 1][1]).

![Figure 1][2]

Figure 1
Overall survival by IPSS-R

Conclusion Although pts with sMDS had similar cytogenetic and IPSS-R risk categories compared to those with primary MDS, the IPSS-R did not predict for OS in sMDS pts. The lack of predictability of IPSS-R could be because that most of our pts with sMDS received therapy including HSCT. A new prognostic module to predict the outcome of pts with sMDS who are receiving treatment is needed.

Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 [1]: #F1
 [2]: pending:yes


Hostility to trade unionism infused the corporate culture of Walmart, whose revolutionary transformation of the retail industry in the United States made it, for a time, the nation's largest and one of its most dynamic companies. A product of the rural South, Walmart required an ideologically sophisticated strategy to stymie union organizing when it began to open its stores in metropolitan America. Employment lawyer John Tate proved his worth in this regard. The anti-union strategist's ideas had been shaped by his clients, some of the most intransigent anti-union employers of the textile South and the small-town Midwest. In the early 1970s, Tate codified for Walmart and other service-sector firms the key elements of a successful union avoidance strategy: construct a business ethos that mimics the sense of community found in monoracial, small-town America; deploy a pension scheme that rewards loyalty for a core of longtime employees; and use the "free speech" rights of employers to paint unions as corrupt and self-serving institutions incapable of improving the wages or working conditions of employees. He proved to be successful: there are no unions at any of the 5,000 plus Walmart stores in the United States and Canada.


This doctoral research project is a visual linguistic ethnography that provides thick descriptions of newly arrived Syrian refugees' smartphone-mediated digital literacy practices. The study investigates how three male newcomers to Leeds, Rojan, Aban and Mamoud, utilize mobile technologies and online resources, such as multilingual Facebook groups and smartphone applications, to instigate and support processes of settlement and belonging. To trace and interpret these quotidian mobile practices, prolonged and consistent engagement with my participants and their lifeworlds was required.
Thus, data collection concerning this ethnography took place over an in-depth ten-month period at various data collection sites. The multimodal and spatio-visual literacy practices that my key participants engaged with on their mobile devices were inherently diverse and complex to interpret. Here, the analytical lenses of capital and space have informed conceptualizations of how my participants' digital literacy repertories within distinct mobile contexts relate to and interplay with settlement processes, such as obtaining a UK driving license or finding paid work in the formal and informal economy.
The dataset of this research project provides in-depth descriptions of how newly arrived refugees integrate smartphones into their everyday lives. Here, the findings of this study offer crucial insights into the interconnections between mobile technologies and settlement processes within this context of forced migration; the data analyses show how smartphones become key spatial instruments, which have the potential to impact and capitalize on the immediate physical spaces that my participants find themselves in and traverse through during their settlement trajectory, either by creating and joining translocal hybrid spaces, or by penetrating and transforming existing spaces.


In April 2004, five arrays in different types of salt marsh vegetation were covered with 15-20cm of wrack secured in place, in an attempt to duplicate the natural deposition of wrack on the marsh by tides and storms, and to quantify and extend anecdotal observations and the results of previous studies. A control plot in each array was left uncovered; another plot was covered with only 2-3cm. The wrack was removed from one plot in each array at one, two, four, and six month intervals. Up to two months of wrack coverage appeared to have little effect on either density or standing crop (recorded six months after initial coverage) of the principal marsh species, Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, Distichlis spicata, Juncus gerardii, and marsh margin Phragmites australis. Except for Phragmites, however, these species appeared to be strongly inhibited after four months of continual coverage, and killed or extremely inhibited after six months. Wrack 2-3cm thick (never removed) appeared to inhibit the aforementioned species after six months, but not as much as the 15-20cm wrack mat. These results are fairly consistent with those of an earlier study that focused on Spartina alterniflora only, except that two months' coverage seemed sufficient to kill back most of the S. alterniflora in that study. Phragmites' apparent resistance to wrack cover can be explained by the considerable energy reserves of its large rhizomes and the ability of its awl-like shoots to penetrate a thick wrack mat. Future studies should focus on recovery of the vegetation once the wrack has been removed, and on chemical changes in the soil caused by the decaying wrack, which may in turn affect the future course of vegetation development.


PURPOSE We wanted to examine the long-term effects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), a major pay-for-performance program in the United Kingdom, on ethnic disparities in diabetes outcomes. METHODS We undertook an interrupted time series analysis of electronic medical record data of diabetes patients registered with 29 family practices in South West London, United Kingdom. Main outcome measures were mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol, and blood pressure. RESULTS The introduction of QOF was associated with initial accelerated improvements in systolic blood pressure in white and black patients, but these improvements were sustained only in black patients (annual decrease: −1.68 mm Hg; 95% CI, −2.41 to −0.95 mm Hg). Initial improvements in diastolic blood pressure in white patients (−1.01 mm Hg; 95% CI, −1.79 to −0.24 mm Hg) and in cholesterol in white (−0.13 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.21 to −0.05 mmol/L) and black (−0.10 mmol/L; 95% CI, −0.20 to −0.01 mmol/L) patients were not sustained in the post-QOF period. There was no beneficial impact of QOF on HbA1c in any ethnic group. Existing disparities in risk factor control remained largely intact (for example; mean HbA1c: white 7.5%, black 7.8%, south Asian 7.8%; P <.05) at the end of the study period. CONCLUSION A universal pay-for-performance scheme did not appear to address important disparities in chronic disease management over time. Targeted quality improvement strategies may be required to improve health care in vulnerable populations.


Personal computer is electronic equiment that use solid state device, such as rectifiers, so it to be source of harmonic current. Harmonic current is sinusoidal current with multiple frequency of fundamental current which will be increase power losses because increasing effective current and frequency. In electric distribution system, transformer is component with highest power losses. They are consit of DC losses (Pdc) that influence by effective current, eddy current (PEC) and other stray losses (POSL) which influence by effective current and their frequency. This study involved increasing transformer power losses with assume that transformer supply in full load condition to personal computer. Analyzes following IEEE Std. C57.110-1998 with comparing determination maximum transformer loading use current spectrum from spectrum analyzer equipment and conversion produce Mathlab from current wave time domain to current wave frequency domain. The result are maximum transformer loading is 97,84 use spectrum analyzer and 97,84 use Mathlab sofware.


Introduction Hereditary haemochromatosis (HH) is a genetic disease characterised by excessive intestinal absorption of dietary iron, with a prevalence in the UK of 1 in 200. This results in a pathological accumulation of iron in organs such as the liver. Lifelong regular venesection remains the mainstay of treatment to achieve ferritin levels of <50μg/L. European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) guidelines state that blood from stable, uncomplicated HH patients who fulfil blood donor selection criteria should be made available to blood transfusion services. Statistics from the NHS blood and transplant service (NHSBT) show a 40% drop in new blood donors this decade. Given the increasing donor shortage, utilising otherwise discarded blood from eligible HH patients would aid in easing the national crisis. This survey aims to understand the barriers to eligible HH patients becoming blood donors. Methods We identified all HH patients receiving regular venesections between May 2014-May 2015, at the nurse-led unit within Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. A random sample of patients potentially suitable for referral to NHSBT based on age (17–65 years) and stable ferritin (<200μg/L for 6 months) were interviewed by telephone. Results 112 HH patients were venesected regularly (>2 occasions) over this period. 40% (45/112) had ferritin levels consistently <200μg/L. Of these stable patients, 75% (34/45) were identified as potential blood donors based on age criteria. 16 out of 34 (47%) patients were interviewed. There were no blood donors within the sampled cohort. Only 50% (8/16) were aware they could potentially make regular blood donations (subject to donor selection criteria) as part of their venesection programme. Within this group, a specialist was responsible for informing the patient in only 62.5% (5/8) of cases. Of note, 37.5% (6/16) of patients interviewed had less than yearly specialist clinic follow up. Encouragingly, 81% (13/16) of patients were interested in becoming blood donors. Conclusion This survey identified a substantial proportion (30% = 34/112) of HH patients within our cohort who are missed potential blood donors. This is due to a lack of patient education and awareness of referral procedures on the part of the medical team. The specialist team should facilitate blood donations by referring eligible patients to the NHSBT, providing a clear venesection plan and monitoring schedule. Regular specialist follow up is key to ensuring compliance with treatment and achieving therapeutic targets. We have introduced local protocols for HH patients and increased educational resources for both patients and clinicians. Such measures applied nationally will optimise HH management and increase the utilisation of an otherwise wasted resource. Disclosure of Interest None Declared