The Direct Laser Deposition (DLD) method is becoming more popular and has recently been successfully applied in commercial workshops. It is mainly used for reconditioning of worn and damages parts and eliminating them from scrap. However, DLD technique shows great potential for direct manufacture, where high accuracy, low distortion and small Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) effects are required. The high accuracy required makes DLD process control a challenge, this is an on going development process continually being updated from year to year. However, compositional monitoring is one of the major players to reach full process control, but is still under investigation. The in situ application of spectroscopy seems to be right tool to get more information about the composition created during DLD. This is a very dynamic and powerful tool, by identifying the elements by spectra lines, can determine how the melt pool composition has been changed by laser irradiation in real-time. This research will allow the development of a non-contact monitoring technique for the DLD process and produce significant data support for the modeling of a temperature control method. The work reported here concentrates on studies performed with new high-powered solid state, CW laser system (diode laser) to investigate the feasibility of applying real-time spectroscopy to the DLD process.The Direct Laser Deposition (DLD) method is becoming more popular and has recently been successfully applied in commercial workshops. It is mainly used for reconditioning of worn and damages parts and eliminating them from scrap. However, DLD technique shows great potential for direct manufacture, where high accuracy, low distortion and small Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) effects are required. The high accuracy required makes DLD process control a challenge, this is an on going development process continually being updated from year to year. However, compositional monitoring is one of the major players to reach full process control, but is still under investigation. The in situ application of spectroscopy seems to be right tool to get more information about the composition created during DLD. This is a very dynamic and powerful tool, by identifying the elements by spectra lines, can determine how the melt pool composition has been changed by laser irradiation in real-time. This research will allow the developm...


This paper explores the striking similarity in the hesitant implementation of the new Macedonian and Montenegrin standards, which has taken unusually long in both cases. As will be shown, a comparative look at the two standardisation processes reveals parallels of language politics in Macedonia after 1944 and Montenegro after 2006. In both cases the implementation of the new standard is hesitant, slow, and shows policy shifts. A key conclusion of this paper is that this normative vacuum is possible because Serbian, as the traditional H-variety, is omnipresent in both countries. This observation however implies an optimistic outlook for Montenegrin since Macedonian standardisation today can be assessed as a success story, despite continuous contestation from neighbouring countries. The paper focuses on both differences and commonalities of the standardisation process in these two Yugoslav successor states.


After an unprecedented number of banks suspended operations in the during Panic of 1893, the head regulator of banks chartered by the United States government allowed about 100 banks to reopen after certifying their solvency. We evaluate whether actions by bank owners to change management, contract with depositors to extend liability maturity structure, write off bad assets, and/or inject capital affected bank survival and deposit retention. This historical episode is particularly informative because there was no expectation of government intervention. We find that contracting with depositors provided short-term benefits while dealing with bad assets was key for long-run viability.


The customer satisfaction is very important parameter while studying marketing strategies. The customers are said to be satisfied if their needs, want and desires are fulfilled by the product. Hence this customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty, customer retention and customer relationship management. The customer satisfaction is measured through linear or multiple regression through relative importance of each variable is understood in banks and NBFCs in Nanded district. For this purpose a sample has been drawn from managers, employees and customers of banks and non-banking financial companies respectively


Bacille-Calmette Guerin vaccine was first used in 1921 but is far from perfect in terms of efficacy and safety. We desperately need new vaccines against tuberculosis (TB), particularly in light of the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains. M72/AS01 is a recombinant vaccine comprised of two Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens and the AS01 adjuvant. Researchers conducted a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the vaccine (two IM doses 1 month apart) in HIV-negative adults aged 18–50 years old in Kenya, South Africa and Zambia. All participants had latent TB based on positive interferon-γ assays but were otherwise well. After 2.3 years of mean follow-up, 10 of 1786 vaccine and 22 of 1787 placebo recipients had developed confirmed active pulmonary TB. The vaccine efficacy was 54.0% (90% confidence interval (CI) 13.9–75.4). A 10% significance level was pre-planned, hence the 90% CI. Vaccine-adverse reactions, mainly local reactions, occurred in 67.4 versus 45.4% of placebo, but serious adverse events, immune-mediated diseases and deaths did not differ significantly between groups. Clearly, an effective vaccine that prevents infected adults progressing to active TB is an important development.


We report the observation of the cosine modulation in the coincidence rates from a Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometer. Spatial interference fringes are seen by minute rotations of one mirror about the vertical axis, while the beam splitter is fixed in the center position. The results show that the maximum visibility of the fringe is 0.81, and the photon pairs separated by less than $1.52\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mm}$ in the source plane are measured to be indistinguishable. It turns out that it is possible to invert the HOM dips to peaks by the rotation of the mirror.


The disturbance of the peripheral nervous system, leading to the development of polyneuropathy, causes disability, disability in these patients. For the diagnosis of sensory polyneuropathy requires: careful history taking to identify concomitant somatic nosology, dietary habits, family history, previous neuronopathic manifestations of infectious diseases of a patient with toxic substances, the fact of taking drugs, a thorough neurological and physical examination, conducting ENMG, a biopsy of cutaneous nerves, the study of the cerebrospinal fluid, blood, chest X-ray, ultrasound of internal organs.


The study in this article identifies three major risk categories of high school dropouts and evaluates the impact of possible prevention strategies. As students accumulate these risks, they became more likely to drop out and prevention programs become less effective. Additionally, it was found that factors influencing the decision to drop out vary for different sources of risk, and thus there should be a range of prevention strategies offered to accommodate for this variance.


Over the last years, ideas have been proposed to install a Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) transmitter on one or more satellites of the Galileo constellation. Satellites transmitting signals that can be observed by VLBI telescopes provide the opportunity of extending the current VLBI research with observations to geodetic satellites. These observations offer a variety of new possibilities such as high precision tying of space geodetic techniques but also the direct determination of the absolute orientation of the satellite constellation with respect to the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) and have implications on the determination of long-term reference frames.

This contribution provides a visibility study of the Galileo satellites from a VLBI network. The newly developed satellite scheduling module in VieSched++ is used to determine the time periods during which a satellite is observable from a VLBI network. The possible satellite observations are evaluated through the number of stations from which a satellite is observable. Moreover, the impact on determining the orientation of the satellite constellation, caused by the observation geometry, is investigated with using the UT1-UTC Dilution of Precision (UDOP) factor.


ABSTRACT In Sweden, several trends intersect: the gig economy is growing rapidly; immigrants find it challenging to find work; and integration policies increasingly focus on the role of the first job as a benchmark for integration. This empirical study inserts an intersectional perspective into the exploration of the gig economy by examining immigrant women's daily working experiences within a transactional gig platform, "Yummy". This food app links home-based chefs to public consumers through online ordering systems. Through in-depth interviews with chefs, the app management team and participatory observations at firm training sessions and food festivals, we explore the complexity of gendered and racialized precarious work from inside the gig economy to consider daily gig life from a feminist economics perspective. The study shows the gig economy does provide entrepreneurial opportunities for new immigrants with these being based on gendered norms. We demonstrate how gendered narratives of idle capacities and women's work in the home and family spheres are marketized and transformed through the platform. Our study widens the scope of understanding the gig economy by positioning gig work as part of broader social relations between a company, the workers and gender norms.


McElroy and associates were the first to demonstrate the role of ATP in illuminating the tails of fireflies and developed methods whereby the bioluminescence can assay ATP levels. The almost miraculous sensitivity of this principle has been refined by Chappelle and associates at the Goddard Space Flight Center. In view of the possibility of achieving a sensitivity applicable to routinely obtainable numbers of Mycobacterium leprae cells, we undertook to confirm the stability of the reagents and to define the optimal concentrations of each of the reactants.


Perceptual learning should be considered as an active process that embeds particular abstraction, reformulation and approximation within the abstraction framework. In this paper we focus on sparse coding theory and granular computing model for visual perceptual learning. We propose a novel sparse coding model, called here classification-oriented sparse coding (COSC) model for learning sparse and informative structures in natural images for visual classification task, combining the discriminability constraint supervised by visual classification task, besides the sparseness criteria. An attention-guided sparse coding model is also proposed in the paper. This model is a data-driven attention module based on the response saliency. For the granular computing based on tolerance relation we construct a more uniform granulation model, which is established on both consecutive space and discrete attribute space


Sarit Assouline and Won Seog Kim contributed equally.
 Introduction: Follicular lymphoma (FL) is considered an indolent yet incurable disease characterized by recurrent relapses: disease-free intervals shorten, and refractoriness increases with each relapse. Patients (pts) with FL who have received at least two prior systemic therapies typically have a poor prognosis. This is particularly true for those who have progression of disease within 24 months of front-line treatment (POD24), or are refractory to multiple agent classes; such patients are left with limited treatment options. Mosunetuzumab is a full-length, fully humanized immunoglobulin G1 CD20/CD3 bispecific antibody that redirects T cells to engage and eliminate malignant B cells. GO29781 (NCT02500407) is an ongoing open-label, multicenter, Phase I/Ib, dose-escalation and expansion study evaluating the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of mosunetuzumab in pts with relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell lymphoma. Here, we present updated clinical data from pts with R/R FL treated with mosunetuzumab after at least two prior systemic therapies.
 Methods: Data are presented from Group B, in which pts received intravenous mosunetuzumab monotherapy as step-up doses in Cycle 1 on Days 1 and 8 and the target dose administered on Day 15. Mosunetuzumab was given on Day 1 of each subsequent 21-day cycle for 8 cycles in pts with a complete response (CR), and up to 17 cycles in those with a partial response (PR) or stable disease (SD).
 Results: As of January 21, 2020, 62 pts with FL (with at least two prior systemic therapies), received mosunetuzumab at dose levels between 0.4/1.0/2.8mg and 1/2/13.5mg (Cycle 1 Day 1/8/15 dose levels). The median age was 59 (range 27-85) years, and median number of prior therapies was 3 (range 2-11). Thirty-three pts (53%) were refractory to both a prior anti-CD20 antibody and an alkylating agent (double refractory), 30 (48%) had POD24, and four (6%) had received prior chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy.
 The overall response rate (ORR) was 68% (42/62), with 31 pts (50%) achieving CR (Figure). Consistent CR rates were observed in high-risk pt populations, including those with double refractory disease (18/33 [55%]), POD24 (16/30 [53%]), PI3Ki refractory (7/9 [78%]), and those who received prior CAR-T therapy (2/4 [50%]). With a median time on study of 14.4 months, 26 pts (62% of all responders; including 74% of pts who achieved CR) remained in remission at the data cut-off. The median duration of response (DOR) was 20.4 months (95% CI: 11.7 months, upper limit not reached) for all 42 responders. The median PFS was 11.8 months (95% CI: 7.3-21.9 months).
 Adverse events (AEs) were reported in 60 pts (97%); serious adverse events (SAE) were reported in 22 pts (35%). The most frequently reported (>10% of pts) grade (Gr) 3 or higher AEs included hypophosphatemia (23%; transient and clinically asymptomatic) and neutropenia (21%; with a low rate of febrile neutropenia [2%]). Overall, 14 pts (23%) experienced CRS; in four pts, CRS was classified as a SAE. CRS events were reversible, mostly of Gr 1 or 2 (Gr 1, n=11; Gr 2, n=2; Gr 3, n=1; Lee, et al. Blood 2014), and predominantly occurred during Cycle 1. No patient required tocilizumab, intensive care unit admission or use of vasopressors for CRS management. Neurologic AEs (NAEs; defined by any AEs reported as Preferred Terms in SOC Nervous System Disorders and SOC Psychiatric Disorders) were observed in 28 pts (45%); all were Gr 1 (n=18) or 2 (n=10). The most commonly reported NAEs were headache (24%), insomnia (15%) and dizziness (11%). No Gr ≥3 NAEs or serious NAEs were reported.
 Conclusions: Fixed-duration mosunetuzumab monotherapy results in high response rates and durable disease control with a tolerable safety profile in heavily pretreated patients with FL, including known high-risk subgroups. Updated pharmacodynamics and biomarker data will be presented at the meeting.

 Assouline: BeiGene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Kim:Mundipharma: Research Funding; Donga: Research Funding; Kyowa Kirn: Research Funding; Celltrion: Research Funding; JJ: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Research Funding. Sehn:Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Teva: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria; Chugai: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Apobiologix: Consultancy, Honoraria; Acerta: Consultancy, Honoraria; Merck: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria; Lundbeck: Consultancy, Honoraria; TG therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Verastem Oncology: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; MorphoSys: Consultancy, Honoraria. Schuster:AlloGene, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Genentech, Inc./ F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Juno/Celgene, Loxo Oncology, Nordic Nanovector, Novartis, Tessa Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis, Genentech, Inc./ F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Research Funding. Cheah:Celgene, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Abbvie, MSD: Research Funding; Celgene, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, MSD, Janssen, Gilead, Ascentage Pharma, Acerta, Loxo Oncology, TG therapeutics: Honoraria. Nastoupil:Karus Therapeutics: Research Funding; Gilead/KITE: Honoraria; TG Therapeutics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Gamida Cell: Honoraria; Bayer: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Honoraria, Research Funding. Shadman:Fred Hutchinson / University of Washington: Current Employment; Abbvie, Genentech, Inc., AstraZeneca, Sound Biologics , Pharmacyclics, Verastem, ADC therapeutics, Beigene, Cellectar, BMS, Mophosys and Atara Biotherapeutics: Consultancy; Mustang Bio, Celgene, Pharmacyclics, Gilead, Genentech, Inc., Abbvie, TG therapeutics, Beigene, AstraZeneca, Sunesis: Research Funding. Yoon:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Kyowahako Kirin: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Other: All authors received support for third-party writing assistance, furnished by Scott Battle, PhD, provided by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Switzerland., Research Funding; YuhanPharma: Research Funding. Matasar:Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy; IGM Biosciences: Research Funding; Immunovaccine Technologies: Honoraria, Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Teva: Consultancy; Rocket Medical: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Honoraria, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria; Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Diefenbach:Trillium: Research Funding; Millenium/Takeda: Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy, Research Funding; MEI: Research Funding; LAM Therapeutics: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Denovo: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding. Gregory:Janssen: Consultancy; F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Genentech, Inc., MSD, AbbVie, BeiGene, AstraZeneca, Celgene, BMS: Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, AbbVie: Speakers Bureau; F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, Sandoz, Gilead, AbbVie, MSD: Honoraria; F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Novartis, Sandoz, Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Bartlett:BMS/Celgene: Research Funding; Merck: Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Research Funding; Immune Design: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Millennium: Research Funding; Pharmacyclics: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Affimed Therapeutics: Research Funding; Autolus: Research Funding; Acerta: Consultancy; Roche/Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BTG: Consultancy; ADC Therapeutics: Consultancy; Forty Seven: Research Funding. Wei:Genentech, Inc.: Current Employment; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Doral:Genentech, Inc.: Current Employment; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Yin:Genentech, Inc.: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Negricea:F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current Employment. Li:F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Genentech, Inc.: Current Employment. Penuel:Genentech, Inc./ F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current Employment; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Huang:F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Current Employment. Budde:AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Merck, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Mustang Therapeutics: Research Funding; F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Kite Pharma: Consultancy.

 Mosunetuzumab (RG7828) is a full-length, fully humanized immunoglobulin G1 (


The United States has put together a coalition of several western and Arab states to support military action against Islamic State (IS) forces in Iraq and Syria. Laust Schouenborg writes on the participation of Denmark in this coalition. He argues that the decision to take part reflects a principle of 'ethical militarism' which the country has adopted in previous conflicts over the last 25 years.


Satellite DNA (satDNA) is an abundant fraction of repetitive DNA in eukaryotic genomes and plays an important role in genome organization and evolution. In general, satDNA sequences follow a concerted evolutionary pattern through the intragenomic homogenization of different repeat units. In addition, the satDNA library hypothesis predicts that related species share a series of satDNA variants descended from a common ancestor species, with differential amplification of different satDNA variants. The finding of a same satDNA family in species belonging to different genera within Characidae fish provided the opportunity to test both concerted evolution and library hypotheses. For this purpose, we analyzed here sequence variation and abundance of this satDNA family in ten species, by a combination of next generation sequencing (NGS), PCR and Sanger sequencing, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). We found extensive between-species variation for the number and size of pericentromeric FISH signals. At genomic level, the analysis of 1000s of DNA sequences obtained by Illumina sequencing and PCR amplification allowed defining 150 haplotypes which were linked in a common minimum spanning tree, where different patterns of concerted evolution were apparent. This also provided a glimpse into the satDNA library of this group of species. In consistency with the library hypothesis, different variants for this satDNA showed high differences in abundance between species, from highly abundant to simply relictual variants.


While Foucault's work is little mobilized for thinking of the public sphere, his thinking does serve various uses. This paper proposes an outline of this diversity, which proceeds as much from the breaks, changing stances and contradictions of his work as from the differentiated readings of it. If Foucault is readily used to think of the effects of power and police, his work is less used to grasp the effects of political subjectivation, individual as well as collective. The paper insists on the entire interest of his works, which benefit from Foucauldian intuitions to contemplate the collective effects without ignoring the individual effects. Because where there is power, there is resistance.


Spatial and genomic heterogeneity of tumors is the key for cancer progression, treatment, and survival. However, a technology for direct mapping the clones in the tumor tissue based on point mutations is lacking. Here, we propose Tumoroscope, the first probabilistic model that accurately infers cancer clones and their high-resolution localization by integrating pathological images, whole exome sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics data. In contrast to previous methods, Tumoroscope explicitly addresses the problem of deconvoluting the proportions of clones in spatial transcriptomics spots. Applied to a reference prostate cancer dataset and a newly generated breast cancer dataset, Tumoroscope reveals spatial patterns of clone colocalization and mutual exclusion in sub-areas of the tumor tissue. We further infer clone-specific gene expression levels and the most highly expressed genes for each clone. In summary, Tumoroscope enables an integrated study of the spatial, genomic, and phenotypic organization of tumors.


At the heart of intellectual property ('IP') law are the 'hard' questions on infringement and remedies. Today, Indian courts have to grapple with these issues on an ever-increasing scale. A focused legal commentary on the nuances of IP law has been much awaited. Ananth Padmanabhan's book on Intellectual Property Rights: Infringement and Remedies couldn't have come at a better time. It is a definitive legal commentary on Indian IP law with an overall focus on IP remedies, nevertheless, uncovering a variety of distinct IP topics. To combine five different chapters on patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and on the law of common law relief with an exclusive focus on infringement and remedies is a marvel of comprehension. Additionally, an introductory chapter on the nature and scope of injunctive relief is a must read for those seeking to understand the foundational principles of injunctive procedures to obtain legal relief. Notwithstanding that the key objective to the book was to clearly examine and identify legal standards pertaining to IP infringement and remedies, the author has done a good job of elucidating issues concerning IP validity from the perspective of subject-matter and threshold qualification requirements, and on issues bearing IP acquisition, statutory and equitable defenses and other relevant issues on which Indian courts have pronounced in a variety of different cases.


The scattering of waves by a flaw (cavity or inclusion) that is embedded in an elastic half space at a finite depth below the interface with a fluid half space is studied using the T-matrix approach. Expressions are derived for the scattered fields generated in the fluid and solid half spaces as well as the asymptotic form of the field in the fluid at a large distance from the interface. Numerical results are presented for spherical voids and steel inclusions embedded in epoxy as well as oblate spheroidal voids in a metal for various flaw depths, scattering geometries, and frequency of the incident wave. The results obtained by keeping different orders of multiple scattering between the flaw and the interface are critically discussed.


The aim of this review is to highlight issues in data quality research and to discuss potential research opportunity to achieve high data quality within an
organization. The review adopted systematic literature
review method based on research articles published in journals and conference proceedings. We developed a review strategy based on specific themes such as current research area in data quality, critical dimensions in data quality, data quality management model and methodologies and data quality assessment methods. Based on the review strategy, we select relevant research articles, extract and synthesis the information to answer our research questions. The review highlights the advancement of data quality research to resemble its real world application and discuss the available gap for future research. Research area such as
organizations management, data quality impact towards the organization and database related technical solutions for data quality dominated the early years of data quality research. However, since the Internet is now taking place as the new information source, the emerging of new research areas such as data quality assessment for web and big data is inevitable. This review also identifies and discusses critical data quality dimensions in organization such as data completeness, consistency, accuracy and timeliness. We also compare and highlight gaps in data quality management model and methodologies. Existing model and
methodologies capabilities are restricted to the structured data type and limit its ability to assess data quality
in web and big data. Finally, we uncover available methods in data quality assessment and highlight its limitation for future research. This review is important to highlight and analyse limitation of existing data quality research related to the recent needs in data quality such as unstructured data type and big data.


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Background: First deliveries in women older than 35, 40, or 45 years are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes compared with those in younger women. However, specific relationships between each additional year of maternal age and pregnancy risks remain unclear, and absolute risks at each maternal age are not known. Methods: Using a population-based cohort of nulliparous women in British Columbia, Canada, from 2004 to 2014 (n = 203,414), We examined relationships between maternal age (modeled flexibly to allow curvilinear shapes) and pregnancy outcomes using logistic regression. We plotted absolute predicted risks to display curves from age 20 to 50 estimated for two risk profiles: (1) population average values of all risk factors; (2) a low-risk profile without preexisting diabetes/hypertension, smoking, prior spontaneous/therapeutic abortion, diagnosed infertility, inadequate prenatal care, low income, rural residence, or obesity. Results: Risks of hypertensive disorders increased gradually until age 35, then accelerated. Risk of multiple gestations, major congenital anomalies, and maternal mortality or severe morbidity increased slowly until age 30, then accelerated. Cesarean delivery and gestational diabetes risks increased linearly with age. While indicated preterm delivery increased rapidly with maternal age, spontaneous preterm delivery did not. Stillbirth, neonatal mortality, and infant mortality had j-shaped relationships with maternal age, with nadirs near 30. Despite age-related increases, risks of severe outcomes remained low for women 35 and 40: < 1–2% for severe maternal morbidity and 5–7% for fetal–infant composite. Conclusions: This study provides risks for specific maternal ages to inform clinical counseling and public health messaging regarding the potential implications of delayed childbearing.


Objective To analyze the equity of health resource allocation of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) and predict its development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and to provide a scientific basis for promoting the improvement of TCM service capacity. Methods The Chinese Mainland (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) was divided into the Northeast, Eastern, Central and Western regions, and the number of TCM medical institutions, the number of TCM beds, practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists from 2016 to 2020 were selected as evaluation indicators, and the equity of health resource allocation of TCM was evaluated by Concentration index(CI), Theil index(T) and Health resource agglomeration degree (HRAD), and the development of health resource of TCM during the 14th Five-Year Plan period was predicted by grey prediction model GM (1,1). Results The Concentration index of the number of TCM medical institutions and TCM beds is negative, and the allocation tends to the regions with low economic development level. The Concentration index of practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists is positive, and the allocation tends to the regions with higher economic development level. The number of TCM medical institutions, TCM beds, practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists' Theil index allocated by geography is larger than that allocated by population, which indicates that the equity of TCM health resources allocated by population is better than that allocated by geography. The number of TCM medical institutions, practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists in between regions by population contributed more than 72% to the Theil index, indicating that the inequity mainly comes from between regions. The number of TCM medical institutions, TCM beds, practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists in within regions by geography contributed more than 80% to the Theil index, indicating that the inequity mainly comes from within regions. The HRAD in the Eastern and Central regions is greater than 1, indicating that the equity is better by geography. The HRAD in the Western region is less than 1, indicating insufficient equity by geography. The HRAD/PAD of the Central region (except for the number of TCM beds in 2020) is less than 1, indicating that it cannot meet the medical needs of the agglomerated population. The HRAD/PAD of the Western region (excluding for the Chinese pharmacists) is greater than 1, indicating that the equity is better than that of the agglomeration population. Conclusion The number of TCM medical institutions and TCM beds tends to regions with low economic development levels, while the number of practitioners (assistants) of TCM and Chinese pharmacists tends to regions with high economic development levels. The equity of the allocation of TCM health resources by population is better than that by geography, and the inequity of the allocation by geography mainly comes from within region. The allocation of health resources of TCM in the four regions is different, and there is a contradiction between equity and actual medical needs.


It is with immense sadness that the anaesthetic community learnt of the death of Dr Kurt Whiffler on 31 October 2014. Kurt was a great man and a wonderful doctor. His legacy as a teacher, and in particular, his passion for teaching regional anaesthesia, extended beyond his immediate environment.


Despite significant progress in high dynamic range (HDR) imaging over the years, it is still difficult to capture high-quality HDR video with a conventional, off-the-shelf camera. The most practical way to do this is to capture alternating exposures for every LDR frame and then use an alignment method based on optical flow to register the exposures together. However, this results in objectionable artifacts whenever there is complex motion and optical flow fails. To address this problem, we propose a new approach for HDR reconstruction from alternating exposure video sequences that combines the advantages of optical flow and recently introduced patch-based synthesis for HDR images. We use patch-based synthesis to enforce similarity between adjacent frames, increasing temporal continuity. To synthesize visually plausible solutions, we enforce constraints from motion estimation coupled with a search window map that guides the patch-based synthesis. This results in a novel reconstruction algorithm that can produce high-quality HDR videos with a standard camera. Furthermore, our method is able to synthesize plausible texture and motion in fast-moving regions, where either patch-based synthesis or optical flow alone would exhibit artifacts. We present results of our reconstructed HDR video sequences that are superior to those produced by current approaches.


Forty-seven vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) strains were isolated from clinical samples in 13 Zhejiang hospitals and fecal samples from ICU patients in a large teaching hospital in China. No VRE isolates were detected in healthy human subjects. CC17 was the main clonal complex in clinical Enterococcus faecium isolates but not in isolates from healthy human subjects. Novel vancomycin-resistance transposons were detected among VRE strains. This is the first report demonstrating insertion of tnpA and fosB genes in the vanRS-vanH intergenic region of Tn1546 leading to coresistance to vancomycin and fosfomycin. The four plasmid replicon types (pRUM, pRE25, pEF418, and pB82) were more common in VRE isolates, suggesting their association with vancomycin resistance and nosocomial transmission. The prevalence rate of vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-related Inc18-like plasmid, pIP501, in VRE was 21.3%. The prevalence of the esp gene among VRE isolates was high (76.6%). In several VRE strains, the esp and hyl genes were cotransferred with the vanA gene by conjugation. Although the frequency of VRE is low in Chinese hospitals, its association with virulence determinants, the vancomycin-resistance transposon with other resistance gene insertions or plasmids may lead to multidrug resistance and the evolution of pathogenic VRE.


Corporate governance has a positive impact on firm performance. Financial flexible firms are a better performer when there are financial constraints as well as financial crises. However, what motivates financial flexibility is a dearth research area in the existing finance literature. The objectives of this research are to investigate the relationship between corporate governance and financial flexibility; how corporate governance influence financial flexibility; and, what factors of corporate governance are dominant to influence financial flexibility. To pursue the research objectives we chose Cement Industry of Bangladesh as a case. We consider liquidity, Internal Funds and Unused debt capacity as the proxy of financial flexibility and Ownership Concentration, Board Size, Board Independence as Corporate Governance variables and Firm Size, Market to Book Ratio, Debt Capacity, Financial Constraints and Firm Age as control variable to estimate the relationship between corporate governance and financial flexibility. This study evidences that Board Structure has no significant influence on firms' cash holding(Liquidity).However, Firms Age and Market to Book Value have a significant influence on firms' cash position. This study also finds that Ownership Structure has no positive impact on Firms' Unused Debt Capacity but Financial Constraints and Market to Book Value have a positive significant impact on firms' unused debt capacity. However, Firm Size has a positive relationship with Internal Funds.


Background: Approximately 16% of patients with renal cell carcinomas (RCC) present with stage IV disease at time of diagnosis. Treatment options for metastatic clear cell RCC, the most common histologic subtype, have proliferated over the past decade and include a combination of surgery and systemic therapy. The selection of systemic agent and best timing of systemic therapy in relation to nephrectomy is an area of active research. Objective: To evaluate the evidence for perioperative systemic therapy, including presurgical and postsurgical, for metastatic RCC. Methods: A systematic literature search using PubMed and MEDLINE databases was performed in January 2017 for articles related to perioperative systemic therapy in metastatic RCC using key word search terms. The authors screened the search results and identified selected publications by predetermined inclusion criteria and consensus. Expert opinion was obtained to assess for publications missed by search. Results: Early phase clinical trials of antiangiogenic tyrosine kinase inhibitors prior to cytoreductive nephrectomy in select patients show that these systemic agents are safe and effective in the presurgical setting. There are no randomized data evaluating pre- or post-surgical systemic therapy in metastatic RCC. Conclusions: Retrospective and early-phase prospective studies on the use and timing of systemic therapy in relation to cytoreductive nephrectomy in metastatic RCC show that standard of care antiangiogenic agents are safe and effective in the perioperative setting, though randomized data are still lacking. Pre-surgical immune checkpoint therapy for metastatic RCC has strong biologic rationale and holds promise. Sequential tumor sampling in neoadjuvant and presurgical trials is necessary to determine biomarkers of response and resistance.


National Academy of Medicine of Korea (NAMOK) was launched in 2004, after 2 years of incubation in the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, a forty-year old federation of 156 medical specialty societies. Professor Je-Geun Chi, a pathologist and former president of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, was elected as the first President of NAMOK.

Two National Academies of Korea, The National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Korea and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology encouraged the establishment of NAMOK, as an equivalent to the Institute of Medicine under the National Science Academies of the U.S.A. Around the time NAMOK was established, there were approximately 7,000 professional medical personnel in Korea.

The purpose of NAMOK is to promote medicine in Korea. To this end, NAMOK supports career development of medical professionals as well as encourages them to provide professional information and advice concerning health policy to policy-makers and the public to promote health and welfare of Koreans. It also supports international academic exchanges of medical professionals and resources.

The first members of NAMOK were elected based on recommendations from academic societies of each specialty area. At its founding, NAMOK had 350 members, there are now 402 members total, including 321 regular members, 74 lifetime members, and 7 honorary members. NAMOK consists of seven divisions, i.e., Division I (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Physiology, Pharmacology), Division 2 (Anatomy, Microbiology, Parasitology, Pathology), Division 3 (Forensic medicine, Medical history, Preventive medicine), Division 4 (Dermatology, Family medicine, Internal medicine, Pediatrics, Neurology, Psychiatry), Division 5 (Obstetrics & Gynecology, Plastic surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Surgery, Otolaryngology, Orthopedic surgery, Thoracic surgery, Urology), Division 6 (Anesthesiology, Emergency medicine, Laboratory medicine, Nuclear medicine, Radiation oncology, Radiology, Rehabilitation medicine) and Division 7 (Dentistry, Dietetics, Nursing science, Health science, Oriental medicine, Pharmacy).

The election of a new member begins with a recommendation from the relevant specialty society or recommendations from two NAMOK members. The eligibility of NAMOK members is reassessed every five years and lifetime membership can be earned after the age of 70.

Standardization of technical terminology in Korea, particularly medical terms, has been one of the major concerns of NAMOK since its start. Therefore, among the various activities of NAMOK, round table discussions on medical terminology have been the most productive and sustainable activity. The outcome of the discussions from 32 meetings was compiled into three volumes of reports. Another major activity of NAMOK has been the publication of the Korea Medical Research Report that monitors research activity in the fields of medical science and clinical medicine in Korea, with emphasis on total paper output, international rank and impact. The remaining activities include forums on healthcare policy, seminar reports on the national medical agenda including medical insurance, utilization of national big data, etc. Academic forums on salts & health, national cancer clinical trial system, obesity and health, dementing illness, etc. have been the important agendas. NAMOK also has encouraged high quality research through its Medical Research Awards. Recently NAMOK expanded its membership and included oriental medicine, together with nursing science, dentistry, and pharmacy to integrate all health-related disciplines.

Despite its short history, NAMOK has proved itself as an indispensable organization in reporting professional opinions for national agendas and also for the promotion of medical science in Korea. NAMOK should, and is sure to, carry on its essential role in procuring medical professionalism and also in producing consensus reports, workshop summaries and reports on major national agendas such as integrative medicine and public health, research priorities, the value of genetic and genomic technologies, measure of health literacy, ethical issues in studying the safety, etc.


AIMS
To evaluate the technical and clinical outcomes of early laparoscopic radiofrequency (RF) ablation for spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS
From April 2005 to July 2015, ten patients with spontaneously ruptured HCC treated by laparoscopic RF ablation in our hospital were included in the study. The post treatment outcomes were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS
The mean size of the 10 HCCs was 6.6 ± 2.2 cm (4.0-10.1 cm) in the maximal dimension. Procedures of laparoscopic RF ablation were performed successfully for all patients. Complete ablation was achieved in 60.0% patients (6/10). Four patients with incompletely ablated tumors received repeated RF ablation to achieve complete ablation. During clinical follow-up, 3 (30.0%) patients developed minor complications and no patient had peritoneal recurrence. As of March 2016 (with a mean follow-up of 32.9 months), 3 patients (30.0%) were alive and 7 (70.0%) died. Of the 10 patients, the 1- and 3-year survival rates were 90.0% and 70.0%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
Early laparoscopic RF ablation therapy is an effective treatment measure for spontaneously ruptured HCC in selected patients, which presents an advantage of achieving simultaneous hemostasis, tumor elimination, and rinsing of peritoneal cavity to minimize the risk of peritoneal metastasis.


Considering the question of whether haiku can be deconstructed, two readers offer dueling close readings of two classic Japanese haiku and two contemporary American haiku. Though haiku, built out of pure image, seem to avoid making or privileging any definitive claims, they are also made out of the slippery element itself, language, and they test and call into question the very conventions that seem to govern the form. Ultimately, we find common ground in the notion that haiku are provocative and suggestive enough—and self-aware enough about the nature of language—to make the genre itself a kind of deconstructive practice. Even (or especially) in a genre that uses so few words, language repays close attention to the ways in which every utterance communicates more than it, or we, can ever know.


SUMMARY: The enzymic properties of 46 strains of β-lactamase-producing enteric bacteria were examined. Eight distinct types of β-lactamase were detected among these strains when substrate profile, sensitivity to p-chloromercuri-benzoate (pCMB) and to cloxacillin inhibition, reaction with antiserum and charge properties are used as parameters of enzyme type. The types of enzyme detected ranged from molecules with a predominantly cephalo-sporinase profile to those where penicillins were hydrolysed much more rapidly than cephalosporins. The majority of isolates synthesized an enzyme that was almost equally active against penicillins and cephalosporins. To date only three of the eight types of enzyme have been shown to be transferable by conjugation.


The tablet ARET 13, 15 was published in 2003 by Pelio Fronzaroli among other Eblaite "testi di cancelleria," providing a basis for studying the document. This edition was the first step toward understanding the text, establishing that it describes several episodes pertaining to Ebla's relations with Mari, its principal rival in eastern Syria, at the time of Yibbi-zikir, the last vizier of Early Dynastic Ebla. However, a number of difficulties remained unresolved. In a new edition, Walther Sallaberger (2008) made significant progress in the interpretation of the structure, genre, and historical setting of the text, as well as of several problematic passages. In particular, he showed that the document describes offenses suffered by Eblaites visiting the Mari kingdom, related to a war between Ebla and Mari. We believe, however, that there is still room for a better understanding of the text. Here we suggest several new interpretations for a number of passages, revealing previously unnoticed lexemes and historical facts. We also provide the first English translation of the document.


We investigated how consumer and message characteristics affect the consistency between message acceptance and purchase intention for green products (viz., green gap). Participants were 231 adults who were approached in various public places in South Korea (e.g., shopping malls). We used 2 mock advertisements with fictitious brand names. Our data showed that participants who were committed to environmentally friendly behaviors, as measured by their past proenvironmental behaviors, displayed a tighter relationship between accepting green advertising messages and intending to purchase green products. Furthermore, the acceptance–intention relationship was even stronger among participants who were strongly committed to environmentally friendly behaviors and who also found the advertising message believable. Our research findings add to the literature on the attitude–behavior relationship by demonstrating that both dispositional and message factors strengthen thought–action connections.


Diatoms are unicellular algae the most spectacular among the microorganisms assemble into a micro-shell with a distinct 3-D shape and pattern of fine nanoscale features. In this investigation, we present results; Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy images show the presence of ordered arrays of silica nanoparticles. A number of diatoms with partially opened valves were observed on the surface of the diatom, which indicates that cell contents inside of diatoms could release the nanoparticles into the culture solution. We believe that the film forming silica nanoparticles are either released by the diatoms during reproduction or after cell death due to bacterial action. Further research will investigate whether the silica nanoparticles are produced intracellular and then released or whether synthesis occurs in cell culture medium. This approach provides an environmentally friendly means for fabricating silica nanoparticles for drug delivery, disease diagnostics, artificial opal films, decorative coatings and novel optical materials.


The purposes of this study are to (a) construct and validate a scale measuring informal work accommodations to family (IWAF), (b) test the moderating effect of IWAF on the relationship between family-to-work conflict and work stress, and (c) examine the relationships between IWAF and a set of relevant antecedents and coping constructs. Two survey-based nonexperiments are used to accomplish these goals. Results indicate that (a) the IWAF scale is reliable, content valid, and meaningfully correlated to work-family and coping constructs; (b) more frequent use of IWAF attenuates the positive relationship between family-to-work conflict and stress; and (c) IWAF, along with organizational policies and climates, may be important for workplace stress management. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


The process of ageing is characteristic of multicellular organisms associated with late stages of the lifecycle and is manifested through a plethora of phenotypes. Its underlying mechanisms are correlated with age-dependent diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple sclerosis (MS) that are accompanied by social and financial difficulties for patients. Over time, people not only become more prone to neurodegeneration but they also lose the ability to trigger pivotal restorative mechanisms. In this review, we attempt to present the already known molecular and cellular hallmarks that characterize ageing in association with their impact on the central nervous system (CNS)'s structure and function intensifying possible preexisting pathogenetic conditions. A thorough and elucidative study of the underlying mechanisms of ageing will be able to contribute further to the development of new therapeutic interventions to effectively treat age-dependent manifestations of neurodegenerative diseases.


Deinococcus radiodurans has the puzzling ability to withstand over a broad range of extreme conditions including high doses of ultraviolet radiation and deep desiccation. This bacterium is surrounded by a surface layer (S-layer) built of a regular repetition of several proteins, assembled to form a paracrystalline structure. Here we report that the deletion of a main constituent of this S-layer, the gene DR_2577, causes a decrease in the UVC resistance, especially in desiccated cells. Moreover, we show that the DR_2577 protein binds the carotenoid deinoxanthin, a strong protective antioxidant specific of this bacterium. A further spectroscopical characterization of the deinoxanthin-DR_2577 complex revealed features which could suggest a protective role of DR_2577. We propose that, especially under desiccation, the S-layer shields the bacterium from incident ultraviolet light and could behave as a first lane of defense against UV radiation.


This paper looks into the rapid growth of staff and students in Middle East College. Increase in college population and thus resulting in insufficient transportation facilities. Staffs and students prefer to use their own vehicle to commute to college rather using an alternative method. This leads to problems like increase number of vehicles, traffic, parking problems, fuel combustion etc. To overcome this problem Smart Peer Car Pooling System can be used, in which people travelling from nearby source can share the ride to college. Smart Peer Car Pooling System (SPCPS) can be a solution for the given problems. It is an effective means of reducing traffic congestion, waiting time, wastage of resources and fuel consumption, improving social life, reducing the number of accidents and environmental pollution which in turn results in green environment, boosting the economy of the Sultanate of Oman, wellbeing and improving the quality of life of the people. Governments and institutions encourage carpooling to increase high-occupancy vehicle lanes rather than commuters. In this paper, a smart model for Smart Peer Carpooling System will be introduced which is both architecture and business model approaches tested to find solutions for the system based on sustainable mobility.


The present paper describes the green synthesis of Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from the flowers of L. nepetifolia. The synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles and examined by using Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction analysis, Dynamic Light Scattering analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and Thermogravimetric Analysis. The photocatalytic studies were followed using methylene blue (MB) dye by ZnO nanoparticles by using sunlight as a source. The degradation of MB dye is found to be 90 %. Then the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles help to evaluate the antioxidant activities. The antioxidant activities of ZnO nanoparticles were exhibiting through scavenging of Nitric oxide, Hydrogen peroxide, and DPPH free radicals. Furthermore, the electrochemical analysis of reduced Graphene Oxide-Zinc oxide (rGO-ZnO) nanocomposite shows that the prepared rGO-ZnO nanocomposite has a high specific capacitance of about 667 F g-1 in comparison with the pure Zinc oxide nanoparticles (200 F g-1) and has good cycling stability of around 1000 cycles. The synthesis of multifunctional ZnO nanoparticles by using natural plant products like seeds, leaves, flowers, etc may help to explore as environment-friendly which is opposite to chemical synthesis.


At retirement, workers want to have enough income to support themselves throughout their retirement years. In that regard, financial planners often suggest that retiring workers should aim to replace 70 to 80 percent of their annual preretirement earnings. Social Security benefits typically replace around 35 percent of the typical worker's preretirement earnings, and the purpose of this Article is to show how pensions could and should be designed to replace, say, 40 percent of the typical worker's preretirement earnings throughout her retirement years. In particular, because so many public and private pension plans are underfunded, this Article is focused on how to fully fund those pensions.

At the outset, Part II provides an overview of Social Security, pensions, annuities, and other lifetime income mechanisms. In particular, Part II explains how Social Security works, how traditional pensions work, and how newer 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) work.

Part III then focuses on funding issues for Social Security and pensions. In particular, Part III shows that the Social Security system is currently underfunded by at least $13.9 trillion, that State and local government pension plans are currently underfunded by at least $4.7 trillion, that the U.S. government's civilian pensions are currently underfunded by at least $911 billion, and that the U.S. government's military pensions are currently underfunded by at least $767 billion. Part III also shows that private-sector pensions are also severely underfunded. In that regard, traditional defined benefit pensions are currently underfunded by at least $553 billion. Moreover, Part III shows that most workers with 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are not saving anywhere near enough to have pensions that could replace 40 percent of their preretirement income; and many workers have no retirement savings of any kind.

Part IV then looks at some basic compound-interest and pension mathematics, and Part V explains pension benefit accrual and funding in traditional defined benefit plans. First, Part V.A develops a model, traditional defined benefit plan; and Part V.B then shows how that model defined benefit plan could provide a typical retiree with a pension that would replace 40 percent of her preretirement earnings. Part V.C then uses that model defined benefit plan to explain and compare the various mechanisms that are currently used to fund such traditional pensions, including everything from the pay-as-you-go method to the principal actuarial cost methods that are used to prefund those traditional pensions.

Part VI then looks at benefit accrual and funding in defined contribution plans (and IRAs). Part VI develops two alternative model plans that could replace 40 percent of a typical worker's preretirement earnings. For these model plans, the idea is for the worker to save enough money in her individual account by age 65 so that she could then buy a lifetime annuity that would replace 40 percent of her preretirement earnings.

Part VII then expands the defined benefit and individual account models to address some of the most important problems of providing pensions in the real world, including, for example, the problem of postretirement inflation. Part VIII then offers some recommendations about how to redesign—and fully fund—real-world defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and IRAs; and, finally, Part IX offers some concluding remarks.


BACKGROUND: Long-term results of valve transposition and autogenous valve grafts (from axillary and brachial vein) for chronic venous insufficiency due to post-thrombotic valve destruction are poor. Attempts at constructing in situ autogenous venous valves using varicose veins have been ongoing since 1953 but have been unsuccessful. A technique has been developed to create new autogenous in situ valve. METHODS: Varicose long saphenous veins were obtained following stripping during routine varicose vein surgery. A longitudinal elliptical segment of vein wall was excised from opposite sides; this effectively reduces the diameter of the vein. Polypropylene sutures were applied on each side, starting at the centre of the elliptical defect, and brought out proximally. After closing the elliptical defects, gentle traction was applied to the initial sutures and they were tied causing invagination of the vein wall. Both ends of the vein were connected to pressure transducers and a standard pressure monitoring device. Normal saline was pumped at various pressures through the valve-bearing segment while pressures were recorded simultaneously. RESULTS: Fourteen constructed valves were tested for their bench hydrostatic properties. Mean(s.d.) minimum opening pressure of the valves was 5. 3(2.4) mmHg. The valves were competent at a minimum pressure of 2. 7(0.6) mmHg. They sustained sudden pressures of up to 139.0(13.8) mmHg and remained competent at a maximum pressure of 260 mmHg. CONCLUSION: This technique produces a competent one-way valve capable of sustaining high back pressures, while allowing forward flow with minimal resistance.


The effective electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical properties of heterogeneous media are commonly related to composition. Stratified composites are entities that are important in physics and engineering and are a class of compounds actively investigated for their dielectric properties. Such systems consist of composite inclusions of multicomponent materials embedded in a matrix of a distinct material. The effects of the volume fraction, permittivity and thickness of the various constituents on the complex effective permittivity of the heterostructures, in the quasistatic approximation, are reported. We use an exact numerical technique for the evaluation of the dielectric characteristics of three-component composites, arranged in a regular simple cubic lattice, which is based on the field calculation package PHI3D and a boundary integral equations solution scheme of Laplace's equation. `Exact' means that the correct properties are computed for the given microstructure and choice of individual component properties because all internal electric multipole interactions contributing to the polarization of the material medium are taken into account. The predictions of the Steeman and Maurer (dipolar) theory (Steeman P A M and Maurer F H J 1992 Colloid Polym. Sci. 270 1069) are compared with our numerical results where appropriate. An important feature, suggested by the results presented for stratified spheres and spheroids, is that any approach based solely on the dipole approximation must fail to predict the effective permittivity of dielectric heterostructures over the entire range of volume fraction of inclusions. The results discussed give motivation for the development of careful experiments which can be used to test the numerical simulations and to fabricate synthetic composite materials in which new electromagnetic properties can be obtained from the combination of several materials.


Three methods for the analysis of cell proliferation, mitotic index/10 high-power fields (10 HPF), mitotic index/four sets of 10 HPF (40 HPF), and MIB-1 index were evaluated in a series of canine mammary gland tumors, as well as the possible correlation between them. Fifty-six canine mammary gland tumors, including 23 benign and 33 malignant, were studied. In addition, the prognostic impact of mitotic index/10 HPF, and histological malignancy grade were evaluated in 17 malignant tumors, being seven ductal and 10 metaplastic carcinomas. The three methods used to evaluate cell proliferation were correlated with the prognostic impact of mitotic index/10 HPF and histological malignancy grade. The results showed a strong association between mitotic figure counts and MIB-1 index (P<0.0001). A correlation was observed between mitotic count per 40 HPF and MIB-1, and between mitotic index per 10 HPF and 40 HPF (P<0.05). Moreover, histological malignancy grade and mitotic figure counts were excellent prognostic factors during three-year follow-up (P<0.05). There was a correlation between the three methods used for the evaluation of cell proliferation and prognostic factors as observed in human breast cancer studies.


The synthesis of functionalized azepenes and piperidines bearing an α-cycloheptenone or benzotropone derivative has been accomplished through direct reductive cross-coupling of α-bromo eneformamides or enecarbamates with highly versatile α-bromo benzotropone derivatives, under cobalt catalysis. The coupling products have been further elaborated to other synthetically useful aza-heterocyclic frameworks.


EML4-ALK rearranged malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is rare and its responses to anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors, including alectinib and lorlatinib, remain unexplored. In this case report, we describe a patient with EML4-ALK-rearranged stage IIIB MPM who was administered with alectinib and lorlatinib as first-line and fourth-line therapy, respectively. He had remarkable response evaluated as partial response on both regimens lasting approximately 3.5 months on each regimen. His plasma samples were collected during the treatment course and submitted for targeted sequencing to understand the molecular mechanisms of his therapeutic resistance. Sequencing analysis revealed the emergence of ALK I1171N and L1196M at alectinib progression. Meanwhile, ALK I1171N, L1196M, and G1202R mutations were identified at lorlatinib progression, wherein L1196M is confirmed to be in cis to G1202R. We speculate that these multiple mutations synergistically mediated his resistance to both alectinib and lorlatinib. Our report describes the detection of EML4-ALK rearrangement in a patient with MPM who had remarkable therapeutic response with ALK inhibitors. Moreover, our case also revealed acquired mechanisms of lorlatinib resistance mediated by multiple mutations ALK I1171N, L1196M, and G1202R, contributing an incremental step to our understanding of the complexity of acquired resistance mechanisms in sequential ALK inhibitor therapy. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.


A canonical quantisation of the coordinates of the spacetime within the general relativity theory is proposed. This quantisation will depend on the observer but it provides an interesting perspective on the problem of relating the non-relativistic and classical limits of a possible quantum gravity theory. In this sense, within this formalism, it is possible to recover from the quantum equation satisfied by a test field the classical geodesics of the corresponding spacetime. On the other hand, the Schr\"odinger equation is recovered in the Newtonian limit. A key ingredient for this procedure is a generalization of the Maupertuis principle, that is, the possibility of describing the geodesics of a given metric as the non-affine geodesics of other conformal metric under the action of a potential.


The Upper Ohio River watershed has been a major industrial region since the late 1800s.  The historical impacts have resulted in poor water quality in the tributaries to the Ohio River.  Today, many of the tributaries are used for recreational purposes and the Ohio River is used for municipal drinking water.  Public health concerns provided motivation for increased monitoring of chemical components in the water.  To improve the local water quality, water chemistry of the tributaries needs to be investigated to identify trends, primary stressors, and longitudinal changes in water quality.  Since February of 2018, 321 samples have been taken in the Upper Ohio River watershed recording conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and water/ air temperature.  Conductivity at the mouth of the tributaries, Short Creek (mean = 856.3, SE = 100.0) and Wheeling Creek (mean = 409.3, SE = 14.9), have been consistently higher than the Ohio River mainstem (mean = 283.2, SE = 8.9).  The mean conductivity for Short Creek increased longitudinally towards the mouth (R2 = 0.4).  Whereas, the mean conductivity for Wheeling Creek remained fairly constant between upstream and downstream sites (R2 = 0.1).  Though the mean conductivity of the Ohio River is lower than its tributaries, there is concern that the poor water quality of Short Creek and Wheeling Creek may be detrimental to the Ohio River's health.


A 32-year-old female, who was admitted with complaints of cough and an abnormal shadow in the left lower lobe, was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung by TBLB. She underwent left lower lobectomy and lymph node dissection. Histopathological findings showed well differentiated fetal adenocarcinoma (WDFA). Well differentiated fetal adenocarcinomas are considered to have a histogenesis similar to that of pulmonary blastoma and may be a tumor with one-sided development of pulmonary blastoma showing only an epithelial component.


Peptidoglycan is one of the major components of the bacterial cell wall, being responsible for shape and stability. Due to its essential nature, its biosynthetic pathway is the target for major antibiotics, and proteins involved in its biosynthesis continue to be targeted for inhibitor studies. The biosynthesis of its major building block, Lipid II, is initiated in the bacterial cytoplasm with the sequential reactions catalyzed by Mur enzymes, which have been suggested to form a multi-protein complex in order to facilitate shuttling of the building blocks towards the inner membrane. In this work, we purified MurC, MurD, MurE, MurF and MurG from the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae and characterized their interactions using chemical cross-linking, mass spectrometry, analytical ultracentrifugation, and microscale thermophoresis. Mur enzymes interact strongly as binary complexes, with interaction regions mapping mostly to loop regions. Interestingly, MurC, MurD and MurE display ten times higher affinity for each other than for MurF and MurG, suggesting that Mur ligases that catalyze the initial reactions in the peptidoglycan biosynthesis pathway could form a sub-complex that could be important to facilitate Lipid II biosynthesis. The interface between Mur proteins could represent a yet unexplored target for new inhibitor studies that could lead to the development of novel antimicrobials.


In this paper we present a system for experimenting with combinations of dependency parsers. The system supports initial training of different parsing models, creation of parsebank(s) with these models, and different strategies for the construction of ensemble models aimed at improving the output of the individual models by voting. The system employs two algorithms for construction of dependency trees from several parses of the same sentence and several ways for ranking of the arcs in the resulting trees. We have performed experiments with state-of-the-art dependency parsers including MaltParser, MSTParser, TurboParser, and MATEParser, on the data from the Bulgarian treebank -- BulTreeBank. Our best result from these experiments is slightly better then the best result reported in the literature for this language.


The role of the pineal gland in mediating reproductive regression in response to nonphotoperiodic cues was assessed. A proportion of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) undergo gonadal regression subsequent to moderate food restriction. The reproductive regression after inanition qualitatively and quantitatively resembles short‐day‐induced regression. The physiological mechanisms responsible for gonadal regression after food restriction are unknown. The hypothesis that the mechanisms underlying photoperiodic responsiveness also mediate testicular regression caused by reduced food consumption was tested. Males were pinealectomized or received sham operations. Upon recovery, food availability was restricted to 70% of ad libitum intake. After 8 weeks, the reproductive condition was examined. Pinealectomy did not prevent gonadal regression, suggesting that the pineal gland does not mediate caloric information in this species.


Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate the fracture strength and mode of failure of endodontically treated teeth with flared canals restored with two fiber reinforced systems (glass fiber and quartz fiber) and one base metal cast post and core system. Materials and Methods: Forty five anterior teeth were decoronated at cemento-enamel junction and were endodontically treated. Post space was prepared and randomly divided into three groups according to post system. Specimens were loaded at 45° in a universal testing machine at a cross head speed of 0.5 mm/min until failure. The mode of failure was classified as repairable or non-repairable. Results: Teeth restored with cast posts have fracture strength twice that of teeth restored with fiber posts. Fiber-reinforced posts failed at a certain compressive force but they were repairable unlike the non-repairable fracture seen with cast posts. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that, fracture strength and mode of failure in anterior teeth with flared canals varied according to the type of post used to support a crown.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the daily rhythms of eating, namely, the times at which food intake occurs during a day-long period, in Santiago, Chile.

Design/methodology/approach

The data used in this research come from a first time-use survey applied in Santiago in 2007 and 2008, which works with a retrospective activity journal to document the amount of time dedicated to different activities during the 24 hours of the previous day. Descriptive analysis and multinomial regressions were performed on a sample size of 2,282 cases, corresponding to those individuals over the age of 12 who responded to the daily activity prompt in full.

Findings

This study shows that people in Santiago tend to eat according to the same timetables (morning, midday and evening) and that socio-demographic variables have limited influence on the synchronization of this intake between Monday and Friday.

Research limitations/implications

The data did not allow for the exploration of the duration of food intake, commensality and its variation over time.

Practical implications

These data reveal that, for Santiago residents, eating is far from becoming de-structured towards a mode of constant grazing throughout the day, contradicting the thesis of alimentary modernity.

Originality/value

These results yield evidence that calls into question the applicability of the thesis of alimentary modernity within a Latin American context, which has not before been subject to investigation.


Background: The decision about whether to screen patients for subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is clouded by inconsistent evidence of association of dyslipidemia and other risk factors of cardiovascular disease with SCH and also any benefit from early treatment. Objective: To determine whether the known risk factors of cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, increase in fasting blood glucose and lipid abnormalities are more significant in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism when compared with those in euthyroid individuals and to find out any correlation between the TSH levels and lipid profile parameters in subclinical hypothyroidism subjects. Methods: A total of 60 subjects comprising 30 subclinical hypothyroidism patients and 30 age & sex matched healthy controls were included in the study. In all the subjects BMI, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and lipid profile tests were analyzed by standard methods. Results: We found that, serum mean levels of diastolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides were significantly higher in SCH patients than in controls and were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The percentage of subjects having higher BMI, hypertension, elevated TC, LDL, TG, and decreased HDL was higher in SCH patients than in controls. Among the SCH patients, TSH levels were positively correlated with that of total cholesterol and triglycerides. Conclusion: There were higher prevalence rates for hypertension, elevated triglycerides, an undesirable lipid profiles in SCH patients in our study which seem to increase the cardiovascular risk and weigh in favour of treatment of patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.


Nonequilibrium dynamics in isolated quantum many-body systems displays a number of intriguing features, such as many-body localization (MBL) and prethermalization. Here we investigate a simple ladder system with disorder, in which various distinct dynamical features coexist and interplay. By exact diagonalization, we demonstrate that the system exhibits the signatures of an MBL-ergodic-MBL reentrant transition, metastability, and disorder-free MBL. We give an account of these properties by introducing a quasiparticle picture and interpreting the quasivacuum energy fluctuation as an effective disorder on the quasi-particle dynamics. It is speculated that the weak perturbation behavior is a finite-size effect, but its relaxation timescale increases with the system size.


The high diversity of native Philippine murid rodents includes an old endemic group, the chrotomyines, which are the sister group of the Australasian hydromyines. Herein we detail their interspecific diversity of relative testes mass (RTM) and sperm morphology. We find that in chrotomyines, as in the Australasian hydromyines, testes mass relative to body mass differs by an order of magnitude across the species and ranges from a large RTM in Soricomys and Chrotomys species to a small RTM in Apomys. Sperm morphology is associated with these findings, with individuals in species of Soricomys and Chrotomys producing relatively larger spermatozoa with a prominent apical hook and long tail, whereas, by contrast, the Apomys species have a sperm head that either has a very short or no apical hook and a shorter tail. These findings indicate coevolution of RTM with sperm morphological traits across the species, with the marked interspecific differences in RTM suggesting differences in the intensity of intermale sperm competition and hence breeding system. Thus, we hypothesise that species of Soricomys and Chrotomys that produce more streamlined spermatozoa with longer tails have a polyandrous or promiscuous mating system, whereas the Apomys species, which produce smaller and less streamlined spermatozoa, may exhibit monogamy.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the immediate and lagged effects of founder's turnover on firm performance, and test the moderating effects of enterprise scale and founders' tenure on enterprise performance.Design/methodology/approach – The paper selects 307 listed companies founded by founder from the Listed Company's Financial Database provided by the China Center for Economic Research. Based on 1,535 observations, this paper tests the relationship between founder turnover and performance by using the random effect model and the fixed effect model.Findings – It is found that founders' turnover will have a significant immediate and negative effect on firm performance. There exists a lagged effect of founders' turnover, but this lagged effect is not as strong as immediate effect. It is also found that the effect of founders' turnover has been moderated by firm size and founders' characteristics.Practical implications – Founders should choose an appropriate time of leaving when the firm's ...


The article summarizes the arguments within the scientific challenge on improving approaches to estimate the environmental impact of FDI inflow on the economy. The main objective of the research is to systematize the existing statistical approaches to analyze whether and how the macroeconomic determinants could impact the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emission. Systematization of theoretical and methodological materials on solving the problem of choice of applying more or less stringent environmental regulations with addition to more efficient industrial technologies which are supposed to have a positive impact on the environment. The relevance of solving this problem is that inceptive of FDI inflow could provide the economy with resources which reduce pollution, create better conditions for workers and local citizens. On the other hand, FDI are not interested in investing in economies with strict environmental legislation. The methodical tools of the research are carried out in the following logical sequence: systematization of existing statistical methods panel data analysis; analysis of data that will be used in the estimation model and in further country environmental policy making process; application of fixed and random effects models in estimation of the environmental impact of FDI on analyzed data. The research methods combine in following dimensions: comparative analysis, regression analysis. The period from 1999 to 2018 was chosen as the research period. The objects of the research are foreign direct investment net inflows into the Baltic-Black Sea region countries` economies and their impact on its environment. The article presents the results of empirical analysis, which showed that FDI inflow has an impact on the environment, but it is severely limited by other more significant determinants. The pollution haven hypothesis in the Baltic-Black Sea trans-national region countries policy in attraction FDI has not been proved considering more strict high-standard environmental legislation in EU countries alongside with increase in GHG emission per capita. The results of the research can be useful within government policy making processes considering the aim to incentivize FDI inflow.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Background: Clinically, combination of anti-angiogenic agents with chemotherapeutic agents demonstrated better antitumor efficacy. Instead of merely effect on vasculature regression, careful use of anti-angiogenic therapy may cause the grossly abnormal structure and function of tumor blood vessels to return to a more normal state. Treatment with anti-angiogenic agents can primarily improve chemotherapy efficacy by normalizing tumor vasculature, decrease the intra-tumor interstitial pressure, thereby leading to a more effective drug delivery. We planned to investigate the timing and effect of tumor vascular normalization in human after the administration of anti-angiogenic agent. It may help determine the appropriate timing of administration of chemotherapeutic agents after anti-angiogenic treatment.

Materials and methods: This study enrolled the last 8 consecutive patients who participated in a phase II trial for treatment of refractory brain metastases from breast cancer (Eur J Can 49:2s, 2013 suppl; abstr 1878). The protocol treatment consists of bevacizumab 15mg/kg on day 1, chemotherapy of etoposide and cisplatin on day 2 (24 hours after administration of bevacizumab), in 21-day cycles. These 8 patients specifically received four dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) examinations. DCE-MRI was performed before treatment, 1 hour after the end of bevacizumab infusion (i.e., 2.5 hours after starting bevacizumab infusion), 24 hours and 21 days after bevacizumab infusion. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier [NCT01281696][1], and was approved by the ethical review board.

Results: Clinically, all the 8 patients achieved partial remission at central nervous system. All of the 4 DCE-MRI parameters decreased after bevacizumab infusion. Compared to baseline values, the mean reductions at 1 hour and 24 hours were -12.8% and -24.7% for Peak, -46.6% and -65.8% for Slope, -27.9% and -55.5% for iAUC60, -46.6% and -63.9% for Ktrans, respectively (all P values <0.05). The differences between 1 hour and 24 hours reached statistical significance (all P values <0.05) for all the parameters. However, the differences in the mean percentage change between 24 hours and 21 days did not reach significance in any of the four parameters

Conclusion: Normalization of tumor vasculature induced by bevacizumab was clearly demonstrated in brain metastases in human at 1 hour after completion of bevacizumab infusion, but significantly became more obvious at 24 hours after bevacizumab administration.

Citation Format: Yen-Shen Lu, Bang-Bin Chen, Ching-Hung Lin, Wei-Wu Chen, Pei-Fang Wu, Ann-Lii Cheng, Tiffany Ting-Fang Shih. Normalization of tumor vasculature by anti-angiogenesis therapy in metastatic tumor: A clinical study to determine the timing and effect. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2984. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2984

 [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01281696&atom=%2Fcanres%2F74%2F19_Supplement%2F2984.atom


Vehicle-to-vehicle communications have recently received much attention due to some new applications, such as wireless mobile ad hoc networks, relay-based cellular networks, and intelligent transportation systems for dedicated short range communications. The underlying V2V channels, as a foundation for the understanding and design of V2V communication systems, have not yet been sufficiently investigated. This article aims to review the state-of-the-art in V2V channel measurements and modeling. Some important V2V channel measurement campaigns and models are briefly described and classified. Finally, some challenges of V2V channel measurements and modeling are addressed for future studies.


This article discusses an approach to the teaching of residents and medical students by hospitalist physicians on a general pediatric unit. It focuses on three basic principles of teaching and describes how these can be operationalized in a practical way. If this approach is followed, hospitalist physicians can be more effective teachers.


Njerep is a language on the edge of extinction. It is no longer spoken on a regular basis, nor is it even known well by anyone speaker. There are now, in fact, only five people who remember the language well enough to produce fragments of speech or who remember songs in the language. Our aim in this paper is to document the language to the extent possible. We have collected a wordlist of the language, a number of songs and other bits of text which, fragmentary though they are, permit some insights into the structure of the language, its genetic affiliation and its former importance in the region. Since we view language as a cultural artifact intimately connected to both the culture and the history of its speakers, the paper begins with a brief discussion of Njerep ethnography and history. We then look at evidence for the genetic affiliation of Njerep, and follow this with a description of its structural characteristics. Appendices are included which contain the Njerep wordlist, transcriptions of songs and, finally, genealogical information on the remaining speakers, which gives some insight into the sociological aspect of language contraction.


The increasing popularity of high-risk extreme sports such as acrobatic biking, mountain biking, skateboarding, or rollerblading is becoming a notable cause of maxillofacial injuries. Dentists should, therefore, be familiar with the presentation and management of uncommon maxillofacial injuries as a result of these extreme sports. The purpose of this article was to detail a case report of a 7-year-old male with a degloving injury of the mandibular mucosa following an extreme sport accident and to present a description of the patient's multidisciplinary management and follow-up.


The design of the Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma system (DBD) which operates at the atmospheric pressure to generate cold plasma. This system consists of a high voltage power supply of up to (20 kV) and a current discharge of up to (mA) and a frequency of about (35 kHz). Two electrodes, made of copper and aluminum, with a diameter of (5 cm). The electrodes are surrounded by a Teflon dielectric material with thickness (2.5 cm) and (2 mm) thickness of dielectric material made of glass is placed between the electrodes to ensure electrical discharge and plasma generation. These electrodes are connected to the power supply. Plasma parameters (electron temperature, electron density, plasma frequency, Debye length, and Debye number) generated from the dielectric barrier discharge system by Optical Emission Spectroscopy for the nitrogen gas spectrum using the Boltzmann plot method for plasma parameters were calculated. In this work also it was studied the effect of the electrodes made of (copper and aluminum), the effect of the applied voltage (12 kV to 20 kV) on the properties of the generated plasma when the stability of the distance between poles (3 mm), the applied frequency (25.91 kHz), and the dielectric material thickness made of glass. From studying (current-voltage) curve note it was that, the discharge current increases when the voltage applied for both (copper and aluminum) electrodes increase. In addition, the disparity in the values of plasma parameters when the voltage applied increase.


Petrobas P-36 was a floating offshore production unit operating in the Roncador Field, off the coast of Brazil, commencing operations May 2000. This structure was originally designed as a floating drilling unit and was modified from 1997 to 1999, into a floating production unit. These modifications included major equipment additions as well as structural upgrades.
On March 20, 2001 Petrobas P-36 capsized and sank after a series of explosions. The initial explosion has been attributed to the poor alignment of the emergency drain tank (EDT) to the production heater, the proximity of these structures allowed for the accumulation of hydrocarbons, eventually resulting in an explosion. After the initial explosion, volatile gas was provided with an escape route, this resulted in a second explosion, which caused major structural damage and the eventual sinking of the Petrobas P-36. The accident was accredited to three major factors they include: mechanical component design flaws, human errors and economical factors. Investigations into the accident identify three mechanical design flaws these include: poor design placement of key safety-critical paths, component failure without sufficient backup and poor control of the emergency notification system layout.
As a result of the accident three major changes/consequences occurred: firstly they include the economical impact and financial losses that were experienced by Peterobas, though the increased cost of operations as well as the loss of assets. Secondly, there was development and modification of rules and standards for oil exploration for offshore Brazil, hopefully this will prevent a similar accident from reoccurring. The last consequence associated with the event was the environmental impact from oil loss.
Lessons learned as a result of the Petrobas P-36 accident amplified the importance of conducting safe operations and ensuring procedures are in place to help mitigate accidents; it is of uttermost importance to ensure redundancy in high-risk areas are adequate. The accident also illustrated the importance of training crew and personnel adequately, ensuring they understand equipment requirements and protocol associated with equipment. The last lesson learned for the incident is that operators must be responsible for establishing a mythology to prioritize efforts in emergency situations.


Abstract The Knee Society Score (KSS) is the most commonly used scale for evaluating postoperative pain and physical function after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, this scale requires clinic visiting, which is not quite convenient. Our concept verification study demonstrated a remote automatic system for evaluating knee function after TKA using the KSS. The remote scoring system consists of two modules for data acquisition, an application for patients, a cloud server, and an application for doctors. The kinematic data are collected by the data acquisition modules and transmitted to the patient application via Bluetooth. The data acquisition module contains a motion sensor, a microcontroller unit, a power supply, and a Bluetooth module. The motion sensor consists of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a geomagnetic sensor, all of which are three-axis instruments. Using the nine-axis data, the three-dimensional (3D) angles are calculated according to the theory of attitude and heading reference system. The KSS score is calculated using a scoring algorithm in the patient application and transmitted to the doctor application through the cloud server. The knee function of 10 patients treated with unilateral TKA was evaluated by both a doctor and the remote scoring system. The consistency in KSS between the doctor and the system was analyzed using the paired t-test. The remote scoring system successfully recorded knee function data and transmitted the scores from the patient application to the doctor application through the cloud server. There was no significant difference in the KSS scores evaluated by the doctor and that by the system (p = 0.326). This remote automatic scoring system provides a reliable and convenient method for evaluating knee function after TKA at home.


An analytical procedure is explored to construct the profiles of the spectral lines formed in a stochastic multicompo- nent atmosphere. A model one-dimensional problem is solved for the atmospheres in both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE. The results previously obtained by the au- thors for the LTE atmosphere are generalized to include, in particular, correlations of the random variations in the physi- cal properties of the structural elements. It is shown that the stochastic multicomponent atmosphere may produce a kind of double-peaked profile, which is usually associated with the mul- tiple scattering effects. The problem of the line formation in a stochastic non-LTE atmosphere is considered, assumpting the complete redistribu- tion over frequencies with allowance for the absorption in con- tinuum. For the line profile, a closed-form analytical expression is derived. The computed profiles are compared with those for an homogeneous deterministic atmosphere with preliminarily averaged physical properties. This allows us to conclude that the discrepancy between the line profiles relevant to these two cases may become significant, whereas the normalized profiles are fairly close to each other.


Integrating conservation and sustainable development is difficult, but organisations charged with this mandate must move forward with implementation. Adaptive Co-Management (ACM), an approach that brings together the learning function of adaptation with the linking function of collaboration, has been identified as a promising way to enhance the effectiveness of sustainable development without compromising conservation efforts. We examine four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves (BRs) to better understand the extent to which they exhibit characteristics of ACM integrated conservation and sustainable development and gain insights into how they do so. We find that the BRs we studied in Canada and Sweden undertake a substantial number of activities strongly oriented towards integration of conservation and development objectives. These activities involve a wide variety of actors in both on-the-ground implementation efforts and decision-making activities, create novel spaces for interaction among participants which contributes to their bridging ability, and draw on social networks, available assets and individuals' contributions to enable actions in pursuit of their integrative mandate. Insights into these activities and how they were undertaken can offer lessons for future practice and research within the World Biosphere Reserve Network, as well as conservation organisations more broadly. Although we demonstrate that significant efforts are being made towards integration of conservation and development, we nonetheless suggest that further studies should explicitly investigate if and how such integration actually lead to more desirable social and ecological outcomes.