Energy storage systems (ESSs) are critically important for the future of electric vehicles. Despite this, the safety and management of ESSs require improvement. Battery management systems (BMSs) are vital components in ESS systems for Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). One parameter that is included in the BMS is the state-of-charge (SoC) of the battery. SoC has become an active research area in recent years for battery electric vehicle (BEV) LIBs, yet there are some challenges: the LIB configuration is nonlinear, making it hard to model correctly; it is difficult to assess internal environments of a LIB (and this can be different in laboratory conditions compared to real-world conditions); and these discrepancies can lead to raising the instability of the LIB. Therefore, further advancement is required in order to have higher accuracy in SoC estimation in BEV LIBs. SoC estimation is a key BMS feature, and precise modeling and state estimation will improve stable operation. This review discusses current methods use in BEV LIB SoC modelling and estimation. The review culminates in a brief discussion of challenges in BEV LIB SoC prediction analysis.


Climate change poses a major threat to development in most low and middle-income countries, especially the sub – Saharan Africa. Wurompo is a small farming community in the Wenchi Municipality of the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana that depends on rain-fed agriculture activities for livelihood. In recent years, droughts, unpredictable rainfall pattern and crop failure have become common in the area. The study assessed knowledge and awareness, effects of climate change on female farmers, and their adaptation strategies. A case study in design, qualitative methods were used to collect data from 50 purposefully selected participants. Data were analyzed using themes and sub-themes generated from the research questions. Findings showed lack of adequate information and knowledge on climate change and its effects. Climate change has impacted negatively on these farmers stemming from decline in crop production and unavailability of adequate water supply in due season. Challenges to climate change adaptation are poverty, poor basic infrastructure, and modern farming practices. Farmers must be educated on climate change and its effects, with training on the necessary adaptation strategies to build their resilience. Policies that target rural farmers to adapt to climate change, and device modern agricultural techniques and practices are also necessary.


Subject areas of the research are the issues of improvement of illicit cross-border capital flows measurement and analysis methods. In the research are studied the modern methodical approaches to estimates of cross-border capital turnover scales, methods of measurement of its illicit components using in international statistics, studied the perspective approaches to analysis of their impact on the key macroeconomic indicators.


3,4,3'-Tri-O-methylflavellagic acid and its glucoside (reported for the first time) were isolated from Anogeissus leocarpus. These compounds were analysed by GC-MS, IR, 1D and 2D-NMR, and also as acetates. Antimicrobial effect of the glucoside on S. aureus, E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa and C. albicans show that it possesses growth inhibitory effect at various concentrations.
(Received March 22, 2000; revised October 25, 2000)

 Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2000, 14(2), 169-174


Objective This study investigated the incidence of syphilis, HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV), as well as factors associated with syphilis seroconversion among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nanjing, China. Methods A cohort of MSM was recruited by respondent-driven sampling methods. Those who were syphilis-, HIV- and HCV-seronegative at the baseline were invited to be retested at month 6. A Poisson regression analysis was performed. Results Of the 416 participants in the study, 348 participants were HIV-, syphilis- and HCV-negative at the baseline, 250 (71.84%) of whom returned for retesting at month 6. Nine of these 250 participants had seroconverted to syphilis-positive (incidence=7.58 per 100 person-years (PY); 95% CI 2.63 to 12.53 per 100 PY), and five had seroconverted to HIV-positive (incidence=4.17 per 100 PY; 95% CI=0.52 to 7.83 per 100 PY). No HIV and syphilis coinfection and no HCV seroconversion were found. Multivariate analysis identified four statistically significant factors predicting syphilis seroconversion, including currently single marital status (RR=0.32, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.65, p<0.01), monthly income >US$300 (RR=2.68, 95% CI 1.28 to 5.61, p<0.01), self-reported homosexual orientation (RR=0.48, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.96, p<0.05) and recruitment of male sex partners mostly from gay saunas (RR=6.72, 95% CI 2.88 to 15.68, p<0.01). Conclusions The high incidence of syphilis and HIV reflects the seriousness and urgency of the HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) epidemics among MSM in China. Effective interventions of syphilis treatment and prevention should target MSM with characteristics reflecting the aforementioned risk factors.


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

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) has varying outcomes, especially in intermediate-risk disease (IR-RMS) due to the inherent inability of clinical staging to accurately risk-stratify a large proportion of patients. This study aimed to identify prognostic signatures in IR-RMS, the clinical subgroup with the most heterogeneous outcomes, which can potentially provide better risk stratification than routine clinicopathologic parameters. Signature performance was validated on an independent set of RMS patients. METHODS: Prospectively-obtained primary tumors from 80 IR-RMS patients on Children's Oncology Group clinical trial protocols formed the training set. Tumors from 19, 15 and 20 patients with low-risk, high-risk and IR-RMS formed the validation set. Annotated and unannotated transcripts were profiled by Affymetrix Human Exon microarrays employing 1,393,765 probe selection regions (PSRs) and used to derive weighted signatures. Potentials of coding and non-coding signatures to predict survival were compared using areas under receiver operating characteristic curves that provided a measure of predictive accuracy. Associated biological processes were analyzed using curated pathway analysis tools. RESULTS: Histologic subtype (p=0.94) and PAX-FKHR fusion status (p=0.66) were unable to predict survival in the training set of IR-RMS. Tumor site was the only clinical predictor of outcome in this set (p=0.041). Cox regression on 17,045 coding transcripts identified a prognostic 30-gene meta-feature (30gMF, p=0.001). Analysis of unannotated transcripts identified a 39-PSR meta-feature (39ncMF) that also predicted survival (p<0.001). Multiple PSRs interrogating the same genomic locus were then replaced by a single PSR that reduced ncMF size to 34 PSRs (34ncMF), which could still predict outcome (p<0.001). Predictive accuracy of 39ncMF was higher than 34gMF (96.4% vs. 70.8%, p<0.001). However, predictive accuracy of the former was comparable to the 34ncMF (96.7%, p=0.54). When applied to the validation set, the 34gMF, 39ncMF and 34ncMF were able to predict outcomes (p=0.022, 0.006, 0.012, respectively). Analysis of biological processes using 34gMF showed enrichment for functions/disorders associated with musculoskeletal development and signaling pathways. Similar analysis of non-coding signatures revealed enrichment for cellular assembly, cell cycle, apoptosis and cancer-associated functions. CONCLUSIONS: A concise non-coding RNA meta-feature was able to better predict outcome in IR-RMS than a coding gene meta-feature, where most standard clinical prognosticators failed. The meta-features were independently validated in IR and non-IR RMS. This suggests that non-coding transcripts can regulate and determine RMS biology and aggressiveness, and be used as novel prognostic indicators.

Citation Format: Anirban P. Mitra, Sheetal A. Mitra, Jonathan D. Buckley, Philipp Kapranov, James R. Anderson, Stephen X. Skapek, Douglas S. Hawkins, Timothy J. Triche. Identification of novel prognostic signatures in rhabdomyosarcoma by whole transcriptome expression profiling: A discovery and validation study. [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 4730. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4730


Structural and biochemical characterization of aspartate 152 at the distal heme side of catalase-peroxidase (KatG) from Synechocystis PCC 6803 reveals an important functional role for this residue. In the wild-type protein, the side chain carboxyl group of Asp152 is 7.8 A apart from the heme iron and is hydrogen-bonded to two water molecules and a KatG-specific large loop. We have prepared the site-specific variants Asp152Asn, Asp152Ser, Asp152Trp, and Pro151Ala. Exchange of Asp152 exhibited dramatic consequences on the bifunctional activity of this unique peroxidase. The turnover number of catalase activity of Asp152Asn is 2.7%, Asp152Ser 5.7%, and Asp152Trp is 0.6% of wild-type activity. By contrast, the peroxidase activity of the Asp152 variants was 2-7 times higher than that of wild-type KatG or Pro151Ala. The KatG-specific pH profile of the catalase activity was completely different in these variants and exchange of Asp152 made it possible to follow the transition of the ferric enzyme to the redox intermediate compound I by hydrogen peroxide spectroscopically and to determine the corresponding bimolecular rate constant to be 7.5 x 10(6) M(-1) s(-1) (pH 7 and 15 degrees C). The reactivity of compound I toward aromatic one-electron donors was enhanced in the Asp152 variants compared with the wild-type protein, whereas the reactivity toward hydrogen peroxide was dramatically decreased. A mechanism for the hydrogen peroxide oxidation, which is different from monofunctional catalases and involves the distal residues Trp122 and Asp152, is proposed.


The promise of telemedicine is great as observed in developed countries. However, its adoption in developing countries has been very slow. Extant literature on healthcare technological innovation indicates that organization collaboration can expedite the adoption of telemedicine especially in developing countries. The Kenyan government approved telemedicine (use of ICT to overcome geographical barriers and increase access to health care services) as a strategic approach of improving healthcare delivery especially in the marginalized areas of the country. However, the adoption of telemedicine is further hindered in developing countries by the fact that the cost of implementing telemedicine technology is deemed to be high and the resources needed are scarce especially in the public sector. This study employed a conceptual research framework to examine organizational factors that may influence organization collaboration in facilitating telemedicine adoption in developing countries. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 50 hospitals located in Eastern Kenya. The findings of this research revealed that Kenyan hospitals may enhance their ability to adopt telemedicine by affiliating with other organizations. Organization affiliation was found to significantly influence organizational resources, organization innovation acceptance, personnel innovation acceptance, organization innovativeness, organization agility and collaborative innovation aspects.


Objectives : -          To present the reference context of orphan works as elements making up documental heritage. -          To define and delimit the concept of diligent search processes for orphan works from the perspective of the "Library and Information Science" domain. -          To identify and define the elements and key terms related to the management and organization of the knowledge involved in a diligent search process. -          To analyse the core components serving as the basis for the systematization and generation of record files for the said diligent searches for the declaration of works in this category. Methods : The key elements defining the methodology on which our paper is based are as follows: - Scope : analysis of the diligent search process for orphan works and the delimitation and study of its components for normalization and systematization. -Investigation techniques used : content analysis for data sources and specialized documentation; benchmarking or examination of the best institutional practices related to the subject of our research; normalization techniques for procedures and the process management approach for organizing knowledge applied to the management of orphan works. - Data sources: key documentation and legislative provisions in this matter, technical standards and reports, specialist databases and web sites of the leading institutions in this area, scientific and technical reports generated by research teams currently working directly on this subject and other supplementary data sources such as specialist articles in the matter under study. Main results and conclusions : The study starts from the delimitation of the concept of orphan works as a set of document types (printed works, such as books or periodicals, cinematographic or audio-visual works and phonograms, as well as works incorporated into another work or in a phonogram, such as images or photographs, for example) forming part of the documental heritage preserved in libraries, archives, film or audio institutions or other bodies for the conservation of cinematographic or audio-visual heritage, public-service broadcasting organisations, among others. The fact that these are copyrighted works whose rightsholders have not been located, poses a series of challenges and difficulties about how to approach the search for information about the work as well as the identification and location of the rightsholders of the works in question. Starting from this conceptual delimitation, this study presents a list of member states in which we have identified the existence of best practices related to diligent search procedures which have to be carried out before a work can be declared orphan in the countries of the European Union where Directive 2012/28/EU has been implemented. In line with this analysis, a methodological and conceptual proposal is set out for a normalized diligent search process so that this can be applied and adapted by any documental heritage institution proposing to embark on a process of this type. Regarding this methodological proposal, we present an identification and definition of the elements and terms related to the management and organization of the knowledge involved in a diligent search process. These include, on the one hand, those related to the identification, description and systematization of the data sources and reference documentation, as well as, on the other hand, those related to the existence of databases for the registration of orphan works. Finally, with respect to what could be defined as a process of documentation for this diligent search, we present a proposal for the identification of the basic informative/descriptive elements that must be reflected on what could be called the search record of the diligent search performed as evidence of the process carried out. In short, the goal of this proposal focuses on responding to the aim of any documental heritage institution being able to count on practical guidelines to be able to cope, on the one hand, with the challenge of conducting a diligent search and, on the other, with the challenge of recording its results. It should be recalled that, in accordance with current legislation, these records must be completed and kept by the said cultural institutions so that this information can be validated by the competent national authority in each member state as the prior step before declaring the work as an orphan on the database created and managed for this purpose by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). As a preliminary conclusion, it is possible to advance that we have detected the existence of a relationship between the de facto declaration of orphan works on the EUIPO database and the degree of development of instruments, procedures and soft-law tools available to documental heritage institutions. In this line, we feel that our paper can be viewed as a contribution for the support of orphan work diligent search methodologies and their registration. In consequence, the management and organization of knowledge around the normalization of the diligent search process for orphan works is viewed as a key success factor that can help to resolve the challenges posed to documental heritage institutions relating to this research subject. Keywords Library and Information Science; Management and knowledge organization of documental heritage; orphan works; diligent search; information and documentation sources.


Knowledge of the real estate market is crucial for good land management. The question of similarities between local markets is connected with the question of internal variability of the individual markets. We present the results of a project to compare a similarities between local markets in the quantitative and qualitative aspects by creating appropriate integrated indicators for these markets. Such indicators will make it possible to find a similarity of different local markets and present them hierarchically. From the large number of methods available, techniques originating from two spheres of statistical inference were selected: distribution free methods and multivariate analysis methods. For analyses within the distribution free methods, Friedman's test (Friedman's non-parametric variance analysis) and Kendall's test (W. Kendall's compatibility ratio) were selected. For analyses within the multivariate analysis methods, factor analysis was selected, which constitutes a set of statistical methods and procedures allowing for conversion of a large number of variables tested to a significantly smaller number of independent factors or main components which preserve a considerable amount of information conveyed in the primary variables. If this statistical method is applied, it is possible to reduce the number of attributes describing local real estate markets down to a few integrated indicators, which preserve their descriptive qualities, despite the reduction of variables that has taken place.


The focus of the TUMAN-3 and TUMAN-3M tokamaks programme is on issues of improved confinement. The transition from an ordinary ohmic regime into improved confinement mode has been found in circular limiter configuration in a vessel with all-metallic walls and limiters. The signatures of the H-mode in auxiliary heated tokamaks have been observed in this regime. The crucial role of the radial electric field was found in experiments with internal probe biasing. Other techniques were demonstrated to trigger H-mode: short increase of the working gas puffing rate, minor radius magnetic compression and pellet injection. The scaling of the energy confinement time in ohmic H-mode was obtained, which differs dramatically from the scaling for the ordinary ohmic regime. A strong dependence of on plasma current was found. The scaling for the ohmic H-mode is consistent with the scaling proposed for devices with powerful auxiliary heating (JET/DIII-D H-mode scaling). The result shows that H-mode physics is universal in tokamaks with different geometries and heating methods. In 1994 a new vacuum vessel was installed in the TUMAN-3 tokamak. The modified device, TUMAN-3M, is able to produce higher and , up to 2 T and 0.2 MA, respectively. During the first operational period a plasma current of 0.15 MA was achieved at T, which corresponded to . The impact of the quality of wall coating on confinement was asserted. The longest energy confinement time (30 ms) was observed under the conditions of best boronization.


All-ceramic zirconia restorations veneered with porcelain materials, show high strength, excellent bio compatibility and good estetic. Some mechanical damages happen during the functional masticatory load, and chipping is most common. There are several reasons for this complication, and they are lower bond strength, mismatch of the KTE (coefficient for thermal expansion) of both materials, premature contacts, and lower flexure strength of the veneering porcelain. The aim of the study is to evaluate and analyze the flexure strength of three veneering ceramics for all-ceramic restoration. Veneering porcelain for metal-ceramic restorations is used as control group. Results for flexure strength of the veneering ceramics showed that allceramic veneering materials have similar strength values, but they are still lower than strength value for control group of metal-ceramic material. There must be effort to improve strength properties of the veneering ceramics for zirconium pointed towards increasing of the mechanical strength and thermal coefficients adjutancy


Eclampsia is a severe hypertensive disease accompanied by tonic-clonic convulsions in the second half of pregnancy or during delivery in the absence of other aetiology. The association between eclampsia and serous retinal detachment is not common. We report a case of a 20-year-old primipara with eclampsia who developed bilateral exudative retinal detachment after delivery. Brain computed tomography (CT) reported findings in the occipital lobes consistent with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. A few weeks after delivery, there was spontaneous resorption of subretinal fluid and complete resolution of bilateral serous retinal detachment with residual signs of choroidal ischemia, including Elschnig's spot, Siegrist streak and some pigmentary changes in the retinal pigment epithelium. Visual acuity returned to normal in both eyes and there was complete resolution of the disease.


Anti-discriminatory practicioners in many campuses have, so far, focused themselves too much on gender. In fact, there are more than one source of discrimination and oppression. One of them is ableism. Ableism is an ism that categorizes people by seeing their organs of body. For it, people can be divided into two groups. Those are the able and the disable. The able is a group of people who are "normal" in term of their organs of body. Conversely, the disable is a group of people who are "abnormal"in term of those. The categorization leads to discriminatory acts and views of "normal" people to the disable. One of Requirements of enrolling to schools or jobs is that the candidate should be physically and spiritually healthy. This condition makes many "disable" people eliminated from the competition. In order to combat the discrimination, one of the ideas is exchanging the term disable/disability with diffable/diffability. Another idea is inclusive education. That is an education system which put the diffable and the non-diffable in one class. This system is very effective for combatting discrimination and campaigning democracy and equality in life.


A review of the literature concerning the more common complications of pregnancy indicates that recurrence risks are available for most and can be summarized as follows: hydatidiform mole--1.3 to 2.9 per cent; recurrent miscarriage--20 to 30 per cent; ectopic pregnancy--20 to 30 per cent; severe preeclampsia--7.5 per cent; mild preeclampsia--29 per cent; preterm labor--15 per cent after one and 30 per cent after two. While recognizing that each individual case merits full investigation and careful assessment, it is proposed that these risk figures provide a useful basis for use in pre- and postpregnancy counseling.


With the escalation of attacks that target mobile devices there is an increasing need for efficient monitoring tools. Due to computation, storage, and power constraints of the devices, these monitoring tools may overload the entire system causing severe performance degradation for the running applications. Moreover, they can be pushed by resource-intensive applications and may not perform an adequate monitoring job. To that end, in this project we develop adaptive monitoring tools that are capable of monitoring a wide range of information while efficiently utilizing the available resources on the mobile device. We apply control theoretic techniques to design monitoring functionalities, such as process, integrity and network monitors, that utilize the underlying resources efficiently. This is achieved through controllers that dynamically select the duty cycles of the monitors. Our models and results are validated on the Android platform through emulation and real implementation on the Nexus 7 tablet.


Automated analysis of retinal images usually requires estimating the positions of blood vessels, which contain important features for image alignment and abnormality detection. Matched filtering can produce the best results but is difficult to implement because the vessel orientations and widths are unknown beforehand. Many researchers use Hessian filtering, which provides an estimate for vessel orientation through the use of three orientation templates. We propose a novel filtering approach, called self-matched filtering, which is based on the 180deg rotated version of the noisy vessel signal in the local neighborhood. We show that even though the proposed filter achieves half the signal-to-noise ratio of a matched filter, it does not require the estimation of the vessel scale and orientation, and can outperform Hessian filtering by up to a factor of two in terms of miss detection error.


Elongation of the neuraxis was analyzed quantitatively with respect to the subpopulation of longitudinally oriented mitoses in the neuroepithelium in homozygous embryos of the loop-tail (Lp) mutant mouse, which is characterized by failure of fusion of the neural folds from the midbrain to the tail, as well as a shortening of the neuraxis. Correlations were made with mitotic cell orientation in the underlying gut and notochord, which are likewise shortened. In the abnormal dysraphic embryos at the 7- to 11-somite stage, the percentage of longitudinally oriented mitotic spindles in the neuroepithelium was significantly less than in normal embryos. In contrast, significant differences were not obtained with respect to the orientation of mitotic spindles in the gut or notochord. At the 15- to 20-somite stage, significant differences in mitotic orientation in the neuroepithelium, gut, or notochord did not occur between dysraphic and normal embryos. The results suggest that during elevation and fusion of the neural folds, a decrease in the percentage of longitudinally arranged spindles in the neuroepithelium of Lp/Lp embryos may contribute to the disturbance in neuraxial elongation and possibly closure failure, but that the shortened gut and notochord that also characterize this mutant may not result from defective orientation of mitotic spindles.


Phase angle, frequency and amplitude of the utility voltage vector are basic information for an increasing number of grid-connected power conditioning equipments, such as PWM rectifiers, uninterruptible power systems (UPS), voltage sag compensators and the emerging distributed generation systems. For these applications, accurate tracking of the utility voltage vector is essential to ensure correct operation of the control system. This paper presents a comparative study of synchronous reference frame PLL algorithms for single-phase systems. Simulation and experimental results, including operation of the PLL structures under distorted utility conditions are presented, to allow a performance evaluation of the PLL algorithms.


Background To support a victim of violence and establish the correct penalty for the perpetrator, it is crucial to correctly evaluate and communicate the severity of the violence. Recent data have shown these communications to be biased. However, computational language models provide opportunities for automated evaluation of the severity to mitigate the biases. Objective We investigated whether these biases can be removed with computational algorithms trained to measure the severity of violence described. Methods In phase 1 (P1), participants (N=71) were instructed to write some text and type 5 keywords describing an event where they experienced physical violence and 1 keyword describing an event where they experienced psychological violence in an intimate partner relationship. They were also asked to rate the severity. In phase 2 (P2), another set of participants (N=40) read the texts and rated them for severity of violence on the same scale as in P1. We also quantified the text data to word embeddings. Machine learning was used to train a model to predict the severity ratings. Results For physical violence, there was a greater accuracy bias for humans (r2=0.22) compared to the computational model (r2=0.31; t38=–2.37, P=.023). For psychological violence, the accuracy bias was greater for humans (r2=0.058) than for the computational model (r2=0.35; t38=–14.58, P<.001). Participants in P1 experienced psychological violence as more severe (mean 6.46, SD 1.69) than participants rating the same events in P2 (mean 5.84, SD 2.80; t86=–2.22, P=.029<.05), whereas no calibration bias was found for the computational model (t134=1.30, P=.195). However, no calibration bias was found for physical violence for humans between P1 (mean 6.59, SD 1.81) and P2 (mean 7.54, SD 2.62; t86=1.32, P=.19) or for the computational model (t134=0.62, P=.534). There was no difference in the severity ratings between psychological and physical violence in P1. However, the bias (ie, the ratings in P2 minus the ratings in P1) was highly negatively correlated with the severity ratings in P1 (r2=0.29) and in P2 (r2=0.37), whereas the ratings in P1 and P2 were somewhat less correlated (r2=0.11) using the psychological and physical data combined. Conclusions The results show that the computational model mitigates accuracy bias and removes calibration biases. These results suggest that computational models can be used for debiasing the severity evaluations of violence. These findings may have application in a legal context, prioritizing resources in society and how violent events are presented in the media.


It is essential to deposit embryos as gently as possible during IVF, avoiding manoeuvres that might trigger uterine contractions which could adversely affect the results of this treatment. The time during which the embryo transfer catheter remains in the cervical canal might be related to stimulation of contractions. This study investigates the influence that the time interval before withdrawal of the catheter after ultrasound (US)-guided embryo deposit might have on the pregnancy rate in patients under IVF cycles. A total of 100 women about to undergo transfer of at least two optimal embryos was studied. The women were prospectively randomized into two groups: (i) slow withdrawal of the catheter immediately after embryo deposit (n = 51); and (ii) a 30 s delay before catheter withdrawal (n = 49). The pregnancy rates for transfer in the two groups were 60.8 and 69.4% respectively, with no significant differences. There were no statistically significant differences in pregnancy rates between the two patient groups. The results indicate either that the waiting interval was insufficient to detect differences, or that the retention time before withdrawing the catheter is not a factor that influences pregnancy rate.


Modern photometer systems need to be accompanied by dosimeters that monitor exposure to total ionizing dose, ultraviolet light, and the flux of particles with linear energy transfer above some threshold value. These detectors should minimize space, weight, power, cost, and telemetry. A new approach is described in which single-chip, two-chip, or three-chips systems incorporated into the photometer's interface circuits measure the above while including information on the status of charge trapping in oxides and thermal noise at p-n junctions.


Paquay et al. (Reports, 11 April 2008, p. 214) reported that osmium isotope ratios in marine sediments can be used to determine the size of a chondritic impactor. Their assumptions on the fate of an impacting projectile may need to be reassessed, however, because only a small, unpredictable fraction of the impactor ends up dissolved in seawater.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of stock recommendations in returns and trading volumes. Unlike previous research we have investigated the five most usual types of recommendations: buy, outperform, hold, underperform and sell. The methodology we propose is also different from previous studies. From our results we conclude that positive (negative) abnormal returns are associated to positive (negative and neutral) recommendations, the day of publication of the recommendation and the day before, but not the day after publication. We also document an asymmetry in the effect of recommendation on the stock trading volume, following the sign of the recommendation.


The critical behaviour of the generalized (anisotropic) m-component Weinrib-Halperin model is investigated. The critical exponent η and the dynamic exponent z are calculated in d = 4 - e space dimension in a two- and one-loop approximation, respectively. Using the fermionic formulation we have derived an exact result for the correlation length exponent ν of the two-dimensional Ising model with long-range correlated quenched defects.


The aims of this study were to analyse (1) whether informal care, provided by children or grandchildren to their elderly parents, and formal care are substitutes or complements, and (2) whether this relationship differs across Europe. The analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the newly developed SHARE (Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe) database. We found (1) that informal and formal home care are substitutes, while informal care is a complement to doctor and hospital visits, and (2) that these relationships in some cases differ according to a European north-south gradient. Instrumental variable methods were used and the results highlight the importance of accounting for the endogeneity of informal care.


Mood has been shown to influence cognitive performance. However, little is known about the influence of mood on sensory processing, specifically in the auditory domain. With the current study, we sought to investigate how auditory processing of neutral sounds is affected by the mood state of the listener. This was tested in two experiments by measuring masked-auditory detection thresholds before and after a standard mood-induction procedure. In the first experiment (N = 76), mood was induced by imagining a mood-appropriate event combined with listening to mood inducing music. In the second experiment (N = 80), imagining was combined with affective picture viewing to exclude any possibility of confounding the results by acoustic properties of the music. In both experiments, the thresholds were determined by means of an adaptive staircase tracking method in a two-interval forced-choice task. Masked detection thresholds were compared between participants in four different moods (calm, happy, sad, and anxious), which enabled differentiation of mood effects along the dimensions arousal and pleasure. Results of the two experiments were analyzed both in separate analyses and in a combined analysis. The first experiment showed that, while there was no impact of pleasure level on the masked threshold, lower arousal was associated with lower threshold (higher masked sensitivity). However, as indicated by an interaction effect between experiment and arousal, arousal did have a different effect on the threshold in Experiment 2. Experiment 2 showed a trend of arousal in opposite direction. These results show that the effect of arousal on auditory-masked sensitivity may depend on the modality of the mood-inducing stimuli. As clear conclusions regarding the genuineness of the arousal effect on the masked threshold cannot be drawn, suggestions for further research that could clarify this issue are provided.


To predict motor activity in the newborn, electromyographic (on rats) and ultrastructural (on chick embryos) studies were performed after administration of donor babies' sera taken in the first days of life. Morphological and electromyographic parameters were compared with late clinical symptoms. A rating schedule was developed with regards to biological test results, which allows motor disorders to be detected in the newborn.


Heat transport by radiation between surfaces at 300°K and 76°K was measured to evaluate the effective emissivities of a number of technical grade or commercially available metals with unknown metallurgical history. The surface with the lowest total hemispherical emissivity was an unbuffed silver‐plated surface. It was found that the emissivity of surfaces was lowest when used without any mechanical working and that the ability to absorb radiant energy varied with the length of time the surface was kept cold, even at a pressure less than 10−6 mm Hg, indicating surface contamination by residual gases.


The number and quality of commercially available multispectral sensors and the data they provide are continually improving, but there is always compromise between achieving high spatial resolution, necessary for those applications that require high degree of detail, and high spectral resolution when a better feature discrimination level is needed. However, there are some situations that simultaneously require high spatial and spectral resolutions in a single image. The techniques of data fusion, or data merging, provide an alternative to that constraint, being used to combine low-resolution multispectral satellite imagery with higher resolution panchromatic or radar imagery, improving their visual quality and interpretability. Many algorithms and software tools have been developed for fusing panchromatic and multispectral datasets in remote sensing. Wavelet techniques are increasingly being used for the processing of images. The algorithm used in this paper was based on multiresolution wavelet decomposition. The image is decomposed into multiple channels based on their local frequency content, obtaining new images each one of them with different degree of resolution. A simple Wavelet Transform is used, which is implemented in the ERDAS Imagine Software package ver. 9.2. The procedure was based upon the wavelet transform is to improve the spectral quality of high resolution image acquired by LANDSAT 7 ETM+.


This paper provides the first evidence that state-level liability standards affect auditor behavior. We hypothesize that auditors demand more conservative reporting when their insurance clients are domiciled in states with more stringent standards for third party claims against the auditor for negligence. To test this hypothesis, we analyze a sample of 3,107 loss reserve observations from 1993 through 2004. Our sample is restricted to private insurers that operate in a single state to control for auditor liability under statutory law and to reduce the possibility of forum shopping by plaintiffs. Consistent with Petroni (1992), we find that financially struggling insurers tend to under-reserve. This behavior is attenuated when the insurer is domiciled in a state that uses either the Restatement of Torts or the reasonable foreseeability standard to determine the auditor's liability to third parties. Compared to the case where the auditor's liability is defined by the legal concept of privity, these standards impose greater legal costs on auditors for ordinary negligence.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of thoracic epidural in reducing morbidity and mortality in adults with acute pancreatitis.

INTRODUCTION
Acute pancreatitis is a common disease that often results in significant morbidity and mortality. Although the use of a thoracic epidural anesthesia in patients with acute pancreatitis provides effective analgesia, there appears to be additional non-analgesic benefits associated with thoracic epidural anesthesia.

INCLUSION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials will be sought for inclusion, but this review will also consider quasi-experimental studies, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, cross-sectional studies, and case-series studies. Studies will include patients 18 years of age and older with acute pancreatitis, with no exclusion to comorbidity. Studies published in a language other than English will be excluded unless a translated version is available.

METHODS
The key databases to be searched include MEDLINE, CINAHL, OpenGrey, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Google Scholar. Studies will be assessed for inclusion by at least two independent reviewers. Included studies will be critically appraised by two independent reviewers using standardized critical appraisal instruments from JBI. Data will be extracted from studies included in the review using a standardized extraction tool. Studies will, where possible, be pooled in statistical meta-analysis using JBI SUMARI.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER
The title of this protocol has been registered with the JBI Systematic Review Register. This manuscript has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020177756).


OBJECTIVE: Evidence for a connection between stress and selected neuro degenerative diseases as well as mental disorders is analyzed. Does stress cause or exacerbate related pathophysiological disease processes? METHOD: The stress phenomenon is illustrated and the impact of stress on the nervous system, neurodegenerative diseases, and mental disorders is examined. The connection between stress and the hippocampus ‐ and its association with memory functions ‐ is described. In particular, the pathophysiological signifi cance of stress in Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and schizophrenia is investigated. RESULTS: Stress plays a major role in various (patho)physiological processes associated with neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders. In principle, stress has the potency to exert either ameliorating or detrimental effects. The specifi c outcome depends on multiple variables. However, the amount of stress experienced in relation to activated physiological processes that aim at successful coping and positive adjustments (i.e., stress response) most often is overwhelming ‐ and may thus become detrimental in the long-term. Moreover, the hippocampus is sensitive to stress, and its involvement in neurodegeneration ‐ in the course of stress-related disease processes ‐ may account for severe clinical disabilities (e.g., memory loss). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Stress has a major impact upon neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders. It plays a signifi cant role in susceptibility, progress, and actual outcome. Also, subjective or individual differences have to be taken into account. However, stress ‐ especially 'adequate' acute stress (stress that is not overwhelming) ‐ may even improve performance / biological functions and be benefi cial in certain cases.


Six cases of eruptive vellus hair cysts (EVHC) were evaluated for histopathology and the immunohistochemical profile of Ki‐67 and four keratins (K10, K14, K17 and K19). The pathological hallmark of EVHC was the existence of vellus hair shafts within the cystic cavity, but atypical pathological changes included two or three cysts and a foreign‐body granuloma in three cases. Our results demonstrate that atypical pathological changes are not uncommon in EVHC, and indicate that based on keratin expression, it is likely that EVHC is derived from the infrainfundibulum and sebaceous duct.


While many studies have focused on identifying the neural and behavioral characteristics of decoding-based reading disorder (RD, aka developmental dyslexia), the etiology of RD remains largely unknown and understudied. Because the brain plays an intermediate role between genetic factors and behavioral outcomes, it is promising to address causality from a neural perspective. In the current, Part I of the two-part review, we discuss neuroimaging approaches to addressing the causality issue and review the results of studies that have employed these approaches. We assume that if a neural signature were associated with RD etiology, it would (a) manifest across comparisons in different languages, (b) be experience independent and appear in comparisons between RD and reading-matched controls, (c) be present both pre- and post-intervention, (d) be found in at-risk, pre-reading children and (e) be associated with genetic risk. We discuss each of these five characteristics in turn and summarize the studies that have examined each of them. The available literature provides evidence that anomalies in left temporo-parietal cortex, and possibly occipito-temporal cortex, may be closely related to the etiology of RD. Improved understanding of the etiology of RD can help improve the accuracy of early detection and enable targeted intervention of cognitive processes that are amenable to change, leading to improved outcomes in at-risk or affected populations.


With the increasing utilization of electric vehicles (EVs), transportation systems and electrical power systems are becoming increasingly coupled. However, the interaction between these two kinds of systems are not well captured, especially from the perspective of transportation systems. This paper studies the reliability of integrated transportation and electrical power system (ITES). A bidirectional EV charging control strategy is first demonstrated to model the interaction between the two systems. Thereafter, a simplified transportation system model is developed, whose high efficiency makes the reliability assessment of the ITES realizable with an acceptable accuracy. Novel transportation system reliability indices are then defined from the view point of EV's driver. Based on the charging control model and the transportation simulation method, a daily periodic quasi sequential reliability assessment method is proposed for the ITES system. Case studies based on RBTS system demonstrate that bidirectional charging controls of EVs will benefit the reliability of power systems, while decreasing the reliability of EVs travelling. Also, the optimal control strategy can be obtained based on the proposed method. Finally, case studies are performed based on a large scale test system to verify the practicability of the proposed method.


This paper proposes a new signal-injection technique which utilizes the earth wire that is present in the electrical system to reduce electromagnetic-interference (EMI) radiation from indoor broadband power-line communication (PLC) networks. The new signal injection method is compared with the typical signal-injection technique used in PLC modems today. The method is also compared with an alternative signal-injection technique proposed by other researchers. For a balanced network, the proposed new signal-injection technique allows for a significant reduction in the level of radiated electric field of up to 40 dB in the frequency range from 1 to 30 MHz when compared to the typical signal-injection technique. The feasibility and practicality of using the new signal-injection technique for the reduction of EMI radiation are discussed.


Seventy two questionnaires returned by members of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, provided evidence for a negative relationship between the strategic intelligence function's (SIF) success and a gap between the firm's environmental turbulence level and its strategic intelligence strategy (SIS). Multiple regression test results .752 at 0.1, and Pearson r-coefficient at <0.0025 supported the hypothesis. The environment was measured by five levels of turbulence: stable, reactive, anticipatory, exploring, and creative. Each had four attributes: the novelty, speed of change, complexity, and predictability of change. The measurement of the SIS focused on its: scope, novelty, time frame, threats and opportunities, and purpose. The success of the SIF was measured by top manager's: rating of its overall performance, ratio of the use of information provided by the SIF vs other sources, use of information provided by other sources, perception of the competitive advantage resulting from the information provided, perception of the importance of the information, and the average of the five above. The implications are a need for alignment of a SIS to the global business environment and effective measurement of SIF's success


The current economic distress faced by many manufacturing companies in South Africa both large and small has forced the leadership to review business performance and implement measures to reduce costs across all levels. However, in a well-designed study exploring the attitudes and perceptions of senior executives to ISO 9000, Taylor [18] stated that the transition from concept to implementation of ISO 9000 is often where senior executives fail to provide the ISO 9000 initiative with adequate legitimacy, and fail to address the resource requirements, the potential benefits, the methods of measuring results and steps in the detailed planning process. The paper aims to determine what leadership competencies are required for ensuring commitment to implementing quality management systems and how the level of leadership competencies affects the extent of implementation of quality management principles through a questionnaire using a 5 point Likert scale.


Multisession successive information searches are common but little research has focused on quantitative analysis. This article enhances our understanding of successive information searches by employing an experimental method to observe whether and how the behavioral characteristics of searchers statistically significantly changed over sessions. It focuses on a specific type of successive search called transmuting successive searches, in which searchers learn about and gradually refine their information problems during the course of the information search. The results show that searchers' behavioral characteristics indeed exhibit different patterns in different sessions. The identification of the behavioral characteristics can help information retrieval systems to detect stages or sessions of the information search process. The findings also help validate a theoretical framework to explain successive searches and suggest system requirements for supporting the associated search behavior. The study is one of the first to not only test for statistical significance among research propositions concerning successive searches but to also apply the research principles of implicit relevance feedback to successive searches.


Corrosion fatigue tests and electrochemical tests under proportional and non-proportional loading conditions were conducted on 304 stainless steel in 0.63 mol/L sodium chloride solution at the room temperature. Two biaxial loading paths were applied to study the effect of proportional and nonproportional loadings on polarization properties as well as the formation potential of pits. Surface observations of multiaxial corrosion fatigue specimens were carried out by SEM. It was shown that the proportional loading had a more significant effect on corrosion rate compared with non-proportional loading. The continuous rotation of principal stress plane when applied nonproportional loading inhibits the pit formation.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


INTRODUCTION: Hypobaric decompression has been associated with brain white matter injury. Relevant exposure limits are unknown, raising ethical concerns over safety of volunteers for altitude chamber research. To inform this, a prospective study of white matter status using brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was conducted before and after a 9-mo program of hypobaric research.METHODS: Volunteers underwent 3-D, volumetric, fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI at the University of Nottingham, UK, on study entry and again after their final exposure. MRI data were analyzed and reported independently at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA. Entry criteria were 5 subcortical white matter hyperintensities (WMH) of total volume 0.08 mL.RESULTS: One volunteer failed screening with 63 WMH (total volume 2.38 mL). Eleven individuals completed 160 short-duration (< 1h) exposures (range 3 to 26) to 18,000 ft pressure altitude (maximum 40,000 ft), no more often than twice weekly. The cohort exhibited eight total WMH on study entry (total volume 0.166 mL) and five (mostly different) total WMH on exit (0.184 mL). Just one WMH (frontal lobe) was present on both entry and exit scans. Excess background WMH on MRI screening were associated with past mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).CONCLUSIONS: One hypoxia familiarization plus multiple, brief, infrequent, nonhypoxic hypobaric exposures (with denitrogenation) have not promoted WMH in this small cohort. Less intensive programs of decompression stress do not warrant MRI screening. A negative past history of MTBI has strong negative predictive value for excess WMH in young healthy subjects (N 33).Connolly DM, Lupa HT. Prospective study of white matter health for an altitude chamber research program. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(4):215222.


The European Union (EU) faces a rather difficult situation regarding water and land use planning. On the one hand hydrological planning is empowered by the recognition of its regulatory nature within the European legal system, but political decisions about land use remains at national level, due to the fact that the EU has not yet received any competences on that subject. This means that the EU can only play a role of encouraging and promoting effective planning and adequate water policies at the local and regional levels. On the other hand and particularly in some southern countries of Europe, the scarcity problem is a crucial issue which has to be dealt within a framework of multi-level territorial actors with rather different interests regarding water management. The overall object of this paper is to assess and discuss problems and prospects for regulatory frameworks of water planning and their policy implementation in the E.U. countries.


Mercaptopropylsilatrane (MPS) was investigated as a novel self-assembled film on silica surfaces and also as a novel adhesive layer for the construction of a gold colloid monolayer on silica surfaces. We compare the preparation procedure and film quality of the MPS films to those of (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTMS), which is commonly used for anchoring of gold nanoparticles on silica surfaces. The films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Ellman's reagent to determine surface mercaptan concentration. The process in preparing the MPS films involves more environmentally friendly aqueous or polar organic solvents, takes significantly shorter time (<30 min), and results in more uniform and reproducible films due to its insensitivity to moisture. The MPS films also have higher mercaptan surface density than that of the MPTMS films, resulting in higher saturation coverage of the gold colloid monolayers on the MPS-coated substrates. The higher ambient stability of the MPS films as compared to the MPTMS films is important for applications where sufficient durability of the self-assembled films under ambient conditions is required. Thus, mercaptosilatrane may have the potential to replace mercaptosilane for surface modification and as an adhesive layer for the construction of a noble metal colloid monolayer on oxide surfaces.


Ploidy patterns can be summarized in the form of a vector of proportions representing the frequency of occurrence of DNA contents in specified intervals. Data represented in this way can be analyzed statistically using the multinomial distribution. Properties of the multinomial distribution and computational difficulties that arise in its application are considered. Special problems involved in formulating hypothesis tests and confidence regions for multivariate discrete distributions are discussed in the context of evaluating vectors of proportions representing DNA ploidy patterns. Construction of tailor-made critical regions for detecting specific types of deviations from normal ploidy patterns is proposed, and a detailed example is given. In this example, two critical regions are compared: a standard critical region, consisting of cases whose probability of occurrence is small, and a diagnostic critical region, consisting of cases considered to be clinically indicative of abnormality. Advantages of the diagnostic critical region are noted.


Seistan was one of the important ancient urban centres in south eastern Persia. The ruins of the city show the prosperity and fertility of this city to the extent that a British civil officer considered it as the ancient London of Asia. This article attempts to describe the enormous latent wealth of this ancient city which made it important for strategic, political and commercial reasons. Due to strategic importance, it fell into the power struggle of 19 and 20 century especially between British and Russia. This power game was the main reason of the poverty of the peasant of Seistan. East India Company had extensively taken Seistan as the major point for its trade after its penetration in Afghanistan and likewise Russia's penetration in the Central Asia. Western penetration in Seistan had already started in 1809. When Samarqand was annexed in 1867, the British raised the question of establishing neutral zone between Britain and Russian in Central Asia. In 1872 thus, Seistan was divided between Afghanistan and Persia. Government of India had proposed building a new trade link between Quetta and Seistan, just to establish the supreme interest of Britain in those parts of Persia bordering Baluchistan. In the later half of the 19 century, the whole policy of the British government was to capture the strategic locations to further its economic interest, which are evident from the official and non-official records. With this evil intention and local power struggle, the richness and fertility of Seistan was destroyed and local peasantry faced dire straits.


ABSTRACT In this article, we study stability properties for two-dimensional non-Newtonian fluids. More precisely, we consider stochastic perturbations of the second grade fluid equations, with Navier slip boundary condition, and analyse the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions as We prove that the strong solutions (in the probability sense) of the stochastic evolutionary equation converge exponentially to the stationary solution in the mean square and almost surely. In addition, we study the stabilization of the deterministic model by introducing a suitable stochastic noise.


A matrix-based projection model is used in conjunction with the results of a coupled bio-physical dispersal model to examine the spread of alleles through subdivided populations over time, and the associated development of genetic structural patterns. Applying this approach, it becomes possible to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of spatially explicit migration towards patterns of genetic structure observed in the field. To provide a concrete example, the model was used to examine genetic dispersal between coral reef patches of the Caribbean. Using generic life-history parameters, the model shows the formation of a strong genetic break between eastern and western patches, as well as the development of a gradient along the length of the Bahamian archipelago, corresponding with evidence previously collected for coral and fish species. The data also suggest that Jamaica and the Cayman Islands are important stepping stones between the reefs of the northern Caribbean (Hispaniola and the Bahamas) and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. The model provides an effective means of evaluating regional-scale genetic connectivity through time and identifying natural clusters of genetic exchange.


Our objective was to develop a technique for cannulating the terminal ileum in pregnant sows and to evaluate the usefulness of this procedure in digestibility studies in pregnant and lactating sows. A simple T-cannula was inserted into the terminal ileum approximately 15 cm cranial to the ileo-cecal valve in a total of 15 multiparous sows at d 40 (+/- 5 d) of pregnancy. All cannulated sows recovered quickly after the surgery and within 3 d they were eating normally. Elevated body temperatures were not registered in any sows, and clinical problems related to the surgery were not observed. At farrowing, normal litters were born, and number of stillborn pigs, number of live born pigs, and daily litter weight gain were not affected by the cannulations (P > .05). Of the 15 sows originally cannulated, 11 sows were used for collection of digesta during gestation and the following lactating period. Eight sows were rebred after weaning, and five sows were rebred after the second lactation period and kept for another cycle. Blockage of the cannulas never occurred, and no serious problems were associated with digesta collections. The experiment demonstrated that pregnant sows can be prepared with a simple T-cannula in the distal ileum and that the cannula can be maintained in sows throughout the reproductive cycle. Hence, the procedure provides a tool for obtaining digesta from pregnant and lactating sows for nutrition studies.


Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the relevant tools in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis in dogs. Material and Methods: A total of 140 dogs presented at Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, showing clinical signs of hepatic insufficiency were subjected to clinico-hemato biochemical, urological, ultrasonographic (USG), and USG guided fine-needle biopsy examinations by standard methods. On the basis of these results, 6 dogs out of 140 dogs were found to be suffering from liver cirrhosis. Six clinically healthy dogs constituted the control group. Results: The dogs suffering from liver cirrhosis manifested inappetence, halitosis, abdominal distension, weight loss, melena, icterus, anemia, and neutrophilic leukocytosis with the left shift. Levels of hemoglobin, lymphocytes, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), and platelet count were significantly lower in liver cirrhosis group than control group while total leukocyte count, neutrophils, and MCH concentration were significantly higher. Glucose, total protein, albumin, A/G ratio, and fibrinogen were significantly lower, and creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, prothrombin time, and APTT were significantly higher than the control values. Ultrasound revealed diffuse increase in echogenicity with rounded and irregular liver margins. Cytological examination of the ascitic fluid and fine-needle aspiration biopsy of liver was not fruitful in the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Conclusions: Liver cirrhosis causes clinical and hemo-biochemical alterations, which require special consideration when treating diseased animals. USG, diffuse increase in echogenicity of liver, rounding and irregularity of liver margins and microhepatica were the consistent findings. It is suggested that USG along with hemo-biochemical alterations may be used as a diagnostic tool for liver cirrhosis in dogs.


The La Verendrye Park area extends from the Grenville front near Val d'Or, Quebec, to the beginning of the cover formed by rocks of the Grenville Supergroup some 200 km southeast of the front. Most of the rocks in the study area are layered quartzofeldspathic gneisses of uncertain origin, metamorphosed to the granulite facies.

For the first 50 km southeast of the front, the gneisses yield fairly precise Rb-Sr isochron estimates of the times of their metamorphism 2,450 to 2,850 m.y. ago. Throughout the central part of the area, lithologically similar rocks have commonly been affected by a later metamorphic event; they yield a variety of results ranging from a random distribution of isotopic data to very poorly defined ages of about 2,000 m.y., which are interpreted as being intermediate between the ages of two metamorphic episodes.

Demonstrably intrusive igneous rocks are very rare in the northern and central parts of the area. A metasomatic origin for the fairly abundant granitic (microcline-rich) layers in the gneisses is supported by isotopic and petrographic evidence and by their relationship to the enclosing quartz-oligoclase gneisses. Similar evidence suggests that this granitization is an Archean phenomenon in the northern half of the area.

Farther south, the zone of migmatite between 150 and 200 km southeast of the Grenville front consists of granitic and charnockitic rocks that yield ages of about 1,150 m.y. and locally high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios. The host rocks are interfolded Archean and Aphebian quartzofeldspathic gneisses. The latter are a group of metasedimentary rocks that are distinct in lithology from the Archean gneisses and the sedimentary rocks of the Grenville Supergroup and yield a reliable metamorphic age of 1,650 m.y. and a low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio.

When this information is added to that from other more southern regions, the evolution of this part of the shield is inferred to be dominantly accretionary but includes a very significant overlap of Grenville Supergroup rocks on Aphebian continental crust. The Grenville front in this area probably represents a zone of vertical movement that exhumed a 100-km-wide strip of high-grade Archean rocks, which presumably had lain under and adjacent to the Abitibi foldbelt. South of the La Verendrye Park area, Archean rocks have not been identified in close association with rocks of the Grenville Supergroup, and older rocks have not contributed significantly to the generation of plutonic rocks of Grenville age except in the boundary zone described in this paper.


The canonical problem of an axially symmetric, isotropic impedance sphere with two constant impedance surfaces is formulated and solved for the case of a normally incident plane wave. Although the solution involves the truncation of an infinite series and numerical inversion of a linear system, its properties of a rapidly converging truncation process, evaluation of matrix elements in terms of known special functions, and rapid generation of remaining modal coefficients allow for an accurate representation of the fields. This is especially important near the impedance junction where discontinuities in some field components are expected. These properties make this solution an ideal test case for more general scattering codes.


The area of health benefits from fruit and vegetables is one that has been the focus of increasingly intense research effort over the last 10–20 years. Consequently, this explosion of effort has meant that, for both nascent and experienced researchers, there is a requirement for books such as this one, which identifies the phytochemical derivation of health benefits in fruit and vegetables and the specific human conditions and pathologies impacted. The authors cover the major global fruit and vegetables and their impact on a plethora of human health benefits with cancer and cardiovascular as the main targets for bioefficacy, but with benefits identified for other conditions such as metabolic diseases (allium), neuroprotection (blueberries, blackcurrant and raspberries), urinary tract infection (cranberry) and pulmonary function and asthma (pome fruit). For all the fruit and vegetables there is also a useful section outlining the preand post-harvest factors impacting bioactive content and diversity. In addition, the authors close the book with two short but packed chapters dealing with the isolation and characterisation of bioactives and their bioefficacy evaluation in in vitro and in vivo systems. The latter is particularly detailed and well referenced. My only criticism with the book is the over emphasis on antioxidant content in relation to bioactivity. In many cases this characteristic of phytochemicals is increasingly being shown not to be the derivation of bioactivity with more subtle mechanisms at work. However, this is a minor complaint for an otherwise excellent book that will be valuable for all researchers in the field of plantand crop-derived human health benefits.


In this work, the design of a C-band class-AB power amplifier based on the waveform engineering approach is presented. The design leverages the low-frequency characterization of the transistor to obtain the prediction of its optimum operating condition. An exhaustive validation of the realized amplifier fully validates the proposed design technique.


Tensile stress-induced crazing in polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate), and polycarbonate has been carefully examined by optical and electron microscopy. Examination of the surface of crazed specimens and the cross sections of individual crazes leads to the conclusion that the crazes are not void cracks, but are filled with a craze matter. The craze matter is readily distinguishable from the surrounding resin and is seen to exist in continuity with it. Further experiments confirm the existence of the craze matter and tend to indicate its structural and mechanical properties. These experiments include: microscopic examination of the walls of fractured crazes, micro x-ray diffraction of craze matter, studies of the strength of crazed specimens under static loads and under increasing tensions, studies of the effect of heat and solvent on crazed specimens, and observations on the ability of crazes to form special networks. The results indicate that the craze matter may be formed by localized resin deformation leading to a load bearing oriented structure. A hypothesis of the mechanism of craze formation is proposed in light of the new and varied information reported in the paper. Study of the kinetics of craze growth suggests the division of the mechanism into three parts: initiation, propagation, and termination. The initiation step describes the concentration of strain energy and the precursory molecular arrangements in the immediate vicinity of inhomogeneities. These are the changes which occur during the time lapse between stress application and first appearance of crazes. The propagation step comprises the sudden and relatively rapid localized resin deformation which creates the craze matter. The shapes of the growing crazes and their diminishing growth rates are attributable to known resin properties. The termination step represents the apparent cessation of craze growth with continued long times of stress application. At this stage in the existence of crazes the proposed hypothesis must blend into the theories of time delayed rupture. It is concluded that stress crazing is basically a molecular slippage rather than a molecular cleavage phenomenon. Considerations, therefore, are to be directed more towards intermolecular forces than intramolecular forces.


Most cloud computing optimizers explore and improve one workload at a time. When optimizing many workloads, the single-optimizer approach can be prohibitively expensive. Accordingly, we examine "collective optimizer" that concurrently explore and improve a set of workloads significantly reducing the measurement costs. Our large-scale empirical study shows that there is often a single cloud configuration which is surprisingly near-optimal for most workloads. Consequently, we create a collective-optimizer, MICKY, that reformulates the task of finding the near-optimal cloud configuration as a multi-armed bandit problem. MICKY efficiently balances exploration (of new cloud configurations) and exploitation (of known good cloud configuration). Our experiments show that MICKY can achieve on average 8.6 times reduction in measurement cost as compared to the state-of-the-art method while finding near-optimal solutions. Hence we propose MICKY as the basis of a practical collective optimization method for finding good cloud configurations (based on various constraints such as budget and tolerance to near-optimal configurations)


We present a Temporal Context Network (TCN) for precise temporal localization of human activities. Similar to the Faster-RCNN architecture, proposals are placed at equal intervals in a video which span multiple temporal scales. We propose a novel representation for ranking these proposals. Since pooling features only inside a segment is not sufficient to predict activity boundaries, we construct a representation which explicitly captures context around a proposal for ranking it. For each temporal segment inside a proposal, features are uniformly sampled at a pair of scales and are input to a temporal convolutional neural network for classification. After ranking proposals, non-maximum suppression is applied and classification is performed to obtain final detections. TCN outperforms state-of-the-art methods on the ActivityNet dataset and the THU-MOS14 dataset.


This review assesses lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with or without erectile dysfunction (ED) and related therapies focusing on tadalafil. A literature search was obtained and reviewed for the epidemiology, treatment therapies, pathophysiology, and efficacy and safety of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) tadalafil in patients with LUTS/BPH. Approximately 42% of men aged 51 to 60 years have BPH. Approximately 90% of men aged 45 to 80 years have LUTS. Occurrence of LUTS increases with age for almost all racial/ethnic groups (range, 32% to 56%) with prevalence of LUTS highest among Hispanic men, then Blacks, Caucasians, and Asians. There is an independent relationship with LUTS/BPH and ED, with approximately 70% of men with LUTS/BPH having ED with severity of one disease often correlating with the other. The European Urological Association guidelines include the use of the PDE5i tadalafil. Tadalafil is the only therapy recommended for treatment of co-existing BPH and ED, while other therapies have unwanted ED side effects. The mode of action of tadalafil may involve different areas of the lower urinary tract such as smooth muscle cell relaxation in the bladder neck, prostate, and urethra, but there may also be resulting modulation of the afferent nerve activity. Tadalafil (5 mg) in Asian men with LUTS/BPH, similar to global studies, is efficacious and safe. Tadalafil (5 mg) improves co-existing LUTS/BPH and ED, independently. Men with LUTS/BPH likely also have ED. Asian men with LUTS/BPH have similar incidence rates, co-existing ED, comorbid diseases, and risks as non-Asian men. Tadalafil can improve co-existing LUTS/BPH and ED.


The Pleistocene Carpinteria basin is an east-trending northward-verging, faulted syncline containing up to 4,000 ft (1,220 m) of partially intertonguing Santa Barbara and Casitas Formations deposited on previously folded pre-Pleistocene strata with up to 80° discordance. Structures subcropping against the unconformity indicate that most of the deformation in the Santa Ynez Mountains prior to deposition of the Pleistocene Santa Barbara Formation was by folding. During that time, the Carpinteria area was the northern margin of the offshore Ventura basin; subsequent uplift during middle to late Pleistocene time isolated the Carpinteria basin north of the Red Mountain fault. Quaternary faults in the area are either south-dipping reverse faults related to bedding slip in pre-Pleistocene strata or north-dipping reverse faults that truncate bedding and are seismogenic. The Rincon Creek fault dips 35 to 60° south, steepening to nearly vertical at depth, where it apparently passes into bedding within the Sespe Formation. The Rincon Creek fault offsets late Pleistocene marine terraces and is itself deformed by the Red Mountain fault. The Red Mountain fault dips 55 to 63° north at the surface and steepens to 75° north with depth; it also steepens westward south of the Summerland Offshore oil field to 85° north. Vertical separation decreases westward from 14,750 ft (4,500 m) north of the Rincon field to 1,150 ft (350 m) at Rincon Point and 330 ft (100 m) south of Summerland. The main branch of the Red Mountain fault offsets a 45,000 year old marine terrace, but not a 4,500 year old terrace. The Summerland Offshore oil field is situated within a disharmonically folded anticline in which severely deformed, structurally incompetent Miocene mudstone overlies broadly folded, competent Oligocene sandstone. Because the anticline formed after deposition of the Santa Barbara Formation, oil could not have migrated into this field until middle to late Pleistocene time.


Providing a critical introduction and case studies that illustrate cutting-edge approaches to periodical research, this volume provides an overview of recent developments in the field. The twelve chapters model diverse approaches and methodologies for research on nineteenth-century periodicals. Each case study is contextualized within one of the following broad areas of research: single periodicals, individual journalists, gender issues, periodical networks, genre, the relationship between periodicals, transnational/transatlantic connections, technologies of printing and illustration, links within a single periodical, topical subjects, science and periodicals, and imperialism and periodicals. Each author incorporates first-person accounts of how they conducted their research and provide specific examples of how they gained access to primary sources, as well as the methods they used to analyze the materials.


A thesis presented to The School of Research and Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Postharvest Technology), 2015


We present a consistent model example of field theory in which CPT nonconservation is allowed. This is the generalization of the model proposed previously on KL_,.27t with CPT nonconservation which is based on the fact that there exist two sets of field operators for a pair-conjugate isomultiplet and that in the case of half-integer isospin these two sets of field operator are connected nonlocally with each other and transformed differently under the CPT transformation. It is found from the causality condition specified in §1 that only the decay process of a pair-conjugate multiplet with half-integer isospin into "neutral state" allows CPT nonconservation. Some discussions on CP- and possible CPT-nonconserving K 0 decay KL_,.27t, 7tl)) are given and possible CPT nonconserving processes are enumerated.


Background No studies to date have investigated cumulative anticholinergic exposure and its effects in adults with intellectual disabilities. Aims To determine the cumulative exposure to anticholinergics and the factors associated with high exposure. Method A modified Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden (ACB) scale score was calculated for a representative cohort of 736 people over 40 years old with intellectual disabilities, and associations with demographic and clinical factors assessed. Results Age over 65 years was associated with higher exposure (ACB 1–4 odds ratio (OR) = 3.28, 95% CI 1.49–7.28, ACB 5+ OR = 3.08, 95% CI 1.20–7.63), as was a mental health condition (ACB 1–4 OR = 9.79, 95% CI 5.63–17.02, ACB 5+ OR = 23.74, 95% CI 12.29–45.83). Daytime drowsiness was associated with higher ACB (P<0.001) and chronic constipation reported more frequently (26.6% ACB 5+ v. 7.5% ACB 0, P<0.001). Conclusions Older people with intellectual disabilities and with mental health conditions were exposed to high anticholinergic burden. This was associated with daytime dozing and constipation.


Purpose: Abdominal pain is a widely reported problem representing the 3rd most common referral to endoscopy clinic. Isolated abdominal pain is regarded to correlate poorly with colonic pathology. There is limited data supporting the use of colonoscopy to investigate pain & no data in the Australian setting. We aim to evaluate the yield & complication rate of colonoscopy in abdominal pain.

Methodology: A single centre retrospective study was performed. All colonoscopies between December 2010 and May 2012 were collected. All patients with isolated abdominal pain +/- NHMRC Cat. 1 & 2 Family histories were included for analysis. Patient demographics, pathological yield & complications were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS®. Chi-square tests were used to identify explanatory variables that are related to the yield of colonoscopy. Binary logistic regression was performed on variables having a Pearson chi-square significance level less than 0.15.

Results: Of 1164 patients, 55 underwent colonoscopy for isolated abdominal pain. Of these, 50.9% had normal colonoscopies. The remainder showed uncomplicated diverticulosis (29%) & polyps (27.2%). No cause for pain (cancer, IBD) was identified in any patient. Age was an important predictor of pathology (p=0.002).Those aged 50-64 had 7.5 times the odds of an abnormal result than those <50 (p= 0.005). Of those patients aged <50 years, 81% had a normal scope.1 of 55 patients suffered a perforation yielding a complication rate of 1.8% which has not been previously described.

Conclusions: Colonoscopy has a low yield & a significant morbidity in the investigation of isolated abdominal pain. We suggest that it should not be used as a 1st line investigation in this setting.


: In this article a new Bayesian regression model, called the Bayesian semi-parametric logistic regression model, is introduced. This model generalizes the semi-parametric logistic regression model (SLoRM) and improves its estimation process. The paper considers Bayesian and non-Bayesian estimation and inference for the parametric and semi-parametric logistic regression model with application to credit scoring data under the square error loss function. The paper introduces a new algorithm for estimating the SLoRM parameters using Bayesian theorem in more detail. Finally, the parametric logistic regression model (PLoRM), the SLoRM and the Bayesian SLoRM are used and compared using a real data set.


Objective: to evaluate the data of cardiac screening to identify cardiac pathology and determine sports participation among in athletes of Youth Sports Schools in five districts of St. Petersburg. Materials and methods: 9847 young athletes (average age 13.8 ± 4.9 years, 6127 men) were included in the study during 8 months. Clinical protocol uncluded the collection of complaints, anamnesis, family anamnesis, physical examination, ECG in 12 leads. If necessary, Holter monitoring, echocardiography, and an exercise test were performed. Results: typical ECG changes were registered in 60.4% of athletes, borderline in 0.05% and pathological in 3.69%. All athletes with pathological changes were excluded from the training and competitive process for the period of in-depth medical examination. In the end, two athletes were not allowed to continue participation in sport (2 with stressful ventricular arrhythmias). There was not any lethal outcomes for the entire period of the study. Conclusions: cardiological screening using the routine ECG method remains the main tool for identifying a possible pathological substrate and assessing the risk of sudden cardiac death. Early detection of cardiac arrhythmias and conduction disturbances allow to take measures to prevent sudden cardiac death.


It is a common belief that Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy predominantly affects Caucasians but rarely Asians. However, in one Japanese study, primary corneal guttae (first stage of Fuchs' dystrophy) were found in four of 107 cataract patients.1 With the growing popularity of phacoemulsification in China in the past decade, the increased incidence of endothelial decompensation may be due to learning curves among surgeons as well as that the prevalence of Fuchs' dystrophy among Chinese is higher than we thought. Low index of suspicion for Fuchs' dystrophy may result in missing of diagnosis and occurrence of endothelial decompensation, particularly when no extra protection is provided for endothelial cells during phacoemulsification. This study was aimed at improving our knowledge about Fuchs' dystrophy among Chinese population and reminding surgeons of extra endothelial protection during cataract surgery for patients with Fuchs' dystrophy.


Proteasome inhibitors can resensitize cells that are resistant to tumors necrosis factor-related apoptotic-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-mediated apoptosis. However, the underlying mechanisms of this effect are unclear. To characterize the mechanisms of interaction between proteasome inhibitors and TRAIL protein, we evaluated the effects of combined treatment with the proteasome inhibitors bortezomib and MG132 and TRAIL protein on two TRAIL-resistant human colon cancer cell lines, DLD1-TRAIL/R and LOVO-TRAIL/R. Both bortezomib and MG132 in combination with TRAIL enhanced apoptotosis induction in these cells, as evidenced by enhanced cleavage of caspases 8, 9, and 3, Bid, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and by the release of cytochrome C and Smac. Subsequent studies showed that combined treatment with bortezomib or MG132 resulted in an increase of death receptor (DR) 5 and Bik at protein levels but had no effects on protein levels of DR4, Bax, Bak, Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, or Flice-inhibitory protein (FLIP). Moreover, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is activated by these proteasome inhibitors. Blocking JNK activation with the JNK inhibitor SP600125 attenuated DR5 increase, but enhancement of apoptosis induction and increase of Bik protein were not affected. However, bortezomib-mediated TRAIL sensitization was partially blocked by using siRNA to knockdown Bik. Thus, our data suggests that accumulation of Bik may be critical for proteasome inhibitor-mediated re-sensitization of TRAIL.


BACKGROUND
Airborne sports have become more popular in recent years. The number of accidents has increased linearly as athletes take increasingly greater risks to experience the adventurous spirit of this kind of sports.

AIM
To investigate the variety of injuries in airborne sport accidents, as well as which acute treatment these patients receive, both before and after admission to a level-one-trauma center.

METHODS
We performed a retrospective chart analysis at a major level-one-trauma center in Switzerland for 235-patients who were admitted following airborne sports injuries between 2010 and 2017. Patients' demographic data, injury patterns, emergency primary care procedures and intra-hospital care were recorded.

RESULTS
Overall, 718-injuries in 235-patients were identified; the spine was the most commonly affected region with 46.5% of injuries (n = 334/718) in 143-patients. In 69-patients (15.5%), the (non-spine) thorax was affected, followed by the lower and upper extremity, pelvis, head/face and abdominal injuries. Eleven-patients had to be intubated at the trauma site. Three patients were resuscitated after onset of pulseless-electrical-activity. Two-patients died in the resuscitation room. In 116-cases, surgery was indicated including 55-emergency surgeries. Another 19 patients (8.1%) were transferred to the intensive care unit.

CONCLUSION
Paragliders are most commonly affected, although the highest injury severities were identified for Building, Antenna, Span and Earth-jumping athletes. First responders, treating physicians and pilots should be aware of the risk for potentially serious and life-threatening injury with an in-hospital mortality of 0.9%.


A UHF outphasing transmitter, based on parallelcircuit
Class E power amplifiers (PAs) and implementing a
constant-gain envelope tracking strategy, is presented in this
paper. Using the nonlinear model of the selected GaN HEMT
device, the drain terminating and biasing networks are designed
to provide near optima impedance values at the fundamental
and higher order harmonics. A relatively wideband
performance, 630-890 MHz, is obtained with an efficiency above
80%, besides being amenable for load-modulation. Thanks to
the use of a series Chireix combiner, followed by an impedance
transformer, an outphasing scheme is implemented. Once
characterized in a pure output power phase-coding regime, the
observed limitation in dynamic range is overcome by operating
the amplifiers in a sort of continuous class J mode, while
introducing a sort of ISOGAIN load envelope tracking strategy.
A 1c-WCDMA signal, with a peak-to-average power ratio of 8.4
dB is shown to be reproduced, satisfying the linearity
requirements, with an average power efficiency of 58%.


Dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition influences microbial community metabolism and benthic primary producers are a source of DOM in coral reefs. As reef benthic communities change, in part due to nutrient pollution, understanding impacts on reef microbial processes requires knowledge of DOM sources and composition. We conducted a multi‐week mesocosm experiment dosing four coral reef benthic constituents with three levels of nitrate and phosphate to contrast exudate composition and quantify the effects of nutrient enrichment on exudate release. Moderate nutrient enrichment enhanced bulk dissolved organic carbon exudation by all producers. Corals exuded rapidly accumulating DOM with a markedly high concentration of aromatic amino acid‐like fluorescent DOM components that clearly distinguishes them from algal exudates, which were dominated by humic‐like fluorescent components and did not accumulate significantly. Our results indicate that corals and algae release DOM of different quality and the quantity of DOM release increases with inorganic nutrient availability.


Recently, there has been a significant interest in employing high frequency radar imagery for many industrial oriented and security applications. The quality control of aeronautics composite multi-layered materials and structures through Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is the main focus of this study. The main motivations for using this technology are: it allows penetration of most non-metal and non-polarized materials, it provides the ability for three-dimensional (3-D) imagery and in-depth information, and the millimeter waves (mmW) pose no health risk to the operator. The main goal of this research is to develop an integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time mode-operated image processing methodology for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) millimeter wave images with center frequencies around 100 GHz and 300 GHz. The proposed methodology firstly foresees to process reflectance and transmittance 3-D imagery by extracting areas of interest and object's boundaries at two operated frequencies. Then, the detected areas are subjected to a multi-source database and integrated by a decision tree algorithm. The fused information is used to identify defects and in-homogeneities within the objects. Finally, the post-processing phase examines and evaluates the spatial accuracy of the extracted information.


ABSTRACT Pharmacodynamic activity in antibiotic combinations of daptomycin, vancomycin, and linezolid was investigated in a 48-h in vitro pharmacodynamic model. Using human-simulated free drug concentrations, activity against clinical biofilm-forming methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates was evaluated. Linezolid antagonized vancomycin activity at 24 and 48 h. Linezolid antagonized daptomycin at 24 and 48 h depending on dose and strain. Adding daptomycin increased vancomycin activity at 48 h (P < 0.03). These results may be strain dependent and require further clinical investigation.


This paper presents a review of three decades of implementation studies and is constructed in the form of a personal reflection. The paper begins with a reflection upon the context within which the book Policy and Action was written, a time when both governments and policy analysts were endeavouring to systematize and improve the public decision-making process and to place such decision-making within a more strategic framework. The review ends with a discussion about how public policy planning has changed in the light of public services reform strategies. It is suggested that as a result of such reforms, interest in the processes of implementation have perhaps been superseded by a focus upon change management and performance targets. It is further argued that this has resulted in the reassertion of normative, top-down processes of policy implementation. The paper raises points that are important ones and indeed are reflected throughout all four papers in the symposium issue. These are: (1) the very real analytical difficulties of understanding the role of bureaucratic discretion and motivation; (2) the problem of evaluating policy outcomes; and (3) the need to also focus upon micro political processes that occur in public services organizations. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the continued importance of implementation studies and the need for policy analysts to understand what actually happens at policy recipient level.


The article uses  1934–1939  publications of the  Pionerskaya Pravda newspaper to analyze the children's model of kul'turnost'. Exploring the demands to the schoolchildren's appearance, the authors note that these demands were based on ideological and hygienic, and not on aesthetic, criteria. We come to the conclusion that the 1930s children model of kul'turnost' corresponded to the adult model in its general features; however, it was marked by higher stability, because the children audience was instructed to follow the first basic level of kul'turnost'.
Keywords: Soviet culture; kul'turnost'; models of kul'turnost'; embodiment; young pioneers; Pionerskaya pravda


Objective: This study aimed to determine damage/change occurring in the posterior tibial tendon of patients undergoing surgery for posterior tibial tendon dysfunction (PTTD) and to correlate preoperative imaging and intraoperative findings with histology to determine the most appropriate investigations for diagnosis. The secondary aim was to clarify terminology used in describing the tendon pathology, to improve descriptive terminology for research, assessment, and treatment of PTTD. Methods: The records of patients who had undergone surgery for stage 2 PTTD were retrospectively reviewed. Cases in which preoperative diagnostic imaging was done and a posterior tibial tendon specimen was sent for histology were included. Ultrasound (US) and MRI findings, surgical notes and histopathological reports were evaluated. Results: Nineteen patients met the inclusion criteria. Fourteen had US showing degenerative changes and synovitis. Five had MRI showing tendon degeneration, with rupture in two cases. Intraoperatively, all tendons showed gross abnormality, with surrounding synovitis. Microscopically, no acute inflammation was noted within any tendon specimens. All had non-specific reactive changes within the visceral synovium. Conclusion: This study confirms clear histological degeneration within the posterior tibial tendon of patients undergoing corrective surgery for PTTD. Preoperative imaging and surgical findings identified tendon sheath synovitis. Pre-operative ultrasound imaging and intraoperative confirmation of PTTD is accurate; thus, histological confirmation is unnecessary. The pathological changes in PTTD have been described as a tendinopathy in the literature. We suggest using the term pantendinopathy, which is a combination of peritendinitis with tendinosis, as it better describes the pathological process. Level of Evidence IV; Therapeutic Studies; Case Series.


Abstract Air change rates and ventilation of a room was determined by CO Tracer Decay Technique. The tracer was generated by burning bulk amount of mosquito coils, an easy and low cost method of CO generation. The temporal decay in CO concentration in indoor air under closed and open room conditions were determined by collecting indoor air periodically at a few minutes interval in Tedler Bags and analyzing the same for CO. The air changes rate per hour (ACH) was calculated from the temporal decline of indoor CO concentration in indoor air. The study indicated that CO generated by a low cost and easily applicable method like combustion of organic materials could be used as a tracer to determine ACH and ventilation rate. Background CO in air could be suitably used for ventilation studies in rural/urban slum dwellings in India and many other countries where substantial CO is found indoors due to combustion of biomass, incense sticks and mosquito coils.