Attachment and spreading of phagocytes on a mineralized tissue surface is crucial for their proper resorptive function. In other studies, attachment and spreading have been shown to be highly dependent on the nature and composition of the surface. In the present study, peritoneal macrophages were cultured on infected and non-infected mineralized and non-mineralized dental tissues, which were examined with scanning electron microscopy at different observation periods. Although some cells had attached to non-infected predentin, only a few showed signs of spreading, even after long incubation times. This contrasted with the behavior of macrophages cultivated on enamel, mineralized dentin and infected predentin. Most of these cells showed spreading and the characteristics of active, phagocytosing cells. The reluctance of macrophages to spread on non-infected predentin was suggested to be due to the non-mineralized nature of this tissue, although an influence of endogenous resorption inhibitors cannot be excluded.


ABSTRACT Introduction Wnt/β-catenin signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway having a crucial role in embryonic and adult life. Specifically, the Wnt/β-catenin axis is pivotal to the development and homeostasis of the nervous system, and its dysregulation has been associated with various neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, this signaling pathway has been proposed as a potential therapeutic target against neurodegeneration. Areas covered This review focuses on the role of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's Diseases and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The evidence showing that defects in the signaling might be involved in the development of these diseases, and the pharmacological approaches tested so far, are discussed. The possibilities that this pathway offers in terms of new therapeutic opportunities are also considered. Expert opinion The increasing interest paid to the role of Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the onset of neurodegenerative diseases demonstrates how targeting this signaling for therapeutic purposes could be a great opportunity for both neuroprotection and neurorepair. Without overlooking some licit concerns about drug safety and delivery to the brain, there is growing and more convincing evidence that restoring this signaling in neurodegenerative diseases may strongly increase the chance to develop disease-modifying treatments for these brain pathologies.


Young's equation describes an interfacial equilibrium condition of a liquid droplet on a smooth solid surface. This relation is derived by Thomas Young in 1805. It has been discussed until today after his work. In general, Young's equation is discussed from the viewpoint of thermodynamics and derived by minimizing the total free energy of the system with intensive parameters in the total free energy kept constant, i.e., the variation in the total free energy is zero. In the derivation, the virtual work variations in the horizontal and vertical directions of the droplet on the smooth solid are considered independently. However, the virtual work variation at the droplet surface depends on the variation of the horizontal and vertical directions, which are related to an incline of the droplet surface. This point has been overlooked in past studies. In this study, by considering this directional dependency, we derive the modified Young's equation based on the thermodynamics. Finally, we evaluate the modified Young's equation by comparing the analytical solution of the relationship between a contact angle and the contact line radii of the droplet with some experimental data. Moreover, we investigated the line tension itself.


An optimization problem with an affine feasible set is studied. By converting the affine set to a closed convex set which contains the solution, the Meyer-Polak algorithm can be used. The selection of the constraints is the key issue. A theorem has been derived for the selection of the constraints for the affine problem where the cost function is of p-norm form. Its application in a control problem is demonstrated.


Background The Type A Behaviour Pattern (TABP) – characterised as individuals who are highly competitive, time-conscious and aggressive - has been the subject of research for over fifty years. The concept was developed in the 1950s by U.S. cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman who argued that TABP was a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), notably among white middle-class males. The theory was initially supported by findings from the Western Collaborative Group study (WCGS) and the Framingham study. However, subsequent studies found no consistent evidence that TABP predicts CHD onset or outcome. This pattern of early positive findings followed by negative findings (a "decline effect") has long been a puzzle for TABP researchers. Despite this, the concept of Type A behaviour has continued to enjoy public appeal, fostered through popular books by Friedman and Rosenman which describe "how to recognise the deadly Type A pattern in your own personality". TABP has also remained the subject of contemporary public health research, and it features in discussions on the psychosocial causes of health inequalities. We analysed tobacco industry documents to show that Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds were major funders of TABP research, with selected positive findings used to counter concerns regarding tobacco and health. Methods The Legacy Tobacco Documents Library (http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu) was systematically searched from 1959 to 2011 to identify relevant documents. The names of key individuals were identified through retrieved documents using a snowballing technique. Results Our document analysis suggests that, in the case of TABP, the decline effects described above may be explained by the influence of tobacco industry funding. Phillip Morris channeled significant funds for TABP research through Duke and Yale Universities, including part-funding the Framingham study. It also funded a 10-year clinical trial of the effectiveness of counselling to reduce TABP, which it referred to as its "Crown Jewel", and funded Meyer Friedman's Institute to a total of almost US$11million. A history of the relationship between TABP research and the Tobacco Industry will be presented. Conclusion It has not previously been shown that research into TABP was strongly influenced by the Tobacco Industry. This analysis extends further our understanding of the extent to which the tobacco industry has shaped major themes in contemporary public health research. Our findings also help explain the inconsistencies in the findings of epidemiological studies into TABP and mortality.


Self-localization is important for mobile robots in order to move accurately, and many works use an omnidirectional camera for self-localization. However, it is difficult to realize fast and accurate self-localization by using only one omnidirectional camera without any calibration. For its realization, we use "tracked scale and rotation invariant feature points" that are regarded as landmarks. These landmarks can be tracked and do not change for a "long" time. In a landmark selection phase, robots detect the feature points by using both a fast tracking method and a slow "Speed Up Robust Features (SURF)" method. After detection, robots select landmarks from among detected feature points by using Support Vector Machine (SVM) trained by feature vectors based on observation positions. In a self-localization phase, robots detect landmarks while switching detection methods dynamically based on a tracking error criterion that is calculated easily even in the uncalibrated omnidirectional image. We performed experiments in an approximately 10 [m] × 10 [m] mock supermarket by using a navigation robot ApriTau™ that had an omnidirectional camera on its top. The results showed that ApriTau™ could localize 2.9 times faster and 4.2 times more accurately by using the developed method than by using only the SURF method. The results also showed that ApriTau™ could arrive at a goal within a 3 [cm] error from various initial positions at the mock supermarket.


The impact of refractive turbulence on monostatic and bistatic lidars is investigated; a phase screen model is used. Experimental verifications are given. For monostatic lidars perturbing lens effects dominate, for bistatic lidars tilt effects dominate. Monostatic systems are the least sensitive to refractive turbulence.


An integrable generalization of the NLS equation is presented, in which the dynamical complex variable $u(t,x)$ is replaced by a pair of dynamical complex variables $(u_1(t,x),u_2(t,x))$, and $i$ is replaced by a Pauli matrix $J$. Integrability is retained by the addition of a nonlocal term in the resulting 2-component system. A further integrable generalization is obtained which involves a dynamical scalar variable and an additional nonlocal term. For each system, a Lax pair and a bi-Hamiltonian formulation are derived from a zero-curvature framework that is based on symmetric Lie algebras and that uses Hasimoto variables. The systems are each shown to be equivalent to a bi-normal flow and a Schrodinger map equation, generalizing the well-known equivalence of the NLS equation to the bi-normal flow in $R^3$ and the Schrodinger map equation in $S^2$. Furthermore, both of the integrable systems describe spinor/quaternion NLS-type equations with the pair $(u_1(t,x),u_2(t,x))$ being viewed as a spinor variable or equivalently a quaternion variable.


BARBIER Jean-Marie, professor emeritus at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, specialist in the field of adult education, activity analysis and experience construction processes. In research, education and professional activity, he adopts the paradigm referred to as "the discovery of activity" (entrée activité). He has an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University in Louvain. Together with Augustin Mutuale, he is responsible for the UNESCO Chair 'Formation Professionnelle, Construction Personnelle, Transformations Sociales', at the Catholic University in Paris. He is the chair of the Biennale Internationale de l'Education, de la Formation et des Pratiques Professionnelles.


Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society. It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities .... It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.'


Knowledge Management has become Buzz word today. An organization does not able to cope up its immediate losses occurs when an employee left the job who is working on very responsible position and Microfinance companies are also not an exception. Knowledge Management is a competitive tool and any organization get qualitative and quantitative advantage on its competitor by applying this tool. The objectives of this research paper are as follows: i. To make the Microfinance companies aware about the Knowledge Management. ii. To find out whether Microfinance companies are practicing Knowledge Management. iii. To know the processes followed by Microfinance companies to manage its knowledge. iv. To find out whether a company accomplishes its goal with the help of the Knowledge Management. v. To find out motivational factors of Knowledge workers in Microfinance companies.


which might enter water from industrial activities. The recommended analytical procedures are the official standard methods of the Institute of Petroleum. Chapters deal with the types of pollutant encountered; effects of weathering on petroleum oils; sample collection, storage and trans• portation; preparation of samples for analysis; recommended scheme of analysis; analytical methods; guidance on interpretation and identification; and reference material.


Dairy production in Brazil is an important
activity of the agricultural sector and it has a vital role in the economic and
social development process of the country. Brazil fluid milk consumption is
estimated at 177 liters per capita per year. Consumption of fluid milk is
forecasted to increase around 2 percent in 2013. The increase is derived mostly
from an estimated increase in industrial use, supported by higher disposable
consumer income. Milk drink products in Brazil are not only expanding in volume
but also gaining in sophistication and health orientation. Brazil is considered
as the top flavored milk drink market in Latin America. The lack of vision and
understanding of the production chain as a whole, eventually led to an
asymmetric behavior, in some situations, resulting in losses along the
production process, often justifying the dissatisfaction of producers. The
differences in type of producers, technology standards, low investments, the
profile of traditional estates, owners resistance to changes, cultural barriers
and distrust lead to unbalance of the estate productivity and the
disorganization of the supply chain. The present study proposes an
investigation and classification of the dairy chain to demonstrate that it is
possible to organize the estates of the dairy chain, using indicators to rank
them, modeling best practices to improve productivity and become a sustainable
productive chain.


Cryptography is concerned with the conceptualization, definition, and construction of computing systems that address security concerns. The design of cryptographic systems must be based on firm foundations. Building on the basic tools presented in the first volume, this second volume of Foundations of Cryptography contains a rigorous and systematic treatment of three basic applications: Encryption, Signatures, and General Cryptographic Protocols. It is suitable for use in a graduate course on cryptography and as a reference book for experts. The author assumes basic familiarity with the design and analysis of algorithms; some knowledge of complexity theory and probability is also useful. Also available: Volume I: Basic Tools 0-521-79172-3 Hardback $75.00 C


Baclofen is a centrally acting gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor agonist with many therapeutic uses in neurology and psychiatry. An overdose of baclofen is known to cause serious side effects such as encephalopathy, seizures, respiratory depression, and delirium. Association of baclofen with psychosis has also been reported. In this case report, we are highlighting the manifestation of catatonic features in addition to psychosis following baclofen overdose.


Aim: The study was conducted to determine the knowledge and attitudes of mothers with children between 0-6 years old about on antipyretic drug usage. Method: This descriptive research's sample consisted of 156 mothers with children between the 0-6 ages and applied to GMMF Outpatients of Child Health and Diseases with Pediatric Surgery between February-March 2014. Data were attained by using form inculding 20 questions about antipyretic drug usage. SPSS for Windows 15.0 software was used for evaluating of data. Chi-square were used for statistical comparison and p<0.05 was accepted for statistical significance. Results: The average age of mothers is 34±6.5. 66.7% of mothers have more than 11 years educational level . 92.3% of mothers uses thermometers and 88.5% of whom uses antipyretic drugs without a physician's prescription. 83.3% of antipyretic usage was parasetamol, 59% of which was ibuprofen. There are statistically significant diff erences between educational level of mothers being upper 11 years and knowledge status of the adverse eff ects of antipyretic drug (p=0.000). Conclusion: In study, it was found that mothers with children in the 0-6 age have a lack of information about antipyretic drug usage.


Abstract: Traditionally, plastics are made from artificial synthetic polymers. These polymers have an unnatural structure, that's why they are not biodegradable. Based on the latest advances in polymers structure studies, the article sets forward new biodegradable materials highly competitive with base plastic. Biodegradable films were received by fill-and-drain method from agar-agar, carrageenan and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose with glycerol, used as a plasticizer. Various compositions of biodegradable films based on natural polysaccharides have been analyzed for their rheological behavior and stress-strain properties, as well as for their safety and ecotoxicity index. It is found that all compositions of received polymer films are biodegradable and relatively bio-safe (III-IV class of danger). The strength characteristics tests revealed that the compositions with carrageenan have higher strength (2.84 MPa) than polymers containing only agar-agar (1.64 MPa). Also biopolymers with the content of carrageenan have the elevated chemical resistance (prolonged time of dissolution in hydrochloric acid). The melting point of the samples narrowly varies from 35.3 to 35.9°C. The study of the received polymers showed no cracks and no serious heterogeneities of composition. According to the testing results the compounds have been selected, which have optimum characteristics for use of biodegradable polymers in various industries. The biopolymers obtained in the future will replace artificial polymers that can solve problems of non-biodegradable polymer systems waste.


With the influx of military veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) increasingly affecting all healthcare facilities, including acute care and long term, learning from the experience of VA hospitals in treating those with PTSD may prove valuable. In this article, Tripler/VA Provost Marshal Donald E. Delaney describes a program that has been in operation since 1994. He may be contacted for further in formation at (808) 433-4465 or email@example.com .mil


We previously reported the clinical phenotype of two siblings with a novel inherited developmental and immunodeficiency syndrome consisting of severe intrauterine growth retardation and the impaired development of specific lymphoid lineages, including transient CD8 αβ T lymphopenia and a persistent lack of blood NK cells. We describe here the elucidation of a plausible underlying pathogenic mechanism, with a cellular phenotype of impaired survival of both fresh and herpesvirus saimiri-transformed T cells, in the surviving child. Clearly, NK cells could not be studied. However, peripheral blood T lymphocytes displayed excessive apoptosis ex vivo. Moreover, the survival rates of CD4 and CD8 αβ T cell blasts generated in vitro, and herpesvirus saimiri-transformed T cells cultured in vitro, were low, but not nil, following treatment with IL-2 and IL-15. In contrast, Fas-mediated activation-induced cell death was not enhanced, indicating a selective excess of cytokine deprivation-mediated apoptosis. In keeping with the known roles of IL-2 and IL-15 in the development of NK and CD8 T cells in the mouse model, these data suggest that an impaired, but not abolished, survival response to IL-2 and IL-15 accounts for the persistent lack of NK cells and the transient CD8 αβ T lymphopenia documented in vivo. Impaired cytokine-mediated lymphocyte survival is likely to be the pathogenic mechanism underlying this novel form of inherited and selective NK deficiency in humans.


We construct the bounce-averaged diffusion coefficients and study the bounce-averaged acceleration for energetic electrons in gyroresonance with whistler mode chorus. Numerical calculations have been performed for a band of chorus frequency distributed over a standard Gaussian spectrum specifically in the region near L = 4.5, where peaks of the electron phase space density occur. It is found that whistler mode chorus can efficiently accelerate electrons and can increase the phase space density at energies of about 1 MeV by more than one order of magnitude about one day, in agreement with the satellite observations during the recovery phase of magnetic storms.


Out of many difficulties in the interpretation of the book of Ecclesiastes, surely one of the most vexing is whether and/or in what way the gospel is expressed. While biblical books in both Testaments will differently express God's forgiveness and redemption of his people and restoration of sinners to life in his presence, it would be troubling indeed if a canonical book had nothing to say about these great biblical themes. But it is exactly this troubling possibility that faces the reader of Ecclesiastes: one finds nothing corresponding to (for instance) the Passover (Exodus 12) or the death of the Servant (Isaiah 53), texts which easily intersect with the presentation of the cross of Christ in the NT. Indeed, when Qohelet1 does address different subjects, such as wisdom or money or work, he hardly seems to have much good to say about them at all. A common response within Christian interpretation of Ecclesiastes is to understand Qohelet's insistence on vanity or meaninglessness as a conclusion about life without God: the negative or apparently pessimistic sections of the book count as Qohelet taking a secular worldview to its inevitable conclusion.2 It is difficult, after all, when reading Qohelet's opening salvo in 1:2, not to think of Paul's promise in 1 Cor 15:58 that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Tremper Longman presents a stronger version of this approach in his commentary.3 Longman understands Qohelet to be entirely skeptical, such that he contradicts the normative teaching of Scripture. According to his position, the epilogue in 12:9–14 warns the son about the dangers of Qohelet's position.4 By analogy, Eccl 1:12–12:7 is like the speech of the adulteress in Proverbs—it is communicated by the wise father only to inoculate the son against it. According to Longman, the gospel is present in the


This paper investigates the problem of disturbance attenuation for a class of nonlinear systems with input matching uncertainty, whose nonlinearities are bounded by unmeasured states multiplying unknown input and output polynomial functions. Combining the technique of dynamic gain and extended state observer, an adaptive output feedback controller is designed to guarantee that the states of the closed-loop system are globally bounded, and the disturbance attenuation is achieved in the $L$2-gain sense.


Abstract Cooperative breeding among birds was first discovered in the genus Malurus (Maluridae), the fairy-wrens. Cooperative care arises because male, and sometimes female, offspring remain in their natal territory and help the adults rear offspring. Early uses of data from Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) to illustrate how kin altruism can explain helping behaviour were based on flawed assumptions. Most importantly, high rates of extra-group mating mean that the helpers often assist adults to which they are unrelated. However, measuring the costs and benefits of altruism has also proved difficult. Helping behaviour and its outcomes among species of Malurus are surprisingly diverse, despite similar founding conditions for cooperative breeding. First, species differ in whether help provides fitness benefits, in the recipients of those benefits, and whether benefits are immediate or deferred. Second, species vary greatly in whether females are philopatric and the extent to which female auxiliaries (supernumeraries), when present, provide care. Finally, male auxiliaries are much less sensitive to the needs of the brood than females. In this review we show that these three aspects of helping behaviour lack compelling explanations. We develop hypotheses to explain each phenomenon. Distinguishing among these hypotheses will greatly enhance our understanding of the remarkable social system of Malurus, and inform the study of cooperative breeding and sexual conflict in general.


The present paper describes a study of synoptic meteorological situations in the Strait of Gibraltar area. It is a well-established fact that, as a direct result of its topography, the surface winds at Gibraltar are usually easterly or westerly, and blow directly towards the end of the Straits, where the pressure is lower. Therefore, a classification of 15 main major synoptic situations is proposed, based exclusively on surface pressure distribution, taking into account their respective frequencies from 19851990 according to the daily meteorological bulletins of Spain's Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia. The effect of each one of these synoptic situations on the resulting surface wind at the Strait is also analysed, using wind data recorded at the Planta Experimental Eolica de Tarifa (near Cadiz), from June 1987 to December 1989.


This reflective essay brings to light the career and thought of nuclear chemist Jinzaburo Takagi (1938–2000), who devoted his whole career to the critique of nuclear power generation and the promotion of citizen-centered science. Looking at his life history, one recognizes some clear turning points. However, Takagi's true engagement with the nuclear question began when he came face-to-face with the ubiquitous contamination of the earth by human-made radiation. It was a deep, revelatory astonishment that shook Takagi into radical questioning of his vocation as a scientist. It was, so to speak, an experience of "thaumazein at the nuclear anthropocene," involving his whole person as a human being. In 1975 Takagi co-founded Citizens' Nuclear Information Center in Tokyo, and he became a catalytic "citizen scientist" in the anti-nuclear power movements through his nation-wide and international activities spanning over a quarter-century. Takagi was a prolific and engaged writer, and he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1997. Soon after, however, he was diagnosed with a variety of last-stage cancers. He penned books entitled To Live as a Citizen-Scientist, Liberation from Nuclear Power: Nine Spells that Would Annihilate Japan, and Why Are Nuclear Accidents Repeated? These books would be read widely, though quite belatedly and with deep regret, after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. This essay is a look at the warning messages Takagi emphasized in the books he left as his testaments not to repeat the disaster.


Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in target localization between Calypso®, kV orthogonal imaging and cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) for combined translations and rotations of an anthropomorphic pelvic phantom. The phantom was localized using all three systems in 50 different positions, with applied translational and rotational offsets randomly sampled from representative normal distributions of prostate motion. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to assess the agreement between the localization systems. Mean differences and difference vectors between the three systems were also calculated. Agreement between systems for lateral, vertical, and longitudinal translations was excellent, with ρc values of greater than 0.98 between all three systems in all axes. There was excellent agreement between the systems for rotations around the lateral axis (pitch) (ρc > 0.99), and around the vertical axis (yaw) (ρc > 0.97). However, somewhat poorer agreement for rotations around the longitudinal axis (roll) was observed, with the lowest correlation observed between Calypso and kV orthogonal imaging (ρc = 0.895). Mean differences between the phantom position reported by Calypso and the radiographic systems were less than 1 mm and 1° for all translations and rotations. The results for translations are consistent with the publications of previous authors. There is no comparable published data for rotations. While there is lower correlation between the three systems for roll than for the other angles, the mean differences in reported rotations are not clinically significant.


Objectives To explore the effects of Atorvastatin on the senescence in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by AngiotensinII (AngII) and to study its potential molecular mechanism. Methods The HUVECs were cultured in vitro and divided into 3 groups, the control group, AngIIgroup (stimulated with intervened by AngII10-6mol/L for 48h), Atorvastatin group (10-3mol/L Atorvastatin was added to cell 1h before 10-6mol/L AngII).β-Gal stain and cell cycle analysis were used to identify cell ageing status; and the expression of apoptosis-association genes Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by immunocytochemistry, and Western-Blot. Results AngII stimulation enhanced the positive cell number of β-gal stained HUVECs, depressed cell proliferation. The AngII group inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 protein expression and increased the expression of Bax protein expression compared with the Atorvastatin group markedly (P < 0.05), Bcl-2/Bax was decreased significantly (P < 0.05) in the AngII group. The torvastatin group increased the expression of Bcl-2 protein expression and decreased the expression of Bax protein expression compared with the AngII group evidently (P < 0.05), Bcl-2/Bax was increased significantly (P < 0.05) in the Atorvastatin group. Conclusions Atorvastatin probably delay the senescence of vascular endothelial cell induced by AngII through regulating the expression of Bcl-2/Bax protein.


Anterior rectocele is a herniation of the anterior rectal wall into the vagina, which may be either isolated or associated with other pelvic floor disorders. Rectocele could result in outlet obstruction with dyschezia, manual extraction of faeces and/or false incontinence. Rectocele is diagnosed clinically, and can be confirmed by defecography. Other tests may demonstrate associated causes of constipation. Symptomatic rectoceles can be treated via a transrectal route, with two or three layers of plication of the rectal wall and excision of the redundant mucosal flap. The results of transrectal repair are good: short hospital stay, no mortality, morbidity less than 5%, good short- and mid-term results in approximately 80% of cases. Selection criteria in favour of the transrectal approach have not been clearly identified.


The production of integrated electronic circuits provides examples of the most advanced fabrication and assembly approaches that are generally characterized by large-scale integration of high-performance compact semiconductor elements that rely on rigid and essentially planar form factors. New methods of fabricating semiconductor membranes of nanoscale thickness with intrinsic mechanical flexible features are beginning to provide a set of means to lift these constraints by engendering deformable, three-dimensional device configurations that are difficult to achieve with bulkscale materials while retaining capacities for high (or altogether new forms of) electronic and/or optoelectronic performance. Together with enabling means of deterministic assembly realized via the advancing technology of transferprinting, these light-weight nanomembrane elements can be distributed over large areas on a soft, bendable, and even biocompatible secondary substrates with high throughput and yields to realize interesting new functionalities in technology. Exemplary cases include: large-area integrated electro-optical systems laminated onto curvilinear or other 3-D surfaces for use in sensing and imaging with capacities for accommodating demanding forms of mechanical flexure; and unconventional hybrid systems for lighting and photovoltaic energy conversion that provide a potentially transformational approach to supplant current technologies with high performance, low cost alternatives. Taken together, the results of recent research efforts illustrate important opportunities for exploiting advances in materials in synergy with physical means of patterning, fabrication and assembly. In this review, we explore several exemplary applications taken from this work, and specifically highlight scalable approaches to high performance integrated systems for low cost energy technologies.


In this study, 801 pharyngeal specimens were cultured for group A streptococci and tested with the Biostar Strep A Optical Immunoassay (Strep A OIA). The respective sensitivities and specificities were as follows: culture, 97.1 and 100%; Strep A OIA, 91.5 and 94.8%. Of the 801 specimens, 597 were also tested with the Abbott TestPack Strep A Assay (TP-ST). For those specimens tested by all three methods, the respective sensitivities and specificities were as follows: culture, 98.1 and 100%; Strep A OIA, 92.3 and 95.4%; and TP-ST, 79.4 and 100%. The Strep A OIA is significantly more sensitive than TP-ST and compares favorably with culture.


Background We were alerted to the possibility of very long term B cell depletion (BCD) in Systemic Lupus Erythematosu (SLE) by a patient treated with rituximab in 2001 whose CD19 counts remain <0.001x109/L 12 years later. The duration of B cell depletion is variable between SLE patients. Objectives Because most relapses occur after the return of B cells, our purpose was to analyse clinical and serological features and outcome in patients considering the duration of B cell depletion. Methods We analysed our lupus cohort retrospectively to identify those BCD treated patients. We collected data noting the time to return of the B cells, clinical and serological features and classic British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) scores and baseline, 6 months and 12 months after the treatment. Logistic regression analysis was made using SPSS Statistics Data Editor software. Results A total of 190 courses of BCD in 101 patients in whom we had full serological and clinical data prior to December 2012 were considered. Among the 101 patients, 94 were female and ethnicities included 40 Caucasian, 28 Afro-Caribbean, 23 Asian, 7 Oriental and 3 others. 57 patients had more than 1 treatment. One patient and one of the infusions of another patient were excluded because of incomplete BCD after the treatment. 32.1% repopulated between 6 to 9 months and 28.6% repopulated after 12 months (figure 1). Two groups were analysed based on the time to repopulation at a defined threshold of 12 months. We included infusions for which the patients had not repopulated but were depleted for at least 12 months. We excluded the infusions for which a follow up was less than 12 months and for which the patients remained depleted. 144 treatments were analysed. 41.7% (group 1) repopulated in less than 12 months and 58.3% (group 2) were depleted for at least 12 months. An association with longer time to repopulate and lymphopenia (p=0.008) at any point in the course of the patient's disease was noted. Inverse association with alopecia (p=0.033) and oral ulcers (p=0.039) was also noted. No association was found between serological features such as the presence of anti-dsDNA or anti-Sm antibodies or low complement. The cohort's mean classic BILAG numerical score at baseline was 13.44 (SD=7.55). Group 2 was associated with a higher BILAG score at baseline (p=0.026). At 6 months group 2 patients had lower numerical BILAG score (p=0.002); at 12 months the same tendency was observed but with no statistical significance. Likewise, there was an association between group 2 patients and no BILAG As nor Bs at 6 months (p=0.012). Also a decrease of the BILAG score at 6 months (p=0.012) and 12 months (p=0.012) in these patients was noted. Conclusions Despite higher disease activity at baseline, as measured by classic BILAG, patients who were B cell depleted for longer showed some differences in clinical features and most importantly, had a better outcome at 6 and 12 months. References Harvey PR, Gordon C. B-cell targeted therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus:successes and challenges. BioDrugs Clin Immunother Biopharm Gene Ther.2013 Apr;27(2):85–95. Furtado J, Isenberg DA. B cell elimination in systemic lupus erythematosus. Clin Immunol Orlando Fla. 2013 Feb;146(2):90–103. Disclosure of Interest : None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.5894


ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease (CD) is a serious cause of perianal disease and the incidence is increasing in Saudi Arabia. MR imaging may document specific features that may help to foresee Crohn's disease in patients making an initial presentation. OBJECTIVE: Present MR imaging findings of perianal fistulas in patients making an initial presentation. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational. SETTING: Radiology clinic in in Dhahran. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All previously undiagnosed and untreated patients who presented for the first time to the outpatient clinics from September 2015-2018 with perianal fistulas were retrospectively evaluated. Previously diagnosed CD patients, post-surgical or intervention cases were excluded. Fistulas were categorized as low or high anal, simple or complex, and were graded per St. James University Hospital Classification. Imaging was interpreted by two experienced readers based on the Van Assche score. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fistula features on MR imaging and diagnosis of CD. SAMPLE SIZE: 171 patients. RESULTS: Of 171 patients, 139 (81.3%) were males with mean age of 37.2 (12.7) years; the 32 females had a mean age of 35.8 (10.6) years. Twenty-one patients (12.3%) had CD. Fourteen (40.4%) patients with complex fistulas had CD in comparison to only 5 (4.8%) simple fistula patients (P=.0005). More than half of patients with complex and high anal fistulas had CD (P=.0005). Females were more affected than males (P=.0005). CONCLUSION: Complex or high anal fistula on MR imaging may be the initial presentation of CD and warrant further work up to establish the diagnosis. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective, small sample, single center, and short duration study. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.


Morphometric changes in cortical thickness (CT), cortical surface area (CSA), and cortical volume (CV) can reflect pathological changes after acute mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Most previous studies focused on changes in CT, CSA, and CV in subacute or chronic mTBI, and few studies have examined changes in CT, CSA, and CV in acute mTBI. Furthermore, acute mTBI patients typically show transient cognitive impairment, and few studies have reported on the relationship between cerebral morphological changes and cognitive function in patients with mTBI. This prospective cohort study included 30 patients with acute mTBI (15 males, 15 females, mean age 33.7 years) and 27 matched healthy controls (12 males, 15 females, mean age 37.7 years) who were recruited from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between September and December 2019. High-resolution T1-weighted images were acquired within 7 days after the onset of mTBI. The results of analyses using FreeSurfer software revealed significantly increased CSA and CV in the right lateral occipital gyrus of acute-stage mTBI patients compared with healthy controls, but no significant changes in CT. The acute-stage mTBI patients also showed reduced executive function and processing speed indicated by a lower score in the Digital Symbol Substitution Test, and reduced cognitive ability indicated by a longer time to complete the Trail Making Test-B. Both increased CSA and CV in the right lateral occipital gyrus were negatively correlated with performance in the Trail Making Test part A. These findings suggest that cognitive deficits and cortical alterations in CSA and CV can be detected in the acute stage of mTBI, and that increased CSA and CV in the right lateral occipital gyrus may be a compensatory mechanism for cognitive dysfunction in acute-stage mTBI patients. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, China (approval No. 086) on February 9, 2019.


Penguin dictionary of mathematics (4th edn), David Nelson (ed.). Pp. 480. £10.99. 2008. ISBN 978 0141030234 (Penguin). This is the latest edition of the dictionary targeted at school and university students that I enthusiastically reviewed on pages 348-349 of the July 2001 Gazette. Apart from the obvious updating of historically sensitive material, many new entries have been added. At the school level, the coverage of Euclidean geometry has been expanded with stalwarts such as the angle bisector theorem and the lines of Euler and Simson included alongside more exotic items such the theorems of Napoleon and Morley. At the undergraduate level, the treatment of coding theory has been augmented and there are welcome 'smoke signals' from the research frontier with, for example, entries on the Abel and Millenium Prizes, the KdV equation and the Hough transform. What sets this dictionary apart is the interest and readability of its entries: they are precise without being pedantic and are helpfully expansive rather than cryptically pared down. Thus 'solution of equations' starts a journey that takes in Cardano's solution of the cubic, Descartes' solution of the quartic and the fact of the insolubility of the quintic, while 'solution of triangles' not only provides a masterly summary of GCSE trigonometry, but also points to a perhaps unsuspected new world of spherical trigonometry. The Penguin dictionary of mathematics belongs in every classroom and on the bookshelf of every budding young mathematician, not just to satisfy curiosity but to light a fire that could bum for a lifetime. NICK LORD Tonbridge School, Kent TN9 UP


We examine the impact that changes in the winter Southern Hemisphere (SH) meridional sea surface temperature (SST) gradient have on the sign and strength of the SH Annular Mode (SAM). This is undertaken by perturbing either tropical or extra‐tropical SSTs in an atmospheric General Circulation Model. Changes in winter tropical SSTs have little direct influence on the SAM but do force a strong wave train in geopotential height across the Southern Ocean. In contrast, changes in winter SSTs in the SH extra‐tropics have a profound effect on the SAM: cooler SSTs strengthen the SAM and vice versa. The mechanism involves modifications to the Ferrel cell. As a positive (negative) SAM enhances (reduces) the extra‐tropical meridional temperature gradient, these experiments demonstrate a positive feedback mechanism. SAM variability remains unchanged, indicating a shift in the mean, rather than a change in the probability distribution of its positive and negative phases.


Modern software is incredibly complex. A typical application may comprise hundreds or thousands of reusable components. Automated package managers can help to maintain a consistent set of dependency versions, but ultimately the solvers in these systems rely on constraints generated by humans. At scale, small errors add up, and it becomes increasingly difficult to find high-fidelity configurations. We cannot test all configurations, because the space is combinatorial, so exhaustive exploration is infeasible. In this paper, we present Reliabuild, an auto-tuning framework that efficiently explores the build configuration space and learns which package versions are likely to result in a successful configuration. We implement two models in Reliabuild to rank the different configurations and use adaptive sampling to select good configurations with fewer samples. We demonstrate Reliabuild's effectiveness by evaluating 31,186 build configurations of 61 packages from the Extreme-scale Scientific Software Stack(E4S). Reliabuild selects good configurations efficiently. For example, Reliabuild selects 3X the number of good configurations in comparison to random sampling for several packages including Abyss, Bolt, libnrm, OpenMPI. Our framework is also able to select all the high-fidelity builds in half the number of samples required by random sampling for packages such as Chai, OpenMPI, py-petsc4py, and slepc. We further use the model to learn statistics about the compatibility of different packages, which will enable package solvers to better select high-fidelity build configurations automatically.


Coagulation assays are prone to pre-analytical problems and results may be influenced by varying clinical and pharmaceutical aspects. Particularly anticoagulants interact with coagulation testing in many ways. Thromboplastin time will be prolonged dose-dependently in patients taking vitamin K antagonists; moreover the new oral anticoagulants have been shown to have variable impact on the results of the thromboplastin time as well as on other coagulation tests, depending on the mechanism of action of these new drugs as well as on the mechanism of the coagulation test. When measuring anti-Xa activity it should be realised that all drugs with anti-Xa activity will influence the result, which means not only heparins but also the new anti-Xa inhibitors. Respective calibration curves are an indispensable condition to provide the clinician with valuable results. On the other hand this implies that the laboratory knows which anticoagulant is given to the patient. This is an example among others that clinical aspects are important to know for proper interpretation of the results of coagulation testing. Other examples are e. g. bleeding disorders, actual bleeding status or thromboembolic events. Several cases are discussed which exemplify possible pitfalls in the interpretation of coagulation testing.


In the literature, various pharmacological effects such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and wound-healing properties are reported for extracts from Calendula officinalis (marigold). In a search for a structure-activity correlation, carotenoids, which are structurally related to vitamin A, have been investigated in the present work for their possible contribution to the effects of C. officinalis.


This paper investigates the impact of localization economies on firms' locations. It is known that such external effects lead to substantial cost reductions when firms are located together. However, when they are agglomerated, firms also face the prospects of tough price competition whose intensity can be relaxed through product differentiation. In addition, their access to isolated markets varies with the level of transport costs. As a result, there is a trade-off whose solution depends on the structural parameters of the economy. The market and optimal solutions are compared for the case of small and large groups of firms.


In modern distributed computing systems, unpredictable and unreliable infrastructures result in high variability of computing resources. Meanwhile, there is significantly increasing demand for timely and event-driven services with deadline constraints. Motivated by measurements over Amazon EC2 clusters, we consider a two-state Markov model for variability of computing speed in cloud networks. In this model, each worker can be either in a good state or a bad state in terms of the computation speed, and the transition between these states is modeled as a Markov chain which is unknown to the scheduler. We then consider a Coded Computing framework, in which the data is possibly encoded and stored at the worker nodes in order to provide robustness against nodes that may be in a bad state. Our goal is to design the optimal computation-load allocation strategy that maximizes the timely computation throughput (i.e, the average number of computation tasks accomplished before their deadline). Our main result is the development of a dynamic computation strategy called Estimate-and-Allocate (EA) strategy, which achieves the optimal timely computation throughput. Compared with the static allocation strategy, EA improves the timely computation throughput by 1.44 ×4.6 in experiments over Amazon EC2 clusters.


Introduction:Hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedure performed by general surgeons. With increasing knowledge about accelerated rehabilitation, the surgeons are under pressure to reduce the duration of hospital stay, due to which the method of skin closure has gained importance. The two main techniques of skin closure used by surgeons, are removable skin staples and skin sutures. We decided to study the various skin closure techniques in hernia surgery. Material and Method:The present study was a comparative study carried out at a tertiary care hospital over a period of two years. Total 90 patients of hernia were included in the present study. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on the method of skin closure applied. Main parameters investigated were postoperative pain, postoperative wound infection rates, cosmetic acceptability of scar and time required for skin closure. Statistical analysis was used wherever applicable. Results:The incidence of hernia is common in the younger age group, the mean age being in the 41years. The majority of cases were unilateral (right side); right sided indirect inguinal hernia was the most frequent type observed in this study. At 48 hrs both stapled and subcuticular group have comparable but not significant pain i.e. they experienced only mild, nagging pain. At discharge Subcuticular closure group has significantly less pain. At 48 hrs, highest wound infection rate was in subcuticular group (60%). 73.3%of patients having skin closure using stapler didn't had any wound infection at 48 hrs. At time of suture removal, highest number of wound complication occur in subcuticular group. Conclusion:Subcuticular closure of inguinal skin incision gives best cosmetic scar to patients. Subcuticular skin closure technique is painless. Skin Stapler is most rapid method of skin closure. Least wound complications are with use of skin stapler.


The chromatin fiber is a complex of DNA and specific proteins called histones forming the first structural level of organization of eukaryotic chromosomes. In tightly organized chromatin fibers, the short segments of naked DNA linking the nucleosomes are strongly end constrained. Longitudinal thermal fluctuations in these linkers allow intercalative mode of protein binding. We show that mechanical constraints generated in the first stage of the binding process induce linker DNA buckling; buckling in turn modifies the binding energies and activation barriers and creates a force of decondensation at the chromatin fiber level. The unique structure and properties of DNA thus yield a novel physical mechanism of buckling instability that might play a key role in the regulation of gene expression.


OBJECTIVES
This article used a new data source to examine the issue of disability trends among elderly persons and examined the potential implications of these trends on future health and long-term care needs.

METHODS
We used the 1992-1996 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to examine time trends in rates of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living disability and physical limitation among Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and over. We used multinomial logit and least squares regression techniques to produce trend estimates that held the age, sex, race, and educational distributions constant and projected these trends into the future. Finally, we estimated the potential impact of disability decline on per capita Medicare spending on elderly persons.

RESULTS
We found that disability among elderly persons is declining and that the trend toward a more educated elderly cohort explains some, but not all, of this decline. In the absence of downward disability trends, per capita Medicare expenditures would have grown even faster than they have.

DISCUSSION
Although the decline in disability prevalence in recent years appears real, whether it continues has enormous implications for the size of the disabled population in the future and for the ability of the society to care for its disabled elderly members.


We study an extension of the Hopfield model, where a certain number of "privileged" (or "marked") patterns enters the Hebb rule with weight 1, while the remaining enter with weight γ < 1. Both sets are infinite. Assuming replica symmetry, the zero-temperature capacity vs. γ and overlap vs. γ diagrams are calculated and compared with numerical simulations, when both sets hold the same number of patterns. The transitions from the retrieval to the spin glass phase are found to be first order.


This research has investigated the performance analysis of lightweight encryption algorithms, which are using in RFID applications. In the first part, the codes of the investigated ciphers are analyzed, and then, four encryption algorithms include TEA, HIGHT, KATAN, and KLEIN are implemented on AVR Microcontroller to evaluate the number of CPU clock cycle for each cipher. In the last part, the results of two previous parts are compared.


BACKGROUND
Time series analysis provides information on blood glucose dynamics that is unattainable with conventional glycemic variability (GV) indices. To date, no studies have been published on these parameters in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between time series analysis and conventional GV indices, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.

METHODS
This is a transversal study of 41 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Glucose monitoring was carried out continuously for 72 h to study the following GV indices: standard deviation (SD) of glucose levels (mg/dL), coefficient of variation (%), interquartile range (IQR; mg/dL), mean amplitude of the largest glycemic excursions (MAGE), and continuous overlapping net glycemic action (CONGA). The time series analysis was conducted by means of detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and Poincaré plot.

RESULTS
Time series parameters (DFA alpha coefficient and elements of the ellipse of the Poincaré plot) correlated well with the more conventional GV indices. Patients were grouped according to the terciles of these indices, to the terciles of eccentricity (1: 12.56-16.98, 2: 16.99-21.91, 3: 21.92-41.03), and to the value of the DFA alpha coefficient (> or ≤1.5). No differences were observed in the HbA1c of patients grouped by GV index criteria; however, significant differences were found in patients grouped by alpha coefficient and eccentricity, not only in terms of HbA1c, but also in SD glucose, IQR, and CONGA index.

CONCLUSIONS
The loss of complexity in glycemic homeostasis is accompanied by an increase in variability.


PURPOSE
Children who experience acute injury or illness severe enough to result in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stay are at risk for posttraumatic stress symptoms, as are their parents. A distinction is made between injury-related traumatic events, illness-related traumatic events, and treatment-related traumatic events, all of which contribute to this risk.

CONCLUSIONS
This paper reviews what the PICU experience is like for children and their parents, the emerging literature on posttraumatic stress symptoms in PICU patients and their parents, and current knowledge regarding risk and resiliency factors for these children.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
Children hospitalized in the PICU should be monitored for posttraumatic stress disorder during and after their stay. Risk and resiliency factors are a focus for practice and for future research.


Distance learning is a learning system that does not take place in one room and there is no face-to-face interaction between the teacher and the learner. This study aims to determine the impact of implementing distance learning in Indonesia from a commognitive point of view. This research is a descriptive type of research with a total of 543 participants who come from high school students in Pasuruan district, Indonesia. Data collection using a questionnaire. After the questionnaire is collected, it is analyzed using the Miles and Huberman method through reduction, display data, and conclusion, then it will be studied based on the commognitive theory. The results show that based on commognitive studies, students are more likely to still need a visual mediator as a visible object to be used as a communication medium, its realization depends on the material context. Students need to communicate to ask questions related to material that has not been understood. So it can be said that visual mediator is important during distance learning.


Action recognition, motion classification, gait analysis and synthesis are fundamental problems in a number of fields such as computer graphics, bio-mechanics and human computer interaction that generate a large body of research. This type of data is complex because it is inherently multidimensional and has multiple modalities such as video, motion capture data, accelerometer data, etc. While some of this data, such as monocular video are easy to acquire, others are much more difficult and expensive such as motion capture data or multi-view video. This creates a large barrier of entry in the research community for data driven research. We have embarked on creating a new large repository of motion and action data (CAMREP) consisting of several motion and action databases. What makes this database unique is that we use a variety of modalities, enabling multi-modal analysis. Presently, the size of datasets varies with some having a large number of subjects while others having smaller numbers. We have also acquired long capture sequences in a number of cases, making some datasets rather large.


Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that is known to regulate a variety of cytoprotective genes through the antioxidant response element (ARE). This endogenous response is one of the major pathways by which cells are protected from xenobiotic or innate oxidative insults. Furthermore, in neural systems, astrocyte-specific activation of Nrf2 is known to protect neurons. In previous work, our laboratory found that Nrf2 protects from intrastriatal injections of the mitochondrial complex II inhibitor malonate. Here, we extend these results to show that multiple methods of astrocyte-specific Nrf2 overexpression provide protection from neurotoxicity in vivo. GFAP-Nrf2 transgenic mice are significantly more resistant to malonate lesioning. This outcome is associated with an increased basal resistance, but more so, an enhanced Nrf2 response to lesioning that attenuated the ensuing neurotoxicity. Furthermore, striatal transplantation of neuroprogenitor cells overexpressing Nrf2 that differentiate into astrocytes after grafting also significantly reduced malonate toxicity. Overall, these data establish that enhanced astrocytic Nrf2 response and Nrf2 preconditioning are both sufficient to protect from acute lesions from mitochondrial complex II inhibition.


Previous solid state 13C NMR studies of bacteriorhodopsin (bR) have inferred the C = N configuration and the protonation state of the retinal-lysine Schiff base (SB) linkage from the [13-13C]-retinal, [14-13C]retinal, and [epsilon-13C]lysine-216 chemical shifts in the bR555, bR568, and M412 states. Here we determine the C = N configuration and the protonation state of the N photointermediate that is cryotrapped along with the M photointermediate at high salt concentrations (0.1 M NaCl) and high pH (10.0). We obtained 13C and 15N SSN MR spectra of [epsilon-15N]lysine bR and [12-13C]- and [13-13C]retinal bR for samples illuminated under the above conditions. Two species are observed, both of which decay to bR568 upon warming. One species has chemical shifts identical to those obtained previously for M thermally trapped in guanidine.HCl at high pH (Smith et al., 1989a; Farrar et al., 1993). In the other species, the [epsilon-15N]lysine and 13-13C chemical shifts indicate that the SB is protonated, the 12-13C shift indicates a 13 = 14 cis configuration, and the previously published [14-13C]- and [epsilon-13C]lysine shifts indicate a C = N anti configuration. These results are consistent with other studies of the N photointermediate.


A relativistic version of the rational extended thermodynamics of polyatomic gases based on a new hierarchy of moments that takes into account the total energy composed by the rest energy and the energy of the molecular internal mode is proposed. The moment equations associated with the Boltzmann–Chernikov equation are derived, and the system for the first 15 equations is closed by the procedure of the maximum entropy principle and by using an appropriate BGK model for the collisional term. The entropy principle with a convex entropy density is proved in a neighborhood of equilibrium state, and, as a consequence, the system is symmetric hyperbolic and the Cauchy problem is well-posed. The ultra-relativistic and classical limits are also studied. The theories with 14 and 6 moments are deduced as principal subsystems. Particularly interesting is the subsystem with 6 fields in which the dissipation is only due to the dynamical pressure. This simplified model can be very useful when bulk viscosity is dominant and might be important in cosmological problems. Using the Maxwellian iteration, we obtain the parabolic limit, and the heat conductivity, shear viscosity, and bulk viscosity are deduced and plotted.


A KeyWords analysis (using WordSmith Tools) enables the discovery of lexical items which reveal the main lexical sets in a text or corpus. Such an analysis requires that a reference corpus be compared to the corpus the researcher intends to describe (the study corpus). This paper presents a mathematical method for finding out the influence of reference corpus size on the number of key words extracted by the program. The results reveal that a reference corpus that is at least five times as large as the study corpus allows for drawing an amount of key words that is statistically equivalent to larger reference corpora, thus suggesting five times (as larger as the study corpora) as the minimum order of magnitude for reference corpora.


Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.'s scholarly legacy is one that continues to provide guidance for civil rights activism in the American legal process today. While the Judge's work as a legal scholar is justifiably lauded for its significant contribution to the development of a legal history of slavery and its consequences in the United States, his work also serves another significant role for legal scholars. I refer to Judge Higginbotham' s pioneering use of comparative race relations in legal scholarship. In his examination of the South African racial context, the Judge methodically demonstrated the commonalities between the United States and South Africa that allowed each country to sustain racial subordination despite distinctions in culture, history, and demography. In doing so, the Judge served up an enduring lesson for civil rights scholars. In particular, Judge Higginbotham' s combined use of racial history and comparative race relations in his legal scholarship demonstrated the global nature of racism and its features, and how racism functions as a societal process that preserves racial hierarchy and privilege across distinct landscapes and cultures. This fundamental insight articulated by the Judge has been implicitly deployed by scholars in a variety of international contexts: comparing the anti-discrimination laws of France with those of the United States,1 comparing Germany's racial history with that of the United States,2 comparing caste-based affirmative action of India with race-based affirmative action of the United States,3 and comparing


In the DANBIO quality registry in Denmark, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) have reported Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) including the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI) for nearly twenty years as part of routine care. Patients' feedback have stressed a need for a shorter registration of disability (1). While the shorter Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) is preferred by patients, the original HAQ-DI is the preferred tool in observational studies. Thus, a conversion algorithm between the MDHAQ and HAQ-DI scores is warranted.To develop and validate a simple conversion algorithm between MDHAQ and HAQ-DI scores in RA, PsA and axSpA patients.Patients registered in DANBIO with a diagnosis of RA, PsA or axSpA who had completed both HAQ-DI and MDHAQ simultaneously at a visit +/- 30 days from start of conventional synthetic (cs)DMARD or biological (b)DMARD were eligible for the analysis, and randomly divided into development and validation cohorts stratified by diagnosis. The conversion algorithm was developed in the RA development cohort using linear regression with HAQ-DI as the dependent variable and MDHAQ as the independent variable. The predicted HAQ (pHAQ) scores were then calculated by applying the conversion algorithm to the MDHAQ scores in the RA, PsA and axSpA validation cohorts. The pHAQ was validated against the HAQ-DI in the validation cohorts regarding criterion, correlational and construct validity.We included 8983/4410/1760 patients with RA/PsA/axSpA, respectively. The conversion algorithm pHAQ=0.15+MDHAQ*1.08 had the best fit (R2=0.83) in the RA development cohort.Criterion validity: The correlation coefficients between HAQ-DI/pHAQ and patient global score at baseline were 0.66/0.65. In groups of patients with high and low disability (defined as patient global score ≥50), standardized mean difference was -1.4 for HAQ-DI, and -1.4 for pHAQ.Correlational validity: Correlation coefficients between HAQ-DI/pHAQ and ΔHAQ-DI/ΔpHAQ between baseline and first follow-up visit were r=0.91 and r=0.87, respectively. Correlation coefficients between HAQ-DI/pHAQ and pain score, DAS28CRP and physician global score were 0.63/0.64, 0.55/0.55 and 0.34/0.34, respectively. A Bland-Altman plot showed good agreement of HAQ-DI and pHAQ across all functional states.Construct validity: HAQ-DI/pHAQ at the first follow-up visit after baseline was comparable between Patient Acceptable Symptom State groups (PASS=No: mean 1.17 vs 1.18/PASS=Yes: 0.55 vs 0.60). Similar results were seen for the external anchor (Figure 1).In PsA and axSpA validation cohorts, similar results were found.A conversion algorithm from MDHAQ to HAQ-DI was developed in ≈ 4500 RA patients. In separate large validation cohorts of RA, PsA and axSpA patients, the predicted HAQ calculated from the MDHAQ scores showed good criterion, correlational and construct validity comparable to the original HAQ-DI. The results suggest that for research purposes the MDHAQ can be converted to HAQ-DI if a full HAQ-DI has not been performed.[1] Primdahl J. et al. Arthritis Care Res 2019 (in press).The authors thank all Danish patients and Departments of Rheumatology, who conscientiously report to the DANBIO registry.Elisabeth Svensson: None declared, Katja Løngaard: None declared, Lykke Midtbøll Ørnbjerg Grant/research support from: Novartis, Rikke Meincke: None declared, Jens Kristian Pedersen: None declared, Lene Dreyer: None declared, Niels Steen Krogh: None declared, Dorte Vendelbo Jensen: None declared, Merete L. Hetland Grant/research support from: BMS, MSD, AbbVie, Roche, Novartis, Biogen and Pfizer, Consultant of: Eli Lilly, Speakers bureau: Orion Pharma, Biogen, Pfizer, CellTrion, Merck and Samsung Bioepis


Localization with respect to a reference model is a key feature for mobile robots. Urban environment offers numerous landmarks that can be used for the localization process. This paper deals with the use of an environment model stored in a geographic information system, to drive a vision system i.e. highlights what to look for and where to look for. This task is achieved by propagating uncertainties along the image acquisition system to highlight some region of interest in the image.


ABSTRACT Disposal of wastewater from urban and rural areas can pose a serious threat to the environment if it is disposed of improperly. Thus, proper treatments and sanitary disposal of wastewater regulations should be put into practice. Most of the processes for wastewater treatment in developed countries are result of high technology and costs. For this reason, the development of relatively simple and low-cost treatment systems is particularly interesting. This study investigates natural wastewater treatment system and re-usability of wastewater in irrigation. Results indicated that irrigation water quality improved with natural treatment system and it minimized environmental pollution.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the serologic and bacteriologic culture prevalence of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in sheep and goats and the value of such assays for prediction of future development of caseous lymphadenitis (CL).

DESIGN
Observational study.

ANIMALS
919 goats and sheep in 3 herds in southwest Texas.

PROCEDURES
During an initial evaluation, serologic and bacteriologic culture status for CL was determined for all animals. Subsequently, animals were evaluated every 6 months for a 13-month period to detect external CL lesions. Affected animals in 2 herds were treated with tulathromycin or a control treatment; affected animals in 1 herd were culled. The value of assays for prediction of future development of CL lesions was determined.

RESULTS
The serologic prevalence of CL in herds at the start of the study ranged from 7.52% to 69.54%. The bacteriologic culture prevalence of CL ranged from 0% to 6.12% at the start of the study and 0% to 9.56% at the end of the study. Synergistic hemolysin inhibition results were poor predictors of future development of CL lesions in animals during the study period; however, animals with positive bacteriologic culture results for CL were more likely to develop lesions in the future than were animals with negative bacteriologic culture results.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Caseous lymphadenitis was detected in animals in this study despite prior management of affected animals in herds via culling. Use of a synergistic hemolysin inhibition test for management of CL may cause unnecessary culling of animals; treatment might allow retention of genetically valuable CL-affected animals in a herd without substantially increasing the prevalence of CL.


A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Commerce (Economic Science) in the School of Economic and Business Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, August 2018


In this issue of Blood, Gautier and colleagues describe a novel signaling pathway in which deregulated JAK2 activity augments expression of a key regulator of the cell cycle, the CDC25A phosphatase, via a translational mechanism.


Dehydroepiandrosterone is a compound that has elicited a lot of interest by researchers in the study of obesity. Its usefulness as a therapeutic agent along with food restriction and exercise is being debated and studied. While not yet available for use in the control of body fatness, it has some interesting effects on metabolism.


Background: Airway management in patients with out of hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is important and several methods are used. The establishment of a supraglottic airway device (SAD) is a common technique used during OHCA. Two types of SAD are routinely used in Norway; the Kings LTS-D™ and the I-gel®. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical performance of these two devices in terms of difficulty and number of attempts before successful insertion.Methods: All adult patients with OHCA, in whom ambulance personnel used a SAD over a one-year period in the ambulance services of Central Norway, were included. After the event, a questionnaire was completed and the personnel responsible for the airway management were interviewed. Primary outcomes were number of attempts until successful placement of SAD and graded difficulty of insertion. Secondary outcomes were specified challenges with the SAD at insertion. Intergroup differences were compared using Chi-square test for multiple groups.Results: Two hundred and fifty patients were included, of whom 191 received I-gel and 59 received LTS-D. Overall success rate was significantly higher in I-gel (86 %) compared to LTS-D (75%, p = 0,043). The difficulties of insertion were significantly lower among patients receiving I-gel (easy 80 %, medium 13 % and difficult 7 %) compared to LTS-D (easy 51 %, medium 22 % and difficult 27 %, p < 0,001). Conclusions: Overall success rate was significantly higher and the difficulty in insertion was significantly lower in the I-gel group compared to the LTS-D in patients with OHCA.


We analyze the temperature sensitivity of 1.5-/spl mu/m GaInNAsSb lasers grown on GaAs. Building on the method of Tansu and coworkers, we find evidence that the characteristic temperatures for the threshold current T/sub 0/ and external efficiency T/sub 1/ are balanced by a combination of monomolecular recombination and temperature destabilizing mechanism(s) near room temperature. At elevated temperatures, the destabilizing process(es) dominate, due to increased threshold current density J/sub th/. While it is difficult to definitively identify carrier leakage, Auger recombination, or a combination of the two as the responsible mechanism(s), results indicate that carrier leakage certainly plays a role. Evidence of intervalence band absorption was also found; T/sub 1/ was reduced, but J/sub th/ and T/sub 0/ were not significantly degraded. Conclusions are corroborated by supporting measurements of the Z-parameter with bias, spontaneous emission spectrum, and band-offsets. Spontaneous emission measurements show evidence of weak Fermi-level pinning within the active region at threshold, indicating a form of carrier leakage. This is consistent with the characteristic temperature analysis and a leakage mechanism is proposed. This process is partially responsible for the greater temperature sensitivity of device parameters and the poor internal efficiency. Methods for reducing the effects of each parasitic mechanism are also described.


Reducing the fossil fuel consumption of aluminum smelting production, which consumes around 8% of electricity annually, is of great significance for China's energy sector. One possible solution is to integrate wind power as supply for aluminum smelter loads. Based on this background, this paper studies an actual industrial case-an isolated power system for aluminum production with integrated wind penetration levels as high as 30%. However, due to the integration of wind power, frequency stability issues become critical in such a system. Therefore, a demand-side frequency control scheme responding to frequency deviations of the system is proposed in this paper to control the load power of aluminum smelters. The scheme is designed based on the relationship between the DC voltage supply for aluminum smelting loads and the commutation voltage drop which can be adjusted by changing the inductance value of the saturable reactors. Finally, simulations under both N-1 and N-2 contingency scenarios demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme considering various wind power outputs.


The paper describes a complex frequency domain analysis of a pseudo direct drive permanent magnet machine. The analysis will focus on comparing three different controller structures, in terms of providing damping to the drive system in order to overcome oscillations that appear in the output shaft, caused by the low stiffness of the magnetic gear. Furthermore, based on genetic algorithm tuning of the control gains for the three controllers, closed loop models are established in the complex frequency domain to determine the stability, the damping and the cause of the oscillations. Consequently the best controller structure that improves the dynamic behaviour of the system in term of speed tracking and disturbance rejection could be identified based on the time and frequency domain analysis.


Since the dawn of wafer fabrication and the production of microelectronic parts a fundamental characteristic of this environment has been uncertainty in production yields and in demand for product. The impact of the uncertainty is so prevalent that even deterministic models in practice have incorporated some allowance for uncertainty through features such as date effective yields, moving average capacity, etc. In this paper, we propose a simple heuristic approach for the inventory control problem with stochastic demand and multiplicative random yield. Our heuristic tries to find the best candidate within a class of policies which are referred to in the literature as the linear inflation rule (LIR) policies. Our approach is computationally fast, easy to implement and intuitive to understand. Moreover, we find that in a significant number of instances our heuristic performs better than several other well-known heuristics that are available in the literature.


Background/Aims: Acute aortic dissection (AAD) is characterized by excessive smooth muscle cell (SMC) loss, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and inflammation. In response to certain stimulations, oxidative stress is activated and regulates apoptosis and inflammation. Excessive apoptosis promotes aortic inflammation and degeneration, leading to AAD formation. This study aimed to clarify role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of AAD and whether the antioxidant ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) attenuates AAD formation. Methods: Angiotensin II (Ang II) was infused in 8-months male ApoE-/- mice for one week to establish a model of AAD. UDCA (10 mg/kg/day) was administered via intragastric gavage for 3 consecutive days before AngII infusion and also during the AngII infusion for another consecutive 7 days. Results: Ang II-infusion resulted in the incidence of AAD at a rate of 35% (13/37) and UDCA markedly reduced the incidence of AAD to 16% (6/37), accompanied with reduced maximal aortic diameter measured at the suprarenal region of the abdominal aorta. Additionally, UDCA pretreatment prevented Ang II induced generations of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) both in vivo and in. vitro Mechanistically, we found UDCA markedly increased Nrf2 expression in VSMCs and prevented Ang II induced expression of NADPH subunits (p47, p67 and gp91) in Nrf2-dependent manner and rescued the activity of redox enzymes (Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD and CAT), thereby inhibiting apoptosis of VSMCs. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that UDCA prevented AAD formation by reducing apoptosis of VSMCs caused by oxidative stress in Nrf2 dependent manner and suggest that UDCA might have clinical potential to suppress AAD formation.


The increasing and unmet social and economic burden of ischemic heart disease calls for new antianginal therapies. Ranolazine, a new antianginal agent, has a different mode of action from existing therapies, which act by decreasing indices of cardiac work. Ranolazine mainly affects the late sodium current across the membrane of cardiomyocytes, inducing a cascade of electrophysiologic and metabolic effects with the potential to reduce the cardiac ischemic burden without significantly changing blood pressure and heart rate. In clinical trials, ranolazine has been demonstrated to exert antianginal and anti-ischemic effects in chronic angina. It improves exercise performance, and decreases angina frequency and nitroglycerin use. Ranolazine is well tolerated at therapeutic doses. Larger studies are needed to explore the effects on hard end-points of morbidity and mortality.


TensorCircuit is an open source quantum circuit simulator based on tensor network contraction, designed for speed, flexibility and code efficiency. Written purely in Python, and built on top of industry-standard machine learning frameworks, TensorCircuit supports automatic differentiation, just-in-time compilation, vectorized parallelism and hardware acceleration. These features allow TensorCircuit to simulate larger and more complex quantum circuits than existing simulators, and are especially suited to variational algorithms based on parameterized quantum circuits. TensorCircuit enables orders of magnitude speedup for various quantum simulation tasks compared to other common quantum software, and can simulate up to 600 qubits with moderate circuit depth and low-dimensional connectivity. With its time and space efficiency, flexible and extensible architecture and compact, user-friendly API, TensorCircuit has been built to facilitate the design, simulation and analysis of quantum algorithms in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) era.


Groundwater discharge is associated with salinity and pollution problems. The widespread presence of millions of saline lakes in North America, Africa and Australia, shows that across the geological record, most salinity and desertification problems have been caused by saline groundwater discharge. In recent times, dryland salinity has spread widely in southern Australia, resulting in the loss of more than 50% of the fresh streams in Western Australia and causing major salinity problems in the Murray River in South Australia.


The purpose of the study is to analyze how Ratio Legis on chapter 15A Government Rule No. 2 year 2013, the study also try to reveal the impact of thecorresponding institution when they do not do synchronization. The normative methodology is used to collect the data within theconstitution and conceptual approach. The data collection technique used in this study is by managing the primer law resources, secondary, and tarsier. The collected data is then going to be collected based on the corresponding law issues. The result of the study shows that, Ratio Legis based on constitution number 15A Government Rulenumber 12 year 2013, against another constitution, chapter 71 about Charity Institution that creates another normative conflict which does not meet any excuse nor purpose of the corresponding constitution. As a result, any activities of the institution will be considered as illegal for the sake of law continuity. Thus, on the unsynchronized institution, this phenomenon would make the institution will be dismissed, although there is another weaker law that does not give much impact on the previous constitution.


The thesis proceeds from Sweden's first gender equality sub-goal; Equal Division of Power and Influence, in order to investigate how the political power is divided between the sexes within local committees in Skane and in Lund. Political commitments at local level should be carried out alongside labour or other occupation; and thus the overall aim of the thesis is to investigate if labour market mechanisms affect women's representation in local governments.
A single case study of female representation in Lund's local government with both quantitative and qualitative methodology was conducted and through criterion sampling, eight female time politicians were selected and interviewed.
The thesis takes its point of departure from some of Anne Phillips' (1995) arguments developed in The Politics of Presence; in particular her notion that the sex of the representatives is significant and affects their political agenda. The data collected from the semi-structured interviews is analysed within the context of the ideas put forth in The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class by Guy Standing (2014a).
The result implies an unequal allocation of power between the sexes in local committees in Skane and in Lund. Women are underrepresented in the majority of the committees and possess fewer power positions. The division of representation both resembles and is affected by the horizontal and vertical gender segregation in the labour market. The respondents claimed that their political commitments were possible due to the nature of their employments and employees. This might be one reason for the political underrepresentation of women in Lund's municipality, as female-dominated sectors are of precariatic nature and characterised by low salaries, insecure employments and high rates of sick-leaves. Women with precarious employments are not able to take leave of absence for their jobs for political commitments, despite their right by law. Moreover, the respondents implied that it is more difficult for women to become time politicians , due to the traditional notion that women hold responsibility for domestic positions, such as caring for children and the elderly; hence have limited time to indulge in leisure and participate in democratic activities.
The result indicates that the unequal allocation of power in Lund's local government is related to mechanisms that define the Swedish labour market.


The considerable increase in the number of English Language Teaching (ELT) coursebooks has rendered a careful evaluation and selection of suitable ones more complicated and vital than ever. A checklist approach is perhaps the most extensively implemented way of making this easier and more systematic. However, checklists are by no means universal and may vary according to several factors, such as teaching context. This paper reports the development of a checklist for ELT coursebook analysis designed by the author after an intensive literature review and analysis of local circumstances. The checklist, developed in one of her advanced seminars for professional teacher education at Augsburg University, was piloted and improved by the course participants over three semesters through analyzing ELT coursebooks for German schools.


ABSTRACT This paper critically assesses the compatibility of content recognition and filtering technology or so-called notice and staydown approach with the right of social network platforms and users to a fair trial, privacy and freedom of expression under Articles 6, 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) (ECHR). The analysis draws on Article 13 of the European Commission's proposal for a Directive on Copyright, the case-law of the Strasbourg and Luxembourg Court and academic literature. It argues that the adoption of content recognition and filtering technology could pose a threat to social network platforms and user human rights. It considers the compliance of 'notice and staydown' with the European Court of Human Rights' (ECtHR) three-part, non-cumulative test, to determine whether a 'notice and staydown' approach is, firstly, 'in accordance with the law', secondly, pursues one or more legitimate aims included in Article 8(2) and 10(2) ECHR and thirdly, is 'necessary' and 'proportionate'. It concludes that 'notice and staydown' could infringe part one and part three of the ECtHR test as well as the ECtHR principle of equality of arms, thereby violating the rights of social network platforms and users under Articles 6, 8 and 10 of the Convention.


Klaus-Henning Krause, MD," Peter Berlit, MD," and Jean-Pierre Bonjour, PhDI. mide, 3 with phenobarbital, 3 with clonazepam, 2 with mesuximide, and 1 with ethadione. The results of biotin analysis in epileptics were compared with biotin plasma levels for 93 controls (blood donors and patients with dermatological diseases) who had a mean age of 42 years. Statistical analysis between groups was carried out using the Student t test.


This letter considers the problem of collision-free navigation of omnidirectional mobile robots in environments with obstacles. Information from a monocular camera, encoders, and an inertial measurement unit is used to achieve the task. Three different visual servoing control schemes, compatible with the class of considered robot kinematics and sensor equipment, are analyzed and their robustness properties with respect to actuation inaccuracies discussed. Then, a controller is proposed with formal guarantee of convergence to the bisector of a corridor. The main controller components are a visual servoing control scheme and a velocity estimation algorithm integrating visual, kinematic, and inertial information. The behavior of all the considered algorithms is analyzed and illustrated through simulations both for a wheeled and a humanoid robot. The solution proposed as the most efficient and robust with respect to actuation inaccuracies is also validated experimentally on a real humanoid NAO.


The effect of particle activity on collective excitations in active fluids of microflyers is studied. With an in silico study, we observed an oscillating breakdown of equipartition (uniform spectral distribution) of kinetic energy in reciprocal space. The phenomenon is related to short-range velocity-velocity correlations that were realized without forming of long-lived mesoscale vortices in the system. This stands in contrast to well-known mesoscale turbulence operating in active nematic systems (bacterial or artificial) and reveals the features of collective dynamics in active fluids, which should be important for structural transitions and glassy dynamics in active matter.


The study examined tourism and hospitality (T&H) students' perception of the use of service robots in organizations. Using purposive sampling, 80 students of T&H programs were interviewed online, and data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The findings showed that a majority of respondents had shown a favorable perception of robots. While Indian students think that robots may offer several benefits for organizations, T&H entrepreneurs must make provisions to deal with the obstacles associated with robot adoption. The major challenges are employee resistance, technological glitches, services with no human touch, significant operational costs, human-robot interaction, cost of training & repair, and robot-friendly organizational design. They also believe that service organizations should balance the work of employees and robots in such a way where technologies should perform repetitive tasks while employees could deliver warm and personalized services. They prefer humanoid robots in human-touch service industries to humanize services. The study also recommends that educational institutions must incorporate courses on modern technologies into academic programs to meet future challenges and job requirements of the service sector. The findings have several implications, and further research directions are suggested.


Abstract Background Depression during pregnancy and after the birth of a child is highly prevalent and an important public health problem. Psychological interventions are the first-line treatment and, although a considerable number of randomized trials have been conducted, no recent comprehensive meta-analysis has evaluated treatment effects. Methods We used an existing database of randomized controlled trials of psychotherapies for adult depression and included studies aimed at perinatal depression. Random effects models were used in all analyses. We examined the effects of the interventions in the short and long term, and also examined secondary outcomes. Results Forty-three studies with 49 comparisons and 6270 participants between an intervention and control group were included. The overall effect size was g = 0.67 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45~0.89; numbers needed-to-be-treated = 4.39] with high heterogeneity (I2 = 80%; 95% CI 75~85). This effect size remained largely unchanged and significant in a series of sensitivity analyses, although some publication bias was found. The effects remained significant at 6–12 months follow-up. Significant effects were also found for social support, anxiety, functional limitations, parental stress and marital stress, although the number of studies for each outcome was low. All results should be considered with caution because of the high levels of heterogeneity in most analyses. Conclusions Psychological interventions are probably effective in the treatment of perinatal depression, with effects that last at least up to 6–12 months and probably also have effects on social support, anxiety, functional impairment, parental stress, and marital stress.


The public service emphasizes cross-generational collaboration in Sukowilangun Village. The main aim to elevate cultural rituals in the form of birth, marriage and death rituals and "Jaranan" to become cultural heritage. One of the activities undertaken was pavilion flooring and the addition of important facilities has improved the quality of cultural workshops, increasing engagement, especially among the younger generation. In addition, documentation of cultural activities, such as the "Jaranan Turonggo Setyo Budoyo" dance, provides valuable insight into the community's cultural heritage, while emphasizing their commitment to preservation. The creation of a video documenting the project process showcases intergenerational collaboration and innovation, emphasizing the importance of upholding ancestral cultural values in society. Overall, this initiative not only preserves the local wisdom but also fosters unity and continuity. This underlines the potential of technology and collaboration in safeguarding cultural heritage and passing it on to future generations. The recommendation is to maintain a social media presence to increase external community awareness of the cultural product.
Keywords: Local Wisdom, Cultural Rituals, Tourist Villages, Cultural Heritage, Jaranan


The ability of birds to perceive ultraviolet light (300–400 nm), to which humans are blind, has been neglected in avian behavioural ecology, and the occurrence and significance of ultraviolet (UV) colouration in plumage signals are important to explore. The support for a role of UV in avian communication comes mainly from demonstrations of UV-components in avian plumage reflectance, but most of these might be nonadaptive secondary effects of colouring mechanisms operating in longer wavelengths. Only colouration principally in the UV strongly suggests signalling in this spectral region. Here is presented the first example of nearly pure UV colouration in passerines, the Asian whistling-thrushes (Myiophonus spp.). As in a previously investigated parrot species, the barb-born UV-structure seems to be a modification of the taxonomically widespread 'spongy structure' producing blue and violet feather colours. Lacking an obvious morphological constraint, the rarity of pure UV-signals is more likely to be explained by ambient light conditions and ecology. In the whistling-thrushes, a combination of high altitude, skylight-dominated habitat, mammalian predators, and semi-aquatic lifestyle might explain the evolution of UV-communication in this genus.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate and compare bone modeling and remodeling in fractured and non-fractured central tarsal bones (CTBs) of racing Greyhounds.

SAMPLE
Paired cadaveric tarsi from 6 euthanized racing Greyhounds with right CTB fractures and 6 racing Greyhounds with other nontarsal injuries.

PROCEDURES
CTBs were dissected and fractured CTBs were reconstructed. Central tarsal bones were evaluated through standard and nonscreen high-detail radiography, computed tomography, and histologic examination. The bone mineral density (BMD) was calculated adjacent to fracture planes and as a gradient on sagittal computed tomographic images. Sagittal and transverse plane sections of bone were obtained and submitted for subjective histologic assessment. Linear mixed-effects models were used to compare findings.

RESULTS
Fractured right CTBs had greater BMD in the dorsal and midbody regions of the sagittal plane sections than did nonfractured CTBs. The BMD ratios from bone adjacent to the dorsal slab fracture planes were not different between fractured and nonfractured right CTBs.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Findings supported the existence of site-specific bone adaptation in CTBs of Greyhounds, with modeling and remodeling patterns that were unique to fractured right CTBs. The dorsal and midbody regions of fractured bones had greater BMD, and fractures occurred through these zones of increased BMD.


Instruction fetching is critical to the performance of a superscalar microprocessor. We develop a mathematical model for three different cache techniques and evaluate its performance both in theory and in simulation using the SPEC95 suite of benchmarks. In all the techniques, the fetching performance is dramatically lower than ideal expectations. To help remedy the situation, we also evaluate its performance using prefetching. Nevertheless, fetching performance is fundamentally limited by control transfers. To solve this problem, we introduce a new fetching mechanism called a dual branch target buffer. The dual branch target buffer enables fetching performance to leap beyond the limitation imposed by conventional methods and achieve a high instruction fetching rate.


ABSTRACT All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) nanosuspensions were prepared with a modified precipitation method. The ATRA solution in acetone was injected into pure water by an air compressor under the action of ultrasonication. Photon correlation spectroscopy results showed that the mean particle size of ATRA nanoparticles in nanosuspensions reduced from 337 nm to 155 nm as the injection velocity increased and the polydispersity index was 0.45–0.50. The morphology of ATRA nanoparticles varied with the different concentration of ATRA solution in acetone. ATRA nanoparticles showed an amorphous state and stable in 6 months. It could be concluded that this modified precipitation method could produce stable and controllable ATRA nanosuspension to a certain extent, thus benefit for higher saturation solubility.