A 30-UTR KRAS-variant is associated with cisplatin resistance in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma C. H. Chung1,2*, J. W. Lee3, R. J. Slebos4, J. D. Howard1, J. Perez1, H. Kang1, E. J. Fertig1, M. Considine1, J. Gilbert5, B. A. Murphy5, S. Nallur6, T. Paranjape6, R. C. Jordan9, J. Garcia10, B. Burtness7, A. A. Forastiere1 & J. B. Weidhaas6,8 Departments of Oncology; Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Department of Cancer Biology; Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville; Department of Therapeutic Radiology; Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Los Angeles; Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA


In this paper, a project is described which is a 2-D modelled version of a car that will learn how to drive itself. It will have to figure everything out on its own. In addition, to achieve that the simulator contains a car running simultaneously &can be controlled by different control algorithms heuristic, reinforcement learning-based, etc. For each dynamic input, the ReinforcementLearning modifies new patterns. Ultimately, Reinforcement Learning helps in maximizing the reward from every state. In this first Part, we will implement a Reinforcement-Learning model to build an AI for Self Driving Car. Project will be focusing on the brain of the car not any graphics. The car will detect obstacles and take basic actions. To make autonomous car or self-driving car a reality, some of the factors to be considered are human safety and quality of life. Keywords— Heuristic, Reinforcement Learning, Reward Function, Self-Driven Car


Student-designed research projects are more meaningful and more similar to professional experiences when they are embedded in a sequence of technical and communication tasks that approximate the evolution of a real-world research project. Instructors part of a mechanical engineering fundamentals course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology describe an innovative, semester-long student project known as "Go Forth and Measure," which prompts students to design, propose, and conduct an original study and communicate its progress and findings through several professional genres interspersed through the term. Sound data and error analysis, effective graphic communication, and professional practices are emphasized in all tasks. Lab instructors and communication instructors, led by technical faculty, coordinate the teaching of a thoughtful sequence of activities. Approaches to teaching the deliberate crafting of the story of data - in a figure, in a research poster - are described here, and preliminary observations on student work and their experience are summarized.


Non-specific distribution of chemotherapeutic agents in the body where they affect both cancer as well as normal cells resulting in serious side effects is the major reason for the high mortality rate of cancer. Thus, there is a need for developing targeted delivery strategies specially employing nanoplatform-based cancer therapies that provide specific targeting to tumor cells. In this regard, biopolymeric nanoplatforms such as liposomes, protein- and polysaccharide- based nanoparticles have gained more attention due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability and less toxicity. In terms of targeting, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), folic acid (FA) and transferrin (Tf) can be considered as the moieties to be attached to the nanoplatforms to deliver their payload to its site of action. This review article focuses on the recent progress in the field of targeted drug and gene delivery systems with emphasizes on liposomes, protein (specially human and bovine serum albumin)-based nanoparticles and polysaccharide (specially chitosan and dextran)-based nanoparticles as the biopolymeric nanoplatforms, which are decorated with mAbs, FA and Tf as the targeting ligands.


La version francaise de cette etude peut etre trouvee: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2372780 The aim of this study is to synthesize legal arguments and research findings relating to ethno-racial profiling in the field of anti-terrorist policies and legal instruments. The ultimate goal is to formulate guidelines and recommendations for the European legislators. In Part I, the study provides an analysis of the concept and utility of profiling. This includes an assessment of the most important substantive criteria of profiling and the necessary safeguards. Part II focuses on the compatibility of profiling with the most important international, European and national human rights instruments, along with European instruments in the context of the fight against terrorism, police and judicial cooperation and exchange of information and intelligence between Member States, while also taking into account the rights and guarantees provided to individuals in terms of privacy, data protection and non-discrimination. Part III explores the impact of profiling on minority communities, police-minority relations, and the effectiveness of police and anti-terrorist law enforcement endeavours. Finally, Part IV offers recommendations on possible ways to carry out research on racial profiling and monitoring police activities in order to identify racial profiling practices.


Especially in the classical chemical industry are typically "unique". Compared with more reproducible processes there is little experience or models about the real behavior. These industries especially those who run continuous productions involving potentially hazardous materials and process conditions are faced with a historical dilemma: availability of the production and plant safety without false trips of the process control caused by SIS-loops [safety instrumented systems]. With the introduction of smart sensors along with new physical principles for process automation the chemical industry has seen a continuous improvement during the last 2 decades in terms of reliability and availability. In order to achieve proven-in use status fast and due to economical pressure the same type of field instruments are used for process control loops, for monitoring and process optimizations purposes as well as for SIS-loops. The presentation will discuss methods and approaches how these "contradictional" requirements can be solved in a consents not in a compromise, based on the norm IEC 61508/61511 and the GMA/VDE 2650 or NE107 [NAMUR-recommendation]. A special focus is made on "check in place" methods to verify proper function under process conditions even with conditions where instruments are applied by chance or intentionally in applications that are "out of spec".


As part of joint project between the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), radioactive waste from four different ORNL tank farms will be immobilized. This work, which is funded by the DOE Office of Science and Technology, is designed to create a direct comparison between grouting and vitrification technologies. SRTC efforts have been focused on developing and testing glass formulations for the vitrification of the tank wastes. The radioactive waste is from four different ORNL tank farms: Melton Valley Storage Tanks (MVST), Bethel Valley Evaporator Service Tanks (BVEST), Gunite and Associated Tanks (GAAT), and Old Hydrafracture Tanks (OHF). The sludges in these tanks contain transuranic radionuclides at levels which will make the final waste form (at reasonable waste loadings) TRU. Glass is an acceptable waste form because of its ability to accept a wide variety of components into its network structure. This is important since the waste varies significantly from tank to tank and from tank farm to tank farm. Therefore, glass formulation efforts have centered on developing a formulation that is robust enough to handle large fluctuations in waste composition. Crucible studies have been performed with simulated GAAT, MVST and BVEST sludges. The results of these tests indicate that high waste loadings can be obtained in the glass to significantly reduce the waste volume. This paper will present the results of the glass formulation efforts


The ground proximity is known to induce an outboard movement and suppression of the wingtip vortices, leading to a reduced lift-induced drag. Depending on the ground boundary condition, a large scatter exists in the published lift-induced drag and vortex trajectory. In this experiment, the ground boundary condition-produced disparity in the vortex strength and induced drag were evaluated. No significant discrepancy appeared for a ground distance or clearance larger than 30% chord. As the stationary ground was further approached, there was the appearance of a corotating ground vortex (GV), originated from the downstream progression of a spanwise ground vortex filament, which added vorticity to the tip vortex, leading to a stronger tip vortex and a larger lift-induced drag compared to the moving ground. For the moving ground, the ground vortex was absent. In close ground proximity, the rollup of the high-pressure fluid flow escaped from the wing's tip always caused the formation of a counter-rotating secondary vortex, which dramatically weakened the tip vortex strength and produced a large induced-drag reduction. The moving ground effect, however, induced a stronger secondary vortex, leading to a smaller lift-induced drag and a larger outboard movement of the tip vortex as compared to the stationary ground effect.


In this study, the physicochemical properties, fatty acid composition, antioxidant activities, and in vitro as well as in vivo toxicological safety of emu oil were investigated. Emu oil was shown to have a low acid and peroxide value, low amounts of carotenoid and phenolic compounds, and high doses of oleic acid and linoleic acid. Furthermore, in a bacterial reverse mutation assay, emu oil demonstrated no change in the amount of revertant colonies for all strains. In a chromosomal assay, no aberrations occurred in any of the emu oil treatment groups (1.25, 2.5, and 5 μg/mL). In the bone marrow micronucleus test, emu oil up to 20 mL/kg showed no significant increase in the incidence of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes. Moreover, emu oil up to 19.3 mg/kg body weight did not affect body weight in an acute oral toxicity study. These results are crucial for the adoption of emu oil as an alternative source of edible oil.


To investigate effects of preoperative, short-term and medium and high strength exercise training of lower limbs on tolerance of lung resection operation in lung cancer patients with impaired pulmonary function. 61 patients were divided into the operation group A (44) and the non-operation group B (17) randomly according to the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The group A was randomly divided into A1 (22) and A2 (22) group. Treadmill training combined with thoraco-abdominal pursed lip breathing training were conducted in the A1 and the group B. The static lung function and cardiopulmonary exercise function were tested. Heart and lung function index including forced vital capacity, minute ventilation volume, diffusion capacity for CO of lung, the maximum power load, VO2max, anaerobic threshold, oxygen pulse VO2max/HR, peak ventilation, dyspnea index, CO2 equivalent when it is anaerobic threshold VE/VCO2@AT and transcutaneous oxygen saturation after exercise SPO2% (P<0.05) all significantly improved after exercise. Recovery time after lung resection, mechanical ventilation time, and hospitalization days have significantly diffirence between A1 and A2 group (P<0.05). Preoperative, short-term and medium and high strength exercise training can effectively and feasibly enhances adaptability of cardiopulmonary functions. [Yi Fang, Qingyu Zhao, Dongfeng Huang, Shufang Guan, Jiahai Lv. . Effects of Exercise Training on Surgery Tolerability in Lung Cancer Patients with Impaired Pulmonary Function. Life Sci J 2013;10(4):1943-1948]. (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 258


he 1855 earthquake at Visp remains the strongest in the last 300 yr in Switzerland. It caused heavy damage in the region of the middle Valais. We reconstructed the damage field of this event studying also site effects and building vulnerability. The key factors in such a study are the availability and accessibility of sufficient historical data. Given the existence of a complete contemporary damage assessment and the availability of early statistics, our investigation drew upon an excellent pool of data. These sources enabled us to quantitatively analyse the damage field on the village level. Other historical sources described some of the losses with more detail but not across the whole area. These data were qualitatively analysed and then used to calibrate and verify the outcomes of the quantitative analysis. When it was possible to describe the damage fields of single villages, as with Visp, a high percentage of damaged buildings could be located so exactly as to foster further investigation. In addition we identified several secondary effects such as rock fall, landslides and changes in the subsurface. The observed damages support the thesis of a normal fault striking along the Valley of Visp (north–south) and dipping to the west.


Abstract The fluid flow and heat transfer through a rotating curved duct has received much attention in recent years because of vast applications in mechanical devices. It is noticed that there occur two different types of rotations in a rotating curved duct such as positive and negative rotation. The positive rotation through the curved duct is widely investigated while the investigation on the negative rotation is rarely available. The paper investigates the influence of negative rotation for a wide range of Taylor number (10 ≤ Tr ≤ 2500) when the duct itself rotates about the center of curvature. Due to the rotation, three types of forces including Coriolis, centrifugal, and buoyancy forces are generated. The study focuses and explains the combined effect of these forces on the fluid flow in details. First, the linear stability of the steady solution is performed. An unsteady solution is then obtained by time-evolution calculation and flow transition is determined by calculating phase space and power spectrum. When Tr is raised in the negative direction, the flow behavior shows different flow instabilities including steady-state, periodic, multi-periodic, and chaotic oscillations. Furthermore, the pattern variations of axial and secondary flow velocity and isotherms are obtained, and it is found that there is a strong interaction between the flow velocities and the isotherms. Then temperature gradients are calculated which show that the fluid mixing and the acts of secondary flow have a strong influence on heat transfer in the fluid. Diagrams of unsteady flow and vortex structure are further sketched and precisely elucidate the curvature effects on unsteady fluid flow. Finally, a comparison between the numerical and experimental data is discussed which demonstrates that both data coincide with each other.


The research presented a financial approach to an issue of estimation of efficiency of the Polish foreign direct investments abroad (FDIA) as an instrument of value creation for investors. Besides the volume and distribution of Polish FDIA according to economic activity and geographical zone were analyzed. The volume of Polish FDIA outward position constantly grew due to an increase of equity capital, reinvested earnings and other capital in 2000-2012. The period after financial crisis (2010-2012) was characterized by a higher activity of Polish investors while the fluctuation of income from FDIA was mainly caused by a significant level of their concentration. Government bond yields were higher than return on FDIA that gave an evidence of relatively lower efficiency of FDIA.


Thermal transpiration flows of rarefied gases in annular channels are considered, where the driving force for the flow is a temperature gradient applied in the channel walls. The influence of gas rarefaction, aspect ratio of the annulus, and surface accommodation coefficient on mass and heat transfer in the process are investigated. For this, the linearized Navier–Stokes–Fourier (NSF) and regularized 13-moment (R13) equations are solved analytically, and a closed-form expression for Knudsen boundary layers is obtained. The results are compared to available solutions of the Boltzmann equation to highlight the advantages of the R13 over the NSF equations in describing rarefaction effects in this particular thermally-driven flow. Through comparisons with kinetic data it is shown that R13 equations are valid for moderate Knudsen numbers, i.e., Kn < 0.5, where NSF equations fail to describe the flow fields properly.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Aim. To assess the impact of automatic telephone survey with a differentiated reminder text, as well as of the survey combination with the self-control dairy, on the compliance with lipid-lowering and antihypertensive therapy and on therapy effectiveness during the longterm ambulatory follow-up. Material and methods. The study included 604 patients: 323 individuals with high or very high cardiovascular risk levels by SCORE scale and 281 participants with coronary heart disease (CHD). The patients were divided into two groups, according to their agreement to participate in the automatic telephone reminder survey ("Survey" and "Refusal"). All participants were also given a self-control diary. At baseline and one year later, the patients underwent general clinical examination, office blood pressure (BP) measurement, blood biochemistry assessment, and the measurement of therapy compliance (Morisky-Green test), anxiety, and depression levels (HADS scale). Results. The reduction in diastolic BP levels was significantly larger in the Survey group (p=0,04). This group also demonstrated a significantly larger decrease in the levels of total cholesterol (TCH) (p=0,0003) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-CH) (p=0,001), as well as a significantly larger increase in the levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-CH) (p=0,04). The therapy compliance, assessed by the Morisky-Green test, improved in both groups; however, among CHD patients, a significant improvement was observed only in the Survey group (p<0,00001). The percentage of patients submitting their self-control diaries was higher for the Survey group (p<0,0001). Conclusion. The automatic telephone reminder method provides an opportunity to significantly increase the therapy compliance.


The talk will focus on material and cell design aspects of resistive memory technologies with a focus on bipolar operation. Starting from the basic switching physics in resistive memories the talk will explain the effect of the local electromagnetic environment and its impact on the switching characteristic. This will explain the commonly observed fact that memory cells have low on-state resistance (typically below 40 kOhm). This low on-resistance, in turn, is not compatible with aggressively scaled architectures, where access devices limit the available current for switching. Strategies for cell designs will be discussed which can bring the on-state resistance into a regime which is compatible with low operating currents. However, not all of them are compatible with integration schemes, temperature budgets and required retention. Suggestions for improvement will be discussed.


One of the most important tasks in road maintenance is the detection of potholes. This process is usually done through manual visual inspection, where certified engineers assess recorded images of pavements acquired using cameras or professional road assessment vehicles. Machine learning techniques are now being applied to this problem, with models trained to automatically identify road conditions. However, approaching this realworld problem with machine learning techniques presents the classic problem of how to produce generalisable models. Images and videos may be captured in different illumination conditions, with different camera types, camera angles and resolutions. In this paper we present our approach to building a generalized learning model for pothole detection. We apply four datasets that contain a range of image and environment conditions. Using the Faster RCNN object detection model, we demonstrate the extent to which pothole detection models can generalise across various conditions. Our work is a contribution to bringing automated road maintenance techniques from the research lab into the real-world.


This paper presents a new challenge on the strategic 4D trajectory optimization problem with the evaluation of air traffic complexity by using the geometric-based intrinsic complexity measure called König metric. The demonstration of König metric shows the potential that the algorithm can capture the disorganized the disorganized traffic which represents the difficulty of maintaining situational awareness as expected by the air traffic controller. We reformulate the optimization problem with two trajectory separation approaches including delaying flight departure time and allocating the new flight level subject to limited delay time of departure, limited changes of flight levels and fuel consumption constraints. We propose our solution to solve daily traffic demands in the regional French airspace. The resolution process uses the distributed metaheuristic algorithm to optimize aircraft trajectories in 4D environment with the objective of finding the optimal air traffic complexity. The experimental results shows the reduction of maximum complexity more than 95 % with average delay of 2.69 minutes. The optimized trajectories can save fuel more than 80000 kg. The proposed algorithm not only reduces the air traffic complexity but also maintain its distribution in traffic. The research results represent further steps towards taking other trajectory separations methods and aircraft trajectory uncertainties into account, developing our approach at the continental scale as well as adapting it in the pre-tactical and tactical planning phase.


Radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFTA) is a medical procedure currently widely adopted for liver tumors treatment. Its outcome is strongly influenced by temperature distribution near the RF applicator therefore continuous measurements are required both to validate RFTA numerical models and to better control the outcome of the procedure. The space-time evolution of the thermal field during RFTA on ex vivo porcine liver tissue has been measured by infrared thermal imaging in different experimental setups. A three-dimensional simulation of the whole experiment reproduces all the features of the thermal field measurements and validates the proposed measurement methodology.


There has been significant recent work by several authors which examines a situation where a thin magnetic layer is "draped" over a core merging into a larger cluster; the same process also appears to be at work in a bubble rising from the cluster center. Such a thin magnetic layer could thermally isolate the core from the cluster medium, but only if the same shear process which generates the layer does not later disrupt it. On the other hand, if the magnetized layer can stabilize against the shear instabilities, then the magnetic layer can have the additional dynamical effect of reducing the shear-driven mixing of the core's material during the merger process. These arguments could apply equally well to underdense cluster bubbles, which would be even more prone to disruption. While it is well known that magnetic fields can suppress instabilities, it is less clear that a thin layer can suppress instabilities on scales significantly larger than its thickness. We consider here the stability imparted by a thin magnetized layer. We investigate this question in the most favorable case, that of two dimensions, where the magnetic field can most strongly affect the stability. We find that in this case such a layer can have a significant stabilizing effect even on modes with wavelengths λ much larger than the thickness of the layer l. To stabilize modes with λ ≈ 10l requires only that the Alfvén speed in the magnetized layer is comparable to or greater than the relevant destabilizing velocity—the shear velocity in the case of pure Kelvin-Helmholtz-like instability or a typical buoyancy velocity in the case of pure Rayleigh-Taylor-like instability. We confirm our calculations with two-dimensional numerical experiments using the Athena code.


Threshold-voltage shifts and increases in 1/f noise are observed in proton-irradiated AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors, indicating defect-mediated device degradation. Quantum mechanical calculations demonstrate that low-energy recoils caused by particle interactions with defect complexes are more likely to occur than atomic displacements in a defect-free region of the crystal. We identify the responsible defects and their precursors in the defect-mediated displacement mechanism. The electronic properties of these defects are consistent with the increases in threshold voltage and 1/f noise in proton irradiation experiments.


Branching in fruit trees is mostly cultivar-dependent. However, the branching habit of genotypes might be altered by training methods. This study has been carried out to investigate the tree quality of different methods focused on proleptic and sylleptic branching in the apple nursery. 'Golden Reinders'/'M.9' combination was used as a plant material. Knipboom tree for syllepsis and fruitful tree for prolepsis were chosen. Data were collected for tree quality (branch character, tree height, spur and brindle, tree weight, root: shoot ratio, total leaf area, etc.) and physiological criteria (total carbohydrate, nutrients, etc.). Fruitful tree significantly increased the number of branches (>25 cm) in comparison to knipboom tree. The fruitful tree produced 7.05 branches tree-1 in the first year and 6.97 branches tree-1 in the second year of the trial. The best results for branch crotch angle, spur number, brindle number, trunk diameter and tree height were obtained from fruitful tree treatment in both trial years. Proleptic branching e.g., fruitful which is a new approach in the nurseries found to be a satisfactory method to promote many tree quality and physiological characteristics.


We investigate a new potential technique to determine the position of the auroral electrojet from ground-based VLF amplitude and phase measurements. The chief advantage of this technique over conventional ground magnetometer measurements is that it can provide data on a continental scale with a small number of receiving stations and with a minimum of data processing. At the edge of the auroral zone, where the electrojet current system flows, high-energy (E > 300 keV) precipitating electrons cause local electron density enhancements in the ionosphere which cause phase and amplitude perturbations in VLF waves propagating in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide. Continuous measurements of the amplitude and phase of signals from the Omega North Dakota VLF transmitter were made in Nome, Alaska. Using a two-dimensional model of VLF propagation which accounts for ionospheric disturbances caused by the electron precipitation associated with the electrojet, the amplitude and phase signatures of electrojet incursion across each propagation path were predicted. Seventeen nights of simultaneous VLF amplitude and phase data and ground magnetometer data were examined and catalogued based on the degree of temporal correlation between the two data sets and the degree to which the VLF events matched the propagation simulations. Of the nights exhibiting activity, more than 60% exhibited excellent correlation between the magnetometer and VLF events, and the majority of these showed good agreement with the model results. An additional estimate of the electrojet position was provided for one of the studied nights by field-aligned current measurements from the Freja satellite. A comparison of these independent means of determining the electrojet position shows that they are in good agreement for the night examined.


Caching appears to be an efficient way to reduce peak hour network traffic congestion by storing some content at the user's cache without knowledge of later demands. Recently, Maddah-Ali and Niesen proposed a two-phase, placement and delivery phase, coded caching strategy for centralized systems (where coordination among users is possible in the placement phase), and for decentralized systems. This paper investigates the same setup under the further assumption that the number of users is larger than the number of files. By using the same uncoded placement strategy of Maddah-Ali and Niesen, a novel coded delivery strategy is proposed to profit from the multicasting opportunities that arise because a file may be demanded by multiple users. The proposed delivery method is proved to be optimal under the constraint of uncoded placement for centralized systems with two files; moreover it is shown to outperform known caching strategies for both centralized and decentralized systems.


The second messenger, cAMP has potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory actions. These have been attributed, in part, to the ability of cAMP-induced signals to interfere with the function of the proinflammatory transcription factor Nuclear Factor-kappa B (NF-κB). However, the mechanisms underlying the modulation of NF-κB activity by cAMP remain unclear. Here we demonstrate an important role for cAMP-mediated increase in nuclear actin monomer levels in inhibiting NF-κB activity. Elevated cAMP or forced expression of a nuclear localised polymerisation defective actin mutant (NLS-ActinR62D) inhibited basal and TNFα induced mRNA levels of NF-κB-dependent genes and NF-κB-dependent reporter gene activity. Elevated cAMP or NLS-ActinR62D did not affect NF-κB nuclear translocation but did reduce total cellular and nuclear RelA/p65 levels. Preventing the cAMP-induced increase in nuclear actin monomer, either by expressing a nuclear localised active mutant of the actin polymerising protein mDIA, silencing components of the nuclear actin import complex IPO9 and CFL1 or overexpressing the nuclear export complex XPO6, rescued RelA/p65 levels and NF-κB reporter gene activity in forskolin-stimulated cells. Elevated cAMP or NLS-ActinR62D reduced the half-life of RelA/p65, which was reversed by the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Accordingly, forskolin stimulated association of RelA/p65 with ubiquitin affinity beads, indicating increased ubiquitination of RelA/p65 or associated proteins. Taken together, our data demonstrate a novel mechanism underlying the anti-inflammatory effects of cAMP and highlight the important role played by nuclear actin in the regulation of inflammation.


We examined the diets as reported in interviews of 256 white male patients with cancer of the colon and of 330 white male patients with cancer of the rectum. Controls were 783 patients with nonneoplastic, nondigestive system diseases distributed by age similarly to the colon cancer patients and 628 patients with nonneoplastic, nondigestive diseases distributed by age like those with cancer of the rectum. We found no increase in risk for cancer of the colon or rectum regardless of the amounts of beef or other meats ingested. However, we found an increase in risk of colon cancer with decreases in the frequency with which vegetables were eaten. A study of 214 females with cancer of the colon and 182 females with cancer of the rectum yielded similar results. The decrease in risk we found associated with frequent ingestion of vegetables, and especially cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli, is consistent with the decreased numbers of tumors observed in animals challenged with carcinogens and fed compounds found in these same vegetables.


A solution of methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane in the presence of an acid catalyst, water, toluene and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was initiated at 60 degrees C for 24 h in a 100 microm i.d. capillary to prepare a porous monolithic silica column by a one-step, in situ, process. Various parameters, such as the volume of applied voltage, buffer pH, acetonitrile concentration and column temperature, were varied to assess their influence on retention mechanism, electroosmotic flow (EOF) and column efficiencies. The heat initiated sol-gel capillary monolithic column showed reversed-phase behavior. Furthermore, the homogeneous reactor was obtained using surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS). The baseline separation of 9 neutral compounds (thiourea, benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, n-propylbenzene, naphthalene, n-butylbenzene; fluorene and anthracene) and 7 acidic, basic and neutral compounds (thiourea, o-aminophenol, phenol, benzene, o-methylaniline, alpha-naphthylamine, 2,4-dichloroaniline) can be obtained under optimized capillary electrochromatographic conditions. Column efficiency of 110,000 plates/m was achieved for thiourea.


ABSTRACT Recent evaluations have begun to use qualitative data in a manner that helps improve the quality and relevance of studies through the inferences that are drawn from them, and their applicability to policy makers and programme implementers. This paper reviews this work and identifies good practices to integrate qualitative methods into quantitative impact evaluations (IEs) and systematic reviews (SRs). Using recent literature on the characteristics of such practices, we developed two tools to assess the methodological rigour and mixed methods integration of 40 IEs and 7 SRs, drawing upon previous approaches. Our findings are that successful mixed methods quantitative impact evaluations: (1) provide a clear rationale for integration of methods; (2) deploy multidisciplinary teams; (3) provide adequate documentation; and (4) acknowledge limitations to the generalisability of qualitative and quantitative findings. Successful integration tended to improve mixed methods impact evaluations by collecting better data to inform the study design and findings, which helped contextualise quantitative findings. Our main observation on the integration of mixed methods in the systematic reviews is that mixed methods systematic reviews bringing together literatures that answer different questions can go beyond the 'sum of their parts' to provide holistic answers about development effectiveness. The findings of this study inform several recommendations to improve the conduct and reporting of mixed methods impact evaluations and systematic reviews.


Many dacine (Diptera: Tephritidae) species are attracted to one of two chemical substances, 4-allyl-1,2-dimethoxybenzene (methyl eugenol (ME)) or 4-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone (cue lure). Despite the fact that these chemicals or analogs occur naturally, their significance in the biology/ecology of the Dacinae has seldom been examined. In this study, we examine the patterns in feeding behaviour of Bactrocera cacuminata (Hering), a monophagous non-pest fruit fly, on ME. Based on a laboratory assay, we found that males of this species fed on ME multiple times within a single day and on multiple days. The pattern of repeat feeding was not related to time since previous feeding or duration of prior feeding. Our results contrast those obtained on a similar study on a related polyphagous species (Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)). We discuss the implications of our findings with a view to explaining the functional significance of dacine response to these plant-derived chemicals.


The interplay between the topological and geometrical properties of a polymer ring can be clarified by establishing the entanglement trapped in any portion (arc) of the ring. The task requires closing the open arcs into a ring, and the resulting topological state may depend on the specific closure scheme that is followed. To understand the impact of this ambiguity in contexts of practical interest, such as knot localization in a ring with non trivial topology, we apply various closure schemes to model ring polymers. The rings have the same length and topological state (a trefoil knot) but have different degree of compactness. The comparison suggests that a novel method, called the minimally-interfering closure, can be profitably used to characterize the arc entanglement in a robust and computationally-efficient way. This closure method is applied to the knot localization problem which is tackled using two different localization schemes based on top-down or bottom-up searches.


This study describes sample preparation techniques that allow atomic force microscope observation of domains on the scale of tens of nanometers in fine-grained bulk lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics. It is shown that carefully conducted light polishing and etching results in no significant disturbance to domain morphologies in hard PZT ceramics.


Steroid sex hormones play an important role in airway ailments such as asthma. This illness affects boys rather than girls during infancy and this proportion radically reverses in puberty. Conceivably, plasmatic androgen concentration in young men increases at this age and might be related to lower airway hyperresponsiveness. Meanwhile, androgens´ addition to pre-contracted airway smooth muscle (ASM) in vitro, concentration-dependently relaxes them. We therefore hypothesized that androgens might exert their concentration dependent effects on ASM through different cellular mechanisms. To study physiological testosterone (TES) concentrations (10 nM) effects on ASM, we tested its effects on carbachol (CCh)-induced intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) increment and found that CCh Ca2+ response was abolished. In turn, ATP-induced [Ca2+]i increment was partially blocked by TES. We confirmed that only P2Y (metabotropic) receptors were altered by TES; while this androgen showed no effect on histamine [Ca2+]i increase. These results indicated that the PLC-IP3 signaling pathway is involved. Studies using photolysis of caged-IP3 confirmed this hypothesis. At supraphysiological concentrations (µM), TES concentration-dependently (10, 32, 100, and 178 μM) relaxed CCh pre-contracted ASM in vitro by blocking L-type voltage dependent Ca2+channels (VDCC) and store operated Ca2+ channels (SOCC). A role for PGE2 in this TES-induced relaxation was also established. In conclusion, μM TES concentrations decrease ASM [Ca2+]i by blocking VDCC and SOCC and stimulating PGE2 synthesis; while nM concentrations reduce [Ca2+]i increases induced by CCh and ATP, by hindering IP3 receptor functioning.


This study investigates the case of simultaneous input and output quantisation for a class of non-linear output feedback systems subject to uncertain non-linear dynamics and non-zero initial states. An adaptive quantised observer-based output feedback controller is designed to guarantee bounded stability and H∞ performance despite input and output quantisation. In comparison with the existing work, the main contributions of this study are that: (i) an important lemma is proposed to remove the matrix equality constraint used in many existing results, and three new design methods in strict terms of linear matrix inequality techniques are proposed; (ii) this study focuses on eliminating the impact of both input and output quantisation errors. Since the impact of input and output quantisation errors cannot be fully eliminated, the estimation error is proved to be ultimately bounded and to converge to a residual set; and (iii) an adaptive compensation term is constructed to compensate for the time-variant effects caused by non-linear dynamics and uncertain parameter vectors. Finally, two numerical examples are given to show the efficacy and advantages of the proposed methods.


Summary Music has long been associated with trance states, but very little has been written about the modern western discussion of music as a form of hypnosis or 'brainwashing'. However, from Mesmer's use of the glass armonica to the supposed dangers of subliminal messages in heavy metal, the idea that music can overwhelm listeners' self-control has been a recurrent theme. In particular, the concepts of automatic response and conditioned reflex have been the basis for a model of physiological psychology in which the self has been depicted as vulnerable to external stimuli such as music. This article will examine the discourse of hypnotic music from animal magnetism and the experimental hypnosis of the nineteenth century to the brainwashing panics since the Cold War, looking at the relationship between concerns about hypnotic music and the politics of the self and sexuality.


A substantial body of scholarship on men of color in postsecondary education has emerged since the late 1990s. Yet, only recently have scholars begun to pursue empirical insights about the status of men of color who attend community colleges. In an effort to inform future research, this article reviews the published scholarship on student success for men of color in community colleges. The 5 domains of African American male student success in community colleges proposed byWood and Harris (2012)served as a conceptual framework for reviewing and discussing the published scholarship. Following the review of scholarship, knowledge gaps and implications for future research on men of color in community colleges are offered.


Background Ultrasound examination has become increasingly important for determining pathological conditions in inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions of the joints. However, age characteristics of normal joints structure in children at the stages of growth and puberty remain unspecified. Objectives To explore the dimensions of the basic structures of ultrasonic unchanged knee in adolescents. Methods Sonograms (151 studies) of the knee in children 10-18 years without clinical manifestations of the pathology of the locomotors system (100 people, boys – 57, girls - 43) has selected for the analysis. Traumatic injuries, including changes in ligaments and menisci infringement structures and inflammation with accumulation of fluid in the joints bags (suprapattelaris, subcutaneous praepattelaris, in popliteal fossa in) has excluded according to history, clinical and laboratory examination. Ultrasound has performed on devices Siemens, Logiq P5 General and SLE-101 PS in real-time polypositional knee ultrasound diagnostics with a frequency radiation 7.5 - 12 MHz linear transducer. The following parameters were evaluated according to the methods and protocols knee joint research: state joint cavity, synovial membrane, articular cartilage, the size of the joint space in the lateral and medial parts of the joint, the contours of the articular surface of the femoral and tibial bone. Results All teenagers have gradual decrease in the size of the articular cartilage at the stages of puberty. The greatest thickness cartilage is 10-year-olds (4,08±0,15 mm), and the beginning of puberty (11 years) it starts to decline in all areas of measurement (up to 2,60±0,20 mm) (P<0.05). Measuring the thickness of the articular cartilage in adolescents found that girls in general this figure is smaller than in boys (P<0.05). Depending on the age, this pattern was detected in 10-, 13- and 15-year-olds, reflecting the uneven formation of cartilage in the two sexes is in these age periods. A violation in the structure of cartilage and its surface has established. Articular cartilage and subchondral edge of bone looked like a thin, hyperechoic bands without defects and additional physical phenomena. Measurement of ultrasonic joint space (distance between the medial and lateral femoral condyles and tibial bones) not established significant differences overall results among adolescents of both sexes at the stages of ontogeny when comparing them for years. It was less in the medial section of children under 14 (Pt <0.05) in some areas of measurement in girls 11, 13, 15 and 16 years (Pt <0.05) and 13-year-olds against 12 years old (P<0.05). The size of the bag knee does not change depending on the age and sex. In most age groups, the figure was higher in males (P<0.05). Conclusions Studies have established differences in the state of structural components of a healthy knee joint in different periods of adolescence and their dependence on sex. It must be considered during the ultrasound and detection of pathological abnormalities. The combination of anatomical, physiological and clinical data will rheumatologist practicing physicians to conclude that the presence of normal or abnormal structures of the joints is not only inflammatory nature, but dysplastic and dystrophic. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This essay derives from a paper presented in Spring 2006 at a conference on the work of Alan Dershowitz. The essay considers Dershowitz's much-criticized suggestion for the use of torture warrants for the interrogation of suspected terrorists. Rather than address the merits of the torture warrant proposal -- something which many other writers already have done -- "Torture Warrants and the Rule of Law" seeks to understand the virulence of the reaction against the proposal in terms of debates about the rule of law. Relying primarily on Jeremy Waldron's essay, "Torture and Positive Law," as representative of the academic reaction, the essay suggests that Dershowitz's proposal not only brings to the surface the extent to which typical conceptions of the rule of law tend to ignore law's reliance on violence but also destabilizees the efforts of writers like Waldron to control or divert that reliance. Thus, while Dershowitz extols familiar rule of law virtues such as accountability and transparency -- and seeks to bring emergency or exceptional measures within the rule of law framework -- Waldron insists that the rule of law must rest on fundamental substantive commitments that make no room for the exception. The essay makes no effort to resolve the specific Dershowtiz-Waldron debate. Instead, drawing on Giorgio Agamben and Thomas Mann, it seeks to clarify what is at stake in the debate, sympathizes with writers who suggest that violence is foundational to law, and suggests that, as a result, violence is necessary to any plausible theory of the rule of law.


The US is currently experiencing a serious epidemic of methamphetamine (Meth) use entangled with HIV-1 infection. Blood monocyte derived dendritic cells (DC ) are the first line of defense against HIV-1 infection and are the initial target of HIV-1 in injection drug users. Chemokines are known to be HIV-1 suppressing molecules and are positively associated with non- progression of HIV disease. Co-stimulatory molecules are necessary for DC maturation, effective antigen presentation, cell migration, and T cell proliferation. Although previous studies suggest that Meth deregulates various immune responses, the role of Meth on gene expression and production of β-chemokines and co-stimulatory molecules by DC has not been studied. We hypothesize that Meth induced immune defects may be mediated by dysregulation of β-chemokines (MIP-1α/CCL3, MIP-1β/CCL4 and RANTES/CCL5), co-stimulatory and maturation molecules (CD83 and CCR7) by DC. Our results show that Meth significantly downregulates the gene expression and production of β-chemokines and co stimulatory molecule by DC from normal subjects. In HIV-1 infected subjects, RANTES variant In1.1c that has been associated with accelerated HIV-1 disease progression was significantly higher compared to normal controls. Further, Meth significantly inhibited total RANTES gene expression with a reciprocal upregulation of RANTES variant In1.1c in a dose dependent manner by both immature DC (IDC) and mature DC (MDC) from normal subjects. These studies report for the first time that Meth deregulates β-chemokines and co-stimulatory molecule expression by DC. The results emanating from these studies may help to support the therapeutic application of chemokines to restore anti-HIV-1 immune responses to prevent or control HIV-1 infection in meth using populations.


Separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm has been practiced for selection of desired sex of offspring to increase the profit in livestock industries. At present, fluorescence-activated cell sorter is the only successful method for separation of X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This technology is based on the differences in DNA content between these two types of sperm and has been commercialized for bovine sperm. However, this technology still has problems in terms of high economic cost, sperm damage, and lower pregnancy rates compared to unsorted semen. Therefore, an inexpensive, convenient, and non-invasive approach for sperm sexing would be of benefit to agricultural sector. Within this perspective, immunological sperm sexing method is one of the attractive choices to separate X- and Y-chromosome bearing sperm. This article reviews the current knowledge about immunological approaches, viz., H-Y antigen, sex-specific antigens, and differentially expressed proteins for sperm sexing. Moreover, this review also highlighted the different methods for identification of X- and Y-sperm.


Advanced targeted cyber attacks often rely on reconnaissance missions to gather information about potential targets and their location in a networked environment to identify vulnerabilities which can be exploited for further attack maneuvers. Advanced network scanning techniques are often used for this purpose and are automatically executed by malware infected hosts. In this paper we formally define network deception to defend reconnaissance and develop RDS (Reconnaissance Deception System), which is based on SDN (Software Defined Networking), to achieve deception by simulating virtual network topologies. Our system thwarts network reconnaissance by delaying the scanning techniques of adversaries and invalidating their collected information, while minimizing the performance impact on benign network traffic. We introduce approaches to defend malicious network discovery and reconnaissance in computer networks, which are required for targeted cyber attacks such as Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). We show, that our system is able to invalidate an attackers information, delay the process of finding vulnerable hosts and identify the source of adversarial reconnaissance within a network, while only causing a minuscule performance overhead of 0.2 milliseconds per packet flow on average.


Significant performance and reliability improvements made in light emitting diode (LED) technology have enabled LED-based fittings to be used in place of traditional lighting solutions such as high intensity discharge (HID) and fluorescent sources. This paper details the advantages and disadvantages of LED fittings against traditional fittings as well as other 'long life' lighting technologies. The paper also demonstrates how LED fittings may be used to improve safety and reliability in harsh, hazardous and extreme environments while improving the quality of light and reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO). Long-term case studies of LED fittings installed on end user sites reveal lighting practices that lead to direct improvements in facilities lighting, demonstrate how maintenance and safety concerns impact total cost of ownership and how LED light fittings perform in difficult environments such as shock, vibration and extreme cold This paper will also demonstrate how, by combining strategic area illumination concepts and the proper LED luminaire installation practices for hazardous environments, significant improvements in overall facility safety and energy efficiency can result.


Universities have strong agendas aimed at first year retention, however attrition rates in second year can be just as high and receive little attention. Second year represents a period of developmental confusion for students, who struggle with personal identity, self confidence, autonomy, purpose and academic competence. We have observed significant declines in student performance, attitude and program satisfaction in the biomedical sciences area early in second year. Initially identified through course grade examination, quantitative observations were reinforced by formal and informal student communications. These findings share commonality with the sophomore slump phenomenon of student dissatisfaction/disengagement amid second (sophomore) year academic life at American colleges. The current project combines analysis of 2001-2006 student performance, pre and post gap surveys and focus group interviews of students' expectations and impressions of their transition to second year. Dependent and independent factors to be specifically investigated include: impact of summer break, student learning styles/habits, staff-student expectations/interactions, university support service availability/usage, program identity (generic versus professional), and career choice awareness/satisfaction. Historical analysis has identified significant reduction in performance for high GPA students in sequential physiology courses across the first-second year transition. These results will be discussed in the context of student demographics and conceptual maintainers versus decliners. Data from surveys completed late in first year found students have high expectations of elevated academic difficulty in second year and outline their challenge themes as: time management, motivation, workload, employment versus study, and teaching quality. Clearly second year represents a unique set of academic and personal challenges that may adversely affect student performance. This project confirms first-second year transition as an important period in the learning spectrum of biomedical science students and identifies; a) distinctive developmental issues and b) student groups at risk of decline, such that assistance strategies can be designed to intercept and maintain learning outcomes.


Efficiency of organic photovoltaic cells based on organic electron donor/organic electron acceptor junctions can be strongly improved when the transparent conductive Anode is coated with a Buffer Layer (ABL). Here, the effects of a metal (gold) or oxide (molybdenum oxide) ABL are reported, as a function of the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) of different electron donors. The results indicate that a good matching between the work function of the anode and the highest occupied molecular orbital of the donor material is the major factor limiting the hole transfer efficiency. Indeed, gold is efficient as ABL only when the HOMO of the organic donor is close to its work function ΦAu. Therefore we show that the MoO3 oxide has a wider field of application as ABL than gold.


The mobile agent based paradigm is a promising computing paradigm in wireless sensor networks, which has many unique advantages over the traditional client/server paradigm. However, the question on how to model the mobile agent itinerary in sensor networks, is left unsolved. The design of the mobile agent migration itinerary has a large impact on the performance of collaborative processing, which is the focus of this paper. We first model both the static and dynamic mobile agent planning problems, then a performance evaluation between these two models is conducted. Three metrics (energy consumption, network lifetime, and the number of hops) are used in the simulation to quantitatively measure the performance of different itinerary planning methods. Simulation results show that the dynamic itinerary planning has considerable advantages over the static itinerary


The systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) is characterized by a systemic inflammatory reaction of infectious, metabolic or traumatic origin. Inflammatory chemical mediators such as adhesion molecules, nitric oxide, products of the arachidonic acid metabolism, platelet activator factor (PAF), cytokines and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), can produce metabolic and cellular alterations, unchaining the loss of the regulatory capacity of organic homeostasis. Recognizing, diagnosing and instituting an early therapeutic is a challenge to the veterinary doctor, with extreme importance to the patient involved, lowering, in these cases, the chances of clinical evolution to dysfunction or multiple organ failure (MODS).

Keywords: Inflammation, dysfunction, shock.


This article reviews results of reports suggesting that venlafaxine extended release (XR) may play an important role in the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Statistically significant improvements in GAD for venlafaxine XR compared with placebo on the basis of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety were seen in the acute treatment studies up to 8 weeks and were maintained for 6 months. One comparative study found venlafaxine XR to be as effective as, or on some measures more effective than, buspirone at relieving GAD. Venlafaxine XR was safe and well tolerated in the GAD studies, with discontinuation rates due to adverse effects similar to the rates seen with placebo or buspirone.


Vehicle number plate identification and recognition systems used in many applications, such as parking lot access, traffic control, and vehicles monitoring and security. In this research, an offline system to read and identify vehicle number plate is developed. Vehicle number plate identification process is performed in two steps, the first is the character image processing and the second is the pattern recognition with artificial neural networks. The character image processing consists of binerization, open-close morphology, median filtering, slicing and resizing. Back propagation algorithm is performed to train the neural networks, starting from the output layer to the input layer with output error is used to change network values. Testing is carried out in two scenarios, The first one is with the image samples which are included in the training step. The second one is with the image samples which are not included in the training step. The testing results show that the system is able to identify as much as 96% and 90% of number plate image samples for each scenarios.


Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the second most common malignancy in HIV-infected patients.[1] The proportion of extra nodal lymphoma is higher in these patients and gastrointestinal tract is the most common site. Gastrointestinal lymphoma in HIV-positive affects younger patients with male predilection, shows preferential involvement of distal gastrointestinal tract, and is more often high grade with Epstein Barr virus positivity. This report presents a rare presentation of Epstein-Barr virus negative Gastric marginal zone lymphoma presenting as an ulcero-proliferative growth in a HIV-positive female.


Since its birth in the 1930s tarling music recordings have undergone many changes, depending on technological developments. Starting from recording types of vinyl, cassette tapes to Compact Disk technology. In fact, along with digital technology the production of tarling music recordings can be done indie in the form of document files. The process of digitizing tarling music production is also inseparable from the weak regulation of copyright, so that the results of massive tarling music production can spread through cyberspace. This qualitative study uses the Historical Materialism paradigm by analyzing how Tarling's music undergoes transformation, distribution and consumption. As a result, the tactic of digitalization has contributed greatly to the changing transformation of Tarling's music. The phenomenon of network society also forces the role of the agents behind Tarling's music to contest by using digital production and marketing strategies through Youtube accounts that are disseminated through social media channels. Digital technology has revived tarling music, which was originally a classic-music that is almost extinct, is now able to stand side by side and even collaborate with various other popular music.


In the realization of code-division multiple access based on a spread-spectrum communication system, i.e. spread-spectrum multiple access (SSMA), reduction of cochannel interference is an important problem. An adaptive array antenna system is proposed that includes a cancellor of cochannel interference, which can improve performance by a combination of temporal and spatial filtering. While the adaptive array suppresses interference sources with arrival angles different from those of the desired user, the adaptive digital filter-canceller rejects those whose arrival angles are the same as those of the desired user. The proposed system can achieve stable acquisition and low error rate of demodulated data even in a heavy-interference channel where a conventional array antenna system cannot achieve satisfactory acquisition. >


Modifications of the phase-separated surface of polystyrene–polyethyleneoxide ~PS-PEO! blend films were carried out by using an atomic force microscope. On PEO, contrary to PS, a scanning of a tip with large forces of 50 nN resulted in a modification of surface and increased the elastic stiffness. The modification was seen as regular stripes perpendicular to the scanning direction, which may be caused by the rearrangement of the PEO folding structure as a result of a balance of various forces during scanning. This rearrangement may increase the density of the films and hence causes the increase of the elastic stiffness. On the stripes, molecular images were obtained with friction force microscope, reflecting the folding structure of PEO. © 1995 American Vacuum Society.


The progression from benign adenoma to colorectal cancer is underscored by an accumulation of genetic defects involving the activation of protooncogenes and the inactivation by point mutations and deletions of tumor-suppressor genes. Altered p53 has been one of the most commonly observed of these defects. By using a monoclonal antibody, PAb1801, it was possible to detect the accumulation of an altered p53 protein in standard sections of colon-preserving histopathological criteria. We analyzed biopsies from benign and malignant colorectal tumors fixed in 70% ethanol, and detected cells positive for p53 in 65% of 34 carcinomas and 24% of 84 adenomas, but none in the normal-appearing adjacent mucosa. No correlation was found between degree of differentiation of adenocarcinomas and p53 immunodetection. Abnormal p53 protein expression in adenomas ranged from sparsely stained to focally intensive areas. Overexpression of p53 was detected in more tumors taken from the left side of the colon than from the right side. Adenomas with greater villous content and severe dysplasia had a greater tendency to overexpress mutated p53. Cases of multiple synchronous adenomas showed different patterns of p53 expression but more positivity was found in adenomas from patients with a synchronous adenocarcinoma. Immunodetection of p53 in 11 biopsies from the same tumors alternatively fixed in 70% ethanol or formalin gave comparable results for adenocarcinomas but was not consistent for adenomas. Fifty-four archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded colorectal tumors were also stained with PAb1801. p53 was detectable, sometimes with a weaker intensity, in 50% of 18 adenocarcinomas and 22% of 36 adenomas, and most of these showed severe dysplasia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The seaman's book information system is a device for storing, operating, or processing data or documents of a seaman to become a seaman's book which contains all the track records of the owner of the seafarer while sailing and is authorized by authorized government officials and functions as an official state document in it. There is a seafarer's physical identity. This study aims to describe the services and obstacles to making seafarers' books available online at the Lhokseumawe Class IV Port Authority and Harbormaster Office, Indonesia. This study employs a descriptive qualitative research method and techniques to obtain data through observation, interviews, and documentation. This study used six informants who were determined purposively, consisting of the Head of Class IV Lhokseumawe were Port Authority and Harbormaster Office and their staff and some of the applicants for the seaman's book. The results showed that the Seaman's Book Information System in Public Services in the Maritime Sector at the Class IV Lhokseumawe Port Authority and Harbormaster Office was adequate or effective. So far, in managing documents for making seafarers' books online, the service is faster and easier to access again in case there is a loss of seafarers' books compared to before the existence of an online seaman's book information system. Obstacles in the Seaman's Book Information System in factory services in the management sector at the Lhokseumawe Class IV Port Authority and Harbormaster Office include internet connection and a lack of real socialization.


The origins of the history of advocacy in the particular countries of Europe may be put together based on all kinds of sources. Aside from the normative texts which, the closer we get to the modern era, the more often represent a required regulation in society which controls the access to providing advocacy services, numerous references about advocates may be found in literature. The laws, which were often very concise, may be, in many cases, confronted with the reports which reflect the social seriousness of the profession of advocates and which react to the real circumstances in the respective environment in which the advocates were associated and which openly criticize their work before the courts, representing the clients and in the public life in general. What were the roots of such a criticism of the profession of advocates and what was its real value? What function did the criticism play with respect to the advocates and to society from which it arose? The objective of our contribution is first to map the critical remarks against the advocates in the Czech lands. Next, we will try to analyze the extant sources and use them as a foundation for introducing two possible approaches to the criticism of the advocates in the Medieval period and the early modern era.


A new scheme called CFDAMA-PR (combined free/demand assignment multiple access-predictive request) is proposed in this paper, which is compared with the CFDAMA-PA (CFDAMA-preassigned request) scheme and R-CFDAMA (round robin-CFDAMA) scheme. The delay performances between the CFDAMA-PR, CFDAMA-PA, and R-CFDAMA schemes were compared by computer simulation. Simulations were carried out with the interrupted Poisson process (IPP) and interrupted fluid process (IFP) traffic models with various burstiness. Simulation results demonstrate that comparing with CFDAMA-PA and R-CFDAMA schemes, the CFDAMA-PR scheme achieves a better delay/throughput performance.


Cognitive Informatics CI is a transdisciplinary enquiry of computer science, information sciences, cognitive science, and intelligence science that investigates into the internal information processing mechanisms and processes of the brain and natural intelligence, as well as their engineering applications in cognitive computing. The latest advances in CI leads to the establishment of cognitive computing theories and methodologies, as well as the development of Cognitive Computers CogC that perceive, infer, and learn. This paper reports a set of nine position statements presented in the plenary panel of IEEE ICCI*CC'11 on Cognitive Informatics in Year 10 and Beyond contributed from invited panelists who are part of the world's renowned researchers and scholars in the field of cognitive informatics and cognitive computing.


Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is really an economical method by means it will be able to keep up with the shrub, machinery/ gear in addition to resources inside rewarding condition throughout minimum expense. Well retained machineries leads to productivity. With the companies who are into the foundry industry, the TPM quality policy is to consistently provide superior quality products and services, surpassing customer expectations on time at affordable prices. The main objective is that to study the roles of various people involved in the TPM and to identify the tangible and intangible benefits of TPM. For this a sample of 130 was collected from the respondents were analysed by descriptive statistics, regression analysis, Kruskallwallis, Rank correlation, and SEM analysis. The conclusion is that the TPM is effectively implemented with the organisation and further slight changes have to be made which leads to cost effectiveness towards the company.


Background: Essential tremor (ET), a progressive, age-associated disease, is one of the most common neurological disorders. Yet until recently, there had been few postmortem examinations so that the full range of pathological changes associated with this disease has not been catalogued. Objectives: We report a patient with ET who had a pattern of pathological change which to our knowledge has not previously been reported in ET or another neurological disease. Methods: Clinical-pathological case report. Results: The patient had adult-onset, non-familial, kinetic arm tremor that gradually worsened. Voice and head tremors were also present. The clinical diagnosis was ET. She died at age 102. On postmortem examination, there was severe segmental loss of Purkinje cells, Bergmann gliosis and numerous torpedoes in the cerebellum. The other outstanding change was the presence of neurons in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus that contained an ubiquitinated, nuclear inclusion. These inclusions were not detected in Luxol fast blue/hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections. Conclusions: This ET patient had a pattern of pathological change that has not been reported previously. This case further reinforces the view that ET is likely to be a heterogeneous family of degenerative diseases whose underlying pathological anatomy involves the cerebellum.


To the Editor:— It is not too early to take considerable care in recounting the history of the development of penicillin. The remarkably rapid increase of professional as well as public interest in this potent but nontoxic bactericide dictates such caution. The full story of its rediscovery by Florey, Chain and their co-workers nine years after its original discovery by Fleming in 1929 has not yet been fully recorded. This is probably largely because Professor Florey has not wanted to detract from the honor due Prof. Alexander Fleming, its original discoverer, who is still living and still a brilliant observer. This is only just, but the lack of a full account of its rediscovery can lead to mistaken notions. Thus Herrell writes inThe Journal, March 4, "Following the isolation of an antibacterial agent, gramicidin, from Bacillus brevis by Dubos in 1939, a reinvestigation of substances of biologic origin was


We report a case of severe status asthmaticus in a 3-year-old boy who required mechanical ventilatory support. He initially presented with rapidly progressing respiratory distress and spontaneous air leaks. Although he was intubated and received mechanical ventilation, dynamic hyperinflation and air leaks were aggravated. We applied the volume control mode, providing sufficient tidal volume (10 ml/kg), a reduced respiratory rate (25/minute), and a prolonged expiratory time (1.8 seconds) to overcome dynamic hyperinflation. After allowing full expiration of trapped air, his over-expanded lung volumes were decreased and the air leaks resolved. He made a complete recovery without sequelae. Dynamic hyperinflation in asthmatic patients occurs from incomplete exhalation throughout narrowed airways. Controlled hypoventilation or permissive hypercapnia is an important lung-protective ventilator strategy and is beneficial in reducing dynamic hyperinflation. We suggest a controlled hypoventilation strategy with a prolonged expiratory time for patients in severe status asthmaticus with dynamic hyperinflation.


We suspect that the differences in viewpoint between Professor Gough and ourselves, if they do exist, probably result from the following causes: (1) He sees cases at necropsy which, even if unselected, are not a representative sample of the living, since they will include over a given period too many of those who were disabled. (2) There is an imperfect correlation in simple pneumoconiosis between the severity of the pneumoconiosis diagnosed radiologically and its assessment at necropsy. (3) He is prepared to translate pathological changes after death into disability during life. We find it difficult enough to measure disability quantitatively in life. We entirely agree with Professor Gough's last paragraph, and would like to draw attention to the section in our report @n page 148 dealing with the relevance of our findings to compensation, where the advantages and severe limitations of the use of the radiograph are discussed. We would like to see the time when benefit is paid in life on the basis of actual disability and not on pathological changes unidentifiable in life, or on radiological changes not necessarily closely related to disability. We are most grateful to Professor Gough for pointing out the misprint on page 100; 355 should read 3 . We would like to take this opportunity of correcting an error in your leading article (Journal, April 7, p. 790), where clearly the clinical application of carbon-monoxide uptake was intended, for its use by Marie Krogh (1915)3 is well known.-We are, etc., Cardiff. J. C. GILSON.


OBJECTIVE To describe the main economic-healthcare indicators of Aragon Areas 2 and 5 in 1992. To quantify in economic terms the value of the medical and nursing consultations carried out by Primary Care teams. DESIGN Cost-analysis type study (total costs). The criteria for attributing indirect costs were established by consensus. The data correspond to 1992 (real spending by each centre). The cost of the consultations was calculated in function of the overall activity undertaken and in line with the type of consultation. SETTING Areas 2 and 5, Aragon. Calculation of the cost per consultation only for Primary Care teams (PCT). RESULTS Spending per inhabitant and per year, both overall and broken down into care and pharmacy costs was 20,140 for PCT's (8,805 pesetas + 11,355 pes) and 23,153 pes for the traditional model (7,677 + 15,476 pes). Costs per consultation were: 1,031 pes for General Medicine plus 2,537 on Pharmacy; 1,765 pes for Paediatrics plus 716 on Pharmacy; 972 on nursing. Costs per consultation were also offered in function of the duration of each type of consultation and the health-care delivered. CONCLUSIONS Overall, PCT's generated less expense per each insured person than the traditionally-based Consulting rooms. This situation is mainly due to Pharmacy costs, where the difference is over 4,000 pesetas. The evaluation of service costs in function of attendance supposes that, between two teams of equal composition and the same volume of spending, the more efficient will be that which produces the greater amount of services.


The study was conducted at the University of Nebraska Pesticide Application and Technology Laboratory in North Platte, Nebraska in July 2015. Two application volume rates (100 and 200 l · ha−) and three nozzle types (XR, AIXR, TTI) were selected at two flow rates (0.8 and 1.6 l · min−) and at a single application speed of 7.7 km · h−. Each collector type [Mylar washed (MW), Mylar image analysis (MIA), water-sensitive paper (WSP), and Kromekote (KK)] was arranged in a randomized complete block design. Each nozzle treatment was replicated twice, providing six cards of each collector type for each nozzle treatment. A water + 0.4% v/v Rhodamine WT spray solution was applied, given the fluorescent and visible qualities of Rhodamine, which allows it to be applied over all the collector types. MW had the highest coverage at 18.3% across nozzle type, followed by WSP at 18%, KK at 12% and lastly by MIA at 4%. MW resulted in a 58% increase in coverage, WSP in a 56% increase, and KK only an increase of 39% when the volume rate was doubled from 100 l · ha− to 200 l · ha− across nozzle type. MW coverage was similar to KK for half of the nozzles (XR 11002, XR 11004, AIXR 11002). Droplet number density fixed effects were all significant for nozzle type and collector type (p < 0.001) as was the interaction of nozzle type and collector type (p < 0.001). Results from this study suggest a strong correlation to data produced with WSP and MW collectors, as there was full agreement between both types except for the TTI 11004. Using both collector types in the same study would allow for a visual understanding of the distribution of the spray, while also giving an idea of the concentration of that distribution.


In this letter, we present an iterative Model Predictive Control (MPC) design for piecewise nonlinear systems. We consider finite time control tasks where the goal of the controller is to steer the system from a starting configuration to a goal state while minimizing a cost function. First, we present an algorithm that leverages a feasible trajectory that completes the task to construct a control policy which guarantees that state and input constraints are recursively satisfied and that the closed-loop system reaches the goal state in finite time. Utilizing this construction, we present a policy iteration scheme that iteratively generates safe trajectories which have non-decreasing performance. Finally, we test the proposed strategy on a discretized Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP) model with massless legs. We show that our methodology is robust to changes in initial conditions and disturbances acting on the system. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our policy iteration algorithm in a minimum time control task.


BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE
Extracranial-intracranial bypass remains an enduring procedure for a select group of patients suffering from steno-occlusive cerebrovascular disease. Although the superficial temporal artery (STA) to middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass is most familiar among neurosurgeons, particular circumstances preclude the use of an STA donor. In such cases, alternative revascularization strategies must be pursued.

CLINICAL PRESENTATION
A 63-year-old female presented with symptoms of hemodynamic insufficiency and was found to have left common carotid artery occlusion at the origin. She experienced progressive watershed ischemia and pressure-dependent fluctuations in her neurological examination despite maximum medical therapy. The ipsilateral STA was unsuitable for use as a donor vessel. We performed an extracranial vertebral artery (VA) to MCA bypass with a radial artery interposition graft.

CONCLUSION
This technical case description and accompanying surgical video review the relevant anatomy and surgical technique for a VA-MCA bypass. The patient was ultimately discharged home at her preoperative neurological baseline with patency of the bypass. The VA can serve as a useful donor vessel for cerebral revascularization procedures in pathologies ranging from malignancies of the head and neck to cerebral aneurysms and cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease.


OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the relationship between contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) and red cell distribution width (RDW) in patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

METHODS
A total of 359 patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who had undergone primary PCI were included in the study. An increase of 25% in serum creatinine value after 48 h, or an increase of >0.5 mg/dL in the basal value was defined as CIN.

RESULTS
Of the patients included in the study, 49 (13.8%) developed CIN. Compared to the CIN-negative group, CIN-positive patients had increased RDW values (16.9 ± 2.00 and 14.8 ± 2.14 respectively, p<0.001). The latter were also older patients, and had increased age rates of diabetes mellitus, baseline creatinine, ∆-creatinine and amount of contrast media were higher and left ventricular ejection fraction and baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were lower in the CIN-positive group than in the CIN-negative group. A statistically weak correlation was found between RDW and change in creatinine levels (∆-creatinine) (r=0.250, p=0.002). Diabetes mellitus (odds ratio [OR]: 3.252, 95% CI=1.184-8.951, p=0.022), high RDW (OR: 1.716, 95% CI=1.363-2.157, p<0.001), baseline low GFR (OR: 0.941, 95% CI=0.925-0.971, p<0.001), ∆-creatinine (OR: 1.197, 95% CI=1.061-2.986, p=0.006) and increased amount of contrast media (OR: 1.187, 95% CI=1.048-3.02, p=0.001) used were observed as independent predictors of CIN.

CONCLUSION
The study found diabetes mellitus, high RDW, basal low GFR, ∆-creatinine and increased contrast amount used to be the independent predictors of CIN in STEMI patients who underwent PCI.


Lithopanspermia, i.e., the hypothesis of viable transport of microorganisms between the terrestrial planets by means of meteorites, requires that microorganisms, embedded in rocks, have to cope with three major steps: (i) escape from the planet by impact ejection, (ii) journey through space over extended time periods, and (iii) landing on another planet. Whereas step two of the scenario, the survival in space, has been studied in depth in space experiments, there are only limited data on the survivability of microorganisms of the first step, i.e. the impact ejection. Hypervelocity impacts of large objects, such as asteroids or comets are considered as the most plausible process capable of ejecting microbe-bearing surface material from a planet into space. The shock damage of rocks induced by the ejection process is quite substantial and leads to localized melting in the ejected rocks. However, due to a spallation effect, moderately shocked, solid rock fragments from the uppermost layer of the target can be accelerated to very high velocities (e. g., > 5 km/s) as documented by the meteorites that originated from the moon or Mars. To simulate this impact scenario, in shock recovery experiments with an explosive set-up, resistant microbial test systems (bacterial endospores of Bacillus subtilis), sandwiched between two quartz layers, were subjected to a shock pressure of 32 GPa, which is in the upper range indicated by the Martian meteorites and which can be assumed to hold also for "Earth" meteorites. Although the spore layer showed an intense darkening after the shock treatment, up to 500 spores per sample survived, resulting in a survival rate up to 10−4. The data demonstrate that a substantial fraction of spores are able to survive the severe shock pressure and temperature conditions which must be expected for collisionally produced rock fragments from a medium-sized terrestrial planet that have escape velocities of approximately 5 km/s.


We present the results of our experience in introducing modularity into the programming language Pascal in order to aid the creation and use of library modules. Our system performs the symbolic linking of source language modules producing a single Pascal text ready for compilation; performing the link phase before compilation anticipates interface consistency checks, and suggests a possible improvement of program development systems. Our extension is implemented in a preprocessor which ensures a complete compatibility with any standard Pascal compiler. In this paper we examine the main features of some high‐level programming languages which support modularization and data abstraction and some experiences in introducing modularity into Pascal; on this basis we describe our choice in detail. The design and implementation details are discussed and some examples are presented.


Nitrates are widely used for the prophylaxis and treatment of angina pectoris and for the treatment of heart failure. Their beneficial effects are attributed to their potent vasodilator action on veins and arteries. They all produce similar effects, but their duration of action and potency differ according to structure and formulation.1 All nitrates can induce tolerance - an attenuation of their effects against angina and heart failure. We review here how this occurs, whether it matters, and how it affects their use.


This article exploits macroscopic information for the control of autonomous vehicles in platoon formation in case of external disturbances. The use of such information leads to smoother platooning. A mesoscopic controller is proposed, and disturbance string stability is proven through input-to-state stability concepts. Simulations prove the efficacy of the proposed approach by showing its robustness with respect to the presence of perturbations acting on the platoon vehicles.


Questions about access to resources - who gets what? - ought not to be seen in isolation from related questions of power - who owns what? They also ought not to be seen in isolation from questions of knowledge and expertise - who does what? Moreover these questions relate to important questions regarding legitimacy - who gets affected by what some people get? Such questions are often more easily avoided in a normal evaluation for fear of the ethics and politics involved in addressing them. But such questions as formulated above also may not be easy to grasp or work with in terms of an approach to evaluating an intervention. To the systems thinker C. West Churchman (1913-2004), such ethical and political questions were profoundly important. It was Churchman's life-long task to surface the need to address such questions. One of the most significant insights offered by Churchman in order to address ethical issues was the need to engage meaningfully with different perspectives.


To The Editor:

I read with interest the Orthopaedic Forum "Orthopaedic Resident-Selection Criteria" (2002;84:2090-6), by Bernstein et al. Each selection criterion reviewed in this study has merit in the ultimate selection of our future residents and colleagues. I would argue, however, that the criteria identified and reviewed place little or no importance on manual skills and surgical dexterity. How well medical students can perform on a written examination, such as the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE); how well they do during an "audition" clerkship; or how polite they may seem during the interview process has very little or no bearing on their ability to acquire and hone surgical skills. The fact that only sixty-six respondents identified …


Outcomes assessment of gout has been a relatively neglected area of rheumatology measurement science until recent years, in which the paucity of properly tested instruments have been highlighted by clinical trials of therapy for acute gout attacks and more recently preventative treatment of chronic gout. This paucity may have been due to the traditional reliance on simple pain responses for acute gout and upon serum urate changes for chronic gout as the typical outcomes of interest. This has changed significantly since gout became a topic for the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) in 2004 (1) and the general recognition of patient reported outcomes as vital for proper understanding of the effect of treatment. This review is based upon work conducted through the OMERACT process, review of the Ovid Medline database (to August 2010) concerning the keywords "gout" AND ["outcome measure.mp" OR "Questionnaire"], personal archives of the author, and other work conducted by the author in collaboration with colleagues from the OMERACT Gout Working Group.


If all goes well with the development of 'Health Care for All by the year 2000 ' , and current estimates of the prevalance of leprosy are approximately correct , and no dramatic changes take place in leprosy control technology , then we can expect that the number of leprosy patients under treatment will triple to about 1 2 million in the next 1 9 years . Clearly, most of the work for treating these cases will have to be done by Primary Health Care (PHC) workers . This need not be the disaster some fear it could indeed be the greatest thing ever to happen for the cause of leprosy control provided the leprosy health pro fessionals grasp the opportunity being presented . The challenge to us is to determine exactly what role PHC workers can play in leprosy patient care , and to set out to train them or more likely train others to train them to fulfill that role . This paper defines a role for PHC workers in leprosy patient care , and outlines the essential components of a training programme to equip them to fulfiII that role . It is based on the assumptions that PHC workers will be supported by an effective system of supervision, and will have the possi b ility of referring cases beyond their competence to a formal health service unit . It also assumes that while PHC worker trainees may not be fully l iterate , even in a vernacular, they wiII at least be able to recognize colour photographs as an acceptable abstraction of reality . This paper is not definitive . It is intro ductory . It is a hypothesis intended to stimulate experimentation and the development of a valid theory and practice in PHC worker training in leprosy .


A compact and low cost substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity and bandpass filter using Surface Mount (SM) shorting stubs is proposed in this paper. These cavity and filter allows a drastically reduction in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) footprint. They are compact and also low cost as there fabrication involves standard PCB process and SM technologies. For demonstration purpose, one cavity and one 7th order bandpass filter were designed and fabricated over Ka-band. The cavity is designed at the center frequency of 34 GHz. It achieves an unloaded Qu factor of 201 with a footprint of only 1.9 × 6.3 mm2 compared to 5.38 × 6.3 mm for a planar cavity. Then, a 7th order filter is designed at the center frequency of 34.5 GHz. It provides a sharp frequency selectivity using arranged transmission-zeros and achieves a bandwidth of 1 GHz with an insertion loss of better than 2.9 dB with a footprint of only 11.2 × 6.3 mm2. The experimental prototypes achieve good performances. They potentially have many applications in microwave and millimeter wave devices, circuits and systems.


In the field of pet robots and robot assisted therapy (RAT), animal motion is important for robots resembling various animals. This paper presents a method for the generation of animal gait in quadrupedal robots. In this study, we employ AIBO as an experimental quadrupedal robot and generate the AIBO's gait on the basis of an animal's gait. First, we optimize the orbit of mono-leg, which can efficiently output a propulsive force, by imitating a dog's gait and using a genetic algorithm. Moreover, we generate the quadrupedal gait of AIBO using both the optimum orbit of the mono-leg and an animal's gait, which is classified the gait of walking dog based on the zoology. Furthermore, we have performed questionnaires to include the human feeling, and choose the best gait for AIBO from among the various abovementioned gaits.


The present study conducted in the Netherlands examines citizen's attitudes towards asylum seekers. We collected data in a large ( N ¼ 993) heterogeneous adult sample in November 2015, in the midst of the European ''refugee crisis''. Our first aim was to map the reactions of citizens towards asylum seekers. Our second aim was to examine the role of right-wing ideological attitudes (i.e., Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation) in explaining these reactions. With respect to the first research aim, it was revealed that, on average, our respondents were rather unwilling to help asylum seekers. Moreover, respondents were more welcoming towards legitimate asylum seekers (who are on the run from war and violence in their home country) compared to economic asylum seekers. With respect to the second research aim, we found that right-wing attitudes were related to stronger negative reactions towards asylum seekers. Moreover, individuals higher on right-wing ideological attitudes were more likely to perceive asylum seekers as being economic asylum seekers and less as legitimate asylum seekers, which related to stronger feelings of threat and ultimately, to more negative reactions towards asylum seekers.


Figure 3 Colonoscopy showed aphthoid lesions in the rectum. Our ex− perience suggests that diminutive gastrointestinal lesions may be fre− quent in patients with CCE. Figure 1 Cholesterol crystal embolization (CCE) is a condition characterized by sys− temic embolization of cholesterol crystals from atherosclerotic plaques lining in the walls of major arter− ies. We found di− minutive gastrointes− tinal lesions in four of five patients with CCE. Here, livedo reti− cularis is seen in the foot of a 70−year−old man with CCE. A biopsy specimen from the livedo reti− cularis contained a cholesterol cleft in an arteliole of the upper dermis. Figure 2 Gastroduodenoscopy of the patient showed: a diffuse erythemas and erosions in the gastric body; and b scattered mucosal red− ness in the second portion of the duodenum. Im ag es in Fo cu s


The purpose of maintenance is to extend equipment lifetime or at least the mean time to the next failure. Maintenance too incurs expenditures that result in very costly consequences when not performed or performed too little, and it may not even be economical to perform it too frequently. Therefore the two costs must be balanced.
In the past, this balance had been estimated by extrapolating the experience obtained from existing systems and using the rule - of – thumb methods. Nowadays, the tempo of advanced and softiscated research in that direction has rendered such rule – of – thumb methods obsolete. The literature works describing the reliability centred maintenance methods for managing distribution assets have grown until the papers can now be numbered in thousands. This paper presents critical review of the various existing methods that have been developed by different reseachers and proposes a probabilistic model that will provide a quantitative connection between reliability and maintenance, a link missing in all the heuristic approaches.


The research was including histological study of the skin of local breed sheep (Awassi). The study carried out by using ten adult healthy skin rams specimens were taken during Autumn season from (12) different anatomical regions involving (ventral and dorsal surfaces of ear, neck, middle of back, scrotum, anterior and posterior ends of tail, medial and lateral surfaces of thoracic and pelvic limbs and muzzle).The histological results revealed that the epidermis was thin in most anatomical regions and composed of four secondary layers arranged from the inner to the outer larger as: stratum basale, stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum and stratum corneum. Results were found, presence of thick epidermis in muzzle and posterior end of the tail and it was characterized by presence of stratum lucidum beside the mentioned four layers. The mean thickness of the epidermis reaches 250.30 um in the muzzle region while the epidermis of the ventral surface of the ear was the least and reaches 45.25 um. In general, we observed that was a direct relation between the whole thickness of the epidermis and the thickness of the stratum corneum in all of the studied skin regions, the results revealed that the dermis of Awassi sheep composed of two essential layers: The superficial called papillary layer, and deep reticular layer. The histometric results refers to that the highest mean thickness (2520.70) um of the dermis was observed in the posterior region of tail, and least thickness(570.20) um in the skin of the ventral surface of ear. Two types of wool follicles in the dermis also noticed; the primary wool follicles, and the secondary wool follicles.


Introduction: Spinal anesthesia is a challenging procedure, especially in the elderly population. The ultrasound-guiding is reported to provide additional information to facilitate the procedure. To date, there has been no meta-analysis in this field.
The study aimed to systematically review and compile a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy of ultrasound-guiding compared to the palpation of anatomical landmarks in spinal anesthesia procedures performed for elderly patients.
Methods: A systematic literature search from PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Clinicaltrial.gov was conducted to find randomized controlled trials study which comparing ultrasound-guiding and anatomical landmarks of spinal anesthesia in geriatric population. Meta-analysis was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. The continuous and dichotomous data, respectively, are using the calculation of mean differences with inverse variance, and Odds Ratio using the Mantel-Haenszel method.
Results: Four studies with a total of 436 patients met the criteria. Based on the analysis, landmark-guided have more number of attempts [IV -0.66, 95%CI=(-1.20, –0.13), p=0.01], and higher number of passes [IV -1.43, 95%CI=(-2.68, –0.18), p=0.03], compared to ultrasound-guided. Ultrasound-guided has success rate of first attempt [OR 3.37, 95%CI=(1.17, 9.73), p=0.02], and success rate of first passes [OR 3.60, 95%CI=(1.39, 9.29), p=0.008], which is significantly higher when compared to landmark-guided. Ultrasound-guided had a longer duration of procedure than landmark-guided which was statistically significant [IV 59.14, 95%CI=(4.58, 113.70), p=0.03].
Conclusion: The ultrasound-guiding for spinal anesthesia in elderly is recommended. This approach need be considered as the standard of care, given its potential to improve technical efficacy in conducting spinal anesthesia in particular populations.


Between the first and second year, toddlers' word learning accelerates. Explanations for this "vocabulary spurt" include the emergence of domain-specific constraints and a change from associative to referential learning. What these and other accounts share is that the proposed mechanism is in the toddler's head. Here, we propose a different explanation: the input during the spurt changes in ways that promotes learning. We observed, through toddler-perspective head cameras, the visual input to 13(pre-spurt) and 20-month-old (mid-spurt) toddlers as their parents named objects in an object-play session. Results suggest that the named object was more likely to dominate the older toddlers' view. Coding of toddlers' and parents' holding behavior suggests that this increase in dominancy is due to an increase in 20-month-olds' holding during naming. Interestingly, we also observed an increase in parents' holding during naming. Implications for the cascading effects of motor development on language development will be discussed.