In 2009, a lossless compression algorithm based on 1D chaotic maps known as Generalized Lur\"{o}th Series (or GLS) has been proposed. This algorithm (GLS-coding) encodes the input message as a symbolic sequence on an appropriate 1D chaotic map (GLS) and the compressed file is obtained as the initial value by iterating backwards on the map. For ergodic sources, it was shown that GLS-coding achieves the best possible lossless compression (in the noiseless setting) bounded by Shannon entropy. However, in the presence of noise, even small errors in the compressed file leads to catastrophic decoding errors owing to sensitive dependence on initial values. In this paper, we first show that Repetition codes $\mathcal{R}_n$ (every symbol is repeated $n$ times, where $n$ is a positive odd integer), the oldest and the most basic error correction and detection codes in literature, actually lie on a Cantor set with a fractal dimension of $\frac{1}{n}$, which is also the rate of the code. Inspired by this, we incorporate error detection capability to GLS-coding by ensuring that the compressed file (initial value on the map) lies on a Cantor set of measure zero. Even a 1-bit error in the initial value will throw it outside the Cantor set which can be detected while decoding. The error detection performance (and also the rate of the code) can be controlled by the fractal dimension of the Cantor set and could be suitably adjusted depending on the noise level of the communication channel.


In 2008, Wyoming was ranked 8th in barley production and 20th in hay production in the United States and these crops support Wyoming's $800 million cattle industry. However, with a mean elevation of 2,040 meters, much of Wyoming has a limited crop growing season (as little as 60 days) and relies on late-summer and early-fall streamflow for agricultural water supply. Wyoming is host to over 80 glaciers with the majority of these glaciers being located in the Wind River Range. These "frozen reservoirs" provide a stable source of streamflow (glacier meltwater) during this critical late-summer and early-fall growing season. Given the potential impacts of climate change (increased temperatures resulting in glacier recession), the quantification of glacier meltwater during the late-summer and early-fall growing seasons is needed. Glacier area changes in the Wind River Range were estimated for 42 glaciers using Landsat data from 1985 to 2005. The total surface area of the 42 glaciers was calculated to be 41.2 ± 11.7 km2 in 1985 and 30.8 ± 8.2 km2 in 2005, an average decrease of 25% over the 21 year period. Small glaciers experienced noticeably more area reduction than large glaciers. Of the 42 glaciers analyzed, 17 had an area of greater than 0.5 km2 in 1985, while 25 were less than 0.5 km2 in 1985. The glaciers with a surface area less than 0.5 km2 experienced an average surface area loss (fraction of 1985 surface area) of 43%, while the larger glaciers (greater than 0.5 km2) experienced an average surface area loss of 22%. Applying area-volume scaling relationships for glaciers, volume loss was estimated to be 409 × 106 m3 over the 21 year period, which results in an estimated 4% to 10% contribution to warm season (July–October) streamflow.


Garnet is a fundamental expression of metamorphism and one of the most important minerals used to constrain the thermal conditions of the crust. We used innovative in situ laser-ablation ICP-MS/MS Lu-Hf geochronology to demonstrate that garnet in metapelitic rocks enclosing Cambrian eclogite in southern Australia formed during Laurentian Mesoproterozoic metamorphism. Garnet porphyroblasts in amphibolite-facies metapelitic rocks yielded Lu-Hf ages between 1286 ± 58 Ma and 1241 ± 16 Ma, revealing a record of older metamorphism that was partially obscured by metamorphic overprinting during ca. 510 Ma Cambrian subduction along the East Gondwana margin. Existing detrital zircon age data indicate the protoliths to the southern Australian metapelitic rocks were sourced from western Laurentia. We propose that the metapelitic rocks of southern Australia represent a fragment of western Laurentian crust, which was separated from Laurentia in the Neoproterozoic and incorporated into the East Gondwana subduction system during the Cambrian. The ability to obtain Lu-Hf isotopic data from garnet at acquisition rates comparable to those for U-Pb analysis of detrital zircon means, for the first time, the metamorphic parentage of rocks as expressed by garnet can be efficiently accessed to assist paleogeographic reconstructions.


IN THIS ISSUE OF CARDIOLOGY IN THE YOUNG, THE reader will find an article concerned with infectious endocarditis. The article show that infectious endocarditis continues to be an important disease in childhood. Important because of morbidity and mortality, and because of questions about the disease itself. Is there a real increase in incidence, have presentation and diagnostic criteria changed, who should receive prophylaxis and does it really matter, and when is surgical intervention indicated? There is good evidence that infectious endocarditis is indeed becoming more common in children. In a study from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh based on experience from three decades, the diagnosis was made twice as often in the second decade than the first, and three times as often in the third. The percentage of hospital admissions for infectious endocarditis increased from 0.16% in the first decade to 0.33% in the last. The increase has been postulated to be due, in part, to a larger pool of children with congenital heart disease because of successful surgical repair and to an increasing number of invasive procedures. The pool of susceptible children is certainly larger, yet two-fifths of the children in the Pittsburgh experience had never undergone surgery. In the same study, only onetenth of the children had undergone cardiac catheterization, surgery or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in close enough proximity to the onset of disease to be considered likely to be related. Another study reported similar findings. The so-called "classical" findings of infectious endocarditis, for example Osier's nodes and Roth spots, are quite rare. The diagnosis is usually straight-forward, and depends upon obtaining at least one positive blood culture in a febrile child, who usually has pre-existing heart disease. In the paper from India, infectious clubbing was common, occurring in 14 of 43 cases (an additional 7 cyanotic patients had clubbing). Each had had fever for over 6 weeks, so the long delay in diagnosis may account for the high incidence of clubbing. One fourth of the Indian children had rheumatic heart disease doubtless reflecting the much higher prevalence of rheumatic heart disease in developing countries. The incidence of positive blood cultures was under 40% in the Indian series. The reasons for this are not apparent. Some authors have described a change in cardiac substrate over the years, especially an increase in mitral valvar prolapseand surgically altered congenital heart disease. This was not confirmed in the current review or in the Pittsburgh experience previously reported in this journal. Rather, ventricular septal defect, obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract, and cyanotic lesions such as tetralogy of Fallot and tricuspid atresia are by far the most common underlying lesions in children with infectious endocarditis. The infecting organism has also been thought to be changing, with more "unusual" organisms, but staphylococcus and streptococcus continue to be the infecting organism in a large majority of cases. Although almost always advocated, the usefulness of the administration of antibiotics before and after dental and surgical procedures in preventing infectious endocarditis has not been conclusively demonstrated. The early work from Guntheroth, showing that the chewing of food resulted in bacteremia is a case in point, and no history of recent dental or surgical procedures could be elicited in the majority of cases in his and other series. Children may still develop infectious endocarditis in spite of standard prophylaxis. A study from Holland suggested that even strict adherence to prophylaxis in individuals at risk for endocarditis in native valves might do little substantially to decrease the number of cases of endocarditis in the community. Nonetheless, the policy of prophylaxis against endocarditis has come to be accepted.


This paper proposes Habit, an efficient multi-layered approach to content dissemination in Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) that leverages information about nodes' colocation (physical layer) and their social network (application layer). More precisely, the regularity of users' colocation is learned based on historical colocation observations; also, the users' social network (or 'network of interest') is dynamically propagated during periods of colocation; finally, these distinct pieces of information are locally combined and used to compute the paths that content should follow, in a way that maximises both precision (i.e., nodes receive only content they are interested in) and recall (i.e., all relevant content is received by interested nodes).


Energy used in dwellings is an important target for actions aimed at averting climate change. It is increasingly recognised that these actions may also have near-term effects on health arising from changes to the indoor environment. As part of a major study of such health effects, we modelled hypothetical household energy interventions for the UK of the type and scale needed to meet near-term (nominally 2030) abatement targets. Here, we provide details of the elements of our model that address the relationships between the fabric and ventilation improvements and changes in indoor temperature during the heating season — the 'temperature take back factor'. We demonstrate that the scale of these interventions is consistent with the emission reductions proposed by the UK Climate Change Committee, and estimate that, in the UK, the consequent reduction in exposure to indoor cold may result in around 4400 fewer disability-adjusted life-years each year. The inclusion of the temperature take back factor for the fabric and ventilation interventions reduces the relevant expected CO2 reductions by ~6%. Practical application: Improvements to the UK housing stock aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions will result in changes in internal temperatures. Such changes in temperature have implications for both public health and the prediction of emissions reductions. We present here an approach for quantifying the 'temperature take back factor', which is of relevance to environmental and energy modelling.


Institutional ethnography draws from ethnomethodology focusing on how everyday experience is socially organized. Power is critically important as an analytic focus which crosses boundaries providing researchers a view of social organization that illuminates practices that marginalize.


This study reports the development and performance evaluation of prototypes of biogas-fuelled stationary power generators in the range of 1 kW. Strategies to achieve high engine efficiency namely pulsed manifold injection, electronic throttle control and dual spark plugs, have been incorporated in the prototype. A complete closed-loop control of the engine operation to maintain a steady engine speed of 3000 rpm (+/- 5%) across the entire load range while maintaining an optimum fuel-air equivalence ratio is made possible by an electronic control unit (ECU) controlling the injection duration, ignition timing and throttle position. This study specifically focuses on the response of the generator to transient loads, and the overall efficiency obtained. The results obtained from testing the prototype have been found to be satisfactory and show that biogas power generators for low power applications can be made efficient (overall efficiency of 19% at electrical load of 640 W) using the strategies of biogas fuel injection.


We isolated mutants defective in aggregation (aggregation-less) by mutagenizing the "double-bypass" mutant HG592 of Dictyostelium discoideum as the parental strain. One of the mutants expressed the contact site A glycoprotein with an apparent molecular weight of 80 X 10(3) on the cell surface in the normal developmental stage and retained EDTA-stable cell contact as well as EDTA-sensitive cell contact. However, the mutant failed to aggregate on agar plates with bacteria. This mutant was designated HG700. We could not identify any differences between this mutant and the parental strain in levels of adenylate cyclase or extracellular phosphodiesterase activity, or in its chemotaxis toward cAMP. The mutant had greatly decreased the incorporation of [35S] sulfate into the particulate fractions of the cells starved for 6 h. This suggests that the modification by sulfation may crucially affect the mechanism of cell aggregation.


The statistical aspects of the application of harmonic analysis, introduced by A. Schuster in his famous paper on the investigation of hidden periodicities, are discussed on the basis of recent developments in the theory of probability. Between the two extreme cases of random fluctuations and persistent waves, hitherto discussed exclusively, the intermediate case of quasi-persistence is introduced and recognized as a common phenomenon in the time-functions of meteorology, geophysics, and cosmical physics. Statistical methods, based on the conception of the harmonic dial, are given for dealing with quasi-persistence and its effect on tests for persistent waves, and they are generalized for the case of periodicities of other form than that of the sine-wave. Typical examples are given illustrating various forms of random fluctuations, quasi-persistence, and persistence, as well as questions related to harmonic analysis, such as the periodogram, non-cyclic change, curvature-effect, equivalent length of sequences, effective expectancy, random walk, interference, and the infective property of quasi-persistence on adjacent periods (see summary at end of paper).


This article highlights the pragmatic significance of running as a working probiotic for humans worldwide. Running promotes gut health and immunity through known and unknown mechanisms and contributes to improved cardiovascular function and health. It is feasible that running postpones aging and acts as a strong antic-cancer. Research is needed to further elaborate on these.


Objectives: This study evaluated the effects of a fiber-rich nutritional supplement on postprandial glycemic response and lipid parameters in overweight adults with and without impaired fasting glucose (IFG) in India. An ad-hoc analysis assessed the supplement's effects on glycemic and lipid parameters in overweight adults with and without IFG.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, single-center study including 96 subjects. Among them, 26 subjects had IFG (100-125 mg/dL). After an overnight fast and a high-fat standardized breakfast, subjects were stratified according to IFG status and randomized to a fiber-rich drink or an energy-matched non-fiber control drink. Blood was drawn at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 150, 180, 210- and 240-min following treatment administration to assess postprandial blood glucose, triglycerides, remnant-like particle-cholesterol (RLP-C) and insulin peaks. There was a 3-day washout period between treatments.

Results: Subjects with IFG displayed significantly lowered Cmax for postprandial glucose with the fiber-rich supplement versus control (difference -4.64 mg/dL; p=0.0487). A lower postprandial triglyceride peak was also reported with the fiber-rich supplement; however, this difference was not statistically significant (difference -6.79 mg/dL; p=0.6116). In an ad-hoc analysis, in subjects without IFG, the fiber-rich drink had a larger effect than the control drink on the Cmax for postprandial glucose (difference-4.75 mg/dL [95% CI -7.37, -2.14]), RLP-C (-0.18 mmol/L [-0.35, -0.02] and insulin (-23.33 μIU/mL [-36.54, -10.13]). A single AE, that is mild diarrhea was reported but was not related to the experimental treatment.

Conclusion: The fiber-rich nutritional supplement reduced maximum concentrations of postprandial blood glucose levels in overweight subjects with IFG without much influence on postprandial triglycerides.


Through spatially explicit predictive models, knowledge of spatial patterns of biota can be generated for out-of-reach environments, where there is a paucity of survey data. This knowledge is invaluable for conservation decisions. We used distribution modeling to predict the occurrence of benthic biotopes, or megafaunal communities of the seabed, to support the spatial planning of a marine national park. Nine biotope classes were obtained prior to modeling from multivariate species data derived from point source, underwater imagery. Five map layers relating to depth and terrain were used as predictor variables. Biotope type was predicted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, where pixel size was 15 x 15 m and total modeled area was 455 km2. To choose a suitable modeling technique we compared the performance of five common models based on recursive partitioning: two types of classification and regression trees ([1] pruned by 10-fold cross-validation and [2] pruned by minimizing complexity), random forests, conditional inference (CI) trees, and CI forests. The selected model was a CI forest (an ensemble of CI trees), a machine-learning technique whose discriminatory power (class-by-class area under the curve [AUC] ranged from 0.75 to 0.86) and classification accuracy (72%) surpassed those of the other methods tested. Conditional inference trees are virtually new to the field of ecology. The final model's overall prediction error was 28%. Model predictions were also checked against a custom-built measure of dubiousness, calculated at the polygon level. Key factors other than the choice of modeling technique include: the use of a multinomial response, accounting for the heterogeneity of observations, and spatial autocorrelation. To illustrate how the model results can be implemented in spatial planning, representation of biodiversity in the national park was described and quantified. Given a goal of maximizing classification accuracy, we conclude that conditional inference trees are a promising tool to map biota. Species distribution modeling is presented as an ecological tool that can handle a wide variety of systems (e.g., the benthic system).


Glass-forming materials are employed in information storage technologies making use of the transition between a disordered (amorphous) and an ordered (crystalline) state. With increasing temperature, the crystal growth velocity of these phase-change materials becomes so fast that prior studies have not been able to resolve these crystallization dynamics. However, crystallization is the time-limiting factor in the write speed of phase-change memory devices. Here, for the first time, we quantify crystal growth velocities up to the melting point using the relaxation of photoexcited carriers as an ultrafast heating mechanism. During repetitive femtosecond optical excitation, each pulse enables dynamical evolution for tens of picoseconds before the intermediate atomic structure is frozen-in as the sample rapidly cools. We apply this technique to Ag4In3Sb67Te26 (AIST) and compare the dynamics of as-deposited and application-relevant melt-quenched glass. Both glasses retain their different kinetics even in the s...


Ginger herb is grown in many areas around the world it is used as medicinal herb. However, only a limited amount of research exists to support their efficacy. The aim of the present work is to demonstrate the antispasmodic effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale) on rat intestine in vitro. Methods Rats (150–200 g) were used throughout the experiment, Sacrificing was done by cervical dislocation The abdomens excised immediately, the jejunum Segments 2 cm long are cut mounted in a 10 ml tissue automatic organ bath containing Tyrode's solution at 37◦C and aerated with carbogen (oxygen + 5 % carbon dioxide) gas, where one end is attached to the hook and the other is tied by a thread to the transducer. The transducers were connected to an amplifier to amplify the magnitude of contractions; these in turn were interpreted by a data acquisition system to obtain the final results by computer system. Results The results revealed that the effect of low doses of ginger on exogenous acetyl choline (ACh) induced contraction is spasmogenic as a dose of 0.2ml=20μg of ginger / tissue bath produced increase in the magnitude of ach induced contraction from 0.91 to 1.17 , while doses of 0.4 ml = 40μg of ginger/of tissue bath produced decrease in magnitude of ach induced contraction from 0.61 to 0.45 , and a dose of 0.8 ml=80μg of ginger / tissue bath produced decrease in magnitude of ach induced contraction from 0.85 to 0.11.


AIM
In order to study airway rewarming method and rewarming devices for hypothermia, hypothermic dog model was established.

METHODS
The anesthetized dog was immersed in cold water at 16.7 degrees C until the esophageal temperature (Te) of the dog decreased to 34.0 degrees C, the core temperature and skin temperature were monitored by using a 12-channel scanning thermometers. Atracurium besylate, a skeletal muscle relaxant, was injected intravenously when the core temperature of the dog was basically steady after the dog was out of the cold water, the hypothermic dog model was established.

RESULTS
Rectal and esophageal temperature could stand for the core temperature of the hypothermic dog model, but mixing with each other was prohibited because of leading to mistakes. Administering of atracurium besylate could eliminate the effect of shivering on airway rewarming alone, hypothermic dog model in which shivering was inhibited could be used in determination of airway rewarming technique and rewarming devices for hypothermia.

CONCLUSION
Hypothermic dog model in which shivering was inhibited can abolish the interference of shivering, experimental repeatability is good, experimental method quite simple, and the model appropriate for application and dissemination.


India's epic poem, the Ramayana, is a dramatic, ever-evolving tale of a prince and his bride, their adventures and dilemmas, and demons. Joanna Williams studies the art of the Ramayana in Orissa, a region known for its elegantly carved temples. There she researched both literary and visual art works, interviewed artists, and observed them at work. With depth and originality, Williams considers how Indian art tells a story in distinctive ways. Her narratological study takes into account many familiar genres of visual art: illustrated manuscripts, drawings on palm leaf paper, wall paintings, shadow plays, temple sculpture, and painted cloth "pata". Included are discussions of pan-Indian versions of the epic, which include film, video, and the comic strip; and those local to Orissa, including rural theatre and festivals. Noting that we often treat images designed to be seen in sequence as separate pictures, Williams argues that con-sidering several Ramayana images in sequence reveals their qualities of variety, surprise, and emotional development, promoting an understanding of "how" the story is told. She discusses the artists' narrative strategies and offers interpretations of how and why artists made their choices. Williams persuasively argues against critics who believe that Indian art, indeed any traditional art, is conventional and lacks individual technique or vision. Her analysis across a variety of genres offers a new model for art historians; at the same time anthropologists, folklorists, and scholars of literature and narratology will find her work of great value.


We investigate the theoretical foundations of the simulated tempering (ST) method and use our findings to design an efficient accelerated sampling algorithm. Employing a large deviation argument first used for replica exchange molecular dynamics (Plattner et al 2011 J. Chem. Phys. 135 134111), we demonstrate that the most efficient approach to simulated tempering is to vary the temperature infinitely rapidly. In this limit, we can replace the equations of motion for the temperature and physical variables by averaged equations for the latter alone, with the forces rescaled according to a position-dependent function defined in terms of temperature weights. The averaged equations are similar to those used in Gao's integrated-over-temperature method, except that we show that it is better to use a continuous rather than a discrete set of temperatures. We give a theoretical argument for the choice of the temperature weights as the reciprocal partition function, thereby relating simulated tempering to Wang–Landau sampling. Finally, we describe a self-consistent algorithm for simultaneously sampling the canonical ensemble and learning the weights during simulation. This infinite switch simulated tempering (ISST) algorithm is tested on three examples of increasing complexity: a system of harmonic oscillators; a continuous variant of the Curie–Weiss model, where ISST is shown to perform better than standard ST and to accurately capture the second-order phase transition observed in this model; and alanine-12 in vacuum, where ISST also compares favorably with standard ST in its ability to calculate the free energy profiles of the root mean square deviation (RMSD) and radius of gyration of the molecule in the 300–500 K temperature range.


Arylsulfatase A (ASA) activity in urine and serum was assayed on two 21-month-old monozygotic twins with presumed metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), their parents, and kin. The patients showed a marked reduction in ASA activity in both urine and serum. The twins' parents and 11 kin, a total of 13 persons, were examined for ASA activity in serum, but it was not possible to delineate heterozygous carriers of MLD by the present study. The assay of ASA activity in serum promises to be useful for diagnosis of MLD.


This study examines the contribution of social support, self-regulation, and Big Five personality traits in explaining the variance in depressive symptoms among college students based on self-determination theory (SDT). Measures were completed by 235 college students. Results indicated autonomous self-regulation significantly predicted lower levels of depressive symptoms, while controlled self-regulation significantly predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms among the participating students. The informants higher in neuroticism reported significantly more depressive symptoms. However, the strongest predictor of the students' depressive symptoms was the quality of their relationships with others.


Correspondence to Dr Mustafa. Aims: The aims of this study were to assess the feasibility of gamma camera PET in a district general hospital (DGH) nuclear medicine department remote from a cyclotron and its performance compared to other imaging modalities in demonstrating disease in patients with locally advanced breast cancer, using histopathology as the 'gold standard'. Methods: F-FDG was obtained from a production unit 100 miles from the imaging department. Twenty-five patients (mean age 72 years) with primary breast tumours measuring 42 cm on clinical examination were studied. All patients underwent triple assessment, i.e. clinical examination, imaging (mammography, ultrasound) and biopsy prior to PET imaging using an ADAC Solus camera with MCD capability. The PET images were reported blind and the results were compared with the results of the triple assessment and final histopathology. Results: GCPET detected 24/25 primary breast tumours (sensitivity 96%). This compared with 22/25 for ultrasound and 15/25 for mammography. The lesion missed by PET was a grade 1 tumour, 8mm in size. Conclusion: GCPET is feasible in a DGH enabling a limited on-site PET imaging service to be provided. In cases of locally advanced breast cancer it is more sensitive than mammography or ultrasound and may provide additional information that could be important in planning the management strategy for some patients.


It is universally acknowledged that to be overweight is a serious handicap. The literature abounds with insurance statistics which show that the death rate is higher among the obese of every age group. No informed person would deny that obesity is a cause for concern or that it is a legitimate-even essential-subject for much further scientific and clinical investigation. The truth is that science has not yet produced an explanation for the disease, and obesity remains one of the most puzzling subjects in the practice of medicine. At a time when medicine can boast of successfully transplanting a human heart, it is only natural that our ego is pricked when we cannot answer the seemingly simple question of why some people get fat. The result is that a subject that is, in fact, still enshrouded in mystery calls forth many dogmatic and doctrinaire pronouncements from people otherwise famous for professional caution. It is a little embarrassing to look back over my 40 years of medical practice and


The present-day evolution of tourist imagery has received considerable critical attention in the tourist literature of late. What I propose to add to the already existing discussion on the topic is what I jokingly term a 'continental' perspective. The reader will be hard pressed to find an extensive presentation of relevant anglophone work as I believe that any such presentation on my part (coming, as I do, from an external vantage point) could only be partial at best; neither do I pretend to present a definitive vision of all other perspectives on the subject. My considerations are framed, rather, around a particular set of critiques emerging from recent Italian geographic thought; critiques that might serve as a counter-point to the debates of Englishlanguage theorists based in postmodern understandings of the crisis of representation and the way(s) in which it has served to shape our conceptions/perceptions of the world, of distance and of Otherness.


We have studied the polaron effect on the binding energy of shallow hydrogenic impurities in a cylindrical quantum dot using a variational approach for the finite confinement potential. The interactions of charge carriers (electron and ion) with both the confined LO phonon and surface phonons (SSO and TSO) are taken into account. The effect of these three phonon modes on the binding energy of a shallow donor is examined. The emphasis is placed on the dependence of the polaronic corrections on the quantum dot size. It is found that the correction due to the LO phonons is more important than that due to the surface optical phonon modes.


How do economic weakness and dependence influence foreign policy decisions and behavior in third world countries? Theories in Dependent Foreign Policy examines six foreign policy theories: compliance, consensus, counter dependence, realism, leader preferences and domestic politics, and each is applied to a series of case studies of Ecuador's foreign policy during the 1980s under two regimes: Osvaldo Hurtado (1981-1984) and his successor Leon Febres Cordero (1984-1988). Hey shows that Ecuador during this period represented the third world in many ways. It was a new democracy, having just emerged from years of military rule, extremely indebted to the West, and dependent on primary product export economy that relied heavily on importers, especially the United States. Jeanne Hey finds that some of the most popular and enduring theories in western research, such as realism and compliance, poorly account for Ecuadorian foreign policy. She explains that poor countries like Ecuador have substantial foreign policy latitude in the diplomatic area. Drawing on archival research and interviews with policy makers including Presidents Hurtado and Febres Cordero, Dr. Hey convincingly argues that many of the traditional foreign policy theories do not "fit" dependent states, and inadequately account for the complexity of foreign policy in the third world.


Religious themes tend to create a great deal of interest among literary scholars. An instance of this is the poetry by Sigwavhulimu as reflected in his anthologies titled Tsiko-Tshiphiri 'Secret Creation' (1971) and Mirunzi ya Vhuvha 'Shadows of Being' (1975). Some of the poems in these texts deal with Christian religion explicitly while others are more implicit in their treatment of this theme. It is the aim of this article to investigate to what extent Sigwavhulimu has been influenced or affected in his general attitude, belief and thinking by Christian religion in the depiction of the theme of Christianity in his works. Christian and religious faiths have often been cited as a cause of the problems that affect human kind. Sigwavhulimu is one of a few Tshivenḓa poets who have been challenged by religion as a problem on the one hand and as something that liberates people from their spiritual or psychological problems on the other. A critical analysis of the texts will be carried out to establish to what extent Sigwavhulimu, as the creator and writer of those texts, is inclined to Christian beliefs in his poetry on religious themes.


According to the French-American-British (FAB) proposal on the classification of chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), the disorder can be subdivided into typical and atypical CLL. We recently demonstrated the prognostic significance of this subgrouping and based on these results we suggested that typical and atypical CLL represent two closely related, but different entities. These results prompted us to investigate 42 patients diagnosed with CLL based on the results of lymph node biopsy in order to identify the histologic counterpart of the CLL variants. A first group of 14 cases showed a monomorphic proliferation of small round lymphocytes associated with the occurrence of small pseudofollicles. All these cases were diagnosed as typical CLL on peripheral blood (13 cases) or bone marrow smear (1 case). The remaining 28 cases showed aberrant histologic features characterized by the presence of large numbers of paraimmunoblasts and prolymphocytes, forming very large pseudofollicles, and/or by nuclear irregularities of the neoplastic cells. Based on peripheral blood smears (22 cases) or bone marrow smears (six cases), two cases showed no peripheral blood involvement, 21 cases were diagnosed as atypical CLL, and five as typical CLL. From these data we can conclude that a histologic counterpart of the CLL variants recognized in the FAB proposal does exist; moreover, our data may explain reports on lymph node involvement by CLL composed of small cleaved cells and clarify the occurrence of pseudofollicles in cases described as mantle cell lymphomas.


A strong case has been made that radio waves from sources within about half a degree of the Galactic center undergo extreme diffractive scattering. However, problems arise when standard ("Kolmogorov") models of electron density fluctuations are employed to interpret the observations of scattering in conjunction with those of free-free radio emission. Specifically, the outer scale of a Kolmogorov spectrum of electron density fluctuations is constrained to be so small that it is difficult to identify an appropriate astronomical setting. Moreover, an unacceptably high turbulent heating rate results if the outer scale of the velocity field coincides with that of the density fluctuations. We propose an alternative model based on folded magnetic field structures that have been reported in numerical simulations of small-scale dynamos. Nearly isothermal density variations across thin current sheets suffice to account for the scattering. There is no problem of excess turbulent heating, because the outer scale for the velocity fluctuations is much larger than the widths of the current sheets. We speculate that interstellar magnetic fields could possess geometries that reflect their origins: fields maintained by the Galactic dynamo could have large correlation lengths, whereas those stirred by local energetic events might exhibit folded structures.


Domarringarna (Stone circles) are mysterious monuments preserved from Prehistory. With this study, I will discuss them and their meaning from different angles. I have mainly used a qualitative method of working through of previous research on Stone circles, but I also worked with a quantitative approach by compiling statistics. A clear result was difficult to achieve. Several of the new sources are based on the older research. More research and archaeological studies are required to obtain more evidence that can support new interpretations.


We report on the first experimental realization of the single qubits purification protocol [J. I. Cirac, A. K. Ekert, and C. Macchiavello, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 4344 (1999)] for two copies of a qubit sent through a depolarizing channel. The purification of the polarization‐encoded photonic qubits is achieved with passive linear optical elements. Our experimental results suggest that the present approach may represent a viable alternative to quantum error correction or entanglement distillation.


This study of the letters of Jacopo Corbinelli to Gian Vincenzo Pinelli from between 1579 and 1587 shows how they easily mix erudition with knowledge of science and the art of medicine. The correspondence contains plenty of detail about the bibliographical interests of the two great humanists, but also mentions scientific literature and publications on the plague, along with references to Corbinelli's relationship with the renowned French physician Bonaventure Granger and, especially, the Italian physician-philosopher Girolamo Mercuriale. The frequency of references to Corbinelli's health and private affairs increases over the years, with the result that the later letters exemplify certain aspects of the culture of the time and, most interestingly, illuminate some of the Aristotelian beliefs that underpinned the late Renaissance understanding of medicine.


The effects of antioxidants on the oxidative deterioration of emulsified oils and fats differ depending on the oxidation conditions, oils and fats used, and type of emulsifier. In this study, milk fat was emulsified to obtain water-oil (O/W) emulsion using Tween20 as emulsifier. The antioxidative effects of several antioxidants with various lipophilic properties, such as δ-tocopherol (Toc), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), quercetin (Qu), green tea extract (GTE), and rooibos tea extract (RTE) were investigated, the effects of additional emulsifiers such as polyglycerol and sucrose esters of fatty acids on the oxidation stability of the emulsion were also investigated. Under oxidative conditions of 30°C in 650 lx, Toc was more effective than GTE in suppressing the increase of the peroxide value (PV, meq/kg) of the emulsified milk fat. Under these oxidative conditions, the antioxidative effect of GTE was enhanced by the addition of polyglycerol and sucrose esters of fatty acids. Under the oxidative conditions at 40°C in dark with 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) or 2,2'-azobis (2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) (AMVN), Toc showed the most antioxidative effect on suppression of the increase of PV and anisidine value (AnV) of the emulsified milk fat. Furthermore, additional emulsifiers also showed suppressive effects on the increase of the PV and AnV of the emulsified milk fat even without any antioxidants. The effects of additional emulsifiers on the oxidative stability of O/W emulsions were enhanced with antioxidants such as Toc, EGCg, and Qu.


Background: Interventions to help parents quit smoking may yield important benefits for children with asthma. Children's exposure to environmental tobacco smoke can be measured by reporting of an adult in the household and testing the child's biomarker, e.g., cotinine. Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of "face-to-face" intervention carried out since 2016 in families with children diagnosed with asthma 3 years after beginning the anti-tobacco intervention. Methods: This study was a follow-up to an interventional study that assessed the effectiveness of direct patient education versus educational leaflets alone about parental tobacco smoking. The patients with asthma (ages 4-17 years) enrolled in our original intervention study conducted in 2016 were under the care of the allergy outpatient clinic. The active group was individually educated about the harmful effects of environmental tobacco smoke on their children. The control group included patients and parents, among whom only leaflets were distributed. After 3 years of ongoing intervention, in patients from both groups, exposure to tobacco smoking was evaluated with a questionnaire addressed to parents and/or caregivers and measurement of cotinine in children's urine. The forced expiratory volume in the first second of expiration and fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels were measured. Results: Seventy participants completed the study: 37 in the active group and 33 in the control group. In the active group, 27% of the parents quit smoking entirely compared with 9.4% of parents in the control group. In the group of active intervention, a significant decrease in the cotinine level (p < 0 .001) and the number of cigarettes smoked daily were observed (p < 0.001) 3 years after the active intervention compared with values right after the intervention. In the control group, there were no significant changes in the above-mentioned parameters. Conclusion: "Face-to-face" intervention among families with smokers were effective and lowered cotinine levels in children with asthma and the number of cigarettes smoked assessed 3 years after the intervention.


High incidence of diagnostic errors in thoracoabdominal wounds is due to the critical state of the patients, insufficient clinical examination and underestimation of localization of the wound hole. Errors in diagnosis result in the incorrect sequence of surgical procedures, time loss during the arrest of bleeding, use of traumatic operative accesses.


We propose the Vision-and-Augmented-Language Transformer (VAuLT). VAuLT is an extension of the popular Vision-and-Language Transformer (ViLT), and improves performance on vision-and-language (VL) tasks that involve more complex text inputs than image captions while having minimal impact on training and inference efficiency. ViLT, importantly, enables efficient training and inference in VL tasks, achieved by encoding images using a linear projection of patches instead of an object detector. However, it is pretrained on captioning datasets, where the language input is simple, literal, and descriptive, therefore lacking linguistic diversity. So, when working with multimedia data in the wild, such as multimodal social media data, there is a notable shift from captioning language data, as well as diversity of tasks. We indeed find evidence that the language capacity of ViLT is lacking. The key insight and novelty of VAuLT is to propagate the output representations of a large language model (LM) like BERT to the language input of ViLT. We show that joint training of the LM and ViLT can yield relative improvements up to 20% over ViLT and achieve state-of-the-art or comparable performance on VL tasks involving richer language inputs and affective constructs, such as for Target-Oriented Sentiment Classification in TWITTER-2015 and TWITTER-2017, and Sentiment Classification in MVSA-Single and MVSA-Multiple. Our code is available at https://github.com/gchochla/VAuLT.


Last updated in 2006, the ninth edition of Developments in British Politics seamlessly surmounts the decision of Patrick Dunleavy to step down from the editorial team. There is a glittering, all-star cast of academic contributors (including the usual crisp, direct writing style of David Denver on elections and voting) as well as some rising stars (notably an expert analysis of party fragmentation by Philip Cowley and a fine chapter from Rosie Campbell on the politics of diversity). Developments gets off to a strong start with Meg Russell's excellent chapter on constitutional politics. Students learn early on the importance of the concept of inheritance: although Tony Blair lacked enthusiasm for constitutional reform, given his inheritance from John Smith, he could not easily resile from it. New Labour's approach to constitutional reform was pragmatic rather than pluralistic. Russell's punchline, however, is that all these constitutional changes have not led to growing public trust, rather suggesting that further coalition proposals in this area will solve the problem of voter disengagement, a theme picked up in a later chapter by Gerry Stoker, who rightly points out that disengagement is not a recent phenomenon but rather 'an embedded feature of British political culture' (p. 155). What has changed since the 1950s is the decline in the number of voters who feel that they can make a difference to political decision making, and the dramatic fall-off in participation in formal party politics. David Richards' chapter entitled 'Changing Patterns of Executive Dominance' highlights one of the volume's greatest strengths: it is primarily a measured assessment of the Blair and Brown premierships rather than a systematic attempt to explain the new politics of the coalition. This decision is wise. The dust has not had time to settle for meaningful analysis. Richards presents the old Westminster model of governance as under challenge, and yet explores Blair and Brown's obsession with 'top down command and control' (p. 43). Cameron's Big Society with its emphasis on community is largely explained as a Tory response to New Labour's top-down approach. Nearly all the contributors to Developments in British Politics 9 construct a fine series of arguments based around a couple of central themes rather than subjecting the reader to a clutter of facts. If there is one golden lesson here for students, it is that there is no substitute for a good argument.


process selection DTU Orbit (14/08/2019) The Oil Point Method A tool for indicative environmental evaluation in material and process selection Abstract: The interest in sustainable patterns of production and consumption has been growing for over a decade, since the Brundtland Commission presented its report titled "Our Common Future" in 1987. The situation of the environment today over six billion inhabitants on earth and a growing industrial activity world-wide makes it increasingly evident that our current way of life is not sustainable. A major contribution of society's negative impact on the environment is related to industrial products and the processes during their life cycle, from raw materials extraction over manufacturing, transport, use to final disposal. Therefore, efforts focus on attempts to integrate environmental aspects into the whole process of product development and design. They often involve established tools and methods for environmental evaluation, such as formal Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). These tools and methods are, however, often relatively complicated and require more time, data and specific expertise in the field than designers usually possess. Furthermore, the detailed information required for an LCA are not available in the early stages of the product development process, where crucial decisions are made, such as the decision upon materials and manufacturing processes. It is, therefore, a major challenge to develop tools and methods, which support the environmentally conscious selection of materials and processes while requiring only relatively little time and knowledge in the field of environmental evaluation and only approximate information about the product and its life cycle. This dissertation addresses this challenge in presenting a method, which is tailored to these requirements of designers the Oil Point Method (OPM). In providing environmental key information and confining itself to three essential assessment steps, the method enables rough environmental evaluations and supports in this way materialand process-related decision-making in the early stages of design. In its overall structure, the Oil Point Method is related to Life Cycle Assessment except for two main differences: the method considers exclusively primary energy relationships and it utilises material and process-specific indicators for the calculations. The validation of the method is accomplished by means of five case studies, where results obtained with the OPM are compared to results obtained with two established methods for environmental evaluation: A formal LCA method and another indicator-based method. A set of data for applying the method is presented including over 70 materials in pure or semi-finished form, over 20 manufacturing processes and some 20 other life cycle processes. Other contributions of this research comprise an analysis of the current research in environmental evaluation and in environmental product development, a classification of tools and methods for environmental assessment in design and the identification of missing links between existing methods for environmental evaluation and their application in material and process selection in product development.


Abstract Opponents of the nuclear industry often claim that material in transit is vulnerable to attack by terrorist groups who might seek to take the cargo and make a bomb, or otherwise cause a radiological incident. This paper lays out a range of conceivable objectives or attack scenarios in the context of maritime transportation and examines these in the light of what is known of the relevant security arrangements. It concludes that these arrangements provide a very substantial deterrent to any attempt at diversion or sabotage and that any such attempt would have little prospect of success, beyond the immediate media impact of whatever might have occurred.


The cervicovaginal smears of 43 patients attending an outpatient service for early cancer detection were cytochemically studied for the presence of gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT) in epithelial cells. This was done in order to evaluate such an enzyme phenotype as a marker for cancer development. The results showed that 70% of the 38 patients with a cytologic diagnosis of "inflammatory" or preneoplastic/neoplastic conditions had GGT-positive cells in their smears. None of the five cytologically normal cases showed any epithelial cells with GGT activity. Although most of the GGT-positive cells were metaplastic, some morphologically normal, dysplastic or neoplastic cells also expressed the enzyme. The data suggest that cytochemically detectable transpeptidase activity appears whenever alterations of the normal epithelial microenvironment occurs, but is not necessarily linked to the carcinogenic process. Therefore, cytochemically GGT-positive cells should not be used as an indicator of neoplastic transformation of the cervical epithelium.


This paper presented that how to calculate the tilt angles and solar irradiance on photovoltaic (PV) module in southern Iraq (latitude 30° N). The latitude and day number of the city is taken into account to calculate the tilt angle and solar irradiance by using a mathematical equation. The optimum tilt angles of PV module in southern Iraq are range from 38° to 84°. The yearly maximum total and average solar irradiance is needed to determine the optimum tilt angle of PV module. The result shows that 50° of tilt angle is the best performance of PV module in southern Iraq.


Author(s): Barnes, Forest | Abstract: In 2018 electric powered shared scooters and stationless electric bikeshare proliferated throughout the United States. Many cities have begun to experiment with new permitting systems and regulations for these vehicles. To date, there is scant academic literature on how well scooter and stationless bikeshare permits have helped cities achieve their transit, sustainability, and equity goals. San Francisco was one of the first cities in the United States to create permit systems for stationless bikeshare and scooter companies. This research evaluates scooters and stationless bikeshare use as a first/last mile transit option, reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and equity of utilization. The author evaluates these systems using a mixed methods approach and primary data collected by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) as part of its pilot permit programs. Results indicate that the two travel modes substantially support transit usage, both by connecting riders to transit and by replacing automobile trips. Shared e-bikes reduce VMT significantly more than scooters by replacing more and longer auto trips. Scooters are more likely to reduce VMT by connecting riders to transit. Rider demographics for both travel modes do not demonstrate improved equitable utilization as compared to traditional, personally owned bikes at this time.


Despite advances in cardiovascular imaging, the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis remains challenging. A multimodality approach to the diagnosis of CP is essential to (a) fully assess the extent of pericardial thickening and calcification, (b) detect the functional and hemodynamic consequences of the constricting pericardium, and (c) implement the optimal management strategy in these often complex cases. This case‐based review highlights the role and diagnostic ambiguities of multimodality imaging.


To continue our study on chromospheric activity and detection for possible prominence events of the very active RS Canum Venaticorum star SZ Piscium (SZ Psc), long-term high-resolution spectroscopic observations were obtained during several observing runs from 2014 to 2018. Based on the spectral subtraction technique, the chromospheric emission of the Ca ii IRT (λ8662, λ8542, and λ8498), Hα, Na i D1, D2 doublet, Hβ, and Ca ii H & K lines is mainly associated with the K1 IV primary star of the SZ Psc system, in good agreement with the previous studies, and the F8 V secondary star also shows some chromospheric emission, implying its active chromosphere. Moreover, an optical flare characterized by the He i D3 line emission together with stronger emission in the other indicators was detected. Furthermore, two chromospheric active longitudes around the two quadratures of the system were identified for most of the time, and the chromospheric activity shows significant changes during a few orbital cycles. The chromospheric activity level seems to show a long-term variation during our observations. There were some excess absorption features in the subtracted Hα line and the other activity indicators, which would be caused by prominence-like materials associated with the K1 IV primary star of the system. Prominence materials could absorb the chromospheric emission and continuum from the K1 IV primary star and even the F8 V secondary one.


Objective:We evaluated a large single center experience of endograft repair of blunt traumatic injury of the thoracic aorta. Summary Background Data:Traumatic aortic transection is a devastating injury with high morbidity and mortality. Endograft repair of these injuries has reduced the rates of death and paraplegia seen with open surgical treatment in the past. However, endograft repair has been associated with a higher incidence of device related failure. Methods:The records of 43 consecutive cases of endograft treatment of traumatic aortic injury from December 2004 to November 2008 were reviewed. Patient demographics, procedure details, and outcomes were recorded. Aortic morphology was analyzed for predictors of device failure. Results:Forty-three patients (32 men) with a mean age of 44 years (range: 17–88) were treated. Primary technical success was 86%. Six proximal endoleaks (14.3%) occurred. Two were repaired with a more proximal cuff, but 3 required explantation and open repair (7%). Mortality in this series was 11.6%, but no death was aorta related. No patient having endograft treatment suffered postoperative paraplegia. Early device failure is associated with sharp angulation of the aorta and shortened distance between the left subclavian artery and the site of injury. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 38 months (mean: 7.4 months). There were no late device failures or complications. Conclusions:Endovascular repair of blunt traumatic aortic injury can be performed with a low morbidity and mortality. Anatomic patterns in the aortic arch appear to be predictive of early device failure. Midterm durability is excellent, but reliable follow-up remains challenging in this group of patients.


Gonadal functions are governed by the hypothalamo-hypophyseal system. Other organs of the reproduction tract are under the regulatory action of gonadal steroids. In the past two decades several data have been accumulated on the involvement of fine-tuning control mechanisms which include autocrine and paracrine effects of biologically active substances produced locally and the regulatory action of nerves innervating the organs of the system. Recent studies using the viral transsynaptic technique have revealed cell groups in the central nervous system that are transneuronally connected with the male and female reproductive organs. This review summarizes neuromorphological data on the supraspinal innervation of reproductive organs and the functional significance of these brain areas in the control of reproduction.


Objectives This article reviews the different types of anemia with pregnancy and its adverse outcome for mother and fetus. Data summary Data sources: Data were obtained from Medline databases (PubMed, Medscape,) and literatures from 2008 until 2014. Study selection: Studies that enabled the investigation of the advancement of early diagnosis and management of different types of anemia were selected. Data extraction: In this review, data from published studies were manually extracted and summarized. Data synthesis: In this review, the data revealed that different types of anemia affect the mother, causing headache, fatigue, weakness, and depression. Outcomes of pregnancy included intrauterine growth restriction, low Apgar scores with a high risk of birth asphyxia, and low birth weight. Conclusion Anemia during pregnancy and its management remains an important issue in perinatal medication. Correct diagnosis and treatment lead to effective management of fetal and maternal risks and improved perinatal outcome.


With the recent changes in the nature and tactics of global terrorism Southeast Asia is demonstrating its potential to be used as a base for the extremists. Many security specialists believe that the threat posed by ISIS in Southeast Asia is real, and it has been growing since mid- 2014 (Liow, 2016). With the weakening of extremist's hubs in Iraq and Syria and divisive anti-extremist policies across the world, the extremists are consistently searching for new bases in Asia and Africa. Southeast Asia as region host several conflict hotspots, which is a lucrative ground to exploit the situation for their benefits. Considering such reality the paper enquiries whether the extremists would be able to take advantage of the gaps in the national and regional approaches to the conflicts hotspots or exploit the ideological ignorance or attempt to create intra-Islam, inter-nations, and inter-cultural divisions in Southeast Asia. Investigating these enquiries this paper first identifies the scopes, strengths and weakness of the national and regional anti-extremist approaches to those conflict hotpots; then analyses the initiatives and regional interaction to bring religious clarity; and finally reviews the importance of regional cooperation to address the threats of extremism. Based on comprehensive literature review, semi-structured expert interview and four case studies, the paper identifies that the changed situation of extremism is impacting the greater Southeast Asian security. It concludes by linking the extremist's attempt to infiltrate the Southeast Asian hotspots to the gaps in coordination between the national and regional anti-extremist measures.


The paper measures gender premium (or penalties) in productivity and innovation using firm-level data from 32 emerging economies. Further, we estimate whether the gender status of local firms in FDI recipient countries, as well as the ownership structure of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs), matters for the size of spillovers from supply and purchase links between local firms and MNEs. Our results show that female-owned firms are on average less innovative and productive. These gender performance handicaps cancel out Total factor productivity (TFP) gains through supply linkages with MNEs. In general, domestic firms benefit from the supply of inputs to MNEs not only in terms of TFP, but also in a number of characteristics related to innovation, and this highlights the importance of backward spillovers on the performance of FDI host countries. Nonetheless, domestic female-owned firms cannot reap any of these gains. There is also a gender penalty imposed by MNEs on local firms' TFP. Female-owned MNEs do not promote technology transfer through spillovers to local firms, which might be another explanation for why domestic firms do not usually experience productivity gains when purchasing inputs from foreign firms. A key message of the present paper is that enhancing productivity in emerging economies depends on mitigating factors that cause gender discrimination. Elim-inating any gender penalty in firm performance will also help local firms absorb spillovers from MNEs.


Adrenal myelolipomas are rare and uncommon benign tumours of the adrenal gland. They contain mature adipose tissue and a variable amount of haemopoietic tissue. Most lesions are small, asymptomatic and discovered incidentally. However larger lesions may be symptomatic. Here we describe the imaging and pathological findings in a case of large left adrenal myelolipoma.


RATIONALE
The hypothesis that dissociation energies can serve as a predictor of observability of b- and y-peaks is tested for seven hexapeptides. If the hypothesis holds true for large classes of peptides, one would be able to improve the scoring accuracy of peptide identification tools by excluding theoretical peaks that cannot be observed in practical product ion spectra due to various physical, chemical or thermodynamic considerations.

METHODS
Product ion m/z spectra of hexapeptides AAAAAA, AAAFAA, AAAVAA, AAFAAA, AAVAAA, AAFFAA and AAVVAA have been acquired on a Finnigan LTQ XL mass spectrometer in the collision-induced dissociation (CID) activation mode on a grid of activation times 0.05 to 100 ms and normalized collision energy 10 to 35%. Dissociation energies were calculated for all fragmentation channels leading to b- and y-fragments at the TPSS/6-31G(d,p) level of the density functional theory.

RESULTS
It was demonstrated that the m/z peaks observed in the product ion spectra correspond to the fragmentation channels with dissociation energies below a certain threshold value. However, there is no direct correlation between the most intense m/z peaks and the lowest dissociation energies. Using the dissociation energies, it was predicted that out of 63 theoretically possible peaks in the b- and y-series of the seven hexapeptides, 19 should not be observable in practical spectra. In the experiments, 24 peaks were not observed, including all 19 predicted.

CONCLUSIONS
Dissociation energies alone are not sufficient for predicting ion intensity relationships in product ion m/z spectra. Nevertheless, the present data suggest that dissociation energies appear to be good predictors of observability of b- and y-peaks and potentially very useful for filtering theoretical peaks of each candidate peptide in peptide identification tools. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.


In this paper, the comfort of light-weight wool and wool blend woven fabrics was studied by conducting the wear trials under controlled climatic conditions. It was found that, under the neutral environmental conditions, the light-weight wool and wool blend fabrics were generally less comfortable than the silk fabric, cotton poplin and polyester/cotton fabrics tested in this study. The main shortcoming in terms of comfort for these light-weight wool fabrics is the prickle. Besides, the fabric softness was found to be an very important factor influencing the comfort of the clothing worn next to the skin.


A comprehensive chemical enhanced oil recovery (CEOR) laboratory evaluation program was carried out to compare surfactants for alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) and surfactant-polymer (SP) implementation in a giant Middle East sandstone oil reservoir. The efficacies of ASP and SP floods were investigated in laboratory corefloods and simulations with emphasis on surfactant retention to improve techno-economic feasibility.
 ASP and SP flooding processes were designed with low operational cost in mind and tested in laboratory corefloods. Different injection water salinities were considered for practical field application. The handling and availability of injection water with a suitable composition has significant implications in CEOR projects. SP design using produced brine with minimum water treatment is an attractive option for commercial deployment. We considered different injection water salinities, surfactant molecules, and brine treatment requirements for several ASP and SP designs.
 ASP and SP corefloods recovered nearly all of the remaining oil after waterflooding. The surfactant retention was lower for SP floods when brine with reduced concentration of Ca2+ and Mg2+ (hardness) was used. Both ASP and SP formulations were also tested for crude oil samples from different zones. A minimal adjustment in injection salinity was required for different oils with our surfactant formulations. Surfactants designed for easy manufacturing and supply availability performed well with brine compositions that require minimal treatment. Field implementation strategies were evaluated via numerical simulation. The effect of strong aquifer drive on SP performance was shown to be minimized with optimized injection/production strategies. SP was shown to be technically and economically an attractive candidate tertiary process.


The research paper is solely based upon conducting the study with respect to analysis of the recent work done in the field of Global Software Engineering (GSE). It is massively spreading within various organizations. GSD is significant with respect to cost reduction, efficiency in context of delivery of software and extending economic resources. The working model of GSE is a complex and there are certain threats that are directly targeting the audiences. The factors affecting are the differences in context of Culture and geographic distances that can directly affect the performance of a software process. One of the important aspects that is kept in consideration in Global Requirement engineering is particularly communication. The issues with respect to communication can be divided further into theteam and targeted clients. The study is highlighting the concept is to generate the best practices in Global software engineering (GSE) along with Lexicon model. The research has focused on more than one technique along with demonstrating their advantages to present a solution and a technique that can be adopted to generate requirements in GSE.


Second RPA (SRPA) calculations of nuclear response are performed and analyzed. Unlike in most other SRPA applications, the ground state, approximated by the Hartree-Fock (HF) ground state, and the residual couplings are described by the same Hamiltonian and no arbitrary truncations are imposed on the model space. Finite-range interactions are used and thus divergence problems are not present. We employ a realistic interaction, derived from the Argonne V18 potenial using the unitary correlation operator method (UCOM), as well as the simple Brink-Boeker interaction. Representative results are discussed, mainly on giant resonances and low-lying collective states. The focus of the present work is not on the comparison with data, but rather on technical and physical aspects of the method. We present how the large-scale eigenvalue problem that SRPA entails can be treated, and demonstrate how the method operates in producing self-energy corrections and fragmentation. The so-called diagonal approximation is conditionally validated. Stability problems are traced back to missing ground-state correlations.


A 62-year-old woman presented with a pathologic femoral fracture. She underwent bilateral femoral intramedullary nailing (IMN) fixation, and her postoperative course was complicated by worsening lower extremity weakness and foot drop. Lumbar imaging identified vertebral compression fractures with foraminal encroachment. The patient was thereafter started on a radiotherapy regimen and discharged home. Pathologic fractures most commonly occur in the proximal femur. In some patients, contralateral weakness suggests an additional fracture, though it may represent spinal involvement. This case explores multiple current treatment options for pathologic fractures of the femur and spine and suggests that prophylactic endoprostheses may have greater selective benefit than IMN fixation.


Background: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) has been attracting attention as a theory of consciousness. The latest version, IIT3.0, is still at the stage of accumulating knowledge concerning fundamental networks. This paper presents an evaluation of the system-level integrated conceptual information of a major complex, ΦMax, associated with the center of consciousness for a small-scale network containing two small loops in accordance with the IIT3.0 framework. We focus on the following parameters characterizing the system model: 1) number of nodes in the loop, 2) frustration of the loop, and 3) temperature controlling the stochastic fluctuation of the state transition. Specifically, assuming that the two loops are coupled systems, such as cerebral hemispheres, the effect of these parameters on the values of ΦMax and conditions for major complexes formed by a single loop, rather than the entire network, is investigated.Results: Our first finding is that parity of the number of nodes forming a loop has a strong effect on the integrated conceptual information ΦMax. For loops with an even number of nodes, the number of concepts tends to decrease, and ΦMax becomes smaller. When the loop is formed with an odd number of nodes, the system without frustration and the system with two frustrated loops can have exactly the same ΦMax. It is also shown that, although counterintuitive, the value of ΦMax can be maximized in the presence of stochastic fluctuations. Our second finding is that a major complex is more likely to be formed by a small number of nodes under small stochastic fluctuations. In particular, this tendency is enhanced for larger numbers of nodes constituting a loop. On the other hand, the entire network can easily become a major complex under larger stochastic fluctuations, and this tendency can be reinforced by frustration.Conclusions: Our results indicating that the entire network dominates and maintains a high level of consciousness in the presence of a certain degree of fluctuation and frustration may qualitatively correspond to actual neural behaviors. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the verification of the consistency of IIT with the actual nervous system in the future.


A new competitive learning method with a 'selection' mechanism is proposed for the design of optimal vector quantizers. A basic principle called the 'equidistortion principle' for designing optimal quantizers is derived theoretically, and a new learning algorithm based on this principle is presented. Unlike conventional algorithms based on the 'conscience' mechanism, the proposed algorithm can minimize distortion without a particular initialization procedure, even when the input data cluster in a number of regions in the input vector space. The performance of this method is compared with that of the conscience learning method.<<ETX>>


Purpose : To evaluate the hypoglycaemic activity of the ethanol extract, chloroform  fraction, and three compounds isolated from Premna latifolia . Methods : The ethanol extract, chloroform fraction, and compounds 1 – 3 (isolated from the chloroform fraction) of P. latifolia were characterised by nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR, 13C NMR and 2D NMR). In vitro activity was assessed by α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity assays. In vivo antidiabetic activity was evaluated in a streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced rat model of diabetes. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C), serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), liver enzymes, and antioxidant enzymes were  determined. Liver and pancreas histopathology was assessed. Results : Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited significant hypoglycaemic activity by reducing elevated FBG and HbA1C (p ≤ 0.001) and also exerted positive effects on blood and liver enzyme profiles, which were largely altered in diabetic control group. These compounds also showed significant antioxidant activity, increasing catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase, while lowering malondialdehyde (p ≤ 0.001). The histopathology results for the rats that received these compounds suggested regeneration of pancreatic β-cells. Conclusion : Compounds 2 and 3 isolated from the dried roots of P. latifolia possess significant hypoglycaemic activity, reno- and hepatoprotective effects, and antioxidant activity. They show promise as potential treatments for patients with diabetes. Keywords : Antioxidant, Hypoglycaemic, Premna latifolia , Stigmanstan-3β-olyl n-octadec-9ʹ, 12ʹ- dienoate, n-Tetracosanol, n-Tridecanyl n-Tetracosanoate


Road Accident Prediction Models have been used in different countries as a useful tool by road engineers and planners to predict the safety levels of roads, given their potential for determining both the crash frequency occurrence and the degree severity of crashes. The research looked into developing a parametric model for predicting accidents at specific locations along Ado-Ekiti to Ikole-Ekiti road. The reconnaissance survey of the road and the identified accident vulnerable points along the road was carried out and the factors aiding the occurrence of accidents were isolated as Spot speed [S], Pavement condition [P], Condition of shoulder [C], Width of the road [W], Elevation(super)/cambering [E], Gradient [G] and Accident Vulnerability [AV] which form an acronym SPCWEG-AV. The spot speed in each of the locations was gotten by measuring a 60m length and noting the time vehicles covered the distance. The pavement and shoulder conditions were evaluated to determine their conditions. The width of the road, the elevation (super)/cambering and the gradient (horizontal) were measured using tape, twine and plumb. When the analyzed data from the investigated factors from the field were imputed into SPCWEG-AV Rating system and Weights, the index (which is a multiplication of the rating and weight) of each of the parameters was got and the addition of these indices produced what is called Total SPCWEG-AV Index (T.SPCWEG-AV.I) which defines the degree of accident vulnerability of the point in question. The higher the T.SPCWEG-AV.I is, the more vulnerable the location is. The results showed ten accident prone areas. They are Federal Government College, Ikole-Ekiti (Ch 0+000), NNPC, IkoleEkiti (Ch 3+200), Olokonla, Ikole-Ekiti (Ch 7+000), The Nigeria Police station, Oye-Ekiti (Ch 23+2000), Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (Ch 25+600), Ifaki-Ekiti (Ch 35+400), Iworoko-Ekiti (Ch 52+100), Iworoko market (Ch 53+100), Ekiti State University, Iworoko-Ekiti (Ch 62+750), Ilasa-Ekiti (Ch 64+800). Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Oye Ekiti (Ch 25+600) and Ilasa-Ekiti (Ch 64+800) have the highest number of accidents each having 24 and 22 and also has highest T.SPCWEG—AV.I of 71 and 70 respectively and other points show similar pattern. It is therefore, reasonable to conclude that the parametric model can replicate and predict the occurrence of accidents along Ado-Ekiti to Ikole-Ekiti road and other roads with similar features. It is recommended that the results of researches should be put to use and that agencies in charge of roads should ensure proper design, supervision and construction and to make sure the roads are properly maintained.


At present, thrombolytic agents represent the only direct way of augmenting fibrinolytic activity in humans. While these agents are proven to be efficacious in the treatment of acute thrombotic events, they are not a viable option for long-term administration. There are numerous drugs available that indirectly to increase fibrinolytic activity by reducing plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), including ACE inhibitors, insulin-sensitizing agents, and hormone replacement therapy in women. At present, efforts are underway to develop and test synthetic, selective PAI-1 antagonists. The potential applications of PAI-1 antagonists include thrombotic disorders (arterial and venous), amyloidosis, obesity, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and perhaps even type 2 diabetes mellitus. The availability of specific PAI-1 antagonists promises to expand the limits of understanding the role the fibrinolytic system plays in human disease and break through the current confines of therapeutic options that can effectively restore and augment the activity of the fibrinolytic system.


Piscidin-1 (Pis-1) is a linear antibacterial peptide derived from mast cells of aquacultured hybrid striped bass that comprises 22 amino acids with a phenylalanine-rich amino-terminus. Pis-1 exhibits potent antibacterial activity against pathogens but is not selective for distinguishing between bacterial and mammalian cells. To determine the key residues for its antibacterial activity and those for its cytotoxicity, we investigated the role of each Phe residue near the N-terminus as well as the Val10 residue located near the boundary of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic sectors of the helical wheel diagram. Fluorescence dye leakage and tryptophan fluorescence experiments were used to study peptide-lipid interactions, showing comparable depths of insertion of substituted peptides in different membranes. Phe2 was found to be the most deeply inserted phenylalanine in both bacterial- and mammalian-mimic membranes. Each Phe was substituted with Ala or Lys to investigate its functional role. Phe2 plays key roles in the cytotoxicity as well as the antibacterial activities of Pis-1, and Phe6 is essential for the antibacterial activities of Pis-1. We also designed and synthesized a piscidin analog, Pis-V10K, in which Lys was substituted for Val10, resulting in an elevated amphipathic α-helical structure. Pis-V10K showed similar antibacterial activity (average minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)  = 1.6 µM) to Pis-1 (average MIC  = 1.5 µM). However, it exhibited much lower cytotoxicity than Pis-1. Lys10-substituted analogs, Pis-F1K/V10K, Pis-F2K/V10K, and Pis-F6K/V10K in which Lys was substituted for Phe retained antibacterial activity toward standard and drug-resistant bacterial strains with novel bacterial cell selectivity. They exert anti-inflammatory activities via inhibition of nitric oxide production, TNF-α secretion, and MIP-1 and MIP-2 production. They may disrupt the binding of LPS to toll-like receptors, eventually suppressing MAPKs-mediated signaling pathways. These peptides may be good candidates for the development of peptide antibiotics with potent antibacterial activity but without cytotoxicity.


High cancer death rates indicate the need for new anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Approaches to discover new cancer drugs include target-based drug discovery and phenotypic screening. Here, we identify phosphodiesterase 3A modulators as cell-selective cancer cytotoxic compounds by phenotypic compound library screening and target deconvolution by predictive chemogenomics. We found that sensitivity to 6-(4-(diethylamino)-3-nitrophenyl)-5-methyl-4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-one, or DNMDP, across 766 cancer cell lines correlates with expression of the phosphodiesterase 3A gene, PDE3A. Like DNMDP, a subset of known PDE3A inhibitors kill selected cancer cells while others do not. Furthermore, PDE3A depletion leads to DNMDP resistance. We demonstrate that DNMDP binding to PDE3A promotes an interaction between PDE3A and Schlafen 12 (SLFN12), suggesting a neomorphic activity. Co-expression of SLFN12 with PDE3A correlates with DNMDP sensitivity, while depletion of SLFN12 results in decreased sensitivity to DNMDP. Our results implicate PDE3A modulators as candidate cancer therapeutic agents and demonstrate the power of predictive chemogenomics in small-molecule discovery. Citation Format: Lucian de Waal, Timothy A. Lewis, Matthew G. Rees, Aviad Tsherniak, Xiaoyun Wu, Peter S. Choi, Lara Gechijian, Christina Hartigan, Patrick W. Faloon, Mark J. Hickey, Nicola Tolliday, Steven A. Carr, Paul A. Clemons, Benito Munoz, Bridget K. Wagner, Alykhan F. Shamji, Angela N. Koehler, Monica Schenone, Alex B. Burgin, Stuart L. Schreiber, Heidi Greulich, Matthew Meyerson. Identification of selective cancer cytotoxic modulators of phosphodiesterase 3a by predictive chemogenomics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2015 Nov 5-9; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2015;14(12 Suppl 2):Abstract nr C136.


Given a map f in the category ω-Cpo of ω-complete posets, exponentiability of f in ω-Cpo easily implies exponentiability of f in the category Pos of posets, while the converse is not true. We investigate the extra conditions needed on f exponentiable in Pos to be exponentiable in ω-Cpo by showing the existence of partial products of the two-point ordered set S={0<1} (Theorem 2.8). Using this characterisation and the embedding through the Scott topology of ω-Cpo in the category Top of topological spaces, we compare exponentiability in each setting and find that a morphism in ω-Cpo that is exponentiable in both Top and Pos is exponentiable in ω-Cpo also. Furthermore, we show that the exponentiability in Top and Pos are independent of each other.


Introduction: Around 80% of factors that determine population health sit outside the control of health services. It is essential we influence these factors in addition to those within the remit of health services in order to improve and protect the health of population in a developing country. Public health functions encompass working across the domains that constitute population health systems with various partners. The objective of this article is to give an overview of public health interventions that can improve the health of the population of a developing nation.
Method: A descriptive study, based on a review of the literature of key public health frameworks and interventions that are likely to have significant impacts on population health. Some selected public health interventions and case studies are highlighted to illustrate the importance of priority areas in developing countries.
Results: Various public health frameworks recognise the importance of wider determinants of health (socio-economic factors), effective healthcare, healthy behaviours, working with communities as critical to securing population health. Another framework adopts a life-course model of intervention starting from public health interventions during preconception period and childhood, adolescence, working life and older age. For many developing countries, the author identified some examples of priority areas for interventions such as stopping and preventing wars; improving child health, including free school meals; achieving universal healthcare through integrated primary health care; addressing commercial determinants of health; embracing new technologies; and measuring and monitoring population health.
Conclusion: In order to improve the health of a population in a developing country, attention needs to go beyond health services to influence the wider determinants of health, health behaviours and adopting the World Health Organisation's roadmap on essential public health functions.


Management of cluster headache has greatly changed in recent years although most of the drugs used have not received approval for this indications. Subcutaneous injections of sumatriptan has been found to be remarkable effective for acute episodes. This drug continues to exhibit efficacy for long periods of use up to several months and has no serious adverse effects if used according to recommendations. Nasal administration of oxygen (not approved for this indication in France) continues to be an adjuvant treatment for patients with a contraindication for sumatriptan or for those with more than two acute episodes per day. Other treatments are under debate. Prophylactic first intention verapamil (not approved in France for this indication) could be useful. Lithium (not approved in France for this indication) could also be helpful, particularly for certain clinical forms. Other options are discussed.


Background: The sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor combined with insulin is a novel therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus. Without reducing basal insulin, hypoglycemia could occur frequently in this therapy. However, ketoacidosis is an undesirable adverse effect in patients with basal insulin reduction. The RISING-STAR study aimed to explore whether reducing the basal insulin dose combined with the SGLT2 inhibitor can safely reduce the frequency of hypoglycemia. We hypothesized that the frequency of hypoglycemia is higher if the basal insulin dose is not reduced when combined with an SGLT2 inhibitor.Methods: The study has a multicenter, open-label, two-arm design; 60 type 1 diabetes mellitus patients are being recruited from 7 hospitals. Twenty-six subjects are to be analyzed in each group for the pilot objectives. The basal insulin dose before initiating SGLT2 inhibitor combination therapy is the reference. Study subjects have been stratified into two groups based on the ratio of basal insulin daily dose (Basal) to total daily insulin dose (TDD). The subjects whose Basal/TDD ratio is < 0.4 are instructed not to reduce Basal but to reduce bolus insulin dose by 10% (group A), and subjects with a Basal/TDD ratio > 0.4 will be instructed to reduce Basal by 10% (group B). The primary outcome is the daily frequency of hypoglycemia during the intervention period (SGLT2 inhibitor administration), as determined by self-monitoring of blood glucose. We aimed to confirm a greater reduction in frequency of hypoglycemia in group B (reduced Basal), than in group A (non-reduction of Basal and reduced insulin effect levels by 10%). Baseline hypoglycemia was set at 7 ± 6 times/month. The minimum sample size required to achieve a significance of 0.05 for a one-sided t-test with a statistical power at 80% is determined. When the sample size is 26 patients in one group, the percentage increase in hypoglycemia exceeds 60%, and the sample size is considered sufficient. The secondary outcome is the frequency of ketosis pre- and post-intervention. We aimed to confirm that the frequency of ketosis did not increase in group B compared to that in group A. The frequency of adverse events, including frequency of hypoglycemia detected by flash glucose monitoring, was set as a safety endpoint.Discussion: In this pilot study, we assumed that, given a sufficient Basal, hypoglycemia would be more frequent in patients with type 1 diabetes when combined with SGLT2 inhibitors, provided the Basal was not reduced. A 10% basal insulin reduction decreased hypoglycemia but did not increase ketosis in cases where the Basal/TTD ratio was 0.4 or higher, which improves the efficacy and safety of SGLT2 inhibitor treatment in type 1 diabetes mellitus.Trial registration: Registered with Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCTs051190114) on March 2, 2020. (https://rctportal.niph.go.jp/detail/jr?trial_id=jRCTs051190114)


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is a key component of many cancers survival. Particularly, PI3K is constitutively activated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) due to microenvironment signals, including stromal cell interaction, CXCR4 activation and B-cell receptor (BCR) triggering. Because of the importance of PI3K for CLL-microenvironment cross-talk and chemotherapy resistance, we investigated the activity of the NVP-BKM120, an orally available pan class I PI3K inhibitor.

Here, we show that NVP-BKM120 promoted mitochondrial apoptosis in primary CLL cells independently of common prognostic markers. At the molecular level, NVP-BKM120 blocked PI3K signalling, resulting in decreased phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO3a while downregulating Mcl-1 and inducing Bim. Importantly, selective knockdown of BIM rescued cells from NVP-BKM120-induced apoptosis. Moreover, NVP-BKM120 enhanced the activity of the BH3-mimetic ABT263 in CLL cells, leading to synergistic apoptosis induction. We also found that NVP-BKM120 inhibited BCR- and stromal-induced Akt activation as well as induced Bim in presence of BCR-derived and stromal survival signals. In stromal cocultures, NVP-BKM120 sensitized CLL cells towards bendamustine and fludarabine. Furthermore, NVP-BKM120 downregulated secretion of chemokines after BCR triggering and inhibited CLL cell chemotaxis and actin polymerization toward CXCL12.

Altogether, our data suggest that NVP-BKM120 displays a dual mechanism of action, directly decreasing cell survival and antagonizing survival and drug-resistance signals derived from protective tissue microenvironment.

Citation Format: Laia Rosich, Ifigenia Saborit-Vilarroya, Monica Lopez-Guerra, Silvia Xargay-Torrent, Arnau Montraveta, Marta Aymerich, Neus Villamor, Elias Campo, Patricia Perez-Galan, Gael Roue, Dolors Colomer. NVP-BKM120 decreases cell survival and antagonizes resistance signals derived from protective tissue microenvironment by interfering with the Akt/FoxO3a/Bim axis in CLL cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2088. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2088


When looking at clients with a long history of unemployment and substantial health and/or social problems, stories of success (in terms of moving from being on cash benefits to getting a job) are limited. Thus, when a client does manage to gain employment or enter education, it represents an unusual 1 story of success seen from a political, organisational and individual perspective. In this article, we investigate empirically what can be learnt about current active labour market policies from these client cases. Methodologically this is explored through interviews with former clients who have managed to find a job despite dealing with complex health or social issues, and interviews with their former caseworkers. Thus, the article aims to provide insights into the crucial elements in making the move from vulnerable unemployed to being ready for a job, as well as finding it and keeping it.


Multicarrier modulation is widely accepted as a powerful technology to satisfy the increasing
demand of high data rate transmission. The inherent large envelope fluctuations of multicarrier
signals necessitate the use of power amplifiers (PA) with large dynamic range. However, the
incompatibility between linear amplification and power efficiency poses challenges in deployment
of practical wireline or wireless systems. When high power efficiency is mandatory, nonlinear
power amplifier effects are inevitable and thus system performance is degraded.
In this dissertation, several novel methods based on signal design and processing techniques
are proposed to combat nonlinear power amplifier effects in multicarrier systems, specifically
focusing on boosting power efficiency and improving bit error rate in orthogonal frequency
division multiplexing (OFDM) and multiple access OFDM (OFDMA).
First, with emphasis on easy implementation and low cost at the transmitter, two novel peak
windowing schemes, with asymmetric window functions and simple coefficient optimization
respectively, are proposed to handle the case of successive peaks in transmitted signals, which
outperform existing methods. In addition, a novel receiver-oriented method is proposed to
tackle the intrinsic challenge in OFDMA reception where an individual user has insufficient
information of other users' modulation to apply conventional decision-aided schemes. The
proposed method includes two steps: improved peak localization and magnitude estimation
with frame based alternating projection which does not require modulation information of
the entire OFDM symbol, and has significantly enhanced performance compared with existing
schemes, especially in the high signal-to-noise regime. Furthermore, we propose a joint design
of transmitter-oriented scheme of tone reservation with clipping and receiver-oriented scheme
of frame-based alternating projection which opens up a novel way to deal with the nonlinear
power amplifier effects. The tight requirement of sparsity level in clipping noise imposed by
compressed sensing framework is relaxed with the novel formulation based on frame theory
and projection over convex sets and thus significant bit error rate performance improvement
is achieved. Moreover, a hybrid scheme that combines two existing single-antenna schemes,
namely erasure pattern selection and Fourier projection algorithm, is designed to address the
issue for the multi-antenna case and simulations demonstrate it outperforms a popular existing
scheme.


This paper analyzes the casting process characteristics of Mg alloys compared with Al alloys in the production of high quality (i.e. structural) structural vehicle components. The disadvantages of traditional squeeze casting for high quality Mg components has led the authors to develop a novel squeeze casting process which overcomes the drawbacks of the current methods. The details of the new process are presented here and show the increased productivity and quality of castings that can result from changing the way molten metal is handled and processed. The feasibility of this new squeeze casting process was applied to Mg wheels for LX150 motorbikes.


Predicting turn and stop maneuvers of potentially errant drivers is a basic requirement for advanced driver assistance systems for urban intersections. Previous work has shown that an early estimate of the driver's intent can be inferred by evaluating the vehicle's speed during the intersection approach. In the presence of a preceding vehicle, however, the velocity profile might be dictated by car-following behaviour rather than by the need to slow down before doing a left or right turn. To infer the driver's intent under such circumstances, a simple, real-time capable approach using an explicit model to represent both car-following and turning behaviour is proposed. Models for typical turning behavior are extracted from real world data. Preliminary results based on a Bayes net classification are presented.


Sarcomas of the breast are rare neoplasms accounting for less than 1% of breast malignancy. A 40-year-old-female with left breast mass underwent wide-excision and on histopathological examination a diagnosis of malignant phyllodes tumor with heterologous differentiation of osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma was rendered. The heterologous elements were tumor osteoid formation and tumor chondroid formation. The rarity of the lesion was considered for reporting and on follow-up the patient was free of metastasis.