Summary. It is not clear that established dream theories adequately explain the purpose of something that accounts for such a substantial percentage of our time. Gewargis's innovative theory - that dreams function to safeguard the organism during sleep - seems plausible and to have the potential to make an important contribution to a better understanding of why we dream. There are, however, a number of possible problems with it. In particular, the published literature is not used to substantiate the empirical claims upon which the theory is built; and this could be a major issue, as a some of these claims seem to be at variance with current scientific knowledge and/or to have limited face validity. This comment article draws upon the neurology literature to critique and suggest amendments to Gewargis's theory; and proposes additional hypotheses relating to why and how dreams might act as a monitoring-alerting mechanism and protect the sleeper from a range of internal and external perturbations during REM and NREM sleep; and not just, as Gewargis appears to suggest, guard against inadequate blood flow to the brain or "oxygen-deprivation" to the lungs during REM sleep. A central argument in this comment piece is that to perform a range of functions, such as memory processing, the dream is where the sleeper's consciousness is focused for much of the time asleep, and so it is also where the alerting-arousal messages need to be presented and processed during that time. In other words, and at variance with what Gewargis proposed, we don't dream so as to provide a sleep defence mechanism, but a Dream Sleep-Defence Mechanism (DSDM) is needed because we dream. It addition, it argued that dreams - including through the use of broad categories (and, in particular, potential danger/not potential danger), rather than representational reflections of the reality in question - provide a cortical resource efficient mechanism. It is recognised, however, that support for a dream sleep defence mechanism is at best circumstantial and that the idea needs to be tested in experimental studies if it is to move beyond conjecture.


This paper presents a distributed and integrated manufacturing system for tube bending. It can support a Client/Server based local network and serial communications. It can also integrate tube design, process planning, virtual and physical manufacturing around the core of engineering databases with different formats. This system solves three problems in integrated tube design and bending: (1) automatic process planning, (2) estimation of the feasibility of bending and (3) the impact of springback and extension. The industrial applications of this system show that it can decrease the cost of bending and increase the bending efficiency.


Amoxicillin and ampicillin were subjected to methanolysis. As expected, the methanolysis products were observed by HPLC-ESI-MS. Besides these products, diketopiperazine derivatives were also detected. Additionally, unusually stable adduct formed between the products of methanolysis and diketopiperazine derivatives was also identified. Analogical adducts were detected when ethanolysis was performed instead of methanolysis. HPLC-ESI-MS analysis of the separated adducts confirmed that the adducts were composed of methanolysis products and diketopiperazine derivatives.


This study investigated the occurrence and sources of aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHCs) in soils within the vicinity of hot mix asphalt (HMA) plants. Soil samples were collected from two HMA plants and analysed with gas chromatography - flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). Sample collection was from both surface (0-15 cm) and subsurface (15-30 cm) soils at an increasing distance of 10 m from the HMA plants while the control samples at both depths were collected at 1 km away from the plants. The AHCs concentration (nC9-nC38) in soils from both HMA Plants ranged from 8.16 - 433.04 mg/kg and 5.91-177.83 mg/kg for surface and  subsurface soils respectively while the concentration in the control samples ranged from 5.97 - 23.95 mg/kg and 2.52 - 13.31 for surface and subsurface soil respectively. The sources of the AHCs were determined using isoprenoid ratios, carbon preference index (CPI) and maximum carbon chain (Cmax). The isoprenoid ratios and CPI values of the samples closer ( 20 m from the HMA plants showed mixture of both anthropogenic and biogenic sources. Keywords : Asphalt Plants; Soil; Aliphatic hydrocarbons; Pristane; Phytane.


Post is the joint between employees and production /management activities of enterprise. The knowledge demand of employees in work is closely related with their post. Firstly, for meeting the post knowledge demand of employees, a construction frame of e-learning system meeting post knowledge demand was put forward. Secondly, three subprocesses in the proposed construction frame were illuminated in detail. Finally, the application and effectiveness of the mentioned construction was explained via an instance. By the application effect contrast between e-learning system meeting post knowledge demand and general e-learning system, it is proved that e-learning system meeting post knowledge demand can accelerate knowledge transfer of enterprise and improve the work efficiency of employees and the performance of enterprise.


Multiple Input Multiple output (MIMO) antennas can be combined with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to ensure spatial diversity gain and/or to increase spectral efficiency. MIMO communication system with Alamouti methods can improve the bit error rate (BER) and signal to noise ratio (SNR) thus distortions are reduced for higher data rate. Conventionally OFDM is Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based system, it uses IFFT (Inverse FFT) blocks in the transmitter and FFT blocks in the receiver. Replacing the FFT with Discrete Wavelet Packet Transform (DWPT) makes the system's performance further improved. This leads to a new scenario of DWPT based MIMO OFDM system. In this work, the STBC-MIMO-OFDM under the scenario of having multiple antennas system, with QAM in Rayleigh fading channel for different values of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) points (8, 32 and 64) are implemented. By evaluating the BER performance and the transmission capacity, it turns out that the DWPT based MIMO-OFDM system is superior compared with the FFTMIMO-OFDM system. BER performance of the system is analyzed under different channel environments to assess the WPT based MIMO-OFDM performance in order to compare it with FFT based MIMO-OFDM system. .In this paper the numerical results of the simulation consist a new contribution and are obtained using MATLAB. The simulation of DWPT-OFDM was accomplished with Haar mother based multicarrier. Whereas for both the latter and the conventional FFT-OFDM were subjected to the same conditions, for the multi-antenna system channel capacity and QAM modulation (8, 32, and 64) points in flat fading channels with AWGN and selective fading channel with AWGN. Computer simulation results demonstrate that the proposed wavelet based MIMOOFDM system outperforms in Alamouti (two transmit antenna and two receive antenna) due to the overlapping nature of DWPT dispensing the addition of cyclic prefix and less hardware complexity as in FFT based MIMOOFDM. Key-Words: DWPT, FFT, OFDM, MIMO, Alamouti STBC. Performance Analysis Comparison of FFT and Discrete Wavelet Packet Transform (DWPT) Based MIMO-OFDM Systems SOUKAINA ETTARFAOUI HAITHAM JABBAR TAHA MOHAMMED MAJID HIMMI LIMIARF, Faculty of Sciences Department of Electrical Engineering LIMIARF, Faculty of Sciences Mohammed-V University University of Technology Mohammed-V University Rabat, Morocco Baghdad/ Iraq Rabat, Morocco email@example.com email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on COMMUNICATIONS Soukaina Ettarfaoui, Haitham Jabbar Taha, Mohammed Majid Himmi E-ISSN: 2224-2864 267 Volume 14, 2015


This paper looks at the relation of natural history, in its guise as an observational genre and one which tended to offer competing explanations of its phenomena, to the discourse of practical divinity. Natural history is here intended as a genre in which the practice of observation is accorded a significant place and a genre which lends itself to the accumulation of competing explanatory accounts of the phenomena ('polycausal'). In particular, it examines the relation of the cognitive and the practical with respect to a rather unusual instance of that discourse. It attempts to site the work of practical divinity vertically (to its own tradition), horizontally (to the local contexts of John Abernethy) and orthogonally (to the Baconian project of descriptive enquiry as a basis for philosophical enquiry).


Abstract This article gives a short overview of my dissertation, where new algorithms are given for two fundamental graph problems. We develop novel ways of using linear programming formulations, even exponential-sized ones, to extract structure from problem instances and to guide algorithms in making progress. The first part of the dissertation addresses a benchmark problem in combinatorial optimization: the asymmetric traveling salesman problem (ATSP). It consists in finding the shortest tour that visits all vertices of a given edge-weighted directed graph. A ρ-approximation algorithm for ATSP is one that runs in polynomial time and always produces a tour at most ρ times longer than the shortest tour. Finding such an algorithm with constant ρ had been a long-standing open problem. Here we give such an algorithm. The second part of the dissertation addresses the perfect matching problem. We have known since the 1980s that it has efficient parallel algorithms if the use of randomness is allowed. However, we do not know if randomness is necessary – that is, whether the matching problem is in the class NC. We show that it is in the class quasi-NC. That is, we give a deterministic parallel algorithm that runs in poly-logarithmic time on quasi-polynomially many processors.


Pushing and pulling-tasks were initially-intended to-replace manual-materials-handling, including lifting, and to-help to-reduce-stress on musculoskeletal-system. Pushing, pulling, and maneuvering materials- handling (MH)-equipment, however, still involve some of the-old-hazards (overexertion), while creating new-ones. This-study was focused on hazards and risks, associated with pushing and pulling-tasks, at finishing-department, of a-textile-mill. Document-analysis, questionnaire, and numerous-observations ( via site-visits) were utilized, as main-instruments for the-study. In-compliance with the-ISO 20252:2006 (E), the-questionnaire was pre-tested, for validity and reliability; SPPS-17, version 22 was applied, to-compute the-Cronbach's coefficient. Descriptive-statistics was employed, to-analyze both; qualitative and quantitative-data. The-research targeted 12 printing-machine-operators; response-rate obtained (RR=92%). Majority of the-respondents (91%), indicated, that: repetitive-pushing and pulling-tasks were-conducted, daily; the-loads were heavy; moreover operators were not aware about the-actual-weigh, of a-particular load, so they just approximated; they also-pointed-out, that high-initial-forces were-required, to-get the-load moving; the-loads lacked good-handholds; and pushing and pulling-tasks were-conducted, in-confined spaces and/or narrow-doorways. 73% stated, that they performed more of pushing, than pulling-tasks. 64% indicated, that pushing and pulling involved: manoeuvring of the-load, into-position, or around-obstacles; some of the-MH-equipment was without brakes, making it difficult to-stop; and floors were, largely, uneven, damaged, and/or slippery. 45% claimed, that: occasionally, push or pull-movements involved high-speed and/or long-distances; MH-equipment (trolleys, carts), and floor-surfaces, were poorly maintained, cleaned and/or repaired; the-majority of MH-equipment was heavy, old, and hard to-steer; and that there was an-absence of the-suitable personal-protective-equipment, provided, and, hence, worn. In-addition to the-questionnaire, observation of different-pushing and pulling-practices, was conducted; one-illustrative-example of which, is presented, in-detail. Moreover, to-bring broader-perspective, the-following-aspects were covered: Pushing vs. pulling ongoing-debate; Pushing and Pulling Capability-Standards, Guidelines, and tools; Pushing and pulling-task phases and forces, involved; as-well-as relevant-factors/characteristics of: load; individual; equipment; and work-practice-environment. Finally, the-study offered general, as-well-as specific-recommendations, to-improve current-practices of pulling and pushing, at the-department. These should-be useful, to-employers and practitioners, who design and analyze, pushing and pulling-tasks, at the-department, and in-the-textile-printing-industry, at-large. Keywords: forces, friction, MSDs, MSIs, human-machine-interface.


Background: Gallstone disease (GSD) is one of the most common surgical gastrointestinal diseases. Cholesterol is one of the constituents of gallstones. Hyperlipidemia and GSD are often linked to cholesterol in pathophysiology, and cholecystectomy is associated with hepatobiliary circulation affecting fat absorption. The aim of the study is to assess the lipid profile (LP) changes after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). Methods: Prospective cohort study that included 200 patients with documented GSD and baseline measurement of LP, followed by LC for half of them, and two follow-up measurements of LP after 2 weeks and 1 month. Comparison of the LP between the two groups to estimate the difference that occur due to LC, after that, comparison of the two follow-up measurements with baseline to estimate the effect of these changes with time. Results: Total serum cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride level (TG) were significantly lower from control 1 month after surgery; on pairwise analysis, TG level was lower than baseline on both 2-week and 1-month follow-up measurements. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) was higher than the control after 1 month, on pairwise analysis at 2 weeks, no difference from baseline was found, and a significant difference was found after 1 month. Both low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very LDL (VLDL) were not different from the control. Conclusion: LC is associated with a reduction of the serum level of both TC and TG and an increase serum level of HDL after 1 month of follow-up.


This paper studies a dynamic bargaining model with informational externalities between bargaining pairs. Two principals bargain with their respective agents about the price they will pay for their work while its cost is agents' private information and correlated between them. The principals benchmark their agents against each other by making the same offers in the equilibrium even if this involves delaying or advancing the agreement compared to the autarky. When principals compete in complements this pattern is reinforced while under competition in substitutes the principals trade off the benefits of differentiation in the product market against the cost of the agents' rent.


Eleven cases of sarcoma in Paget's disease of bone are presented, together with an extensive review of the literature. These neoplasms are rare but not exceptional, and mostly affect male subjects in the seventh decade of life. The sites most frequently affected are the pelvis, femur and humerus. In 30 per cent of cases these neoplasms are multifocal. Radiographically the lesions are nearly always osteolytic. The radiographic diagnosis may, however, be quite difficult, especially in the presence of the severe (but benign) osteolyic lesions that sometimes occur in Paget's disease. Morphologically these tumours are mostly highly polymorphic sarcomas. The cases in this series were diagnosed histologically as osteosarcoma, grade 3 fibrosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma; but there are no prognostic differences between the various histological types. The prognosis is very serious, only about 3 per cent of patients surviving for five years from the time of diagnosis. Therapy, unfortunately nearly always palliative, is based on amputation or disarticulation after sections biopsy in cases where the disease is localised to the limbs, and on radiotherapy in cases not amenable to surgery.


A 1,040-g premature baby was diagnosed to have disseminated candidiasis and treated with amphotericin B (AMB) and 5-fluorocytosine. During the treatment, an unexpectedly large dose of AMB was infused unintentionally. AMB level was as high as 1.73 micrograms/mL soon after 5 mg/kg infusion instead of 0.5 mg/kg. However, it dropped rapidly to 0.83 micrograms/mL after 24 hours. AMB was detected in patient's serum at a higher level than minimal inhibitory concentration as long as one month after treatment was stopped. The patient showed liver dysfunction but no nephrotoxicity. The further studies are needed to establish safe and effective treatment regimen in premature infants with disseminated candidiasis.


Measurements have been made of (1) light scattering, (2) sedimentation characteristics, and (3) viscosities of identical, well-clarified solutions of a considerable number of preparations of DNA from various sources and under conditions which permit extrapolation of the relevant molecular quantities to zero concentration. In order to increase the range of sizes examined, similar observations have been made with specimens which had been irradiated with 15 MeV electrons or X-rays. It is found that, to a rough approximation, the relation S0α[η]⅓ holds for all samples (except those which were heated). There does not appear to be any correlation between ML, the molecular weight determined by light scattering and either [η] or S0. Values of M η, s from viscosity and sedimentation data have been calculated using the equation of Mandelkern, Flory, Krigbaum & Scheraga (1952) and it was found that with the unirradiated samples these values did not agree with M L, although reasonable agreement was obtained with the irradiated samples. The validity of the calculation of Mη, s is discussed. Analysis of the angular variation of the light scattering shows no significant change in the flexibility of the coils upon irradiation, in contrast with the effect of heating where a large change of flexibility occurs. This is in agreement with the hydrodynamic relations given above. Consequently, the differences between irradiated and unirradiated DNA cannot be ascribed to changes of flexibility and the need to use a different model on that account. Since S0 and [η] are both decreased by small doses of radiation, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that real changes of molecular weight occur, which have not been discovered by the light-scattering method as employed here. It is shown that both for rods and coils there is an upper limit, at finite angles, to the light scattered by a given concentration of polymer, as the size is increased. For a molecule intermediate between a rod and a coil, the limiting curve may appear to have a finite intercept owing to a concealed high curvature at very small angles of scattering. This may set an upper limit to the observed molecular weight for a given degree of flexibility. If the main effect of irradiation is a decrease of molecular weight without marked changes of flexibility, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion either that single chain breaks do not influence the flexibility of the particle or that a high proportion of double breaks occurs.


Phytochemicals play a prominent role as cancer preventive agents. Stevioside is a phytochemical which is isolated from Stevia rebaudiana and is known for its medicinal properties including prevention against cancer. Therefore, the present work intended to explore the antiproliferative activity of stevioside on ovarian cancer cell line, OVCAR-3. The results elucidated that stevioside treatment repressed the growth of OVCAR-3 cells and induced cytotoxicity, both dose dependently and time dependently. Furthermore, stevioside has been found to be associated with increased ROS production in the cell which suggests the initiation of apoptosis. Additionally, the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential indicated the involvement of stevioside induced intrinsic apoptotic pathway in the cell. These results were further confirmed by increased level of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in OVCAR-3 cancer cells after stevioside treatment. Moreover, flow cytometric study established the apoptotic behavior of stevioside and showed cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase. Additionally, the inactivation of P13K/AKT signaling pathway was also revealed. Thus, the results may summarize the therapeutic potential of stevioside against ovarian cancer and its role as chemotherapeutic agent in future clinical applications.


We investigated the existence of multiple equilibrium states in the Venusian atmospheric general circulation suggested by Matsuda (1980, 1982) using a Venus-like atmospheric general circulation model. We ran the model from two initial conditions: a state with large zonal wind increasing with height and a motionless state. For the large zonal wind initial state, a strong zonal wind with weak meridional circulation, i.e., super-rotation, appears. However for the motionless initial condition, slow zonal wind with strong meridional circulation relative to the farmer state appears. Each circulation reached a quasi-steady state. These results have the same features suggested by Matsuda. The presence of multiple equilibrium states was sensitive to the horizontal eddy viscosity parameter. For the strong zonal wind state, the acceleration of the zonal mean zonal wind results from the horizontal EP flux divergence from the wavenumber one component on the equator, which is mainly maintained by the Gierasch mechanism (1975). The presence of multiple equilibrium states suggests that an alternative slow zonal wind state could appear in the Venusian atmosphere if an appropriate initial condition or drastic fluctuation is assigned.


Autopsy findings for 111 cases of esophageal cancer are presented. Residual tumor in the esophagus was present in 75% of the cases. Lymph node metastases were found in 74.5% and visceral metastases in 50% of the cases. Autopsy revealed a second primary tumor in 21% of the cases; 12% of these were oropharyngeal‐laryngeal (OPL) carcinomas, and 9% were visceral carcinomas or malignant lymphomas. Nonmalignant disease found in association with esophageal cancer was dominated by conditions related to chronic alcoholism. Autopsy findings thus revealed that the patients bore not only esophageal lesions, but also patterns of other associated malignant and nonmalignant diseases which would seem to correspond to a complex pathologic state occurring in association with chronic alcoholism. The time between onset of symptoms and autopsy averaged 10.6 months and between first consultation and autopsy, 6.3 months. The brevity of survival from onset of symptoms would seem to confirm that by the time esophageal cancer manifests clinically, it is already at a stage of development beyond the scope of treatment.


Matthew Battles explores the questions of why writing exists and what it means to those who write. Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. It has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine; a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition. Now, as the revolution once wrought by the printed word gives way to the digital age, many fear that the art of writing-and the nuanced thinking nurtured by writing-are under threat. But writing itself, despite striving for permanence, is always in the midst of growth and transfiguration. Celebrating the impulse to record, to invent, to make one's mark, Battles re-enchants the written word for all those susceptible to the power and beauty of writing in all its forms.


Use of liposomes as carriers of gentamicin for intrabronchial pulmonary delivery was investigated in rabbits. Gentamicin, in isotonic glutamic acid buffer, pH 4.5, was encapsulated in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) and administered intrabronchially. Higher drug concentrations were found at the pulmonary site of liposome instillation for 1 day as compared with free unencapsulated antibiotic. When time-course distributions of gentamicin given in the liposomal or free form were measured in bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL), similar accumulations were observed up to 4 h, but the drug remained longer (24 h) after administration of the liposomal formulation. Higher amounts of antibiotic were detected in BAL supernatant 1 h after instillation of plain gentamicin; this difference stopped being significant after 4 h. A microbiological assay outlined the bacteriostatic activity of gentamicin released from MLVs and recovered in BAL supernatant. Liposomal gentamicin accumulated in the BAL cell pellet 1 h after intrabronchial instillation; it decreased progressively but minute amounts were still detected after 1 day. On the contrary, no gentamicin was found in the pellet at any time after free drug administration. Comparison of aminoglycoside concentrations in plasma and kidneys indicated lower and constant levels when the liposomal form was instilled. Liposome encapsulation altered the disposition of gentamicin in a way suggesting improved pulmonary concentration and lower systemic toxicity.


The A2 vitellogenin gene of Xenopus laevis, which is expressed liver specifically, contains an A-activator-binding site (AABS) that mediates high in vitro transcriptional activity in rat liver nuclear extracts. Footprint experiments with DNase I and gel retardation assays revealed the binding of several proteins to AABS. Using binding sites of known DNA-binding proteins as competitors in the gel retardation assay, we found that the transcription factor C/EBP and/or one of its "iso-binders" as well as LFB1/HNF1 bound AABS. These interactions were confirmed by in vitro transcription experiments using various oligonucleotides as competitors. However, saturating amounts of C/EBP- and LFB1/HNF1-binding sites as competitors only partially blocked AABS-mediated transcriptional activity. This finding implies that at least a third distinct transcription factor interacts with AABS. In vitro transcription experiments revealed that AABS was present not only in the closely related Xenopus A1 vitellogenin gene but also in acute-phase genes as a liver-specific regulatory element known to confer the interleukin-6 response. Both AABS and the interleukin-6 response element are promoter modules interacting with at least three distinct transcription factors, including C/EBP and LFB1/HNF1.


The surf-zone environment experiences oscillations on different temporal scales, and as a consequence, abiotic factors may influence the surf-zone fish community differently when these fluctuations are analyzed on short and long temporal scales. To verify this, the surf-zone fish community was sampled on three beaches located in the south of Comprida Island, Southern coast of Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Samples were collected every two days from 23 January to 18 February 2009, for the daily fluctuations (short-term), and monthly, from December 2008 to February 2010, for the seasonal fluctuations (long-term). Regardless of the temporal sampling scale, the main features and composition of the surf-zone fish community were kept the same. However, when comparing effects of variations in abiotic factors on the fish fauna, it was observed that temperature was significant only in the seasonal sampling scale and the percentage of explanation for the beaches with different exposure levels was higher when data were analyzed from the daily samples.


Ultrasonic velocity (U), density (ρ) for the ternary mixture of (Toluene + Chlorobenzene + Cyclohexane) in the various range of composition has been carried out at 298.15K. The observed data have been utilized to calculate various acoustical parameters like Isentropic compressibility (KS), Intermolecular free length (Lf) and acoustic impedance (Z). The various excess properties like excess ultrasonic velocity(UE ), excess acoustic impedance (ZE ), excess Isentropic compressibility (KS E ) and excess Inter molecular free length (Lf E ) have been calculated and using standard relations to the Redlich-Kister equation. The trend of acoustical and physicochemical parameters confirm the dynamics of molecules at temperature and the magnitude of intermolecular interactions among the constituents of the mixture always reflects the nature of substance. The variations in sign and values of these parameters are help us to know the interaction between component molecules and structural arrangement of the liquid mixture.


Background : Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is endemic in Nigeria and indeed the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. The Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in Nigeria (SOGHIN) recommends HBV screening for all Nigerians to pave way for early detection and treatment of the infection in those who are infected and prevention of infection in individuals who are free of the infection via immunization. Identifying seropositive paturients and taking steps to deter vertical transmission are important preventive strategies. This study, therefore, sought to determine the seroprevalence rate of HBV infection among paturients seen at a tertiary hospital in Ilorin. Patients and Methods : This was a prospective observational study of pregnant women seen between September 1 to December 31, 2012 at the Ante-natal clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin. Demographic information, relevant medical information and blood samples for screening were taken from all booked and unbooked pregnant women after obtaining informed consent. The serologic test done was a qualitative one using immunochromatographic test strips to screen for the presence of Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in the sera of the study subjects. Results : A total number of 237 pregnant women were enrolled into this study during the study period (mean age 31.2 ± 3.4 years). Thirty (12.7%) of the study subjects had positive test results to the presence of HBsAg in their sera. Hence, the HBV seroprevalence rate in this study was 12.7%. Conclusion and recommendations : This study has shown a high HBV seroprevalence rate of 12.7% among pregnant women seen at UITH. It is our recommendation, therefore, that HBV screening be included among the routine antenatal investigations for all pregnant women in UITH and the community at large. Keywords : Hepatitis B virus, Paturients, Seroprevalence, Vertical transmission, Immunization


This work develops a multicomponent system comprising unsaturated polyester resin (UPER) hydrophilizing a two-component system of sulfate-resistant cement (SC) and sulfur, diluent water and a redox system. The hydrophilized unsaturated polyester resin (HUPER) so obtained can be used as a basis for polymer-silicate composites with good strength properties, precise embossed printing on the surface of various molds, and good visual characteristics. Polymer-silicate compositions with low and high content of SC were selected, and the constant amount of SC in the two groups obtained corresponded to a gradual change in sulfur content. Time kinetic dependencies of the cross-linking process of unsaturated polyester at a given amount of redox system were monitored. Reproducibility of results for different polymer compositions was achieved thereby enabling a possibility to predict them.


In this talk, the speaker will share his more than forty years of research experience in using mathematical tools and models from analog circuit design to the assessment of human interacted events.


Recent progress has made possible to construct high performance distributed computing environments, such as computational grids and cluster of clusters, which provide access to large scale heterogeneous computational resources. Exploration of novel algorithms and evaluation of performance is a strategy research for the future of computational grid and cluster scientific computing for many important applications. We adapted the well-known parallel iterative Lanczos method to compute Hermitian eigenvalues of large sparse matrices for a GRID platform and for a cluster of clusters worldwide deployed between France and Japan. Parts of the proposed GRID algorithm use an efficient task-farming computing paradigm, with data persistency scheduling strategies.


Almost 4 years after the appearance of Salvesen–Tuck–Faltinsen (STF) strip theory (Salvesen et al., 1970, "Ship Motions and Sea Loads," Annual Meeting of the Society of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineers (SNAME), New York, Nov. 12–13), Salvesen in 1974 published his popular method for calculation of added resistance (Salvesen, 1974, "Second-Order Steady State Forces and Moments on Surface Ships in Oblique Regular Waves," Vol. 22; Salvesen, 1978, "Added Resistance of Ships in Waves," J. Hydronautics, 12(1), pp. 24–34). His method is based on an exact near-field formulation; however, he applied the long-wave and the weak-scatterer assumptions to present his approximate method using the integrated quantities (hydrodynamic and geometrical coefficients). Considering the available computational powers in the 1970s, both of these assumptions were absolutely justifiable. The intention of this paper is to disseminate the results of a recent study at the Technical University of Denmark, whereby the Salvesen's formulation has been revisited and the added resistance is computed from the original exact equation without invoking the weak-scatterer or the long-wave assumptions. This is performed using the solutions of the radiation and the scattering problems, obtained by a low-order boundary element method and the two-dimensional free-surface Green function inside our in-house STF theory implementation (Bingham and Amini-Afshar, 2020, DTU_Strip Theory Solver). The weak-scatterer assumption is then removed through a direct calculation of the x-derivatives of the velocity potentials and the normal vectors along the body. Knowing the velocity potentials over each panel, the long-wave assumption is also avoided by a piece-wise analytical integration of sectional Kochin Function (Kochin, 1936, "On the Wave Resistance and Lift of Bodies Submerged in Fluid," Transactions of the Conference on the Theory of Wave Resistance, Moscow.). The presented results for five ship geometries testify that the correct treatment of the original equation is achieved only after both of the above-mentioned assumptions are removed. Implemented in this manner, Salvesen's method proves to be relatively more accurate and robust than has been generally perceived during all these years.


We demonstrate experimentally the efficiency of a recently proposed scheme of terahertz generation based on Cherenkov emission from ultrashort laser pulses in a sandwich structure. The structure has a thin nonlinear core covered with a prism of low terahertz absorption. Using an 8 mm long Si-LiNbO(3)-BK7 structure with a 50 microm thick LiNbO(3) core, we converted 40 microJ, 50 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses into terahertz pulses of approximately 3 THz bandwidth with a record efficiency of over 0.1%.


Wearable devices to assist abnormal gaits require controllers that interact with the user in an intuitive and unobtrusive manner. To design such a controller, we investigated a bio-inspired walking controller for orthoses and prostheses. We present (i) a Simulink neuromuscular control library derived from a computational model of reflexive neuromuscular control of human gait with a central pattern generator (CPG) extension, (ii) an ankle reflex controller for the Achilles exoskeleton derived from the library, and (iii) the mechanics and energetics of healthy subjects walking with an actuated ankle orthosis using the proposed controller. As this controller was designed to mimic human reflex patterns during locomotion, we hypothesize that walking with this controller would lead to lower energetic costs, compared to walking with the added mass of the device only, and allow for walking at different speeds without explicit control. Preliminary results suggest that the neuromuscular controller does not disturb walking dynamics in both slow and normal walking cases and can also reduce the net metabolic cost compared to transparent mode of the device. Reductions in tibialis anterior and soleus activity were observed, suggesting the controller could be suitable, in future work, for augmenting or replacing normal walking functions. We also investigated the impedance patterns generated by the neuromuscular controller. The validity of the equivalent variable impedance controller, particularly in stance phase, can facilitate serving subject-specific features by linking impedance measurement and neuromuscular controller.


I do not believe that civilizations are fated to break down, so I begin by exposing the fallacious arguments of the determinists. Having rejected determinist explanations, I look for an alternative. I find that the very process by which growth is sustained is inherently risky: the creative leadership of a society has to resort to social 'drill' in order to carry along the uncreative mass, and this mechanical device turns against its masters when their creative inspiration fails. I then have to account for the failure of creativity, and I ascribe it to the spiritual demoralization to which we human beings seems to be prone on the morrow of great achievements — a demoralization to which we are not bound to succumb and for which we ourselves therefore bear the responsibility. Success seems to make us lazy or self satisfied or conceited, J muster a series of notable historical examples to show how this actually happens and how human beings have erred in each case. (dikutip dari: Why have some civilizations broken down in the past? Dalam buku A Study of History karangan Arnold Toynbee, 1972: Oxford University Press and Thames and Hudson Ltd. Dengan catatan kata-kata yang telah dipertebal telah dipilib oleh pengutip)


Nickel silicide nanowires (NSNWs) have been fabricated and characterized. We propose a fabrication process for one-dimensional silicon nanowires (SiNWs) using scanning probe lithography (SPL) technology and anisotropic wet etching with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution on a (100) Si layer of silicon on insulator (SOI) substrate. Subsequently, the thin nickel films (/spl sim/50 nm) evaporated on SiNWs and the nickel monosilicide was formed by solid-state reaction between nickel and silicon under a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in N/sub 2/ ambient for 1 min. Then, the electrical properties of the SiNWs and NSNWs have also been examined and compared.


The System for coronagraphy with High Order adaptive optics in Z and H band (SHARK-NIR), is a high contrast imager with coronagraphic and spectroscopic capabilities, which will be mounted at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). It will observe in the near infrared, between 0.96 and 1.7 microns. Its main scientific goal is the direct imaging of exo-planets, their detection and characterization, taking advantage of the extreme adaptive optics offered by LBT. In this paper we describe the implementation of SHINS, the SHARK-NIR instrument control software. We chose to use frameworks and components already developed and tested on other instruments at LBT, such as LINC-NIRVANA and ARGOS; this allowed us to minimize the development while employing software already considered robust. This approach required some effort in order to integrate eterogenous systems, as the motion control and the scientific detector subsystems, in a single control system. Indeed, SHINS is based on the extensive use of TwiceAsNice framework from MPIA in Heidelberg; we explain how we employed it in the implementation of components responsible for controlling the motion functions, as well as how we adapted some TwiceAsNice libraries realized for other instruments at LBT, to implement subsystems not related to motion functions. On the other hand, the scientific camera is controlled using INDI, a protocol developed and used at LBT. We tied TwiceAsNice framework and INDI employing ZeroC-ICE framework, used to implement the central component of the instrument control software. In the paper we also describe the implementation of the sequencer component responsible for receiving from the LBT observation preparation tool information on the observation block to be executed, and translating them into a list of operations to be communicated to the central component of the instrument control software. We describe also the implementation with Qt language of graphical user interfaces, at present employed during integration of the instrument in Padova.


OBJECTIVES
To conduct a comprehensive literature review on the state of population aging, healthcare financing, and provision in India.

METHODS
To obtain relevant records in the Indian context, multiple publications were searched from databases such as Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Medline/PubMed, JSTOR, and Google Scholar using the following keywords: 'Population Ageing,' 'Population Aging,' 'Health System,' 'Demographic Dividend,' 'Non-communicable Diseases,' 'Double Burden of Diseases,' 'Health Spending,' 'Sustainable Health Financing,' and 'Health Coverage.' Data on different health indices were collected from different websites of the government of India and international organizations (e.g., World Bank, UN, WHO, and Statista).

RESULTS
As people live longer, India faces a double burden of disease, with the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) amidst the presence of widespread communicable diseases. The combined problem of the double burden of diseases and population aging poses a severe sustainability challenge for its healthcare financing and the entire health system. Healthcare financing based on progressive taxation and large-scale prepayment coverage is an effective solution for sustaining the health system. However, due to the prevalence of indirect taxes, India's tax system is regressive. Hence, community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes can be a feasible solution to cover the large mass of poor working in the informal sector.

CONCLUSIONS
India needs to address the alterations in its healthcare needs and demands brought on by the advancing demographic shift. To achieve so, the country's healthcare system must be reformed to accommodate strong national policies focusing on universal access to critical care especially geriatric and palliative care.


Abstract To select a suitable formulation for the development of transdermal drug-delivery system of diltiazem hydrochloride. Transdermal patches of the drug, employing different ratios of polymers, ethylcellulose (EC), and povidone (PVP) were developed and evaluated for the potential drug delivery using depilated freshly excised abdominal mouse skin. The influence of different film compositions on in vitro drug permeation into receptor fluid were studied using a modified Franz diffusion cell. The cumulative amount of drug was found to be proportional to the square root of time, i.e., Higuchi kinetics. From this study, it was concluded that the films composed of povidone:ethylcellulose (1:2) should be selected for the development of transdermal drug-delivery system of diltiazem hydrochloride, using a suitable adhesive layer and backing membrane, for potential therapeutic use.


BACKGROUND
HIV-infected women are at increased risk for cervical cancer; thus, adherence with Papanicolaou (Pap) testing is of particular importance. The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for inadequate Pap testing in a diverse cohort of HIV-infected women at a large urban safety net HIV clinic.

METHODS
This retrospective cohort study assessed HIV-infected women aged 18?60 years in care between October 1, 2003, and March 31, 2008, for risk factors for inadequate Pap testing. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) with confidence intervals (CI) and multivariate analyses with generalized estimating equations for correlated data were calculated.

RESULTS
Of 549 women, 293 (53.4%) had a Pap test during each follow-up period. Women who were older, white or Hispanic race/ethnicity, U.S. born, unemployed, drug users, and those with advanced HIV had increased odds of no Pap testing in unadjusted analyses. In multivariate analyses, U.S.-born women who were white or unemployed or had a baseline CD4 count <200 cells/mm(3) had increased odds of no Pap testing (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.1; OR 2.3, CI 1.0-5.0; OR 1.7, CI 1.0-2.9, respectively). For non-U.S.-born women, age ?50 years (OR 3.9, CI 1.7-9.0), non-English-speaking status (OR 1.6, CI 1.0-2.4), and drug use (OR 5.8, CI 2.5-13.9) were associated with no Pap testing.

CONCLUSIONS
U.S.-born status and low CD4 count were associated with increased odds of inadequate Pap testing. Further study is needed to identify interventions to improve Pap testing adherence in this high-risk group.


Bolognese sculptor Properzia de' Rossi (c. 1490–1530) is distinguished as the only female artist to be afforded extended analysis in Giorgio Vasari's first edition of the Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects (1550). Scholars have focused largely on the way in which Properzia's description aligns with derogatory assumptions about female nature in early modern Italy. While this is a defining characteristic of Properzia's vita, my paper explores alternative and potentially positive aspects of the text, by considering Vasari's attempts to integrate Properzia into the broader enterprise of the Lives and, more generally, art historical discourse of the time. I will argue that Vasari's approach invites a polemical response connected to these wider issues by setting up a paradoxical relationship between Properzia's archetypal female body and the manual movement required of it to sculpt. In contrasting notions of the feminine and the masculine, the noble body and the ignoble body, the intellectual and the manual, Properzia's vita can be connected specifically to the paragone (comparison) between painting and sculpture and also to questions relating to the status of the artist. In such a way the female artist is seen to take on an emblematic and instructive role within the text.


Metasurface (MTS) antennas present an equivalent modulated reactance tensor in the aperture plane, which is designed to gradually radiate a surface-wave (SW). The modulation results in the (-1) indexed Floquet mode entering the visible region, thus becoming a leaky-wave (LW) mode with curvilinear phase-contour. In this paper, we explore the use of metallic MTSs to synthesize the reactance tensor required to obtain an objective radiation pattern, with a given shape and polarization. The proposed structure is particularly well suited to fabrication by metal additive manufacturing. We have designed several metallic MTS antennas, verifying their performance by full-wave simulations. We have also fabricated a prototype, and the measurements have validated the simulation results.


Until recently, T cells were thought to remain in circulation until recruitment of the inflammation and only a small number of T cells remained in the peripheral tissues without inflammation. However, studies have found that a group of T cells settled in the tissues and remained there for a long time. Those cells are named as tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM). TRM cells are transcriptionally, phenotypically, and functionally distinct from other T cells, which recirculate between blood, secondary lymphoid organs, and non-lymphoid tissues. They undergo a distinct proliferation that discriminates them from circulating T cells and their main cell surface markers are CD69, CD103, and CD49a. Upon exposure to the same or similar diseases, TRM cells provide a first line of adaptive cellular defense against infection in peripheral non-lymphoid tissues, such as skin, lungs, digestive, and urogenital tracts. This approach forms the basis of a novel vaccination strategy called "prime and pull", which ensures long-term local immunity. On the other hand, abnormal activated and malignant TRM may contribute to numerous human inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and vitiligo. Here in this chapter, we aimed to emphasize TRM cell location, migration, phenotypic structure, maintenance, and diseases associated with TRM cells.


The Web and the rapidly increasing availability of sophisticated media have dramatically enhanced the potential of computers as interactive tools that support a large variety of users in a growing range of tasks. However, designing complex interactive systems that satisfy the needs of individual users from highly heterogeneous user groups is very difficult. This talk focuses on research that aims to overcome this difficulty by investigating how to devise interactive systems that can autonomously, dynamically and unobtrusively adapt to the specific needs of each individual user, namely research in User- Adaptive Interaction (UAI). UAI is a highly interdisciplinary field at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Cognitive Science. I will present some examples of UAI researcher that we are conducting in our laboratory, including how to devise User-Adaptive Visualizations, how to provide personalized support to learning from novel educational systems (e.g., interactive simulations and educational games), and how model relevant user properties in real time by leveraging advanced input sources such as eye-tracking.


In the nuclear power plant, the off gas linear monitor had been installed for the purpose of a detection of fuel leakage. However, its sensitivity to detect the early stage of fuel leakage was not enough, because it measured only the gross gamma-ray. So a high sensitive off gas monitor has been desired. HITACHI, Ltd., is commercialized the Off-Gas Nuclide Analysis System which can be accurately detected radioactive noble gases as a index to fuel leakage, and delivered it in 19 plants since 2002. It has been continuously working well and able to detect the early stage of fuel leakage 7 times. It can be detected the minute fuel leakage, so it is possible to operate the plant till next periodic check of the plant by executing PST*. And even if it is the case in which the plant must be stopped, the extent of pollution by fuel failure can be minimized.Main features of the Off-Gas Nuclide Analysis System are followings: (1) Maintenance-free continuous measurement is enabled by adopting electricity cooling system for a Ge detector. By attempting the miniaturization of the system, a compact field implementation plan is realized and also a periodic check can be simplified. (2) Thickness of a Ge detector is optimized to detect Xe-133 (80keV) as a main index nuclide to fuel leakage, so detection sensitivity is improved. (3) By adopting the mass flow control system wcich can control the flow stably in low, it is possible to reduce a volume and length of a decay tube for 13N which is the main interference nuclide, then a installation of the system is able to be simplified. (4) Moving average method which is effective to reduce noise is applied to a trend display of nuclides measured value, and it can be set at optimum time for the PST execution by flexibly setting a moving average time.*PST: Power Supression TestCopyright © 2013 by ASME


We report results on the synthesis of silicon nanostructures that were fabricated using a combination of interference lithography and catalytic etching. With this technique, we were able to create nanostructures that are perfectly periodic over very large areas (1 cm(2) or more), where the cross-sectional shapes and the array ordering can be varied. Furthermore this technique can readily and independently control the sizes and spacings of the nanostructures down to spacings of 200 nm or less. These characteristics cannot be achieved using other known techniques.


In this paper with the aid of genetic algorithm and fuzzy theory, we present a hybrid job scheduling approach, which considers the load balancing of the system and reduces total execution time and execution cost. We try to modify the standard Genetic algorithm and to reduce the iteration of creating population with the aid of fuzzy theory. The main goal of this research is to assign the jobs to the resources with considering the VM MIPS and length of jobs. The new algorithm assigns the jobs to the resources with considering the job length and resources capacities. We evaluate the performance of our approach with some famous cloud scheduling models. The results of the experiments show the efficiency of the proposed approach in term of execution time, execution cost and average Degree of Imbalance (DI).


Knowledge discovery in large and complex datasets is one main topic addressed by ``Data Science'' and is also a topic of first interest in ``Science of Knowledge'' (or Artificial Intelligence). Indeed data and knowledge are interacting: knowledge discovery is applied to datasets and has a direct impact on the design of knowledge bases (or ontologies). Accordingly, it could be interesting to have at hand a generic formalism supporting knowledge discovery and, as well, knowledge processing (knowledge representation and reasoning).
In this presentation, we introduce some elements of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA), a mathematical formalism for data and knowledge processing. FCA starts with a binary table composed of objects and attributes and outputs a concept lattice. In a concept lattice, each concept is made of an intent (i.e. the description of the concept in terms of attributes) and an extent (i.e. the objects instances of the concept). Intents and extents are two dual facets of a concept that naturally apply in knowledge representation. Moreover, in some cases, the structure of a concept lattice can be visualized and allows a suggestive interpretation for human agents while being also processable by software agents.
There are two main extensions of FCA, Relational Concept Analysis (RCA) for dealing with relational data and Pattern Structures (PS) for dealing with complex data (numbers, sequences, trees, graphs). We will discuss the capabilities of FCA and its extensions in knowledge discovery and knowledge engineering through various applications, including text mining, information retrieval, biclustering, recommendation, definition mining and discovery of functional dependencies.


This study provides a review and mapping of the academic literature of journalists' coverage of the ISIS militant group attack on the Yazidi community in 2014 and the Yazidi women survivors. It explicitly discusses the ethicality of a video broadcasted by Al-Iraqiya news of a Yazidi woman confronting her kidnapper and sexual abuser. The paper analyzes the video through both a visual ethical analysis, where the video is analyzed frame by frame, and an ethical analysis with respect to previous ethical approaches. The study concludes that the broadcast of the confrontation was unethical as it discounted both the code of ethics and the ethical duties and values of a journalist. Overall, the paper believes that the Yazidi women's media coverage was unethical, subjective, and disrespectful, and undermining towards the Yazidi survivors.


ABSTRACT Mycterus youngi Pollock, new species, is described (type locality: Griffith State Nursery, Wood County, Wisconsin) based on three male and six female specimens. This species appears closely related to Mycterus marmoratus Pollock (Highlands County, Florida), but differs in details of elytral vestiture and pronotal shape. A revised partial key to the North American species of Mycterus Clairville is provided, supplemented with images of habitus and anatomical features of the new species and M. marmoratus.


Between Communism and Globalization: The Crisis of Culture's Critical Conscience (Ukraine and Belarus')

The fall of the Berlin Wall did not bring about . as people hoped . a rapid shift to democracy in Eastern European countries. The changeover from a .closed society. to an .open society. has proved to be much tougher than expected, fraught as it is with uncertainty and social unrest. First and foremost, the necessary straightforward coming to terms with the totalitarian past has not taken place. As a result, the gap between development in the West and the East has grown wider. Moreover, The West has been confronted with a most fragmented East ranging from Central Eastern Europe to Russia and the Balcans. Obviously, specific cultural traits underlie so many different tacks on the road to democracy. In going deeper into the phenomenon, two basic factors stand out: the political factor proper and the cultural factor at large. In point of fact, the road to democracy is particularly tough when it comes to the countries of Eastern Christianity, heirs to Byzanthium.s cultural heritage. In this area the tradition of a top-down structure is still very much alive, hampering on one side the building up of a civil society worth the name, and, on the other side, harbouring a new harvest of mafia-oriented economic ventures. As a matter of fact, politologists are actually talking of neototalitarianism on the political level, and neocolonization on the cultural level. The .Unfinished Revolution. has not led to a fruitful encounter between East and West, but rather to basic lack of communication, if not downright clash. The .Byzantine Slavic Triangle. (Russia, Belarus. and Ukraine) is quite pecular, with centrifugal and centripetal forces at work all at once. To start with, Russia is busy working on the building of a neo-imperialistic identity of its own, Eurasia. In its attempt, Russia is basically alien to those very principles that lie at the foundation of a European-style democracy. In Belarus. and Ukraine, instead, you can witness to different responses to the basic problem of coping with the totalitarian heritage. Thus, these two border-countries are quite enlightening in their respective endeavour. In particular, the degree of russification and/or sovietization is proving crucial, and this very basic fact can be traced back to underlying cultural factors still extant in the fabric of each of the two countries. In fact, Belarus., still very much imbued with neo-totalitarian traits, seems much more inclined to go in for the .Russian Choice., in spite of the strenuous resistence of its intelligentsia. Ukraine, instead, historically the very bridge between a Byzantine East and a humanistic West is still struggling at a crossroads. Ukrainian civilization, with its polimorphic culture (a tangle of more churches and more languages), has been able in the course of centuries to develop its typical culture of dialogue. That.s why the Ukrainian .republican tradition. enables the country to better counter the process of homogenization (once imperial and later sovietic) now under way and consequently stands a better chance to take the road to democracy. A staunchly pro-European opposition is doing everything in its power to stem the totalitarian trend. And there are still independent media which manage to make themselves heard. In other words, in Ukraine an alternative to the power in office is still possible. To conclude, Ukraine is indeed the last laboratory available in the construction of democracy in the Slavic-orthodox post communist universe. Whether Ukraine can manage or not to go the democratic way is crucial to the very set-up of tomorrow.s enlarged Europe as a whole. Politically it could develop into Europe.s easternmost frontier, and, culturally, it could contribute with its diversified lore to the very wealth of a most authentic Europe.


Gaussian cosmic microwave background skies are fully specified by the power spectrum. The conventional method of characterizing non-Gaussian skies is to evaluate higher order moments, the n-point functions and their Fourier transforms. We argue that this method is inefficient, due to the redundancy of information existing in the complete set of moments. In this paper we propose a set of new statistics or non-Gaussian spectra to be extracted out of the angular distribution of the Fourier transform of the temperature anisotropies in the small field limit. These statistics complement the power spectrum and act as localization, shape, and connectedness statistics. They quantify generic non-Gaussian structure, and may be used in more general image processing tasks. We concentrate on a subset of these statistics and argue that while they carry no information in Gaussian theories they may be the best arena for making predictions in some non-Gaussian theories. As examples of applications we consider superposed Gaussian and non-Gaussian signals, such as point sources in Gaussian theories or the realistic Kaiser-Stebbins effect. We show that in these theories non-Gaussianity is only present in a ring in Fourier space, which is best isolated in our formalism. Subtle but strongly non-Gaussian theories are also written down for which only non-Gaussian spectra may accuse non-Gaussianity.


Abstract Chaudhuri, K., Banerjee, R., Pandit, B., Mukherjee, A., Das, S., Sengupta, S., Roychoudury, S. and Bhattacharyya, N. P. Identification of Two Differentially Expressed Mitochondrial Genes in a Methotrexate-Resistant Chinese Hamster Cell Strain Derived from V79 Cells Using RNA Fingerprinting by Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction. Radiat. Res. 160, 77–85 (2003). To identify genes that are differentially expressed in a methotrexate (MTX)-resistant cell strain designated as M5 that exhibits resistance to γ radiation and a number of chemotherapeutic drugs compared to the parental Chinese hamster V79 cells, we used RNA fingerprinting by arbitrary primed polymerase chain reaction (RAP-PCR). By comparative analysis, we identified six differentially expressed transcripts that were cloned and sequenced. Two of these partial cDNA clones showed high homology to the mitochondrial genes NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 and subunit 4. The steady-state mRNA level of both the NADH dehydrogenase subunits was about twofold higher in the M5 cell strain compared to V79 cells. Moreover, the expression of both the subunits decreased in γ-irradiated Chinese hamster V79 cells. Cytochrome oxidase, another enzyme of the mitochondrial electron transport chain encoded in the mitochondrial genome, was also found to be overexpressed in M5 cells. All three genes are under the control of the same promoter. However, no amplification of DNA was observed. These data indicate that the alterations in mitochondrial gene expression may be involved in the recovery of irradiated cells, which may arise from transcriptional modulation of the mitochondria from the nucleus.


Abstract Oysters are keystone species that use external fertilization as a sexual mode. The gametes are planktonic and face a wide range of stressors, including plastic litter. Nanoplastics are of increasing concern because their size allows pronounced interactions with biological membranes, making them a potential hazard to marine life. In the present study, oyster spermatozoa were exposed for 1 h to various doses (from 0.1 to 25 µg mL−1) of 50-nm polystyrene beads with amine (50-NH2 beads) or carboxyl (50-COOH beads) functions. Microscopy revealed adhesion of particles to the spermatozoa membranes, but no translocation of either particle type into cells. Nevertheless, the 50-NH2 beads at 10 µg mL−1 induced a high spermiotoxicity, characterized by a decrease in the percentage of motile spermatozoa (−79%) and in the velocity (−62%) compared to control spermatozoa, with an overall drop in embryogenesis success (−59%). This major reproduction failure could be linked to a homeostasis disruption in exposed spermatozoa. The 50-COOH beads hampered spermatozoa motility only when administered at 25 µg mL−1 and caused a decrease in the percentage of motile spermatozoa (−66%) and in the velocity (−38%), but did not affect embryogenesis success. Microscopy analyses indicated these effects were probably due to physical blockages by microscale aggregates formed by the 50-COOH beads in seawater. This toxicological study emphasizes that oyster spermatozoa are a useful and sensitive model for (i) deciphering the fine interactions underpinning nanoplastic toxicity and (ii) evaluating adverse effects of plastic nanoparticles on marine biota while waiting for their concentration to be known in the environment.


This monograph relates the important history of the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft project at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. Spurred by a number of airplane crashes caused by the loss of hydraulic flight controls, a NASA-industry team lead by Frank W. Burcham and C. Gordon Fullerton developed a way to land an aircraft safely using only engine thrust to control the airplane. In spite of initial skepticism, the team discovered that, by manually manipulating an airplane's thrust, there was adequate control for extended up-and-away flight. However, there was not adequate control precision for safe runway landings because of the small control forces, slow response, and difficulty in damping the airplane phugoid and Dutch roll oscillations. The team therefore conceived, developed, and tested the first computerized Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) system. The PCA system takes pilot commands, uses feedback from airplane measurements, and computes commands for the thrust of each engine, yielding much more precise control. Pitch rate and velocity feedback damp the phugoid oscillation, while yaw rate feedback damps the Dutch roll motion. The team tested the PCA system in simulators and conducted flight research in F-15 and MD-11 airplanes. Later, they developed less sophisticated variants of PCA called PCA Lite and PCA Ultralite to make the system cheaper and therefore more attractive to industry. This monograph tells the PCA story in a non- technical way with emphasis on the human aspects of the engineering and flic,ht-research effort. It thereby supplements the extensive technical literature on PCA and makes the development of this technology accessible to a wide audience.


Over the last decade, free electron beams have been extensively used for characterization of nanostructures, particularly the study of plasmonic excitations using cathodo-luminescence and energy loss spectroscopy. A number of novel light sources based on electron-beam driven nano-antennas, -undulators and -gratings have also been demonstrated. In this thesis I report on new approaches for controlling emission of light generated by electron beams interacting with nanostructured metasurfaces. In particular, I have developed the first holographic free-electron-driven light source in which emission induced by electrons injected into planar holographic pattern is controlled by the patterns design. On the platform of a conventional scanning electron microscope, using plasmonic, semiconductor and dielectric surface-relief holographic metasurface, for the first time I have experimentally demonstrated: *  Holographic patterns designed to generate highly-collimated radiation at a given wavelength in a prescribed direction. For example, a surface relief hologram only a few tens of square microns in size milled into a plasmonic gold film and driven by 30 keV electrons emits a light beam at 800 nm with divergence of only 2.5o with an efficiency ~10-7 photons/electron. Continuous output beam steering over ±10o in polar and azimuthal directions via nanoscale positional tuning of electron injection point has also been demonstrated. *  Holographic patterns designed to create a source of radiation with purposely structured complex wavefronts. I have demonstrated plasmonic patterns that upon electron excitation emit light beams with prescribed topological charge, up to 30. *  A direction-division multiplexed holographic free-electron-driven light source. The source comprises a microscopic array of plasmonic surface-relief holographic domains, each tailored to direct electron-induced light emission at a selected wavelength into a collimated beam in a prescribed direction. Emission direction is switched by µm-scale repositioning of the electron injection point among domains. I show that cross-talk between adjacent and overlapping domains can be as low as -3 dB at a only 2 µm injection point separation, thereby allowing for small arrays (typically ~40 µm across) and rapid switching of the emission direction. I also conducted computational studies of free-electron driven Smith-Purcell emission from composite gratings containing multiple slits per period, showing that the relative efficiency of resonant modes can be attenuated or enhanced with the addition and removal of narrow slits. In summary, the nanoscale electron-driven light sources developed in this work offer an unprecedented level of control over the spectral characteristics, divergence, directionality and topological charge of emitted light. They may find application in lab-on-a-chip and sensor technologies, field-emission and surface-conduction electron emission display technologies, optical signal multiplexing, and charged-particle-beam position metrology.


This essay constitutes an unorthodox response to Ranjan Ghosh and J. Hillis Miller's Thinking Literature Across Continents: instead of attempting to conventionally engage with a text that challenges the idea of any unitary totality as a whole, I opt instead to dwell on the interplay between language and silence in three different sites of inquiry within the text: the first concerns the question of hunger, for which I take as my starting point Ghosh's own starting point in the first chapter of the book, namely Rabidranath Tagore's reflections on a brief episode on the river Ganges. I excavate the transcontinental provenance of these reflections for western, particularly Kantian, aesthetics before I focus on two aspects within the episode that such a framing misses or remains silent about: the paradoxical tendency of material satiation to demote the importance of hunger (as paradigmatically exposed in Brecht); and the indeterminacy of the kind of hunger that is involved in the boatman's response within Tagore's text (as evidenced by prehistoric cave paintings). Finally, I demonstrate the importance of taking these complications into account when reading Ghosh's own extensive interest in foregrounding hunger within the literary phenomenon and its hermeneutic reception. In the second part of the essay, I dwell on Ghosh's critique of prevailing notions of "world literature" in the fifth chapter of the book by demonstrating the ontological (Heideggerian) rather than empirical meaning of world in his writing, and, by extension, the subtractive and absence-centered meaning of what he calls the "more than global." Finally, I turn to J. Hillis Miller's reading of Wallace Stevens's "The Motive for Metaphor" in the fourth chapter as an exemplary site for the exploration of the interface between poetics, hermeneutics and ontology that is central to Ghosh's theory of the literary, and thus serves to highlight, in Miller's very engagement with the failure of language as an issue of concern in the poem, the possibility of dialogue between the two critics: indeed, as I show, Stevens's figure of the "X" serves both as a signifier of the ineffable and as one for criss-crossing, for the "across" involved in "thinking literature across" authors, continents and traditions.


Accurate and robust medical image segmentation is fundamental and crucial for enhancing the autonomy of computer-aided diagnosis and intervention systems. Medical data collection normally involves different scanners, protocols, and populations, making domain adaptation (DA) a highly demanding research field to alleviate model degradation in the deployment site. To preserve the model performance across multiple testing domains, this work proposes the Curriculum-based Augmented Fourier Domain Adaptation (Curri-AFDA) for robust medical image segmentation. In particular, our curriculum learning strategy is based on the causal relationship of a model under different levels of data shift in the deployment phase, where the higher the shift is, the harder to recognize the variance. Considering this, we progressively introduce more amplitude information from the target domain to the source domain in the frequency space during the curriculum-style training to smoothly schedule the semantic knowledge transfer in an easier-to-harder manner. Besides, we incorporate the training-time chained augmentation mixing to help expand the data distributions while preserving the domain-invariant semantics, which is beneficial for the acquired model to be more robust and generalize better to unseen domains. Extensive experiments on two segmentation tasks of Retina and Nuclei collected from multiple sites and scanners suggest that our proposed method yields superior adaptation and generalization performance. Meanwhile, our approach proves to be more robust under various corruption types and increasing severity levels. In addition, we show our method is also beneficial in the domain-adaptive classification task with skin lesion datasets. The code is available at https://github.com/lofrienger/Curri-AFDA.


Error detection and correction [EDC] is normally considered an advanced topic, and therefore it is not usually covered in an introductory digital electronic book, with an exception of Mano and Kime. This lack of discussion is unfortunate, because not only is error detection and correction an increasingly important topic in digital design, but it is fairly easily injected into digital logic courses. A spreadsheet "template" based methodology is proposed, which will assist the students to visualize the error detection and correction. An additional benefit to this methodology is that the templates utilized are analogous to the familiar digital design methodologies such as Karnaugh maps and Quine-McCluskey methods.


Abstract The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to examine the influence of situational variables on ball possession in elite soccer and (2) to quantify the variables that discriminate between high or low percentage ball possession teams (HPBPT and LPBPT) across different playing positions. Match performance data were collected from English Premier League matches using a multiple-camera system. Data were examined using linear regression, a 2 × 5 factorial analysis of variance and discriminant analysis. Playing against weak opposition was associated with an increase (P < 0.01) in time spent in possession while playing away decreased (P < 0.01) the time spent in possession by ~3%. Possession was increased (P < 0.01) when losing than winning or drawing. Finally, the better the ranking of a team, the higher (P < 0.01) the time spent in possession. The playing position effect was significant for all variables (P < 0.05); however, there were only interactions with team ball possession in some cases. The discriminant analysis identified functions for all five playing positions (P < 0.01). The variables that discriminated performance between HPBPT and LPBPT were different for various playing positions, although the number of successful passes was the most common discriminating variable. The results demonstrate that HPBPT and LPBPT developed different possession strategies during matches and that selected variables such as successful passes were identified to explain these data trends across various playing positions. Combinations of variables could be used to develop a probabilistic model for predicting time spent in possession by teams.


This chapter was originally published in the book Sustainable Economic Development, published by Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the author's benefit and for the benefit of the author's institution, for non-commercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues who know you, and providing a copy to your institution's administrator.


The matter gravity system is examined in a path integral approach for the case of matter (scalar fields) coupled to a Friedmann-Robertson-Walker spacetime. In the semiclassical approximation for both matter and gravity, consideration of corrections to the lowest order stationary phase approximation are found to lead to a relation between fluctuations in the matter and gravity system.


this paper proposes that diplomatic protection currently plays a prominent role in the establishment of state responsibility derived from disputes involving foreign investors. following a general introduction on the practical relevance of scholarly works on diplomatic protection in the field of international investment law, this article studies, firstly (i), the legal framework of diplomatic protection in the case law of international courts (a) and the rules provided to that effect by public international law (B). on that basis, the article, secondly (ii), seeks to illustrate the legal challenges posed by diplomatic protection in a context where the subject is mostly regulated by international investment agreements. for that purpose, on the one hand, the solutions provided by the iias signed and ratified by colombia are studied (a). on the other hand, practical consequences of such normative regulations are inferred upon in relation with international investment disputes (B). finally the article presents conclusions on the topic through a brief remark on the attitude that, in relation to diplomatic protection, states should assume when an international investment dispute emerges.


Background and importance Polypharmacy is defined as taking more drugs than are clinically necessary and is associated with an increased risk of adverse effects, interactions, less adherence to treatment, more hospitalisations and increased costs. Hence treatment review is important, which allows for a better benefit–risk ratio in the use of medications. Aim and objectives To analyse the modifications that have been made to polymedicated patients' treatment after review. Material and methods A cross sectional study was conducted in polymedicated patients (15 or more active prescriptions) selected in a health management area during December 2019. Reviews were carried out by primary care physicians who were previously sent lists with the identifying data of the assigned patients. The pharmacy service held sessions on the strategy to perform to carry out these reviews. Demographic data, associated pathologies and treatment modifications were collected. Deceased patients were excluded. Results 626 patients were selected in the cross sectional study, 72.5% (454 patients) were reviewed and of these, 22 patients were excluded due to death. 38.4% (166) were men and 61.6% were women (266) with a mean age of 75 years. 55.1% were 75 years or older. Regarding associated pathologies, 91.4% had heart disease, 63.0% diabetes mellitus, 63.9% dyslipidaemia, 45.6% respiratory disease (asthma/COPD), 30.1% chronic kidney failure, 25.7% atrial fibrillation, 43.3% had a mental health episode and 10.6% were oncological. Regarding the number of active prescriptions, 371 patients (85.9%) had 15–19 prescriptions, 56 patients (13.0%) had 20–24, and 5 patients (1.2%) had more than 25 prescriptions. Modifications were made in 30.1% of patients: a drug was withdrawn in 87 (20.1%) patients because it was unnecessary, in 3 patients (0.7%) due to adverse effects, in 8 patients (1.9%) due to therapeutic duplication and in 6 (1.4%) due to drug interactions. 20 (4.6%) patients experienced a change in drug dose, 3 (0.7%) patients had the drug changed and 3 (0.7%) had a new drug added. Conclusion and relevance Despite the low number of modifications made, review of polymedicated patients may be useful in our health management area. Most patients treated with more than 15 drugs are over 75 years of age with multiple pathologies, so reduction of prescriptions may help patient safety and improve adherence, which in turn may increase the efficiency of the sanitary system.


Purpose of Study Up to 35% of asthmatic children have degrees of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) which may be perceived as uncontrolled asthma. Asthma diagnosis, classification and assessment of control are defined by the National Asthma Education Prevention Program (NAEPP) 2007 guidelines and include nighttime awakenings as one asthma impairment category. Unclear whether this stems from asthma or SDB. The Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is validated to identify SDB in children; however associations with specific levels of NAEPP guideline's asthma related impairment have not been evaluated. We hypothesize that asthmatic children with impairment only in NAEPP nighttime awakenings, but not other categories, will have a positive PSQ score (>0.33), suggesting screening for SDB. Methods Used We performed a retrospective chart review of children (age 1–21 yrs) referred to a pediatric pulmonary clinic. Data collected included age, gender, BMI%, spirometry, PSQ, asthma control (TRACK <5 yrs, ACT ≥5 yrs), and NAEPP asthma severity, control and impairment. Significant PSQ scoring is >0.33 based on previous validation. Spirometry was performed in children ≥5 yrs. Statistical analysis performed with SPSS 22. Summary of Results 76 inner-city children were included in this study; 38% female, mean age 6.9 y, and mean BMI% 69%. Significant PSQ scoring (>0.33 vs ≤0.33) was associated with night time awakenings (OR 11.4 [95% CI:3.7–35.2]) and decreased asthma control seen in TRACK (p<0.003) and ACT questionnaires (p<0.001). Overweight/obese status (BMI% ≥85), spirometry, asthma severity, activity interference and daytime symptoms were not associated with a significant PSQ score. Conclusions In asthmatic children, impairment in night time awakenings as defined by NAEPP guidelines was associated with a significant PSQ score, and poor asthma control, based on abnormal TRACK and ACT scores, however other NAEPP categories of impairment; daytime symptoms, activity interference, asthma severity and control, were not. This suggests that screening SDB with the PSQ in children with night time awakenings based on NAEPP criteria may detect underlying SDB. This may lead to further investigations, treatment and subsequent improvement in asthma symptoms. A prospective analysis in a larger cohort is recommended to validate these findings.


Our bodies as instruments include systems which co-regulate, as integrative mechanisms. The cardiac and respiratory systems are inter-dependent, and with music, one of these systems can directly have an impact upon the other. The wind of the body integrates how direct oxygen can maintain our blood flow. Particularly in the playing of live music, such activity coordinates, synchronizes and ultimately influences how we think and feel. Neurologic systems are meant to integrate and music can make such amalgamation stronger-leading toward increased capacity for experiences of functional flow. The IAMM (International Association for Music and Medicine) emblem reflects the integrative mission, and the words "I am" works well and implies a useful reminder for us to think about how music and medicine is inclusive of sounds and systems that we are venturing to know better. Specifically, amongst our unified vision, which began in 2008, was the idea that integration of our research and practice not only makes us more deeply and broadly informed, but additionally can enhance the scope of practice for practitioners and clinicians.


The relation of disease of the hypophysis cerebri to certain forms of gigantism and acromegaly has been long known and widely confirmed clinically. We have only begun to realize the wide variety and numerous combinations of symptoms attributable to pathologic conditions of this little body. Its function is still more or less a mystery, and our idea of its histologic structure has only recently been thoroughly defined. Theories of the effect of its internal secretion on general metabolism have been widely divergent. Clinical observations when correlated with pathologic findings have often seemed to lead to contradictory conclusions. The era of experimentally produced and scientifically controlled lesions has just begun. With the accumulation of data from this source and from the sharpened clinical observations, we may expect soon to have an immense light thrown on this most mysterious of all the mysterious ductless glands. With the hope of adding


Northeast Pacific benthic foraminiferal δ18O and δ13 reveal repeated millennial-scale events of strong deep-sea ventilation (associated with nutrient depletion and/or high gas exchange) during stadial (cool, high ice volume) episodes from 10 to 60 ka, opposite the pattern in the deep North Atlantic. Two climate mechanisms may explain this pattern. North Pacific surface waters, chilled by atmospheric transmission from a cold North Atlantic and made saltier by reduced freshwater vapor transports, could have ventilated the deep Pacific from above. Alternatively, faster turnover of Pacific bottom and mid-depth waters, driven by Southern Ocean winds, may have compensated for suppressed North Atlantic Deep Water production during stadial intervals. During the Younger Dryas event (∼11.6–13.0 cal ka), ventilation of the deep NE Pacific (∼2700 m) lagged that in the Santa Barbara Basin (∼450 m) by >500 years, suggesting that the NE Pacific was first ventilated at intermediate depth from above and then at greater depth from below. This apparent lag may reflect the adjustment time of global thermohaline circulation.


Protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP1B) has been implicated in the negative regulation of insulin and leptin signaling. PTP1B knockout mice are hypersensitive to insulin and leptin and resistant to obesity when fed a high-fat diet. We investigated the role of hypothalamic PTP1B in the regulation of food intake, insulin and leptin actions and signaling in rats through selective decreases in PTP1B expression in discrete hypothalamic nuclei. We generated a selective, transient reduction in PTP1B by infusion of an antisense oligonucleotide designed to blunt the expression of PTP1B in rat hypothalamic areas surrounding the third ventricle in control and obese rats. The selective decrease in hypothalamic PTP1B resulted in decreased food intake, reduced body weight, reduced adiposity after high-fat feeding, improved leptin and insulin action and signaling in hypothalamus, and may also have a role in the improvement in glucose metabolism in diabetes-induced obese rats.


Many environmental contaminants are hazardous to populations of wild birds. Chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides and industrial pollutants are thought to be responsible for population declines of several species of predatory birds through eggshell thinning. Studies have demonstrated that these contaminants have estrogenic potency and may affect the functioning of the gonadal and thyroidal endocrine subsystems. Petroleum crude oil exerts toxicity externally, by oiling of plumage, and internally, by way of ingestion of oil while feeding or preening. Extensive ultrastructural damage to the inner zone of the adrenal, diminished adrenal responsiveness to adrenocorticotrophic hormone, and reduced corticosterone secretion rate suggest that low levels of plasma corticosterone reflect a direct effect of petroleum on the adrenal gland. Suppressive effects of oil on the ovary and decreases in circulating prolactin have been associated with impaired reproductive function. Large-scale field studies of free-living seabirds have confirmed some of the inhibitory effects of oil on reproduction that have been observed in laboratory studies. Organophosphorus insecticides, representing the most widely used class of pesticides in North America, have been shown to impair reproductive function, possibly by altering secretion of luteinizing hormone and progesterone. Relevant areas of future research on the effects of contaminants on avian endocrine function are discussed.


The synthesis and structures of new 16-electron disilene palladium complexes with 2,6-dimethylphenyl isocyanide and phenyldimethylphosphine ligands [L(1)L(2)Pd{(t-BuMe(2)Si)(2)Si=Si(SiMe(2)Bu-t)(2)}, where L(1) = L(2) = PhMe(2)P; L(1) = (cyclohexyl)(3)P, L(2) = 2,6-dimethylphenyl isocyanide; L(1) = L(2) = 2,6-dimethylphenyl isocyanide] are described. Comparison of the X-ray structural parameters around the disilene moiety among these complexes and related bis(trimethylphosphine)(disilene)palladium and 14-electron (tricyclohexylphosphine)(disilene)palladium revealed that the pi-complex character is sensitive to the residual ligands and increases with decreasing the strength of sigma-donation from the ligands.


This text presents a compact historical survey of musical borrowing and sound appropriation from medieval chant through the latest digital experiments outside popular music involving extensive use of sampling. It then describes two artistic research projects consisting of a series of pieces that digitally reimagine selected works from the classical music repertoire, including thoughts about the contemporary relevance of giving new life to classical music through the perspective of new media.


Background - Very little is known about driving training techniques for post-stroke clients and there is a need to regroup the most efficient and feasible techniques to improve this important aspect of rehabilitation. Survey's results and a literature review recently highlighted the relevance of creating a new driving training protocol for subjects with stroke and cognitive limitations. The objectives of this research article are to present the development of a new driving protocol and show its applicability was tested in clinical context. Methods - The 1st research design was a content validation to ensure the choice of the driving training methods and the elaboration of the training protocol in 9 levels. A pilot was done to pre-test its applicability (2nd research design). The setting of the research was in a Driving rehabilitation program in a rehab center. The participants involved were occupational therapist specialists (n=5) and post-stroke clients (n=5). On road re-evaluation was used, as well as off-road evaluations before and after the training protocol: Motor Free Visual Test, Trail Making Test, Useful Field Of View, Bells Test and Automatic Brake Reaction Timer. Results - Adapted commentary driving and on-road training were perceived as being the most effective training methods. The protocol was feasible: training was completed in one month with 100% of participation. Three to seven training sessions (one hour) were needed to complete the 6 levels of adapted commentary driving and, to achieve the last 3 levels of the protocol, 4 behind-the-wheel training sessions were done. Conclusion - This clinical protocol gives a better tool to rehabilitation specialists to train their post-stroke clients having cognitive limitations considering the specific and complex demands of the activity of driving.


In this paper we derive the coherent-state propagator of a generalized time-dependent parametric oscillator using the Lie algebraic approach. The method is simple and gives the same results as those obtained by the path integral approach. Furthermore, this Lie algebraic approach can be easily generalized to a time-dependent many-body system once the algebraic structure of its Hamiltonian is identified.


Background The role of emotion is crucial to the learning process, as it is linked to motivation, interest, and attention. Affective states are expressed in the brain and in overall biological activity. Biosignals, like heart rate (HR), electrodermal activity (EDA), and electroencephalography (EEG) are physiological expressions affected by emotional state. Analyzing these biosignal recordings can point to a person's emotional state. Contemporary medical education has progressed extensively towards diverse learning resources using virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) applications. Objective This paper aims to study the efficacy of wearable biosensors for affect detection in a learning process involving a serious game in the Microsoft HoloLens VR/MR platform. Methods A wearable array of sensors recording HR, EDA, and EEG signals was deployed during 2 educational activities conducted by 11 participants of diverse educational level (undergraduate, postgraduate, and specialist neurosurgeon doctors). The first scenario was a conventional virtual patient case used for establishing the personal biosignal baselines for the participant. The second was a case in a VR/MR environment regarding neuroanatomy. The affective measures that we recorded were EEG (theta/beta ratio and alpha rhythm), HR, and EDA. Results Results were recorded and aggregated across all 3 groups. Average EEG ratios of the virtual patient (VP) versus the MR serious game cases were recorded at 3.49 (SD 0.82) versus 3.23 (SD 0.94) for students, 2.59 (SD 0.96) versus 2.90 (SD 1.78) for neurosurgeons, and 2.33 (SD 0.26) versus 2.56 (SD 0.62) for postgraduate medical students. Average alpha rhythm of the VP versus the MR serious game cases were recorded at 7.77 (SD 1.62) μV versus 8.42 (SD 2.56) μV for students, 7.03 (SD 2.19) μV versus 7.15 (SD 1.86) μV for neurosurgeons, and 11.84 (SD 6.15) μV versus 9.55 (SD 3.12) μV for postgraduate medical students. Average HR of the VP versus the MR serious game cases were recorded at 87 (SD 13) versus 86 (SD 12) bpm for students, 81 (SD 7) versus 83 (SD 7) bpm for neurosurgeons, and 81 (SD 7) versus 77 (SD 6) bpm for postgraduate medical students. Average EDA of the VP versus the MR serious game cases were recorded at 1.198 (SD 1.467) μS versus 4.097 (SD 2.79) μS for students, 1.890 (SD 2.269) μS versus 5.407 (SD 5.391) μS for neurosurgeons, and 0.739 (SD 0.509) μS versus 2.498 (SD 1.72) μS for postgraduate medical students. The variations of these metrics have been correlated with existing theoretical interpretations regarding educationally relevant affective analytics, such as engagement and educational focus. Conclusions These results demonstrate that this novel sensor configuration can lead to credible affective state detection and can be used in platforms like intelligent tutoring systems for providing real-time, evidence-based, affective learning analytics using VR/MR-deployed medical education resources.


Human Pose Estimation (HPE) aims at retrieving the 3D position of human joints from images or videos. We show that current 3D HPE methods suffer a lack of viewpoint equivariance, namely they tend to fail or perform poorly when dealing with viewpoints unseen at training time. Deep learning methods often rely on either scale-invariant, translation-invariant, or rotation-invariant operations, such as max-pooling. However, the adoption of such procedures does not necessarily improve viewpoint generalization, rather leading to more data-dependent methods. To tackle this issue, we propose a novel capsule autoencoder network with fast Variational Bayes capsule routing, named DECA. By modeling each joint as a capsule entity, combined with the routing algorithm, our approach can preserve the joints' hierarchical and geometrical structure in the feature space, independently from the viewpoint. By achieving viewpoint equivariance, we drastically reduce the network data dependency at training time, resulting in an improved ability to generalize for unseen viewpoints. In the experimental validation, we outperform other methods on depth images from both seen and unseen viewpoints, both top-view, and front-view. In the RGB domain, the same network gives state-of-the-art results on the challenging viewpoint transfer task, also establishing a new framework for top-view HPE. The code can be found at https://github.com/mmlab-cv/DECA.


A 52-year-old man presented with BOOP-like recurrent bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. In 1989 a chest X-ray film showed an infiltrative shadow in the right S6 region which disappeared after administration of prednisolone. Thereafter, bilateral patchy infiltrates recurred many times, and each time they resolved rapidly with steroid therapy. Skin eruptions on the face recurred. In October 1994 the patient underwent an open-lung biopsy of the infiltrate in the left S6 region. The pathological findings were consistent with BOOP, except for the moderate-to marked infiltration of lymphocytes. A lymphoproliferative disorder was suspected, and Southern blot analysis of the specimen revealed a rearrangement of the TCR-beta gene, which led to the diagnosis of T cell lymphoma. Ten months after the diagnosis, no recurrence of the lymphoma had been detected. In this case a gene analysis of the biopsy specimen was very useful for the diagnosis of T cell lymphoma.


The structural dynamic behavior of 3D-printed and conventional aluminum alloys are studied experimentally. Heat treated Scalmalloy and Al 7075 T-6 beam-like structures are fabricated using additive and extrusion manufacturing, respectively. The beams are exposed to vibration fatigue. Linear and nonlinear dynamic characterizations are performed to extract the stiffness and damping properties for pristine and fatigued structures. Additionally, the study includes optical imaging, Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to obtain the alloys' materials properties. While the preliminary results show that Scalmalloy fatigue life is approximately 3-4 times lower than Al 7075 T-6, failure in Scalmalloy appears to be more graceful and predictable than that for aluminum.


Abstract The cases of two children with congenital heart disease and severe opioid dependency who underwent ultrarapid opioid detoxification are presented. This technique entails rapid opioid reversal with the opioid antagonist; naloxone while under general anesthesia. The procedures were not technically difficult to perform and both children were successfully detoxified at the end of the procedure. In the weeks following the procedure, the first child exhibited accelerated neurode-velopment. Ultrarapid opioid detoxification is possible in children and may have a neurodevelopmental advantage over a prolonged wean.