This paper aims at reflecting on some relevant issues for present conservation by means of an analysis of some aspects of Paul Philippot's thought, especially his considerations regarding the role of time in conservation. Therefore, the text focuses on the following aspects: subjects related to the interpretation of theoretical references in the field of restoration in Brazil; the importance of discussing those references to analyse the role of time in conservation; issues resulting from the fact of not considering the passing of time in recent interventions made in that country; finally, as a conclusion, a reflection on the traces of time in the work of art, i.e. patina.


Microbanking is generally defined as a broad set of financial services to meet the needs of the poor and small enterprises. However, mirobanking that have been well-designed might not have a positive impact on the poorest unless it particularly obtains to reach them through proper business model. On the other hand, Indonesia lists as the largest Moslem community in the world. Hence, microbanking that are ruled under sharia regulation namely Islamic microbanking hopefully enable to support the development program particularly to the poor and SMEs in Indonesia. Therefore, the study of practices Islamic microbanking business model should be conducted in order to design the strategy of development, particularly on financial inclusion program. This study used qualitative analysis through a process of discussion, focus group discussion (FGD), in-depth interviews and literature review in order to gain information from primary and secondary sources as well as a comparative study of business models of Islamic microfinance in Indonesia.


Homogenates of adult male guinea pig liver and kidney are able to metabolize testosterone to androstenedione. No other metabolites were detected. Optimum conditions for the action of the enzyme(s) have been determined in regard to amount of tissue, preparation of homogenate, cofactor, ph, duration of incubation and amount of steroid. The kidney differed from the liver in its response to the addition of nicotinamide and requirements of DPN. The activity of the tissues was quite high; 12 gm of either tissue under optimum conditions was able to convert approximately 50% of 50 mg of testosterone to androstenedione.


Behind social inequality there is suffering, fear, humiliation, but there is also the extraordinary human miracle will to be happy and to start where any hope seems to be dead. Psychology has a duty to protect this human dimension in the analysis and social interventions, belying the classic images of the destitute ones being merely grateful for being alive. Thus, it collaborates with the development of social policies avoiding mechanisms of perverse social inclusion. The design of affection for Spinoza and of freedom for Vygotsky are major preconditions: an affection is the basis of ethics and politics, freedom requires collective action and it is not to be confused with freewill, based on creativity and imagination. From this perspective, one of the challenges of combating social inequality is to elucidate the affective / creative system which holds the servitude in the (inter) subjective and macro-political plans, to plan an ethical / aesthetic practice of social transformation.


CrC and NbC carbide coatings both have good mechanical properties, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. The present study seeks to combine the two coating systems in order to further enhance their properties. NbCrCx and NbCrCxNy coatings (where x and y denote the atomic percentages of carbon and nitrogen, respectively) were deposited on SKH51 substrates using a radio-frequency unbalanced magnetron sputtering system. The mechanical, tribological, and corrosive properties of the coatings were investigated and compared. Among the NbCrCx coatings, the NbCrC61 coating showed high levels of hardness, excellent adhesion strength, and good wear resistance. Among the NbCrCxNy coatings, the NbCrC55N5 coating showed high adhesion strength and hardness and excellent tribological properties. However, for nitrogen contents greater than 16 at%, the adhesion strength was dramatically reduced, resulting in poor tribological performance. Among all of the coatings, the NbCrC49 coating showed the best corrosion resistance due to its enhanced crystallinity, high adhesion strength, moderate surface roughness, and high sp3 C-C bonding ratio.


We consider the problem of distributed feature quantization, where the goal is to enable a pretrained classifier at a central node to carry out its classification on features that are gathered from distributed nodes through communication constrained channels. We propose the design of distributed quantization schemes specifically tailored to the classification task: unlike quantization schemes that help the central node reconstruct the original signal as accurately as possible, our focus is not reconstruction accuracy, but instead correct classification. Our work does not make any a priori distributional assumptions on the data, but instead uses training data for the quantizer design. Our main contributions include: we prove NP-hardness of finding optimal quantizers in the general case; we design an optimal scheme for a special case; we propose quantization algorithms, that leverage discrete neural representations and training data, and can be designed in polynomial-time for any number of features, any number of classes, and arbitrary division of features across the distributed nodes. We find that tailoring the quantizers to the classification task can offer significant savings: as compared to alternatives, we can achieve more than a factor of two reduction in terms of the number of bits communicated, for the same classification accuracy.


Objective Individuals with an evening chronotype prefer to sleep later at night, wake up later in the day and perform best later in the day as compared to individuals with morning chronotype. Thus, college students without ADHD symptoms with evening chronotypes show reduced cognitive performance in the morning relative to nighttime (i.e., desynchrony effect). In combination with symptoms presented in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we predicted that having evening chronotype renders impairment in attention during the morning, when students require optimal performance, amplifying desynchrony. Method Four hundred college students were surveyed for evening chronotype and symptoms of ADHD. Of those surveyed, 43 students with evening chronotype (19 with ADHD symptoms) performed laboratory attention tasks and were queried about fatigue during morning and evening sessions. Results Students with ADHD symptoms demonstrated a greater decrement in sustained attentional vigilance when abstaining from stimulants and asked to perform cognitive tests at times misaligned with natural circadian rhythms in arousal compared to their non-ADHD counterparts with the same chronotype. While individuals with ADHD symptoms had slower reaction-times during sustained attention tasks in the morning session compared to those without symptoms, there was no significant group difference in working memory performance, even though both groups made more errors in the morning session compared to the evening session. Conclusion These findings suggest that evening chronotype students with ADHD symptoms are at a greater disadvantage when having to perform sustained attention tasks at times that are not aligned to their circadian rhythm compared to their neuro-typical peers. The implications of this finding may be useful for the provision of disability accommodations to college age students with ADHD when they are expected to perform tasks requiring sustained attention at times misaligned with their circadian rhythms.


WeatherBench is a benchmark dataset for medium-range weather forecasting of geopotential, temperature and precipitation, consisting of preprocessed data, predefined evaluation metrics and a number of baseline models. WeatherBench Probability extends this to probabilistic forecasting by adding a set of established probabilistic verification metrics (continuous ranked probability score, spread-skill ratio and rank histograms) and a state-of-the-art operational baseline using the ECWMF IFS ensemble forecast. In addition, we test three different probabilistic machine learning methods -- Monte Carlo dropout, parametric prediction and categorical prediction, in which the probability distribution is discretized. We find that plain Monte Carlo dropout severely underestimates uncertainty. The parametric and categorical models both produce fairly reliable forecasts of similar quality. The parametric models have fewer degrees of freedom while the categorical model is more flexible when it comes to predicting non-Gaussian distributions. None of the models are able to match the skill of the operational IFS model. We hope that this benchmark will enable other researchers to evaluate their probabilistic approaches.


not just the eye which offers a window to the brain. As visual function is now increasingly understood in terms of the parallel processing of streams of data concerning form, colour, and motion in parvocellular and magnocellular systems so is modern clinical practice increasingly based on these concepts. This article offers a guide based on current practice to the clinician faced with a patient with


As in many international contexts, teacher evaluation occurs in universities in Indonesia through questionnaires, which the students are required to complete about their courses and their teachers' performance. Unfortunately, many teachers do not use the result of that questionnaire as a source of feedback for their teaching improvement and personal development. Moreover, student feedback, by itself, is not sufficient to help teachers improve and, in any event, this evaluation is only used by the institution for purposes of performance review (Wesner, 2007). As a result, a great number of English teachers in Indonesia do not feel satisfied with this kind of summative/evaluative evaluation (Limantoro, 2003). Therefore, teachers in Indonesia have to rely on their own initiative if they wish to improve their teaching performance. Teacher self-evaluation appears to be a promising way to help English teachers in Indonesia to do self-learning to develop their teaching effectiveness. Unfortunately, the concept of teacher-self evaluation is still something new in the Indonesian schools setting (Zulfikar, 2009). The aim of this study is to analyze the challenges and the opportunities for introducing teacher self-evaluation to teachers in Indonesia, particularly English college teachers. This study uses case study as the research design. Nine college English teachers in a private university in Indonesia, who are varied in term of gender and teaching experience, are invited to take part in this study. The participants are encouraged to use audio-video recording, teacher self-reflection questions, student feedback, and action research as teacher self-evaluation instruments. Interview, focus group discussion, observation, and document analysis are used as the research instruments. The data show that teacher self-evaluation assists the teachers to see the strengths and limitations in their instructional practice so that they can make some changes in their teaching to produce better teaching and learning outcomes. Focus group discussions as a part of collaborative action research enable teachers to implement new teaching techniques in their class as the result of sharing with other teachers. The challenges in implementing teacher self-evaluation are divided into two aspects: internal and external. The internal aspect includes the self-awareness and time availability, whereas the external factor includes facility availability and lack of support and control from institution. Since there is limited research about the practice of teacher self-evaluation in Indonesia, this study increases the scholarly literature on teacher self-evaluation which is more sensitive to contextual differences in Indonesia education.


This study explores the effectiveness of a cooperative learning (CL) approach, where students work together and elaborate concepts of physics. The group problem-solving tasks were conceptual questions from physics, where the students had to discuss and provide explanations of some phenomena. The effectiveness of the learning-in-groups approach was validated and correlated with working group interactiveness. Two group variables were assigned: the group performance and the group activity. These variables and the subjects' participation variable were correlated with achievement. Discourse analysis revealed variation in the nature of the interactions and information exchange, and the two roles as learners and learning facilitators. In addition, the study provided evidence for some features of cooperative learning that could characterize it as a nonlinear dynamical process. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 556–576, 2006


The performance of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes decoded by hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms can be accurately estimated if the weight J and the number |EJ| of the smallest error patterns that cannot be corrected by the decoder are known. To obtain J and |EJ|, one would need to perform the direct enumeration of error patterns with weight i les J. The complexity of enumeration increases exponentially with J, essentially as nJ, where n is the code block length. This limits the application of direct enumeration to codes with small n and J. In this letter, we approximate J and |EJ | by enumerating and testing the error patterns that are subsets of short cycles in the code's Tanner graph. This reduces the computational complexity by several orders of magnitude compared to direct enumeration, making it possible to estimate the error rates for almost any practical LDPC code. To obtain the error rate estimates, we propose an algorithm that progressively improves the estimates as larger cycles are enumerated. Through a number of examples, we demonstrate that the proposed method can accurately estimate both the bit error rate (BER) and the frame error rate (FER) of regular and irregular LDPC codes decoded by a variety of hard-decision iterative decoding algorithms.


A project to develop fundamental technologies for accelerator magnets using high-Tc superconductors is currently underway. The primary applications in this project are fixed field alternating gradient (FFAG) accelerators for carbon cancer therapy systems and accelerator-driven subcritical reactors. One of the challenging issues in this study is to accomplish the complicated coil shape required for the accelerator magnets using YBa2Cu3Ox (YBCO) coated conductors. An asymmetric, three-dimensional winding structure has been designed for the main ring of an FFAG accelerator, but the anisotropic bending flexibility of coated conductors is constrained because of their tape-like shape. To demonstrate a suitable winding technology for a three-dimensional coil using coated conductors, a prototype winding machine with a two-axis motion mechanism was constructed. Based on the present design of the FFAG magnet, a saddle-shaped coil wound on a curved surface with a radius of 700 mm was designed. A 100-turn coil was wound by the winding machine using an approximately 90 m length of 3 mm-wide YBCO coated conductor made by the IBAD-MOCVD method. The coil was impregnated with epoxy resin, and the voltage-current (V-I) characteristics were evaluated in a liquid nitrogen environment. From the V-I characteristics in an electric field region of 10-9V/cm, an index value of above 20 was obtained, which means that the superconducting properties were not degraded.


A numerical analysis is performed on the combined effects of Joule heating and viscous dissipation on a steady two-dimensional flow of an electrically conducting water-based nanofluid containing three different nanoparticles: copper (Cu), aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and Iron Oxide (Fe3O4) past an inclined plate comparing both suction and injection. Using a similarity transformation, the governing nonlinear partial differential equations are converted into a system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations and then solved numerically using shooting technique with a fourth-order Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg integration scheme. Graphical results are presented and the effects of pertinent parameters on the dimensionless velocity and temperature quantitatively discussed. The numerical values of the rate of heat transfer '(0) and the shear stress f''(0) presented in a table. The results show that there are significant effects of the controlling parameters on the flow fields.


In 2018, the Trump Administration claimed for the first time that the United States erred in supporting China's accession to the World Trade Organization because China has failed to fulfill its commitments to dismantle its state-led economy and adopt open-market oriented reforms. Instead, China has maintained a mercantilist state-led economy in which China provides preferential treatment to its state-owned enterprises and supports their exports while it discriminates against U.S. companies in China and creates barriers to U.S. imports. Frustrated with being unable to effect change through dialogue, the United States is now using punitive trade sanctions against China in disregard of the WTO. China has retaliated in kind, igniting a potential global trade war.

A review of the background of China's accession to the WTO indicates, however, that China never made any commitments to dismantle the state sector of its economy and is not otherwise legally bound to do so under the WTO. The claim that China agreed to adopt open markets is a myth created by President Bill Clinton due to wishful thinking or political expediency when he sought congressional support for China's accession to the WTO in 2001. Clinton argued that China's WTO entry would lead to the adoption of economic freedoms that in turn would lead to political freedoms and greater protection for human rights. Clinton even dangled the possibility China could shed the shackles of communism and embrace democracy. In response to Clinton's grandiose vision, China remained cautious and made no extravagant promises. China promised only to adopt a hybrid system in which some free markets would operate within an overall state-led economy. Rather than dismantling its state-led economy after its WTO accession, China has incessantly strengthened it. Tightening the state's grip over the economy serves important goals of the Communist Party, including further entrenching its power, whereas loosening its grip would be tantamount to relinquishing power, a prospect that the Party will never accept. This article argues that the United States must finally reject the Clinton myth and accept that China has no intention of dismantling its state-led economy. Only with this sober realization can the United States deal effectively in the future with China in the WTO, in bilateral trade negotiations outside of the WTO, and beyond.


Structures are always exposed to environmental conditions such as varying temperatures and noises; as a consequence, the dynamic features of structures are changed accordingly. But the model-based methods, used to detect damage using optimization algorithms to get global optimal solution, are highly sensitive to environmental conditions, experimental noises, or numerical errors. While the mechanisms of optimization algorithms are limited by local optimal solution, their convergences are not always assured. In the study, a model-based damage-identification method considering temperature variations, comprised of particle swarm optimization and cuckoo search, is implemented to detect structural damage. First, to eliminate the influence of environmental temperature, temperature change is considered as a parameter of structural material elastic modulus. A function relationship is established between environmental temperature and the material elastic modulus, and an objective function composed of natural frequency, mode shape and modal strain energy with different weight coefficients is constructed. Second, the hybrid optimization algorithm, a combination of particle swarm optimization and cuckoo search, is proposed. Third, to solve the problem of optimization algorithm convergence, the optimization performance of the hybrid optimization algorithm is validated by utilizing four benchmark functions, and it is found that the performance of the hybrid optimization algorithm is the best. In order to test the performance of the three algorithms in damage identification, a numerical simply supported beam is adopted. The results show that the hybrid optimization algorithm can identify the damage location and severity under four different damage cases without considering temperature variations and two cases considering temperature variations. Finally, the hybrid optimization algorithm is introduced to test the damage-identification performance of I-40 Bridge, an actual steel–concrete composite bridge under temperature variations, whose results show that the hybrid optimization algorithm can preferably distinguish between real damages and temperature effects (temperature gradient included); its good robustness and engineering applicability are validated.


Commercial bumblebees have become popular models to understand stressors and solutions for pollinator health, but few studies test whether results translate to other pollinators. Consuming sunflower pollen dramatically reduces infection by the gut parasite Crithidia bombi in commercially reared Bombus impatiens. We assessed the effect of sunflower pollen on infection in wild B. impatiens, Bombus griseocollis, Bombus bimaculatus and Bombus vagans. We also asked how pollen diet (50% sunflower pollen versus wildflower pollen) and infection (yes/no) affected performance in wild B. impatiens microcolonies. Compared to controls, sunflower pollen dramatically reduced Crithidia infection in commercial and wild B. impatiens, had similar but less dramatic effects in B. bimaculatus and B. vagans, and no effect in B. griseocollis. Bombus impatiens, B. bimaculatus and B. vagans are in the same subgenus, suggesting that responses to sunflower pollen may be phylogenetically conserved. In microcolonies, 50% sunflower pollen reduced infection compared to wildflower pollen, but also reduced reproduction. Sunflower pollen could control Crithidia infections in B. impatiens and potentially close relatives, but may hinder reproduction if other resources are scarce. We caution that research using managed bee species, such as B. impatiens, be interpreted carefully as findings may not relate to all bee species.


What makes cognition "advanced" is an open and not precisely defined question. One perspective involves increasing the complexity of associative learning, from conditioning to learning sequences of events ("chaining") to representing various cue combinations as "chunks." Here we develop a weighted graph model to study the mechanism enabling chunking ability and the conditions for its evolution and success, based on the ecology of the cleaner fish Labroides dimidiatus. In some environments, cleaners must learn to serve visitor clients before resident clients, because a visitor leaves if not attended while a resident waits for service. This challenge has been captured in various versions of the ephemeral reward task, which has been proven difficult for a range of cognitively capable species. We show that chaining is the minimal requirement for solving this task in its common simplified laboratory format that involves repeated simultaneous exposure to an ephemeral and permanent food source. Adding ephemeral–ephemeral and permanent–permanent combinations, as cleaners face in the wild, requires individuals to have chunking abilities to solve the task. Importantly, chunking parameters need to be calibrated to ecological conditions in order to produce adaptive decisions. Thus, it is the fine-tuning of this ability, which may be the major target of selection during the evolution of advanced associative learning.


In this paper, a miniature spherical rolling robot capable of navigating over two dimensional surfaces is described. This 55 gram spherical robot consists of a 6 cm diameter external spherical shell driven by an internal twowheeled differential drive cart. A gravity powered pendulum effect is produced as the internal device climbs up the internal surface of the shell, propelling the robot forward up to a speed of 0.16m/s. We derived its dynamic model using Lagrangian, and studied its dynamics and performance under various applied torques. The spherical robot is built and its overall mechanical, hardware and control architecture are elaborated. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the robot open and closed loop performance on a linear trajectory, captured using an optical motion capture system. We showed that with our implemented PD controller, the robot can basically follow the desired orientation.


Pain experienced by lame cattle is often masked by their instinctive stoicism, leading to delayed detection and treatment of lameness. This paper investigates the usefulness of posture scoring during locomotion and the evaluation of daily activity levels as indicators of pain and discomfort resulting from lameness in dairy cattle. In this study, 345 lactating cattle were observed over a seven-month winter housing period. The posture of each cow was scored twice weekly using a subjective five-point numerical rating scale. Daily activity levels were measured objectively using pedometers. The effect of lameness on behaviour was addressed. Increased posture scores were associated with the presence of foot lesions (P < 0.001) and with reduced daily activity levels (P < 0.001). In comparison to sound cows, lame cows showed lower daily activity levels (P < 0.001). These results improve understanding of pain-related behaviours in cattle, and such an approach may assist future development of welfare assessment systems.


BackgroundNon-invasive pulmonary support (NIPS), (CPAP or NIV), is available to patients with Covid-19 and a ward based ceiling of treatment Evidence demonstrate a 50% survival with NIPS in this cohort We, and our respiratory colleagues, were interested to understand the experience of dying in this context MethodThis was a retrospective case note review Aims and objectives include:To describe the symptoms experienced, medications required and reasons for withdrawal in patients dying of covid–19 following treatment with NIPSTo evaluate care against the five priorities (NICE guideline (NG142)) Results18 patients were included for analysis The majority were aged over 80 (67%) All patients experienced breathlessness when dying, and seventeen had agitation or delirium Twelve patients (66%) required a regular benzodiazepine, either alone (22%) or in combination with an opioid (45%) Two patients (11%) were treated with only an opioid The doses of opioids and midazolam were relatively small - most commonly 10 mg 66% of patients received <3 as required doses of opioid or midazolam in the final 24 hours The commonest reasons for withdrawal were the patient stopping tolerating treatment (56%), and treatment failure (28%) No patients died within three hours of withdrawal, with the majority dying six hours to two days later In 17 cases (94%) it was recognised and documented that the patient was sick enough to die This was communicated to the patient and/or their family in all 94% All patients had a DNACPR and Treatment Escalation Plan 94% of families were offered to visit their dying relative, this was taken up in 44% of cases ConclusionsGood end of life care is achievable in the context of patients with Covid-19, receiving NIPs Key learning includes:• The need to regularly review symptoms and consider increasing background sc infusions more frequently than our usual practice of every 24 hrs


Despite the fact that hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common tumor in males worldwide, with approximately 1 million new cases reported annually, no effective systemic therapy exists for patients with advanced disease. Sorafenib which is a multikinase inhibitor of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, the platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and Raf, Which was proven in 2007 for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. We report a case of a patient who responded completely and remain disease free for the last 3 years by using a single agent sorafenib. The clinical, radiologic, pathologic and treatment features of this entity are discussed.


A58 CD74, an MHC class-II chaperone, is involved in NF-κB signaling pathways implicated in malignant B-cell proliferation and survival. The humanized anti-CD74 monoclonal antibody (mAb), milatuzumab (hLL1, or IMMU-115; Immunomedics, Inc, Morris Plains, NJ), is now in clinical evaluation for therapy of multiple myeloma after preclinical evidence of activity (Stein et al, Blood 2004;104:3705). Here we examine the therapeutic efficacy of milatuzumab in B-cell lymphomas. In vitro and in vivo studies were performed comparing milatuzumab to anti-CD20 mAbs. We observed that the CD74 and CD20 mAbs act through distinct mechanisms and exhibit different expression and sensitivity profiles. Importantly, anti-proliferative activity can be augmented in vitro when anti-CD74 and anti-CD20 mAbs are combined. As with rituximab, in most human lymphoma cell lines, milatuzumab alone does not show a direct cytotoxic effect in vitro, but when crosslinked with goat anti-human IgG does cause inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis. Unlike rituximab, milatuzumab induces little or no ADCC or CDC. Although all B-cell lymphoma cell lines tested (10/10) express both CD74 and CD20, the relative expression of these 2 antigens varies. In Burkitt lines, such as Raji and Daudi, both CD20 and CD74 are expressed at high levels. Greater variability in antigen expression is observed in non-Burkitt NHL cell lines, with Namalwa and WSU-FSCCL expressing less CD20 than the other lines. Milatuzumab efficacy was examined in comparison to and in combination with veltuzumab (hA20 humanized anti-CD20 mAb from Immunomedics) in SCID mice bearing human B-cell lymphoma xenografts. In Raji and Daudi, milatuzumab treatment yielded a small but statistically significant increase in survival. For example, in Raji median survival times (MST) are 15 days (untreated), 21 days with 25 μg milatuzumab (P= 0.0008 vs. untreated), 32 days with 25 μg veltuzumab (P 220 days) in 7/10 mice, while veltuzumab and rituximab were significantly less effective. MST of 96 and 87.5 days were observed with no long-term survivors for veltuzumab and rituximab, respectively (P=0.0013 and P=0.0036 vs. milatuzumab); MST in untreated WSU-FSCCL-bearing SCIDs was 36 days. In a combination therapy study of milatuzumab and veltuzumab, WSU-FSCCL-bearing SCID mice were treated 5 days after injection of cells. Veltuzumab (35 μg) extended MST to 70 days, milatuzumab (35 μg) treatment increased survival further to 90.5 days, and the milatuzumab + veltuzumab combination yielded a MST of 113 days (P=0.0030 vs. veltuzumab and P=0.1478 vs. milatuzumab). Conclusions: Milatuzumab is a promising new therapeutic for B-cell lymphomas as a naked mAb, and shows significantly improved efficacy when combined with anti-CD20 mAbs. (Supported in part by USPHS grants P01CA103985 and R01CA109474 from the NCI and NJDHSS grant 07-1824-FS-N-0.)


Objective. To present a novel technique of neuromodulation for the treatment of axial neck pain. Materials and Methods. A case of a patient with history of long‐standing axial neck pain with previous cervical spine operation and confirmed discogenic pain is presented. Traditional treatment measures did not provide adequate pain relief. A trial of peripheral subcutaneous field stimulation (PSFS) was performed. Following an excellent response during a week‐long trial, a permanent PSFS system was implanted. The patient was followed for nine months after internalization. Results. Seven‐day trial of PSFS resulted in complete relief of the patient's pain. This 100% relief of pain continued after the implantation of permanent PSFS system consisting of two quadripolar electrodes, one placed over the paraspinal muscles parallel to midline, and the other positioned horizontally over the ipsilateral trapezius muscle. The patient was gradually weaned off of all opioid medications and continues to report 100% reduction in pain intensity at the nine‐month follow‐up. Conclusion. PSFS represents a new and promising modality in treatment of axial neck pain. Exact mechanism of the pain relief remains unclear.


AIM
To compare and evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous and intermittent control of cuff pressure.

METHODS
We performed a comprehensive and systematic meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the continuous and intermittent control of Pcuff by searching PUBMED, EMBASE and other such databases (from inception to 31 March 2018). Summary odds ratios or mean differences with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using a fixed- or random-effects model.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
Seven randomised controlled trials with 970 mechanically ventilated patients were included in this study. The continuous control of cuff pressure significantly reduced the incidence of cuff pressure < 20 cm H2 O (0.03 (OR) (95% CI: 0.01-0.07)), Pcuff > 30 cm H2 O (0.06 (95% CI: 0.03-0.15)) and VAP (0.39 (95% CI: 0.28-0.55)) when compared with intermittent control of cuff pressure. No significant differences in duration of MV (-1.94 (95% CI: -4.06 to -0.17)), length of ICU stay (-3.88 (95% CI: -9.00 to -1.23)) and mortality (0.99 (95% CI: 0.73-1.35)) were found between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Continuous control of cuff pressure offers more benefits in stabilizing the cuff pressure and reducing the incidence of VAP, and more studies are warranted to further evaluate the role of continuous control of cuff pressure.

RELEVANCE TO PRACTICE
The continuous control of cuff pressure should be conducted whenever possible as it is the most ideal for the prognosis of MV patients.


The diversity of software components (e.g., Browsers, plugins, fonts) is a wonderful opportunity for users to customize their platforms. Yet, massive customization creates a privacy issue: browsers are slightly different from one another, allowing third parties to collect unique and stable fingerprints to track users. Although software diversity appears to be the source of this privacy issue, we claim that this same diversity, combined with automatic reconfiguration, provides the essential ingredients to constantly change browsing platforms. Constant change acts as a moving target defense strategy against fingerprint tracking by breaking one essential property: stability over time. We leverage virtualization and modular architectures to automatically assemble and reconfigure software components at multiple levels. We operate on operating systems, browsers, fonts and plugins. This work is the first application of software reconfiguration to build a moving target defense against browser fingerprint tracking. The main objective is to automatically modify the fingerprint a platform exhibits. We have developed a prototype called Blink to experiment the effectiveness of our approach at randomizing fingerprints. We have assembled and reconfigured thousands of platforms, and we observe that all of them exhibit different fingerprints, and that commercial fingerprinting solutions are not able to detect that the different platforms actually correspond to a single user.


We propose a flexible architecture for querying various information sources on the Internet and WWW through distributed object paradigms We propose an integrated information retrieval (IIR) method based on CORBA. The design of the IIR interface follows the style of the common object service specification (COSS). The objective of design of IIR is not only to provide the programmer with a uniform interface to code a software application with the capability of querying a variety of information sources on the Internet, but also to provide a flexible and extensible environment for the system developer to add new agents to the system facility. Since the architecture of IIR is of an N-tier client/server model and its interface is uniform, any specific application that needs to retrieve information or mine data from the Internet need only easily initiate the query operation of an agent via IIR.


Over several decades, medium-sized industrial towns have suffered from a combination of economic and political processes: Deindustrialization, metropolization, and withdrawal of public services. After two decades in which they have been somewhat neglected (in favor of metropolises), there have recently been State and European public policies aimed at them. Medium-sized cities are not homogeneous and present several trajectories. Based on quantitative approach in France, we highlight the very diverse socio-economic dynamics of French medium-sized industrial towns. Thus, far from widespread decline or shrinking dynamics, some of these cities are experiencing an economic rebound. This is the case of Romans-sur-Isère, a medium-sized town located in the south-east of France. Focusing our qualitative analyze on this city, we try to understand this type of process. In this medium-sized town, former capital of the shoe industry, local stakeholders, private, and public try to support a productive renewal. The results of our case study highlight the role that cooperation, spatial and organizational proximity, and social innovation could play in the renewal of productive economy in medium-sized industrial towns. Even if the economic situation remains difficult for many medium-sized cities in France as in Europe, we argue that they could have a productive future making and ultimately take advantages of their "medium-sized" attributes.


Introduction: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is defined as the replacement of the normal gastric epithelium by intestinal-type epithelium. GIM is considered a preneoplastic lesion for gastric adenocarcinoma in adults and is found in 25% of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) exposed adults. However, the significance of GIM in pediatric gastric biopsies is still unknown. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of children with GIM on gastric biopsies at Boston Children's Hospital between January 2013 and July 2019. Demographic, clinical, endoscopic, and histologic data were collected and compared to age and sex-matched cohort without GIM. Gastric biopsies were reviewed by the study pathologist. GIM was classified as complete/incomplete based on Paneth cell presence or absence and limited/extensive based on its distribution in the antrum or both antrum and corpus. Results: Of 38 patients with GIM, 18 were male (47%), mean age of detection was 12.5 ± 5.05 years (range, 1–18 years). The most common histologic was chronic gastritis (47%). Complete GIM was present in 50% (19/38) and limited GIM was present in 92% (22/24). H pylori was positive in 2 patients. Two patients had persistent GIM on repeat esophagogastroduodenoscopy (2/12). No dysplasia or carcinoma was identified. Proton-pump inhibitor use and chronic gastritis were more common in GIM patients compared to control (P = 0.02). Conclusion: Most children with GIM had low-risk histologic subtype (complete/limited) for gastric cancer; GIM was rarely associated with H pylori gastritis in our cohort. Larger multicenter studies are needed to better understand outcomes and risk factors in children with GIM.


Abstract: Thirty-eight years ago, Hubert Gerbeau discus-sed the problems that contributed to the "history of silence" surrounding slave trading in the Indian Ocean. While the publication of an expanding body of scholarship since the late 1980s demonstrates that this silence is not as deafening as it once was, our knowledge and understanding of this traffic in chattel labor remains far from complete. This arti-cle discusses the problems surrounding attempts to recons -truct European slave trading in the Indian Ocean between 1500 and 1850. Recently created inventories of British East India Company slaving voyages during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and of French, Portuguese, and other voyages involving the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and Reunion between 1670 and the 1830s not only shed light on the nature and dynamics of British and French slave trading in the Indian Ocean, but also highlight topics and issues that future research on European slave trading within and beyond this oceanic world will need to address.


A key role of supervisors and teachers is their engagement with the shaping of knowledge. In guiding students towards what is possible to know, and how it is possible to 'write' of such knowledge, there is a heightened sense of responsibility and a significant duty of care. It takes time, organisation and deep discipline to create elegantly designed frameworks through which to view experience, research ideas and comprehend ambiguity. The arguments addressed in this paper, offer a reminder of ways we might practice research as a mindful endeavor and in the process, seek understanding and cohesion. Sparked by my annual reconsideration of what is important to share with students and researchers, I visit ideas that underpin ways in which we might realise nimble thinking and so hone significant change. In this way, the work of the paper offers, a gentle disturbance to the streamlining and consolidation of practice-as-research in the academy. The discussion champions practice that prizes the revealing of ideas, without rushing to answers. In order to recognise the opportunities afforded by what is a place of not knowing, there is need to recognise that our search is to provisionally affirm, rather than finally confirm, order. In continuing to grapple, with ways to guide researchers, I argue that understanding the consequences of 'how' you engage with the potential of knowledge is the significant aspect of practice-as-research that we must protect.


During meiosis, the synaptonemal complex (SC) assembles between paired chromosomes, binding them together in close apposition, and facilitating recombination. SC assembly is thought to occur through the hierarchical zipper-like recruitment of axial elements, followed by transverse filaments and then central elements. However, the rapidity of SC formation in mammals has hitherto hindered investigation of its assembly mechanisms and their relationship with recombination. Using super-resolution imaging of separation-of-function mouse mutants, we show that, contrary to the hierarchical assembly model, central element protein SYCE2 is recruited to recombination sites early in SC assembly, and independently of SYCP1-containing transverse filaments. Further, SYCE2-TEX12 binds DNA in vitro, and SYCE2-containing bridges physically link paired chromosomes at recombination sites prior to transverse filament recruitment and chromosome synapsis. These data suggest that mammals integrate parallel recruitment pathways to assemble a mature SC: one recruiting central element proteins to recombination sites, and another recruiting transverse filaments to chromosomes.


A density functional theory based on Wertheim's first order perturbation theory is developed for inhomogeneous complex fluids. The theory is derived along similar lines as interfacial statistical associating fluid theory [S. Tripathi and W. G. Chapman, J. Chem. Phys. 122, 094506 (2005)]. However, the derivation is more general and applies broadly to a range of systems, retaining the simplicity of a segment density based theory. Furthermore, the theory gives the exact density profile for ideal chains in an external field. The general avail of the theory has been demonstrated by applying the theory to lipids near surfaces, lipid bilayers, and copolymer thin films. The theoretical results show excellent agreement with the results from molecular simulations.


Objectives Cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) predisposes patients to iron deficiency due to compensatory secondary erythrocytosis. This study aimed to determine the serum iron status and prevalence of iron deficiency among children with cyanotic congenital heart disease attending the Paediatric Cardiology outpatient clinic of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. Methods This cross-sectional case-control study took place between May and October 2015 at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. A total of 75 children with cyanotic congenital heart disease and 75 apparently healthy age-, gender- and socioeconomically-matched controls were analysed to determine serum iron status and the prevalence of iron deficiency as defined by the World Health Organization criteria. Results The mean age of the children was 47.5 ± 2.9 months (range: 6–144 months old). Iron deficiency was significantly more frequent among CCHD patients compared to control subjects (9.3% versus 0%; P = 0.006). While latent iron deficiency was more prevalent among children in the control group compared to those with CCHD, this difference was not statistically significant (13.3% versus 9.3%; P = 0.303). No cases of iron deficiency anaemia were observed in the studied sample. Conclusion Neither the children in the control group nor those with CCHD had iron deficiency anaemia. However, iron deficiency was significantly more prevalent among children with CCHD in Lagos. Periodic serum iron status screening is therefore recommended for this population.


The potential role of the endocrine thymus on the cell cycle of lymphocytes from aging neonatally thymectomized rats (LAT cells) was investigated using thymosin fraction 5. Thymosin rendered LAT cells similar to normal lymphocytes with regard to reconstituting the median S+G2 phase of the LAT cell. This is the first study to demonstrate an effect of thymosin on the cell cycle of lymphocyte populations.


We tested 187 strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) for the production of toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1). A total of 111 CNS strains were isolated from the tampons of menstruating women and 74 were isolated from unused tampons. Two strains were isolated from the genital tract of a patient with toxic shock syndrome. Strains were cultivated by the membrane-over-agar method to enhance production of TSST-1, and culture supernatants were tested by two exquisitely sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. None of the 187 CNS strains produced TSST-1. We conclude that CNS colonizing the genital tracts of menstruating women and unused tampons produce TSST-1 infrequently, if ever, and are unlikely to play a role in toxic shock syndrome.


Abstract Dubin-Johnson syndrome (DJS) is a benign autosomal recessive liver disorder characterised by an intermittent jaundice caused by chronic and conjugated hyperbilirubinaemia. Many mutations in multidrug resistance associated protein (MRP-2) gene have been identified in patients with DJS. Although the disease is usually asymptomatic, some patients may experience vague abdominal pain. In this report, we present a patient with steatohepatitis diagnosed as DJS through a liver biopsy. The patient, 38 years of age, male was admitted to our clinic with vague abdominal pain and jaundice. High levels of serum transaminase, triglyceride, cholesterol and bilirubin were found. Ultrasonography showed Grade II hepatosteatosis in the liver. When steatohepatitis and intracytoplasmic dPAS positive pigment which is more prominent in the perivenular region (zone 3) was observed in the liver biopsy, the patient was diagnosed as DJS coexisting with steatohepatitis. Key Words: Dubin-Johnson syndrome, steatohepatitis, hyperbilirubinaemia


The Temple of Athena is one of the main sacred areas of the Greek–Roman settlement of Poseidonia-Paestum (southern Italy). Several archaeological excavations were carried out here between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Unfortunately, the locations of these excavations are only approximately known, as are the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the temple area. A multidisciplinary study, including stratigraphic, geomorphological, archaeological, and sedimentological investigations, remote sensing, and electromagnetic and geoelectrical tests, was therefore carried out, shedding new light on the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the SW and W temple sectors. The geophysical data obtained revealed anomalies in the subsoil that probably correspond to ancient structures and the cutting of the travertine deposits around the temple. The position and extension of the trenches of the early archaeological excavations were also established.


The thesis describes the development of various novel emitters for the
production of gaseous ions from solutions of non-volatile, thermally labile
samples for the purposes of mass spectrometry.
Nano-electrospray emitters each containing two separated channels running
throughout the length of the emitter were fabricated and evaluated. These
emitters were made from "theta-shaped" borosilicate capillaries, employing a
number of different coating procedures. Loading of different solutions into the
channels demonstrated the possibility of studying solute interactions on ultrashort
timescales. It is proposed that interactions took place in a shared Taylor
cone. The formation of specific adducts from vancomycin and diacetyl-l-lysyld-
alanyl-d-alanine was observed by mass spectrometry. From consideration of
the extent of H/D exchange between vancomycin and deuterated vancomycin, it
was concluded that the interaction times were of the order of 10-5 s.
Underlying theoretical considerations, design and fabrication from carbon
nanotubes (CNTs) of emitters for field desorption and field ionization ion
sources are described and discussed. The emitters fabricated made use of arrays
of vertically aligned multi-walled CNTs with in most cases an average length
and radius of 15 μm and 35 nm respectively. Emitters using dense coverings of
nanotubes and emitters with nanotubes selectively grown so that the height of
each nanotube was twice its separation from its nearest neighbour were investigated. Characterisation of the CNTs by field electron-emission confirmed
their effectiveness as field emitters. Fowler-Nordhein plots indicated fields of
6.14x109 +/- 0.72x109 V/m at a potential of 700 V. Field ionization of He, Ar,
Xe, methane and acetone was achieved with these same CNTs; neither the inert
gases nor methane have been field ionised with conventional activated-wire
emitters. The fields generally accepted to be required for field ionisation of He
and Ar are of the order of several 1010 V/m.
To create emitters which would not need to be removed from vacuum between
experiments, a means of injecting both liquids and gaseous samples directly to
the bottom of the CNTs was devised. This involved drilling 20 μm diameter
holes through the silicon substrate between intended sites of nanotube growth,
but before actually growing the CNTs. It was discovered that the presence of the
holes led to surface migration of the nickel catalysts initiating CNT growth.
Experiments undertaken to achieve mass spectrometric measurements with the
arrays of CNTs as emitters are described and discussed.


This article describes the results of an action
research carried out to elaborate an educational material on
Intravenous Therapy displayed on the Internet, and its
evaluation, considering its usefulness as a subsidiary tool
in nursing learning-teaching process, not only in nursing
schools settings but also in services, in ongoing education
programs. The study was developed through data base
search and image collection with a digital camera, in the
nursing laboratory and at the Western Parana University
Hospital (Hospital Universitario do Oeste do Parana). The
material was organized in modules, and the results are
published in the following electronic address: http://
www.unioeste.br/projetos/terapiaintravenosa/pdf/1.pdf.
After displaying it on the Internet, it was evaluated by
students and professors who considered its use valid as a
supporting material for the learning process of Intravenous
Therapy.


This study was designed to test the lipid-lowering and antioxidative activities of three phenolic compounds, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and coumaric acid. Four groups of rats were given a semisynthetic diet containing 3% of cholesterol for 6 weeks. The control group only received a high cholesterol diet, whereas the other three groups received a diet including 0.2% of caffeic acid, 0.2% of ferulic acid and 0.2% of coumaric acid. The caffeic acid, ferulic acid and coumaric acid significantly lowered the plasma lipid and hepatic cholesterol levels compared to those in the control (p<0.05). The hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity was significantly lower in the caffeic acid group than in the ferulic acid and coumaric acid groups (p<0.05), while the hepatic ACAT activity was significantly lower in the caffeic acid, ferulic acid and coumaric acid groups compared to the control group (p<0.05). The overall potential of the antioxidant system was significantly enhanced by the caffeic acid, ferulic acid and coumaric acid supplements as the plasma and hepatic TBARS levels were lowered while the hepatic SOD activities and GSH concentration were elevated in the high-cholesterol-fed rats (p<0.05). Furthermore, these results indicated that the supplementation of caffeic acid, ferulic acid and coumaric acid boosted the antioxidant activity in rats and promoted the excretion of neutral sterol and acidic sterol (p<0.05), thereby leading to a decreased absorption of dietary cholesterol as well as lower plasma, hepatic cholesterol and promoted excretion of fecal sterols.


An 81 year old man was admitted to hospital with pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and was treated with rifampicin (RFP), isoniazid (INH), and ethambutol (EB). On day 9 he developed fever and dyspnoea. Chest radiographs showed new infiltration shadows in the right lung. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed and increased numbers of lymphocytes were recovered. Drug induced pneumonitis was suspected so the antituberculous regimen was discontinued and methylprednisolone was administered. The symptoms and infiltration shadows improved. INH and EB were reintroduced without any recurrence of the abnormal shadows. T cell subsets in the BAL fluid and a positive lymphocyte stimulation test for RFP suggest that RFP induced pneumonitis may be related to a complex immunological response.


There are numerous applications (e.g., video surveillance, fraud detection, cybersecurity) in which we wish to identify unexplained sets of events. Most related past work has been domain-dependent (e.g., video surveillance, cybersecurity) and has focused on the valuable class of statistical anomalies in which statistically unusual events are considered. In contrast, suppose there is a set A of known activity models (both harmless and harmful) and a log L of time-stamped observations. We define a part L's L of the log to represent an unexplained situation when none of the known activity models can explain L' with a score exceeding a user-specified threshold. We represent activities via probabilistic penalty graphs (PPGs) and show how a set of PPGs can be combined into one Super-PPG for which we define an index structure. Given a compute cluster of (K p 1) nodes (one of which is a master node), we show how to split a Super-PPG into K subgraphs, each of which can be independently processed by a compute node. We provide algorithms for the individual compute nodes to ensure seamless handoffs that maximally leverage parallelism. PADUA is domain-independent and can be applied to many domains (perhaps with some specialization). We conducted detailed experiments with PADUA on two real-world datasets—the ITEA CANDELA video surveillance dataset and a network traffic dataset appropriate for cybersecurity applications. PADUA scales extremely well with the number of processors and significantly outperforms past work both in accuracy and time. Thus, PADUA represents the first parallel architecture and algorithm for identifying unexplained situations in observation data, offering both scalability and accuracy.


As environmental vibration requirements on precision equipments get more stringent, use of pneumatic vibration isolators becomes more crucial and, hence, their dynamic performance needs to be further improved. Dynamic behavior of those pneumatic vibration Isolation tables is very important to both manufacturer and customer as performance specifications. Together with conventional transmissibility, transient response characteristics are another critical performance index especially when movements of components, e.g., x-y tables, of the precision equipments are very dynamic. In this paper, analysis on transient response of a pneumatic vibration isolation table loaded by a mass moving on it is presented. This is a conventional dynamics problem on a rigid body with 6 degree of freedom and a mass with another degree of freedom. How to obtain transient responses of the isolation table is described when the movements of the mass are prescribed relative to the table.


At different rates in different countries, one can observe the phenomenon of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. In June 2021, we surveyed 1,068 people in France and Italy to inquire about individual potential acceptance, focusing on time preferences, in a risk-return framework: getting the jab today, in a month, and in 3 months; perceived risks of vaccination and COVID-19; and expected benefit of the vaccine. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to understand the impact of daily stimuli, such as factual news about vaccines, on audience acceptance of vaccination. In the main experiment, participants were asked to read two different articles extracted from two Italian newspapers about vaccine-related thrombosis, one using a more abstract description and language and the other using a more anecdotical description and concrete language. We find that individual preferences for vaccination are variable and unstable over time, and individual choices of accepting, refusing, or delaying may be affected by the way news is written. To understand these dynamic preferences, we propose a new model based on seven categories of human behaviours that was validated by a neural network. We observe a treatment effect: participants who red the articles significantly shifted to vaccine hesitancy categories. Furthermore, we detect a peculiar gender effect, showing that the type of language that results in a higher vaccination rate for men is correlated with women's lower vaccination rate and vice versa. This outcome should be taken into consideration for an appropriate gender-based communication campaign to achieve herd immunity.


A study was carried out at four thanas namely, Mymensingh sadar, Muktaghacha, Trishal, and Bhaluka of Mymensingh district to assess impact of BRAC and PDBF sponsored homestead vegetable programme on household income and socio-economic development of rural women. A total of 40 women were involved in vegetable programme as 20 under each BARC and PDBF sponsored households. Purposive sampling technique was followed to select the samples of the study. Vegetable enterprise under both BRAC and PDBF had positive impact on increasing household income. Per household gross margin of vegetable production under BRAC (Tk 1864) was slightly higher than PDBF households (Tk 1745). But per 'Taka' return from vegetable under PDBF households (3.86) was higher than that of BRAC households (3.71). Women's age and education, family land ownership, total number of family members and also number of earning members had significant positive impact on household income. Except marketing, women performed all other activities required for growing vegetables and thus contributed to family income. Vegetable enterprise created an employment for women as they utilized a total of 252 hours year-1 in both PDBF and BRAC households in different activities needed for it. Collection of good seeds and unsatisfactory prices of seeds are the major problems of growing vegetables.


Candida biliary tract infection is a rare disease. Most of the reported cases have been diagnosed in patients with surgery or invasive procedures of the biliary tract, critical illness, immunosuppression or antibiotic treatment. This report deals with an 85 years old female patient with Candida albicans cholecystitis without previous risk factors and with a literature review on the subject. Only four patients without risk factors have been so far reported.


Purpose: 1. To study the clinical and microbiological aspects of fungal keratitis; 2. To study the predisposing and prognostic factors. 3. To study the clinical course management and outcomes of fungal keratitis; 4. To study the morphological features of corneal ulcer; To study the complications and final visual outcome. Material and Methods: This study was carried out in Maharashtra in Marathwada region, over 31 patients, the patients who were showing signs and symptoms of fungal keratitis with special significance to predisposing and prognostic factors microbiological investigation management and follow up. The data was assessed on the basis of simple percentages and ratios. Results: Fungal corneal ulcer was predominantly found more in the age group of 51-60. Majority of fungal corneal ulcer were found in rural area. Majority of cases were more common in males as compared to female. Majority of fungal corneal ulcer patients had history of trauma as predisposing factor. Majority of trauma cases were because of vegetative material. Majority of fungal corneal ulcer were related to farming activities. Inferior quadrant of cornea was most frequently involved in fungal corneal ulcer. Majority of fungal corneal ulcer were having rolled out margins. Majority of cases had thick and fibrinous hypopyon. Hypopyon was present in majority of fungal corneal ulcer patients. Distribution of fungal corneal ulcer studied. Aspergillus niger18(58.06%); Fusarium 8(25.80%); Cladosporium 3(9.67%); Penicillium 2(6.45%).


A cost-effective method of experimentally determining rail vehicle dynamic parameters for use in analytical dynamic models has been developed by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). In this method, the rail vehicle's rigid body modes of vibration are manually excited and the corresponding resonant frequencies are measured. Using these frequencies, the equations of motion for the system are solved for the vehicle's mass moments of inertias, center of gravity location, and suspension stiffness. This method of dynamic parameter identification was developed at AAR's Transportation Technology Center, Pueblo, Colorado.
 Compared to competing experimental methods, the AAR method offers the advantage of cost-effectiveness; it requires no expensive equipment and can be executed at remote locations.
 This paper describes the AAR method for rail vehicle parameter identification. An example of its use in the characterization of an iron ore rail vehicle is presented. In addition, dynamic simulation results for a transit vehicle, characterized using the AAR method, are compared to track test data for validation.


In many interesting cases, the reconstruction of a correct phylogeny is blurred by high mutation rates and/or horizontal transfer events. As a consequence, a divergence arises between the true evolutionary distances and the differences between pairs of taxa as inferred from available data, making the phylogenetic reconstruction a challenging problem. Mathematically, this divergence translates in a loss of additivity of the actual distances between taxa. In distance-based reconstruction methods, two properties of additive distances have been extensively exploited as antagonist criteria to drive phylogeny reconstruction: On the one hand, a local property of quartets, that is, sets of four taxa in a tree, the four-points condition; on the other hand, a recently proposed formula that allows to write the tree length as a function of the distances between taxa, Pauplin's formula. Here, we introduce a new reconstruction scheme that exploits in a unified framework both the four-points condition and the Pauplin's formula. We propose, in particular, a new general class of distance-based Stochastic Local Search algorithms, which reduces in a limit case to the minimization of Pauplin's length. When tested on artificially generated phylogenies, our Stochastic Big-Quartet Swapping algorithmic scheme significantly outperforms state-of-art distance-based algorithms in cases of deviation from additivity due to high rate of back mutations. A significant improvement is also observed with respect to the state-of-art algorithms in the case of high rate of horizontal transfer.


This paper gives an account of the histological changes occurring in the deltoid muscles and adjacent lymph nodes of a patient who had received intramuscular injections of procaine penicillin in arachis oil. The oil occurred in small cysts surrounded by a cellular reaction in which eosinophils were conspicuous. Some muscle degeneration and cedema were present. Fat-bearing phagocytes were plentiful around the oil and in adjacent lymph nodes. The eosinophil reaction may have arisen in response to the arachis oil, though this has not been reported in experiments on rats or rabbits. On the other hand, penicillin is a known cause of eosinophilia and is perhaps a more likely cause for the eosinophils in this case. Allergy to procaine has been described previously, but there is no record of procaine causing an eosinophilia. present paper photographs and describes the finished department. These two papers great an This is a study of eight consecutive cases of acute non-tuberculous lung abscess treated by aerosol therapy at the • Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, during the year 1947-48. All cases received intramuscular penicillin in an average dosage of 45,000 units three-hourly and all received aerosol penicillin. This was administered in 1 c.c. doses five times a day, each c.c. containing an average of 40,000 units of penicillin. In one case the penicillin was dissolved in normal saline solution, in the remaining seven in a normal saline solution of epinephrine 1 per cent, and ephedrine 1 per cent. The application by aerosol of these broncho-dilator and vaso-constrictor drugs direct to the affected areas was thought to relieve the oedema and obstruction and to allow the patients to cough more easily and to expectorate retained secretions with less effort. It also permitted the aerosol penicillin to be more effectively applied topically to the diseased site. The average duration of aerosol therapy was 25 days. Expectorant mixtures, postural drainage and encouragement to cough were used routinely. The results were excellent in all cases. Radiographic resolu-tion occurred in an average of five or six weeks. The total duration of the illness, including convalescence, averaged fifteen weeks.


Samples with micropores can not be adequately described by using the Langmuir isotherm. The Langmuir expression is obtained by using the monolayer assumption, which is not valid in samples with micropores. Then, we propose to include in the isotherm a corrective parameter related to the sample porosity. We show that the modified isotherm enables us to describe the experimental values for different samples (aluminas, clays, silicas, zeolites, and zirconias) in low and full relative pressure ranges. Indeed, a new thickness function for the adsorbate layer in terms of the relative pressure is proposed. Then, a better description of the external surface areas, mesopores, and micropores of the samples can be obtained with the new thickness function. The VBS model with this new thickness shows a better pore distribution description.


New SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages are reported for igneous and sedimentary rocks of the Famatina Complex, constraining the age of the magmatism and the ensialic basins. Together with whole-rock and isotope geochemistry for the igneous rocks from the complex, these ages indicate that the voluminous parental magmas of metaluminous composition were derived by partial melting of an older lithosphere without significant asthenospheric contribution. This magmatism was initiated in the Early Ordovician (481 Ma). During the Mid-Late Ordovician, the magmatism ceased (463 Ma), resulting in a short-lived (no more than ~20 Ma) and relatively narrow (~100-150 km) magmatic belt, in contrast to the long-lived cordilleran magmatism of the Andes. The exhumation rate of the Famatina Complex was considerably high and the erosional stripping and deposition of Ordovician sediments occurred soon after of the emplacement of the igneous source rocks during the Early to mid-Ordovician. During the upper Mid Ordovician the clastic contribution was mainly derived from plutonic rocks. Magmatism was completely extinguished in the Mid Ordovician and the sedimentary basins closed in the early Late Ordovician.


This paper aims to explore the homosocial relationships and associations that the major character of the novel, David Lurie has with the males that he encounters. David Lurie is a fifty-two-year-old twice-divorced university professor of English who seems to have lost his connections with both interior and exterior worlds. He has been accustomed to taking advantage of prostitutes and other females in order to gratify his sexual desire, culminating in his sexual encounter with his female student, Melanie that has him fired from the university. He does not have any close dealings with any male person, despite the fact that there are those who are supposedly his friends and others who even confide in him, and this perplexes him. This paper will endeavor to indicate his bonds in five varied situations with: 1) his male colleagues in trial, 2) the most significant one with Melanie's boyfriend, Ryan, who along with Melanie and David Lurie himself form a love triangle in an urban setting, 3) Melanie's Father, Mr. Isaac, 4) Bill Shaw, who calls Lurie his friend and finally, 5) Petrus who works for his daughter in the rural setting. In order to achieve the goal of this study, this paper will discuss Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's Between Men: English literature and Male Homosocial Desire, a significant book that popularized the concept of Homosociality. In her book, Sedgwick introduced for the first time in sociology and literature, the love triangle and its relationship with, influence on and importance to the protagonist.


The final goal of our research is to develop a rehabilitation support robot for self-standing-up training of hemiplegic stroke patients to restore normal standing-up motion. To improve the motor function of the patient's paralyzed leg, a guided standing-up training is effective. The therapist controls the patient's left/right load balance by pulling or pushing the patient's waist during standing-up training. The purpose of this study was to clarify the patient's waist movement guided by the therapist during the guided standing-up motion. For this purpose, we investigated the relationship between the patient's waist movement and the left/right load balance during guided standing-up motion. From the analysis results, we found the ideal pattern of load balance ratio during guided standing-up training. Moreover, we found that the patient's waist movement corresponded to the ideal pattern of load balance ratio. This movement trajectory is expected to be useful in designing a controller of a rehabilitation support robot.


We present an explicit adaptive traffic allocation scheme for optimum distribution in heterogeneous networks, where data traffic is broken down into multiple sub-flows, such that the aggregate of these multiple sub-flows at the terminal are merged into the original flow. For simplicity, parallel data transmission through inter-network cooperation is modeled as a sequent M/M/1 queue system. We aim to minimize the queue delay cost and maximize the probability of packets meeting a given delay constraint. The optimization problem has been achieved through the use of Lagrange multiplier. Depending on the utility the formulation done in this work is shown to optimally divide the rate of incoming data traffic into different paths. The simulation results show the convergence of the proposed scheme and significant improvement in performance comparing with other schemes.


Introduction : Aquaporins (AQPs) are a membrane proteins involved in water transport and have been found to be expressed in several cancers. We have already reported that AQP 5 expression is associated with differentiation for gastric cancer (J Physiol Science 2009). However, the role of AQP family expression has not been well evaluated yet. In this study, we examined the expression of AQP 1, 4, 5 and 8 in gastric cancer and colorectal cancer, and compared them with the clinico-pathological characteristics of the patients. Method : The expression of AQP1, 4, 5, and 8 was comprehensively examined by tissue microarray (TMA1150) that has been established in our hospital. The specimens of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer were obtained from the patients who receive an operation between 1993 to 2004. Clinico-pathological data were obtained from the patients' medical records. After careful examination of two independent pathologists, the results were scored according to the intensity and the distribution. Finally, AQP expressions were compared to the clinical pathologic finding of the patients. Result : In stomach cancer, positivity of AQP1, 4, 5, and 8 expressions were 40.7% (22/54), 43.2% (19/44), 97.6% (41/42) and 18.2% (8/44) respectively. AQP4 positive patients have a significant better prognosis than that of negative patients (p=0.004) and low expression of AQP4 tended to relate to poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (p=0.07). However there was no significant difference between the prognosis, histological type, disease stage (TNM classification) and AQP1, 5, and 8 expressions. With regard to colorectal cancer, positivity of AQP1, 4, 5, and 8 expressions were 27.4% (20/73), 45.9% (34/74), 98.4% (61/62), and 76.4% (55/72) respectively. AQP4 positive patients tended to have a favorable prognosis (p=0.12), on the other hand AQP1 positive group tended to have a worse prognosis (p=0.06). There was the other relationship between low expression of AQP4 and N factor (p=0.04). Conclusion : AQP 1 and 4 expression have some roles in the progression of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer, however the role of AQP 5 and 8 are still unknown. Our findings suggested that AQP 1 and 4 may be a molecular target of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1752.


The recovery of waste from many industrial production plants and its applicability in product development may be an incentive to industry, since the use of such squander could represents a cheaper source of raw material for many of the important processes utilized in further manufacturing. This paper presents the incorporated of wastes in industries particularly palm oil industries for new multi-purpose grease. Spent bleaching earth (SBE) from local palm oil refinery is used as thickener for this newly formulated grease while waste cooking oil is used as base oil. The properties of the produced grease are studied deeply in this article. Since SBE is found to be an effective thickener to newly multi-purpose formulated grease while fumed silica act as rheology modifier. So this novel idea can bring the most effective solution to convert the industrial wastage to the usable form.

 Key words: Grease, spent bleaching earth, lubricants, vegetable oil.


We have purified a cardioexcitatory substance, previously designated peak C, from ganglia of the Sunray Venus clam, Macrocallista nimbosa. Low concentrations (10(-9)-10(-8) M) of this substance not only excite the isolated clam heart, but also produce tonic contractions of the isolated radula protractor muscle of the whelk, Busycon contrarium. These two muscle preparations have therefore been used as a parallel bioassay for peak C. Peak C is inactivated by proteolytic enzymes, has an isoelectric point greater than pH 10 and has an ultraviolet absorption spectrum similar to that of phenylalanine. On thin layer chromatograms, peak C separates into two components; one of these is probably a partially oxidized form produced during purification. Both components react with ninhydrin and with the Sakaguchi reagent for guanidino groups. The amino acid composition of peak C is Phe2.00Met0.81Arg1.12. N-terminal analysis, one round of Edman-dansyl degradation, and tryptic digesting are consistent with the identification of Macrocallista peak C as a tetrapeptide amide: Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH2 (FMRFamide).


Investment strategies related to the use of high-dividend shares have been known for more than 30 years. Despite this, they remain relevant today. A large number of studies on this topic are devoted to studying the effectiveness of high-dividend strategies within one market, and cross-country studies evaluate a small number of markets. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of high-dividend strategies in the markets of all APEC economies, with the exception of Brunei and Papua New Guinea. The time horizon of the study is from 2002 to the present. We applied well-known modifications of the classic high-dividend strategy and modifications developed by the authors. We test hypotheses regarding the influence of variousfactors, such as the number of shares in a portfolio, the month of portfolio formation,classifying the economy as developed or developing, and the return on high-dividend portfolios. We also test the hypothesis that the significance of the high-dividend anomaly exists in various markets, but decreases over time. The results show different levels of effectiveness of high-dividend strategies and the different impact of the factors on the markets of developed and developing APEC economies. We found that high-dividend strategies are generally more effective in emerging markets, but in case of market growth, high-dividend strategies increase their abnormal returns only in developed markets. At the same time, the authors conclude that the number of shares in a high-dividend portfolio directly affects the result of its work.The results have theoretical and practical value, and can be applied in compiling a real investmentportfolio.


This paper considers the design of a discrete-time robust tracking control system which consists of a state space disturbance observer, a state estimator, and a state feedback controller. A new discrete-time state space disturbance observer is proposed not requiring modeling of disturbances. Through the results of applications, it is shown that the proposed method is very effective to compensate a variety of disturbances and to improve the performance of a tracking control system in the existence of external disturbances. It is also observed that the proposed state space disturbance observer allows more accurate state estimation in the existence of modeling error and disturbances.


Abstract The present work aims to prove the concept of tumor-targeted drug delivery mediated by platelets. Doxorubicin (DOX) attached to nanodiamonds (ND-DOX) was investigated as the model payload drug of platelets. In vitro experiments first showed that ND-DOX could be loaded in mouse platelets in a dose-dependent manner with a markedly higher efficiency and capacity than free DOX. ND-DOX-loaded platelets (Plt@ND-DOX) maintained viability and ND-DOX could be stably held in the platelets for at least 4 hr. Next, mouse Lewis lung cancer cells were found to activate Plt@ND-DOX and thereby stimulate cargo unloading of Plt@ND-DOX. The unloaded ND-DOX was taken up by co-cultured cancer cells which consequently exhibited loss of viability, proliferation suppression and apoptosis. In vivo, Plt@ND-DOX displayed significantly prolonged blood circulation time over ND-DOX and DOX in mice, and Lewis tumor grafts demonstrated infiltration, activation and cargo unloading of Plt@ND-DOX in the tumor tissue. Consequently, Plt@ND-DOX effectively reversed the growth of Lewis tumor grafts which exhibited significant inhibition of cell proliferation and apoptosis. Importantly, Plt@ND-DOX displayed a markedly higher therapeutic potency than free DOX but without the severe systemic toxicity associated with DOX. Our findings are concrete proof of platelets as efficient and efficacious carriers for tumor-targeted nano-drug delivery with the following features: 1) large loading capacity and high loading efficiency, 2) good tolerance of cargo drug, 3) stable cargo retention and no cargo unloading in the absence of stimulation, 4) prolonged blood circulation time, and 5) excellent tumor distribution and tumor-activated drug unloading leading to high therapeutic potency and few adverse effects. Platelets hold great potential as efficient and efficacious carriers for tumor-targeted nano-drug delivery.


The prolactin gene (PRL) is a gene that controls the incubation and egg production in laying chickens. The nature of incubation will reduce egg production and disrupt the reproductive system in local chickens. The purpose of this study was to identify the polymorphism of prolactin genes in IPB-D1 chickens using the direct sequencing method. The polymorphism of the exon 5 prolactin gene was carried out on 46 samples of IPB-D1 chicken DNA which was a collection of the Division of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Faculty of Animal Science IPB. DNA sequences as a reference for designing exon 5 primers were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with the GenBank access code: AF288765.2. DNA extraction was carried out using the phenol-chloroform technique. DNA amplification resulted in a PCR product with a size of 557 bp. In this study, the genotype frequency, allele frequency, heterozygosity value and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were calculated. The results of the study found 5 SNPs in exon 5, namely g.7823A>G, g.7835A>G, g.7886T>A, g.8052T>C, and g.8069T>C. All SNPs are polymorphic and in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium except g.8052T>C. The g.7823A>G, g.7835A>G, g.8052T>C SNPs are synonymous mutations that do not change amino acids, while the g.7886T>A and g.8069T>C SNPs are non-synonymous that change amino acids. Both g.7886T>A and g.8069T>C SNPs are potential as a marker assisted selection for the characteristics of egg production in IPB-D1 chickens.


Aims: Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is associated with insulin resistance, and is independent of the general metabolic measures. Gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) is regarded as a predictor of diabetes mellitus. We analyzed which of ALT or GGT is better tool to preestimate the development of metabolic syndrome. Method: A total of 1203 Koreans who visited the Institute of Health in Pusan National University Hospital from January 2005 to August 2006 were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Their median age was 51 years old, and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 16.4% (n = 197). We excluded the subjects with diabetes mellitus, hypertension and viral hepatitis or those subjects with a level of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or gamma-glutamyltransferase (r-GGT) > 80 IU/L. Results: For all the patients in the metabolic syndrome group, the median homeostatic assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), the waist circumference, the fasting blood glucose level, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure were all associated with the ALT level (P < 0.05). For the nonmetabolic syndrome group, all the metabolic risk factors were associated with the ALT level (P < 0.05). On logistic regression analysis, after correction for age, alcohol intake, HOMA-IR and body mass index, the logALT maintained a highly predictive value for metabolic syndrome, and this was better than the logGGT [odds ratio (OR) of logALT: 18.489, odds ratio of logGGT: 2.024] (P < 0.001). The risk of developing metabolic syndrome was significantly higher in the above 50 percentile and the above 75 percentile of ALT than in the lowest quartile. [for men – OR: 3.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.2-5.9; OR: 6.9; 95% CI: 4.3-10.9] [for women – OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.5-4.7; OR: 6.5; 95% CI: 3.8-11] (P < 0.001). The cut-off value of ALT by the ROC curve was 24 IU/L for men (sensitivity: 64.3%, specificity: 66%, negative predictive value: 99.5%) and 20 IU/L for women (sensitivity: 78.9%, specificity: 61.4%, negative predictive value: 84.9%). Conclusions: Even although patients can have an ALT level that's included within the upper normal level, we may consider the probability that these patients will have metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, in our analysis, the ALT level is a better predictor of metabolic syndrome than the GGT level. (J Korean Endocr


Theoretical evaluation of molecular properties of excited states is extremely necessary as the lifetime of the excited states is too low for experimental probing. High level of theoretical treatment is an attractive option for the study of such states. However, theoretical calculation of this is a challenging task and in this paper we have presented such calculation using the analytic Fock space multireference coupled cluster linear response approach in a one hole–one particle model space. The results for the dipole moments of the adiabatic excited states of the water molecule are presented in this paper. The Sadlej basis set optimized for the property evaluation is used for the calculation and we address the adiabatic singlet B1 and triplet B1 excited states. The results using both the finite-field and the analytic response approach are presented. Full effective Hamiltonian including the three body terms in a singles and doubles approximation has been used for the calculation.


This study proposes a detection method that incorporates the extension theory with fractional-order chaotic self-synchronization of dynamic errors in order to analyze ball bearing signals. A fractional-order Chen-Lee chaotic system (FOCLCS), which is capable of detecting slight changes in signals, is used to extract the obvious characteristics of signal disturbance. A master-slave synchronization system compares normal-state signals with fault signals to generate dynamic errors, which are extracted for synchronization and comparison. Then, a matter-element model is established based on the extension theory to enable accurate identification of the ball bearing signals. According to MATLAB simulation results, the proposed detection method integrating the extension theory with fractional-order chaotic synchronization of dynamic errors achieves 100% accuracy with a smaller amount of computation and a shorter computation time than those required by the conventional detection methods and is therefore advantageous to real-time monitoring. When applied to machine tools, the proposed detection method can serve as an aid to their online real-time analysis system.


The apparent transition underway from a trans-Atlantic, liberal world order to one of multiple, overlapping orders has caused much policy, scholarly, and public anxiety. In tandem with this structural development, in the field of international relations (IR), heated contests are underway between alternative visions of how to read this transformation. In this introduction to the special forum, we outline an approach for grappling with these dynamics. Our overarching question is: How to make sense of emergent regional imaginaries, the ways that they interlock, and the implications for IR theory and practice? To begin answering, we first challenge the increasingly widespread view that the return of great power politics—or what we call the "great game" vision of multipolarity—is the only or best register with which to read emerging patterns. Instead, we propose the idea of "interlocking regional worlds," a notion inspired by "Afro-Eur-Asia" as a site that evokes multiple meanings. A historically sensitive and sociologically nuanced analytical modality, we argue for theory as "itinerant translation" across regional worlds. This relational framework, we contend, can help to better understand and explain, observe and encounter one another, the problems that collectively embroil us, and the transformative processes to which we are bearing witness. The exercises in itinerant translation across the interlocking regional worlds of Afro-Eur-Asia on offer in this special forum likewise reveal the globe as a pluriversal space where multiple realities can and do coexist (and always have).


After combined injuries, much more pronounced changes in the protein composition of serum develop than simply after skin wounding or irradiation. A decrease was found in the prealbumin, albumin, alpha1-globulin and gamma-globulin fractions while the alpha2-globulin and beta-globulin fractions increased. If skin wounds were inflicted prior or almost simultaneously to irradiation, the serum protein changes as induced by irradiation become normalized earlier. I1 skin wounds were inflicted after irradiation they caused very pronounced alteration in the protein picture which develops in a course parallel to the increasing lethality. Only if the skin wounds were inflicted 21 days after irradiation, that they appeared to have nearly no influence in the form of augmenting protein changes. The gamma-globulin content increased considerably after the 14th day after irradiation. An additional skin wound, however, caused a depression of the gamma-globulins; but the values were still significantly higher than normal.


High voltage direct current (HVDC) power cables are usually exposed to high value of stresses from lightning impulses and switching surges (over voltages) at working under load and no load. In this research used a detail analysis for stresses behavior in the insulation of cable at over voltages and at both modes (load & no load). It also shows the effect of such over voltages (lightning impulse & switching surges) on space charge accumulation in the insulation of the cables at load and no load. The investigated cable is of rated voltage 33Kv insulated by cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE).Electrical field and space charge accumulation are carried out theoretically by the aids of computer programs. The results give an indication of the maximum stresses occurs in the cables insulation at over voltages for both modes (load and no load), and also give an induction of the space charge accumulation at over voltage and at load and no load. The results show that maximum stress occurred by lightning impulse is found much higher than that of switching operation for load and no load but the switching surge has longer period. Also the results show that the space charges accumulation at lightning impulse are more than at switching surges for both modes (load & on load). Both main results (Electrical stresses and space charge accumulation) are found depends on the polarity of the over voltages.


To date, African Americans and Latinos consent to organ donation at lower rates than Caucasians and are disproportionately represented on transplant waiting lists. However, limited work has investigated racial differences in predictors of organ donation registration. In this study, we examined racial differences in the antecedents of African American, Caucasian, and Latino young adults' registration intentions using the theory of planned behavior, the noncognitive model, and perceived realism. Non-donors (N = 307) were recruited in a stratified random telephone survey. Results indicate that for African Americans, subjective norm, bodily integrity, and medical mistrust were the strongest predictors of registration intention. For Caucasians, attitude and subjective norm arose as key determinants of registration intention. For Latinos, attitude, subjective norm, and medical mistrust were the strongest predictors of registration intention. Consistent evidence for the independent predictive validity of perceived realism was also documented. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed, as well as avenues for future research.


In my article, I attempt to track the ritual year in different social and cultural settings. The Feast of the Assumption was chosen for this research as a traditional religious holiday in Lithuania. Various chronological periods and localities of the feast are under investigation: celebrations in the 19th to the first half of the 20th centuries; the Assumption as a Lithuanian national holiday in 1929 in Kaunas; the Feast as a Lithuanian holiday specifically celebrated in Punsk (North Poland) since 1967; and finally, as a non-working day in Vilnius and Vilnius environments since 2000. The comparison of these versions, forms, and meanings of the Assumption leads to the conclusion that even a religious holiday can embody different values in different sociocultural surroundings, ranging from religious, national, and ethnic significance, to simply an excuse for a day off from work.


The goal of microarray experiments is to identify genes that are differentially transcribed with respect to different biological conditions of cell cultures and samples. Among the large amount of genes presented in gene expression data, only a small fraction of them is effective for performing a certain diagnostic test. Hence, one of the major tasks with the gene expression data is to find groups of co regulated genes whose collective expression is strongly associated with the sample categories or response variables. A framework is improved/ modified in this report to find informative gene combinations and to classify gene combinations belonging to its relevant subtype by using fuzzy logic. The genes are ranked based on their statistical scores and highly informative genes mare filtered. Such genes are fuzzified to identify 2-gene and 3-gene combinations and the intermediate value for each gene is calculated to select top gene combinations to further classify gene lymphoma subtypes by using fuzzy rules. Finally the accuracy of top gene combinations is compared with clustering results. The classification is done using the gene combinations and it is analyzed to predict the accuracy of the results. The work is implemented using java language.


The method of continuous variation was used to characterize lithium enolates, phenolates, carboxylates, and alkoxides solvated by N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA). The method relies on characterizing an ensemble of homo- and heteroaggregates using (6)Li NMR spectroscopy. A combination of aggregate counts and symmetries, nearly statistical distributions, and quantitative parametric fits revealed that cyclic dimers are the dominant forms. Nonstatistical distributions favoring heteroaggregated dimers were observed when hindered enolates and carboxylates were mixed with unhindered enolates. Hindered (tertiary) alkoxides form higher aggregates (possibly hexamers), whereas hindered lithium phenolates appear to form TMEDA-solvated monomers.


Seasonal cycles of demand present major problems for management of small businesses. This research provides the first known empirical descriptive evidence on seasonality in U.S. small businesses. Frequency data were gathered from a survey of 73 small business owners. The study revealed information on the attributes of cyclical demand, including the length of seasonal phases and reported causal factors of the phases. Cost and revenue management actions small business owners employed to manage seasonality were identified by phase. Implications of the findings for both practice and future research are considered. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE


This paper deals with a gate drive circuit of HVIPMs that is suitable for a snubberless inverter system. The proposed gate drive circuit changes the gate resistance in the middle of switching operation to reduce the variation ratio of collector current which causes the surge voltage. The simulation results and experimental results show that the surge voltage can be reduced without considerably increasing the switching loss.


Periodic plasmonic nanostructures are being widely studied, optimized, and developed to produce a new generation of low-cost and efficient chemical sensors and biosensors. The extensive variety of nanostructures, interrogation approaches, and setups makes a direct comparison of the reported performance from different sensing platforms a challenging exercise. In this feature Article, the most common parameters used for the evaluation of plasmonic nanostructures will be reviewed, with particular focus on the advances in periodic plasmonic nanostructures. Recent progress in the fabrication methods that allow for the high-volume production of periodic plasmonic sensors at low cost will be described, together with an assessment of the state of the art in terms of periodic structures employed for chemical sensing.


String data is ubiquitous, and its management has taken on particular importance in the past few years. Approximate queries are very important on string data especially for more complex queries involving joins. This is due, for example, to the prevalence of typographical errors in data, and multiple conventions for recording attributes such as name and address. Commercial databases do not support approximate string joins directly, and it is a challenge to implement this functionality efficiently with user-defined functions (UDFs). In this paper, we develop a technique for building approximate string join capabilities on top of commercial databases by exploiting facilities already available in them. At the core, our technique relies on matching short substrings of length , called -grams, and taking into account both positions of individual matches and the total number of such matches. Our approach applies to both approximate full string matching and approximate substring matching, with a variety of possible edit distance functions. The approximate string match predicate, with a suitable edit distance threshold, can be mapped into a vanilla relational expression and optimized by conventional relational optimizers. We demonstrate experimentally the benefits of our technique over the direct use of UDFs, using commercial database systems and real data. To study the I/O and CPU behavior of approximate string join algorithms with variations in edit distance and -gram length, we also describe detailed experiments based on a prototype implementation.