Eleven patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and urinary retention requiring catheter drainage in all cases except one, were treated with either hydroxyprogesterone caproate (eight patients) or chlormadinone acetate (three patients) for 3 to 16 months continuously. Six patients voided spontaneously with less than 50 ml residual urine within three months; in two others, similar results occurred after five months of treatment. Three patients were unresponsive to therapy. Among a control group of ten patients with BPH and retention requiring catheter drainage, only two voided spontaneously with less than 50 ml residual urine after two months, a statistically significant difference from the treated group. Of eight patients responding favorably to treatment, residual urine, symptoms of prostatism, and renal function remained stable for an average follow-up of 13 months following discontinuation of therapy.


Experimental studies suggest that the delivery of antiepileptic agents into the seizure focus might be of potential utility for the treatment of focal-onset epilepsies. Botulinum neurotoxin E (BoNT/E) causes a prolonged inhibition of neurotransmitter release after its specific cleavage of the synaptic protein synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25). Here, we show that BoNT/E injected into the rat hippocampus inhibits glutamate release and blocks spike activity of pyramidal neurons. BoNT/E effects persist for at least 3 weeks, as determined by immunodetection of cleaved SNAP-25 and loss of intact SNAP-25. The delivery of BoNT/E to the rat hippocampus dramatically reduces both focal and generalized kainic acid-induced seizures as documented by behavioral and electrographic analysis. BoNT/E treatment also prevents neuronal loss and long-term cognitive deficits associated with kainic acid seizures. Moreover, BoNT/E-injected rats require 50% more electrical stimulations to reach stage 5 of kindling, thus indicating a delayed epileptogenesis. We conclude that BoNT/E delivery to the hippocampus is both antiictal and antiepileptogenic in experimental models of epilepsy.


Embedded cluster processing solutions can be difficult to design if quantity and type of processors, interconnectivity technology and code partitioning are not specified in advance, and yet it may not be possible to determine these without qualitative and quantitative testing which can not be performed until hardware is available. Similar issues are faced in conventional development projects for generic embedded systems, or for generic distributed systems, but the issues are exacerbated when both attributes are combined. This paper considers issues relating to custom embedded cluster processing system development in general, before focussing on a specific example of a space-borne cluster computer using ARM processors running embedded Linux. This early example, which will be shown performing distributed synthetic aperture radar image processing, is representative of a growing number of systems in the pervasive and ambient computing fields. It illustrates many difficulties in co-developing hardware and software for specific tasks. We present one potential solution – the use of distributed virtualization to simulate the final design. An ARM cluster simulator is presented, constructed using QEMU and virtual networking, and shown used for the development and validation of distributed embedded processing tasks on a cluster-type architecture. As clusters of embedded processors, pervasive embedded networks, and the "embedded cloud" become more popular in the near future, such virtualized systems can prove useful for development and testing.


The meaning of the kingdom of God is often discussed by scholars of theology who reveal that the kingdom of God is something that will come or is happening now. This article provides an understanding for readers that knowing the Kingdom of God as a believer's life priority based on the Gospel of Matthew 6:33 is not something mystical. The kingdom of God can only be known, known, and obtained by knowing God in Christ as its foundation. This study uses the exegesis method with a word analysis approach from the original text, which is to find the spiritual meaning behind the original text. The results of this study found that the kingdom of God is the totality of the lives of believers who do not only focus on physical needs that cause more worry. So that this article provides an understanding that changes the mindset of believers about the kingdom of God in today's world, namely living to seek God and seeking true justice is to put on Christ.


The article analyses the recent status and development of permanent inhabitants and second homes in the UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Dolomites area in the Italian Alps. First, the results show that a growth of permanent population is ongoing selectively in the urban and periurban areas, confirming earlier research in the Alpine arc and showing that agglomeration advantages are taking place. Second, the results show that these processes are parallel to a shifting use of second homes, announcing a transformation from an export-based to a residential economy in which second homes seem not to be homogeneously complementary to the tourist sector. Third, the Dolomites are not a homogenous region: despite the joint application process for WH site involving five provinces, demographic and economic differences can be highlighted along the provincial borders. This proves that demographic development is strongly pathdependent and conditioned by institutional settings and legislation. Therefore, ongoing strong agglomeration advantages and institutional differences are more decisive for the economic and demographic transformation in the Alps than single strategies carried out by local tourism consortia or enterprises. This brings to a relativization of the emerging debate about new migrants: regions From tourism to multilocal residence? Journal of Alpine Research | Revue de géographie alpine, 102-3 | 2014 16


The present study aimed at developing some EFL vocabulary skills among secondary school students using Electronic Task-Based Learning (ETBL). The participants of the study consisted of first year secondary school students enrolled in Subk El-Dahhak Secondary School, in Menoufia Governorate (N=25). This study adopted one study group pre-posttest design. Five main tools were used: An EFL Vocabulary Skills checklist required for first year secondary school students, an EFL Pre- test to measure some of the students' vocabulary skills, an EFL Post-test to measure some of the students' vocabulary skills, an EFL vocabulary skills rubric to score students' performance on the EFL vocabulary skills tests and a Teacher's Guide. A quantitative data analysis was conducted. The mean scores of the pre-posttests of the participants of the study were compared by using t-test. ETBL was applied to the participants during the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020. Results of the quantitative analysis showed that the participants' some EFL vocabulary skills were developed significantly as a result of ETBL. Therefore, it can be concluded that ETBL was effective in developing some EFL vocabulary skills among first year secondary school students.


In a controlled therapeutic trial, serum calcium and serum alkaline phophatase levels were measured during treatment with different doses of vitamin D2 in 45 epileptic inpatients. The results demonstrate that, in spite of the curative effect of vitamin D2 with regard to total body calcium, this vitamin has no effect on serum calcium or serum alkaline phosphatase in anticonvulsant osteomalacia.


The following thesis consists of a compilation of eleven case studies pertaining to various accounting theory and methodologies. Each individual case study begins with an executive summary consisting of an introduction, analysis, and conclusion. The following cases were completed throughout the 2017-2018 school year in the course, ACCY 420, taught by Dr. Vicki Dickinson. The following cases consist of detailed analysis of financial statements, accounting methods, and the use and implementation of data analytics software. These cases were individually reviewed and graded throughout the ACCY 420 course, as well as discussed and analyzed through group discussion. This thesis has been defended through participation in the PwC & KPMG Accounting Case Competitions.


The paper proposes a systematic, data-driven method for kinematics modeling of high mobility wheeled rovers traversing uneven terrain. The method is based on the propagation of position and orientation velocities starting from the rover reference frame and going through various joints and linkages to the wheels. Equations of the motion are set up in a compact form, which only require the D-H parameters of the rover joints and links. To illustrate the proposed kinematics modeling, the method is applied to a rover similar to the NASA's Sample Return Rover.


The viscosity of the unsaturated polyester resin(UPR) adding aluminum hydroxide(ATH) was tested and analyzed at different temperatures and various contents of accelerator by digital viscosity instrument.The result shows that the temperature is the dominant factor influencing viscosity of resin and the temperature plays more important role than the accelerator on the gel time.


Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is the major cause of non-relapse morbidity and mortality after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). GVHD also is associated with a potent anti-leukemic effect. Chronic GVHD resembles autoimmune diseases and can likely affect any organ or tissue of the body. Skin, oral, liver, and lacrimal gland involvement are most common. The incidence and presentation have been in evolution as new stem cell sources and transplant approaches have been introduced. Although progress in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic GVHD has been limited for many years, there is renewed interest in this disorder. New prognostic scores and animal models of chronic GVHD have been developed. Large, multicenter phase III therapy and biology studies have been undertaken. The challenge for the future will be the discovery of targeted approaches that allow the anti-leukemic effect to be retained and for the reconstitution of normal immunity, thereby reducing infectious complications.


Bolzano is experimenting an integrated approach to improve the quality of life and to implement the features of sustainability; within 2018 it will become, together with Innsbruck, the first "smart city" in Europe in the framework of the European Sinfonia Project. In this in-depth analysis, the role of IPES (Istituto Edilizia Sociale Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano) has been studied within the design Project of two specific sites. The general aim is to understand how the construction process has been implemented by the Institute, highlighting both any possible boundary to the development of energy-efficient solutions on an urban scale learned in parallel with the economic and social impact of the design itself.


Non-uniformity and anisotropy of the conductivity of a liquid flowing through an electromagnetic flowmeter affects its sensitivity. This effect is analysed for a circular meter with small electrodes and rectilinear flow with an axisymmetric velocity profile. The magnetic field is assumed invariant in the flow direction. The conductivity tensor is assumed to have principal axes in the radial and azimuthal directions with the principal conductivities σr, σθ depending only on the radius. The sensitivity is found analytically for an arbitrary plane magnetic field in the case σrσθ=constant. When the field is uniform the condition on σr and σθ necessary to make the sensitivity independent of the shape of the velocity profile is found. The sensitivity change is deduced for small perturbations from this conductivity distribution, for an arbitrary axisymmetric velocity profile. The effect of blood vessel walls having large conductivity variations of a simple type is also found. The results agree well with the numerical calculations of Baker in 1970 and satisfactorily with deductions made from the experimental results of Phibbs in 1968 and Dennis and Wyatt in 1969.


This paper encompasses a super helical memory system's design, 'Boolean logic & image-logic' as a theoretical concept of an invention-model to 'store time-data' in terms of anticipating the best memory location ever for data/time. A waterfall effect is deemed to assist the process of potential-difference output-switch into diverse logic states in quantum dot computational methods via utilizing coiled carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) and carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNFETs). A 'quantum confinement' is thus derived for a flow of particles in a categorized quantum well substrate with a normalized capacitance rectifying high B-field flux into electromagnetic induction. Multi-access of coherent sequences of 'qubit addressing' is gained in any magnitude as pre-defined for the orientation of array displacement. Briefly, Gaussian curvature of k (k<0) for greater CCNT diameters, space-time continuum is folded by chance for the particle. This benefits from Maxwell-Lorentz theory in Minkowski's space-time viewpoint alike to crystal oscillators for precise data timing purposes and radar systems e.g., time varying self-clocking devices in diverse geographic locations. This application could also be optional for data depository versus extraction, in the best supercomputer system's locations, autonomously. For best performance in minimizing current limiting mechanisms including electromigration, a multilevel metallization and implant process forming elevated sources/drains for the circuit's staircase pyramidal construction, is discussed accordingly.


CONTEXT
In spite of numerous studies on the occurrence of dementia, many questions remain, such as the relation between age, aging, and dementing disorders. This question is relevant both for understanding the pathogenetic mechanism of the dementias and for the public health prospective because of the increasing number of 85-year-old or older persons in our population.

OBJECTIVE
To estimate the occurrence of dementia in the very old, including nonagenarians, in relation to age, gender, and different dementia types.

DESIGN
An epidemiological survey where all participants were clinically examined by physicians, assessed by psychologists, and interviewed by nurses. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Revised Third Edition (DSM-III-R) criteria for dementia were followed. A category of "questionable dementia" was added when all criteria were not fulfilled. A double diagnostic procedure was used for all subjects.

SETTING
Community-based population, including all inhabitants of 2 areas in central Stockholm, Sweden (N = 1848).

PARTICIPANTS
Of the 1848 subjects in the study population, 168 (9.1%) had died and 56 (3%) moved before examination. Of the remaining subjects, 1424 (87.7%) were examined, and the refusal rate was 12.3%.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Age- and gender-specific prevalence figures, and gender- and education-adjusted odds ratios were used.

RESULTS
At the end of the diagnostic procedure, 358 clinically definite cases of dementia and 101 questionable cases of dementia were identified. Alzheimer disease (AD) contributed to 76.5%, and vascular dementia (VaD) to 17.9%. The prevalence of dementia increases from 13% in the 77- to 84-year-old subjects to 48% among persons 95 years and older (from 18% to 61% when questionable cases were included). The odds ratio for subjects 90 to 94 years and 95 years and older in comparison with 77- to 84-year-old subjects was 3.7 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7-5.1) and 6.5 (95% CI, 3.9-10.8) for dementia, 4.8 (95% CI, 3.3-7.0) and 8.0 (95% CI, 4.6-14.0) for persons with AD, 2.3 (95% CI, 1.3-4.2) and 4.6 (95% CI, 1.9-11.2) for VaD, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Dementia prevalence continues to increase even in the most advanced ages. This increase is especially evident among women and is more clear for AD. We believe that our prevalence data reflect the differential distribution of dementia risk.


Abstract Analyses of porosity and permeability are examined from cores drilled in two Miocene carbonate platforms cored by ODP Leg 194, seaward from the Great Barrier Reef, including one site in the Northern Marion Platform (NMP; mostly preserved as limestone) and two sites in the Southern Marion Platform (SMP; mostly dolomitized). The majority of plug samples are from coarse bioclastic facies and their dolomitized equivalents. Dolomitization probably occurred by circulation of normal to slightly modified sea-water. Increasing fabric destruction at greater depth in the SMP may reflect overprinting of multiple dolomitization episodes in older strata, perhaps related to successive cycles of sea-level fluctuation. Both limestones and dolostones show similarly wide variation in porosity and permeability, reflecting extreme metre-scale heterogeneity of lithologies and diagenetic responses. The limestones show poorer porosity-permeability correlation, with generally lower permeability for given porosity compared with the dolostones, but with similar maximum permeabilities. Despite wide textural diversity, the dolostones cluster along a single trend that parallels the ideal relationship described by the Kozeny equation and characteristic of well-sorted sandstones. The low permeability-for-given-porosity of many limestones is explained by the fine grain size of some samples and, in other cases, by isolation of macropores behind mud matrix. Pore systems in the dolostones, however, tend to be dominated by interparticle macroporosiity, consisting of either relict intergranular pores (grainstones with fabric-preserving dolomitization) or intercrystalline pores (fabric-destructive dolostones and packstones with fabric-preserving dolomitization). Although many dolostones have vuggy pore systems, the vugs appear to be effective for fluid flow because they are connected by the enclosing system of interparticle macropores.


This article analyses the Europeanisation of national pension systems in Denmark and Italy. Through the analytical framework of a 'two-level' game, it analyses pension reforms in the two countries, which, in the wake of the crisis, breached EU budgetary requirements, and shortly after reformed their pension systems. The EU affects pension reform in both cases, but in distinct ways. When Denmark's economy was financially vulnerable, the EU's excessive deficit procedure affected the decision to reform pensions indirectly, by triggering a rapid political decision to speed up a pension reform. By contrast, the Italian economy's critical vulnerability and the consequent risk for the whole Eurozone led to a situation whereby the European actors entered the domestic political scene and thereafter more forcefully induced reforms. The findings from the two cases show that the EU's role in pension reform has been significant during crises, but through interaction with domestic actors. Furthermore, from a theoretical perspective, the intervening variables – domestic and EMU vulnerability as well as EU and domestic politics – are crucial to understanding the reform decisions through two-level games.


"EVERY PAINTING IS A LOVE AFFAIR." So SayS the cashier and Sunday painter Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street (1945). Cross is explaining his aesthetic principles to Katherine "Kitty" March (Joan Bennett), who later conspires with her lover, the slimy Johnny Prince (Dan Duryea), to sign Cross's paintings with her name. Yet Cross's words resonate beyond this film; indeed, they could provide the epigraph for a group of early films noir that depict men falling in love with a woman's portrait.1 Three films in particular-/ Wake Up Screaming (1942), Laura (1944), and The Dark Corner (1946)- feature fetishized female images that males use to bolster their own identities orto fashion new ones. These women's portraits become, in effect, mirrors or self-portraits of the men. In these retellings of the Galatea/Pygmalion myth, each man ends up creator and forger of the woman and of himself. The pictorial representations in the films also generate two types of self-reflexivity. First, in employing the typical noir device of the framed narrative or flashback, the films analogically replicate the fashioning of these characters' framed identities within exploitative perspectives. Second, their stories of fabricated female identities invoke Hollywood's own fabrication of female stars in the studio system. A second triad of painting films- Lang's The Woman in the Window (1944) and Scarlet Street and the film on which the latter was based, Jean Renoir's (non-noir) La Chienne (1931)employs painting to explore problems of originality, authorship, and replication. In testing the relation between unconscious desire and waking life, Woman explicitly depicts its female portrait as an aspect of the male psyche. Here the lines between representation and viewer become nearly invisible: the portrait is less a painting than a mirror. Scarlet Street multiplies the reflections, at once repainting Lang's Woman and forging a copy of Renoir's film. The latter two films also stage a debate about cinematic authorship and record the filmmakers' concerns about their position in a culture that devalues art in favor of commerce. Finally, the little-known 1946 film Crack-Up uses an art-forgery plot to complicate further these problems of authenticity, originality, and subjectivity, posing anxious but ultimately unresolved questions about the reliability of memory and pictorial representation. Blurring the lines between originality and forgery, subjectivity and objectivity, and reality and representation, these films Imply that all identities are to some degree forged, that human character is too malleable and complex to be framed within a single subject or explained within a single narrative. Dreamgirls In I Wake Up Screaming, the murder of model Vicky Lynn (Carole Landls) precipitates a search for her killer. Three witnesses recall, in nine flashbacks, the circumstances leading to her death. Promoter Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) relates how Vicky was "discovered" while working as a waitress and how she cooperated with the efforts of Christopher, washed-up actor Robin Ray, and columnist Larry Evans to create her as a "face." The flashback structure suggests that each narrator has imagined a somewhat different Vicky: Ray, for example, testifies that "the very sight of her gave [him] new hope" that he might revive his fading career. Vicky's image will refresh his image. Although Vicky insists to Frankie, "I'm a very attractive girl. You didn't create that. I'm no Frankenstein, you know," the film implies that she is just that- a synthetic creature pasted together from fragments of others' aspirations. Like Charles Foster Kane, she remains a puzzle, a mirror within a mirror- a canvas on which others paint their own desires and values. Vicky's sister Jill (Betty Grable) remembers warning her, "One week your face is on the cover of a magazine, and the next it's in the asnean." Vicky dismissed the admonition. …


In this paper, we propose a new method for protein detection by making use of magnetic graphene for enrichment and separation of the targets and duplex DNA-templated copper nanoparticles for amplification of electrochemical signals. Because the binding of the target protein (e.g. folate receptor) and small molecule (e.g. folate) can protect complementary DNA (cDNA) from exonuclease III-catalyzed degradation, duplex DNA from the hybridization of probe DNA and cDNA can act as the template for the formation of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). Afterward, CuNPs-coated DNA can be enriched on the surface of magnetic graphene through the 3'-overhanging end of probe DNA, and then separated from the reaction mixture with the aid of magnet. As a result, copper ions released from acid-dissolution of CuNPs can catalyze the oxidation of o-phenylenediamine (OPD) by dissolved oxygen, resulting in an amplified electrochemical response. Our method can sensitively detect target protein over a wide linear range and with a low detection limit of 7.8 pg mL(-1), which can easily distinguish the targets even in complex serum samples. Therefore, this method may be promising for the clinical diagnosis of protein biomarkers by changing the recognition elements in the future.


liver. This patient was in an advancedstate of poisoning when admitted to hospital and apparentlyhad little hope, but it is notable that, although dextrose was given, no intravenousadministrationof alkali is recorded. Various writers have stressed the importance of this latter measure. S. W. Williams and R. M. Panting,of Melbourne, reported'good results from the intravenousadministration of sodium lactate solution, and the patients of Gillespie and Dukes, as mentioned above, respondedwell to intravenousinjection of sodium bicarbonatesolution. Although Gillespie and Dukes also gave their patientssodium bicarbonate by mouth, this is not generally favoured, on the grounds that it may increaseabsorptionof the drug. In an addendumto their report, Krasnoff and Bernstein record the death of a boy, aged fifteen months, who was given 30 grains of aspirin in a period of ten hours; he died in a state of acidosis and respiratory depression and the post-mortem findings were similar to those previously recorded. Details of treatmentare not given. There is no evidence in any of these reports that aspirin is harmful in normal therapeutic doses (apart from the small group of people with an idiosyncrasy), but the drug is freely available and may be taken in excessive amounts accidentally, for treatment or with intention of suicide. It is as well to appreciatejust how dangerous excessive doses can be and to know the essentialsof treatment.


With the aim to illustrate the complex relations between complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and biomedicine, we examine how journalists have represented three influential Estonian CAM doctors. Our analysis of 36 journalistic texts published between 1996 and 2018 about these CAM doctors focuses on the similarities and the differences between the representations. Our study demonstrates how journalistic decisions shape the representations of CAM doctors, making journalists important actors in the debates between CAM and biomedicine. Due to the high polarisation between CAM and biomedicine in the Estonian media landscape, CAM doctors, as controversial figures, face constant pressure to make choices when participating in the public sphere. If CAM doctors choose a passive media strategy, it can lead to more polarised journalistic representations of CAM-related activities.


SUMMARY The effect of the UV-absorbing sensitizing pigment of fly photoreceptors on absolute, spectral and angular sensitivity was investigated with a wave-optics model for the facet lens-rhabdomere system. When sky light was used as a UV-rich light source, one sensitizing pigment molecule per rhodopsin increased the photoreceptor absorption by 14-18% with respect to pure rhodopsin, whilst two sensitizing pigment molecules per rhodopsin increased the absorption by 20-27%. Upon light adaptation, when the pupil mechanism is activated, photoreceptor absorption decreases; in the housefly, Musca, by up to 6-fold. The fully light-adapted pupil diminishes the photoreceptor's acceptance angle by a factor of ∼0.6 due to selective absorption of higher order waveguide modes. Spatial acuity of dark-adapted photoreceptors is more or less constant throughout the visual wavelength range, including the UV, because the waveguide optics of the rhabdomere compromise acuity least at wavelengths most limited by diffraction of the facet lens. Diffraction is not the general limiting factor causative for UV sensitivity of insect eyes. Visual acuity is governed by diffraction only with a fully light-adapted pupil, which absorbs higher waveguide modes. Closure of the blue-absorbing pupil causes a UV-peaking spectral sensitivity of fly photoreceptors. The sensitizing pigment does not play an appreciable role in modifying spatial acuity, neither in the dark- nor the light-adapted state, due to the dominant contribution of green light in natural light sources.


In this study, an automated serial two-photon microscope was used to image a fluorescent gelatin filled rodent's brain in 3D. A method to compute vascular density using automatic segmentation was combined with coregistration techniques to build group-level vasculature metrics. By studying the medial prefrontal cortex and the hippocampal formation of 3 age groups (2, 4.5 and 8 months old), we compared vascular density for both WT and an Alzheimer model transgenic brain (APP/PS1). We observe a loss of vascular density caused by the ageing process and we propose further analysis to confirm our results.


Some people can easily empathize with others, while others cannot. The neural mechanism underlying individual difference of how much people can empathize with others is still not clear. Vicarious reward is the phenomenon by which we vicariously experience the positive sensations or emotions of others. Beta oscillatory activity (BOA) is observed when participants experience vicarious reward. Recent studies have reported that the default mode network (DMN) is also involved in reward processing and have suggested that individual differences in the way participants respond to reward stimuli are correlated with DMN functional connectivity during the resting state. In the current study, we investigated whether DMN functional connectivity during the resting state is also correlated with BOA for vicarious reward. Participants watched a player playing a game (Kendama) and investigated the correlation of BOA amplitude and resting state DMN functional connectivity. The results revealed a significant correlation between the degree of phase synchronization within DMN components in the resting state and the amplitude of BOA while participants experienced vicarious reward. The results suggested that functional connectivity within the DMN in the resting state positively influenced vicarious reward processing while observing others receiving a reward.


Abstract The disguise of truth as one of the main sources of blameworthy in the Qur'an and the customs has been extremely condemned and has cautioned the concealer. In light of the Quranic documentation and the legitimacy of the disguise of reality, it has been acknowledged and acknowledged that instances of household and outside business sectors that reason doubt of merchants and uncertainty in the monetary space have been a wellspring of perplexity by the gatherings to the agreement. In Iran's law, regardless of the expectation of common risk, including pay and end for hiding reality, no assurance of criminal requirement has been predicted. In this article, alluding to the refrains and portrayals, the standard of wellbeing and the guideline of the supply of products reality in contracts where the purposeful camouflage causes unsalvageable harm, by adjusting the components of wrongdoing, notwithstanding thoughtful risk, for hiding criminal obligation.


This paper presents TinyMotion, a pure software approach for detecting a mobile phone user's hand movement in real time by analyzing image sequences captured by the built-in camera. We present the design and implementation of TinyMotion and several interactive applications based on TinyMotion. Through both an informal evaluation and a formal 17-participant user study, we found that 1. TinyMotion can detect camera movement reliably under most background and illumination conditions. 2. Target acquisition tasks based on TinyMotion follow Fitts' law and Fitts law parameters can be used for TinyMotion based pointing performance measurement. 3. The users can use Vision TiltText, a TinyMotion enabled input method, to enter sentences faster than MultiTap with a few minutes of practicing. 4. Using camera phone as a handwriting capture device and performing large vocabulary, multilingual real time handwriting recognition on the cell phone are feasible. 5. TinyMotion based gaming is enjoyable and immediately available for the current generation camera phones. We also report user experiences and problems with TinyMotion based interaction as resources for future design and development of mobile interfaces.


The article deals with the problems of mental conditions. We raise the question of meaning of various psychic states in the process of teaching and teachers' activity. We focus our attention on the condition of so called "burning-out". We speculate on the reasons of its appearance, its connection with other psychic states, and offer the ways and methods of self-regulation for the teachers of higher educational establish-ments.


This paper reviews two contrasting approaches governments use to engage the citizen to promote better public policy outcomes: nudging citizens using the insights of behavioural economics, as summarised by Thaler and Sunstein (2009) or giving citizens the space to think through and debate solutions, as indicated by proponents of deliberative democracy. The paper summarises each approach, giving examples; then it compares and contrast them, illustrating their relative strengths and weaknesses. The paper concludes by suggesting that the approaches share some common features and policy-makers could useful draw upon both.


Quantum state discrimination (QSD) is a fundamental task in quantum information processing with numerous applications. We present a variational quantum algorithm that performs the minimum-error QSD, called the variational quantum state discriminator (VQSD). The VQSD uses a parameterized quantum circuit that is trained by minimizing a cost function derived from the QSD, and finds the optimal positive-operator valued measure (POVM) for distinguishing target quantum states. The VQSD is capable of discriminating even unknown states, eliminating the need for expensive quantum state tomography. Our numerical simulations and comparisons with semidefinite programming demonstrate the effectiveness of the VQSD in finding optimal POVMs for minimum-error QSD of both pure and mixed states. In addition, the VQSD can be utilized as a supervised machine learning algorithm for multi-class classification. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve obtained in numerical simulations with the Iris flower dataset ranges from 0.97 to 1 with an average of 0.985, demonstrating excellent performance of the VQSD classifier.


The presentation challenges the idea of 'the digital native' and the subsequent assumption of digital literacy skills amongst HE students. It provides a brief summary of the author's experience as an IT tutor over the past seven and a half years, matching the author's own findings to those within research and describes alternative evidence indicating that current student populations are far more complex and with varying levels of digital literacy experience and that treating students as a homogenous mass is problematic. It then explores digital literacy skills for academic purposes compared to social use of technology and asks whether generic technology skills are always instantly transferable to academic study. The presentation concludes with a warning that we're letting down some of our students by the 'IT barrier' within HE and that IT should be considered a core study skill along with maths and academic communication rather than something that students can 'easily pick up'. It also suggests that we test for IT skills rather than assume. This is an accompanying presentation to the academic paper 'Challenging assumptions about IT skills in HE'


A novel method of counting reflections and reflection density is presented. The method is borrowed from non-linear studies of fractal systems where time delayed versions of a signal are plotted against each other. In this case, the sound pressure p(t) of an impulse response function is plotted against its time derivative, dp/dt. Each resulting circle represents a reflection. Reflection counts are much lower than would be expected from theoretical predictions. In this study they're primarily in the hundreds rather than thousands. This tool was then used to study measurements on 25 stages and rehearsal halls. Previous work by the author demonstrated that sound levels on stage attenuate in a linear fashion, with regression coefficients in the range of 0.9. The hypothesis of the current study was that linear regression analysis might be a better predictor of sound levels on a stage than Revised Theory. The reasons for this are primarily the proximity of the sound source and early reflecting surfaces. In stage impulse response functions, where non-diffuse early energy is stronger than it is in the audience, the assumption of diffuse sound has been violated; hence the inappropriateness of the reverberant field theory that Revised Theory is based on. The study's hypothesis has proved incorrect, at least partially. Revised Theory is indeed a good predictor of sound levels on stage, provided that the direct sound is included. When the direct sound is eliminated, which is not uncommon on an occupied stage, linear regression is a better predictor of sound levels.


Modifications in the cell membrane potential have been suggested to affect signaling mechanisms participating in diverse cellular processes, many of which involve structural cellular alterations. In order to contribute some evidence in this respect, we explored the effects of several depolarizing procedures on the structure and monolayer organization of bovine corneal endothelial cells in culture. Visually confluent cell monolayers were incubated with or without the depolarizing agent, either in a saline solution or in culture medium for up to 30 min. Membrane potential was monitored by fluorescence microscopy using oxonol V. Fluorescent probes were employed for F-actin, microtubules, and vinculin. Depolarization of the plasma membrane, achieved via the incorporation of gramicidin D into confluent endothelial cells or by modifications of the extracellular saline composition, provoked an increment of oxonol fluorescence and changes in cell morphology, consisting mainly of modifications in the cytoskeletal organization. In some areas, noticeable intercellular spaces appear. The cytoskeleton modifications mainly consist of a marked redistribution of F-actin and microtubules, with accompanying changes in vinculin localization. The results suggest that the depolarization of the plasma membrane potential may participate in mechanisms involved in cytoskeleton organization and monolayer continuity in corneal endothelial cells in culture.


A terahertz quantum cascade laser has been realized from an isotropic disordered hyperuniform design. Such a system presents a photonic band-gap (PBG) although it is characterized by an efficient depletion of long range order, which is counterintuitive. In this work, a hyperuniform distribution pattern, which is characterized by the total suppression of density fluctuations for long wavelengths [1] was investigated. The statistical properties of the distribution are globally isotropic while locally the system is anisotropic. Hyperuniform disordered patterns allow greater versatility in engineering band gaps in comparison to standard photonic-crystal and quasi-crystal designs. In fact, these PBGs can be tuned by acting a priori on an order parameter which regulates the degree of disorder in the system. The procedure for the realization of a 2D hyperuniform pattern has been done according to Ref. [1] and is based on a 2D scatterers distribution. The final design consists of a hyperuniform distribution of disks arranged in a hexagonal tile. This pattern was transferred in a finite element method solver (Comsol Multiphysics v4.2), where the eigenmodes are computed using the effective index approximation, in order to simulate the real device. The system presents a PBG as large as 17%. The highest Q-factor modes lies at the lower edge of the PBG and are localized, as shown in Fig. 1 a). The device fabrication is similar to the process described in [2] for the fabrication of photonic crystal THz QCL. An active region design with center emission frequency around at 3.1 THz, was processed into a disordered hyperuniform distribution of pillars, whose size have been scaled in order for the lower edge of the PBG to match the gain profile of the active region.


We provide novel evidence that arbitrageurs use exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as an avenue to circumvent short-sale constraints at the stock level. Using a large sample of U.S. equity ETF holdings, we document that shorting activity on ETFs rises with the difficulty of shorting the underlying stocks. Stocks that are heavily shorted via their holding ETFs underperform those lightly shorted by 94 basis points per month. The return predictability of ETF short selling on individual stocks is distinct from stock-level shorting measures, and is concentrated among stocks that face the most severe arbitrage constraints. Across a broad set of capital market anomalies, we find that anomaly returns are significantly attenuated when ETF ownership is high. Our evidence suggests that ETFs contribute to a more informationally efficient market by allowing arbitrageurs to target overpriced stocks that are otherwise difficult to short.


Introduction: Gait analysis is the study about how to move. However, the normal gait reference which is currently used is the normal gait of Europeans. The body proportions, leg length, and height between Europeans and Indonesians are different.Methods: The samples were 44 Indonesian aged 18 – 26 years which was divided into 22 males and 22 females. Samples used legging and socks that had been marked with a color at a certain point. The research sample walked on a treadmill at low, medium and high speeds and recorded from the back and sides. Based on the video, the angles of the hip joint, knee join was assessed.Results: In male subjects, the joint angles of low, medium and high speed walking: maximal thigh joint (21.30o, 21.77o, 22.67o), minimal thigh joint (-7.05o, -7.74o, 8.66o), maximal knee joint (55.25o, 57.00o, 60.04o), minimal knee joints (9.63o, 10.13o, 10.50o). In female subjects, the joint angles of low, medium and high speed walking: maximal thigh joint (24.02o, 24.43o, 24.99o), minimum thigh joint (-3.25o, -3.86o, -4.22o), maximal knee joint (53.60o, 56.80o, 58.99o), minimal knee joints (11.12o, 12.94o, 12.83o).Conclusion: The faster walking speed, the greater angle of thigh joint and knee joint


This study attempted to develop a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the diagnostic and remedial capacity of primary schools and to apply this instrument in examining how special needs services are provided in ordinary primary schools in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. The study's conceptual model was based on two clusters--the key players (the individual teacher, the school team, and the principal) and the dimensions present for key players (organizational characteristics, opinions and beliefs, and activities). The developed questionnaire is intended to evaluate services at both the class and school levels and contains variables in the nine cells resulting from the combination of the two cluster groups. A stratified sample of 104 schools participated with questionnaires returned from 844 teachers, principals, and remedial teachers. Analysis of the questionnaire's validity and reliability was conducted and the individual scales were judged to be both reliable and valid. Additionally, the questionnaire was standardized both relative to the reference group of schools and to absolute standards determined by educational inspectors. The questionnaire is recommended as part of a full, school-based review of educational practice and policy concerning provision of diagnostic and remedial services for special needs students. (Contains 51 references.) (DB) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ********************************************************************************


References 1. Graham DR, Band JD, Thornsberry C, Hollis DG, Weaver RE. Infections caused by Moraxella, Moraxella urethralis, Moraxella-like groups M-5 and M-6, and Kingella kingae in the United States, 1953-1980. Rev Infect Dis 1990;12:423-31. 2. deGroot R, Glover D, Clausen C, Smith AL, Wilson CB. Bone and joint infections caused by Kingella kingae: six cases and review of the literature. Rev Infect Dis 1988;10:998-1004. 3. Goutzmanis JJ, Gonis G, Gilbert GL. Kingella kingae infection in children: ten cases and review of the literature. Pediatr Infect Dis 1991;10:677-83. 4. Yagupsky P, Dagan R, Howard CB, Einhorn M, Kassis I, Simu A. High prevalence of Kingella kingae in joint fluid from children with septic arthritis revealed by the BACTEC blood culture system. J Clin Microbiol 1992;30:1278-81. 5. Birgisson H, Steingrimsson O, Gudnasson T. Kingella kingae infections in paediatric patients; five cases of septic arthritis, osteomyelitis and bacteraemia. Scand J Infect Dis 1997;29:495-8. 6. Lundy DW, Kehl DK. Increasing prevalence of Kingella kingae in osteoarticular infections in young children. J Pediatr Orthop 1998;18:262-7. 7. Yagupsky P, Dagan R, Howard CB, Einhorn M, Kassis I, Simu A. Clinical features and epidemiology of invasive Kingella kingae infections in southern Israel. Pediatrics 1993;92:800-4. 8. Yagupsky P, Dagan R, Prajgrod F, Merires M. Respiratory carriage of Kingella kingae among healthy children. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1995;14:673-8. 9. Amir J, Yagupsky P. Invasive Kingella kingae infection associated with stomatitis in children. Pediatr Infect Dis J 1998;17:757-8. 10. Jensen KT, Schonheyder H, Thomsen VF. In-vitro activity of ß-lactam and other antimicrobial agents against Kingella kingae. J Antimicrob Chemother 1994;33:635-40.


An algorithm, called self-organization assisted placement (SOAP), for circuit placement in arbitrarily shaped regions, including two-dimensional (2-D) rectilinear regions, nonplanar surfaces of three-dimensional objects, and three-dimensional volumes, is presented. SOAP is based on the self-organizing which adjusts the weight of synapses connected to neurons such that topologically close neurons become sensitive to inputs that are physically similar. A standard cell placement method and a global placement method of macro cells using SOAP algorithm are described. Several examples showing the circuit placement on rectilinear regions, nonplanar surfaces, and 3-D volumes are shown. Experimental results on benchmark circuits show that the SOAP algorithm is competitive with the state-of-the-art algorithms even for the case of placement in a rectangular region, which is a special case of a 2-D rectilinear region. >


We report a 64‐year‐old Japanese man with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CYL) who expired with myelomonocytlc crisis. Cytogenetic analyses of chronic phase (CP) and accelerated phase (AP) cells revealed a Philadelphia chromosome and an isochromosome for the long arm of chromosome 17, i(17q). This karyotype was replaced by another karyotype in blast crisis (BC), resulting in near triploidy with t(5;17) (p15;p11) and loss of chromosome 17pter→p11. Interphase fluorescent in situ hybridization studies with a chromosome 17 specific alpha satellite DNA probe confirmed the presence of a clonal change in BC. In addition, singie‐strand conformation polymorphism analysis and PCR‐direct sequencing of BC cells revealed a point mutation at codon 203 of the p53 gene, GAG to GAG (Val to Glu), and loss of the normal allele. In contrast, no alterations of the p53 gene were found in CP and AP cells. Therefore, progression of CML in this patient appeared to be related to loss of 17p, as well as a mutation in the p53 gene. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Ionizable amino acids in protein-based hydrogels can confer pH-responsive behavior. Because elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) have an established sequence and can crosslink to form hydrogels, they are an ideal system for creating pH-sensitive materials. This study examines different parameters that might affect pH-sensitive behavior and characterizes the mechanical and physical properties between pH 3 and 11 of three ELP-based crosslinked hydrogels. The first finding is that varying the amount of crosslinker affects the overall stiffness and resilience of the hydrogels but does not strongly affect water content, swelling ratio, or pH sensitivity. Second, the choice of two popular tag sequences, which vary in histidine and aspartic acid content, does not have a strong effect on pH-sensitive properties. Last, selectively blocking lysine and tyrosine residues through acetylation significantly decreases the pH-sensitive zeta potential. Acetylated hydrogels also demonstrate different behavior at low pH values with reduced swelling, reduced water content, and higher stiffness. Overall, this work demonstrates that ELP hydrogels with ionizable groups are promising materials for environmentally-responsive applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, and microfluidics.


Obesity can be defined as a chronic disease with a serious impact on an individual's quality of life; moreover, it is a leading risk factor for global death. Bariatric surgery has already proven its efficacy in providing the patient with a healthier life. Nonetheless, failure of initiated treatment can occur in medical practice. We can and should offer our patients correct, patient-tailored revisional therapy conducted by an experienced surgeon in a high-volume hospital facility. In this article, current indications and strategies for secondary bariatric procedures were summarized and include type and number of cases (105 cases) that was converted from restrictive procedure (sleeve gastrectomy and gastric plication) to mal absorbative procedure (gastric bypass R en Y or MGB or to SASI or others.


The Principle of Similar Fact Evidence has been well outlined in Section 11(b), Section 14 and Section 15 of the Malaysian Evidence Act 1950. Its scope and application by the Malaysian Courts have always come under close scrutiny and comments as the Malaysian Judiciary often adopts a critical and analytical approach when deciding on the question of admissibility of such evidence. This short article however aims at giving a very brief and basic introduction to the scope and application of similar fact evidence as applied by the Malaysian courts in the simplest possible manner. At the same time, since the principle is relatively new to the Syariah, this article also strives at briefly analyzing the principle of similar fact evidence in the eyes of Islamic Law of Evidence and suggesting for its applicability and admissibility in the Syariah courts if such evidence is to be tendered by any party in a Syariah criminal or civil trial. It is humbly hoped that this writing could, in the future, provoke a more detailed and juristic study on the admissibility of evidence of a similar fact in the eyes of Islamic Law of Evidence and Islamic Judiciary.


The use of stable isotopes in ornithological research has risen exponentially in the past few decades, mainly due to strides in technology that permit the processing of large numbers of samples at lower and lower cost. However, most likely because of the availability of resources in "developed countries", studies are concentrated in predominantly Palaearctic and Nearctic countries. Africa is largely neglected but offers unique opportunities for both collaborative research on a global scale, and novel studies in unchartered fields. This chapter provides a brief summary of, 1) stable isotopes and some of the applications thereof in ornithology, 2) examples of the type of work currently completed and underway in Africa and how it might be applicable in a global perspective, and, 3) prospects for future studies in the use of stable isotopes for understanding African ornithology. Given the high diversity of birds in southern Africa (at least 950 species), associated with at least seven terrestrial biomes, e.g. fynbos, succulent Karoo, Nama-Karoo, grassland, savanna, forest, and thicket, numerous opportunities exist for addressing research questions of biological interest and conservation concern.


The starting point for a discussion of reform of the global environmental machinery has to be an inquiry into the causes of ineffectiveness of current arrangements. This article argues first that many of the criticisms made of the existing architecture are misplaced while ignoring other key faults. Second, argues that the means of operationalizing an alternative World Environment Organization (WEO) are problematic and may exacerbate existing problems, particularly for developing countries. The article focuses here more on the notion that a WEO should pursue the internalization of environmental externalities. It argues that while this goal is worth pursuing, proposals for a deal-brokering body are unlikely to make much progress in delivering it because of misplaced assumptions about both the existing political order and about the ability of a WEO to remedy current weaknesses.


Greek mercenary service played a major role in the history of the Archaic and Classical ages (700–323 BCE) down to the early Hellenistic age (250 BCE). Mercenary service became more predominant in the Greek world in this period as the poleis (city-states) coalesced into more stable communities and coinage became more prevalent in the eastern Mediterranean. Greeks proved they were effective warriors in the later Archaic age and so found themselves in greater demand by the imperial powers of the east and the tyrants of Sicily in the Classical period. At the same time warfare became more specialized with the appearance of light troops and cavalry, often mercenaries from the periphery of the Greek world, on the battlefields of the Greek mainland. Mercenary service, like other aspects of Greek military life, reflected and influenced social, economic and political developments in the Greek world in the polis period. This article explores current debates about the origins, nature and general circumstance of Greek mercenary service and gives an overview of its history in the period.


Dietary supplementation with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids offer cardioprotection against air pollution, but these protections have not been established in the brain. We tested whether diets rich in omega-3 or -6 fatty acids offered neuroprotective benefits, by measuring mitochondrial complex enzyme I, II and IV activities and oxidative stress measures in the frontal cortex, cerebellum, hypothalamus, and hippocampus of male rats that were fed either a normal diet, or a diet enriched with fish oil olive oil, or coconut oil followed by exposure to either filtered air or ozone (0.8 ppm) for 4 h/day for 2 days. Results show that mitochondrial complex I enzyme activity was significantly decreased in the cerebellum, hypothalamus and hippocampus by diets. Complex II enzyme activity was significantly lower in frontal cortex and cerebellum of rats maintained on all test diets. Complex IV enzyme activity was significantly lower in the frontal cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus of animals maintained on fish oil. Ozone exposure decreased complex I and II activity in the cerebellum of rats maintained on the normal diet, an effect blocked by diet treatments. While diet and ozone have no apparent influence on endogenous reactive oxygen species production, they do affect antioxidant levels in the brain. Fish oil was the only diet that ozone exposure did not alter. Microglial morphology and GFAP immunoreactivity were assessed across diet groups; results indicated that fish oil consistently decreased reactive microglia in the hypothalamus and hippocampus. These results indicate that acute ozone exposure alters mitochondrial bioenergetics in brain and co-treatment with omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids alleviate some adverse effects within the brain.


The use of Ethernet and Internet Protocol (IP) networking technologies in flight test instrumentation and telemetry systems is rapidly increasing, driven by the ubiquity, scalability, and flexibility of networking technologies. Networks first made a positive impact in ground station infrastructure and have recently been emerging in test article data acquisition infrastructure in programs such as the A380, 787, P-8A, and Future Combat Systems. The next logical step is to provide a two-way network telemetry link to fully extend the flexibility of the network between the test articles and ground station. The United States Department of Defense (DoD) integrated Network-Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) program is currently working to build a standardized network telemetry link for exactly this purpose. When developing a network telemetry link, the limited availability of telemetry spectrum must be considered and thus it is critical to choose system-level approaches to maximize the throughput achieved from the link. This paper first presents the statistics of the network data that would typically use this link based on empirical data from current network-based flight test instrumentation systems. Several approaches to using a network telemetry link are then presented. Predicted achievable throughputs of each approach are presented that are derived from the statistics of the empirical test data. Based on this, the paper presents recommendations for building systems using network telemetry links.


Human papilloma viruses (HPV) are the most common sexually transmitted viruses. There is mounting evidence that incriminates HPV as a risk factor for malignant transformation of oropharyngeal epithelium. In 2011 the International Research Agency of Cancer and National Cancer Institute (USA) declared HPV-16 as an independent risk factor for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Leaders in the field of HPV research admit that this subtype of head and neck cancer is a sexually transmitted entity and its global incidence is on the rise. In the 1980s, clinicians observed a new group of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) independent of tobacco smoking or alcohol use. The new HNSCC patient is a middle-aged man, non-smoker, non-drinker with higher social status and the suspected risk factors for HNSCC being related to sexual practices (oral sex, multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex and drug use). Routine HPV testing of HNSCC patients is seriously considered as HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers comprise a distinct molecular, clinical and pathologic entity that has a markedly better prognosis than HPV-negative oropharyngeal cancers. The current treatment protocols for OPSCC include radiation, chemotherapy and surgery alone or in combination, involving high toxicity levels. Future therapeutic concepts for OPSCC may be personalized in relation to HPV-status to avoid unnecessary toxicity. The current review summarizes the contemporary trends in the diagnosis of HPV-related head and neck cancers, presenting the advantages and disadvantages of the main methods.


Clavicle fractures are among the most common fractures. Nonunion fracture of the clavicle has traditionally been treated with autograft from the iliac crest, although it has been proposed that distal clavicle autograft would have less morbidities associated. Patient presented with a left midshaft clavicle fracture with broken hardware from previous open reduction internal fixation (ORIF). This was treated with removal of broken hardware, revision ORIF, and autograft bone from distal clavicle. Healing was augmented with bone marrow aspirate from the ipsilateral proximal humerus as well as with BioBrace (CONMED Corporation, Largo, FL) collagen strips to reestablish periosteal sleeve and retain bone graft material. Distal clavicle autograft augmented with BioBrace is presented as a novel method to treat nonunion clavicle fracture and may be associated with less morbidities.


Waste ceramics have pointed and sharp textures on its side. Ceramics consist of several elements such as silica (SiO2), feldspar (Kal3O8), kaolin, clay. In this research, examination of ceramic waste material, it is intended to determine how much influence given that the ceramic waste as a partial replacement of aggregate violent towards absorption of concrete, concrete compressive strengh and split tensile strength. Coarse aggregate replacement with ceramic waste aggregate use variations of 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, 100% of the volume of coarse aggregate. Test performed using a cylindrical specimen by 54 specimens with a diameter of 150 mm and height of 300 mm at 28 days. The results showed that the use of ceramic waste coarse aggregate in place can increase the compressive strength. Optimum compressive strength present in 60% of the variation in the amount of 29.61 MPa increased by 10.24% from normal concrete. For testing tensile sides, concrete with ceramic waste utilization have split tensile strength of concrete is smaller than normal. It is seen from the variation of 100% ceramic waste produced tensile strength of 3.10 MPa. And absorption of the test results, the more increased variety of ceramic waste aggregate the value absorbsinya smaller.


Combined antifungal therapy has been suggested to enhance the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of antifungal agents. The aim of the study was to investigate the in vitro synergistic activity of caspofungin, voriconazole, and fluconazole with amphotericin B against ten isolates of Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans strains which were resistant to azoles or amphotericin B. Three different antifungal combinations (amphotericin B [AP] — caspofungin [CS], amphotericin B — fluconazole [FL], and AP — voriconazole [VO]) were evaluated for in vitro synergistic effect by the microdilution checkerboard and E-test methods. For the majority of strains, the combination test showed indifferent activity. Via the E-test method, synergistic activity was seen in 3 strains in response to AP-CS combination treatment and in one strain after administration of AP-FL; however, no synergy was observed in response to combination treatment with P-VO. Antagonistic activity was the result in 1 strain treated with AP-CS as well as in 6 strains treated with AP-FL and AP-VO combinations. Via the microdilution test, no synergistic activity was seen after treatment with all 3 combinations. Antagonistic activity was the result in 2 strains with AP-CS, in 6 strains with AP-VO and in 5 strains with AP-FL combinations. Agreement between the checkerboard and E-test methods was observed to be approximately 72%. These combinations may be used in the case of antifungal resistance.


n the present study, toxic effects of active substance thiamethoxam of the insecticide Eforia were investigated on Allium cepa L. For this aim, we used the germination percentage, root length, weight gain, malondialdehyde (MDA) level, frequency of micronucleus (MN), chromosomal aberrations (CAs), and mitotic index (MI) as indicators of toxicity. Also, the changes in the root anatomy of A. cepa seeds treated with thiamethoxam were examined. The seeds in all the treatment groups were treated with three different doses (100, 250, and 500 mg/kg) of thiamethoxam for 72 h. The results showed that there were significant alterations in the germination percentage, root length, weight gain, MDA level, MN, CAs, and MI frequency depending on application dose in the seeds exposed to thiamethoxam compared to control group. Thiamethoxam treatments significantly reduced the germination percentage, root length, and weight gain in all the treatment groups (P < 0.05). But, it caused an increase in MN and CAs formation (P < 0.05). It was also found that thiamethoxam has a mito‐depressive action on mitosis, and the MI was decreased depending on the dose of applied‐thiamethoxam (P < 0.05). About 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg doses of thiamethoxam significantly enhanced the lipid peroxidation and caused an increase in MDA levels at each dose treatment (P < 0.05). Some anatomical damages such as necrotic cell death, unclear vascular tissue, unclear epidermis layer, cell deformation, and unusual form of cell nucleus were observed by using light micrographs. Each dose of thiamethoxam caused severe toxic effects on A. cepa cells, and the maximum toxic effect was observed at the dose level of 500 mg/kg. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2011.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the clinical characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia patients with 3q abnormalities.

METHODS
Conventional cytogenetic analysis of R-banding was used to detect the abnormalities of 3q in 657 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

RESULT
Twenty-four (3.7%) out of 657 patients had abnormalities of 3q, of which 3q21 or 3q26 were involved in 18 cases (75.0%); 3q21q26 abnormalities were harbored in 11 patients (45.8%), including 9 of t (3;3) and 2 cases of inv (3), of which 3 cases progressed from MDS. Ten patients presented with normal or elevated platelets and their bone marrow morphologies showed abnormal and striking proliferation of megakaryocytes. While in other 7 patients with 3q21 or 3q26, no one presented with high platelets and megakaryocytes. All 24 patients with 3q abnormalities received chemotherapies and only 4 patients achieved short-term remission with a median survival time of 6.7 months.

CONCLUSION
3q21q26 anomaly is the most common karyotype in acute myeloid patients with 3q abnormalities. The patients with 3q anomaly had extremely poorer treatment outcome and prognosis.


Sparse approximations using highly over-complete dictionaries is a state-of-the-art tool for many imaging applications including denoising, super-resolution, compressive sensing, light-field analysis, and object recognition. Unfortunately, the applicability of such methods is severely hampered by the computational burden of sparse approximation: these algorithms are linear or super-linear in both the data dimensionality and size of the dictionary. We propose a framework for learning the hierarchical structure of over-complete dictionaries that enables fast computation of sparse representations. Our method builds on tree-based strategies for nearest neighbor matching, and presents domain-specific enhancements that are highly efficient for the analysis of image patches. Contrary to most popular methods for building spatial data structures, out methods rely on shallow, balanced trees with relatively few layers. We show an extensive array of experiments on several applications such as image denoising/superresolution, compressive video/light-field sensing where we practically achieve 100-1000x speedup (with a less than 1dB loss in accuracy).


In recent years, because of the need for a more flexible curriculum established by the Curriculum Guidelines of the National Brazilian Education (law 9394/96), the pedagogical project of the Chemistry course of FFCLRP/USP has undergone alterations, amongst them the gradual reduction of the hours devoted to the discipline Qualitative Analytical Chemistry. In this context, this discipline has been carefully analyzed and reorganized in order to allow the elimination of redundancies and the introduction of activities considered important for the professional formation of both chemists and chemistry teachers. In this work, we will discuss the main strategies adopted in this reorganization with the objective of making the teaching/learning process more dynamic and efficient.


The epicardium is a mesothelial tissue layer that envelops the heart. Cardiac injury activates dynamic gene expression programs in epicardial tissue, which in the case of zebrafish enables subsequent regeneration through paracrine and vascularizing effects. To identify tissue regeneration enhancer elements (TREEs) that control injury-induced epicardial gene expression during heart regeneration, we profiled transcriptomes and chromatin accessibility in epicardial cells purified from regenerating zebrafish hearts. We identified hundreds of candidate TREEs, defined by increased chromatin accessibility of non-coding elements near genes with increased expression during regeneration. Several of these candidate TREEs were incorporated into stable transgenic lines, with 5 of 6 elements directing injury-induced epicardial expression but not ontogenetic epicardial expression in hearts of larval animals. Whereas two independent TREEs linked to the gene gnai3 showed similar functional features of gene regulation in transgenic lines, two independent ncam1a-linked TREEs directed distinct spatiotemporal domains of epicardial gene expression. Thus, multiple TREEs linked to a regeneration gene can possess either matching or complementary regulatory controls. Our study provides a new resource and principles for understanding the regulation of epicardial genetic programs during heart regeneration.


A project is an activity moderated and measured within its set cost, time and quality. Funding of projects is as important as the project itself. Most projects are either funded by taxpayer's money (Public initiated projects) or from individual's pockets (Private initiated projects). Abuja, the capital of Nigeria is still developing after more than 30 years of creation, as evident with the volume of construction projects on going within the city. Cost overrun in the Nigerian construction industry is fast becoming a very popular occurrence especially in Abuja. This paper aims to conduct a comparative assessment of provisional sums in public and private client initiated projects in Abuja in a view to proffer solutions to the plague of cost and time overrun in construction projects. 50 structured questionnaires were administered to property developers and only 36 were eventually retrieved and employed for data analysis. The data was analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and frequency distribution table. Findings revealed that the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) between the two groups indicates that p<0.03 meaning that significant difference exist between the percentage differences of provisional sum in a private initiated project and public initiated project. It was also discovered that the Federal, State, and Local tiers of government are the biggest funders of public initiated projects while individuals; banks and churches are the biggest funders of private initiated projects. . The paper concluded that bureaucratic bottlenecks, corruption amongst other factors is responsible for fewer developers in public initiated projects. Government must reduce corruption, operational lapses and promote project continuity to reduce the number of abandoned projects and ensure qualitative delivery. Recommendations include that projects should be awarded and executed as soon as they are tendered to reduce the effect of inflation between tender time and project execution. Keywords : Provisional Sum, Private Initiated Project, Public Initiated Project, Cost, Funding.


BACKGROUND
Malnutrition is a major problem among children with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and it is essential to be recognized as early as possible. Aim of our study was to assess the nutrition status of children with CKD.

METHODS
Nutrition status of 30 children (1-16 years) with CKD stages IIIV and on peritoneal dialysis was evaluated. Malnutrition risk was assessed by Pediatric Digital Scaled MAlnutrition Risk screening Tool (PeDiSMART) score software.Anthropometry was expressed as Z-scores for age and sex. Phase angle (PhA) and body cell mass were assessed by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Three-day food intake was recorded and analyzed. Biochemical indexes were assessed.

RESULTS
Depending on the marker used for assessment 20-40% of our patients were malnourished. Intake/requirements ratio (median) was 86.5% for actual energy intake and 127% for actual protein intake. Multiple regression analysis has shown that the most determinant factor for Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAMC) was actual protein intake, Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) and age at diagnosis. PhA was mainly affected by GFR and energy intake. Statistically significant inverse correlation was found between PeDiSMART score and PhA (p=0.001), MUAMC (p=0.008) as well as protein intake (p=0.016).

CONCLUSIONS
A considerable proportion of children with advanced CKD are undernourished. Regular dietitian evaluation based on novel tools as PeDiSMART score and PhA may identify earlier patients at risk for malnutrition. Hippokratia 2014; 18 (3): 212-216.


The aim of this study was to assess whether there is an association between changes in the heart rate and blood pressure after dipyridamole stress and abnormal scan findings detected with gated technetium-99m methoxy isobutylisonitrile (99mTc-MIBI) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). A total of 200 consecutive patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease underwent MPI using a 2 days stress/rest protocol. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure and electrocardiogram were monitored during the stress study. Dipyridamole-induced increase in HR ratio (peak HR/baseline HR) of more than 1.20 and decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 10 mmHg or more were defined as a normal response. Low ejection fraction (EF) was defined as EF less than 45%. Semi-quantitative measures used include summed stress score (SSS), summed difference score (SDS), end systolic volume (ESV) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Chi-square-and regression analysis was used to assess associations between the various hemodynamic parameters and MPI abnormalities. Our results showed that 75% of patients had abnormal scans. Statistically significant associations were observed between each of the following factors and abnormal scan findings: abnormal SBP response to dipyridamole (P=0.011), increased SSS (P=0.040) and low LVEF (P=0.012). A significant association was also observed between decreased HR response and low LVEF (P=0.012). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that an abnormal hemodynamic response during dipyridamole stress test was associated with abnormal myocardial perfusion imaging scan findings, low LVEF and SSS.


Construction in urban areas usually results in compacted soil, which restricts plant growth and infiltration. Nutrients may be lost in storm runoff water and sediment. The purpose of this study was to determine if existing lawns benefit from aeration and surface compost additions without the negative impact of nutrient loss in runoff. Four sets of lawns were compared, with or without compost plus aeration, as a paired comparison. Surface bulk density was significantly reduced in the treated lawns (1.32 versus 1.42 Mg·m−3). Visual evaluation of soil structure showed improvement in the treated lawns. Of fifteen measurement dates over four years, four dates showed significantly higher surface soil water contents in the treated lawns compared with the untreated lawns. When compared over time, three of the four treated lawns had significantly higher soil water content than the untreated lawns. Nutrient concentrations in rainfall simulator runoff were not significantly different between treated and control lawns, which showed that compost did not negatively impact water quality. Compost and aeration helped restore soil quality for urban soils of recent construction.


Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a cancerous disease that affects the lymph nodes within the human body. The location of the disease is how it is classified and diagnosed. The majority of the patients can be potentially cured with the use of radiotherapy and multi-agent chemotherapy, a proportion of them will relapse or develop resistant disease for which treatment options are limited. The aim of the study Is to determine the knowledge awareness about recent advances in the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma. The objective is to study the level of awareness and knowledge about advanced treatment methods for Hodgkin's lymphoma and associated risk factors among the Indian population. A survey was conducted from April to May among 100 people in the state of Tamil Nadu, India by preparing a set of standard questionnaires and answers were collected through online survey methods such as google forms. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS software and chi square analysis was done for correlation. The results clearly indicate that 57% percent of the population is aware about the recent advances in the treatment methods for Hodgkin's lymphoma and 42% percent of the population not aware about the treatment methods for Hodgkin's lymphoma. The conclusion of this study is that the above statistical analysis about knowledge awareness on recent advances in the treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma has provided a clear view of current advanced treatment procedure and technique for the betterment of patients in future.


An increasing number of kinase inhibitor candidates are entering clinical development, representing an important change in the pharmaceutical industry; notably, the development of small-molecule kinase inhibitors for signal transduction therapies. Today, kinase inhibitors garner substantial attention in cancer research. Over the last few years, three distinct small-molecule kinase inhibitors reached the market for treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumours, and non-small cell lung cancers. These three drugs, imatinib, gefitinib and erlotinib, act on a distinct subset of dysregulated, and often cancer-relevant kinases. Imatinib, gefitinib and erlotinib are considered the front-runners of targeted kinase inhibitor drugs. The entire research field gains tremendous insights through the ongoing research and clinical trials with these three drugs and with fast following first-generation kinase inhibitors, many of which are in different phases of clinical development. In addition, novel chemogenomic and chemoproteomic technologies are emanating from the current kinase research area, focussing efforts on the generation of spectrum-selective inhibitors for anticancer therapies as opposed to the monospecific inhibitors for the remaining therapeutic areas.


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A performance vs. practicality trade-off exists between user-level threading techniques. The community has settled mostly on a black-and-white perspective; fully fledged threads assume that suspension is imminent and incur overheads when suspension does not take place, and run-to-completion threads are more lightweight but less practical since they cannot suspend. Gray areas exist, however, whereby threads can start with minimal capabilities and then can be dynamically promoted to acquire additional capabilities when needed. This paper investigates the full spectrum of threading techniques from a performance vs. practicality trade-off perspective on modern multicore and many-core systems. Our results indicate that achieving the best trade-off highly depends on the suspension likelihood; dynamic promotion is more appropriate when suspension is unlikely and represents a solid replacement for run to completion, thanks to its lower programming constraints, while fully fledged threads remain the technique of choice when suspension likelihood is high.


Abstract: The article gives a critical review and comparison of the concepts of history in two recently published books by sinologists L.S.Vasiliev and O.E.Nepomnin. The concept of L.S.Vasiliev is built upon the rejection of Marxism, especially historic Marxism, though Marx's idea on the Asian type of production is still used. The main idea of Nepomnin's book is to distinguish a few oriental models of societal relations, different not only from the West but from each other. Unlike Vasiliev who wants to generalize the East in one scheme, Nepomnin wants to stress the differences between Asian civilizations, though without determining the peculiarities of the models with the help of objective methods and not offering any convincing parameters of comparison. The article shows that now there is a mix of pieces of various concepts, which are outdated and not linked to each other. The author suggests to tackle the methodological issues of history ic process, to apply new approaches in periodization, based not on one factor (like type of production) but on multifactor paradigms and to make new research of the development of the West.


This paper develops a method of assignment and path allocation that incorporates a priori collision avoidance and operator workload reduction in assigning multiple tasks to cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The problem is posed as a combinatorial optimization problem. A branch and bound tree search algorithm is implemented for a satisficing solution using a cost function that integrates distance travelled, proximity to other UAVs, and target visitation times. The results demonstrate that the assigned path is near optimal with respect to distance travelled, significantly increases the expected proximity distance to other UAVs, and significantly increases the difference between visitation times of targets. The algorithm runs in less than a tenth of a second allowing on the fly replanning.


Since Korea has high accident rate for the electrical shock than other advanced countries, it causes very serious problems. In this paper, a new classification method for analyzing electricity accidents is proposed, which is based on the microscopic view while existing methods have been based at the macroscopic view point. Electrical accidents cases can be mainly divided by three cases, which are from live works, incompleteness of the grounding system and imperfectness of the safety education and public relations. New data format of electrical shocks are proposed in the environment of smart grids.


Growth in storage capacity has led to large digital video repositories and complicated the discovery of specific information without the laborious manual annotation of data. The research focuses on creating a retrieval system that is ultimately independent of manual work. To retrieve relevant content, the semantic gap between the searcher's information need and the content data has to be overcome using content-based technology. Semantic gap constitutes of two distinct elements: the ambiguity of the true information need and the equivocalness of digital video data. The research problem of this thesis is: what computational content-based models for retrieval increase the effectiveness of the semantic retrieval of digital video? The hypothesis is that semantic search performance can be improved using pattern recognition, data abstraction and clustering techniques jointly with human interaction through manually created queries and visual browsing. The results of this thesis are composed of: an evaluation of two perceptually oriented colour spaces with details on the applicability of the HSV and CIE Lab spaces for low-level feature extraction; the development and evaluation of low-level visual features in example-based retrieval for image and video databases; the development and evaluation of a generic model for simple and efficient concept detection from video sequences with good detection performance on large video corpuses; the development of combination techniques for multi-modal visual, concept and lexical retrieval; the development of a cluster-temporal browsing model as a data navigation tool and its evaluation in several large and heterogeneous collections containing an assortment of video from educational and historical recordings to contemporary broadcast news, commercials and a multilingual television broadcast. The methods introduced here have been found to facilitate semantic queries for novice users without laborious manual annotation. Cluster-temporal browsing was found to outperform the conventional approach, which constitutes of sequential queries and relevance feedback, in semantic video retrieval by a statistically significant proportion.


ABSTRACTWe have applied a crossgradient joint inversion and geospectral visualization method to marine seismic reflection, magnetotelluric, gravity, and magnetic data sets acquired along a 162 km profile across a segment of Santos Basin oil province in the continental margin of southeast Brazil. The main exploration targets are the top of the fractured Precambrian crystalline basement and any concealed basement grabens, the overlying presalt and salt/carbonate deposits, and the postsalt cover deposits. The results of joint inversion clearly mapped the various units and are a significant improvement over previous models derived from separate 2D seismic reflection processing and 2D magnetotelluric imaging. Additionally, multispectral fusion of these models resulted in a single image that permits highly constrained geologic interpretations enabling a better understanding of basin architecture. We suggest that joint inversion and image fusion is the way forward for effective geophysical integration.


Linked employer-employee data from the Finnish business sector is used in an analysis of worker turnover. The data is an unbalanced panel with over 219 000 observations in the years 1991-97. The churning (excess worker turnover), worker inflow (hiring), and worker outflow (separation) rates are explained by various plant and employee characteristics in type 2 Tobit models where the explanatory variables can have a different effect on the probability of the flow rates to be non-zero and on the magnitude of the flow rate when it is positive. Most of the characteristics are defined as 5-group categorical variables defined for each industry separately in each year. We compare the Tobit results to OLS estimates, and also use weighting by plant employment. It turns out that weighted OLS results are fairly close to Tobit results. The probabilities of observing non-zero churning, inflow, and outflow rates increase with plant size. The magnitudes of the non-zero churning and inflow rates depend positively on size, but the magnitude of outflow rate negatively. High-wage plants have low turnover, whereas plants with large within-plant variation in wages have high turnover. Average tenure of employees has a negative impact on turnover. High plant employment growth increases churning and separation but reduces hiring in the next year. We also control various other plant and average employee characteristics like average age and education, shares of women and homeowners, foreign ownership, ownership changes, and regional unemployment.


Abstract Though it is still a big challenge to unify general relativity and quantum mechanics in modern physics, the theory of quantum field related with the gravitational effect has been well developed and some striking phenomena are predicted, such as Hawking radiation. However, the direct measurement of these quantum effects under general relativity is far beyond present experiment techniques. Fortunately, the emulation of general relativity phenomena in the laboratory has become accessible in recent years. However, up to now, these simulations are limited either in classical regime or in flat space whereas quantum simulation related with general relativity is rarely involved. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a quantum evolution of fermions in close proximity to an artificial black hole on a photonic chip. We successfully observe the acceleration behavior, quantum creation, and evolution of a fermion pair near the event horizon: a single-photon wave packet with positive energy escapes from the black hole while negative energy is captured. Our extensible platform not only provides a route to access quantum effects related with general relativity, but also has the potentiality to investigate quantum gravity in future.


We analize the different ways for the spontaneous breaking of the gauge symmetry, for the $[SU(6)]^3\otimes Z_3$ family unification model. In particular we study the consequences of a previous selection for the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs fields, showing that such set predicts unwanted flavor changing neutral currents at the $m_Z=91 GeVs$ mass scale. A new set of vacuum expectation values which solves this problem is proposed.


in his full series of 66 biopsy specimens included cryptogenic fibrosing alveolitis (27), sarcoidosis (15), eosinophilic granuloma (5), and malignant disease (4); the diagnosis was not established in a further 8. He concludes by mentioning that recent advances in chest medicine, due in part to knowledge gained from lung biopsies, are such that the nature of diffuse lung disease in individual patients can now usually be deduced from other and less traumatic methods of investigation and that in future biopsy is likely to be used even less often than it is at present. One of the criteria for lung biopsy has always been that there should be a treatable disease in the differential diagnosis. This still holds for localized pulmonary disorders, most of which are now identified in frozen sections at thoracotomy. For diffuse processes this is rarely so. Fibrosing alveolitis and sarcoidosis seem to yield the greatest number of positive results. Details of the morbid anatomical appearances might. possible influence a decision about corticosteroid therapy, but other considerations are likely to be more important. Proof that malignant disease exists would certainly affect management and possibly specific treatment. Rarely, lung biopsy discloses such conditions as periarteritis nodosa and chronic pneumonia, about which clinicians would obviously wish to know. It remains too a comparatively simple surgical operation when refined methods of diagnosis, particularly in the field of immunology, are not readily available. We have not yet heard the last of biopsy in diffuse lung disease, but we have learnt enough in the past 20 years to realize that it should not be undertaken without very good reason.


BACKGROUND
The nationwide decline in pediatric admissions to community hospitals threatens the sustainability of small pediatric residency programs. Little is known about the response of small programs to this challenge.

OBJECTIVES
We report on the design and evaluation of an innovative, collaborative model for pediatric inpatient training between an academic community medical center and a children's hospital.

METHODS
We describe the operational, academic, and financial features of the model. Outcome measures include patient volume and subspecialty mix, resident and faculty perceptions as reported in an anonymous survey, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee (RRC) review.

RESULTS
In 2003, Albert Einstein Medical Center (Einstein) closed its pediatric inpatient unit and established an independent teaching service at St Christopher's Hospital for Children (St Christopher's) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Under the new model, patient volume and subspecialty mix more than tripled. Einstein residents and faculty identified 5 major strengths: level of responsibility and decision making, caring for medically complex children, quality of teaching, teamwork, and opportunity to participate in academic activities at a children's hospital. St Christopher's leadership reported increased volume, no disruption of their residency program, and no dilution of clinical teaching material. The Einstein program was reaccredited by the RRC in 2006 for 2 years and in 2009 for 4 years.

CONCLUSION
A collaborative model for inpatient training was successful in maintaining a community hospital-based pediatric residency program. Positive outcomes were documented for the residency program, the parent community hospital, and the collaborating children's hospital.


Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease model of multiple sclerosis (MS). Interleukin 12 (IL-12) and IL-23 are heterodimeric cytokines, which share common IL-12p40/IL-12Rb2 subunits and play distinct roles in the pathogenesis of EAE. Signaling through JAK-STAT pathway, IL-12 induces Th1 cell development, while IL-23 enhances ThIL17 cell differentiation. We and other have shown earlier that therapeutic intervention or targeted disruption of STAT4 was effective in ameliorating EAE. Recent studies have identified the expression of a full-length STAT4α and a truncated STAT4β, which lacks 44 amino acids at the C-terminus. In this study we show that the STAT4β transgenic mice, induced to develop EAE by immunization with MOGp35-55 peptide, develop an exacerbated EAE than the wild type littermates. However, the STAT4α transgenic mice remain resistant to EAE, as seen in STAT4 knockout mice. Further analyses, by real-time PCR, ELISA and Western blot, show that STAT4β transgenic mice express higher levels of IFNγ, IL-17, IL-12, IL-23 and IL-27 in the brain and spleen than STAT4α transgenic mice, which correlates with the clinical outcome of EAE. Although the distinct roles played by STAT4α and STAT4β in IL-12 and IL-23 signaling in EAE is not known, this study validates the use of STAT4β as a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of MS and other autoimmune diseases.


We study a thermoelectric ratchet consisting of an array of disordered nanowires arranged in parallel on top of an insulating substrate, and contacted asymmetrically to two electrodes. Transport is investigated in the Mott hopping regime, when localized electrons can propagate through the nanowires via thermally assisted hops. When the electronic temperature in the nanowires is different from the phononic one in the substrate, we show that a finite electrical current is generated even in the absence of driving forces between the electrodes. We discuss the device performance both as an energy harvester, when an excess heat from the substrate is converted into useful power, and as a refrigerator, when an external power is supplied to cool down the substrate.


The explosive growth of objectionable web content such as pornography, terrorist and violence had been a serious threat for internet users especially children. Recently content analysis based filtering is being introduced to overcome this problem. In term of the promising result to satisfy the result of web content analysis, features extraction techniques play an important role to extract appropriate features from large volume of web information such as text, image, audio, video etc. In this paper we propose a model of pornography web site classification which mainly based on textual contentbased analysis such as indicative keywords detection. This paper will show that implementation of principal component analysis in back-propagate neural network is capable to classify high similarity illicit web content sufficiently. In this study, we introduce three techniques to implement our Pornography Web Site Classification Model (PWSCM) such as PWSCM with principal component analysis (PWSCM-PCA), PWSCM with only CPBF (PWSCM-CPBF) and PWSCM with integration of CPBF and PCA (PWSCM-CPBF-PCA). We compare the performance of these three techniques by conducting several simulation experiments. From the experiment results, we have found that the proposed model with three different techniques capable to perform efficient identification for illicit web content. Hence this paper will discuss the simulation results of the model with three techniques.


A pleasant touch reduces psychoemotional stress via the oxytocin mechanism due to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Our research is aimed to reveal the correlations between the subjectively perceived pleasantness of touch, the antioxidant potential of saliva, and salivary oxytocin. A total of 56 healthy volunteers aged 18-38 years participated in the study. The control group consisted of 24 volunteers. The participants were subjected to tactile stimulation using a specially designed protocol. They ranked the touch pleasantness on a scale from 1 to 10. Heart rate variability and low-frequency/high-frequency ratios from the power spectral density of ECG were determined to assess psychoemotional relaxation. Salivary oxytocin and antioxidant capacity were quantified before and after the touch test. We found a significant increase in salivary antioxidant potential and oxytocin after pleasant tactile stimulation for the participants compared to the control group. The difference in antioxidant capacity values before and after the test positively correlated with mean pleasantness in the touch test (r = 0.57) and the difference in heart rate variability (r = 0.67); it negatively correlated with the difference in low-frequency/high-frequency ECG band ratio (r = -0.59). Oxytocin ratio positively correlated with the difference in antioxidant capacity values (r = 0.47). As a result of tactile stimulation, a significant increase in the antioxidant capacity of saliva and salivary oxytocin was found in the test group compared to the control group. These findings support further studies of the effects of pleasant touch on hormonal and oxidative metabolism.


Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARδ), a member of the nuclear receptor family, is emerging as a key metabolic regulator with pleiotropic actions on various tissues including fat, skeletal muscle, and liver. Here we show that the PPARδ agonist KD3010, but not the well-validated GW501516, dramatically ameliorates liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) injections. Deposition of extracellular matrix proteins was lower in the KD3010-treated group than in the vehicle- or GW501516-treated group. Interestingly, profibrogenic connective tissue growth factor was induced significantly by GW501516, but not by KD3010, following CCl4 treatment. The hepatoprotective and antifibrotic effect of KD3010 was confirmed in a model of cholestasis-induced liver injury and fibrosis using bile duct ligation for 3 wk. Primary hepatocytes treated with KD3010 but not GW501516 were protected from starvation or CCl4-induced cell death, in part because of reduced reactive oxygen species production. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that an orally active PPARδ agonist has hepatoprotective and antifibrotic effects in animal models of liver fibrosis, suggesting a possible mechanistic and therapeutic approach in treating patients with chronic liver diseases.