Phoenix dactylifera L. (date palm) is well known for its innumerable health benefits and nutritional values. However, utilization of leaves as a source of element supplement has not been yet explored. Thus, the present study was aimed to employ inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) for the determination of macro and micro nutrients present in the leaves of three varieties (Rothana, Barhee and Sukri) of P. dactylifera. The results revealed that the date palm leaves, depending upon the variety contain significant but quite variable amounts of macro as well as micro elements. Varieties Barhee, Sukri and Rothana had calcium in abundance while var. Sukri and Barhee also had significantly high level of potassium (K). Positive correlation was observed between sodium (Na) and K (r = 0.868), iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) (r = 0.945) in var. Barhee, Sukri and Rothana. Thus, it may be concluded that date palm leaves of three varieties of P. dactylifera have the potential to provide significant level of essential nutrients to human beings and thus, can cure various diseases.

 Key words: Phoenix dactylifera, mineral analysis, macronutrients, micronutrients


Voids, formed by the condensation of an excess of implantation‐induced vacancies, have been recently identified as the defect directly responsible for dopant diffusion and electrical activation anomalies in Si‐implanted and annealed GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice materials. Depending on the implanted dose, voids can be distributed either throughout the implanted region or in two bands. We have examined the origin of this void distribution difference. In the as‐implanted sample associated with the latter case, a buried continuous band of amorphous GaAs has formed. GaAs formed by the recrystallization of amorphous GaAs does not contain excess vacancies and therefore cannot form voids. However, on either side of the amorphous layer, the excess vacancies can condense to form the observed banded distribution of voids. In the as‐implanted sample associated with the former case, a continuous amorphous GaAs layer did not form, and therefore, upon annealing, voids are seen throughout the implanted region.


This paper reports preliminary findings of a pilot project at an Australian regional university where students in an online multicultural education course created open educational resources as an assessment task. Designed as action research, the project transposed early years educators' concerns about professional learning and resources into an assessment task. Students created resources in response to the task, and these resources were collated into an open educational resource. Based on a range of project data, the paper presents preliminary findings that show the assessment task had many benefits for students including increased engagement, practical learnings and pride in sharing their work. The paper concludes with implications for practice and suggestions for related research.


In our work, N-doped carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method with fermented rice as the carbon source. The CDs show bright blue fluorescence, and the maximum emission wavelength was 380 nm with wavelength ranges from 320 to 560 nm. Interestingly, these as-prepared CDs show strong blue photoluminescent properties under the radiation with ultraviolet (UV) light. Moreover, it also exhibits good sensitive fluorescence detection for Fe^3+ ions; the detection limit is 0.1 μM, which is significant fluorescence quenching based on CDs. Other representative metal ions were further tested to verify their selectivity, which provides a solid underpinning for the practical use in Fe^3+ions detection in real samples, e.g. underground water. In addition, the CDs work well as a fluorescent ink and can encrypt and store information.


The visual search task established the feature integration theory of attention in humans and measures visuospatial attentional contributions to feature binding. We recently demonstrated that the neuromodulator acetylcholine (ACh), from the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), supports the attentional processes required for feature binding using a rat digging-based task. Additional research has demonstrated cholinergic contributions from the NBM to visuospatial attention in rats. Here, we combined these lines of evidence and employed visual search in rats to examine whether cortical cholinergic input supports visuospatial attention specifically for feature binding. We trained 18 male Long-Evans rats to perform visual search using touch screen-equipped operant chambers. Sessions comprised Feature Search (no feature binding required) and Conjunctive Search (feature binding required) trials using multiple stimulus set sizes. Following acquisition of visual search, 8 rats received bilateral NBM lesions using 192 IgG-saporin to selectively reduce cholinergic afferentation of the neocortex, which we hypothesized would selectively disrupt the visuospatial attentional processes needed for efficient conjunctive visual search. As expected, relative to sham-lesioned rats, ACh-NBM-lesioned rats took significantly longer to locate the target stimulus on Conjunctive Search, but not Feature Search trials, thus demonstrating that cholinergic contributions to visuospatial attention are important for feature binding in rats.


Fibrinolytic therapy with tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA) alone has been the standard for three decades, but due to its inefficacy and bleeding risk, tPA has been replaced by Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) as the treatment of choice for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). By contrast to tPA mono-therapy, natural fibrinolysis uses a sequential combination of both biological activators, tPA and uPA, the native form of which is a proenzyme, prouPA. Both in vitro and in vivo, tPA and prouPA have complementary modes of action in fibrinolysis are synergistic when combined. In a published clinical trial, the patent study, 101 patients with AMI were treated with a 5 mg tPA bolus (5% of the standard monotherapy dose) followed by a modest infusion of prouPA. This sequential combination virtually doubled the coronary TIMI-3 infarct artery patency rate and reduced the mortality six-fold compared to the best results with tPA alone. Citation: Gurewich V (2018) What Fibrinolytic Therapy can Learn from Natural Fibrinolysis: Both Activators are a Requirement. J Non Invasive Vasc Invest 3: 010.


Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) consists of the entire spectrum of fatty liver disease in patients without significant alcohol consumption, ranging from nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) to cirrhosis, with NASH recently shown as an important cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). There is a close relationship between insulin resistance (IR) and NAFLD, with a five-fold higher prevalence of NAFLD in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) compared to that in patients without T2DM. IR is involved in the progression of disease conditions such as steatosis and NASH, as well as hepatic fibrosis progression. The mechanisms underlying these processes involve genetic factors, hepatic fat accumulation, alterations in energy metabolism, and inflammatory signals derived from various cell types including immune cells. In NASH-associated fibrosis, the principal cell type responsible for extracellular matrix production is the hepatic stellate cell (HSC). HSC activation by IR involves "direct" and "indirect" pathways. This review will describe the molecular mechanisms of inflammation and hepatic fibrosis in IR, the relationship between T2DM and hepatic fibrosis, and the relationship between T2DM and HCC in patients with NAFLD.


Radicalization is the process by which an individual becomes willing to use politically motivated violence or illegal means, or to support those who do. It can only be understood fully by longitudinal analysis. Much existing work instead tries to reconstruct the process by looking at its outcomes: those who have become radicalized. The result is a large number of theories and mechanisms, with an absence of compelling empirical support. Theories of radicalization make implicit predictions about the variations among attitudes in the communities from which radicals are drawn. We report the results of a survey of attitudes to issues widely believed to be relevant to radicalization among Ottawa Muslims in 2008. Analysis of the patterns of variation in attitudes is not consistent with popular theories of radicalization. In this population, attitudes vary along three independent dimensions: social economic political satisfaction dissatisfaction, moral religious satisfaction dissatisfaction, and a dimension that seems plausibly to be associated with radicalization. This suggests that attempts to prevent radicalization by, for example, providing better economic support, by mitigating unpopular policies, by addressing discrimination and other grievances, and even by emphasizing moderate forms of religion may not have much effect on reducing radicalization in Canada.


abstract The Oroville aftershock accelerograms are characterized by short durations (≲2 sec) of strong ground motion, small S -wave minus trigger times (≲2 sec), and an enrichment in frequencies above 1 Hz, as might be expected for 3 ≲ M ≲5 earthquakes recorded at close distances ( R ≲ 15 km). These characteristics introduce significant error into the velocity and displacement traces calculated according to the routine procedures used in the series "Strong Motion Earthquake Accelerograms." These errors are markedly reduced by removing all decimation in the processing scheme and by constructing a smoother response for the Ormsby high-pass filter. The result is an accurate set of velocity and displacement traces that can be used in a wide variety of source-mechanism and ground-motion studies. These revised processing procedures are applied to the ten strong-motion accelerograms of one of the largest aftershocks (0350 August 6, 1975; M L = 4.7) to illustrate the quality of data available for 12 such well-recorded aftershocks and to estimate the source properties of this particular earthquake. All of the accelerographs triggered on the P wave, allowing the recovery of the complete S wave on ten accelerograms. Offsets in displacement across the S wave and a ramp-like signature leading up to the S wave identified on the displacement traces are apparently near-field source effects. The seismic moment and stress drop determined for this normal faulting event are 4.0 × 10 23 dyne-cm, and 410 bars, respectively. The seismic moment and stress drop are determined by averaging individual measurements at 9 and 8 stations, respectively, and are well-constrained with standard deviations that are about 25 per cent of the mean.


We examine the partition of a finite Coxeter group of type B into cells determined by a weight function L. The main objective of these notes is to reconcile Lusztig's description of constructible representations in this setting with conjectured combinatorial descriptions of cells.


INTRODUCTION
Breast cancer is a public health problem in Morocco. This study aims to estimate the survival rate for patients with breast cancer living in Rabat.

METHODS
We conducted a prognostic study of female patients with breast cancer diagnosed during 2005-2008, living in Rabat and whose data were recorded in the Rabat Cancer Registry. The date of inclusion in this study corresponded with the date on which cancer was histologically confirmed. Survival rate was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and the comparison between the different classes of a variable was made using the log rank test. The study of factors associated with survival was performed using the Cox model.

RESULTS
During the study period 628 cases of breast cancer were collected. Mortality rate was 19.9%. Overall 1-year survival rate was 97.1%, 89.2% at 3 years and 80.6% at 5 years. In multivariate analysis, breast cancer survival was statistically lower in patients over 70 years of age (p <0.001) with large tumor size (p < 0.001), advanced-stage adenopathies (p = 0.007), metastases (p < 0.001) and not using hormone therapy (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSION
Large tumor size and metastases are poor prognostic factors in breast cancer, hence the need to strengthen screening programs.


This paper concerns the structure of capacity-achieving input distributions for stochastic channel models, and a renewed look at their computational aspects. The following conclusions are obtained under general assumptions on the channel statistics. i) The capacity-achieving input distribution is binary for low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The proof is obtained on comparing the optimization equations that determine channel capacity with a linear program over the space of probability measures. ii) Simple discrete approximations can nearly reach capacity even in cases where the optimal distribution is known to be absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure. iii) A new class of algorithms is introduced based on the cutting-plane method to iteratively construct discrete distributions, along with upper and lower bounds on channel capacity. It is shown that the bounds converge to the true channel capacity, and that the distributions converge weakly to a capacity-achieving distribution.


BACKGROUND
It is unclear whether endoscopic mediastinal lymph node (LN) staging techniques are equivalent to surgical mediastinal staging (SMS) techniques in patients with potentially operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS
A total of 166 patients with confirmed or suspected NSCLC who required SMS based on current guidelines were enrolled in this prospective controlled trial comparing endosonographic mediastinal LN staging with SMS. Each patient served as his or her own control. All patients underwent endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and SMS during a single procedure. Results of EBUS, EUS, and combined EBUS/EUS were compared with SMS (gold standard) and in patients with negative LN staging results, with LN sampling at pulmonary resection.

RESULTS
EBUS, EUS, combined EBUS/EUS, and SMS sampled a mean of 2.2, 1.7, 3.9, and 3.1 LN stations, respectively. The prevalence of mediastinal nodal disease (N2/N3) was 32% (53 of 166 patients). The sensitivity, negative predictive value, and diagnostic accuracy of the endoscopic staging modalities, respectively, were EBUS, 72% (95% CI, 0.58-0.83), 88% (0.81-0.93), and 91% (0.85-0.95); EUS, 62% (0.48-0.75), 85% (0.78-0.91), and 88% (0.82-0.92); and combined EBUS/EUS, 91% (0.79-0.97), 96% (0.90-0.99), and 97% (0.93-0.99). Endosonography was diagnostic for N2/N3/M1 disease in 24 patients in whom SMS findings were negative, preventing futile thoracotomy in an additional 14% of patients.

CONCLUSIONS
The combined EBUS/EUS procedure can replace surgical mediastinal staging in patients with potentially resectable NSCLC. Additionally, endosonography leads to improved staging compared with SMS because it allows the biopsy of LNs and metastases unattainable with SMS techniques.

TRIAL REGISTRY
ClinicalTrials.gov; No.: NCT01011595; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov.


One of us (Ponder 1 ) has already discussed the relation between the chemical structure of the benzene derivatives and the extent to which they accelerate hemolysis by the simple lysins, and has formulated a single expression to indicate the accelerating power of any substance in any concentration.∗ This note considers acceleration by the straight chain alcohols, from propyl to nonyl. Method. The method used was that described by Ponder. 1 By a comparison of 2 time-dilution curves the acceleration for a given concentration of alcohol was determined. From this R value and the concentration of alcohol in mM/1, a value for (l-R)/c was obtained.† As with the benzene derivatives, the solubility of the higher alcohols in water is very small and great care has to be taken to obtain known amounts in solution. In all cases below amyl alcohol the concentration employed was as close to saturation as possible. Propyl alcohol showed no acceleration in concentrations as great as 1.5 M/l. In higher concentrations, about 5 M/l, this alcohol is lytic per se (Gordon 2 ). Butyl and amyl alcohols are relatively soluble in water and it was unnecessary to approach saturation to get sufficiently concentrated solutions for acceleration. The concentrations used are given in Column 2 of Table I. The alcohols used were obtained from Eastman Kodak Company, and had boiling-point ranges of not more than 5°C. Saponin in dilutions of 1:10,000 to 1:60,000 was used as the lysin throughout. Time-dilution curves were plotted at 25 °C in isotonic NaCl. Results. In Table I the results with the various alcohols are summarized.


Question banks provide researchers the opportunity to reuse well tested questions and promote harmonization of collected data. Creating questions, and sequences of questions, which are easily reusable, is now possible using DDI 3.2. This talk will discuss the technical aspects of reusability, and highlight Colectica's new questionnaire editor that can connect to DDI 3.2 enabled question banks. Questions in DDI consist of more than just a question text and response descriptions. They also allow for dynamic text based on previous information in a questionnaire. The same is true for a series of questions that may include filtering logic. The logic may rely on data captured in a different location within the survey, leading to a challenge when reusing DDI described items directly. Luckily for DDI users, in DDI 3.2 a loose coupling between inputs and outputs was included in the standard to allow directly reusing questions which rely on additional information. This loose coupling allows items in a question bank to be directly reused. This summer, the staff at Colectica have worked to implement this new DDI 3.2 loose coupling feature. This talk will explain the background, technical approach and challenges faced when implementing loose coupling, demonstrate creating and searching question banks for reusable item descriptions, and a demonstration of including reused questions into a new survey questionnaire, highlighting Colectica's new questionnaire editor. It will also show how reusing a question can create links between collected instance variables and their harmonized data elements.


Heavy ion collisions pose interesting challenges to quantum chromodynamics, because they probe the parton structure of the incoming nuclei at very small longitudinal momentum fractions. Combined with the large size of nuclei, this may lead to the phenomenon of gluon saturation. The Color Glass Condensate is an effective QCD description that aims to cope with such a situation. In this talk, I show how one may study heavy ion collisions in this framework.


We assessed proprioception using threshold levels for the perception of knee movement at slow angular velocities (0.1 degrees/s to 0.85 degrees/s) in 20 patients with unilateral tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and 15 age-related control subjects. Failure to detect movement was also analysed. The threshold levels of detection did not differ between the damaged and undamaged knees in the patients or between the patients and the control group. Failure to appreciate movement, however, was significantly greater in knees with ACL loss compared with the undamaged knees of patients and the control group. Our findings show a proprioceptive deficit in the absence of the ACL. Measurements of threshold levels of detection of passive movement alone are not suitable for the evaluation of proprioceptive loss in ACL deficiency; assessment of failure to appreciate movement is essential.


PURPOSE
We examined the feasibility and outcome of electromyographically triggered electrical muscle stimulation (EMG-ES) plus unilateral or bilateral task specific practice on arm function in chronic stroke survivors with moderate-severe hemiplegia. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to examine inter-hemispheric inhibition (IHI) acting on the stroke-affected hemisphere in a subset of eight participants.

METHODS
Twenty-one stroke survivors (14 males; mean time post stroke 57.9 months) participated in this pilot investigation. Participants underwent a six-week program of daily EMG-ES training with random assignment to concurrent task practice using the stroke-affected hand only or both hands. The upper-extremity subscale of the Fugl-Meyer (FMUE) and the Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT) were completed at baseline, 0-, 1-, and 3-months post-intervention.

RESULTS
Following the intervention, FMUE (F(3, 57) = 3.89, p = .01, ηp2 = .17) and AMAT (F(3, 57) = 12.6, p = .01, ηp2 = .39) scores improved, and remained better than baseline at three months re-assessment. The difference between groups was not significant. A non-significant decrease in IHI was observed post-intervention.

CONCLUSIONS
An intensive program of EMG-ES assisted functional training is feasible, well tolerated, and leads to improvements in moderate-severe deficits of arm function post stroke. Larger placebo controlled studies are needed to explore any advantage of bilateral over unilateral EMG-ES assisted training.


Abstract — The most common fuel uses in the world is made from fossil. Fossil fuel is categorized as a non-renewable energy source. For that reason, there should be an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuel by using biodiesel and one of the stock comes from soybean bean. Before using the biodiesel made from soybean bean oil, there should be a research to find out the properties and the effect of biodiesel from soybean bean oil regarding the performance of the engine. The research can be conducted in experiment and simulation. The properties result of soybean oil biodiesel should be tested to confirm whether this biodiesel have meet the standard requirement of biodieselor not. This biodiesel sproperties are Flash Point value is 182 o C , Pour Point value is -7 o C, Density at 15 o C is 890 Kg/m3, Kinematic Viscosity at 40 o C is 5.58 (cSt), and Lower Heating Value is 42.27686 MJ/kg. The result from this research is the highest power from simulation is 9% higher than the experiment. The highest torque from the experiment is 37% lower than the simulation's torque. Lowest SFOC from experiment is  28% lower than the simulation's SFOC. Highest BMEP from simulation is 20% higher than the highest BMEP from experiment. The  highest thermal efficiency from experiment is 6% higher than the highest thermal efficiency from simulation. The engine performance result using soybean oil biodiesel is not better than the Pertamina Dex. For that reason, the use of this biodiesel is not suggested to substitute Pertamina Dex.


Semiconducting polymers are being studied intensively for optoelectronic device applications, including solution‐processed light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs). Charge traps in polymers limit the charge transport and thus the PLED efficiency. It is firmly established that electron transport is hindered by the presence of the universal electron trap density, whereas hole trap formation governs the long‐term degradation of PLEDs. Here, the response of PLEDs to electrical driving and breaks covering the timescale from microseconds to (a few) hours is studied, thus focusing on electron traps. As reference polymer, a phenyl‐substituted poly(para‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) copolymer termed super yellow (SY) is used. Three different traps with depths between ≈0.4 and 0.7 eV, and a total trap site density of ≈2 × 1017 cm−3 are identified. Surprisingly, filling of deep traps takes minutes to hours, at odds with the common notion that charge trapping is complete after a few hundred microseconds. The slow trap filling feature for PLEDs is confirmed using poly(2‐methoxy‐5‐(2‐ethylhexyloxy)‐1,4‐phenylene vinylene (MEH‐PPV) and poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as active materials. This unusual phenomenon is explained with trap deactivation upon detrapping and slow trap reactivation. The results provide useful insight to pinpoint the chemical nature of the universal electron traps in semiconducting polymers.


The 'Advanced Communications Technologies and Services' (ACTS) research programme forms part of the European Fourth Framework and addresses the communications environment of the first decade of next century. This paper sets out the European Commission philosophy of integration of UMTS, satellite-mobile, wireless-LAN and mm-wave broadband mobile systems into a single structure and the research methodology involving 'National Hosts'.


The intensity and polarization dependence of the ion production due to three quantum ionization was investigated in potassium. The energy of two of the photons was tuned into resonance with n2D levels for 4 < n < 22. The ratio of the ion signals produced with circular polarization to that found with linear polarization was significantly less than that predicted by a single rate approximation. The discrepancy is explained by the increased linewidth of the resonant 2D level due to the ionization process itself. Single quantum photoionization cross sections for the excited levels calculated by means of quantum defect theory are shown to be consistent with the experimental results.


A fully planar self-aligned HBT fabrication process based on selective chemical beam epitaxial (CBE) regrowth of both the extrinsic base and subcollector layers is reported. Using this technology, cutoff frequencies of 50 and 70 GHz for fT and fmax, respectively, have been achieved for In0.49Ga0.51P/GaAs HBTs with 9 × 4 µm2 emitter-base junction area. High speed integrated circuits for lightwave communications including a 10 Gbit/s decision circuit and an 18 GHz dynamic frequency divider were successfully fabricated using these planar HBTs.


Background The aim of this study was to determine the inhibition effects of Radix tetrastigma hemsleyani (RTH) flavonoids on human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and the underlying molecular mechanism. RTH is an important Chinese traditional herb that has been widely used in cancer therapy. As an important type of active substance, RTH flavones (RTHF) have been shown to have good antiproliferative effects on various cancer cells. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules that play important roles in cancer progression and prevention. However, the miRNA profile of RTHF-treated A549 cells has not yet been studied. Materials and methods The miRNA expression profile changes of A549 cell treated with RTHF were determined using the miRNA-seq analysis. Furthermore, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of differentially expressed miRNAs′ (DE-miRNAs) target genes were carried out. Results In this study, we identified 162 miRNAs that displayed expression changes >1.2-fold in RTHF-treated A549 cells. GO analysis results showed that target genes of DE-miRNAs were significantly enriched in protein binding, binding, cell, cell part, intracellular, cellular process, single-organism process, and single-organism cellular process. Pathway analysis illustrated that target genes of DE-miRNAs are mainly involved in endocytosis, axon guidance, lysosome, melanogenesis, and acute myeloid leukemia pathway. Conclusion These results may assist in the better understanding of the anticancer effects of RTHF in A549 cells.


The great variety of species-typical electric signals (electric organ discharges, EOD) emitted by weakly electric mormyrid fish might be the result of evolutionary pressures stemming from the two main functions of the electro-sensory-motor system: electrocommunication and electrolocation. Employing a conditioned discrimination task we tested four species of mormyrids, emitting EODs differing in waveform, for their ability to detect capacitive properties of objects during electrolocation. Each fish could discriminate capacitive objects within a certain range of capacitive values, which was species specific. The upper and lower limits (upper and lower thresholds) of this detectable range were determined for each fish. In fish species emitting long duration EODs composed of mainly low spectral frequencies both the lower and the upper thresholds were shifted to larger capacitive values compared to fish species emitting shorter EODs. The upper limit of the detectable range was much more variable between species than the lower limit, which was relatively low in all fish. We interpret this as an adaptation of mormyrids to detect small capacitive objects, for example food items. All mormyrids could discriminate between a resistive object and a capacitive object even if the complex impedances of the two objects were identical. This implies that the fish are highly sensitive to small waveform distortions of their self produced EODs.


Vertically-grown ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs) on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as a top electrode of nanogenerators, were investigated for the antireflective property as well as an efficient contact surface in bare polydimethysiloxane (PDMS)-based triboelectric nanogenerators. Compared to conventional ITO-coated PET (i.e., ITO/PET), the ZnO NRAs considerably suppressed the reflectance from 20 to 9.7% at wavelengths of 300-1100 nm, creating a highly transparent top electrode, as demonstrated by theoretical analysis. Also, the interval time between the peaks of generated output voltage under external pushing forces was significantly decreased from 1.84 to 0.19 s because the reduced contact area of the PDMS by discrete surfaces of the ZnO NRAs on ITO/PET causes a rapid sequence for triboelectric charge generation process including rubbing and separating. Therefore, the use of this top electrode enabled to operate the transparent PDMS-based triboelectric nanogenerator at high frequency of external pushing force. Under different external forces of 0.3-10 kgf, the output voltage and current were also characterized.


Morphological segmentation of words is the process of dividing a word into smaller units called morphemes; it is tricky especially when a morphologically rich or polysynthetic language is under question. In this work, we designed and evaluated several Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) based models as well as various other machine learning based approaches for the morphological segmentation task. We trained our models using annotated segmentation lexicons. To evaluate the effect of the training data size on our models, we decided to create a large hand-annotated morphologically segmented corpus of Persian words, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the first and the only segmentation lexicon for the Persian language. In the experimental phase, using the hand-annotated Persian lexicon and two smaller similar lexicons for Czech and Finnish languages, we evaluated the effect of the training data size, different hyper-parameters settings as well as different RNN-based models.


In the process, educational programs that have been previously planned do not always run as planned, so that there is often a policy to solve the latest problems in order to achieve the goal of achieving equal and quality education in accordance with what is mandated in the law. Indonesia as a developing country is deemed necessary to adopt an education system that has been successfully implemented in other countries. Currently, one of the countries that can be used as a reference in the education sector is Finland. This research uses meta-analysis design. The results of this study there are several aspects that can be implemented from existing educational policies in the country of Finland to Indonesia. With an increase in the quality of education in the country of Indonesia is expected to be able to give birth to future generations who can compete internationally. Keywords : Education Policy, Finland, Quality of Education


Abstract Theories of personal development can contribute to the understanding of conscience and conscience formation. (I) Clinical psychologist Carl Rogers has formulated a description of stages in the process of personal growth. While Rogers' stages run parallel to Kohlberg's stages of moral development, they contribute a more sensitive appreciation of some aspects of moral conscience. (II) Kohlberg's idea of conscience appears to be a postconventional phenomenon characterized by moral rationalism. This fact raises certain questions about the value of Kohlberg's work as a paradigm for Christian conscience formation. (III) Both Rogers and Kohlberg contribute to an understanding of conscience. In Christian theology, however, conscience is a multifaceted reality which represents a plurality of moral dimensions. While stage advance describes some characteristics of mature conscience, conscience is a broader reality than either Rogers' or Kohlberg's stages will satisfy to describe.


With the many changes that have occurred at the National League for Nursing (NLN) during the past several years, including the formation of the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC), preparation for an accreditation site visit can be a stress producing event for nursing students, faculty and the nursing administrator. This article is designed for the nursing administrator and faculty who are relatively inexperienced in the accreditation process and provides practice guidelines on how to prepare for the culmination of the preparation process and the actual site visit to the school by a peer review team.


We recently designed two calculi as stepping stones towards superposition for full higher-order logic: Boolean-free λ-superposition and superposition for first-order logic with interpreted Booleans. Stepping on these stones, we finally reach a sound and refutationally complete calculus for higher-order logic with polymorphism, extensionality, Hilbert choice, and Henkin semantics. In addition to the complexity of combining the calculus's two predecessors, new challenges arise from the interplay between λ-terms and Booleans. Our implementation in Zipperposition outperforms all other higher-order theorem provers and is on a par with an earlier, pragmatic prototype of Booleans in Zipperposition.


Here we find the peculiar behavior of Cu ions in the PbSe–Cu system increases its thermoelectric performance. For the electrical transport, a dynamic doping effect is achieved because more Cu ions enter into the PbSe lattice and provide extra charge carriers as the temperature increases, which guarantees an optimized carrier concentration over a wide temperature range. For the thermal transport, the presence of Cu2Se nanoprecipitates and dislocations at a low temperature range as well as the vibration of Cu atoms around the interstitial sites of PbSe at high temperatures result in hierarchical phonon scattering and a significantly reduced lattice thermal conductivity over the whole temperature range. As a result, a peak thermoelectric material figure of merit zT of up to 1.45 and a thermoelectric device figure of merit ZT close to unity are obtained for the sample with 0.375 at% Cu. Furthermore, enhanced thermoelectric properties are also realized for the Cu-intercalated PbS, implying that the temperature-driven dynamic behavior of Cu ions in a rigid lattice can serve as a general strategy to optimize the thermoelectric performance of IV–VI compounds.


Reactive powder concrete (RPC) is unique of the present and greatest significant improvements in constructions field, it has usual excessive kindness happening current duration in the world owing toward its higher concrete properties, great ductility, durability, shrinkage, great opposition to corrosion and abrasion. In this experimental investigation is carried out on the way to revision the RPC flexural activity with Hybrid Segment T- Beams and the mechanical characteristics of this building material. In order to analyze the belongings of steel fiber volumetric ratio, silica fume ratio, tensile steel ratio, hybrid section on RPC T-beam flexural efficiency, the experimental program included testing five beams. The study was focused on determining the load-deflection behavior, letdown mode, strain supply across the depth of the beams and crack pattern at failure. The results of the volumetric ratio of steel fibers and the silica fume ratio were also considered in studying the mechanical properties of RPC mixes. Moreover, a study of hybrid beams showed that use of RPC web and normal concrete in flange efficiently improves the performance of T-beams compared to normal concrete T-beams with a percentage rise of 12 percent and hybrid beams have also shown that the use of RPC flange and normal concrete in web efficiently improves the display of T-beams associated to regular concrete T-beams with percentages increase of 28%.


In the field of Chinese and comparative literature, a scholarly consensus holds that the idea of mimesis is not entirely absent, but a mimetic theory of literature is nonexistent in the Chinese tradition. The assumed absence of mimetic theory has become the basis for a fundamental dichotomy between Chinese expressive views and Western mimetic views of literature. This essay presents solid evidence to prove the contrary. By constructing a Chinese mimetic theory in relation to its Western counterpart, it explores how mimesis evolved in the historical development of Chinese aesthetic thought, how it appeared in the poetic theories of some influential literary thinkers, and what significance it has for the mainstream of Chinese literary thought. It argues that mimetic theory constitutes a fascinating but neglected current in Chinese literary thought, one which opens new horizons in comparative poetics.


Gaia Data Release 1 (Gaia DR1) contains astrometric results for more than 1 billion stars brighter than magnitude 20.7 based on observations collected by the Gaia satellite during the first 14 months of its operational phase. We give a brief overview of the astrometric content of the data release and of the model assumptions, data processing, and validation of the results. For stars in common with the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues, complete astrometric single-star solutions are obtained by incorporating positional information from the earlier catalogues. For other stars only their positions are obtained by neglecting their proper motions and parallaxes. The results are validated by an analysis of the residuals, through special validation runs, and by comparison with external data. Results. For about two million of the brighter stars (down to magnitude ~11.5) we obtain positions, parallaxes, and proper motions to Hipparcos-type precision or better. For these stars, systematic errors depending e.g. on position and colour are at a level of 0.3 milliarcsecond (mas). For the remaining stars we obtain positions at epoch J2015.0 accurate to ~10 mas. Positions and proper motions are given in a reference frame that is aligned with the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF) to better than 0.1 mas at epoch J2015.0, and non-rotating with respect to ICRF to within 0.03 mas/yr. The Hipparcos reference frame is found to rotate with respect to the Gaia DR1 frame at a rate of 0.24 mas/yr. Based on less than a quarter of the nominal mission length and on very provisional and incomplete calibrations, the quality and completeness of the astrometric data in Gaia DR1 are far from what is expected for the final mission products. The results nevertheless represent a huge improvement in the available fundamental stellar data and practical definition of the optical reference frame.


Potato ranks second after maize as a most important staple food in Kenya and is also a steady source of income for farmers. The Kenyan potato value chain is characterized by seasonality in production, price inefficiencies and post-harvest loses. This study was conducted in Mauche Ward of Njoro Sub-County to analyse the potato value chain in order to identify the opportunities and challenges and suggest possible intervention measures. The study employed Survey Research, key informant interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to collect data. The survey questionnaire was administered to 150 randomly sampled smallholder potato farmers. Focus group discussions engaged 10 potato input suppliers, 10 traders and 10 transporters. Key informants interviewed were purposively selected from key institutions such as Agricultural Development Corporation Molo a major supplier of potato seed and Njoro Canning Factory, a food processor. The survey showed that 60% of the farmers were smallholders owning 2-5 acres of land. A majority of them (90%) used between 0.1 and 1 acre of their land to grow potatoes and earned K. Shs 50,000 to 70,000 per year. The study revealed a complicated value chain full of mistrust. Input suppliers complained of high cost of business licenses and credit purchases of inputs by farmers. Constraints cited by farmers included high cost of inputs, shortage of certified seed, inadequate potato storage, lack of market information and absence collective action in input acquisition and marketing. Transporters lamented about overloading by traders and high parking fees imposed by municipal markets. Traders exercised a lot of power in dictating potato prices. Recommendations for future interventions include formation of farmer cooperatives, contract farming, cottage value addition and formation of Collective Learning Communities to bring all actors along the potato value chain to address the constraints together.


Two unprecedented tetrameric selenotungstates based on different Wells-Dawson-type fragments have been obtained: the {Sn7Se8W54} nanocluster exhibiting photocatalytic H2 evolution activity and the {Sn16Se11W56} chain, which are the first dimethyltin-functionalized selenotungstates reported and contain the unique {β-Se2W15} and {γ-Se2W14} building blocks, respectively.


Degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons causes a reduced motor output from the primary motor cortex (M1), underlying the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, cellular and circuitry mechanisms of M1 dysfunction in PD remain undefined. Using multidisciplinary approaches, we found that DA degeneration induces cell-subtype- and inputs-specific reduction of thalamic excitation to M1 pyramidal tract (PT) neurons. Physiological and anatomical analyses suggest that DA degeneration induces a loss of thalamocortical synapses to M1 PT neurons, resulting in an impaired thalamic driving of their activities. Moreover, we showed that the decreased thalamocortical connectivity are mediated by an excessive activation of NMDA receptors of M1 PT neurons. Further, the decreased thalamocortical transmission in parkinsonism can be rescued by chemogenetically suppressing basal ganglia outputs. Together, our data suggest that the reduced motor cortical outputs in parkinsonism are not only an immediate consequence of basal ganglia inhibition but also involves specific local circuitry adaptations within M1. This study reveals novel insight in the pathophysiology of parkinsonian motor deficits.


A retrieval technique for crystal structures using high‐resolution electron microscopy is presented. The inversion of the complex structure‐to‐image relation is performed by numerical optimization of the configuration space of object models. Unlike structure refinement in X‐ray crystallography, the method operates on unknown defect structures on a nanometre scale. The diversity of crystal defects examined and the differences in microscope types and alignment conditions makes it necessary to adapt the basic algorithm to a broad variety of needs resulting in a modular program package for general use. New developments, such as a real space slice function calculation, problem adapted optimization strategies, and finally an examination of iterative matching of image series and exit wavefunctions are presented.


BackgroundHemifacial spasm (HFS) is a common cranial nerve disease, with peak onset in the forty to sixty years old and child-onset HFS is rare. HFS brings many negative effects on the physical and mental health of patients. Here, we report a 10-year-old case of primary HFS patient.Case PresentationHere we report an 11-year-old HFS case last for more than 1 year. An 11-year-old girl complained of frequently involuntary twitch in lower eyelid as the girl was 10 years old, then symptom worsen gradually involved right upper lip in recently months. The girl's daily life was badly influenced. Brain magnetic resonance imaging indicated that AICA compressed right facial nerve. The patient was treated with carbamazepine 200mg per day, and symptom gradually relieve. But bad treatment compliance appeared, and we introduced the advantages and disadvantages of botulinum toxin and MVD to her parents. However, considering the young age, above mentioned options are not considered for the time being. And more observations of medications treatment were needed to guide further treatment.ConclusionChild-onset hemifacial spasm is rare and the case we report is one of the youngest known cases of such disease. For such patients, medication is the first choice, but the exact mechanisms remain to be further explored.


FarsiTEX, a localized version of LATEX, is a bilingual Persian/English typesetting package, meeting the minimum requirements of Persian mathematical and technical typography. This paper will describe FarsiTEX, together with its history, future and technicalities, its user community, and the reasons behind its success in Iran, amid its various usage and interoperability problems. It will also draw a general picture of the TEX community in Iran, and tries to describe why the community is still far from achieving its basic typographical needs.


The growth in teaching English as a foreign language to young learners (TEYL) as a distinctive area within the English Language Teaching industry during the last twenty years raises some questions over who, in an industry that has traditionally focused on adults, is going to teach these learners, aged, in this thesis, between five and sixteen years. Emerging from existing literature and the occupational experience of this researcher is a sense that teaching young learners (YLs) presents different challenges and requires different skills from teaching adults. This research explored the experiences and needs of those who trained to teach adults but also teach children.
Adopting a phenomenological, constructivist approach, a mixed-methods survey of multiple-item self-report questionnaires and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews was conducted to investigate the experiences and attitudes of two criteria-based samples totalling 155 mixed-nationality EFL teachers giving out-of-school lessons in private language centres in some forty different countries. The samples included both native and non-native English speakers to reflect the possibility that some language centres might employ such a mixed staff. Following an extensive pilot, the questionnaire was used to identify general demographic trends in TEYL, to explore teachers' experiences and attitudes towards TEYL, their attitudes towards training and continuing occupational development and their career pathway preferences. 139 questionnaires were returned, and supplemented by 16 interviews.
The survey found that around 85 per cent of the respondents had not undertaken any formal pre-service TEYL training and that nearly half had received no such training in their first job. These teachers found aspects of TEYL such as planning and classroom management particularly challenging. On the basis of these findings, the thesis argues that current training and development programmes should be modified and, using suggestions from the research sample, outlines some proposals for a new TEYL training programme.


Reliability is an essential parameter for offshore wind turbines which are located some distance from the coast in mostly quite harsh environments. Limited weather windows for maintenance and repair work indicate the relevance for using reliability-based methods during the design process of wind turbine structures. This is even more crucial but also more challenging for floating devices due to the highly complex system dynamics and interactions. In this work, the use of global limit states for the design of floating support structures is elaborated. Reliability criteria which are essential for floating wind turbine systems are selected and their critical values are defined. Based on these, the global limit state functions can be set up. Furthermore, the dependencies and predefined boundary conditions of the parameters for the design of floating support structure have to be worked out, so that the modifiable variables can be identified and their effect on the global limit state functions and reliability criteria analysed. This study should serve as basis for developing a reliability-based optimisation tool for the design of floating wind turbine support structures, which uses global limit states and could be extended to consider local characteristics as well.


Knowledge tracing consists in predicting the performance of some students on new questions given their performance on previous questions, and can be a prior step to optimizing assessment and learning. Deep knowledge tracing (DKT) is a competitive model for knowledge tracing relying on recurrent neural networks, even if some simpler models may match its performance. However, little is known about why DKT works so well. In this paper, we frame deep knowledge tracing as a encoderdecoder architecture. This viewpoint not only allows us to propose better models in terms of performance, simplicity or expressivity but also opens up promising avenues for future research directions. In particular, we show on several small and large datasets that a simpler decoder, with possibly fewer parameters than the one used by DKT, can predict student performance better.


A comparative study of the viscous response of polymer matrix based fibrous composites predicted by the Mori-Tanaka method and finite element simulations based on the 1st order homogenization theory is presented. Aligned basalt and carbon fibers embedded into a polymeric matrix are considered to represent a quasi isotropic and transversely isotropic two-phase systems. While differences in the prediction of the macroscopic elastic response are attributed merely to the properties of the fiber phase, the viscoelastic behavior is largely affected by the selected homogenization method. A stiffer response predicted by the Mori-Tanaka method for both creep and relaxation tests is observed for both material systems and supports similar finding found in the literature. Thus suitable modifications of the original formulation of such two-point averaging schemes are needed for them to be applicable in the multi-scale modeling of generally anisotropic yarns in plane weave textile composites.


REASONS FOR PERFORMING STUDY
Liver disease is fairly common in horses and, although previous literature suggests that fatality rates are high, impressions gained from current clinical practice suggest that this is no longer the case.

OBJECTIVES
A case-control study was undertaken in 2 hospitals to investigate whether age, gender or breed type predisposed horses to developing hepatic disease, with the additional aim of determining whether these factors and disease category had any effect on outcome.

METHODS
Eighty-eight cases were identified by review of computerised archives at 2 hospitals. Three cases admitted immediately before and after the cases were used as controls. Multivariant models were developed to explore the relationship between age, breed type and gender and the development of liver disease, and within the clinical cases, to identify whether any of these factors or specific forms of liver disease were associated with fatality rate.

RESULTS
Ponies were more likely to develop hepatic disease than light riding horses, but neither age nor gender were significant risk factors. Overall, the fatality rate was fairly low; horses with unclassified hepatopathies had the lowest fatality rate and those with cholangiohepatitis, pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity and chronic active hepatitis had significantly higher fatality rates in comparison. However, age, breed type and gender had no detectable effect on outcome.

CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL RELEVANCE
Such data could be of particular value to equine practitioners, as the cases were drawn from both primary and referral practice, and were all seen within the last 5 years.


In practical image processing by wavelet transform (WT), the function orthogonality is required for reconstruction of the original image. The orthogonality has disadvantage that the selected filter is not necessarily optimal from a viewpoint of human retinal realization. It is not necessary to select an orthogonal template in cellular neural network (CNN) image processing, because the CNN is nonlinear analog circuit to obtain equilibrium points automatically and simultaneously. This paper describes CNN image compression and reconstruction based on a nonorthogonal WT. This system have an advantage of nondependency of image scanning by spatio-temporal CNN dynamics. It is very important that the reconstruction of transmitted compression image is done simultaneously by parallel neurons based on the "regularization" of ill-posed problem which is caused in a retinal system of a human brain.


Conclusion. The improved biocompatibility of Bioverit® II coated with a nanostructured surface shows promising qualities for use in human reconstructive middle ear surgery. In the case of chitosan-hydroxyapatite composite prostheses, further investigations regarding composition of the material, degree of purity and design are necessary before clinical application. Objective. The selection of optimal materials for reconstructive middle ear surgery continues to be a problem. In the present study novel materials were tested as total ossicular replacement prostheses (TORPs) in an animal model. Materials and methods. Bioverit® II coated with a nanostructured surface and chitosan-hydroxyapatite composites were placed in the middle ear of 40 rabbits. Uncoated Bioverit® II was used as control. After an implantation period of 28, 84 or 300 days petrous bones were extracted, embedded in epoxy resin and examined by light microscopy. Results. Uncoated and coated Bioverit® prostheses revealed a mucosal coverage and a little osseogenic response after 28 days. The results of the coated Bioverit® prostheses slightly surpassed those of the plain prostheses. Chitosan-hydroxyapatite composite prostheses were mostly found to be dislocated after 28 days. Formations of granulation tissue and fibrotic capsules were observed around these implants. This reaction could be caused by the instability of the composite material or may be due to impurities present in the chitosan.


The present letter proposes an alternate procedure that can be effectively employed to replace the essentially algorithmic sifting process in Huang's empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method. Recent works have demonstrated that EMD acts essentially as a dyadic filter bank that can be compared to wavelet decompositions. However, the origin of EMD is algorithmic in nature and, hence, lacks a solid theoretical framework. The present letter proposes to resolve the major problem in the EMD method-the mean envelope detection of a signal-by a parabolic partial differential equation (PDE)-based approach. The proposed approach is validated by employing several numerical studies where the PDE-based sifting process is applied to some synthetic composite signals.


As a result of looking into the dresses and ornaments of the five musicians and relief works of figures on
 Geurndongdae-hyangro, an incense bumer created in the Baekje Dynasty, the following findings were aCQuired:
 In general, women musicians wear Po based on Yu and Sang, while men musicians wear Po based on Yu and Go.
 Musician's Po has very wide sleeves that are characterized by much wider sleeve holes than armholes. And Hute player's
Go has a large groin trousers that is characterized by bound holes of trouser, while musician's Sang is widely wrinkled.
There are lines on ooIlar, sleeve holes and edges of Yu and Po. The method to put on belt is not limited to specific procedures, but no belt is fastened around waist or chest. The common method to fasten belt showed pre-or post-connection. For Imjae, there is a mixture of right and left gusset.
 For straightening Yu and Po, both right and left gusset correspond to each other. For the length of Po, there are two
types such as a little longer Po than knee and very long Po enough to cover ankles.
 For the hair style of personal figures, most women figures have braided hair(Pyeonbal) down on the back of their head
or bound their hair up on a position of rear head.
For personal figures, Yu has narrow and tight sleeves(Tongsu and Chaksu) in appearance. These characteristics are shown in some figures with rhythmic movement and equestrian hunter 2. whose sleeves are characterized by much wider sleeve holes than armholes.
Equestrian and hunting figures wear their upper garment with narrow and tight sleeves(Tongsu and Chaksu). Moreover. both of them wear same narrow-holed trousers called Gung-go.


The magnetic information exchange system of the Advanced Photo System has a special feature in its structure. Original information recorded by various types of cameras is read by other devices such as photofinishing equipment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss technological problems and solutions in the magnetic information exchange system design of the photofinishing equipment relative to the features of the Advanced Photo System. For example, head/film interface, specification between write equipment (camera) and read equipment (photofinishing), and head-clogging caused by wet processing. These problems are different from other magnetic recording system situations and unique techniques are used for their solution.


A novel inversion method based on a neural network is presented. The parameter used for the inversion is the velocity dispersion of surface acoustic waves. The velocity law is computed using time-frequency representation (Wigner-Ville), which is a highly relevant tool for multi-component dispersive signal analysis. The same inversion method has been applied to two physical cases: inversion of geoacoustical parameters of seabeds and characterization of sonar target properties. The method possesses high accuracy performance (error less than a few per cent) in both cases on either simulated or experimental data. The a priori information used for inversion is very poor and limited to the physical description of the direct problem.


Cantaloupe fruit sugar content is directly related to potassium (K)-mediated phloem loading and unloading of sucrose into the fruit. Improving K content in melons, during fruit growth and maturation through soil applied fertilization, is a problem, as root uptake of K is poor at this stage of growth and K competes with the uptake of Ca and Mg, two essential minerals needed for melon fruit membrane structure, function and postharvest shelf-life. Netted, orange-flesh muskmelon [Cucumis melo L. (Reticulatus Group) 'Cruiser'] fruits were grown in the greenhouse during the spring of 2003 and received regular N-P-K soil fertilization throughout the study. Three to 5 days after anthesis (fruit set) and up to 3 to 5 days prior to abscission (full-slip), amino acid complexed potassium (Potassium Metalosate 24% K) at 4.0 mL.L -1 (0.51 oz.gal -1 ) was sprayed on the leaves and fruit until run-off. Plants were sprayed either weekly, biweekly or not sprayed (control). Fruit from plants receiving weekly applications of foliar/sprays of K matured two days earlier, and had significantly higher fruit K content, soluble solids concentration, total sugars, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), and beta-carotene content than fruit from plants not receiving foliar K applications.


Interference cancellation is widely used in a number of application such as acoustic and speech signal processing, data communication, biological signal acquisition etc. Many papers with different approaches have been reported to cancel interferences in biosignals. This paper provides a survey of existing methods for interference cancellation in ECG signal, FECG signal, EEG signal, and EMG signal, and also includes the survey of interference cancellation using some AI techniques. The outline of the methods used for interference cancellation is shown in Figure 2.1. Interference cancellation in biosignals can be implemented using non-adaptive and adaptive methods. Techniques based on prior knowledge of the signal and the noise characteristics such as averaging, correlation etc have been widely used for interference cancellation in biosignals. But the drawback of non-adaptive techniques is that they are time invariant in nature. This problem has been overcome by the adaptive methods, which comprise the AI techniques. This paper provides the detailed survey of interference cancellation in different biosignals.


Objectives Despite HIV testing recommendations published by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) since 2007, many individuals living with HIV are diagnosed late in Switzerland. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the 2013 FOPH HIV testing recommendations on HIV testing rates. Setting Ten clinical services at Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. Participants Patients attending between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2015. Design Retrospective analysis using two existing hospital databases. HIV testing rates calculated as the percentage of tests performed (from the Immunology Service database) per number of patients seen (from the central hospital database). Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome was testing rate change following the 2013 FOPH testing recommendations, comparing testing rates 2 years before and 2 years after their publication. Secondary outcomes were demographic factors of patients tested or not tested for HIV. Results 147 884 patients were seen during the study period of whom 9653 (6.5%) were tested for HIV, with 34 new HIV diagnoses. Mean testing rate increased from 5.6% to 7.8% after the recommendations (p=0.001). Testing rate increases were most marked in services involved in clinical trials on HIV testing, whose staff had attended training seminars on testing indications and practice. Testing rates were lower among older (aged >50 years), female and Swiss patients compared with younger, male and non-Swiss patients, both globally (p=0.001) and in specific clinical services. Conclusions This simple two-database tool demonstrates clinical services in which HIV testing practice can be optimised. Improved testing rates in services involved in clinical trials on testing suggest that local engagement complements the effect of national recommendations. While, overall, HIV testing rates increased significantly over time, testing rates were lower among patients with similar demographic profiles to individuals diagnosed late in Switzerland.


A high voltage damped oscillating wave generator with variable frequency has been developed using power devices (IGBT), photo devices, a designed non-core transformer and a function-generator in order to diagnose insulating materials as power apparatus (transformer, cable), enameled wires, printed circuit board (PCB), wire-harness in automobiles. The generated maximum voltage (2.5 kV) and the frequency dependency (0.01-2 kHz) were confirmed in output tests.


Non-antibiotic feed additives including competitive exclusion products have been shown effective in reducing pathogen loads including multi-drug resistant strains from the vertebrate gut. In the present study we surveyed the intestinal bacterial colonization properties, potential macroscopic and microscopic inflammatory sequelae and immune responses upon peroral application of the commercial competitive exclusion product Aviguard® to wildtype mice in which the gut microbiota had been depleted by antibiotic pre-treatment. Until four weeks following Aviguard® challenge, bacterial strains abundant in the probiotic suspension stably established within the murine intestines. Aviguard® application did neither induce any clinical signs nor gross macroscopic intestinal inflammatory sequelae, which also held true when assessing apoptotic and proliferative cell responses in colonic epithelia until day 28 post-challenge. Whereas numbers of colonic innate immune cell subsets such as macrophages and monocytes remained unaffected, peroral Aviguard® application to microbiota depleted mice was accompanied by decreases in colonic mucosal counts of adaptive immune cells such as T and B lymphocytes. In conclusion, peroral Aviguard® application results i.) in effective intestinal colonization within microbiota depleted mice, ii.) neither in macroscopic nor in microscopic inflammatory sequelae and iii.) in lower colonic mucosal T and B cell responses.


The data of a complex examination of 180 adults with bronchiectases were analysed before operation and in later periods. The study comprises clinical, roentgenological and endoscopic examinations, the investigation of the ventilatory function and of the haemodynamic of the pulmonary circuit. It could be shown, that actually patients with small more blurred forms of disease are predominant. After surgical treatment, in most cases the state of health condition had substantially improved or had remained the same as before operation. The elimination of the pathological suppurative focus in the lung brought on a stabilisation of the pulmonary artery pressure, in a third of the patients operated even a decrease of the pressure down to normal values. The preservation of the superior segment of the lower lobe was of positive influence on the adaption of the architectonic of the bronchial tree. The functional parameters after such operations were the best in comparison to other kinds of pulmonary resection.


We present a physics-assisted artificial neural network (PhyANN) scheme to efficiently achieve focus shaping of high numerical aperture lens using a diffractive optical element (DOE) divided into a series of annular regions with fixed widths. Unlike the conventional ANN, the PhyANN does not require the training using labeled data, and instead output the transmission coefficients of each annular region of the DOE by fitting weights of networks to minimize the delicately designed loss function in term of focus profiles. Several focus shapes including sub-diffraction spot, flattop spot, optical needle, and multi-focus region are successfully obtained. For instance, we achieve an optical needle with 10λ depth of focus, 0.41λ lateral resolution beyond diffraction limit and high flatness of almost the same intensity distribution. Compared to typical particle swarm optimization algorithm, the PhyANN has an advantage in DOE design that generates three-dimensional focus profile. Further, the hyperparameters of the proposed PhyANN scheme are also discussed. It is expected that the obtained results benefit various applications including super-resolution imaging, optical trapping, optical lithography and so on.


In humans, the precise mechanisms of the hypolipidemic action of fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist, remain unclear. To gain insight on these mechanisms, we measured plasma lipids levels, lipids synthesis (hepatic de novo lipogenesis and cholesterol synthesis), and mRNA concentrations in circulating mononuclear cells (RT-PCR) of hydroxymethylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase, LDL receptor, LDL receptor- related protein (LRP), scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), ABCAI, and liver X receptor (LXR)-alpha in 10 control subjects and 9 hyperlipidemic type 2 diabetic patients. Type 2 diabetic subjects were studied before and after 4 months of fenofibrate administration. Fenofibrate decreased plasma triglycerides (P < 0.01) and total cholesterol (P < 0.05) concentrations and slightly increased HDL cholesterol (P < 0.05). Hepatic lipogenesis, largely enhanced in diabetic subjects (16.1 +/- 2.1 vs. 7.5 +/- 1.6% in control subjects, P < 0.01), was decreased by fenofibrate (9.8 +/- 1.5%, P < 0.01). Fractional cholesterol synthesis was normal in diabetic subjects (3.5 +/- 0.4 vs. 3.3 +/- 0.5% in control subjects) and was unchanged by fenofibrate (3.5 +/- 0.5%). Absolute cholesterol synthesis was, however, increased in diabetic subjects before and after fenofibrate (P < 0.05 vs. control subjects). HMG-CoA reductase, LDL receptor, LRP, and SR-BI mRNA concentrations were not different in type 2 diabetic and control subjects and were unchanged by fenofibrate. LXR-alpha mRNA levels were increased (P < 0.05) by fenofibrate. ABCAI mRNA concentrations, which were decreased in diabetic subjects (P < 0.05) before fenofibrate, were increased (P < 0.05) by fenofibrate to values comparable to those of control subjects. The plasma triglyceride-lowering effect of fenofibrate is explained in part by a decrease in hepatic lipogenesis, the moderate fall in total plasma cholesterol is not explained by a reduction of whole-body cholesterol synthesis, and the increase in LXR-alpha and ABCAI mRNA levels suggests that fenofibrate stimulated reverse cholesterol transport.


A 27-years-old
female with history of venous thromboembolism secondary to Lupus anticoagulant presented
with sudden onset of chest pain and dyspnea. A CT angiogram of the chest showed
superior vena caval (SVC) obstruction with anterior chest wall venous
collaterals and hepatic portal vein gas (HPVG), which resolved without intervention
on a repeated CT-scan of the abdomen. Previously, HPVG was considered to be a
dangerous radiologic sign, however with the advancement in imaging technology
more benign causes are being identified. This case highlights that this finding
alone, if found, does not indicate aggressive management and that clinical
correlation should be considered if found.


Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) has been proved to exert a beneficial effect on crop yield, directly or indirectly. This work was aimed to determine the antagonistic activity and inhibitory effect exerted on different plant pathogens by rhizobacteria . A number of bioassays was carried in vitro in King B medium. Previously isolated bacterial strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Burkholderia cepacia, from corn plants var. Francisco mejorado, were assayed to determine their potential as antagonists of the phytopathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia sp. and Fusarium sp. The results showed the capability of inhibiting the pathogen growth by the rhizobacterial strains, proving the best behaviour the strains P. fluorescens MPf2, MPf3, J-143 and B. cepacia MPp8. It was shown that there was a greater inhibitory effect on the fungi strains Curvularia sp. A1 and A. alternata M2. Considering these results, the bacterial strains were competent for pathogen biocontrol, and could be used in agriculture as valuable growth promoting agents in maize and rice crops.


This article analyses the treatment of ischemic heart disease (angina pectoris class II-III) in 64 patients aged 55-70 years. During 6 months, all patients were provided standard treatment, according to national guidelines. They were divided into two groups of 32 patients each, based on weather they had a history of previous sports activities (group I) or not (group II). The course of the disease and echocardiography data were investigated. It was shown that the disease has a favorable course in patients with a history of previous sports activities.


This work addresses the problem of detecting human behavioural anomalies in crowded surveillance environments. We focus in particular on the problem of detecting subtle anomalies in a behaviourally heterogeneous surveillance scene. To reach this goal we implement a novel unsupervised context-aware process. We propose and evaluate a method of utilising social context and scene context to improve behaviour analysis. We find that in a crowded scene the application of Mutual Information based social context permits the ability to prevent self-justifying groups and propagate anomalies in a social network, granting a greater anomaly detection capability. Scene context uniformly improves the detection of anomalies in both datasets. The strength of our contextual features is demonstrated by the detection of subtly abnormal behaviours, which otherwise remain indistinguishable from normal behaviour.


This study aims to analyze the planning and design process, basic principles, and the change-transformation process of the apartment type residential buildings in Turkey, Gaziantep. The scope of the research consists of residential buildings built in the post-Republican period in Gaziantep. The basic materials of the research are zoning-city plans, plan explanation reports, plan diagrams of buildings and photographs based on field research. The method of the research is based on a comparative analysis of spatial changes in apartment buildings according to historical background. These changes evaluated from the analysis of a series of variables ranging from parcel-level to plan projects, access graphs to spatial size and ratios. As a result of the study, it is seen that the access graph and space sizes of the apartment-type residential buildings dating back to the 1960s, have significantly changed. However, differences and variations are mostly observed in the first plan typologies and it is noteworthy that this diversity has reduced, and similar plan schemes have been widely used in recent examples.


Objectives To evaluate the expression of the proteasome each subunit in human atherosclerotic plaque. Methods In carotid endarterectomy specimens from 16 carotid stenosis patients as the case group, that divided into the plaque and the areas adjacent to the plaque. And carotid endarteriums were obtained from four patients undergoing Aortic replacement surgery, selected relatively normal arterial intima (Subclavian artery and Innominate artery) as the control group. Content of proteasome each subunit was evaluated by HE staining and Western Blot analysis. Results 1. In case group patients have higher incidence in diabetes, Hyperlipidaemia and possibility of smoking; 2. α1–7Subunits in the normal arterial endarteriums group, the edge portion of the atherosclerotic plaque, the core part of the atherosclerotic plaque showed no significant difference; β6–7Subunit expression in these three groups no significant difference; β2 Subunits no expression; β1, 3, 4, 5Subunit express highest in the normal control group, the weakest in the core part; β1i, β5i Subunits express highest in the atherosclerotic plaque core part, the weakest in the normal control group. Conclusions Immune proteasome is upregulated in atherosclerotic plaques in the core organisation, so we speculate β1, β5 subunits in the process of atherosclerotic plaque formation play an impotent role.


Abstract:The campground is a microcosm of the outside world, each with its own rules, structure, and gathering spots. In some parks, it seems like everyone knows each other and you'll see shared meals at the central picnic table or evening beers and a boom box playing by the firepit in front of the "party camper." In others, no one knows their neighbors and suspicion takes the place of community. It gets quiet after dark and you only hear private murmurings floating in stereo in the night air around you. I wanted to photograph the unexpected beauty of the RV terrain and the inhabitants whom I imagined ditching their day jobs, going off the grid to live on their own terms, drawn together by a shared way of living. What I often found instead were people setting up temporary spaces that turned to permanent homes when they had no other options. A family of four living in a 150-square-foot camper; a man on disability who spends eighteen-hour days selling nascar trading cards on eBay; a group of construction workers paying month-to-month while working on a building job nearby; a high school girl who wants to be an actress and study in Oxford.


. Freshly released eggs from four species of the cestode Eubothrium (Eubothrium crassum, Eubothrium fragile, Eubothrium rugosum, and Eubothrium salvelini) were subjected to morphological and morphometric analysis. The eggs of the two freshwater species, E. rugosum and E. salvelini, were ovoid with a lobed embryophore whereas the eggs of the two marine species, E. crassum and E. fragile, were more circular with a smooth embryophore. However, the morphological differences between species were not readily evident to permit their clear distinction from one another. To discriminate species, a forward stepwise linear discriminant analysis, using six of the seven measured metric characters made on the eggs, was used, which gave 100% correct classification of two species, E. rugosum and E. salvelini, and a high proportion of correct classification for E. crassum (98%) and E. fragile (83%). Of the latter two species, one specimen of E. crassum and five specimens of E. fragile were misclassified between the respective groups. The principal characters used in the classification of the species were the width of the egg, the length of the mediolateral hooks, and the width of the oncosphere. To provide more information on the life cycle of each species, the eggs were used in a series of infection trials to identify appropriate intermediate hosts. Experimental infections with freshwater copepods were successful when exposed to the eggs of E. salvelini, partially successful when exposed to the eggs of marine E. crassum with 10% of the copepods becoming infected, but no infections were obtained when the eggs of E. fragile were used.


Twenty five consecutive patients with fever of unknown origin (FUO) who underwent diagnostic laparatomy (DL) are reviewed. There were 14 females and 11 males, with a mean age of 34 years. The main symptoms and signs besides fever were malaise, weight loss, varied abdominal complaints, peripheral lymph nodes enlargement, hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. The main laboratory abnormalities were: anemia, leukocytosis, and mild alterations in liver function tests. CT scan was performed in 14 patients: hepatomegaly, splenomegaly and or retroperitoneal nodes were found in 10 of them. During laparotomy, an extensive exploration of intra-abdominal organs was performed, taking multiple biopsies for histopathologic and microbiologic analysis. Splenectomy was performed in 17 patients, prophylactic appendectomy in four, and cholecistectomy in one. Laparotomy was useful to establish a diagnosis in 64 percent of cases. The most frequently diagnosed pathologies were lymphoma and tuberculosis. Postoperative morbidity was 12% and mortality was 4%. Mean follow-up was 29 months. When preoperative data were analyzed, no predictive factors were found for a laparotomy with diagnostic success. It is concluded that DL is a useful last-step procedure in the diagnostic work-up for patients with FUO.


In order to study the magnetic properties of a mixed spin-2 and spin-5/2 ferrimagnetic Ising system on a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, we carried out Monte Carlo simulations. We found that the system which includes only a nearest-neighbour interaction and a single-ion anisotropy just on a spin-2 does not have a compensation point. The result contradicts that predicted by the effective-field theory. The inconsistency arises from how one estimates the two-point and three-point correlations.


Owing to the characteristics of construction projects such as one- time establishment, large-scale investment, complexity and high-energy consumption in operation, the cost management of construction projects is more difficult and time-limited than that of usual products. Thus, effective entire-life-circle cost management and control is key to the survival of building enterprises. With the application of principles of value engineering and based on target cost management, this paper proposed a dynamic entire-life-cycle cost management model in combination with supply-chain management and cost management methods such as Kaizen cost system. As is shown, this model provides a new method to achieve reliably a better efficacy and more comprehensive benefits of construction projects with minimum entire-life- cycle cost.


The study examined developmental changes in autistic symptoms retrospectively in a sample of 28 verbal children and adolescents with autism. Individuals with Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, and related medical conditions were not included in the study. We compared autistic symptoms present at the retrospective assessment and during the 4- to 5-year age period using the ADI-R. Our findings revealed a significant improvement in the three domains relevant for the diagnosis of autism, independent of age or IQ level. Improvement occurred in more symptoms from the social than the communication domain, and for more symptoms from the latter than the restricted interest and repetitive behavior domains. The finding that improvement was not linked to level of functioning and was found in individuals still positive for a diagnosis of autism suggests that improvement belongs to the 'natural history' of the handicap.


Plgments are frequently used as b~omarkers to study the fate of primary producers In the food web We evaluated the effect~veness of pigment analysis In the glant aquatic lsopod Saduna entomon, an Important llnk In the food c h a ~ n of the Balt~c Sea Specimens were collected on a transect across Puck Bay (Gulf of Gdansk, Poland) at stations comprising different sedimentary condlt~ons and varying supply of mlcroand macroalgal materlal In laboratory experiments S entomon was fed different klnds of prey Different marker coinblnations were found In the lntestlnal tlssue, resulting from predation on herb~vorous and carnivorous specles Analyses of fleld samples revealed that S entomon, hving In the sedlment surface, ingests freshly sedlmented phytoplankton as well as plant detntus p-carotene and the xanthophyll ech~nenone were found In the carapax and gonads, supporting the vlew that these substances are a s s ~ m ~ l a t e d and selve as ant~oxidant protect~on of l l p~ds and other macromolecules


SUMMARY In this study, we propose an object-based multimedia model for specifying the QoS (quality of service) requirements, such as the maximum data-dropping rate or the maximum data-delay rate. We also present a resource allocation model, called the net-profit model, in which the satisfaction of user's QoS requirements is measured by the benefit earned by the system. Based on the net-profit model, the system is rewarded if it can allocate enough resources to a multimedia delivery request and fulfill the QoS requirements specified by the user. At the same time, the system is penalized if it cannot allocate enough resources to a multimedia delivery request. We first investigate the problem of how to allocate resources efficiently, so that the QoS satisfaction is maximized. However, the net-profit may be distributed unevenly among the multimedia delivery requests. Thus, the second problem discusses how to allocate the resource efficiently so that the net-profit difference is minimized between any two multimedia requests. A dynamic programming based algorithm is proposed to find such an optimal solution with the minimum net-profit


Nanocrystalline Mn0.6Zn0.4Fe2O4 particles are synthesized under magnetic fields of 0 and 6 T, and their structural and magnetic properties are investigated. The magnetic field enhances the grain size and the lattice strain. Magnetic measurements show that the majority of the 6 T nanoparticles are superparamagnetic nearly from 40 to 300 K. It is interesting that the saturation magnetization of the 6 T sample is about 18% and 16% higher than that of the 0 T sample at 120 and 300 K, respectively.


ABSTRACT Previous research has found a positive relationship between students who had completed a sequence of developmental reading and writing courses and success in a reading-intensive college-level course. This study replicates and expands upon the previous research of Goldstein and Perin (2008) by utilizing a differently diverse sample and an additional literacy-demanding course in an attempt to broaden the findings. Binary logistic regression and multiple regression analyses were performed on data gathered from a large urban community college. The purpose was to predict success and performance—from literacy, demographic, and academic variables—in two literacy-demanding courses, psychology and geography. A number of variables, including literacy skill level, positively predicted successful grades in the courses. This study found that students who had originally tested into a developmental reading and/or writing course upon entrance into a community college and had taken the sequence of developmental courses prior to taking a content course were more successful than students who had placed into a developmental course, but had not taken the developmental sequence. These findings also suggest the more literacy skills a student has gained through completion of higher levels of English courses, the more likely the student will successfully complete a content course in which those skills are required.


The Prevalence and Determents of Eating disorders among Emirati Female Students Aged 14–19 Years in Ajman, UAE
Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) and its determinants among Emirati female students: ages 14 to 19, Ajman. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 4 public female high schools in Ajman, with a stratified random sampling of 315 Emirati students. The participants were selected from 3 strata: grade 10, 11, and 12. From each, two classes were selected randomly. Moreover, 30% of the participants at risk of Eating disorders were invited to an individual interview to explore their unique determinants of Eating Disorders. Outcome measures of this study were Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) Score, Body Mass Index (BMI), Perceived Body Image and Desired Body Image. Additionally, a figure of body image scale correlated to BMI was adapted from Bays et al. [1]. Results: Results were demonstrated into six tables. Average age was 16 ± 1.1 years, where 17.5% of participants were underweight, 48.6% normal weight, 17.8% overweight and 16.2% obese. Furthermore 36.2% were at risk of Eating Disorders. Sub-analysis showed that 20.3% were at risk of Binge Eating Disorder, 4.8% Bulimia, and 5.4% Anorexia. There was a significant discrepancy between their actual and perceived body image. 49.1% of the underweight participants and 80.4% of the overweight perceived their body image as normal. Individual interviews analysis showed the dominant determinants of Eating disorders to be dieting in the family, media's effect, and peer pressure. Conclusion: The study highlights the severity of the problem in Ajman, UAE. The results can be used to plan health awareness campaigns to prevent Eating disorders among the Emirati youth.


In spite of the significance of the Mexican political left, which has surged in recent years, little information has been available to English-language readers. In this important book Barry Carr describes the Mexican leftist movement's attempts to come to grips with the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20 and the ruling party that resulted, and its own efforts to radicalize and organize Mexican workers. Carr offers intriguing new material on the Mexican Communist party's international relations, especially with its counterpart in the United States, and on the Mexican background to the assassination of Leon Trotsky in 1940. He also examines the non-Communist left as it has emerged since 1960. Based on archival sources, "Marxism and Communism in Twentieth-Century Mexico" is the first study of the entire spectrum of the Mexican left to appear in any language.


This trial was conducted to determine the effects of feeding a diet containing fermented soybean meal with whey on growth performance, body composition, hepatosomatic index (HSI), and viscerosomatic index (VSI) of carp. Fermented soybean meal (FSM) was used to replace fish meal (FM) protein in diets for juvenile carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) at rates of 10% (FSM10), 20% (FSM20), 30% (FSM30), 40% (FSM40) and 50% (FSM50). The control diet contained no fermented soybean meal. All experimental diets were prepared as isonitrogenous and isocaloric. The feeding trial was conducted in 18 glass aquaria. At the beginning of the experiment, 30 fish (average weight 1.66±0.14 g) were randomly stocked into each aquarium with 3 replications per treatment. At the end of the experiment, the highest final weight, weight gain, and specific growth rate were obtained in carp fed with FSM20 group. However, growth parameters and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of fish fed with diets containing fermented soybean meal up to 50% of fish meal protein were similar to those of the fish fed the control diet. There were no significant differences between body compositions, HSI, and VSI of all groups. Fermentation with whey of soybean meal increased the number of lactic acid bacteria in diet. However, lactic acid bacteria levels in the intestine not changed with the use of fermented soybean meal in the diet. The results of this experiment were showed that fermented soybean meal with whey can be replaced by up to 50% of fish meal protein in diets for juvenile carp.


Endothelin-1 immunoreactivity (irET-1) was observed in rat and porcine thyroid glands. Using a radioimmunoassay for endothelin-1, the mean concentration in extracts of rat and porcine thyroid glands were 0.75 pg/mg +/- 0.03 (n = 4) and 1.5 pg/mg +/- 0.2 (n = 8) (mean +/- SE) respectively. Gel-filtration and reverse-phase HPLC showed that ir ET-1 eluted in a position identical to synthetic endothelin-1. In addition, immunohistochemical study showed that irET-1 is located within epithelial follicular cells. No immunostaining was seen in parafollicular C-cells nor in parathyroid.


This paper presents a multicriteria formulation for multiyear dynamic transmission expansion planning problems. This formulation considers three criteria: investment costs, operation costs, and the expected energy not supplied. The solution algorithm adopts an interactive decision-making approach that starts at a nondominated solution of the problem. This solution is identified transforming two of the three criteria in constraints specifying aspiration levels and using afterwards simulated annealing to deal with the integer nature of investment decisions. After obtaining this first solution, the decision maker can alter the aspiration levels and run the application again to obtain a new solution. Once an expansion plan is accepted, the algorithm computes long-term marginal costs, reflecting both investment and operation costs. These costs are more stable than short-term ones and inherently address the revenue reconciliation problem well known in short-term approaches. The developed algorithm is tested using a case study based on the Portuguese 400/220/150-kV transmission network.


- This paper presents the design and analysis of a fully differential operational amplifier (op-amp). The amplifier architecture is based on the two-stage op-amp architecture with compensation around each amplification stage. The design operates on a +3.3 V single-rail power supply voltage operation and has been designed using a 0.35 μm CMOS technology. The consideration in choosing the internal compensation method was based on analysis of the op-amp's frequency response and stability margins. To improve stability, indirect compensation is applied around the second stage of the amplifier architecture. To improve frequency response, negative Miller compensation is applied around the first stage with the aim to reduce the effect of the amplifier input capacitance. The other important influence on performance considered is temperature. The op-amp shows a better performance at lower temperatures whereas the performance reduces at higher temperatures.The design was simulated with a variation of temperature in the range of -40°C to 125°C. The validation strategy was based on simulation using typical, worst-case power andworst-case speed device models using the Cadence Spectre circuit simulator.


Background: Multiparametric magnetic resonance is an established imaging utilized in the diagnostic pathway of prostate cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer, defined as Gleason Score ≥ 4 + 3 or a maximum cancer core length 6 mm or longer, in patients with a previous negative biopsy. Methods: The study was conducted as a retrospective observational study at the University of Naples "Federico II", Italy. Overall, 389 patients who underwent systematic and target prostate biopsy between January 2019 and July 2020 were involved and were divided into two groups: Group A, which included biopsy-naïve patients; Group B, which included re-biopsy patients. All mpMRI images were obtained using three Tesla instruments and were interpreted according to PIRADS (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System) version 2.0. Results: 327 patients were biopsy-naïve, while 62 belonged to the re-biopsy group. Both groups were comparable in terms of age, total PSA (prostate-specific antigen), and number of cores obtained at the biopsy. 2.2%, 8.8%, 36.1%, and 83.4% of, respectively, PIRADS 2, 3, 4, and 5 biopsy-naïve patients reported a clinically significant prostate cancer compared to 0%, 14.3%, 39%, and 66.6% of re-biopsy patients (p < 0.0001–p = 0.040). No difference was reported in terms of post-biopsy complications. Conclusions: mpMRI confirms its role as a reliable diagnostic tool prior to performing prostate biopsy in patients who underwent a previous negative biopsy, reporting a comparable detection rate of clinically significant prostate cancer.


The mental and physical well-being of healthcare workers is being affected by global COVID-19. The pandemic has impacted the mental health of medical staff in numerous ways. However, most studies have examined sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic problems in healthcare workers during and after the outbreak. The study's objective is to evaluate COVID-19's psychological effects on healthcare professionals of Saudi Arabia. Healthcare professionals from tertiary teaching hospitals were invited to participate in the survey. Almost 610 people participated in the survey, of whom 74.3% were female, and 25.7% were male. The survey included the ratio of Saudi and non-Saudi participants. The study has utilized multiple machine learning algorithms and techniques such as Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), K Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Gradient Boosting (GB), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM). The machine learning models offer 99% accuracy for the credentials added to the dataset. The dataset covers several aspects of medical workers, such as profession, working area, years of experience, nationalities, and sleeping patterns. The study concluded that most of the participants who belonged to the medical department faced varying degrees of anxiety and depression. The results reveal considerable rates of anxiety and depression in Saudi frontline workers.


The ground-state energy and effective mass of an acoustic polaron in one dimension are calculated by using an electron–longitudinal-acoustic-phonon interaction Hamiltonian derived here. The self-trapping of the acoustic polaron is discussed. It is found that the critical coupling constant shifts toward weaker electron–phonon interaction with the increasing cutoff wave vector and the products of the critical coupling constant by the cutoff wave vector tend to a certain value. The self-trapping of acoustic polarons in one dimension is easier to be realized than that in three- and two-dimensional systems. The self-trapping transition of acoustic polarons is expected to be observed in the one dimensional systems of alkali halides and wide-band-gap semiconductors.


National Book Award winner John Casey is a masterful novelist who is also an inspiring and beloved teacher. In Beyond the First Draft he offers essential and original insights into the art of writing-and rewriting-fiction. Through anecdotes about other writers' methods and habits (as well as his own) and close readings of literature from Aristotle to Zola, the essays in this collection offer "suggestions about things to do, things to think about when your writing has got you lost in the woods." In "Dogma and Anti-dogma" Casey sets out the tried-and-true advice and then comments on when to apply it and when to ignore it. In "What's Funny" he considers the range of comedy from pratfalls to elegant wit. In "In Other Words" he discusses translations and the surprising effects that translating can have on one's native language. In "Mentors" he pays tribute to those who have guided him and other writers. Throughout the fourteen essays there are notes on voice, point of view, structure, and other crucial elements. This book is an invaluable resource for aspiring writers and a revitalizing companion for seasoned ones.


A bistatic point target reference spectrum (BPTRS) based on Loffeld's bistatic formula (LBF) is derived in this letter. For LBF, the same contributions of the transmitter and receiver to the total azimuth modulation are assumed. This assumption results in the failure of LBF in the extreme configuration (i.e., spaceborne/airborne configuration). For general bistatic configurations, the azimuth modulations are unequal for the transmitter and receiver due to the different slant ranges and velocities. Therefore, the azimuth time-bandwidth products (TBPs) from the transmitter and receiver are different; in some cases (e.g., spaceborne/airborne case), one of them might be very small, which might even result in a serious error of the principle of stationary phase. This letter uses TBP to weight the azimuth phase modulation contributions of the transmitter and receiver to the common azimuth spectrum to approximately obtain the point of stationary phase of the total azimuth phase history. Simulations show that the proposed BPTRS can work well for spaceborne/airborne configurations.