The purpose of this study was to apply two types of Differential Item Functioning (DIF), net and global DIF, as well as the framework of Differential Step Functioning (DSF) to real testing data to investigate measurement invariance related to test language. Data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)–2006 polytomously scored science items for four countries with different test languages were used, where French and English represented the reference languages. The findings showed that many items exhibited both types of DIF, although, in most cases, the results were inconsistent for the two source languages. In addition, net and global DIF tests did not always yield the same results depending on the DSF effect pattern. Furthermore, the DSF analysis provided valuable information over and above that provided by the net DIF analysis concerning the nature and the location of the DIF effect.


Power systems have been through deep changes in recent years, namely due to the operation of competitive electricity markets in the scope the increasingly intensive use of renewable energy sources and distributed generation. This requires new business models able to cope with the new opportunities that have emerged. Virtual Power Players (VPPs) are a new type of player that allows aggregating a diversity of players (Distributed Generation (DG), Storage Agents (SA), Electrical Vehicles (V2G) and consumers) to facilitate their participation in the electricity markets and to provide a set of new services promoting generation and consumption efficiency, while improving players' benefits. A major task of VPPs is the remuneration of generation and services (maintenance, market operation costs and energy reserves), as well as charging energy consumption. This paper proposes a model to implement fair and strategic remuneration and tariff methodologies, able to allow efficient VPP operation and VPP goals accomplishment in the scope of electricity markets.


The Ohio Attorney General's Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Testing Initiative has resulted in nearly 14,000 kits being processed since the initiation of the project in 2012. A logistic regression model was fit to the data from 2500 SAKs in order to determine the probability of obtaining at least one Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) eligible DNA profile based on a number of predictor variables. The probability of obtaining at least one CODIS eligible DNA profile from an SAK varied as a function of (i) days to kit collection following a sexual assault; (ii) years to kit submission to the laboratory for testing following kit collection; (iii) the age of the victim; and (iv) the occurrence of victim‐reported consensual sex around the time of the assault and/or kit collection. These findings demonstrate the utility of the statistical modeling of data obtained from the "forklift" testing approach of sexual assault kits.


1. The temporal properties of lateral superior olivary (LSO) unit discharges to binaural tone bursts were studied to determine the general time course and statistical properties of these discharges and to provide a basis for extending a point process model of LSO unit monaural discharges to describe their binaural discharges. Single-unit activity was recorded extracellularly from the LSO of the anesthetized cat. The initial transient and the gross temporal features of LSO unit discharges to binaural simultaneous tone bursts are examined in this paper. 2. The poststimulus time (PST) histograms generated by LSO unit discharges to monaural and binaural tone bursts illustrated that the ipsilaterally elicited tone-burst discharges were most strongly inhibited during the initial segment of the binaural response and that the degree of inhibition decreased (i.e., discharge rate increased) as the poststimulus onset time increased. Hence, the contralateral inhibitory effect "adapts" in a manner similar to the ipsilaterally elicited discharges. 3. When the interaural level difference was decreased, the degree of discharge inhibition increased: the period of maximal inhibition spread to shorter and longer poststimulus onset times as the contralateral latency decreased and as the contralateral response magnitude increased. The latency of the inhibitory effect could decrease sufficiently to result in the suppression of the first spike of the ipsilateral discharge. Also, when the binaural stimulus was of sufficient intensity, an increase in spike output, the OFF discharge, was often observed during the last 1-10 ms of the response. 4. It was concluded that the initial and general time course of the binaural response could serve as cues of binaural stimulus level, interaural level differences, and interaural time-of-arrival differences of high-frequency stimuli. The binaural response could be discriminated from a monaural response of similar discharge rate as the former either occurred with shorter latency or, when the first spike was suppressed, with much longer and/or more variable latency than the latter. The gross temporal differences between the monaural and binaural responses could be accounted for in terms of differences in certain gross temporal features (e.g., latency and adaptation) of the ipsilateral and contralateral responses. 5. The effect of stimulating the contralateral ear was not limited to the inhibition of discharges. The timing of a discharge to an ipsilateral stimulus could be perturbed (lengthened) by a contralateral stimulus at levels below that which suppressed the discharge.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


IP Multimedia Subsystem designed by the 3 Generation Partnership Project to provide the access networks services and telecommunication services, plans to merge services like multimedia, data and voice conversation under one umbrella. In this research, network based anomaly detection system is proposed by using Genetic Algorithm rules to avoid such attacks like UDP Flooding which cause the DoS and DDoS attacks keeping in view to secure the IMS and also discussed the complete overview of IMS (NGN) based network architecture, their DoS and DDoS attacks which cause the unavailability of services to the users.IMS inherits many security issues because the billions users are in the form to interact with IMS to get large No of services like multimedia, data or voice conversation. Due the large usage of IMS services there is also the availability of malicious user to attack the IMS services and make the services unavailable for the intended user, which reduces the performance of IMS. IMS based abnormality detection method is proposed using GA as abnormality detector. Genetic Intrusion Detection system effectively detects intrusive attack in IMS system and shows low false positive results.


Background Glycosylation of the Fc tail of human IgG strongly influences Fc-mediated effector functions. Recently, we have shown that anti-citrullinated protein antibodies (ACPA) isolated from serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) exhibit a specific, pro-inflammatory Fc-linked glycosylation profile. This glycan pattern is distinct from the glycan residues attached to the Fc tail of non-specific total IgG. As these data indicate a potential role of Fc-linked glycans for the biological effects that ACPA exert within the pathogenesis of RA, it is of interest to understand the mechanisms that regulate the Fc-glycosylation machinery of B cells. Objectives To study the effect of various mediators (cytokines, vitamins, microbial products) with relevance to adaptive and innate immune responses on Fc-linked glycan residues of human IgG. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained from healthy human donors. CD19 expressing B cells were isolated by magnetic bead-based positive selection and cultured in the presence of anti-IgM, IL-2 and IL-10 on a layer of irradiated, CD40L transfected fibroblasts to induce IgG production. In addition, mediators described to have immunomodulatory activity on B cells (IL-4/6/17/21, IFN-γ, TNF-α, LT-α, TGF-β, CpG, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)) were added to the cultures. After 7-9 days of culture, IgG molecules (IgG1, 2 and 4) were isolated from culture supernatants by protein A affinity chromatography and subjected to tryptic digest. IgG1-linked Fc-glycopeptides were analyzed by mass-spectrometry. Results Whereas IL-21 and CpG significantly and consistently increased the degree of galactosylation and sialylation of the Fc-linked glycan, ATRA strongly decreased the frequency of these glycoforms. No significant effects were observed for the other mediators tested. Of interest, IL-21 additionally decreased the frequency of bisecting N-acteylglucosamine (GlcNAc), whereas ATRA left this sugar moiety unchanged. Once induced, the Fc-linked glycan profiles of secreted IgG1 remained stable, even after the added mediators were withdrawn after 5 days of culture. Conclusions Our data indicate that several factors, present in the microenvironment of B cells during activation and differentiation, are capable of differentially regulating the Fc-glycosylation of IgG1. Once B cells differentiate into antibody secreting cells, the IgG1 Fc-linked glycan profile remained stable. These data further our understanding of the mechanisms underlying IgG1 Fc-glycosylation in the human and may open up novel approaches for therapeutic intervention. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


An iterative threshold model for a pulsed singly resonant Gaussian-reflectivity-mirror (GRM) confocal unstable optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been proposed. It is found that OPO threshold is determined by important parameters such as GRM central reflectance, Gaussian reflectivity profile, cavity magnification factor, cavity physical length, crystal length, pump pulsewidth. It is demonstrated that this model can be extended to plane-parallel resonator or uniform-reflectivity-mirror (URM) unstable resonator when some specific values are taken. Experimental results show excellent agreement with values calculated from theoretical model. Both theoretical calculations and experimental data illustrate that GRM is a useful solution to reduce threshold of unstable OPO.


Gender problem is a vibrant issue of the world today. The very sensitive factor that women can act as co-partners of men and even act as singular actors in all fields of science and technology is a gorgeous truth. The gender anguish of the yesteryears has come to a halt. Women, particularly, the rural women are now in a position to appropriate modern technologies in order to raise the socio-economic status of their families and for larger benefits of the society. The Afro-Asian women, who had been the victims of long-drawn exploitation and humiliation, are now striding forward for a better destiny. A bunch of eight papers written from different dimensions, covering the particular aspect of gender participation in technologybased rural development activities have been reviewed with an analytical note in this article. © Kamla-Raj Enterprises 2007 Anthropology Today: Trends, Scope and Applications Anthropologist Special Volume No. 3: 151-159 (2007) Veena Bhasin & M.K. Bhasin, Guest Editors Authors' Address: Tapati Dasgupta and R. N. Chattopadhyay, Rural Planning & Management Unit, Department of Architecture & Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721 302, West Bengal,


We present theoretical studies on a tunable photonic nanojet (PNJ) created by adapting a shell and liquid crystal (LC) core architecture. The shell is made of indium tin oxide and the core is infiltrated with nematic LCs. The application of an external static electric field to the LCs modifies their refractive index, and this allows tuning the PNJ effect in the proposed system. In addition to nonresonant excitation, resonant PNJ excitation is also obtained from a hybrid structure. Both nonresonant and resonant internal field excitations of circular and elliptical PNJ configurations are examined by using a high-resolution finite-difference time-domain method. The calculated results indicate that the proposed PNJ configurations with tunable refractive indices lead to significant changes in some parameters such as decay length, focal distance, full width at half maximum and electric field intensity. Such PNJ designs can be employed in high-resolution optical sensors, optical trapping, and high-density data storage.


The field induced magnetic phase transitions of Cs2CuBr4 were investigated by means of a magnetization process and neutron scattering experiments. This system undergoes a magnetic phase transition at Néel temperature TN = 1.4 K at zero field, and exhibits a magnetization plateau at approximately one third of the saturation magnetization for the field directions and . In the present study, an additional symptom of the two-third magnetization plateau was found in the field derivative of the magnetization process. The magnetic structure was found to be incommensurate with the ordering vector Q = (0,0.575,0) at zero field. With increasing magnetic field parallel to the c-axis, the ordering vector increases continuously and is locked at Q = (0,0.662,0) in the plateau field range 13.1 T< H<14.4 T. This indicates that the collinear up–up–down spin structure is stabilized by quantum fluctuation at the magnetization plateau.


This study is devoted to the topic of changes in the national-state identity of Russians under the influence of the transformation of value orientations and the social well-being of young people The work methodology is built through a comparative analysis with secondary processing of this sociological research by the POF and RPORC The hypothesis put forward by the author is based on the assumption that the key factor in changing the value and behavioural attitudes of Russian youth is not the perception of the globalising culture but the quality of social well-being of the younger generation According to the data of sociological studies, the latter is primarily characterised by the presence of depressive elements that form unfavourable conditions for the development of in-group favouritism and out-group discrimination As the data of mass polls show, the image of the collective past is built mainly on the idealisation of the Soviet period, the legacy of which is largely denied by the Russian elites (since this is required to legitimise the existing political and economic model) A positive image of the future in the mass consciousness is either absent or, presumably, replaced by ideas about borrowing the Western European model or reconstructing the Soviet system The image of a signifcant other in the face of the West, despite the presence of confrontation between it and Russia, is seen as a more positive model from the point of view of ensuring social justice.


The compatibility of Reduced Activation Ferritic/Martensitic Steel (RAFM) with liquid Li and molten-salt Flibe have been characterized and accessed. Static compatibility tests were carried out in which the specimens were immersed into liquid Li or Flibe in isothermal autoclaves. Also carried out were compatibility tests in flowing liquid Li by thermal convection loops. In the case of liquid Li, the corrosion rate increased with temperature significantly. The corrosion was almost one order larger for the loop tests than for the static tests. Chemical analysis showed that the corrosion was enhanced when the level of N in Li is increased. Transformation from martensitic to ferritic phase and the resulting softening were observed in near-surface area of Li-exposed specimens, which were shown to be induced by decarburization. In the case of Flibe, the corrosion loss was much larger in a Ni crucible than in a RAFM crucible. Both fluorides and oxides were observed on the surfaces. Thus, the key corrosion process of Flibe is the competing process of fluoridation and oxidation. Possible mechanism of the enhanced corrosion in Ni crucible is electrochemical circuit effect. It was suggested that the corrosion loss rate of RAFM by liquid Li and Flibe can be reduced by reducing the level of impurity N in Li and avoiding the use of dissimilar materials in Flibe, respectively.


This work presents an intuitive method to detect in the early stage the pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), a group of endocrine tumors arising in the pancreas, which are the second common type of pancreatic cancer, by checking the abdominal CT scans. To the best of our knowledge, this task has not been studied before as a computational task. To provide radiologists with tumor locations, we adopt a segmentation framework to classify CT volumes by checking if at least a sufficient number of voxels is segmented as tumors. To quantitatively analyze our method, we collect and voxelwisely label a new abdominal CT dataset containing 376 cases with both arterial and venous phases available for each case, in which 228 cases were diagnosed with PNETs while the remaining 148 cases are normal, which is currently the largest dataset for PNETs to the best of our knowledge. In order to incorporate rich knowledge from radiologists to our framework, we annotate dilated pancreatic duct as well, which is regarded as an abnormality indicator. Quantitatively, our approach outperforms state-of-the-art segmentation networks and achieves a sensitivity of 89.47% at a specificity of 81.08%, which indicates a potential direction to achieve a clinical impact related to cancer diagnosis by earlier tumor detection.


Proper design of receiver flight paths allows three-dimensional information to be encoded in sensed bistatic SAR phase history data. The authors show how the flight path taken by the receiving platform determines the resolution of nonparametric scene reconstructions and determines the variance of three-dimensional scattering centre location parameter estimates. Based on these relationships, a bistatic SAR data collection strategy can be designed, involving a nonlinear receiver trajectory that allows preservation of three-dimensional scene information.


The authors evaluate the contribution of endorectal sonography in malignant diseases of the rectum and rectosigmoid as regard assessment of the stage of the disease. The examination is fully indicated in all tumours with the exception of very low and very stenotic processes. It provides objective information on the penetration of the tumour into neighbouring tissues and organs and of the tumour size. It is a very economical method which does not cause discomfort to the patient and it is quite safe. It permits evaluation of the effectiveness of adjuvant therapy and early diagnosis of local relapses, in particular in conjunction with continual evaluation of the CEA level.


When learning skilled techniques and procedures, students face many challenges. Learning is easier when detailed instructions are available, but experts often find it difficult to articulate all of the steps involved in a task or relate to the learner as a novice. This problem is further compounded when the technique is internal and unsighted (e.g., obstetrical procedures). Using expert bovine practitioners and a life-size model cow and calf, the steps and decision making involved in performing correction of two different dystocia presentations (anterior leg back and breech) were deconstructed using cognitive task analysis (CTA). Video cameras were positioned to capture movement inside and outside the cow model while the experts were asked to first perform the technique as they would in a real situation and then perform the procedure again as if articulating the steps to a novice learner. The audio segments were transcribed and, together with the video components, analyzed to create a list of steps for each expert. Consensus was achieved between experts during individual interviews followed by a group discussion. A "gold standard" list or teaching protocol was created for each malpresentation. CTA was useful in defining the technical and cognitive steps required to both perform and teach the tasks effectively. Differences between experts highlight the need for consensus before teaching the skill. In addition, the study identified several different, yet effective, techniques and provided information that could allow experts to consider other approaches they might use when their own technique fails.


T his wonderful new book contains 88 color plates illustrating over 1000 parrots (including subspecies and various color morphs). I know of no other volume with such a comprehensive set of illustrations. And the plates are not scattered about the book, they comprise 176 pages in a  section near the front of the volume. The illustrations are on the right hand pages with the pertinent notes on the left pages. This system is very handy for gaining a quick identification of a particular bird (indeed, the book was designed this way to help wildlife officers, birders, and aviculturists make quick and accurate identifications). The notes give the range of the bird and describe the pertinent items on the illustration - the differences between subspecies, for example. These notes also refer one to an expanded text and a map relating to the specific bird. For example, the first plate contains illustrations of five species of lories. The number one note refers to the Black Lory. There is a reference that refers one to page 217 for more detailed notes and a map. This system is very easy to get around in. From my standpoint, another blessing of Parrots is that it contains data on all the parrot species and subspecies - and it can be lifted with one hand (it weighs about three and a half pounds). Because it is 7 x 9 5/s inches in size and 1 'h inches thick, it can be hauled about as you travel. I keep it on my computer desk and don't have to employ a two-handed book stand to use it. Despite its compact size, it has 584 pages chock full of information. The book begins with some very useful background information. The first major head is "STYLE AND Lxvour OF THE Boox." As this book is organized in its own unique way, it is well to read this chapter. It is a road map, as it were, to the whole volume. The second head is ORIGINS AND Evou.moNARY REI.ATIONSHIPS which is just one page long. Don't skip over it. You will gain a better appreciation of the parrot, a truly ancient bird. Next is CI.ASSIFICATION OF THE PARROTS which discusses the taxonomy of the parrots - which parrots are related and to what extent. In other words, what defines a species, a subspecies, and what to do with natural hybrids. Many questions are discussed here that have a strong bearing on how we identify our birds and why. Good reading and no one should pontificate on the controversial captive hybridizing issue without having read this short but very informative chapter. NATIJRAL HIS1DRY OF TIIE PARROTS follows. It is divided into General Behavior, Distribution, Habitat, Movements, Social Behavior, Diet, and Breeding. I believe aviculturists could improve their husbandry techniques by digesting the information in this section. You will learn how different various kinds of parrots really are. One captive technique definitely does not fit all. What are some of the natural characteristics of the birds you keep? CONSERVATION STATIJS, the next head, defines the meaning of the various terms such as Extinct, Critically Endan- gered, Endangered, and Threatened. There are two tables, one listing the parrots under threat of global extinction, the other listing those considered Near-Threatened. What species is the world's rarest bird? Read this section. Once you have learned which parrots are under the most stress, read the section THREATS. This explains why certain species are declining. Habitat Loss is first with Live Bird Trade second, Introduced Species third, Persecution and Hunting fourth, with Storms and Climate Changes last. As we better understand these pressures on parrots, we can take more focused action to ameliorate some of the damage to some of the species. The next section is titled CAPTivE BREEDING. It does not tell you how to feed and breed your birds. Rather, it presents the realities of captive breeding with regard to endangered species. Many aviculturists like to feel (and often say) "We are breeding endangered birds and thus saving the species." Not necessarily so. In fact, almost never so. The authors explain, "There are several sets of complex and interrelated issues linked to captive breeding that need to be considered." And they go on to outline some of the issues. I feel this short one-page section should be mandatory reading for anyone who breeds parrots. It will put your philosophy in touch with reality. The final section in the volume is the expanded texts treating every known parrot species and subspecies. These notes contain Identification, Voice, Distribution and Status, Ecology, Description, Sex/ Age, Measurements, and Geographical Variation (if there is one). Are you aware that there are two races of the Peach-faced Lovebird? I thought not. In my experienced opinion (I use reference books in earning my living), this is the most useable and up-to-date book on parrots that there is. In my extensive editorial needs, I find myself reaching for Parrots by Juniper and Parr almost exclusively. I can't imagine how I got along without it. And I paid money out of my pocket for the thing. I'm not just touting a review copy. If you have parrots or are interested in them, I don't see how you can get along without the book either.


Background: Obesity levels have increased significantly around the world. Earlier studies showed that obesity was a disease of the socioeconomic elite-those who were wealthier, had easier access to more food, who in the process consumer high calories, leading to obesity. In contrast, recent studies show a negative correlation between high socioeconomic conditions and obesity levels. A limitation with these studies is that they rely on a small sample of countries.
Aims: In this study we determine the effects of a countries' income and life expectancy rates on obesity rates for both men and women.
Material and Methods: We ran a fixed effect panel regression analysis on a sample of 202 countries over 41 years.
Results and Significances: We find, that if a country's GDP per capita increased by a $1,000, the number of women who are obese would decrease by .02%. Interestingly, for men, the findings did not match: an increase in GDP per capita increased obesity rates among men. We also find that as the obesity rate of a given country increases, its life expectancy decreases, however, this affect is twice as strong for men than for women. These results shed light on the fact that our current approaches to reducing obesity may work for women but may not be working for men. Future policies to tackle obesity should take in to behavioral differences across gender
Biography:
Ayush Malhotra is a grade 8 student at Centennial Public School in Waterloo, Ontario. Over the last year he has worked on this research project and had the pleasure of presenting his
work at the Annual Canadian Wide Science Fair (CWSF) held in New Brunswick. Shavin Malhotra helped guide Ayush on this project and Ayush hopes to continue expanding this line of research in future.
Speaker Publications:
1. American Medical Association AMA Adopts New Policies on Second Day of Voting at Annual Meeting [Internet] 2013.
2. Stevens GA, Singh GM, Lu Y, Danaei G, Lin JK, Finucane MM, et al. National, regional, and global trends in adult overweight and obesity prevalences. Popul Health Metr. 2012;10(1):22.
3. Hu FB. Obesity epidemiology. Oxford University Press; Oxford; New York: 2008. p. 498.
4. Hill JO, Wyatt HR, Peters JC. Energy Balance and Obesity. Circulation. 2012 Jul 3;126(1):126–32.
5. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans [Internet] [cited 2014 Apr 21].
5th World Congress on Public Health and Nutrition; London, UK- February 24-25, 2020.

Abstract Citation:
Ayush Malhotra, The relationship between obesity, annual GDP per capita, and life expectancy – A panel analysis on 202 countries through 41 years, Public Health 2020, 5th World Congress on Public Health and Nutrition; London, UK- February 24-25, 2020 (https://publichealth.healthconferences.org/abstract/2020/the-relationship-between-obesity-annual-gdp-per-capita-and-life-expectancy-a-panel-analysis-on-202-countries-through-41-years)


Motivation Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping arrays remain an attractive platform for assaying copy number variants (CNVs) in large population-wide cohorts. However current tools for calling CNVs are still prone to extensive false positive calls when applied to biobank scale arrays. Moreover, there is a lack of methods exploiting cohorts with trios available (e.g. nuclear family) to assist in quality control and downstream analyses following the calling. Results We developed SeeCiTe (Seeing Cnvs in Trios), a novel CNV quality control tool that post-processes output from current CNV calling tools exploiting child-parent trio data to classify calls in quality categories and provide a set of visualizations for each putative CNV call in the offspring. We apply it to the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and show that SeeCiTe improves the specificity and sensitivity compared to the common empiric filtering strategies. To our knowledge it is the first tool that utilizes probe-level CNV data in trios to systematically highlight potential artefacts and visualize signal intensities in a streamlined fashion suitable for biobank scale studies. Availability and Implementation The software is implemented in R with the source code freely available at https://github.com/aksenia/SeeCiTe. Contact email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com


The need for monitoring slope movements increases with the increasing need for new areas to inhabit and new land management requirements. Rock-slope monitoring implies the use of a database, but also the use of other tools to facilitate the analysis of movements. The experience and the philosophy of monitoring the top of the Randa rockfall scar which is sliding down into the valley near Randa village in Switzerland are presented. The database includes data correction tools, display facilities and information about benchmarks. Tools for analysing the movement acceleration and spatial changes and forecasting movement are also presented. Using the database and its tools it was possible to discriminate errors from critical slope movement. This demonstrates the efficiency of these tools in monitoring the Randa scar.


In view of numerous legal cases of recourse on the basis of injections incorrectly carried out in birds, a description of the most important injection techniques was compiled with reference to existing literature on this subject. Intramuscular and subcutaneous injections are preferable methods of parenteral application. Intracutaneous application and its indication are briefly mentioned. Intravenous injection, blood sampling as well as different methods of euthanasia are described as well.


The type II supernova is considered as a candidate site for the production of heavy elements. The nucleosynthesis occurs in an intense neutrino flux, we calculate the electron fraction in this environment.


OBJECTIVE: The incidence of maternal mortality due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in the Netherlands is greater than in other Western countries. We aimed to confirm and explain this difference by assessing incidence, risk factors, and substandard care of eclampsia in the Netherlands. METHODS: In a nationwide population-based cohort study, all cases of eclampsia were prospectively collected during a 2-year period (2004–2006). All pregnant women in the Netherlands in the same period acted as reference cohort (n=371,021). Substandard care was assessed in all cases. A selection of cases was extensively audited by an expert panel. Main outcome measures were incidence, case fatality rate, possible risk factors, and substandard care. RESULTS: All 98 Dutch maternity units participated (100%). There were 222 cases of eclampsia, for an incidence of 6.2 per 10,000 deliveries. Three maternal deaths occurred; the case fatality rate was 1 in 74. Risk factors in univariable analysis included multiple pregnancy, primiparity, young age, ethnicity, and overweight. Prophylactic magnesium sulfate was given in 10.4% of women, and antihypertensive medication was given in 39.6% of women with a blood pressure on admission at or above 170/110 mm Hg. Additionally, substandard care was judged to be present by an expert panel in 15 of 18 audited cases (83%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of eclampsia in the Netherlands is markedly increased as compared with other Western European countries. Substandard care was identified in many cases, indicating the need for critical evaluation of the management of hypertensive disease in the Netherlands. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


The CC chemokines are a closely related subfamily of the chemokine superfamily. Most of the CC chemokine genes form a cluster on chromosome 11 in mice and chromosome 17 in humans. To date, 11 and 16 functional genes have been localized within the mouse and human clusters, respectively. Notably, some of the genes within these clusters appear to have no counterparts between the two species, and the orthologous relationships of some of the genes are difficult to establish solely on the basis of amino acid similarity. In this study, we have taken a comparative genomic approach to reveal some of the features that may be involved in the dynamic evolution of these gene clusters. We sequenced a 122-kb region containing five chemokine genes of the mouse CC cluster. This mouse sequence was combined with those determined by the Mouse Genome Sequencing Project, and the entire sequence of the mouse CC cluster was compared with that of the corresponding cluster in the human genome by percent identity plot and dot-plot analyses. Although no additional chemokine genes have been found in these clusters, our analysis has revealed that numerous gene rearrangements have occurred even after the diversification of rodents and primates, resulting in several species-specific chemokine genes and pseudogenes. In addition, phylogenetic analysis and comparison of the genomic sequences unambiguously identified the orthologous relationships of some of the chemokine genes in the mouse and human CC gene clusters.


The network organization of human brain functional connectivity is strikingly similar to that of inter-regional gene coexpression. Yet, whether gene coexpression explains functional connectivity with an accuracy that is equivalent across the cortex, or whether different sets of genes explain distinct aspects of functional connectivity remains unknown. Furthermore, it is unclear how the relationship between gene coexpression and brain connectivity might change over development, relate to heritability, and track behavior. Here, we leverage several large multimodal data sets to demonstrate that different sets of genes statistically account for different aspects of brain network architecture. Critically, gene coexpression is more strongly related to functional connectivity than to structural connectivity. Brain regions whose connections are well fit by gene coexpression also tend to have connections whose strengths are commonly shared across humans, co-vary with behavior, and display stereotyped development over adolescence. In contrast, brain regions whose connections are not well fit by gene coexpression tend to connect diverse functional network modules and be strongly heritable. Our results lend support to the notion that functional connectivity is modularly represented in the genome and mediates between genotypes and cognitive phenotypes.


In recent years, neural implicit surface reconstruction has emerged as a popular paradigm for multi-view 3D reconstruction. Unlike traditional multi-view stereo approaches, the neural implicit surface-based methods leverage neural networks to represent 3D scenes as signed distance functions (SDFs). However, they tend to disregard the reconstruction of individual objects within the scene, which limits their performance and practical applications. To address this issue, previous work ObjectSDF introduced a nice framework of object-composition neural implicit surfaces, which utilizes 2D instance masks to supervise individual object SDFs. In this paper, we propose a new framework called ObjectSDF++ to overcome the limitations of ObjectSDF. First, in contrast to ObjectSDF whose performance is primarily restricted by its converted semantic field, the core component of our model is an occlusion-aware object opacity rendering formulation that directly volume-renders object opacity to be supervised with instance masks. Second, we design a novel regularization term for object distinction, which can effectively mitigate the issue that ObjectSDF may result in unexpected reconstruction in invisible regions due to the lack of constraint to prevent collisions. Our extensive experiments demonstrate that our novel framework not only produces superior object reconstruction results but also significantly improves the quality of scene reconstruction. Code and more resources can be found in \url{https://qianyiwu.github.io/objectsdf++}


This paper presents a set of data-driven methods for predicting nitrogen concentration in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The nitrogen that accumulates in the anode channel is a critical factor giving rise to significant inefficiency in fuel cells. While periodically purging the gases in the anode channel is a common strategy to combat nitrogen accumulation, such open-loop strategies also create sub-optimal purging decisions. Instead, an accurate prediction of nitrogen concentration can help devise optimal purging strategies. However, model based approaches such as CFD simulations for nitrogen prediction are often unavailable for long-stack fuel cells due to the complexity of the chemical environment, or are inherently slow preventing them from being used for real-time nitrogen prediction on deployed fuel cells. As one step toward addressing this challenge, we explore a set of data-driven techniques for learning a regression model from the input parameters to the nitrogen build-up using a model-based fuel cell simulator as an offline data generator. This allows the trained machine learning system to make fast decisions about nitrogen concentration during deployment based on other parameters that can be obtained through sensors. We describe the various methods we explore, compare the outcomes, and provide future directions in utilizing machine learning for fuel cell physics modeling in general.


This paper explores the queer(ed) possibilities of the focus group method through analyzing the ambivalent responses provided by participants in a series of focus groups around their experiences with pornography. I argue that these ambivalences reflect participants' tendencies to attach themselves to "happy affects" as they emerged within the sociality of the focus group encounter and therefore offer glimpses into the situated and relational nature of subjectivity. To the extent that sociality is a key feature of the focus group method, I suggest that focus groups might be utilized to queer the field of sex research more broadly.


Abstract The ongoing interest of researchers in bioderived polylactide (PLA) is due to the current tendency to replace petroleum-based plastics with polymers from renewable resources. Polylactide fits this trend because of its mechanical properties resembling those of some petroleum-based polymers commonly applied in daily life and because of its degradability. Added value is the excellent biocompatibility of PLA thanks to which it has found an application in biomedicine. This great interest in polylactide is reflected in the literature. Crosslinking of polylactide was also studied by many authors as an easy method of the improvement and the modification of its properties (thermal, mechanical, rheological, degradability) according to requirements of existing or possible applications. In the present review, the examples of polylactide and its copolymers crosslinking by chemical approaches described in the literature are presented. Thus, chemical methods including peroxide-induced radical crosslinking and crosslinking by coupling of functional PLA prepolymers via condensation/addition reactions are discussed. The results of PLA modification and examples of new, interesting materials obtained via different crosslinking methods are shown.


Objective: To investigate the distribution of uric acid in different occupation, age and gender groups, and changes of prevalence of hyperuricemia (HUA) and its influencing factors in healthy adults who receiving physical examination in Nanjing. Methods: The study was conducted in 107 478 subjects who received physical examination from 2012 to 2016. The prevalence of HUA in different genders and different years was compared. Subjects were divided into non-HUA and HUA groups according to serum uric acid. The differences in metabolic indicators and ages between two groups were analyzed. Uric acid levels among different occupations were evaluated. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) of HUA. Results: The total HUA prevalence was 14.9%, in which the prevalence of HUA in men was significantly higher than that in women [20.5%(15217/74339)vs. 2.5%(818/33139), P<0.01]. The prevalence of HUA in men sustained at a high level, while that in women trended to decrease during the five years. The prevalence of HUA increased with age in women (1.0%, 0.7%, 0.9%, 2.7%, 3.8% and 9.6% in subjects within 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69 and ≥70 age groups, respectively, P for trend<0.01). The percentages of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes, and body mass index (BMI) in both men and women were significantly higher in HUA group than those in non-HUA group (P≤0.01). Among all occupations, subjects in health care had the lowest levels of uric acid (298±91 μmol/L) and prevalence of HUA (10.4%), while, those in public security had the highest levels of uric acid [(342±82) μmol/L] and prevalence (16.5%). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that males, high triacylglycerol, high cholesterol, obesity and certain occupation were significantly associated with HUA. Conclusions: The prevalence of HUA in men is significantly higher than that in women. It increased with ages in women. Subjects in health occupations had the lowest levels of uric acid and HUA prevalence, while, those in public security had the highest levels among the six occupations. Obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, occupations and males are positively associated with HUA.


Electropolishing (EP) is a reliable post-processing method of the drilled metals for achieving a high-quality surface finish with an appropriate material removal rate. This process has many applications due to its advantages such as improving the surface quality by removing the surface peaks on a micro-scale. The aim of most attempts on this process is setting up the optimum parameters to obtain maximum Material Removal Rate (MRR) with minimum surface roughness. In the present wo k, electropolishing of AISI 4340 low alloy steel immersed in eco-friendly NaCl solution has been studied numerically and experimentally. So, primarily a simulation model was developed for the EP process on cylinder parts in COMSOL Multiphysics which was validated with experimental approaches. The results revealed that the numerical model would be convenient for EP. The experiments were performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to evaluate the effect of input variables on the responses. The effects of input variables electrolyte temperature, current intensity, and primary gap were investigated on the outputs MRR and surface roughness at five levels. Based on the results, the electrolyte temperature and current intensity were more effective parameters on the outputs. Results of ANOVA and regression analysis approach revealed that by increasing the current and electrolyte temperature, the MRR increases correspondingly and surface roughness declines and the primary gap has a reverse effect on the MRR. Finally, by performing a multi-objective optimization using Derringer's desirability approach, the EP of AISI 4340 with an eco-friendly NaCl solution was optimized.


Despite the effectiveness of the Hib vaccine, multiple amplification of the capb locus contributes to vaccine failure. However, there has been no report on the effect of Hib locus amplification in Japan. We examined 24 Hib strains from Japanese children with invasive diseases due to Hib. Although all strains showed the same capb sequence, Southern blot analysis showed that four strains (16.7%) harbored multiple copies (more than two) of the capb locus. Careful analysis of the locus in circulating Hib strains is necessary now that the Hib vaccine has been introduced into Japan.


EXCEL VBA MADE EASY is the Book written by the AUTHOR and WEBMASTER of the top Excel VBA tutorial in the web. It covers the basics of Excel VBA using many more examples and sample programs. You will learn Excel VBA easily with this book as It is written in simple and plain English. By reading this book, everyone should be able to learn Excel VBA in a short time.


Abstract Flooding remains the most widely distributed natural hazard in Europe, leading to significant economic and social impact. Earth observation data is presently capable of making fundamental contributions towards reducing the detrimental effects of extreme floods. Technological advance makes development of online services able to process high volumes of satellite data without the need of dedicated desktop software licenses possible. The main objective of the case study is to present and evaluate a methodology for mapping of flooded areas based on MODIS satellite images derived indices and using state-of-the-art geospatial web services. The methodology and the developed platform were tested with data for the historical flood event that affected the Danube floodplain in 2006 in Romania. The results proved that, despite the relative coarse resolution, MODIS data is very useful for mapping the development flooded area in large plain floods. Moreover it was shown, that the possibility to adapt and combine the existing global algorithms for flood detection to fit the local conditions is extremely important to obtain accurate results.


Chronic hepatitis is a clinical and pathological syndrome, which has several causes and it is characterized by varying degrees of hepatocellular necrosis and inflammation. Several systems have been proposed to evaluate the diagnosis, grading and staging of chronic hepatitis. A histologic activity index (HAI) has been developed which generates a numerical score for liver biopsy specimens obtained from patients with chronic hepatitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between HAI and proliferative activity markers, such as PCNA and AgNORs in biopsy specimens obtained from patients with chronic liver disease including chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. Mean AgNOR counts and HAI were significantly higher in the chronic active hepatitis group than in the chronic persistent hepatitis group (P


Empowered by geo-locating and sensor-based technologies, precision agriculture brings a data-intensive paradigm into farming. In this spirit, we investigate the role of outlier detection and visualization in decision-making for precision agriculture. We discuss two analysis tasks for visually monitoring fields that exhibit problematic crop growth compared to their neighbors, and for visualizing problematic areas inside a field. As a proof of concept, we analyze satellite imagery to case-study our tasks in the context of the Future Cropping project.


The difficulty of prediction of the time series of relativistic electrons flux in the outer radiation belt of the Earth is caused by the complexity and nonlinearity of the magnetosphere of the Earth as a dynamic system, and by the properties of data obtained from space experiments. This study considers different approaches to neural network prediction of the values of relativistic electrons flux in the outer radiation belt of the Earth by the parameters of solar wind measured at the Earth's orbit and by the values of geomagnetic indices. Comparison of quality indices of predictions with horizon from one to twelve hours among each other and with predictions of trivial models is performed.


We have investigated the influence of a strong magnetic field on various aspects of a quantum Fermi plasma. Due to the strong magnetic field, the distribution function becomes anisotropic. First, we consider non-degenerate quantum, Landau and Kelly distribution function. It was found that the adiabatic equation is similar to the adiabatic equation for a Maxwell distribution function, when we include the magnetic field in the energy expression. Using the Kelly distribution for a degenerate, quantum Fermi gas, parallel and perpendicular components of the pressure were derived. It was found that perpendicular component of pressure never becomes zero and three-dimensional system always stay three-dimensional. Lastly, we investigated electron emission from metals and have shown the influence of the magnetic field. We calculated thermionic emission, the so-called Richardson effect. In addition, we investigate the influence of external electromagnetic radiation on the electron current density (Hallwachs effect) from metals.


To investigate the actual conditions on the living environment of group-homes for the elderly and their living environment, 4 group-homes were surveyed. As the results, conditions of location for the group-home of the elderly looked positive, on the other hand, safety for criminal prevention, accessability and convenient facilities were not on level satisfied. The average area of each space in the group-home indicated that the bed room was , the living room , the kitchen , and the bath room had an integrated type of bath room and toilet . The physical environments of each space in the group-home were investigated, In bed room, door, windows and illumination were relatively good but safety was extremely inferior. Living room mostly looked good except the doorsill which needs refurbishment. In kitchen, cooking table, windows, illumination, ventilator were somewhat satisfactory but gas-warning device should have been installed. In addition, in bath room and toilet, location, door, window, illumination and finished material were satisfactory. But the stepped difference between the bath room and other space, safety-bar, emergency bell and floor heating system were seriously deteriorated and must be improved for the safety of the elderly. Conclusively, living environment of group-home for the elderly is mainly satisfactory but it was necessary to take a consideration for their safety.


The robustness of outcomes to the parameterization of behavioral rules is a crucial property of any model aimed at simulating complex human systems. Schelling model of residential segregation satisfies this criterion. Based on the recently available high-resolution census GIS, we apply Schelling model for investigating urban population patterns at the resolution of individual buildings and families. First, we simulate ethnic residential dynamics in Yaffo (an area of Tel Aviv), and demonstrate good quantitative correspondence for a 40-year period. Second, we investigate income-based residential patterns in nine Israeli cities, reveal their high heterogeneity, and explain the latter by the presence of low fraction of wealthier householders who are tolerant of their poorer neighbors and reside in their proximity. We extend Schelling model in this direction and demonstrate qualitative correspondence between the model's outcomes and the observed income-based residential patterns.


The concept of Open Government is supported on three foundations: Transparency, Collaboration, and Participation. Libraries are democratic spaces that encourage social cohesion and guarantee equal opportunities for information access. Despite the implications of the digital communication era, the construction of libraries is still underway. Also and to a greater extent, their design incorporates spaces that lead to social interaction and freedom of expression among their communities. This becomes relevant for academic libraries since they have an impact on training critical citizens who are also committed with their environment. This investigation employs a mixed research methodology describing the situation of academic library buildings in Mexico, with an emphasis on collaborative work spaces in the libraries of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi.


At present, the use of agricultural waste materials that are environmentally friendly and easily biodegradable in nature is a major priority in developing alternative materials for engineering. Indonesia is the largest producer of banana products and has the potential to produce abundant banana stem waste in every harvest. In this study, the objective of the investigation was to design artificial boards from waste banana stalks, print them into dummy boards, and test their mechanical strength. The product design is based on a commercial board thickness of 50 mm. Making artificial boards using a special molding method using the press method. Testing of flexural strength using the Universal Testing Machine with the threepoint bending method. The result is that the artificial board has an additional thickness of 10% from the initial thickness due to the characteristic of banana stems which have air cavities. When compared with commercial boards, the resulting artificial board has a fairly good damping ability against a given load so that further investigation is needed for the development of this material to produce a better board quality.


The purpose of this study was to simulate the intensity of TTFields delivered to the brain during the course of glioblastoma (GBM) treatment and to determine whether therapeutic intensities are delivered to the proximal peri-tumoral brain zone (PBZ). Background: TTFields are low-intensity (1-3 V/cm), intermediate frequency (200kHz), alternating electric fields delivered orthogonally in a localized manner during the course of GBM therapy. A recent phase 3 randomized, controlled trial conducted in patients newly diagnosed with GBM was stopped early for efficacy when the end points for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were met at the interim analysis. Patients receiving TTFields in combination with temozolomide (TMZ) had a significantly longer PFS and OS compared with patients receiving TMZ alone. More than 90% of GBM recur at the margin of a resection cavity or within the PBZ where the presence of infiltrating tumor cells, inflammatory cells and tumorigenic stromal cells are thought to promote recurrence. Phantom model simulation studies suggest that field intensities >1V/cm are delivered to the brain in a non-uniform distribution, however the field distribution to the gross tumor volume (GTV) and PBZ have not been previously evaluated. Methods: Two MRI cases (frontal and posterior-parietal tumors) were used to generate TTFields treatment array layout maps using NovoTAL(TM) System planning software, targeting areas of contrast enhancement on T1 sequences. Simulations for the respective array layouts were created for solid tumors, resection cavities and for tumors with a necrotic core (modified Colin27 model, meshed and solved using the Sim4Life software solver package). Two orthogonal fields (left-right and antero-posterior) at a field frequency of 200 kHz were employed for all simulations. Field intensity was determined in the GTV, tumor margin(TM) and proximal PBZ (20mm) for all models. Results: Transducer array layout maps generated by the NovoTAL software deliver therapeutic intensities of TTFields in both L-R and A-P directions. Bi-directional intensities exceed therapeutic levels (>1 V/cm) in the GTV (median 1.84 V/cm), TM (median 1.9 V/cm) and PBZ (median 2.09 V/cm) in all solid tumors and in the PBZ (median 1.83 V/cm) surrounding a gross total resection (GTR) cavity. The highest areas of field intensity are observed directly adjacent to resection cavities and the ventricles. Conclusions: The delivery of therapeutic intensities of TTFields to patients who have undergone a GTR, subtotal resection or who have inoperable GBM, targets therapy to the area of active disease and importantly, to the PBZ. TTFields target residual tumor cells in the GTV and may also disrupt infiltrating tumor cells in the PBZ. Clinically, this may decrease local GBM recurrence rates and prospective clinical studies are warranted to explore this further. Citation Format: Aafia Chaudhry, Zeev Bomzon, Hadas Sara Hershkovich, Dario Garcia-Carracedo, Cornelia Wenger, Uri Weinberg, Yoram Palti. Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) intensity in the gross tumor volume and peritumoral brain zone: implications for local recurrence in glioblastoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2051.


The explosion of the real-time web has spurred a growing need for new methods to organize, monitor, and distill relevant information from these large-scale social streams. One especially encouraging development is the self-curation of the real-time web via user-driven linking, in which users annotate their own status updates with lightweight semantic annotations -- or hashtags. Unfortunately, there is evidence that hashtag growth is not keeping pace with the growth of the overall real-time web. In a random sample of 3 million tweets, we find that only 10.2% contain at least one hashtag. Hence, in this paper we explore the possibility of predicting hashtags for un-annotated status updates. Toward this end, we propose and evaluate a graph-based prediction framework. Three of the unique features of the approach are: (i) a path aggregation technique for scoring the closeness of terms and hashtags in the graph; (ii) pivot term selection, for identifying high value terms in status updates; and (iii) a dynamic sliding window for recommending hashtags reflecting the current status of the real-time web. Experimentally we find encouraging results in comparison with Bayesian and data mining-based approaches.


The development of Web applications is moving quickly due to an explosive increase of Internet use. However, the architectures of current Web applications reveal several constraints and limitations in terms of performance, functionality, usability, etc. Several candidate technologies such as Java, Java RMI, Web-ORB, and Agents have been introduced. However, it has not been studied how these unit technologies can be put together to overcome the limitations of Web applications. As these newer language/technologies are based on the object-oriented paradigm, the object-oriented Web architectures based on these newcomers should be developed. Hence, we first identify the problems and limitations of current Web applications and then propose new architectures of and development strategies for next generation Web applications based on these newer unit technologies. Also three case studies based on the proposed architectures and strategies are presented.


Feynman's operational calculus for noncommuting operators was studied via measures on the time interval. We investigate that if a sequence of p-tuples of measures converges to another p-tuple of measures, then the corresponding sequence of operational calculi in the time dependent setting converges to the operational calculus determined by the limiting p-tuple of measures.


Library resources and beyond on classical Greek and Roman mythology as well as researching mythic themes in art and literature.


Objective
To investigate the mechanisms of zinc deficiency inducing spermatogenic disorders.

METHODS
Forty 4-week-old CD-1 male mice were randomly divided into two groups of equal number: experimental and control, the former fed on a low-zinc diet and the latter on a normal diet, both for 5 weeks. Then all the mice were sacrificed and their testes and epididymides harvested for detection of the concentration of zinc ion in the testis by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, observation of the histopathological changes in the testis and epididymis by HE staining, examination of the properties of the exfoliated cells by dual immunofluorescence staining and determination of the expressions of ZO-1, FAK, TGF-β1, TGF-β2, TNF-α and Par6 proteins in the testicular tissue by Western blot.

RESULTS
The concentration of zinc ion in the testis was significantly lower in the experimental than in the control group ([140.59 ± 16.22] vs [218.44 ± 31.29] μg/g, P < 0.05). HE staining showed normal testicular tissue structure, dense seminiferous tubules and intact seminiferous epithelium, with clear and orderly arrangement of spermatogenic cells at all levels in the control group. The ratio of the abnormal seminiferous tubules to the total number was 0.01 ± 0.01. The mice in the experimental group, however, exhibited degeneration of seminiferous epithelium, reduced number of spermatids, vacuolated cytoplasm of Sertoli cells, occluded seminiferous tubules, and a remarkably larger number of abnormal seminiferous tubules than that in the control (0.75 ± 0.04 vs 0.25 ± 0.04, P < 0.01). Exfoliated cells were observed in the abnormal tubules and the caput, corpus and cauda of the epididymis in the experimental group, which were shown to be immature round spermatids in H1T2 and TRA54 dual-immunofluore-scence staining. Western blot manifested that the protein expression of ZO-1 was 0.904 ± 0.052 vs 1.130 ± 0.054 in the experimental and control groups, that of Par6 was 0.129 ± 0.049 vs 0.145 ± 0.047, that of TGF-β2 was 0.116 ± 0.047 vs 0.142 ± 0.048, and that of TNF-α was 0.469 ± 0.022 vs 0.458 ± 0.023, with significant decreases in the former group as compared with the latter in the levels of FAK (0.144 ± 0.047 vs 0.219 ± 0.048, P < 0.05) and TGF-β1 (0.024 ± 0.058 vs 0.586 ± 0.048, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS
Zinc deficiency can induce histopathological changes in the testis of the mouse, leading to exfoliation of round spermatids, in which FAK and TGF-β1 may play an essential contributive role.


ABSTRACT This short report aims to present current knowledge on endometriosis. The daily repercussions of endometriosis and their impact on women's psychological state, the resentment often expressed towards doctors associated with diagnosis delay, influencing both appropriation and adaptation to the disease and driving women mainly to self-manage are discussed. Directions for research and intervention include the need to devise a comprehensive strategy in collaboration with stakeholders and to examine targeted study areas more thoroughly, notably related to work environment management, dietary changes and their consequences or the social representation of endometriosis among physicians, are proposed.


This prospective, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, and randomized study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of granisetron, droperidol, and combinations of granisetron with droperidol or dexamethasone on postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing general anesthesia for cesarean section. Patients (n = 150) who were scheduled for cesarean section under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to one of the five groups: physiological saline 5 ml in Group A, granisetron 40 microg/kg + dexamethasone 8 mg in Group B, granisetron 40 microg/kg + droperidol 1.25 mg in Group C, droperidol 1.25 mg in Group D, and granisetron 40 microg/kg in Group E were administered intravenously after clamping of the fetal umbilical cord. Postoperative nausea and vomiting was observed for 024 h after the anesthesia. Cesarean sections were all performed under general anesthesia. Postoperative nausea and vomiting was more common in placebo group (56.7%) than the others during the 0-24 h after the anesthesia (p < 0.05). All granisetron groups were more effective than placebo and droperidol groups during the postoperative 3-24 h (p < 0.01). Although this trial lacks statistical power, granisetron alone and combinations with droperidol or dexamethasone were effective similarly. All treatment groups, except droperidol during the postoperative 3-24 h, were effective for prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting during the postoperative 0-24 h.


This paper presents experimental results of the wettability and atomic diffusibility of liquid metals on clean solid surfaces. Six types of liquid metals; Au, Ag, Cu, Al, Fe, Ti, and three types of substrates; tungsten, glass-like carbon, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), are used as the specimens. Contact angles of liquid metals are measured with good reproducibility using a continuous Ar sputter cleaning process as is introduced in the previous paper. Interaction energies of these systems are obtained. As liquid Fe has different diffusibility for two carbon substrates, glass-like carbon and HOPG substrates, atomic concentrations of the substrate surfaces are investigated using scanning Auger electron spectroscopy. Consequently, it is found that liquid Fe has atomic diffusibility with a glass-like carbon surface but not with HOPG (001) surface.


By using the similarity transformations approach, the exact propagator for a generalized one-dimensional Fokker-Planck equation, with linear drift force and space-time-dependent diffusion coefficient, is obtained. The method is simple and enables us to recover and generalize special cases studied through the Lie algebraic approach and the Green function technique.


The Hierarchical Inference (HI) paradigm has recently emerged as an effective method for balancing inference accuracy, data processing, transmission throughput, and offloading cost. This approach proves particularly efficient in scenarios involving resource-constrained edge devices like micro controller units (MCUs), tasked with executing tinyML inference. Notably, it outperforms strategies such as local inference execution, inference offloading, and split inference (i.e., inference execution distributed between two endpoints). Building upon the HI paradigm, this work explores different techniques aimed at further optimizing inference task execution. We propose three distinct HI approaches and evaluate their utility for image classification.


INTRODUCTION
L,L-ethylenedicysteine (EC) is a new carrier of technetium Tc 99m (99mTc) with a lower affinity to plasma albumin in comparison with diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA). We compared 99mTc-EC scan with 99mTc-DTPA scan in diuretic renography for patients with obstructive uropathy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-three patients with upper urinary tract obstruction were randomly selected and underwent diuretic renographies by 99mTc-EC and 99mTc-DTPA. The counts of radioisotope per pixel in the target (the kidney) and background tissues as well as the clearance half-life of these two radiopharmaceuticals were measured and compared.

RESULTS
Mean counts of radioisotope per pixel in the target tissue was not different between 99mTc-EC and 99mTc-DTPA scans, but in the background tissue, it was less for 99mTc-EC (P = .003). Target-background ratio was higher for 99mTc-EC scan (3.80 +/- 2.11 versus 2.48 +/- 1.39; P < .001). Renal clearance half-life of radioisotope was shorter for 99mTc-EC scan than 99mTc-DTPA scan (58.15 +/- 15.17 minutes versus 78.65 +/- 19.99 minutes; P = .033). The results were similar for uremic patients (with a serum creatinine level > 2mg/dL).

CONCLUSION
Target-background ratio of radiopharmaceutical uptake rates in diuretic renography was a good indicator of the higher resolution of 99mTc-EC than 99mTc-DTPA scan. We also demonstrated the faster clearance of 99mTc-EC than 99mTc-DTPA. This results in less radiation that is especially useful in children. To our opinion, 99mTc-EC can better depict the kidneys in comparison with 99mTc-DTPA.


There is a growing awareness in India about extensive damage being caused to the environment due to accumulation of waste materials from industrial plants, power houses, colliery pits and demolition sites and it has become one of the major environmental, economical and social issues. Waste material is the material unused, unwanted and rejected as worthless into the environment in our society as whole. Waste materials coming out of industry nowadays is posing a great environmental problem in disposing them into the air, water and on the land. But, with proper utilization of these materials in construction industry as well as in making road pavements will greatly help the society to have a better and pleasant environment. Substitution of waste materials will conserve dwindling resources, and will avoid the environmental and ecological damages caused by quarrying and exploitation of the raw materials for making cement. These waste materials can partly be used, or processed, to produce materials suitable as aggregates or fillers in concrete. Use of waste products is not only a partial solution to environmental and ecological problems and it significantly improves the microstructure, and consequently the properties of concrete. The output of these waste materials in India are more than double the production of cement and other construction material used in all the civil engineering activities. So, use of waste materials not only to make the cement concrete (generally used in all the construction activities) less expensive, but to provide a blend of tailored properties of waste materials and portland cements suitable for specified purpose. This paper outlines regarding the optimum utilization of waste materials in some construction activities as a green concept, which ultimately reduces the environmental pollution.


The majority of decision makers from all business and organizational levels have absolute agreement about the essential role of IT in enforcing business in a new paradigm. Decision making and its life cycle is not an exception. It will be transformed too, and in both directions (top – down and bottom – up) by enforcing IT innovation and domination. Businesses are directed by growing corporate business ideology. This corporate ideology forms the basis from which most, if not all, of the company's goals, initiatives, and ultimately direction, are derived. This same ideology developed different planning methodologies where IS are among its products, meanwhile IT has greatly contributed to the evolution of the planning methodologies. Thus, IT has defined its business interrelation, and its value as an essential business variant. This variant added itself to the requirements of business success as "success in business also requires the mastering of IT." In this paper, the researcher highlighted: 1) The IT/IS strategic focus through the IT impact analysis on business strategy and operations 2) The Main business-IT/IS transformation strategic approaches (strategic blocks): Enterprise Resource planning (ERP), Supply chain management (SCM), Customer relationship management (CRM) & Partner relationship management (PRM), and Business intelligence (BI) from the: a)      IT/IS economic concept in Building IT strategic objects and b)      Holistic integrated management approach through the mechanism of Integrated enterprise management (IEM) and it's pillars (Building foundation layers, Sense and response, and IT-business transparency)


Antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide, and is considered a serious threat to public health by e.g. the World Health Organization. Antibiotic resistance genes are hypothesized to originate from harmless bacteria in and around us, from where they are horizontally transfered into human pathogens. It is therefore of great importance to explore human-associated and environmental bacterial communities to identify novel antibiotic resistance genes before they reach clinical settings. The three papers presented in this thesis aim to identify novel antibiotic resistance genes in large genomic and metagenomic datasets. In paper I , the aim was to identify novel genes of the clinically important subclass B1 metallo-β-lactamases. By analyzing whole bacterial genomes as well as metagenomes from environmental and human-associated bacterial communities, 76 novel putative B1 genes were predicted. Twenty-one of these were selected for experimental validation, whereof 18 expressed the predicted phenotype in E. coli . Phylogentic analysis revealed that the novel genes formed 59 previously undescribed gene families. In paper II , a large volume of genomic and metagenomic data was searched for novel plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance ( qnr ) genes. In total, 611 qnr genes were predicted, of which 20 were putative novel. Nine of these were experimentally tested in E. coli , whereof eight expressed the predicted phenotype. In paper III , a new method for identification and reconstruction of novel antibiotic resistance genes from fragmented metagenomic data was presented. The method is based on gene specific models, which are optimized for a high sensitivity and specificity. The method is furthermore computationally efficient and can be applied to any class of resistance genes. The results of this thesis provides a deeper insight to the diversity and evolutionary history of two types of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes. It also provides new methods for efficient and reliable identification of novel resistance genes in fragmented metagenomic data.


We examined the expression profile of catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) mRNA and its protein in the neonatal rat hypothalamus by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to clarify the sites of dopamine degradation. Strong COMT mRNA expression was observed in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) throughout its rostrocaudal extent at postnatal day 1 (P1) and P2, and the mRNA levels decreased gradually until P16. COMT mRNA was predominantly localized to the ventral and medial parts of the SCN. Intense COMT immunoreactivity was demonstrated in the ventral SCN and was detected in neuronal perikarya and processes at P1. Ependymal and microglial cells also exhibited strong COMT immunoreactivity. These results indicate that COMT may directly be involved in dopaminergic signaling in the neonatal SCN.


abstract:This article examines the utopianism of Kim Stanley Robinson's 2017 sf novel New York 2140, the world of which is defined by a nexus of profound climatological disasters. In contrast to other texts in the growing cli-fi (climate fiction) genre, Robinson's seemingly apocalyptic world is a representation of a disaster utopia—real-world networks of care, compassion, collaboration, and utopian joy that emerge in the wake of disasters. In New York 2140 Robinson explores the valences of disaster utopianism beyond its contemporary, exceptional appearances, contemplating how communities can flourish in a world where disaster emerges as a direct result of capitalist precarity and inequality. The article situates New York 2140 within a newly emerging corpus of cultural work that calls for a direct confrontation with the destructive powers of the present by understanding utopia as a precarious and never-finished form of resistance to neoliberal late capitalism.


Cows' and donkey milks (raw and thermally processed) and respective whey were analysed for quantification of major proteins. Two different chromatographic approaches, size exclusion (SE-HPLC) and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) both coupled to UV detection were used. Usefulness of these methods for routine control of the effect of thermal processing was evaluated. The external standard method was used to calibrate the SE-HPLC and RP-HPLC systems. Concerning quantification of β-lactoglobulin (β-lg), α-lactalbumin (α-la), lysozyme (lys), and total casein (cn), no significant differences between results obtained by SE-HPLC and by RP-HPLC (t-test, P>0·05) were observed for raw milks and whey. Heating of cows' milk promoted aggregation of denatured proteins as observed by SE-HPLC, whereas α-la and β-lg from donkey milk were stable to thermal processing at 100°C (5 min). Lys was quantified in donkey raw milk and whey however, in thermally processed donkey milk lys was denatured and could not be quantified by HPLC.


ABSTRACT The isolation of older people is recognised as a major social problem in contemporary Western society. While the risk factors and social or health outcomes of isolation and loneliness in later life are well documented, evidence regarding the effectiveness of programmes aimed at reducing social isolation in older people remains inconclusive. This paper reports on the challenges of attempting to undertake a rigorous evaluation of three demonstration pilot projects targeting older people at risk of social isolation, conducted within different social settings in Queensland, Australia. The demonstration projects were part of the Queensland Cross-Government Project to Reduce Social Isolation in Older People (CGPRSIOP) led by the Office for Seniors within the Queensland Department of Communities. In the absence of good evaluation of programmes aimed at social isolation, this government-run programme incorporated validated psychological measures to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. While use of these measures suggested some promising results, the focus of this paper is on the methodological and practical challenges associated with utilising evaluation measures in community-based interventions. The detailed consideration of the methodological issues involved in this programme highlights some key lessons and offers new insights into evaluating interventions for reducing social isolation.


This paper presents supervisory control of a dynamic flow controller (DFC) based on the discrete-event systems (DES) theory. A DFC can be considered as a flexible AC transmission system controller and includes a mechanically-switched phase-shifting transformer, a multimodule thyristor-switched capacitor, a multimodule thyristor-switched reactor, and a mechanically switched capacitor. Owing to the inherent discrete switching nature of a DFC, its components are modeled as finite automata; then, a DES supervisory control is designed to implement the control logic of the DFC system in different modes of operation (i.e., ldquoautomaticrdquo and ldquoauto/manualrdquo). It is shown that the specifications are controllable and the synthesized supervisors are nonblocking in both modes and the modular supervisors nonconflict in auto/manual mode.


This research examined the impact of culture on customer evaluations of complex services. The goal was to underStand the trade-offs that Western and Asian customers are willing to make between personalized service and pleasant physical environment in a context of luxury hotels. Overall, the results from the conjoint analysis suggest that customers with Western cultural backgrounds might be more likely than their Asian counterparts to rely on the tangible cues from the physical environment. Furthermore, the hedonic dimension of the consumption experience might be more important for Western consumers, whose core values include fun and enjoyment, than for Asians, whose value structures tend to reflect duty in life.


Cosmic-Ray neutron sensors are widely used to determine soil moisture on the hectare scale. Precise measurements, especially in the case of mobile application, demand for neutron detectors with high counting rates and high signal-to-noise ratios. For a long time Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing (CRNS) instruments have relied on 3He as an efficient neutron converter. Its ongoing scarcity demands for technological solutions using alternative converters, which are 6Li and 10B. Recent developments lead to a modular neutron detector consisting of several 10B-lined proportional counter tubes, which feature high counting rates via its large surface area. The modularity allows for individual shieldings of different segments within the detector featuring the capability of gaining spectral information about the detected neutrons. This opens the possibility for active signal correction, especially useful when applied to mobile measurements, where the influence of constantly changing near-field to the overall signal should be corrected. Furthermore, the signal-to-noise ratio could be increased by combining pulse height and pulse length spectra to discriminate between neutrons and other environmental radiation. This novel detector therefore combines high-selective counting electronics with large-scale instrumentation technology.


New global regulations are being implemented, with the intent of reducing pollutants, greenhouse emissions, and continuing improvements in fuel economy. This has caused OEMs to accelerate vehicle electrification in recent years. One of the key components of the electric drive unit is an electric motor (eMotor) constructed with a significant amount of magnet wire (MW). The MW is composed of a copper wire coated with a polymeric insulation material. Other insulation materials found in the eMotor are slot liner, wedge, phase separator, heat shrinkable materials, varnish, etc. However, MW compatibility with electric transmission fluids (ETFs) is the most important performance criteria as poor compatibility can lead to a decrease in performance, electrical short, and even cause catastrophic eMotor failure.This paper discusses new insights gained around MW compatibility with various ETFs. The testing procedures described are MW sample preparation, sample aging method, test equipment, and evaluation methods. Adhesion, breakdown voltage, and partial discharge behavior of insulation coating are the main performance criteria. MWs with round and rectangular shapes and various types of coating materials such as polyester, polyamide, polyimide, are investigated. The effect of water concentration in ETF on MW performance upon aging is also investigated. Lubricant's additive package or formulation chemistry leads to significant MW performance differences. The authors discuss the mechanism of MWs' deterioration and how to work around lubricant formulation for better MW compatibility.


We propose and demonstrate a simple, single-path technique for polarization-independent all-optical sampling in fiber. The residual polarization dependence was only 0.3 dB and no polarization-dependent waveform distortion was observed.


The usefulness of image intensifiers in the study of X-ray diffraction patterns has been demonstrated in a number of laboratories. Advantages arise from the fact that usable patterns can be obtained with a marked economy of X-ray exposure campared with conventional film recording or sequential diffractometer techniques, making possible the study of materials very susceptible to radiation damage and systems exhibiting dynamic characteristics which limit permissible dosage or exposure times. In addition, the reduction of time required for the recording of a pattern permits studies of families of crystals with large unit cell size containing many diffraction spots. Various X-ray sensitive cathode arrangements are described and compared. Image intensifiers and read-out techniques available are discussed. Results have been obtained for certain organic crystals demonstrating the capabilities of a system that has reduced the time required for certain exposures by a factor of several hundred.


This article presents the results of an exploration of the applications of an informative nature which are offered as part of the interactive services of the TDT (terrestrial digital television). It contains data about the weight which said applications have in the television offer, a description of the elements which compose them and a portrait of the productive dynamics that they generate. The work is based on the idea that the adequate and efficient development of TDT in Spain can only be achieved with a commitment to offering the audience quality interactive services and contents whether associated
with the different genres of programs or not.


One way to address preferences in Multi-Agent negotiation scenarios, is to devise a strategy for removal of contradictions, which may arise when the preferences of all agents are put together. This paper contributes towards that goal by proposing a methodology, based on declarative diagnosis, that minimises the losses of all agents (i.e. the number of preferences they have to yield in order to find a consensus) as negotiations are iterated; in other words, it will bias negotiations towards cooperation. Instead of considering explicit priorities among agents and/or preferences, the method herein presented proposes a dynamical approach (i.e. with memory of history). A cost function that considers generic features of the solution (e.g. the quantity of preferences relinquished by agents) is employed in order to obtain a generic approach, avoiding excessive use of application dependent parameters.


No studies have analyzed the longitudinal associations of change in physical fitness components and obesity with academic performance. The aim of the study was to examine longitudinal associations of changes in physical fitness components and body mass index with academic performance among youth, and whether the physical fitness components are moderators of the longitudinal association between obesity and academic performance in youth. Longitudinal analyses (2 years) included 1802 youths. Physical fitness components were assessed following the ALPHA health‐related fitness test battery. Academic performance was assessed via school records. Youth in the persistently high cardiorespiratory fitness and motor ability categories (ie, fit at baseline and at 2‐year follow‐up) had higher academic performance at follow‐up than those in the persistently low category. Further, youth with normal weight at baseline and overweight/obesity at follow‐up had lower academic performance scores at follow‐up compared to those with normal weight. Also, cardiorespiratory fitness may ameliorate the negative influence of excess body mass index on academic performance at follow‐up. Promoting physical activity programs at school that include both aerobic exercise and motor tasks to improve physical fitness and reduce body mass index may not only improve physical health, but also contribute toward successful academic development.


In this study, trainees in a transition program for incarcerated and adjudicated adults were found to be predominantly field dependent according to Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The work training program serves work-release and pre release participants (up to 75% of the program's population) by training them in manufacturing tech niques, personal and professional skills, basic adult education and by helping them establish a credible work history. In three years, 66.81% of the 690 trainees tested as being in the first quadrant in the GEFT, indicating a strong field-dependent cognitive style. The study indicates a possible need for train ing methods for incarcerated people based on a field-dependent (global) learning style. It also raises philosophical, ethical and methodological ques tions about how and what we teach in re-entry


Background: Acquired lipodystrophy is often characterized as an idiopathic subtype of lipodystrophy. Despite suspicion of an immune-mediated pathology, biomarkers such as autoantibodies are generally lacking. Methods: Here, we used an unbiased proteome-wide screening approach to identify autoantibodies to the adipocyte specific lipid droplet protein Perilipin-1 in a murine model of Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome 1 (APS1). We then tested for PLIN1 autoantibodies in human subjects with lipodystrophy with two independent severe breaks in immune tolerance (including APS1) along with controls using a specific Radioligand Binding Assay and indirect immunofluorescence on fat tissue. Results: We identified autoantibodies to the lipid-droplet protein Perilipin-1 (PLIN1) in two human case reports including the first reported case of human APS1 with acquired lipodystrophy. Further, we extend PLIN1 autoantibodies to a second non-APS1 patient who acquired lipodystrophy as an immune-related adverse event following cancer immunotherapy. Conclusion: These data suggest that PLIN1 autoantibodies may represent a unifying marker of autoimmune lipodystrophy.


Informative Report No. 8 on soap and detergent manufacture is one of a series of survey reports prepared by APCA's Tl-2 Committee on air pollution problems and control methods encountered in the chemical industry today.


One sure method for hydrocarbon exploration is the use of orthogonal geometries, in cross spread techniques. The configuration is based on consistent orthogonal pattern of both receiver lines and source lines. In areas where infrastructural facilities abound and interfere with seismic lines as obstacles, suitable designs of offsets, laminar or lateral types are employed to bypass the obstacles. The angle of excursion of the skirting from the main seismic line should be between17° and 34°. Around the intersection of lines with obstacles a skirting designed about the structure will maintain the source or receiver line spacing in multiples of the original line spacing. Densification of sources are used to recover the near-offset shots and near-mid offsets shots to upgrade the subsurface coverage that will compensate for the gap created by the omission of the obstacles. Compensation source line offsets, are designed as "skirting" around obstacles. This may result in drop in multiplicity or "fold of coverage "due to loss of Nears- and Near-mid CDP bins. Permit problems from host communities to the recording data acquisition is notable in this technique. The severity of the challenges partly varies with the extent of negative impact to the host communities or environment. Certain exploration activities adversely impact on the host communities and their sources of livelihood. The situation was different and in Ethiopia some years ago due to stiff opposition of the Ogaden basin youths in the coastal Somalian Region to Ethiopian Federal Government efforts on hydrocarbon exploration and development. Keywords: Orthogonal lines, skirting, permit problems


Post-weaning feed restriction is a common practice in rabbit farming to reduce mortality, but results in lower growth performance and slaughter weights. This study aimed to assess the influence of 2 diets both rich in fibre and low in starch, with high or low digestible energy (DE) and digestible protein (DP) contents for a constant DP/DE ratio offered from 18 to 70 d of age, on the growth performance and health parameters of rabbits. Eight hundred rabbit kits were divided in 2 experimental groups differing in the feed offered from 18 to 70 d: a high concentrate diet (HC group; 10.37 MJ DE/kg DM and 102 g DP/kg DM) or low concentrate diet (LC group; 9.63 MJ DE/kg DM and 95 g DP/kg DM). Feed was offered ad libitum before weaning (35 d) and from 63 to 70 d, while feed offered from 35 to 63 d was controlled to obtain similar DE intake in both groups. Feed intake, animal weights and health status were recorded weekly. Mortality was recorded daily. Feed intake was similar in both groups before weaning (P=0.204), and consequently the DE intake was higher in the HC group compared to the LC group before weaning (3.91 vs. 3.39 MJ, respectively; P=0.017). Feed intake from 63 to 70 d was lower in the HC than in the LC group (229 vs. 239 g/d/kit, respectively; P<0.001). Total DE ingested after weaning was similar in both groups (45.44 MJ; P=0.143). Kits were heavier in the HC group throughout the study (P<0.05). A higher average daily gain during the periods of 18-28, 35-42 and 56-63 d was seen in the HC group (+8.1%, +16.8% and +4.5%, respectively; P<0.05). Mortality and morbidity rates were similar between groups throughout the study (P=1.0 and P=0.104, respectively). Our results suggest that when the feed intake after weaning is controlled, i) the feeding strategy before weaning determines the weight at weaning and at slaughter age; and ii) rabbits fed a diet more highly concentrated but rich in fibre increase their growth performance without negative consequences on their digestive health.


Introduction. Part I. Family Type. Number of Parents: One versus Two? Fathers: Present or Not? Genetic Ties: Related or Not? Parents' Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual or Homosexual? Part II. Family Relationships. Quality of Relationships between Parents and Children. Quality of Marriage and Parents' Psychological State. Children's Individual Characteristics and their Wider Social World. Parenting: What Really Counts? References.


Longitudinal surveys of adults in the United States have shown that approximately 1 in 5 individuals have experienced a mental illness in the prior year, with an increase in the observed prevalence over the last decade. Studies of physicians, including medical students, residents, and fellows, have shown that they also experience mental disorders, with some research (e.g., on depression) showing prevalence rates higher than those in the general population. Tragically, physicians also have higher suicide rates than the general population. In this Invited Commentary, the author discusses his own challenges with mental disorders beginning in early childhood. He shares how earlier trauma led to the emergence of symptoms that nearly caused him to withdraw from medical school during his first year, and he describes how support from a faculty member helped him receive psychiatric treatment that allowed him to successfully negotiate that serious crisis and experience a long, productive career. The author underscores how the idealized image of the physician as care giver rather than care receiver that many bring to their medical career, as well as the stigma associated with mental disorders, may prevent physicians from seeking care. He uses the narrative of his personal journey to make a plea to colleagues to share their own stories of mental illness and successful treatment, arguing that this is key to ultimately destigmatizing these issues for the profession of medicine.


Based on real-time phasor measurement and advanced power electronic devices, the paper proposes a novel scheme to build an interactive dynamic hybrid simulation system integrating physical analogue and digital software. A large-scale power system is simulated by software and interacts with the local power systems consisting of 4 generators in the dynamic simulation laboratory. The interaction between the virtual large-scale power system and the 4 generators is implemented by the real-time measurement and control of the boundary conditions. The interactive system is able to simulate large-scale power systems and avoid the drawbacks of software simulation. The key of the simulation system is real-time performance. The paper analyzes the technology feasibility of the system including real-time measurement, communication, simulation and control. Based on the advanced developments of technology, the hybrid simulation system is feasible.


Aim. We evaluated the short-term results of Salter pelvic osteotomy for the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Methods. Forty four patients (32 girls, 12 boys; mean age 30.7months) with DDH underwent Salter innominate osteotomies in 51 hips were evaluated retrospectively. Clinical evaluations were made according to the McKay criteria, radiologic assessment was made using Severin criteria and avascular necrosis of the femoral head was assessed using the Kalamchi-MacEwen criteria. The mean follow-up period was 25 month. Results. The mean acetabular index which was 37.4o (29-50) preoperatively decreased to 24.1o (12-32) postoperatively. Clinical results were excellent in 43 hips (84%), good in 7 (13.7%) and moderate in one (2%) patient. 26 hips (51%) were excellent, 15 hips (29.4%) were good, 8 hips (15.7%) were moderate and 2 hips (3.9%) were bad according to Severin radiologic classification. According to the Kalamchi-MacEwen criteria, there was avascular necrosis in nine hips (17.6%) postoperatively. Conclusion. Salter innominate osteotomy can be evaluated as one of the effective method among pelvic osteotomies in the treatment of DDH patients older than eghteen years old.For reducing complication risk which increases age osteotomy should be done in a proper


Urban local government institutions/municipalities are constituted for the maintenance and planned development of urban areas. The objective is to ensure that suitable levels of infrastructure and services are available to the citizens. In many parts of India, the quality of life in urban areas is miserable and the citizens lead a difficult life. To overcome this problem, a series of reforms have been initiated by the Indian government to strengthen local-level governance. The main purpose of this working paper is to describe the major issues of governance at the local level and to identify some important challenges for urban local government institutions in India in the light of recent urban sector reforms. This assessment is based on data collected from six urban centres situated in three northern/north-western states (namely Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttaranchal) of India on key urban local government characteristics – constitution and governance, duties, composition, management and finance practices, state/local-level initiatives and problems. The findings of this study show that urban local governments in India continue to remain plagued by numerous problems, which affect their performance in the efficient discharge of their duties. These problems relate to the extent of participation and rule of law in the municipal decisionmaking process, transparency in the planning and implementation of infrastructure projects, and level of efficiency in various municipal management and finance practices. It is concluded that fresh thinking is necessary to resolve the problems confronting urban local governments in India.