A keyboard is specially designed and constructed to provide easy typing technology for the visually impaired. There are totally 6 logical sensing switches that are used for acquiring the characters. The whole keyboard works based on Braille system. There are also five other specially used switches like SHIFT (Number Alphabet toggle button), SPACE, BACK SENSE, CAPS LOCK and SPEAK. This keyboard is a device made of logical switches and uses Braille system technique for sensing the characters. In this system, the sensors are aligned according to the Braille language i.e. alphabets or numeric/special characters. The main advantage of this project is that the visually impaired do not need any training since most of them are already specialized in Braille language. This keyboard is interfaced with a computer in a similar way to that of the primary keyboards that are available.


The majority of studies analysing the economic potential of biogas systems utilise deterministic models to assess the viability of a system using fixed inputs. However, changes in market conditions can significantly affect the viability of biogas plants, and need to be accounted for. This study assessed the economic potential of undertaking on-farm anaerobic co-digestion of food waste (FW) and pig manure (PM) using both deterministic and stochastic modelling approaches. The financial viability of three co-digestion plants sized to treat PM generated from 521, 2607 and 5214 sow integrated units was assessed. Under current market conditions the largest codigestion scenario modelled was found to be unviable. Stochastic modelling of four key input variables (FW availability, renewable electricity tariff, gate fees and digestate disposal costs) was undertaken to assess the sensitivity of project viability to changes in market conditions. Due to the high likelihood of accessing sufficient FW, the smallest co-digestion scenario was found to be the least sensitive to any future changes in market conditions. Due to its potential to treat greater amounts of FW than the smallest scenario, a co-digestion plant designed for a 2607 sow farm had the highest revenue generating potential under optimal market conditions; however, it was more sensitive to changes in FW availability than the smaller scenario. This study illustrates the need for farm-based biogas plant projects to secure long-term, stable supplies of co-substrates and to size plants' capacity based on the availability of the co-substrates which drive methane production (and revenue generation).


The case-crossover design introduced by Maclure (1991) is an observational epidemiological study for analyzing the effects of transient exposures on the risk of acute-onset events. This design is based on exclusively selecting subjects that have experienced the event under investigation. The aim is to identify the short-term, transient triggers of event, rather than to identify who is at highest risk of disease. The association between event onset and risk factors is then estimated by comparing exposure during the period of time just prior to the event onset (case period) to the same subject's exposure during one or more control periods. The standard tool for this analysis is conditional logistic regression (Breslow and Day, 1980; Maclure, 1991). Until present, variable selection issues have not received much attention when modeling the risk of an event of interest under the case-crossover design. On the one hand, time-invariant potential confounders are controlled by design. On the other hand, studies in the literature using the case-crossover design are often concerned by few main risk factors. Nevertheless, advances in technology for data collection lead to complex situations such as those involving many predictors. This may also be the case in studies based on the case-crossover design. The lasso procedure (Tibshirani, 1996), which relies on an L1 penalty, has been widely used for accommodating high-dimensional predictors. This approach has also been adapted to conditional logistic regression in the context of matched case-control studies (Avalos, 2009). However, a drawback of LASSO regression is that no measure of uncertainty is provided. In this work we study by simulations the behavior of nonparametric bootstrap percentile confidence intervals in assessing significance of lasso point estimates. We also illustrate the use of this method with some examples under the case-crossover design. 1. Avalos M. (2009) Model selection via the lasso in conditional logistic regression. In: Conference abstracts. Second International Biometric Society Channel Network Conference, Belgium (2009). 2. Breslow, N. E. and Day, N. E. (1980). Statistical methods in cancer research. Volume 1: The analysis of case-control studies. IARC Scientific Publications, Lyon. 3. Maclure, M. (1991). The case-crossover design: a method for studying transient effects on the risk of acute event. Am J Epidemiol. 133, 144-153. 4. Tibshirani, R. (1996). Regression shrinkage and selection via the lasso. J. Royal. Statist. Soc B. 58, 267-288.


A 62-year-old man was diagnosed as IgA nephropathy. He had a pancreatic tumor operation 19 years ago and had a normal plasma glucose test every year. One month after the medication of prednisolone acetate was administered his fasting plasma glucose elevated to 7.1mmol/L while he manifested symptoms of thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss. Approximately 3 months after the steroids, he started complaining of numbness, weakness, and muscle cramp in his lower extremities, blood tests showed elevated plasma glucose and electromyography (EMG) revealed impairment of the peripheral nerves in the lower extremity, diabetic peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed. Mecobalamin and Acupuncture were employed and steroids were discontinued, 8 months later he recovered part of his strength and sensation. This case presents a specific adverse drug reaction of corticosteroids that causes diabetes mellitus and subsequently leads to peripheral neuropathy in an acute onset.


BACKGROUND: Secondary stroke prevention strategies include pharmacologic approaches to control hypertension and reduce thromboembolic risk. OBJECTIVE: To describe antithrombotic and antihypertensive medication use, and rates of blood pressure control in the Kansas City Stroke Study, a prospective stroke cohort receiving community-based care after primarily mild and moderate stroke. METHODS: Participants from 12 area hospitals provided information about medication use prior to stroke. Study personnel measured blood pressures at enrollment and at one, three, and six months, and collected medication data at six months during in-home assessment. RESULTS: Complete data at six months were available for 355 subjects with ischemic stroke, among whom 13% had atrial fibrillation and 67% had prior hypertension. Prior to stroke, only 45% of the patients were receiving any antithrombotic (anticoagulant and/or antiplatelet) therapy; this figure rose to 77% at six months. Antithrombotic treatment rates among those with atrial fibrillation were 59% before stroke and 83% at six months, including warfarin in 64%. Approximately 70% of subjects had controlled blood pressures one, three, and six months after stroke, defined as systolic blood pressure ≤140 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure ≤90 mm Hg. Use of multiple antihypertensive agents was common; calcium-channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were used most frequently. However, 19% of subjects with uncontrolled blood pressure were untreated at six months. CONCLUSIONS: Although room for improvement remains, these data suggest improved rates of antithrombotic and antihypertensive medication use after stroke in community-based care in a midwestern metropolitan community, compared with previous reports.


Maryse Conde is a female Guadeloupean writer whose reputation as an 'important writer' has largely been consolidated in the United States where the author has been awarded a number of literary prizes and held teaching positions at various prominent American universities. It is therefore commonplace for the author's work to be read
in terms of critical paradigms that name her identity as 'black', 'female' and/or 'Francophone Caribbean'. If Conde has, at has various times, used these same labels to identify herself and her work, she has also raised questions about the assumptions that underpin the use of these labels and their implications for the role of literature and the writer.
Indeed, two distinctive and critically overlooked features of the author's work has been the author's marked engagement with the assumptions that inform the reception of her work in her various contexts of reception (both explicitly in her numerous interviews and critical writings and more obliquely in her fiction) and her defence of the
freedom of literature. In this thesis, I will be arguing therefore that the author's engagement with these issues along with her peripatetic claiming of a range of identities can be viewed as challenging specific assumptions concerning the relationship between individual and collective identities and the work of literature and criticism. With a view to
developing this argument, I read a selection of the author's critical writings and interviews and five of her fictional texts: En attendant le bonheur, Moi, Tituba sorciere ... Noire de Salem, Les derniers rois mages, Le coeur a rire et a pleurer: contes vrais de mon enfance and Desirada. I situate these texts in a critical framework that brings together the work of Aime Cesaire and Frantz Fanon with theorisations of postcolonial/gender studies, 'representativity', 'reception' and 'literature'.


We explore new ways of improving a search engine using data from Web 2.0 applications such as blogs and social bookmarks. This data contains entities such as documents, people and tags, and relationships between them. We propose a simple yet effective method, based on faceted search, that treats all entities in a unified manner: returning all of them (documents, people and tags) on every search, and allowing all of them to be used as search terms. We describe an implementation of such a social search engine on the intranet of a large enterprise, and present large-scale experiments which verify the validity of our approach.


Consultants and leaders frequently are called upon to facilitate group processes at high levels as interest in shared learning and cooperative work groups increases among organizations. Their views on all phases of group life will influence the group's communication field and its development. The purpose of the study was to discover how the leaders of learning groups view the developmental features of beginning and mature groups. A persons-in-relation developmental approach was used to uncover leader/consultant subjectivity regarding real and ideal groups in both beginning and mature developmental phases. Forty-two Q sorts were subjected to by- person factor analysis. Four factors are interpreted and discussed: 1) the group as a group, 2) cooperation and self-realization, 3) honesty and truth through individuation, and 4) perturbation as separation and individuation. Commonalities among the factors are also presented. The need for leaders to value interdependency in work groups and to learn communication skill sets that can facilitate the development of competent work groups is discussed.


We have measured the kinetics of transcription initiation and pausing by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (RNAP) at the bacteriophage lambda late promoter, pR's, in growing cells. RNAP initiating transcription from pR' pauses after transcribing 16 or 17 nucleotides, and escape from this pause could in theory be the rate-limiting step in promoter function. We tested this hypothesis by analyzing pausing and non-pausing variants of both the pR' promoter segment and a more active mutant version of pR'; we measured reporter gene expression and used KMnO4 footprinting to measure directly occupancy of the promoter and pause sites in growing cells. We find that RNAP paused at +16/+17 does not limit expression of pR'. However, RNAP paused at +16/+17 does limit expression from the more active promoter by impeding formation of open complex. Therefore, the activity of the late gene regulatory protein Q to suppress the early pause, in addition to its antitermination activity, is unlikely to be important in phage gene expression.


The notion of partial deduction known from logic programming is defined in the framework of Structural Synthesis of Programs (SSP). Partial deduction for computability statements in SSP is defined. Completeness and correctness of partial deduction in the framework of SSP are proven. Several tactics and stopping criteria are suggested.


Abstract Human endometrial and decidual stromal cells are the same cells in different environments (nonpregnancy and pregnancy, respectively). Although some authors consider decidual stromal cells to arise solely from the differentiation of endometrial stromal cells, this is a debatable issue given that decidualization processes do not end with the formation of the decidua, as shown by the presence of stromal cells from both the endometrium and decidua in both undifferentiated (nondecidualized) and decidualized states. Furthermore, recent functional and transcriptomic results have shown that there are differences in the decidualization process of endometrial and decidual stromal cells, with the latter having a greater decidualization capacity than the former. These differences suggest that in the terminology and study of their characteristics, endometrial and decidual stromal cells should be clearly distinguished, as should their undifferentiated or decidualized status. There is, however, considerable confusion in the designation and identification of uterine stromal cells. This confusion may impede a judicious understanding of the functional processes in normal and pathological situations. In this article, we analyze the different terms used in the literature for different types of uterine stromal cells, and propose that a combination of differentiation status (undifferentiated, decidualized) and localization (endometrium, decidua) criteria should be used to arrive at a set of accurate, unambiguous terms. The cell identity of uterine stromal cells is also a debatable issue: phenotypic, functional, and transcriptomic studies in recent decades have related these cells to different established cells. We discuss the relevance of these associations in normal and pathological situations. Summary Sentence Decidual stromal cells show a greater capacity for decidualization than endometrial stromal cells, so studies of these stromal cells should clearly distinguish between these two cell types. Graphical Abstract Decidualization from precursor endometrial stromal cells (preEnSCs) to decidualized endometrial stromal cells (dEnSCs) in the endometrium, and from precursor decidual stromal cells (preDSCs) to decidualized decidual stromal cells (dDSCs) in the decidua. Figure created in BioRender.com


An oleic acid-coated Fe2.7Co0.3O4 nanocrystal (NC) self-assembled film was fabricated via drop casting of colloidal particles onto a three-terminal electrode/MgO substrate. The film exhibited a large coercivity (1620 Oe) and bifurcation of the zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations at 300 K. At 10 K, the film exhibited both a Coulomb blockade due to single electron charging as well as a magnetoresistance of ∼-80% due to spin-dependent electron tunneling. At 300 K, the film also showed a magnetoresistance of ∼-80% due to hopping of spin-polarized electrons. Enhanced magnetic coupling between adjacent NCs and the large coercivity resulted in a large spin-polarized current flow even at 300 K.


One of the important contemporary problems is to provide sustainable economic growth by attracting investment capital to all sectors of the national economy. According to world experience, the main role in this process belongs to the securities market. It is an important tool for the development of the national economy, as it promotes the redistribution of capital between its spheres and industries.
Institutional investors as professional financial intermediaries play a decisive role in the mechanism of capital flows allocation. Collective investment institutes are large-scale financial institutions that accumulate significant amounts and manage them.
The article investigates the role and importance of institutional investors as a special type of financial intermediaries in the Ukrainian financial market. Institutional investors are professional participants of the stock market and financial intermediaries between citizen's savings and the investment needs of the domestic economy. Their mission is to promote the more effective realization of the function of transforming savings into investments.
Significant amounts of free cash owned by small investors and the large needs of a real sector of the economy in free investment resources require the search for effective means of fundraising from small owners to collective investment institutions. The importance of institutional investors activity is great since they are the leading suppliers of investment resources in the country's economy and determine the level of its economic development.
The trends and results of Ukrainian institutional investors activity over the last five years is investigated in the article. From the quantitative side, the collective investment institutions are the dominant kind of institutional investors in Ukraine, and their number is constantly increasing. For the beginning of 2018, 292 asset management companies, 235 collective investment institutions, 58 non-state pension funds and 3 insurance companies with assets in AMC management were registered in Ukraine.
We can see the largest increase in the value of assets in non-diversified investment funds – 146.3%. At the same time, mutual funds increased on 23.8%. However, this is not enough for the Ukrainian stock market. A small number of derivatives in circulation and low liquidity of securities restrict the activity of domestic collective investment institutes.
The critical analysis of the long-term working practices of Private joint stock company «KINTO» is performed. PJSC «KINTO» is one of the most successful asset management companies on the domestic securities market. Currently, PJSC «KINTO» is an investment manager of twelve investment funds and one non-state pension fund.
Asshown by analysis, the final financial results of the collective investment institutes (CII) depend on the choice of investment strategies. The features of the use of various investment strategies by CII at the stock market are investigated. It is proved that the passive-active strategy using is the most effective because of maximizing income while minimizing risks in the medium and long-term. To achieve this aim, the majority of investment funds of AMC «KINTO» forms a diversified investment portfolio based on the securities of the most investment-attractive companies of the real sector of the economy, belong to the «blue chips» of the domestic stock market. Also, the company «KINTO» uses all advantages of collective investments by applying both different trading platforms and investment instruments (instruments of stock, bond and money markets).
Key words: institutional investors, net asset value, closed-end non-diversified corporate investment fund, interval diversified unit investment fund.


Electron Back-Scatter Diffraction (EBSD) is a powerful technique that captures electron diffraction patterns from crystals, constituents of material. Captured patterns can then be used to determine grain morphology, crystallographic orientation and chemistry of present phases, which provide complete characterization of microstructure and strong correlation to both properties and performance of materials. Key milestones related to technological developments of EBSD technique have been outlined along with possible applications using modern EBSD system. Principles of crystal diffraction with description of crystallographic orientation, orientation determination and phase identification have been described. Image quality, resolution and speed, and system calibration have also been discussed. Sample preparation methods were reviewed and EBSD application in conjunction with other characterization techniques on a variety of materials has been presented for several case studies. In summary, an outlook for EBSD technique was provided.


Along with the burgeoning expansion of online platforms for student learning in higher education have come complementary analytics tools to rate student engagement, learning, success and progression. As, in the UK, institutions embrace these tools as part of government-led attainment targets and awards (e.g. Teaching Excellence Framework), the 'quantitative rush' to measure and evaluate retention from the institutional perspective risks muffling the individual student voices that can be heard through qualitative approaches to their learning journeys. This is particularly relevant for introductory level students as they seek to navigate the unknown of their first year of higher education, and it is recognised that introductory students require the greatest levels of pastoral care to succeed.

Enhancements to University CRM systems have created an opportunity for the preservation of narratives of withdrawal made by students as they engage with the university to defer, reduce or cancel their studies. This is particularly important in the distance learning sector, both because these dialogues have been less visible to the institution than through traditional campus support provision, and because part time students tend to have more complex lives. These narratives have permitted a criteria of authenticity and criticality to institutionally led discourses around withdrawal. They demonstrate the importance of considering the student experience, motivation and participation with the university, rather than the privileging of institutional frames of reference.

Similarities and differences in perceptions around the meanings and values of their higher education experiences, and reasons for withdrawing have been developed thematically in this paper to better understand student motivation, and provide a useful triangulation to output from quantitative studies on retention. Key word findings from these introductory level students enrolled on Business and Law modules within a UK business school include the following: Dialogue on personal concerns, the time commitment to study successfully, and how stressors, both inside and outside of the study environment impact the student's ability to commit, or wish to commit to their courses.


Abstract Abstract The convergence of free-energy calculations based on importance sampling depends heavily on the choice of collective variables (CVs), which in principle, should include the slow degrees of freedom of the biological processes to be investigated. Autoencoders (AEs), as emerging data-driven dimension reduction tools, have been utilised for discovering CVs. AEs, however, are often treated as black boxes, and what AEs actually encode during training, and whether the latent variables from encoders are suitable as CVs for further free-energy calculations remains unknown. In this contribution, we review AEs and their time-series-based variants, including time-lagged AEs (TAEs) and modified TAEs, as well as the closely related model variational approach for Markov processes networks (VAMPnets). We then show through numerical examples that AEs learn the high-variance modes instead of the slow modes. In stark contrast, time series-based models are able to capture the slow modes. Moreover, both modified TAEs with extensions from slow feature analysis and the state-free reversible VAMPnets (SRVs) can yield orthogonal multidimensional CVs. As an illustration, we employ SRVs to discover the CVs of the isomerizations of N-acetyl-N′-methylalanylamide and trialanine by iterative learning with trajectories from biased simulations. Last, through numerical experiments with anisotropic diffusion, we investigate the potential relationship of time-series-based models and committor probabilities.


The problem discussed in this study is the cohesion contained in the lyrics of the song entitled Gajah album by Tulus. The lyrics of the song will be used as alternative teaching materials in high school. The purpose of this study is to describe the cohesion contained in the lyrics of the album's songs and determine whether or not the album is worthy of being used as an alternative teaching material in high school. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The results of this study found 59 cohesion data on grammatical and lexical aspects which include references, substitutions, ellipsis, conjunctions, repetitions and synonyms. From the aspect of teaching materials, the album's song lyrics have met the criteria so that they are worthy of being used as alternative teaching materials for students in high school.


The family of MAP kinases consists of several subgroups of serine/threonine protein kinases. Together with their activating kinases, they function to regulate cellular responses to diverse extracellular signals, including osmotic stress, heat shock, proinflammatory cytokines, and mitogens. It is now clear that as in yeast, separate MAP kinase cascades exist in mammalian cells, responding selectively to different stimuli by phosphorylating cytoplasmic components and nuclear transcription factors. Down-regulation of MAP kinase pathways may occur through dephosphorylation by serine/threonine phosphatases, tyrosine phosphatases, or dual-specificity phosphatases and through feedback inhibitory mechanisms that involve the phosphorylation of upstream kinases. The functional integrity of each MAP kinase cascade is thought to be established and maintained by specific molecular interactions both between the kinases and with cytoplasmic anchors that nucleate complex formation. The recent demonstration that a series of pyridinyl-imidazole compounds can bind and inhibit certain MAP kinases suggests that other MAP kinase subgroups may also be susceptible to synthetic compounds. Drugs that selectively down-regulate MAP kinase cascades could prove to be valuable as therapeutic agents in the control of malignant disease.


Performing a comprehensive emission accounting via monitoring equipment to survey the performance of machinery is often an intensive work and costly. This often requiring hours of measurements and a sufficient number of observations to obtain valid findings. The purpose of current work is to introduce a screening emission accounting as a way to have a quick overview of emissions associated with non-road mobile machinery by having a simplified assessment method. To meet this aim, this study uses documented data from performances of machinery and couples them with the recently published guidebook by the European Emission Agency. To map the results, operational performances of four wheel loaders operating in quarries to move stone materials are used, equipped with Stage IV engines and net power output in a range between 130 ≤ kW < 560. The obtained results showed that the positive correlation between an increase in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions is not changed. The mass of emissions, however, is better addressed if emissions are linked with the efficiency of equipment, instead of effective hour. Machinery that consumed less fuel per m3 moved volume of materials, resulted in having less emissions compared to those that had higher fuel consumption per m3 moved volume.


ABSTRACT In present-day Europe, people are crossing borders in need of refuge. This is just one example of the changing spaces for religion, church, and pastoral care in late modernity. However, there has been migration within Europe in recent history. This article exemplifies the practical-theological issue of borders and migration through a historical case study: post-World War II migrants in Germany. The case study shows the long-term effects of migration. The border-experiences of expelled people after the Second World War have consequences right up to the present. Memories continue to have an impact via an inter-generational transfer of typical behaviour and attitudes. In conclusion, borders themselves turn out to be an important locus theologicus for practical theology, which is underpinned in dialogue with Paul Tillich.


In this work, we introduce a computational approach that automatically detects stained follicles in IHC-stained follicular lymphoma slides using various biomarkers. This novel approach is to process whole-slide and Giga-byte scaled pathology images at multi-resolution levels. The average segmentation accuracy achieves at 83.09±6.25%. Such a computerized analysis of images is expected to provide a better understanding of visual knowledge in digital pathology and thereafter lead to more effective decision support systems for pathologists.


A patient with a cardiac rhabdomyosarcoma illustrates the clinical and pathologic features of this extremely rare malignancy. Presenting manifestations are variable and nonspecific. The two-dimensional echocardiogram is the best noninvasive means of diagnosi n g cardiac tumors. The nuclear magnetic resonance scan accurately demonstrated the presence and location of the intracardiac mass lesion. Pathologically, rhabdomyosarcomas require light and electron microscopic examination to establish the tumor type. Surgical resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy do not appear to alter the natural history, and death usually occurs within one year of diagnosis.


Influenza A/Texas/1/77 was isolated from a muscle biopsy specimen from a patient with muscle weakness and increased serum creatine phosphokinase level. The patient was seen during an outbreak of influenza A/Texas/1/77 that was associated with myopathy. Isolation of this virus from this patient's muscle specimen suggests that the myopathy associated with influenza may be due to direct infection of skeletal muscle.


The services of a public transportation system are represented by its routes and schedules. The level and quality of service are, in part, determined by the ability of the route and schedules structure to serve the transportation needs of a service area. The concept of connectivity has been proposed for measuring how well the routes and schedules are integrated with respect to various transportation objectives within a framework of spatial-activity patterns. This study was undertaken to develop a methodology for determining the connectivity of the routes and schedules of an entire public transit system that serves a part or the whole of the service area. The objective is to use connectivity indicators as quantitative tools in the evaluation of service-delivery strategies. An investigation of the graph-theoretical connectivity by computer simulation found the mean of the reciprocals of the trip lengths of a representative sample of trips to be a good connectivity indicator. This indicator ties together the degree of connectiveness with the level of network development. It also offers a consistent picture of the level, as well as the quality, of connections offered by the route and schedule network structure.


The epitaxial growth of low-dimensional tin chalcogenides SnX (X = S, Se) with a controlled crystal phase is of particular interest since it can be utilized to tune optoelectronic properties and exploit potential applications. However, it still remains a great challenge to synthesize SnX nanostructures with the same composition but different crystal phases and morphologies. Herein, we report a phase-controlled growth of SnS nanostructures via physical vapor deposition on mica substrates. The phase transition from α-SnS (Pbnm) nanosheets to β-SnS (Cmcm) nanowires can be tailored by the reduction of growth temperature and precursor concentration, which originates from a delicate competition between SnS-mica interfacial coupling and phase cohesive energy. The phase transition from the α to β phase not only greatly improves the ambient stability of SnS nanostructures but also leads to the band gap reduction from 1.03 to 0.93 eV, which is responsible for fabricated β-SnS devices with an ultralow dark current of 21 pA at 1 V, an ultrafast response speed of ≤14 μs, and broadband spectra response from the visible to near-infrared range under ambient condition. A maximum detectivity of the β-SnS photodetector arrives at 2.01 × 108 Jones, which is about 1 or 2 orders of magnitude larger than that of α-SnS devices. This work provides a new strategy for the phase-controlled growth of SnX nanomaterials for the development of highly stable and high-performance optoelectronic devices.


We investigate theoretically light scattering of photons by ultracold atoms in an optical lattice in the linear regime. A full quantum theory for the atom-photon interactions is developed as a function of the atomic state in the lattice along the Mott-insulator-superfluid phase transition, and the photonic-scattering cross section is evaluated as a function of the energy and of the direction of emission. The predictions of this theory are compared with the theoretical results of a recent work on Bragg scattering in time-of-flight measurements [A.M. Rey et al., Phys. Rev. A 72, 023407 (2005)]. We show that, when performing Bragg spectroscopy with light scattering, the photon recoil gives rise to an additional atomic site-to-site hopping, which can interfere with ordinary tunneling of matter waves and can significantly affect the photonic-scattering cross section.


ABSTRACT The study explored the associations between maternal exposure to air pollution during different trimesters and allergic diseases including asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis or/and eczema. Individual exposure to air pollutants was assessed by an inverse distance weighted (IDW) method using daily concentrations of SO2, NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 from air quality monitoring stations. Multiple logistic regression model was performed to estimate the associations between air pollution during each trimester of pregnancy and childhood allergic diseases. A total of 332 children (51.3%) were reported by their parents having been diagnosed with allergic diseases. After adjusting for covariates, allergic diseases were significantly associated with per interquartile range (IQR) increase in NO2, PM10, PM2.5 during the second trimester with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) being 1.292 (1.005,1.662), 1.210 (1.042,1,405) and 1.270 (1.004,1.606), respectively. These findings suggest that maternal exposure to certain air pollutants during pregnancy, especially in the second trimester, is associated with childhood allergic diseases.


We describe a very efficient source of H atoms generated by a : low-pressure (1 Torr) pulsed microwave discharge (2.45 GHz). We show that the low mean microwave power density applied in pulsed discharge limits considerably the heating of the discharge tube wall, and hence, the loss of H atoms by wall recombination. The H atom molar ratio, measured by actinometry, increases from 30% in continuous power to nearly 100% in pulsed power, for the same instantaneous power. We present a comparison between continuous and pulsed power, both for electron density (and discharge balance parameters) and for H atom density.


More and more often, the anaesthesiologist may have to perform lumbar epidural anaesthesia in a patient with a central lumbar tattoo, and this can occur in an urgent obstetric setting. Before managing two uneventful cases of epidural analgesia for labour, we have performed a literature review and noted that no serious complication has been reported. Nonetheless, a needle passed through a tattoo can entrap pigmented tissue fragments (cores) into the epidural or subarachnoid space. This could theoretically induce risk of late neurological complications, related to an inflammatory or granulomatous response to the pigmented cores introduced in these spaces. To avoid this theoretical risk, the anesthesiologist should try to avoid puncturing through the tattoo, either by selecting a different vertebral interspace, or by using a paramedian approach or by finding a pigment free skin spot within the area of the tattoo. When these options cannot be implemented, a superficial skin incision prior to needle insertion should prevent from coring tattoo pigment when entering the skin. Whatever the final choice, the technique to be implemented should be determined as early as the antenatal visit, after informed consent.


Although castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) as a whole, by its name, refers to the tumors that relapse and/or regrow independently of androgen after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), untreated tumor, even in early-stage primary prostate cancer (PCa), contains androgen-independent (AI) PCa cells. The transformation of androgen-dependent (AD) PCa to AI PCa under ADT is a forced evolutionary process, in which the small group of AI PCa cells that exist in primary tumors has the unique opportunity to proliferate and expand selectively and dominantly, while some AD PCa cells that have escaped from ADT-induced death acquire the capability to survive in an androgen-depleted environment. The adaptation and reprogramming of both PCa cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) under ADT make PCa much stronger than primary tumors so that, currently, there are no effective therapeutic methods available for the treatment of CRPC. Many mechanisms have been found to be related to the emergence and maintenance of PCa castration resistance; in this review, we focus on the role of inflammatory signaling in both PCa cells and the TME for the emergence and maintenance of CRPC and summarize the recent advances of therapeutic strategies that target inflammatory signaling for the treatment of CRPC.


Molybdenum complexes bearing an anionic pyrrole-based PNP-type pincer ligand have been prepared and have been found to work as catalysts for the conversion of N2 into NH3 under ambient conditions.


Twenty-one uplift curves from Arctic Canada indicate a similar proportional response through time. The time/altitude relationship can thus be expressed as a per cent of uplift within a specific time period. A graph of the results is a smoothly decelerating curve. Uplift curves can be approximated by the formula: U = A(1 − it)/(1 − i) where U is uplift, t is time with 0.0 years being the moment of site deglaciation, i is a constant for Arctic Canada equal to 0.677, and A varies with time and amount of recorded uplift. Tables and a figure are presented so that uplift curves can be predicted on the basis of: (1) elevation of the marine limit; and (2) date of site deglaciation. A comparison between Arctic Canada, east Greenland, and Fennoscandia indicates that relaxation times for a comparable period (10 × 103 years) are 2.5, 1.7, and 3.0 × 103 years respectively. Velocities derived from uplift curves allow the amount of residual uplift to be calculated. A figure of 100 m is suggested for a sector of Hudson Bay.


Renin-synthesizing cells are known to be crucial in the regulation of blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte homeostasis. These cells have been considered as terminally differentiated because they synthesize a hormone (renin), are few in numbers, and are restricted to a juxtaglomerular localization in the adult mammalian kidney. However, recent work from our laboratory indicates that renin cells may be precursors for other cell types including but not limited to juxtaglomerular cells. It has also been accepted that renin cells derive from the mesoderm. We recently generated mice that express cre recombinase under the control of the renin locus and crossed them with reporter mice that after cre-mediated recombination express β-galactosidase or GFP in renin cells and its descendants even if renin expression subsequently ceases, therefore marking the cells' lineage (Developmental Cell 2004;6:719-28). We used these mice to explore the early evolution of renin cells in the embryo and to track their cellular contribution during organ development. We found that renin cells are already present in the developing ectoderm before organogenesis of the metanephric kidney has been initiated. Later during organogenesis, renin cells are found within multiple organs and tissues derived not only from the mesoderm (i.e kidney, adrenal gland, testis and bone marrow) but also from the endoderm (i.e. pancreas, gut, and trachea), ectoderm (i.e. skin) and neuroectoderm (i.e. choroid plexus and ependymal cells). Furthermore, the cells that expressed renin early during development differentiated into cells that persist throughout adult life. Altogether these experiments indicate that renin cells are more primitive than previously thought and act as precursor cells that differentiate into multiple cell types during organogenesis originally derived from all three layers of the early embryo and presumably act as a reservoir of cells ready to de-differentiate when injury and/or organ function is compromised.


Gold/Zinc Phthalocyanine/n-Si metal semiconductor contact with organic interfacial layer have been developed and characterized by Current–Voltage-Temperature (I-V-T) measurements, to study its junction and charge transport properties. The junction parameters, of diode ideality factor (n), barrier height (b) and series resistance (R¬S), of the device are found to shift with device temperature. The barrier height and the diode ideality factor are found to increase and the series resistance is found to decrease with increasing device temperature. The activation energy of the charge carriers is found to be 44 meV and the peak of interface state energy distribution curves is found to shift in terms of Ess-Ev value from 0.582 eV to 0.776 eV with increasing device temperature. The data analysis implies that the Fermi level of the organic interfacial layer shifts as function of device temperature by 100 meV in the device temperature range of 283K to 343K. In terms of dominant conduction mechanism, the I-V-T data analysis confirms the fit of data to the relationship log (IV4)  V1/2 for higher device temperatures and the Poole-Frenkel type is found to be the dominant conduction mechanism for the hybrid device.


The heterogeneity of layered systems leads to variation in rock or soil mechanical properties, influencing the resistance to failure. A formation breaks by fracture propagation when the effective stress surpasses the formation strength. The propagation of a fracture through a mechanical interface depends on whether the formation strength of the second formation is overcome. This critical effective stress level could be trespassed by high natural or industrial induced pore pressures. Understanding fracture propagation in multi-layered systems with variable pore pressure regimes has important implications and applications to many industries such as quarrying and hydraulic stimulation. The slope stability of Westerwald Clay Quarries is influenced by inter-bedding of thin sand layers. Surface and slope fractures within the clay formation originated from a high observed hydrostatic head within the sand layers and a reduced confining stress from mining activities. The slopes of the quarry are key in determining the volume of economically mineable clay, these slopes are in turn controlled by the size/extent of fractures and whether they extend through multiple formations. This study examines the effect of fracture continuation from sand layers into the stiff Westerwald Clay Formation. The soil parameters (cohesion and friction angle) of the different lithologies within a Westerwald Clay Quarry are determined for slope stability analysis by shearbox testing. Soil classification has been done in terms of plasticity, grain size and mineralogy by Atterberg Limits, Sieving and XRD a XRF respectively. The results show that fracture initiation within the Westerwald quarries is a combination of mining activities lowering the confining stress and a constant natural hydraulic head. The hydraulic head within the small sand formation lowers slope stability by causing fracture initiation and water infiltration into the clay formation. Slope stabilisation occurs by artificial water pumping or natural water dissipation lowering the hydraulic head. Slope stability is decreased by embankments of low permeability backfill and increased by high permeability backfill. Inter-bedded systems are common target locations for an unconventional reservoir systems and can be found both within source rocks as well as in conventional geological traps. Improvement in recovery from these tight systems often depends on the extent and continuity of fractures through heterogeneous interfaces. This study examines the propagation and continuity of the fractures in an artificial heterogeneous layered system. The fractures will be initiated by hydraulic fracturing in a dried layered system via water injection in a triaxial cell. Fracture propagation is analysed through Micro-CT scans. The mechanical properties such as acoustic wave velocities, unconfined a confined compressive strength and tensile strength are all determined for the analysed layered systems. The results show that hydraulic fractures initiated within the weakest layer are arrested at the interface between a mechanically weak and strong formation, whereas fractures initiated within mechanically stronger layers prograde through the interface. Hydraulic fractures are initiated when local pressure difference at the interface exceeds the formation's critical tensile stress, the formations critical tensile strength is dependent on the confining pressure.


A case of convulsions in an infant requiring pyridoxine for their control has been described. On oral dosage of pyridoxine 2 mg./day, seizures have now been controlled for 21 months, with no increase in dosage being required. A continuing need for pyridoxine is demonstrated by the recent reappearance of seizures following a short lapse of pyridoxine administration.
 In the absence of biochemical evidence of pyridoxine deficiency, as measured by xanthurenic acid excretion following a tryptophane load, and with meager clinical evidence for the complete picture of such deficiency, the authors prefer to designate this phenomenon "pyridoxine dependency" The hypothesis has been propounded that this infant suffers a metabolic anomaly in pyridoxine metabolism resulting in convulsions in the absence of regular dietary pyridoxine supplements.


Optical excitation of shallow donor centres in silicon creates an inverted electron distribution on the Coulomb centres at low lattice temperature. The population inversion is formed due to the peculiarities of the electron-phonon interaction of free and bound charge carriers. At certain conditions stimulated emission in the THz frequency range from group-V donors in silicon can be obtained.


In this article, the author argues for a reading of 'Das Urteil' as a series of (re)birth metaphors that simultaneously reflect, anticipate and enable the birth of Kafka the writer. The author ties the writing of this breakthrough short story, in large part, to Kafka's relationship to his future fiancee, Felice Bauer, to whom he dedicated the piece. He also links the story to the 'Brief an den Vater', where Kafka states that fatherhood would result in a much longed-for state of parity between himself and the elder Kafka. Yet Kafka would never become a father. The author suggests that what Kafka regarded as his literary paternity served, therefore, as a kind of compensation for the biological paternity that he knew would never come to pass. In this way, 'Das Urteil' is, at once, both the product and progenitor of its author.


An InSAR analysis approach for identifying and extracting the temporarily coherent points (TCP) that exist between two SAR acquisitions and for determining motions of the TCP is presented for applications such as ground settlement monitoring. TCP are identified based on the spatial characteristics of the range and azimuth offsets of coherent radar scatterers. A method for coregistering TCP based on the offsets of TCP is given to reduce the coregistration errors at TCP. An improved phase unwrapping method based on the minimum cost flow (MCF) algorithm and local Delaunay triangulation is also proposed for sparse TCP data. The proposed algorithms are validated using a test site in Hong Kong. The test results show that the algorithms work satisfactorily for various ground features.


The production of genetically modified (GM) pigs is considered valuable in biomedical research for the development of model animals for various diseases and pigs with resistance against viral infection. The porcine genome may be modified using several methods, such as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) using GM cells as the SCNT donor, direct injection of the transgene or the genome editing components (GEC) into fertilized eggs referred to as zygotes, the in vitro electroporation (EP) of the zygotes in the presence of GECs, viral infection using retroviruses, injection of the GECs into the SCNT-treated embryos, and the in vitro EP of the SCNT-treated embryos in the presence of GECs. In our previous study, we administered a cytoplasmic injection of CRISPR/Cas9-based GEC into parthenogenetically-activated porcine oocytes (referred to as parthenotes) and observed that these oocytes comprised a mixture of genome-edited and genome-unedited cells, referred to as the "mosaic". In contrast, when in vitro EP of the SCNT-treated embryos in the presence of GEC was performed, bi-allelic knock out (KO) of the target gene was detected in most oocytes (82%; 9/11). The production of bi-allelic KO piglets is particularly beneficial for investigating GM domestic animals as it does not require further breeding trials to obtain bi-allelic KO individuals, which would otherwise be a time-consuming and laborious task. In this context, the present study was aimed to confirm the efficiency of in vitro EP in producing bi-allelic KO porcine embryos without multiple breeding trials, for which parthenotes were subjected to EP in the presence of a ribonucleoprotein containing Cas9 protein and single-guide RNA (targeted toward GGTA1). The treated embryos were cultured until they transformed into blastocysts. The genomic DNA isolated from these blastocysts was used for molecular biology analysis to detect the possible insertion and deletion of sequences (indels) at the GGTA1 locus. Among the 32 blastocysts obtained, 21 (66%) were observed to be the bi-allelic KO ones. The remaining embryos either had a normal phenotype (25%; 8/32) or mosaic mutations (9%; 3/32). These findings confirm the efficiency of in vitro EP in producing bi-allelic KO porcine embryos.


In Reply.— The Cola spp cited in one of the case studies was indeed packaged and sold as "gotu kola" and represents fourteen such mislabeled packages of "gotu kola" we have examined. The table in the article confusingly groups kola nut with "gotu kola," which is actually Hydrocotyle asiatica . We have encountered no clinical problems associated with the use of H asiatica , although chronic users claim dizziness and diarrhea. A related species, H vulgaris , is a wellknown livestock poison and is commonly termed "sheep's bane." The author of the letter is correct in noting widespread mislabeling of herbal preparations. These practices confound the scientific study of folk medicines. Perhaps the most commonly misrepresented substance is ginseng ( Panax spp). Due to its substantial economic importance, as well as remarkable medicinal claims, 1 ginseng is often in limited and expensive supply. Alternatively, several companies package as ginseng a wide variety of substances


This article presents a novel design of a flexure-based, piezoelectric actuated, completely decoupled, high-bandwidth, highresolution, and large stroke parallel XY micromanipulator with two amplification levers. The monolithic mechanism is featured with dual working modes, which meets different kinds of requirements in terms of high resolution and large workspace in micro/nano fields. In order to reduce the displacement loss, the modeling and analysis of bending motion of the levers are conducted; thereafter, compliance and stiffness modeling by employing the matrix method are established. Furthermore, the dynamics modeling and analysis via Lagrange equations are performed to improve the dynamic properties of the mechanism. The simulation results of finite element analysis indicate that the cross-coupling between the two axes is kept to 1.2%; meanwhile, the natural frequency of the mechanism is about 700 Hz, and the amplifier ratio is approximately 2.32. Both theoretical analysis and finite element analysis results well validate the performance of the proposed mechanism.


The statistical fluctuations of the energy levels of classically chaotic systems are believed to coincide with those of Gaussian matrix ensembles. The transition from the Gaussian orthogonal ensemble (GOE) to the Gaussian unitary ensemble (GUE), as the time-reversal symmetry is broken, is known exactly. The asymptotic form of the two-point correlation function is derived from semiclassical periodic orbit theory, leading to a dynamical evaluation of the transition parameter. Numerical calculations of the correlation function for a chaotic billiard in a constant magnetic field reveal a clear crossover from GUE behaviour to GOE as the level separation is increased, in agreement with the theoretical prediction.


Background O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) is an independent predictor of therapeutic response and potential prognosis in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). However, its significance of clinical prognosis in different continents still needs to be explored. Patients and methods To explore the effects of MGMT promoter methylation on both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) among GBM patients from different continents, a systematic review of published studies was conducted. Results A total of 5103 patients from 53 studies were involved in the systematic review and the total percentage of MGMT promoter methylation was 45.53%. Of these studies, 16 studies performed univariate analyses and 17 performed multivariate analyses of MGMT promoter methylation on PFS. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) estimated for PFS was 0.55 (95% CI 0.50, 0.60) by univariate analysis and 0.43 (95% CI 0.38, 0.48) by multivariate analysis. The effect of MGMT promoter methylation on OS was explored in 30 studies by univariate analysis and in 30 studies by multivariate analysis. The combined HR was 0.48 (95% CI 0.44, 0.52) and 0.42 (95% CI 0.38, 0.45), respectively. Conclusion In each subgroup divided by areas, the prognostic significance still remained highly significant. The proportion of methylation in each group was in inverse proportion to the corresponding HR in the univariate and multivariate analyses of PFS. However, from the perspective of OS, compared with data from Europe and the US, higher methylation rates in Asia did not bring better returns.


This Article undertakes a comprehensive analysis of the doctrine and theory underlying the First Amendment protection against being compelled to utter or present an unwanted message or to fund another private speaker's message. The particular focus is on how that protection applies or should apply to the use of government-compelled payments - such as taxes, assessments, or university student activities fees - to fund traditional and designated public forums when those forums are used by objectionable or offensive speakers. The premise is that a broad protection against the compelled funding of public forums threatens the feasability and existence of places and programs established and maintained by Government for the purpose of facilitating and enhancing private expression. The article creates a three-part model for determining when an objecting payer's free speech rights have been triggered, looking to 1) whether there has been an actual government compulsion; 2) whether the payer is required to give money to, or for the benefit of, a specific private speaker or whether the payer gives money only to the government; and 3) whether the use of the funds can, itself, be understood as expressive. The model recognizes that the right against compelled funding of expression is triggered only when the immediate use of the funds is expressive and is not triggered when the immediate user of the funds is the Government, as opposed to a private speaker. This model reaches a necessary balance between the important theoretical underpinnings of the protection against compelled expression and the First Amendment commitment to the dissemination of the maximum amount of individual expression. The Article applies this model to show how the Supreme Court should have rejected the First Amendment challenge in Board of Regents of the Univ. of Wisconsin Sys. v. Southworth (2000) (rejecting, but on different and unworkable grounds, challenge by students at a State University to the use of their mandatory student activities fees to fund speaking programs by student organizations), as well as possible future challenges to the funding of other public forums, in the University and in the community at large, including parks and sidewalks, auditoriums, and expressive subsidy programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts. Under this approach, no payer may object to having her mandatory payments used to create and maintain a public forum, because the establishment, administration, and maintenance of the forum is not itself expressive (as distinct from the speech that may occur in that forum). The payer funds only the physical place and services associated with that place or the pool of money in the subsidy program, none of which is expressive. The payer is not compelled to fund any actual objectionable speech or speaker.


Multimedia and real-time applications applied on the Internet require Quality of Service (QoS) routing algorithms; however, QoS routing is considered an NP-complete problem. This paper proposes an enhanced source based QoS routing algorithm that aims at reducing the complexity of route selection for services with multi QoS metrics. The algorithm uses the Analytic Hierarchy Process to find the best path between the service provider and the client that meets a list of constraints stored in a QoS profile; these constraints are specific for that particular service. Simulation results show that the algorithm finds a path with multiple metrics in scalable time; also the algorithm shows high ability to handle various types of multimedia and real-time applications


Background/Aims Recent studies have shown an association of epicardial fat thickness with diabetes and hypertension (HTN) in asymptomatic populations. However, there is lack of information as to whether there is similar association between pericoronary adipose tissue (PAT) and HTN in the patients who have acute or chronic illness. Methods This study included 214 nonobese patients hospitalized with acute or chronic noncardiogenic illness. PAT thicknesses were measured from fat tissues surrounding left and right coronary arteries in enhanced, chest computed tomography scans, yielding the maximal PAT value from left and right coronary arteries was used for analysis. Baseline data from hypertensive (n = 81) and normotensive (n = 133) patients were collected and compared. Results PAT is positively correlated with age (r = 0.377, p <0.001), body mass index (BMI; r = 0.305, p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (r = 0.216, p = 0.001), and total cholesterol (r = 0.200, p = 0.006). The hypertensive group was older (69.58 ± 11.69 years vs. 60.29 ± 14.98 years), and had higher PAT content (16.30 ± 5.37 mm vs. 13.06 ± 5.58 mm) and BMI (23.14 ± 3.32 kg/m2 vs. 20.96 ± 3.28 kg/m) than the normotensive group (all p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that age (odds ratio [OR], 2.193; p = 0.016), PAT thickness (OR, 1.065; p = 0.041), and BMI (25 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m2 ; OR, 6.077; p = 0.001) were independent risk factors for HTN. Conclusions In nonobese patients with noncardiogenic acute or chronic illness, PAT thickness is independently correlated with HTN, age, and BMI.


Abstract The coming of age of global positioning system telemetry, in conjunction with recent theoretical innovations for formulating quantitative descriptions of how different ecological forces and behavioral mechanisms shape patterns of animal space use, has led to renewed interest and insight into animal home-range patterns. This renaissance is likely to continue as a result of ongoing synergies between these empirical and theoretical advances. In this article I review key developments that have occurred over the past decade that are furthering our understanding of the ecology of animal home ranges. I then outline what I perceive as important future directions for furthering our ability to understand and predict mammalian home-range patterns. Interesting directions for future research include improved insights into the environmental and social context of animal movement decisions and resulting patterns of space use; quantifying the role of memory in animal movement decisions; and examining the relevance of these advances in our understanding of animal movement behavior and space use to questions concerning the demography and abundance of animal populations.


Abstract For monitoring the quality of seismic data, it is desirable to have an estimate of the noise spectrum that can be made without having to remove earthquake signals. A suitable low-resolution spectrum can be made by filtering the original time series into separate frequency bands and finding the variance in each, using a statistical estimator that is robust in the presence of large outliers. For bandwidths spaced logarithmically in frequency, this estimate will be most resistant to outliers at high frequencies.


Nowadays, demographers, population statisticians, and population forecasters have richer data, more refined theories of demographic behavior, and more sophisticated methods of analysis than they had two or three decades ago. This scientific progress should have made it easier to predict demographic behavior. But analyses of the errors in older forecasts show that demographic forecasts published by statistical agencies in 14 European countries have not become more accurate over the past 25 years. The findings demonstrate that scientific progress in population studies during the previous two to three decades has not kept up with the trend toward less predictable demographic behavior of populations in European countries. There is no reason to be more optimistic about US Census Bureau forecasts. Population forecasts are intrinsically uncertain, hence should be couched in probabilistic terms. Copyright (c) 2008 The Population Council, Inc..


Background: Reports of endodermal heterotopia (previously known as inclusion cysts) in cardiac atria are rare and there is only a single previous case report of endodermal heterotopia in a cardiac papillary muscle. Aim and methods: A cyst in a cardiac papillary muscle was identified during the autopsy of an 87-year-old man who had died from an unrelated myocardial infarction. The cyst was examined histologically and mucin staining and immunostaining were carried out. Results: We report a unilocular cyst in a cardiac papillary muscle, which is lined by low cuboidal, pseudostratified and occasionally ciliated respiratory-type epithelium, surrounded by a layer of smooth muscle. The immunohistochemical features (MNF116+, cytokeratin (CK)7+, CK8+, CK18+, CK19+, epithelial membrane antigen positive, scattered cells positive for neuroendocrine markers) suggest that this is an endodermal heterotopia. Immunostaining of positive thyroid transcription factor-1 provides evidence for bronchogenic differentiation. Discussion: The differential diagnoses of cystic structures in cardiac papillary muscle and the origin and importance of endodermal heterotopias are discussed.


The Sexual Offences Act 1967 made the first inroads to decriminalising men�s homosexual
sex since buggery was made a capital offence under Henry VIII. The act was drafted at the
direction of the 1957Wolfenden report, but bore the distinct hallmark of individuals of the
1967 parliament. More complex than the dictated product ofWolfenden, and more idiosyncratic
than a simple reflection of the social climate of the 1960s, the private member�s bill was
a Labour initiative with bipartisan support, driven in the Commons by the bizarre motivations
of its sponsor, Labour member for Pontypool, Leo Abse. Contrary to popular myths
about the aims of decriminalisation, Abse�s crusading Freudian motivation was concerned
with discouraging, more than allowing, homosexual behaviour. Similarly,�privacy� � the gift of
the house of lords to sexual regulation � was aimed largely at curtailing men�s sexual
practices, along with secreting them away. Thus, while the act is typically associated with a
general ideal of freedom, much parliamentary motivation concerned control and the prevention
of sexual activities.


This article reports on the diagnostic results of 232 patients who were examined in close collaboration by the paediatrician and the child psychiatrist at a Swiss children's hospital between 1971 and 1980. The main diagnosis was psychogenic disorders with mainly psychic symptoms in 53.9% of the cases, psychogenic disorders with mainly somatic symptoms in 37.1%, minimal brain damage in 11.2%, and disturbances of development in 8.6%. Psychosomatic symptoms as accessory findings were found in another 30%. Thus, functional somatic disorders were components of the polysymptomatic syndromes in more than 60% of the patients.


The purpose of this thesis is to describe the influence of the Common European Fiscal Framework (Maastricht Treaty) on the Economic Growth of Greece. Under specific hypotheses, we use the standard neoclassical growth theory model of Ramsey – Cass – Koopmans. For a period of 2000 till 2006, the estimated results show that Greece faces a significant divestment on its physical capital.


Geodetic observations using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other techniques record a high rate of north-south shortening in an east-southeast–trending, 5–40-km-wide belt in northern metropolitan Los Angeles, California. Downtown Los Angeles is observed to be converging upon the southern San Gabriel Mountains at 6 mm/yr. Aside from the elastic strain that will be released during earthquakes rupturing the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, east-west lengthening across northern metropolitan Los Angeles is minor, <2.5 mm/yr. Therefore north-south shortening is accommodated mainly by vertical crustal thickening.


This study was carried out to investigate the characteristics of the lining papers which had been separated from six pieces of paintings and calligraphic works of the 18th and the 20th century. A total 20 kinds of lining papers were examined on the physical properties, colors, fiber morphology, and color reactions. The grammage and thickness of lining papers which had been used hanging-scroll type works were higher than those of folder types. On the other hand, the grammage and thickness of the first layer lining papers which had been separated from silk ground works were lower than those of paper ground works. All kinds of lining papers were colored from yellow to yellowish red because of unbleaching and deterioration. Through the examination on fiber morphology and color reactions, lining papers were verified that all of those were made from paper mulberry bast fiber but the first layer of the Mukjukdo. The lining paper which of the first layer of the Mukjukdo was verified that it was made from mixture of paper mulberry, hemp, and spruce pulps.


This thesis documents a programme of work undertaken from mid-2005 to mid-2009 as a part-time PhD, investigating the application of signal-processing methods to ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation (NDE) data from fibre-reinforced composite materials. The aims of the project were:

•to push the boundaries of defect detectability by applying knowledge-based filtering methods to remove the response of the structure;

•to produce 3D profile maps of various measured parameters to assist in differentiating between defects and structural effects;

•to present the NDE information in terms of actual material properties that can be easily interpreted.
These aims are linked to specific NDE problems in inhomogeneous materials:

•3D characterisation of the material properties and defects in composite materials such as carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP);

•3D mapping of ply wrinkling and fibre orientation in CFRP and glass-fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP).

By developing and using a model, it was possible to understand the ultrasonic response of multi-layered structures when the layers themselves comprise both fibres and matrix. Various defects were inserted into the model to determine which parameters from the ultrasonic response would provide good distinction between defect types and enable quantitative 3D profiling of the required material properties.

A toolset of signal-processing and image-processing algorithms was used to apply the methods to both simulated and real ultrasonic data from the above NDE problems in order to demonstrate the benefits of the new methods. At various stages through the project a validation process was undertaken to evaluate the methods for use on real composite aerostructures.


The exchange rate of CO2 in artificial lungs depends on the sweep gas flow rate. Control of the amount of CO2 removed by an artificial lung requires quantitative knowledge of the flow dependence. A simple model of the dependence of CO2 exchange on sweep gas flow rate in artificial lungs has been previously presented (1). For a given partial pressure of CO2 in the blood phase, sweep gas flow rate, and CO2 exchange rate, the model indicates how close the CO2 exchange rate is to the maximum level attainable by the artificial lung. The focus of this study was to validate the model experimentally by testing 2 commercial artificial lungs in an in vitro test loop. The CO2 exchange rate for each artificial lung was measured over a range of sweep gas flow rates. Linear regression was used to fit the data to the model and estimate the maximum possible CO2 exchange rate and the average water-side PCO2 (PCO2w). The difference between the measured and regressed values of PCO2w was used as an indicator of the ability of the model to quantitatively predict the dependence of CO2 exchange on gas flow rate. This difference was less than 5% for each experiment, indicating that the model can be used to guide control of CO2 exchange rates in artificial lungs.


We show from ab initio laser theory that by choosing an appropriate spatial pump profile, many different spatial modes of a typical microlaser can be turned on at the same pump energy, substantially increasing the number, N, of simultaneous lasing modes. The optimal pump profile can be obtained simply from knowledge of the space-dependent saturated gain profile when the system is uniformly pumped up to the Nth modal threshold. We test this general result by applying it to a two-dimensional diffusive random laser and a microdisk laser. Achieving highly multimode lasing at reasonable pump powers is useful for reducing the spatial coherence of laser sources, making them suitable for use in speckle-free imaging and other applications.


This paper presents an algorithm capable of detecting leading vehicles using a forward-looking camera. In fact, the accurate measurements of the contact locations of vehicles with road surface are prerequisites for the intelligent vehicle technologies based on a monocular vision. Relying on multistage processing of relevant edge features to the hypothesis generation of a vehicle, the proposed algorithm creates candidate positions being the left and right boundaries of vehicles, and searches for pairs to be vehicle boundaries from the potential positions by evaluating horizontal symmetry. The proposed algorithm is proven to be successful by experiments performed on images acquired by a moving vehicle.


Nitric oxide is a unique biological messenger molecule. It mediates, in part, the immune functions of mac rophages ; it is produced by endothelial cells to mediate blood vessel relaxation; and it also serves as a neurotransmitter in the central and peripheral nervous system. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase and neuronal nitric oxide synthase are thought to be primarily constitutive, with activation induced by calcium entry into cells in the absence of protein synthesis, whereas the macrophage nitric oxide synthase is inducible with large increases in new nitric oxide synthase protein synthesis after immune stimulation. The molecular targets of nitric oxide are expanding, as are its physiological and pathophysiological roles in the nervous system. Nitric oxide may regulate neurotransmitter release, and it may play a key role in nervous system morpho genesis and synaptic plasticity and regulate gene expression. Under conditions of excessive formation, nitric oxide is emerging as an important neurotoxin in a variety of disorders of the nervous system. The Neuro scientist 1:7-18, 1995


Gear form grinding technology is widely used in the process of gear manufacturing. Grinding wheel dressing is the key technology of gear form grinding process. In this paper, several different grinding wheel dressing methods and the corresponding diamond roller dressing device are simply introduced. The technical parameters of grinding wheel dressing are respectively analyzed, including dressing speed ratio, overlap ratio, dressing depth and axial speed. The experimental tests of gear form grinding are carried out to investigate the effects of dressing parameters on the grinding process. The results of analysis and manufacturing tests can provide the reliable basis for diamond roller dressing in gear form grinding machine tools.


Summary Mitral valve regurgitation is detected in up to 75% of patients with heart failure. Interventional mitral valve therapies can be used to treat mitral regurgitation with very low morbidity and mortality rates and minimal invasiveness. Devices intended for the replacement of the mitral valve still require significant development and refinement before entering clinical practice on a large scale. The derived benefit of these therapies, the priority (repair over replacement) and the therapeutic role in patients with secondary mitral regurgitation due to heart failure remain to be investigated.


Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum albumin and intradialytic hypotension (IDH). Background Hypoalbuminemia and IDH are common complications during hemodialysis (HD) session. Hypotension is a risk factor for mortality and morbidity in HD patients. Patients and methods We conducted a cross-sectional study on 50 patients with end-stage renal disease who received regular HD session three times weekly for more than 3 months (from April to July 2017) at Ashmoun General Hospital. They were divided into two groups: group 1 included patients who developed recurrent attacks of IDH (24 patients) and group 2 included patients who did not develop IDH (26 patients). Data collected from each patient included the following: (i) demographic features and clinical features (blood pressure (BP) changes during session, ultrafiltration rate, intradialytic weight gain, duration of dialysis, cause of end-stage renal disease, surface area of dialyzer, and blood flow of the machine); (ii) blood chemistry (creatinine level, urea, hemoglobin, hematocrit value, albumin, triglycerides, cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, Na*, K*, and KT/V); (iii) echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular geometry; and (iv) inferior vena cava-guided ultrasonography. Results Serum albumin level among group I ranged between 2.4 and 4.7 mg/dl, with mean ± SD of 3.1 + 0.53 mg/dl, whereas in group II, serum albumin level ranged between 2.6 and 4.6 mg/dl with mean ± SD of 3.6 ± 0.48 mg/dl, with P value of 0.002, indicating there was a high significant difference between both groups. There was a highly significant positive correlation between delta systolic BP and IVC collapsibility index (IVCC). There was a highly significant negative correlation between serum albumin and IVCC, and there was a highly significant negative correlation between delta systolic BP and IVC diameter. Conclusion We concluded that serum albumin is a parameter that is associated with IDH and found that bedside measurements of IVCC and IVC diameter are easy and good markers for prediction of IDH.


This edition of A Mirror to Devout People presents for the first time a Middle English Life of Christ, with additional religious advice, written in the early fifteenth century by a Carthusian monk at the Sheen Charterhouse for a sister at the nearby Bridgettine Syon Abbey. Both the Sheen Charterhouse and Syon were recent royal foundations, established by Henry V. The Mirror is an important example of the devotional works produced to satisfy demand among laity as well as professed religious, wanting to read lives of Christ in the years following the repressive legislation of Archbishop Arundel (1409), which placed severe restrictions on biblical translation into English, intended to limit the spread of heresy. The Mirror, written in the tradition of the highly successful translation by another Carthusian, Nicholas Love, of Pseudo-Bonaventure's life of Christ, testifies to the demand for such material in pious households.


We here report the cDNA sequences of 11 new rat Ly49 genes with full and three with incomplete open reading frames. Although obtained from different inbred rat strains, these as well as six previously published cDNA represent non‐allelic genes matching different loci in the Brown Norway (BN) rat genome, which is predicted to contain 34 Ly49 loci distributed over the distal part of the NK cell gene complex. Some of the cloned genes appear to be mutated to non‐function in the BN genome, which harbors additional genes with full open reading frames, suggesting at least 26 non‐allelic functional Ly49 genes in the rat. Of the encoded receptors, 13 are predicted to be inhibitory, eight to be activating, whereas five may be both ('bifunctional'). Phylogenetic analysis bears evidence of a highly dynamic genetic region, in which only the most distally localized Ly49 gene has a clear‐cut mouse ortholog. In phylograms, the majority of the genes cluster into three subgroups with the genes mapping together, defining three chromosomal regions that seem to have undergone recent expansions. When comparing the lectin‐like domains, the receptors form smaller subgroups, most containing at least one inhibitory and one activating or 'bifunctional' receptor, where close sequence similarities suggest recent homogenization events.


The main purpose of this study was in identifying and analyzing affective factors on efficiency and performance of poultry production units' operators' in Guilan Province, Iran, which used a descriptive design. The population of this study consisted of whole industrial poultry production enterprises of Guilan Province (N=580) and out of them, 150 operators had been selected as statistical sample through simple random sampling. The instrument used to achieve objectives of the study was a questionnaire by reliability 0.92. Findings reveal that there were meaningful direct relationship between education level, times of attending on extension-education courses, gender and operators' ability and efficiency extent of poultry production units. Results of t-test showed that membership, using automatic ventilation system and using automatic feeding system had no effect on operator's efficiency and ability of poultry units. Based on results age, education level and staff numbers of poultry units had meaningful effect on efficiency extent and operator's ability of poultry units. Results showed that using TV and radio agriculture programs were not meaningful. According to the results, it is necessary to improve the marketing and farm management skills of farm operators through extension and participation in training activities.


In a 68-year-old male patient with cholangitis microabscess in the liver, cavitary lung cancer of the right lower lobe was incidentally diagnosed. The patient's medical history comprised totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG) and cholecystectomy 9 years ago. Before TLDG, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was performed because of a common bile duct stone and cholangitis. Three months ago, he was readmitted with cholangitic microabscess, and a cavitary lesion of right lower lobe was detected incidentally. Hepatobiliary microabscess was improved with ERCP and antibiotic treatment. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) right lower lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection were undergone uneventfully. Pneumonic infiltration in the right lower lung field and hydropneumothorax on the right side were developed on postoperative day 10. Chest computed tomography showed pneumobilia and micro-bronchopleural fistula (BPF) was suspected with bronchoscopic examination. Despite antibiotics usage and thoracic suction, air leakage could not be improved. VATS Talc pleurodesis was performed on postoperative day 38. Contralateral pneumonia developed 1 week following talc pleurodesis. Furthermore, bilirubin was detected in the repeated bronchial washing and pleural fluid and they showed the same color and nature. Though ERCP and endoscopic nasobiliary drainage, the patient's condition deteriorated and the patient passed away on postoperative day 60. Bronchopleurobiliary fistula is an extremely rare complication after thoracic surgery for which surgical treatment is challenging, early recognition of a developing fistula and the aggressive treatment at an early stage can reduce the associated morbidity and mortality from the sequelae of this rare disease entity.


This study aims determine and analyze the effect price perception and promotion partially and simultaneously on consumer satisfaction at gojek online transportation user Tasikmalaya City. The method used in this reseach is quantitative method with a consumers survey approach with a sample of 100 respondents. Data collected in the form of data is carried out using a qustionnaire technique. Data analysis in this survey uses multiple regression analysis, correlation coefficient determination using SPSS software. The results of the survey that the price perception and promotion simultaneously and partially have a significant on consumer satisfaction.


CubeSat is a class of popular pico-satellites that is limited in size to a standard 10×10×10cm unit. In this paper, we present a functioning High Data Rate (HDR) 2.4 GHz radio for use on a CubeSat. Current CubeSats suffer from low data rate radios and this severely limits their functionality. In this design, the operating constraints of a CubeSat have been addressed. Namely, power, wide variations in temperature, the size and weight of the components, and cost. The radio can potentially achieve bits rates in the order of 60 Mbps using 0.3W in Rx mode and 0.5W in Tx mode - with a further 2W for the power amplifier.


Air velocities at several points near the spark plug location were measured using a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) in a motoring internal combustion engine. This engine was equipped with three intake configurations: a standard valve in a standard port, a standard valve in a helical (swirl) port, and a shrouded valve in a standard port. Both ensemble-averaged and cycle-resolved mean velocities were determined; this allows comparison of rms velocity fluctuation, cycle-resolved turbulence, and cycle-by-cycle variations in mean velocity. Frequency domain analysis of these components was also carried out. The main conclusion of this experimental study was that starting from a very low swirl situation (standard valve case), addition of a moderate amount of swirl (swirl port case) goes a long way towards improving cycle repeatability.


This article further develops the ideas expressed in our previous publication – On the Attempt to Unlock the Black Boxes of Science (1) – and presents a sociological experiment that aims to break the conventional routine of the research activities of both sociology and life sciences. The article consists of two parts. The first part discusses the concept of "the new scientific spirit," elaborated by French scientist and philosopher G. Bachelard, and introduces H. White's theory of tropes, which provides a novel interpretative framework for "the new scientific spirit." The second part of this article describes a didactic experiment comprised of two discussion groups with PhD students working in the field of life sciences. The first discussion group attempted to realize the principles of the sociology of the social, whereas the second one attempted to break the limits of the sociology of the social and to induce an epistemological rupture in order to realize the principles of the sociology of translation in the second discussion. This article also includes the authors' reflections regarding the formation of their own sociological habitus.


Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) represents a distinctive phenotype of neurodegenerative disease for which several causative genes have been identified. The spectrum of neurologic disease associated with mutations in NBIA genes is broad, with phenotypes that range from infantile neurodegeneration and death in childhood to adult‐onset parkinsonism‐dystonia. Here we report the discovery of a novel gene that leads to a distinct form of NBIA.


A one-dimension micro-displacement stage used in scanning white-light interferometry (SWLI) profilometer is presented. The stage is a set of two-grade displacement mechanisms that has a hologram diffraction grating fixed on it to form a closed-loop displacement measuring and control system. The stage's vertical scanning range is up to 6 mm, the vertical resolution 1 nm. Finite element analysis has been used to study the behavior of the flexural hinge guided motion nano-positioning stage. The experimental results of surface profiles of standards sample are also presented.


The acylative decarboxylation reaction of phenylacetic acid, a method used in clandestine laboratories for the synthesis of phenyl-2-propanone, has been examined. It has been demonstrated that this reaction is accompanied by side-reactions that produce characteristic neutral compounds, some of these are cis and trans 1,3-diphenyl-2-methylpropene and the enol acetates derived from dibenzylketone and phenyl-2-propanone. It would be difficult for an unskilled chemist to separate these neutral substances from phenyl-2-propanone, therefore illicit phenyl-2-propanone is likely to be an impure product. The use of crude phenyl-2-propanone in reductive amination reactions aimed at amphetamine production gives rise to a complex mixture of amines and characteristic neutral compounds. The likely origins of N-acetylamphetamine and amphetamine benzaldimine are also discussed.


In recent years, ground-based TeV gamma-ray observatories have made spectacular discoveries including imaging spectroscopy observations of galactic sources of different classes, and the discovery of rapid gamma-ray flares from radio galaxies and active galactic nuclei containing supermassive black holes. These discoveries, and the fact that gamma-ray astronomy has the potential to map the radiation from dark matter annihilation in our Galaxy and in extragalactic systems, have attracted the attention of the wider scientific community. The Division of Astrophysics of the American Physical Society requested the preparation of a white paper on the status and future of ground-based gamma-ray astronomy to define the science goals of a future observatory, to determine the performance specifications, to identify the areas of necessary technology development, and to lay out a clear path for proceeding beyond the near term. The white paper was written with broad community input, including discussions on several dedicated open meetings, and a number of APS or other conferences. It contains an executive summary, detailed reports from the science working groups, and appendices with supplementary material including the full author lists for the different sections of the white paper and a glossary.


Water resources are among the most important determinants of horizontal expansion in Egyptian agriculture. Given the scarcity of these resources on the one hand and the fact that they are relatively stable over time, the widening gap between supply and demand of those resources is increasing and the population is increasing and meeting their needs from various sectors. The problem of rationalizing water consumption and preserving its quality is an urgent national endeavor. As the Egyptian agriculture consumes most of the water resources, the problem of rationalizing the use of water in agriculture has become difficult to achieve in order to achieve the objectives of horizontal agricultural expansion. In this sense, the search for the most appropriate ways to exploit water resources has to be taken into account. The study aimed to identify the method of restructuring some of the irrigation systems in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate and the most important economic and environmental impacts it has caused in the study area through water transfer and distribution systems outside and inside the field through the canal and improved channels. With the aim of working on the best use of water as a rare economic element needs to rationalize its use over time, which helps to achieve the highest possible economic return and the lowest environmental loss possible and maximize the effects of economic and envir onmental positive and minimize the negative effects in areas developed irrigation systems.  It was also found that the net yield of cultivated acres of land using traditional surface irrigation amounted to about LE 5108, whereas in the land used, the surface irrigation developed was about 7258 pounds, an increase of about 2150 pounds, which is about 42.1% compared to land using traditional surface irrigation. It was found that the marginal income of the wheat crop cultivated in the land using traditional surface irrigation was about LE 3288, whereas the marginal income of the wheat Used for irrigation developer surface about 4227 pounds, an increase of about 939 pounds, with an average of about 22.2% compared Ppalarad used for traditional surface irrigation  and the net yield of cultivated rice fed in land using traditional surface irrigation was about LE 2270, while the ratio of land used for developed irrigation reached LE 4948, an increase of about LE 2678 representing about 117.9% compared to land using tradetional surface irrigation. For the rice crop of the land used for conventional surface irrigation was LE 1635, while the marginal income in land used for surface irrigation was LE 2282, an increase of LE 647, or 39.6% compared to land using conventional surface irrigation.  The increase in net income to average variable costs from about 71.94% for the rice crop cultivated in the land used for traditional surface irrigation was shown to be about 100.92% for the cultivated land used for advanced surface irrigation, an increase of about 29% at a rate of about 68.7 compared to land using traditional surface irrigation.


Maternal chickenpox resulting in neonatal infection is not common, considering widespread vaccination for chickenpox. Most women of child bearing age have antibodies against varicella zoster virus. However, when it does occur, the gestational age at onset markedly affects the severity of the illness in the fetus or newborn. The presence of maternal antibodies, use of passive immunization with zoster immune globulin and prompt institution of acyclovir once child shows evidence of illness has been shown to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality. Keywords:  Acyclovir, Zoster immunoglobulin, Varicella zoster virus, Passive immunity


This study was conducted to screen the characteristics and alginate-degrading activity of marine bacterium isolated from brown seaweed (Sargassum thunbergii). The results of 16S ribosomal RNA sequence analysis the strain the genus Vibrio and the strain was subsequently named Vibrio sp. PKA 1003. The optimum culture conditions for the growth of Vibrio sp. PKA 1003 were at pH 7, 3% NaCl, , and 6% alginic acid, with a 48-hour incubation time. A crude enzyme preparation from Vibrio sp. PKA 1003, showed its highest levels of alginate-degradation activity when cultured at pH 9, , and 6% alginic acid, with a 63-hour incubation time. Thin layer chromatography analyses confirmed that the crude enzyme released monomers or oligomers from sodium alginate, and results from trypsin treatment showed that the alginate degrading activity depends on this enzyme produced by Vibrio sp. PKA 1003. These results suggest that Vibrio sp. PKA 1003 and its alginate-degrading crude enzyme is useful for the production of alginate oligosaccharides.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different yarn blends and fabric constructions, such as 2 \times 2 rib, half cardigan, and 3 \times 3 cable stitch, on the pilling tendency and other physical properties of fabrics. The experimental results showed that the pilling grades of dry, relaxed half cardigan fabrics were higher. In the case of fully relaxed fabrics, however, rib fabrics performed well. In fabrics made from angora/polyamid yarns, the pilling grades of half cardigan fabrics were higher. In contrast to the results obtained for fully relaxed fabrics, there was no significant difference between the pilling tendency of 100% wool fabrics and that of wool/acrylic fabrics, in terms of the results obtained from dry, relaxed structures.


Plant extracts, such as phytoecdysteroids, are currently studied because of the possibility of their use in plant protection. Phytoecdysteroids are insect steroid hormone analogues, and they are believed to deter invertebrates from plants, either by acting as antifeedants or by being toxic through hormonal disruption upon ingestion. We describe here the effects of extract from Spinacia oleracea L. (Chenopodiaceae), a plant producing phytoecdysteroids, on the demographic parameters of Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Spinach is one of the very few crop plants which produce large amounts of phytoecdysteroids. Ecdysteroidal extracts of leaves from this plant were incorporated into food given to third instar larvae for two days. Then the larvae were reared on untreated leaves. The eggs from the emerging adults were picked up for demographic experiments. The rearing of the newly hatched larvae was continued individually on untreated leaves. All experiments were performed at 25 ± 1 oC, 65 ± 5% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h in a growth chamber. Data analysis demonstrated that the fecundity of the females was strongly affected by ecdysteroidal extract. Values of intrinsic rate of increase and net reproduction rate decreased significantly as concentration of the extract increased. However, doubling time increased significantly as concentration of the extract increased. The present study demonstrated that the ecdysteroidal components of spinach are effective on the demographic parameters of P. xylostella. Therefore, this extract may be a potential protectant as botanical alternative agent.


David W. Torrance offers a brief but comprehensive examination of the Reformed doctrine of the Lord's Supper. He examines the foundations of the sacrament in the five great sacrificial offerings of Israel's worship, as ordained by God. He then presents a picture of Holy Communion in the New Testament as a feast of thanksgiving commemorating God's atonement in Christ for the sins of the world, and demonstrates how it is inextricably linked with the Cross, the Resurrection and the Great Commission.


Chromatographic profiles of primary essential oils (EO) deliver valuable authentic information about composition and compound pattern. Primary EOs obtained from Pinus sylvestris L. (PS) from different global origins were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled to a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) and identified by GC hyphenated to mass spectrometer (GC-MS). A primary EO of PS was characterized by a distinct sesquiterpene pattern followed by a diterpene profile containing diterpenoids of the labdane, pimarane or abietane type. Based on their sesquiterpene compound patterns, primary EOs of PS were separated into their geographical origin using component analysis. Furthermore, differentiation of closely related pine EOs by partial least square discriminant analysis proved the existence of a primary EO of PS. The developed and validated PLS-DA model is suitable as a screening tool to assess the correct chemotaxonomic identification of a primary pine EOs as it classified all pine EOs correctly.


Clustered microcalcifications on X-ray mammograms are an important feature in the detection of breast cancer. For the detection of the clustered microcalcification on digitized mammograms, this paper proposes a texture analysis method called the surrounding region dependence method (SRDM), which is a statistical texture analysis based on the second-order histogram in two surrounding regions. Four textural features are extracted from the SRDM. These features are used to classify region of interests (ROIs) into positive ROIs containing clustered microcalcifications and negative ROIs of normal breast tissues. The three-layer backpropagation neural network is employed as a classifier with input data of four textural features. The classification performance of the proposed method is evaluated by using the round-robin method and the receiver operating-characteristics (ROC) analysis.


George Orwell is famous for his two final fictions, Animal Farm (Orwell 1945a) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (Orwell 1949a). These two works are sometimes understood to defend capitalism against socialism. But as Orwell was a committed socialist, this could not have been his intention. Orwell's criticisms were directed not against socialism per se but against the Soviet Union and similarly totalitarian regimes. Instead, these fictions were intended as Public Choice-style investigations into which political systems furnished suitable incentive structures to prevent the abuse of power. This is demonstrated through a study of Orwell's non-fiction works, where his opinions and intentions are more explicit.