Numerous well-developed vein structures occur in Leg 112 cores from the Peru margin. Mud-filled dewatering veins occur in four styles: wide discrete gashes, veins along extensional microfaults, tension-gash arrays, and injections into tension gashes about slump-fold noses. Mud veins occur at shallow depths, less than 10 meters below sea floor (mbsf) in some cases, but some also were recovered as deep as 423 mbsf. Mud vein fill is slightly different in composition than the matrix and consists of a higher proportion of very fine silica, and in some cases, more authigenic carbonate or iron sulfide, transported into the veins by fluid flow. Clay minerals and many diatom fragments that are subhorizontal outside the veins have been rotated within the veins to parallel the vein walls. Formation of mud veins occurs during sediment dewatering, perhaps initiated by the collapse of diatom frustules during compaction, or by overloading during downslope slumping and sliding. Complex multigenerational vein sets exhibit sequential development from wide discrete gashes to injections along microfaults to dense arrays of sigmoidal tension gashes, with progressive deformation of older veins during continued downslope movement. Critical factors required to produce mud veins are high sedimentation rates, relatively high porosity and resistance to compaction, and low permeability; vein preservation is enhanced by anoxic conditions that discourage bioturbation. Carbonate-filled veins in Peru margin samples include tension gashes and wide, banded zones filled with calcite or dolomite spar; these probably result from filling of open fractures. Some sparry veins are crosscut by dewatering veins filled with calcareous mud, suggesting that the carbonate veins begin to form very early, before mud interbeds have de watered.


This panel discussion seeks to engage engineering professionals in a discussion of their responsibilities and obligations to perform duties in an ethical manner. Specifically, the panel will explore how learned professionals learn about these responsibilities and the potential consequences resulting from different responses to a myriad of unforeseen circumstances. The roles of formal education, continuing education, and on-the-job experience are examined as key components of the educational process.


The spectacular growth of the plastics industry to its present state is a direct result of proved ability to meet war demands for critical items on a volume-production basis. Common plastic materials are classified according to their thermal characteristics and the methods of fabrication. Typical physical and electrical properties are presented for each of the general class of materials. It is pointed out that such values are average, and do not indicate the range that can be obtained by selection of a specific molding powder. Common trade names, compositions, and their manufacturers are presented in the form of a cross-index for reference purposes. Factors governing the performance and the choice of a particular material are discussed. Expansion coefficients as applied to the use of metal inserts molded into the material, light transmission properties, and the fabrication of laminates are briefly treated in the Appendix.


Background Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscle wasting disease. It is the most common type of muscular dystrophy in the UK. Those affected usually die in their late 20 s or early 30 s due to cardiac or respiratory problems. As the disease progresses they may need management of symptoms arising from complications of late disease, such as pain. This poster looks into the joint services provided by the community palliative team at Shrewsbury and Telford Severn hospice and the Oswestry neuromuscular clinic caring for five patients with advanced Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Methods The notes from the clinic consultations of the five patients involved were perused and the consultations noted, along with the proposed management plan. Subsequent clinic follow ups were looked into to review response to the management plan and note any amendments to treatment that were made. Results The five patients presented with pain as their main symptom. Different choices of analgesia were tried with different responses. All patients reported improvement in their symptoms after starting analgesia with some requiring a combination of analgesics. In addition to this, some of the patients required input from other services regarding other aspects of patient care, such as the respiratory team for sleep studies and assessment for ventilatory support, or access to the hospice for various social events in a safe and welcoming environment. Conclusion As there are no guidelines for management of DMD, management may involve trials of different analgesia for pain management in addition to involvement of a multi-disciplinary team to address other care issues. As palliative medicine involves symptomatic treatment of patients with advanced and terminal disease and holistic care, there is a role for palliative medicine in management of patients with end stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy.


An efficient approach to revealing the propagation characteristics for broadband mobile services in the 5-GHz microwave band is to utilize the existing 2-GHz band propagation data accumulated by many researchers. This paper presents the height variation characteristics at 5.2-GHz compared with that at 2.2-GHz in a residential area based on experiments and theoretical analysis. Propagation measurements were carried out using the dual band antenna at 5.2-GHz and 2.2-GHz, and the measured results were compared. Furthermore, this paper compares the measured results with the calculated results using a two-dimensional (2D) ray-tracing approach based on geometric optics (GO) and the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction (UTD).


Abstract Context Formononetin is a typical phytoestrogen, which is a bioactive component found in red clover plants. Previous studies have shown that formononetin inhibits the proliferation of several types of cancer cells, including prostate cancer and osteosarcoma. However, how formononetin affects the proliferation of CNE2 is not clear. Objective The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of formononetin on nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vitro, along with the underlying mechanism. Materials and methods CNE2 cells were incubated with various concentrations of formononetin (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 1 μM) for 48 h. Cell proliferation was measured by [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, while the rate of apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. Bcl-2 and bax mRNA expression levels were determined by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while p-ERK1/2 and bcl-2 protein expression levels were quantified by Western blotting. Results Formononetin promoted the proliferation of CNE2 cells at low concentrations (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 μM), OD values increased from 0.27 ± 0.01 to 0.30 ± 0.01, 0.30 ± 0.01,0.36 ± 0.01, 0.35 ± 0.01, 0.34 ± 0.01, 0.34 ± 0.01 and 0.32 ± 0.01, respectively. The percentage of late apoptosis declined from 6.77% ± 0.73% (0 μM group) to 6.2% ± 0.4% (0.1 μM group), 3.83% ± 0.71% (0.3 μM group) and 5.1% ± 0.52% (1M group). The mRNA levels of bax and bcl-2 were down- and upregulated, respectively, by formononetin. Bcl-2 and p-ERK1/2 protein levels were also upregulated. Conclusions Formononetin stimulates CNE2 cell proliferation and has an inhibitory effect on CNE2 cells apoptosis, which is mediated by the activation of the ERK1/2 signaling pathways.


INTRODUCTION : Since being the commonest disease in the society, number of suffers increasing day by day, So I chosen the disease "Azhal keel vayu" for his dissertation work. The evidence of the disease Azhal keel vayu is derived from "Sabapathy manuscript of book Siddha Maruthuvam (pothu) 6th edition in the year 2004 by K.N.Kuppusamy Mudhaliyar (page no 626).". The signs and symptoms mentioned in "Sabapathy manuscript of Pothu Maruthuvam book.". It's closely resembles with that of "Osteo Arthritis ' in modern Medicine.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES : The "Azhal Keel Vayu" is a major ailment of the elderly, nowadays it affects middle aged people also because of their life style and food habits. Though there is no mortality in this disease, its clinical condition worsens in patients and sometimes they become dependant and burden to others which we used to come across so many cases in our daily professional practice. Keeping all this in author's mind, author tried his best to elucidate a good medicine from ancient Siddha literatures and to create hope and faith in their treatment. This being a preliminary endeavour by the author, it would be a helping hand to the sufferers. With this view this dissertation subject was undertaken.
1. Siddha system of medicine should reach the entire society of the man kind. 2. To expose the unique diagnostic methods mentioned by Siddhars, to know the disease "Azhal Keel Vayu" which alters the normal condition under the topic Mukkutram, Poripulangal, Ezhu Udal Kattukkal and Envagai thervugal. 3. To study the clinical case of the disease "Azhal Keel Vayu" with keen observation on the Aetiology, Pathology, Diagnosis, Prognosis, Complications and the Treatment by making use of Siddha aspect.
4. To know the role of diet control, medical advices in attaining good results along with the trial medicine.
5. To find the changes in three humours and their thannilai valarchi and Vetrunilai Valarchi in case of Azhal Keel Vayu.
6. To know the extent of correlation of Aetiology, Classification, Signs and Symptoms of Azhal Keel Vayu in Siddha aspect with Osteo arthritis in Modern medicine.
7. To have an idea about the incidence of the disease with age, sex, socioeconomic status and seasonal variations.
8. To have a detailed clinical investigations.
9. To have a clinical trial on Azhal Keel Vayu ,with a known specific drug, Poduthalai Chooranam. 10. To evaluate the Bio-chemical and Pharmacological effects of trial medicine.
11. To use modern parameters to confirm the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease.
12. To pave way for further research work in future. Totally 40 patients was carried out in this study, Among 20 Inpatients and 20 Out patients of both sexes were selected. They were administered with the trial medicine "Poduthalai Choornam" 2 gms BD with Hot water after food during the whole study period. Poduthalai Chooranam was choosen for this study with reference from "Gunapadam Mooligai – Murugesa Mudaliyar".(page. no.712) 1st edition, by The trial medicine was subjected to biochemical and pharmacological analysis. At the end of the clinical trial study, the majority of the cases showed good results.


The results regarding the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the cure process of epoxy resin are widespread and contradictory. Therefore, this article aims to review the key studies on the effect of carbon nanotubes related to the curing process of epoxy resin, separating them according to analysis technique. Many articles have shown that nanocomposite homogeneity and medium viscosity have great influence on the cure process. Some of them have shown that heterogeneity and high viscosity slow down the epoxy resin cure, reducing the cure reaction heat. Furthermore, the presence of chemical groups such as amine and hydroxyl can catalyze this reaction, especially in the case of homogeneous composites. This review describes briefly and straightforwardly the value of using several techniques for studying and monitoring the nanocomposite cure, among them: DSC, rheometry, DMA, Raman, FT-IR, and luminescence spectroscopy. That importance is remarkably noticeable for studying a particular temporal reaction step, where a particular technique is more suitable than another. In this sense, one could say that luminescence spectroscopy is appropriate for studying the ending step of the cure reaction. Moreover, a great amount of information is also provided for supporting further research. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2461–2469, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers


The technological convergence of mobile "phones" and multimedia has been taking place since the 1990s, but it was not until the commercial birth of touchscreen-enabled mobile devices, offered with flat-rate subscriptions for mobile internet, that widespread production and use of news-related content and services began to flourish. Accessing mobile news has gained traction in the everyday life of the public. In parallel, legacy news media have in recent years developed news provision, by repurposing or customising journalistic content published for mobile sites and/or applications. This article explores the production of mobile news, by discussing and synthesising the findings of the contemporary literature found in the nexus of journalism and mobile media. It posits a model of journalism focusing on the roles of humans and technology in activities characterised by customising or repurposing. The article also presents a research agenda focusing on the production of mobile news.


Fruits play important role in providing the individuals daily dietary needs from vitamins, iron, and some metals that are needed in the body as dietary supplement or as an important element that form some hormones or enzymes in small concentrations, if exists in high concentrations become toxic with side effects. The presence of heavy metals such as of Fe, Cd, Pb, Cr, Mn, Ni, Co, and Zn in Ximenia americana and sclerocarya birrea wild fruits were determined using standard methods such as AAS. Results obtained from this study revealed that the concentration of the metals in sclerocarya birrea was Iron, (8.83 ± 0.10) Cadmium (0.01 ± 0.00) Lead (0.04 ± 0.02) Chromium (0.19±0.10) Manganese (4.27 ± 0.20) Nickel (0.21 ±0.10) Cobalt (0.09 ±0.01) and Zinc (2.96 ± 0.02) mg/g. On the other hand, Ximenia americana content was Iron, (6.37 ± 0.10) Cadmium (0.02 ± 0.01) Lead (0.01 ± 0.00) Chromium (0.24±0.01) Manganese (2.50 ± 0.10) Nickel (0.29 ±0.10) Cobalt (0.17 ±0.00) and Zinc (2.31 ± 0.06) mg/g respectively. Highest concentration of Iron was recorded as (8.83 ± 0.10) mg/g in the sclerocarya birrea sample analyzed, while Lead and Cadmium were found to be the least with concentration of (0.01 ±0.00) mg/g in both samples. Their concentrations are within the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) set by FAO/WHO. The findings of this study reveal that there are no health risks associated with the consumption of heavy metals through the intake of these two fruits.


Designers are working these days in a complex web of technologies. This practical reference provides the essential resources every good designer needs at their fingertips. From how to get the best results out of the computer software and equipment to how you can avoid errors that bring disaster to schedules, client confidence and ultimately costs. The Digital Designer's Bible is the much longed-for-rule book that every digital designer will both want and need.


Oil-filled transformers with paper insulation are used in power electronics circuits, in power engineering based upon renewable energy sources and in electric heating engineering. The paper insulation of these transformers deteriorates very rapidly, due to commutation of diodes, transistors and other power electronics elements. Impulses of commutation currents generate tank-to-phase voltages with voltage rise rates exceeding 100 V/μs.


The complexity of Machine Learning (ML) systems increases each year, with current implementations of large language models or text-to-image generators having billions of parameters and requiring billions of arithmetic operations. As these systems are widely utilized, ensuring their reliable operation is becoming a design requirement. Traditional error detection mechanisms introduce circuit or time redundancy that significantly impacts system performance. An alternative is the use of Concurrent Error Detection (CED) schemes that operate in parallel with the system and exploit their properties to detect errors. CED is attractive for large ML systems because it can potentially reduce the cost of error detection. In this paper, we introduce Concurrent Classifier Error Detection (CCED), a scheme to implement CED in ML systems using a concurrent ML classifier to detect errors. CCED identifies a set of check signals in the main ML system and feeds them to the concurrent ML classifier that is trained to detect errors. The proposed CCED scheme has been implemented and evaluated on two widely used large-scale ML models: Contrastive Language Image Pretraining (CLIP) used for image classification and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) used for natural language applications. The results show that more than 95 percent of the errors are detected when using a simple Random Forest classifier that is order of magnitude simpler than CLIP or BERT. These results illustrate the potential of CCED to implement error detection in large-scale ML models.


A growing number of studies have shown that individuals differ consistently in a suite of correlated behavioural traits across various contexts and situations. Yet, most work on animal personalities has been performed under laboratory conditions and still little is known about the ecological significance of differences in personality in the wild, and the behavioural mechanisms underlying possible fitness consequences. In this study, we investigated individual differences in personality in relation to nest defence behaviour in wild great tits. Nest defence is an important aspect of parental care and involves a trade-off between two fitness components (i.e. survival and reproduction). As a measure of personality we used exploratory behaviour in a novel environment as this has been shown to be correlated with several other behavioural traits including risk-taking and aggression, two important behavioural components of nest defence. We found that the intensity of alarm calling towards a human intruder was positively associated with exploratory behaviour, while there was a negative association between exploration score and number of movements during nest defence. Thus, fast explorers are shown to respond more boldly towards predators in the field. More generally we show that individuals with different personalities vary in their anti-predator and reproductive investment strategies.


The process of formative assessment in universities has the potential to engage students in reflection and to take greater ownership of their learning. We report on a study involving 104 students taking a statistics course in a degree programme in rehabilitation science in Hong Kong. The assessment strategy was redesigned to include a weekly online formative assessment activity for 10 weeks. In this case, it was observed that there was a high participation rate across weeks. An end-ofcourse online survey was conducted to explore the learning experiences during formative assessment of the cohort, and students reported high satisfaction with the process, particularly how this contributed to a change in their learning approach. Students not only showed regular commitment of time on tasks but also took active steps to find answers for themselves and with their peers.


Microbial metabolism powers biogeochemical cycling in Earth's ecosystems. The taxonomic composition of microbial communities varies substantially between environments, but the ecological causes of this variation remain largely unknown. We analyzed taxonomic and functional community profiles to determine the factors that shape marine bacterial and archaeal communities across the global ocean. By classifying >30,000 marine microorganisms into metabolic functional groups, we were able to disentangle functional from taxonomic community variation. We find that environmental conditions strongly influence the distribution of functional groups in marine microbial communities by shaping metabolic niches, but only weakly influence taxonomic composition within individual functional groups. Hence, functional structure and composition within functional groups constitute complementary and roughly independent "axes of variation" shaped by markedly different processes.


We show that control operators and other extensions of the Curry-Howard isomorphism can be achieved without collapsing all of intuitionistic logic into classical logic. For this purpose we introduce a unified propositional logic using polarized formulas. We define a Kripke semantics for this logic. Our proof system extends an intuitionistic system that already allows multiple conclusions. This arrangement reveals a greater range of computational possibilities, including a form of dynamic scoping. We demonstrate the utility of this logic by showing how it can improve the formulation of exception handling in programming languages, including the ability to distinguish between different kinds of exceptions and constraining when an exception can be thrown, thus providing more refined control over computation compared to classical logic. We also describe some significant fragments of this logic and discuss its extension to second-order logic.


Background: Ultrasound has become an invaluable tool in our daily practice. Its role in screening for adhesions has been tested since the 1990s.

This study aims to determine the role of the visceral slide test as a screening method to predict abdominal wall adhesions in women undergoing gynecological surgery.

We conducted a prospective observational cohort study from August 2017 to July 2019 in women undergoing elective abdominopelvic surgery for a gynecological indication. Preoperatively, a visceral slide test was performed in 5 specified zones on the abdomen and the test results were clinically correlated with the presence, severity, and extent of adhesions intra-operatively.

Results were reported as mean, standard deviation, range of values or number and percentage. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy (including 95% confidence interval for all) of visceral slide test were calculated to determine intra-abdominal adhesions . We also found a correlation between the number of negative slide tests and PAI scores using Spearman's correlation test. Of the 339 women who completed the study, 41.2% had a previous history of abdominopelvic surgery. In this study, the visceral slide test was found to have a sensitivity of 70.87% ( 95%CI 62.15-78.59), specificity of 86.32% (95% CI 80.95-90.64), positive predictive value (PPV) of 75.63% ( 95% CI 68.49-81.59), negative predictive value (NPV) of 83.18%( 95% CI 78.95-86.70) and diagnostic accuracy of 80.53%( 95% CI 75.91-84.61)with p-value less than 0.001. The number of negative slide tests positively correlated with the Peritoneal Adhesion Index score (r = 0.662, p < 0.001) and also with increasing operative time and intraoperative blood loss. Accuracy and positive predictive value of the test were significantly higher in patients with a history of abdominal surgeries, endometriosis and PID.

Visceral slide test is an easy, rapid, non-invasive and reliable screening test to predict abdominal adhesions in women undergoing gynecological surgery. The presence of risk factors for adhesions increases the accuracy of the test.


We report the bistability of second- and third-harmonic generation in monolayer graphene plasmonics supported by graphene nanoribbon arrays. The nonlinear optical bistability of harmonic generation at the ultra-low threshold intensity ∼100kW/cm2, along with the traditional linear optical bistability of transmittance, is observed due to the different local fundamental fields at the lower and higher state when the Kerr effect of graphene is considered. Importantly, the working fundamental wavelength can be tuned by the Fermi level of graphene and geometrical structure, which leads to the linear and nonlinear optical bistability available in a broadband for potential applications in advanced all-optical devices.


This research study aimed at examining the use of vocabulary learning strategies of Iranian male and female intermediate EFL learners and the relationship between gender and the use of these strategies at Shokouh Language Institue in Iran. 80 EFL learners who were at intermediate level participated in this study. This study used Kudo's (1999) classification of vocabulary learning strategies including metacognitive and psycholinguistic strategies. Kudo's (1999) likert-scale questionnaire has been used in this study. In order to analyze data and answer research questions, descriptive and inferential statistics via SPSS (21) used. The finding of the study revealed that the most frequently-used VLS by female group was "Use loan words" and by male group was " Using a bilingual dictionary". Both of these strategies were psycholinguistic strategy. The frequency mean for the psycholinguistic strategy use, metacognitive strategies as well as the overall frequency mean was slightly higher for the female learners. However there was no significant difference between Iranian male and female intermediate EFL learners in terms of the use of vocabulary learning strategies.


Abstract Analysis of satellite-derived oceanic rainfall maps reveals certain distinctive characteristics of global patterns for the years 1973–74. The main ones are: 1) the forking of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in the Pacific, 2) a previously unrecognized rain area in the South Atlantic, 3) the bimodal behavior of rain belts in the Indian Ocean, and 4) the large interannual variability in oceanic rainfall. These interesting features are discussed.


As the domestic and international competition becomes more and more fierce, airlines and airports in china are meeting unprecedented challenges. Service quality then becomes significantly important to achieve a genuine and sustainable competitive advantage, and the question for civil aviation industries in china which need to solve imperatively. The purpose of this study is to improve service quality by designing service system and evaluating service quality. Planning tool of service blueprinting and evaluating method of SERVQUAL model is applied.


Encyclopedias are dangerous things. Whilst promising us an 'all-round' education (enkuklios paideia), they surreptitiously lay claim to the right to define the world. I can think of no better proof of this than a Chinese encyclopedia's classification of the animal kingdom as reported by Jorge Luis Borges. The categories were: a) Belonging to the Emperor, b) embalmed, c) tame, d) suckling pigs, e) sirens, f) fabulous, g) stray dogs, h) included in the present classification, i) innumerable, j) drawn with a fine camelhair brush k) et cetera, l) having just broken the water pitcher, m) that from a long way off look like flies.


This issue is the second part of a two-part October project dealing with the photographic practices of women in Weimar culture and in exile from it. Focusing on seven crucial figures (Ellen Auerbach, Ilse Bing, Anne Fischer, Gisèle Freund, Lotte Jacobi, Germaine Krull, and Grete Stern), the essays collected here address a wide range of productive changes and destructive conflicts challenging traditional models of the photographers' social, artistic, and professional identities. Some of these changes resulted from the impact of emerging technologies (both in the infrastructural organization of everyday life and in photography's own newly evolving technologies of cameras and color) and some from the dismantling of the liberal democratic nation state either by the rise of state socialism in the Soviet Union or of fascism in Germany. When these Weimar photographers had to find refuge in France, in the United States, in South Africa, or in Argentina, they found themselves not only confronted with the demands of a rapidly advancing and controlling culture industry but also with the caesura of cultural discontinuity and the disillusioning effects of living in exile.


The article is aimed at analyzing the system of integrated environmental permit regulation. It includes a study of Directive 2010/75/EU analyzing the specific features, requirements, grounds of and the procedure for issuance of integrated permits. Since the Directive is a framework document, each state makes its own decisions as to what mechanisms to use. The article studies the statutory regulation and the practice of the implementation of integrated permits in the neighbouring Poland. It interprets the principal legal environmental document of the Republic of Poland – the Environmental Protection Act. Its main focus is on defining the conditions for the application of the BAT principle and the procedure for permit issuance: the competent authorities, time limits, control, etc. Ukrainian legislation on permits for emissions of pollutants into ambient air, discharges into waters, and waste management is subject to independent analysis. On the basis of the study, the generalized characteristic features of the integrated permit system in the sphere of environmental protection and environmental safety enforcement, the principal tasks and measures aimed at ensuring the implementation of the system of integrated environmental permits in Ukraine are defined.


Purpose: We wanted to introduce a nail lengthening technique with an eponychial flap for treating finger tip amputation, and we review the relevant literature. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five patients who received eponychial flap surgery between November 2001 and April 2006 were enrolled in this study. Retrospectively, the patients were asked, by using a questionnaire, about their satisfaction with their nail shape and length. The preoperative findings and the findings at the last follow up and the contralateral finger nail lengths were measured with a ruler and those were all compared according to the percentage of change. Results: The average operation time was fourteen minutes (range: 10 to 19 minutes). All the flaps survived and there was no infection, congestion of the flap, or additional deformity of nail. The average follow up period was five months. The nails were lengthened an average of 0.35 cm. The last follow up questionnaire showed that the patients were satisfied with their nail's appearance with an average score of 95.5 points. Conclusion: Nail lengthening using an eponychial flap is a convenient, safe and aestheticall pleasing


OBJECTIVE
This study sought to determine the rate at which nonopioid analgesics were utilized in postoperative pain management plans after pediatric ambulatory surgery in patients who were also prescribed postoperative opioids.

DESIGN
Retrospective cohort analysis.

PARTICIPANTS
Patients ≤ 21 years old who were prescribed opioid medications after undergoing ambulatory surgery at a tertiary-care medical center.

METHODS
Postoperative day 1 (POD1) opioid prescription and use survey data along with electronic medical record data were extracted and analyzed for patients meeting inclusion criteria between April 2017 and December 2017.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Recommendation to take nonopioid analgesics after discharge.

RESULTS
A total of 849 (63.2 percent) patients responded to the survey and 275 (32.4 percent) of these cases were prescribed postoperative opioids. Of the 273 cases included in this study, 137 (50.2 percent) received recommendations to take at least one nonopioid analgesic as well, and 164 (60.1 percent) reported using their prescribed opioids on POD1. Opioid use did not vary significantly with nonopioid analgesic recommendations. There was significant variability in opioid and nonopioid analgesic prescribing and recommendation patterns across surgical subspecialties.

CONCLUSIONS
There was limited use of nonopioid analgesics in postoperative pain management plans after pediatric ambulatory surgery. This leaves many patients with only opioid-based agents as the first-line medication for postoperative pain management. These findings highlight an opportunity to educate prescribers and patients on the importance of step-wise multimodal analgesic plans.


Proposed methods of assessing the statistical significance of interobserver agreements provide erroneous probability values when conducted on serially correlated data. Investigators who wish to evaluate interobserver agreements by means of statistical significance can do so by limiting the analysis to every k(th) interval of data, or by using Markovian techniques which accommodate serial correlations.


An innovative Variable Stiffness Spar (VSS) approach is studied for the enhancement of aircraft roll performance. In this concept, some of the existing wing spars are replaced by the adaptive-structure VSS to control the stiffness as a function of Mach number and altitude to optimize the roll rate. The VSS mechanism consists a segmented spar having articulated joints at the connections with wing ribs and an electrical actuator capable of rotating the spar. The wing stiffness provided by the spar varies sinusoidally as a fimction of the rotation angle. The objective of the present study is to explore when and how to best apply this concept and assess its payoffs in terms of performance gains. F/A-IS Pre-Roll-Modification (PRM) aircraft is selected as the baseline aircraft for its low torsional wing stiffness and available flight data. The multidisciplinary design optimization software ASTROS* is utilized for performing the analyses in the Mach number range of M=O.S-1.2 at altitudes up to 35000 ft. The VSS stiffness scheduling is designed to maximize the roll rate while satisfying flutter, control surface hinge moment and maximum deflection constraints. Results show that VSS -can amplify the aeroelastic forces and significantly enhance roll performance of aircraft.


Thank you very much for reading an atlas of local group galaxies. Maybe you have knowledge that, people have search hundreds times for their favorite books like this an atlas of local group galaxies, but end up in harmful downloads. Rather than reading a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they cope with some malicious bugs inside their laptop. an atlas of local group galaxies is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Our book servers saves in multiple countries, allowing you to get the most less latency time to download any of our books like this one. Kindly say, the an atlas of local group galaxies is universally compatible with any devices to read.


Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA

Background: A role for estrogen in colon carcinogenesis is suggested by the lower incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in women than men; the protective effect of exogenous hormones on risk; and reduced levels of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) expression, the predominant ER in the colon, in cancerous compared to healthy colonic tissue. Nonetheless, the few cohort studies of endogenous hormones have not found reduced risks associated with circulating estradiol or estrone levels in postmenopausal women. We hypothesized that specific metabolites in the estrogen metabolic pathway may preferentially bind to and activate colonic ERβ, and analyzed a panel of 15 estrogen metabolites (EM), including estradiol and estrone, in a case-cohort study of CRC.

Methods: We prospectively followed 15,595 women enrolled in B∼FIT (Breast and Bone Follow-up to the Fracture Intervention Trial (FIT)) who had completed questionnaires and donated blood between 1992 and 1993 for incident CRC through December 2004. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, EM were measured in serum from 197 CRC cases and a subcohort of 491 women who were not using exogenous hormones at the time of blood draw. EM were examined individually, grouped by pathway (hydroxylation at the C-2, C-4, or C-16 positions of the steroid ring), and by ratios of the groupings. Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for clinical site and age (grouped in ten year intervals) were used to calculate quartile-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results: Significant risks were not observed for individual EM, and HR for quartiles of total EM (sum of all EM) were elevated but not significant (HRQ4 v Q1=1.23, 95% CI=0.8-2.0, ptrend=0.53). No associations were seen for estrone (HRQ4 v Q1=1.05, 95% CI=0.6-1.7) or estradiol (HRQ4 v Q1=0.90. 95% CI=0.5-1.5). When represented as a ratio to the parent estrogens (estrone and estradiol), risks of CRC for women with higher levels of 2-pathway EM or 4-pathway EM were reduced in each quartile, but neither HR nor trends were significant (ratio 2-pathway: parent, HRQ4 v Q1=0.88, 95 CI=0.6-1.4 ptrend=0.56; ratio 4-pathway: parent, HRQ4 v Q1=0.92, 95% CI=0.6, 1.5 ptrend=0.46).

Conclusions: Levels of circulating estrone and estradiol and their metabolites are not associated with CRC risk in the B∼FIT cohort.

Citation Format: Roni T. Falk, Cher M. Dallal, James V. Lacey, Douglas C. Bauer, Diana SM Buist, Jane A. Cauley, Trisha F. Hue, Andrea LaCroix, Jeffrey A. Tice, Ruth M. Pfeiffer, Xia Xu, Timothy D. Veenstra, Louise A. Brinton. Estrogen metabolites and colorectal cancer risk in postmenopausal women in the Breast and Bone Follow-up to the Fracture Intervention Trial (B∼FIT). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1603. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1603


Persons with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and related traits appear in many forensic psychiatry settings. Their clinical hallmarks affecting judgment, insight, impulsivity, motivations, and regulation of emotions, as well as their frequently chaotic lives (internal and external), inaccurate perceptions, rationalizations, and comorbid syndromes can have a marked effect on many civil, criminal, and institutional (eg, corrections) issues. Individuals with BPD are overrepresented in civil, criminal, and child custody forensic situations. The character psychopathology of these individuals is substantial, but is often not obvious to laypersons, including lawyers, judges, and jurors. The presence of BPD rarely affects basic responsibility for the person's actions, nor does it usually compromise most forms of competency. Function, not diagnosis, is the key arbiter of forensic relevance. BPD is associated with an increase in the likelihood of doctor-patient problems, including patient complaints and lawsuits that may not be deserved. Forensic professionals evaluating persons with BPD and related traits should be aware of personal and professional bias, particularly that associated with true countertransference.


Renal dose dopamine is prescribed worldwide for the prevention and treatment of acute renal failure. It's use is based on selective renal vasodilatation (induced at low doses) observed in animal studies and normal subjects. But most clinical studies have failed to demonstrate convincingly the benefit of low dose dopamine in acute renal failure. Moreover adverse effects of dopamine have been recognised warranting its use only in specific situations where benefit is proved. The available data on renal dose dopamine are either poor or statistically underpowered to draw conclusion. Therefore, a prospective, controlled trial with adequate patient number is required, to confirm the benefits.


The goal of a positioning strategy is to create a product-price position attractive to target customers and good source of cash  flow  for the business.  Product Positioning is at the core of every strong brand. A distinct and well - understood association exists between such a brand and its primary customer  benefit. How it will create differentiated value for targeted segments and what position it want to occupy  in those segments. Product positioning strategies are based on product differentiation, service differentiation and brand differentiation.  Total benefits derived from this positioning must be larger  than total cost of obtaining  these benefits. Customers are influence by the status of a brand name or by the assurance of a well-known company (Lexus & Mercedes have strong brand association with prestige or status). A strong brand enhances positive evaluation; maintain a high of product awareness & provides a consistent image or brand personality;


Volume selective proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) of the brain was performed on a 1.5T magnet in five patients with congenital muscular dystrophy (CMyD), 46 healthy children, and one healthy adult. Peaks of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho) and creatine (Cr) were observed in both patients and control groups on 1H-MRS, but lactate was not observed. 1H-MRS revealed an increase in the ratio of NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr, and a decrease in Cho/Cr ratio with age in control subjects. In patients with CMyD, the values of NAA/Cho ratio did not increase with age. The values of NAA/Cr ratio decreased with age. The values of Cho/Cr ratio decreased with age in both patient and control groups. At age more than 4 years, the values of NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr ratios were lower in patients with CMyD than in controls. The values of Cho/Cr ratio did not differ between CMyD and controls. These results suggest that in patients with CMyD, there is an NAA decrease and a developmental disorder of neurons in the brain.


Vitamin K deficiency bleeding cases in Thailand from 1963 to 1995 were extensively studied. From 1963 to 1987 there were 499 reported cases from 10 papers including 102 cases of the authors' series. From March 1994 to April 1996, two subsequent nationwide surveys were conducted where questionnaires were sent to 714 and 732 hospitals located throughout Thailand. The responding rate was 58.2% and 67% respectively. 331 cases were found during 1988 to 1995. The total number was 830 cases of which 799 were idiopathic vitamin K deficiency in infancy (IVKDI) and 31 were secondary types. IVKDI was found exclusively breast-fed infants (92%) who did not receive vitamin K prophylaxis at birth (90%). Bleeding and pallor were the common features. The occurrence of intracranial hemorrhage was strikingly high (82%); the fatality rates was 24%. However, the fatality rate among patients receiving either 1 mg of vitamin K, intramuscularly, (17%) or 2 mg, orally, (18%) were lower than those not receiving vitamin K prophylaxis (36%). The incidence of IVKDI significantly declined to 4.2-7.8 per 100,000 births between 1988 to 1995 which was in reverse proportion to the coverage of vitamin K prophylaxis (r = -0.94, p < 0.05).


Two contradictory results on the evolution of SO galaxies now exist in the recent literature; either S0s are old (z f ormation > 2) and are evoloving passively or most of them formed at z < 0.5, as implied by the deficit of S0s in intermediate redshift (z ∼ 0.5) clusters. The resolution of this controversy may be that the apparent deficit of S0s has been derived from a quantity – the E to S0 ratio – which is prone to morphological classification errors. Once all sources of error are taken into account, the E to S0 ratios of clusters at different redshifts are fully compatible, and no additional creation of S0s at z < 0.5 is required by the data. Furthermore, there is no deficit at all of S0s in the intermediate redshift cluster for which we have morphological types of very high quality, and thus derive an E to S0 ratio with a small error.


Within the next years, the amount of consumption data will increase rapidly as old meters will be exchanged in favor of meters with hourly remote reading. A new refined supervision system must be developed. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate mathematical methods that can be used to find incorrect hourly measurements in district heat and electricity consumption, for each consumer. A simulation model and a statistical model have been derived. The model parameters in the simulation model are estimated by using historical data of consumption and outdoor temperature. By using the outdoor temperature as input, the consumption can be simulated and compared to the actual consumption. Faults are detected by using a residual with a sliding window. The second model uses the fact that consumers with similar consumption patterns can be grouped into a collective. By studying the correlation between the consumers, incorrect measurements can be found. The performed simulations show that the simulation model is best suited for consumers whose consumption is mostly affected by the outdoor temperature. These consumers are district heat consumers and electricity consumers that use electricity for space heating. The fault detection performance of the statistical model is highly dependent on finding a collective that is well correlated. If these collectives can be found, the model can be used on district heat consumers as well as electricity consumers.


Final maturation of the oocyte in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles is achieved through the administration of a timed injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). The success of mature oocyte retrieval is dependent on serum concentrations of the hormone reaching values capable of initiating meiosis and triggering the release of the cumulus-oocyte complex into the follicular fluid. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to examine the effect of adiposity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), on serum concentrations of hCG and gonadotrophins and to relate this to IVF outcome. A comparison was also made between professionally and non-professionally administered hCG to assess any possible effect on cycle parameters. A total of 50 patients with a high BMI (≥ 26 kg m-2) who underwent IVF treatment at the Assisted Conception Unit, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, was recruited prospectively into the study. They were matched with 50 patients with a normal BMI (18–25 kg m-2) who acted as a control group. The two groups were matched for age (mean of 32 years and range of 22–42 years) and cause of infertility. Serum gonadotrophins, oestradiol and hCG concentrations, measured at the time of oocyte retrieval, and the clinical outcome of the two groups were compared. Patients with a high BMI had a significantly lower mean serum hCG concentration compared with controls (63.9 versus 99.6 iu l-1, P < 0.0003). They also required a higher dosage of gonadotrophin (3660 versus 3007 iu) to achieve follicular maturation than the controls. Similarly, the high BMI group of patients had higher serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (12.3 versus 11.2 iu l-1) and lower oestradiol (3499 versus 3506 pmol l-1) compared with controls. Patients with a high BMI had significantly fewer oocytes aspirated, resulting in a significant decrease in the oocyte:follicle ratio compared with controls (33.9 versus 41.7, P < 0.05). The fertilization rate (46.2 versus 61.3%, P < 0.05) and clinical pregnancy rate per cycle (26.6 versus 37.1%, P < 0.05) were also lower in the patients with high BMI compared with those with normal BMI. The administration of hCG by the patient or her partner did not have a significant effect on clinical outcome. The mean serum hCG at the time of oocyte recovery was equivalent in both groups (87.1 versus 89.7 iu l-1). Furthermore, the oocyte:follicle ratio (0.73 versus 0.72), fertilization rate (46.2 versus 54.2%) and clinical pregnancy rate (38.9 versus 36.5%) were similar. These findings indicate that high BMI is detrimental to the success of IVF treatment and has an important influence on the distribution and metabolism of hCG. The results also indicate that non-professional administration of hCG does not compromise cycle outcome.


BACKGROUND
Of all of the lower-extremity injuries with multifactorial causes, heel pain represents the most frequent reason for visits to health-care professionals. Managing patients with heel pain can be very difficult. The purpose of this research was to identify key variables that can influence foot health in patients with heel pain.

METHODS
A cross-sectional observational study was performed with 62 participants recruited from the Educational Welfare Unit of the University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain. Therapists, blinded for the study, acquired the anthropometric information and the Foot Posture Index, and participants completed the Foot Health Status Questionnaire.

RESULTS
The most significant results reveal that there is a moderate relationship between clinical variables such as footwear and Foot Health Status Questionnaire commands such as Shoe (r = 0.515; P < .001). The most significant model domain was General Health (P < .001), with the highest determination coefficient (beta not standard = 34.05). The most significant predictable variable was body mass index (-0.110).

CONCLUSIONS
The variables that can help us manage clinical patients with heel pain are age, body mass index, footwear, and Foot Posture Index (left foot).


PURPOSE
To evaluate the antitumor activity and toxicity of concurrent biochemotherapy that uses cisplatin, vinblastine, and docarbazine (DTIC) (CVD) in combination with interferon alfa-2a (IFN-alpha) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with metastatic melanoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Between October 1992 and October 1993, 53 patients with a documented diagnosis of metastatic melanoma with measurable lesions and an Eastern Oncology Cooperative Group (ECOG) performance status of 2 or less were enrolled onto this study. Patients were required to have no clinically significant cardiac dysfunction and to be free from symptomatic brain metastases. The treatment consisted of cisplatin 20 mg/m2 daily for 4 days; vinblastine 1.6 mg/m2 daily for 4 days; and DTIC 800 mg/m2 intravenously (i.v.) day 1 with IL-2 9 x 10(6) IU/m2 i.v. by continuous infusion daily for 4 days and IFN-alpha 5 x 10(6) U/m2 subcutaneously daily for 5 days, repeated at 21-day intervals. Response was assessed after two cycles and patients who responded were continued on treatment for a total of six cycles.

RESULTS
Among 53 assessable patients, 11 patients (21%) achieved a complete response (CR) and 23 patients (43%) achieved a partial response (PR), for an overall objective response rate of 64%. The median time to disease progression for all patients was 5 months. The median survival of all patients entered onto the trial was 11.8 months. Among the 11 patients who achieved a CR, five patients (9%) have remained in continuous CR for 50+ to 61+ months. The toxicity of biochemotherapy consisted of severe myelosuppression, significant nausea and vomiting, and moderately severe hypotension that required inpatient hospital care for each 5-day cycle of treatment. There were no treatment-related deaths.

CONCLUSION
Concurrent biochemotherapy for patients with advanced melanoma is capable of producing high CR and overall response rates and resulted in durable complete remissions in a small fraction of patients. Toxicity, although severe, was manageable in a routine inpatient hospital environment.


Multibeam bathymetry and magnetometer data from the Pitman fracture zone (FZ) permit construction of a plate motion history for the South Pacific over the past 65 million years. Reconstructions show that motion between the Antarctic and Bellingshausen plates was smaller than previously hypothesized and ended earlier, at chron C27 (61 million years ago). The fixed hot-spot hypothesis and published paleomagnetic data require additional motion elsewhere during the early Tertiary, either between East Antarctica and West Antarctica or between the North and South Pacific. A plate reorganization at chron C27 initiated the Pitman FZ and may have been responsible for the other right-stepping fracture zones along the ridge. An abrupt (8°) clockwise rotation in the abyssal hill fabric along the Pitman flowline near the young end of chron C3a (5.9 million years ago) dates the major change in Pacific-Antarctic relative motion in the late Neogene.


Facility pending is resulted from weak and baseless credibility measurement criteria, ineffective adopted policies, acceptance of risk regardless of the bank's capital constraints, and wrong performance indicators. Some banks settle the delayed debts and the past maturity of their customers by granting new facilities. This will not only lead to false increase in the statistics of granted facilities of their branches that is also considered as a credit for them, but also causes putting a lid on the true extent of the bank's claims. Hence, this research aims at identifying organizational factors influencing the bad debts at the Fund of Mehr Imam Reza (A.S) in Iran. The study population is all staff of Mehr Imam Reza (A.S) Fund in Hormozgan province. Since the population number (65 subjects) was limited, census method has been used to conduct the research. Required data have been extracted through field method using a structured interview based on the Delphi model. Results showed that among human resources, expert and unremitting personnel and trained human resources play the most important role. Among the organization strategies, lack of encouraging the creditworthy borrowers and the formation of Board of Directors with state managers are the most significant factors regard to the organization strategy. Lack of identified database that is accountable for borrowers and the lack of required tools for querying the status of the borrower and the borrower's financial ability are the most important factors related to the organization technology. Keywords: Human Resources-Organization Strategy - Organization Technology -Bad Debts.


Clinical, roentgenographic and pathologic findings in patients with chronic eosinophilic pneumonia, including 19 additional cases, have been reviewed and summarized. Most patients present with subacute respiratory and constitutional symptoms and have failed to respond to therapy for presumptive pneumonia. A previous history of atopy, most often asthma, will be obtained in one-half. Eosinophilia occurs in most cases and its absence may be the major indication for lung biopsy. Although pulmonary infiltrates are more often peripheral than not, the classic "photographic negative of pulmonary edema" is seen in less than one-third of cases. Pathologic findings include an intra-alveolar and interstitial infiltrate which comprises eosinophils, histiocytes, and exudate. Bronchiolitis obliterans and eosinophilic microabscesses occur less frequently. Open-lung biopsy is preferable when atypical features prevent a confident clinical diagnosis. The exquisite responsiveness of CEP to corticosteroids should encourage use of a therapeutic trial when there is a strong clinical suspicion of the disorder. The rapid clinical response should not deter the clinician from giving a prolonged course of treatment. The differential diagnosis includes other diseases characterized by PIE and the more recently recognized bronchiolitis obliterans and organizing pneumonia, a disorder which is also marked by peripheral pulmonary infiltrates.


This article focuses on the use of multi-agent systems for modelling of micro-unmanned aerial vehicles (MAVs) in a distributed control task. The task regards a search and destroy scenario in the context of security and urban counter-terrorism. In the simulations developed, a swarm composed of four autonomous flying robots, driven by an embodied neural network controller, has to approach a target deployed somewhere within the given environment. When close enough to the target, one of the aircraft needs to carry out a detonation in order to neutralize it. The controllers used by the MAVs evolve through a genetic algorithm. The preliminary results presented here demonstrate how the adaptive evolutionary approach can be successfully employed to develop controllers of this kind. The MAV swarms evolved in this way are in fact able to reach and hit the target, navigating through an obstacle-full environment. Further works on this model will focus on the development of a 3D physical simulator, in order to move towards the usage of MAVs with neural network controllers in real applicative urban scenarios.


Caliber-persistent artery (CPLA) of the lip is a common vascular anomaly in which a main arterial branch extends to the surface of the mucous tissue with no reduction in its diameter. It usually manifests as pulsatile papule, is easily misdiagnosed, and is observed more frequently among older people, suggesting that its development may involve a degenerative process associated with aging; CPLA is also characterized by the loss of tone of the adjacent supporting connective tissue. Although the diagnosis is clinical, high-resolution Doppler ultrasound is a useful noninvasive tool for evaluating the lesion. This report describes the case of a 58-year-old male patient who complained of a lesion of the lower lip with bleeding and recurrent ulceration. The patient was successfully treated in our hospital after a diagnosis of CPLA and is currently undergoing a clinical outpatient follow-up with no complaints.


The neutral to negative charge fluctuation of a hydrogen atom in front of a graphene surface is calculated by using the Anderson model within an infinite intra atomic Coulomb repulsion approximation. We perform an ab initio calculation of the Anderson hybridization function that allows investigation of the effect of quantum-mechanical interference related to the Berry phase inherent to the graphene band structure. We find that consideration of the interaction of hydrogen on top of many C atoms leads to a marked asymmetry of the imaginary part of the hybridization function with respect to the Fermi level. Consequently, Fano factors larger than one and strongly dependent on the energy around the Fermi level are predicted. Moreover, the suppression of the hybridization for energies above the Fermi level can explain the unexpected large negative ion formation measured in the scattering of protons by graphite-like surfaces.


Abstract. Wake meandering is a low-frequency oscillation of the entire wind turbine wake that can contribute to power and load fluctuations of downstream turbines in wind farms. Field measurements of two Doppler LiDARs mounted on the nacelle of a utility-scale wind turbine were used to investigate relationships between the inflow and the wake meandering as well as the effect of wake meandering on the temporally averaged wake. A correlation analysis showed a linear relationship between the instantaneous wake position and the lateral velocity that degraded with the evolution of the turbulent wind field during the time of downstream advection. A low-pass filter proportional to the advection time delay is recommended to remove small scales that become decorrelated even for distances within the typical spacing of wind turbine rows in a wind farm. The results also showed that the velocity at which wake meandering is transported downstream was slower than the inflow wind speed, but faster than the velocity at the wake center. This indicates that the modelling assumption of the wake as an passive scalar should be revised in the context of the downstream advection. Further, the strength of wake meandering increased linearly with the turbulence intensity of the lateral velocity and with the downstream distance. Wake meandering reduced the maximum velocity deficit of the temporally averaged wake and increased its width. Both effects scaled with the wake meandering strength. Lastly, we found that the fraction of the wake turbulence intensity that was caused by wake meandering decreased with downstream distance contrary to the wake meandering strength.


Federal budget expenditures in regions are not reduced to intergovernmental fiscal transfers to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. A significant part of the federal budget is spent directly in regions to support the expenditure commitments of the Russian Federation. The study aims to describe inter-territorial redistribution of financial resources and assess the contribution of the federal budget to regional per capita consumption by analysing data on 76 Russian constituent entities for 2016-2019. The article ranks regions according to the indicators of the federal budget per capita, estimates the ratio of federal and regional budgetary resources and tests the hypothesis about the impact of federal expenditures on regional per capita consumption. The following negative effects and trends were identified. Regions receive significantly less federal funds than the federal budget; the number of constituent entities with federal budget surplus increased. The regional inequality in terms of the federal budget execution indicators is growing: the gap between the maximum and minimum values of federal budget revenues per capita by region increased from 62 to 74 times; the gap between per capita expenditures is about 6 times. The disincentive effect of redistribution is strengthening due to increased withdrawals of income generated in donor regions and reduced spending of federal resources in recipient regions. Federal budget expenditures amplify the inequality in regional per capita consumption. Maximum and minimum specific values of the total federal and regional budget expenditures in regions differ by more than 10 times. The identified effects lead to an increase in regional inequality in the Russian Federation. According to the research results, intergovernmental redistribution mechanisms should be improved taking into account direct federal budget expenditures in regions.


In the world of public policy, waves of innovations and new policy developments are usually followed by movements of rationalisation. Most policy domains, in the EU as elsewhere, progressively become institutionalised, a sedimentation of institutions and policy instruments progressively creating a mille feuilles within which contradictions take place, hence the drive in due course either to add another layer, to change the institution or to create new instruments to rationalise existing ones (...).


EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Achievement Gains; *Autoinstructional Aids; Control Groups; Criterion Referenced Tests; Data Collection; Evaluation Methods; Experimental Groups; Field Studies; *Flowcharts; *Formative Evaluation; Lesson Plans; Material Development; *Models; *Multimedia Instruction; Questionnaires; Research Methodology; Statistical Analysis; Student Attitudes; Tables (Data) ; Testing IDENTIFIERS MK II Model; MK I Model


Transmission gratings of holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystals (HPDLCs) have been designed and fabricated based on partial fluorination of the polymer matrix using three types of fluorinated monomers carrying different numbers of fluorine atoms and structures, viz. 2-(perfluoroalkyl)ethyl methacrylate (PFEMA), 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate (TFEMA), and 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl acrylate (TFEA). Addition of fluorinated monomer gave long saturation time, increased off state diffraction efficiency, small anchoring strength and driving voltage. Anchoring strength and driving voltage of methacrylate monomers (PFEMA and TFEMA) were lower than that of TFEA, implying that the fluorine segments of these monomers are preferentially exposed to the interfaces. HPDLC film having low driving voltage and response time of below 10ms has been fabricated with 20wt% PFEMA at 40wt% LC.


Seven cultivars of lima bean were screened for resistance/susceptibility to Meloidogyne incognita Race 1 from Nsukka. Only one cultivar (Acc 2405 C) was resistant to the pathotype. Results with other races of M. incognita may not necessarily be identical.


We present a mathematical theory of dynamical fluctuations for the hard sphere gas in the Boltzmann-Grad limit. We prove that: (1) fluctuations of the empirical measure from the solution of the Boltzmann equation, scaled with the square root of the average number of particles, converge to a Gaussian process driven by the fluctuating Boltzmann equation, as predicted in [42]; (2) large deviations are exponentially small in the average number of particles and are characterized, under regularity assumptions, by a large deviation functional as previously obtained in [38] in a context of stochastic processes. The results are valid away from thermal equilibrium, but only for short times. Our strategy is based on uniform a priori bounds on the cumulant generating function, characterizing the fine structure of the small correlations.


The present study was conducted in Al-Diwaniya Teaching Hospital ENT department at the period from November 2013 to March 2014 One hundred adult patients clinically presented with chronic sinusitis were selected for this study , swabs were taken from middle meatus by special designed swab under endoscopic guidance from both patients and controls(50 healthy individuals)to identify the causative microorganisms of sinusitis. It was found that from 100 patients, only 10% have no growth while 90% yielded growth of various microorganisms of which the most common pathogens were Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus pneumoniae ,Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. The immunological investigations (IgG, IgM, IgA, C 3 & C 4 ) revealed that 99 patients were immune competent while (3) patients showed some immune defect .


Surgical site infections (SSIs) are common postoperative complications. Surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) can prevent the occurrence of SSIs if administered appropriately. We carried out a retrospective cohort study to determine the incidence of SSIs and assess whether SAP were administered according to WHO guidelines for Caesarean section (CS) and herniorrhaphy patients in Bo regional government hospital from November 2019 to October 2020. The analysis included 681 patients (599 CSs and 82 herniorrhaphies). Overall, the SSI rate was 6.7% among all patients, and 7.5% and 1.2% among CS patients and herniorrhaphy patients, respectively. SAP was administered preoperatively in 85% of CS and 70% of herniorrhaphy patients. Postoperative antibiotics were prescribed to 85% of CS and 100% of herniorrhaphy patients. Ampicillin, metronidazole, and amoxicillin were the most commonly used antibiotics. The relatively low rate of SSIs observed in this study is probably due to improved infection prevention and control (IPC) measures following the Ebola outbreak and the current COVID-19 pandemic. A good compliance rate with WHO guidelines for preoperative SAP was observed. However, there was a high use of postoperative antibiotics, which is not in line with WHO guidelines. Recommendations were made to ensure the appropriate administration of SAP and reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics.


As argued by Hlavova (2015), many of the developing countries are rich in minerals and at the same time one of the least developed due to over dependence on one sector as major source of revenue. For rapid development in Nigeria, there is the need to move from the mono-based approach and tap into the huge opportunities available in solid mineral development. The fundamental objective of this study is to predict the effects of economic diversification on solid mineral development in the attainment of sustainable development. Adopting multiple linear regression model, empirical findings are indicative that solid mineral development would be of immense benefit to the diversification of Nigerian economy in the area of employment creation, infrastructural development and improved internally generated revenue. This will however be impossible if the right policies are not in place and vigorously pursued.


The Lanham Act proscribes the registration of trademarks that consist of disparaging matter. In In re Tam, the Federal Circuit declared the disparagement bar to be unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court will review this decision. The fate of the disparagement bar is an urgent issue, for it is the basis of the effort to cancel trademark registrations belonging to the Washington football team.This essay argues that the debate over the disparagement bar's constitutionality is falsely cast as a conflict between principles of free expression and anti-discrimination to which trademark doctrine is an afterthought. This framing reinforces the perception that the disparagement bar is a form of viewpoint discrimination, for it treats the bar as disconnected from the traditional goals and mechanisms of trademark law. In fact, the disparagement bar implicates more mundane issues of trademark policy that deserve fuller consideration than offered by In re Tam. Whatever the ability of the First Amendment to accommodate anti-discrimination policies external to trademark law, the disparagement bar also reflects principles internal to trademark law. More specifically, the disparagement bar manifests the traditional trademark policy that insists that would-be marks do a good job of performing the trademark function of source identification. Disparaging marks are just one of several categories of potential identifiers that fail this test. They may be excluded on that basis, without regard to the viewpoint embodied by any particular disparaging mark.


Abstract The ultimate aim of this essay is to suggest that conscience is a very important part of human psychology and of our moral point of view, not something that can be dismissed as merely 'a part of Christian theology'. The essay begins with discussions of what might be regarded as the two most influential functional models of conscience, the classical Christian account of conscience and the Freudian account of conscience. Then, using some insights from these models, and from some comparatively recent work in psychology and especially psychiatry, the author argues for a quite different model of conscience that might be called the personal integrity account of conscience.


Thermal infrared (TIR) imaging is recognized as the most efficient technique for the study of skin temperature distribution. In specific diseases, characteristic changes can be measured from target anatomical sites. In this way, objective noninvasive investigations can be of diagnostic value. TIR imaging of the breast for breast cancer risk assessment is an example. Although TIR imaging possesses the advantages of being noninvasive, risk free, and considerably less expensive, it suffers the disadvantage of a lack of resolution due to blur compounded by rather high levels of noise. A maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) image restoration philosophy is proposed to solve this problem of resolution. The objective is three-fold: to increase the resolution of the measured image by using a type of 2:1 zooming; to remove the noise; and simultaneously to preserve the detail of features, including, in particular, the sharpness of edges.


Scarabaeinae dung beetle activity is strongly influenced by rainfall seasonality. Rainfall affects the quality and quantity of dung available, affects reproductive performance and triggers emergence and activity indung beetles. Effects of rainfall seasonality oncommunity attributes of dung beetles such as abundance, species richness and diversity in a forest in South Western Ghats was studied. Dung beetles were collected using cow dung baited pitfall traps during the southwest monsoon, northeast monsoon and summer season from the forest habitat. Though abundance was highest during the heavy rainy periods of southwest monsoon season, favoring the two dominant species Onthophaguspacificus and O. furcillifer, species richness and diversity was higher during the moderate rainy periods of northeast monsoon. The heavy rains ofsouthwest monsoon season may not be favorable to some of the species, especially of the roller and dweller guild as the rains maintain the dung in a fluid state which makes dung ball rolling and dwelling a difficult task to perform.This was observed by the absence of the roller, Sisyphus araneolus and dweller Tibiodrepanussetosus during the southwest monsoon season. Favorable microclimatic conditions and availability of abundant trophic resourceduring the moderate rainy periods of northeast monsoon season in the forest led to the high species richness and diversity in that season. Keywords— Scarabaeinae, dung beetles, South Western Ghats, forest, rainfall seasonality.


We present an inverse scattering approach for the bulk electromagnetic characterization of composite materials, based on a prior proof that artificial metallo-dielectric photonic crystals can be described by effective highly resonant response functions in a wide frequency range, including several passbands/bandgaps. The method becomes complete and unambiguous at high frequencies by employing the analytic continuation of the optical path length and a consistency criterion to ascertain the physical meaning of the extracted effective parameters. It may also be used as a fast simulator or as a measurement-based predictor of the performance of multilayered structures using the scattering matrix (simulated or measured) of a single monolayer of that material. The approach is applied for the characterization of metamorphic materials, which are recently introduced artificial structures that exhibit distinct macroscopic states of behavior as far as the reflected electromagnetic field is concerned. According to interconnect topologies of their scatterers, they appear, at a single frequency, as electric conductors, absorbers, amplifiers, and passive or active magnetic conductors. Detailed evaluations are given of the complex dispersive wave impedance, refractive index, and permittivity and permeability functions for each metamorphic state of a specific three-state metamorphic material. It is found that, as a rule, the electric and magnetic wall states are related to resonant permittivity and permeability values, respectively. Furthermore, the analysis reveals broad regions with negative values of permittivity or permeability. Both resonant and negative values of epsiveff, mueff occur within bandgaps or at band-edges. Finally, the approach is applied to the negative refractive index metamaterial composed of a cylinder and two split-ring resonators, which reveals the existence of a high-frequency band with negative group velocity


Cryogenically cooled diode-pumped solid-state lasers have gained significant attention among laser community for power scaling along with excellent spatial beam quality. This is due to the suppression of thermo-optic distortions and enhancement in spectroscopic properties of the laser material at such low temperatures [1]. To date, to develop lasers of this kind, Yb:YAG was mainly used as the active material because of ease of availability in the market and ease of pumping using commercially available laser diodes. One of the cubic sesquioxides, Yb3+ doped Y2O3 in ceramic form is a promising material for high-power solid state lasers because of its superior thermal, mechanical and optical properties compared to that of Yb:YAG [2]. Here we report the laser performance of Yb:Y2O3 transparent ceramic at cryogenic temperatures using a VBG stabilized laser diode as a pump source.


Because of the added advantages of the new penlight lamp with its new style solid glass bulb which renders a concentrated beam of light, I have found it useful to construct a magnifying lens attachment which would enlarge its scope beyond that for which it was intended. For this I have devised a simple unit consisting of a collar through which the flashlight can be easily slipped, a connecting bracket and a lens mount which has incorporated in it a 6 × double aplanatic lens. This attachment fits firmly around the battery handle. The lens is so tilted that its focal point meets the beam of light. The entire unit is firm and light and, moreover, breakage of the flashlight, as so frequently happens, permits the attachment to be readily transferred to a new lamp with little additional cost. The bracket is firm and inflexible.


ZN2+ co-released with glutamate at excitatory synaptic sites can enter and cause injury to postsynaptic neurons. While prior studies using the slowly desensitizing agonist kainate suggested preferential Zn2+ permeation through Ca2+ permeable AMPA/kainate (Ca-A/K) channels, the present study aims to assess relevance of those findings upon more physiological receptor activation. Microfluorimetric techniques were used to measure [Zn2+]i attained upon exposure to the rapidly desensitizing agonist AMPA or to the physiological agonist glutamate, in the presence of 300 microM Zn2+. Under these conditions, micromolar [Zn2+]i rises (delta[Zn2+]i) were still observed to occur selectively in the subset of neurons that express large numbers of Ca-A/ K channels. Further studies using the oxidation sensitive dye, hydroethidine, revealed Zn2+-dependent reactive oxygen species generation that paralleled delta[Zn2+]i, with rapid oxidation only observed in the case of Zn2+ entry through Ca-A/K channels.


The abundance, distribution and status of baobabs (Adansonia digitata L.) in three land categories namely, (i) plains, (ii) riverine and rocky outcrops, and (iii) development areas, in southern Gonarezhou National Park (GNP), southeast Zimbabwe, were determined. Baobabs were sampled between April and August 2010 using transects along existing roads and the Mwenezi River. Height, basal circumference and elephant damage for each baobab tree was measured. A total of 117 baobabs were sampled using 17 transects with a combined length of 238 km. Mean baobab density was significantly higher in the development areas as compared to the plains, riverine and rocky outcrops. However, there were no significant differences in mean diameter at breast height and height for baobab trees across the three land categories. Elephants and possibly fire among other factors may be influencing baobab structure, abundance and distribution in southern GNP. Baobab densities in southern GNP do not seem to indicate that baobabs are in danger of extirpation.


The German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Flight Systems has developed a demonstrator for enhanced autonomous technologies. Safe operation in civilian airspace of the small scale autonomous helicopter is a long term research aim. The use of low cost micro sensors in ARTIS (Autonomous Rotorcraft Test bed for Intelligent Systems) and the high level of noise make intelligent data fusion a mandatory requirement for health monitoring. In this paper model based magnetometer failure detection for ARTIS is implemented and investigated. Commonly encountered sensor failures are emulated using simulated and real magnetometer data. Failure detection is achieved by residual monitoring. The health monitoring utilizes the model based redundancies present in the established flight path reconstruction model, which is based on two sequential Extended Kalman filter. The results indicate the feasibility of the methodology for this type of rotorcraft vehicle. The work suggests that fusion of additional vision sensor data would not only provide an excellent reconfiguration strategy but also enhance the detection of small magnetometer drift failure types.


The effect of extracellular calcium on isolated uterine muscle contractions stimulated by acetone leaf extract of Anogeissus leiocarpa was investigated in a rat. About 12 m segment of the uterine muscle strip was mounted initially in a thermostatically regulated organ bath (37°C) containing normal Physiological Salt Solution (PSS; De Jalon) and later inphysiological salt solution devoid of CaCl2. The extract contracted the uterine muscle preparation in a concentration-related manner in normal PSS, with 0.53 mg/ml as the lowest active concentration. This contractile response was abolished by the calcium channel blocker, verapamil HCl (2 µg/ml). The extract however, did not evoke any contractile activity on the isolated tissue in a calcium-free media (PSS), even when caffeine (2 mmol) known to release calcium via the calcium induced-calcium release (CICR) mechanism was added to the perfusate. The results demonstrated the requirement for extracellular calcium for the extract mediated contractions and the inability of the extract to access calcium from intracellular storage sites such as the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the mitochondria. Therefore, the influx of Ca2+ into the cell cytosol is a pre-requisite for the extract-mediated uterine muscle contraction.

 Key word: Anogeissus leiocarpa, thermostatically organ bath, verapamil, caffeine, uterus.


BACKGROUND
Previous studies focused on the dental caries status of East African children and not on their overall dental needs. Urban children consume more sugar-rich foods.

OBJECTIVES
To assess overall dental treatment needs of children living in an orphanage in Uganda.

STUDY DESIGN
Teeth were diagnosed as needing treatment by obvious frank carious lesions (WHO criteria), temporary fillings, staining, or very deep pit and/or fissures possibly requiring sealants. Calculus or crowding in the mandibular anterior region and evidence of tooth fractures were recorded, as were signs of wear on the mandibular molars and canines and the maxillary incisors.

RESULTS
Most of the primary teeth (64%) required no dental treatment, but almost all (98%) of the permanent teeth did. A mean (±standard deviation) of 4.81±1.92 permanent teeth required treatment. The mean number of missing teeth was 0.47. Thirty-one children (20.2%) had crowding, 52 (34%) had calculus, and 49 (32%) had signs of attrition on primary and permanent molar teeth (45 enamel only and 4 enamel and dentin).

CONCLUSIONS
Most of the primary teeth required no dental treatment, while the vast majority of permanent teeth did, possibly in association with high sugar cane consumption and poor brushing habits among older children.


This paper presents a novel low-complexity sequential, blind, pilot-assisted estimator for the sampling frequency offset (SFO) and the carrier frequency offset (CFO), for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) communications. The proposed algorithm processes the received subcarriers to obtain a cost function which depends only on a single unknown parameter at a time, either the SFO or the CFO, as well as on a specifically designed auxiliary parameter, while ignoring the noise. Then, by computing the cost function at a few selected values of the auxiliary parameter, an explicit estimator for each unknown parameter is derived, thereby avoiding the need for a search. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such a deterministic approach is applied to the joint estimation of the SFO and the CFO. Moreover, the proposed estimator does not require knowledge of the channel coefficients at the pilot subcarriers, and achieves good performance with a relatively small number of pilot symbols, which results in a low computational complexity. Simulation results show that at low computational complexity, there are many scenarios in which the new estimator achieves smaller estimation errors compared to other existing methods.


Background: Since the World Health Organization declared coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on March 11, 2020, the tremendous strain on ill-prepared healthcare services affected the management of patients suffering from various comorbidities and added to the psychological burden. The study aimed to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of pediatric Hematology/Oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic as a reflection of the quality of health care services and to assess anxiety levels and its impact on HRQoL. Methods: a cross-sectional study of 292 Egyptian children between 2.5 - 13 years with chronic hematological/oncological disorders categorized as bleeding/coagulation disorders, transfusion-dependent patients, and patients receiving chemotherapy. Validated Arabic versions of Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scale and Spence Children's Anxiety Scale were used for assessment of HRQoL and anxiety, respectively. Results: the mean age was 8.72 ± 3.66 years, 52.4% were males and 65.4% were transfusion-dependent patients. Almost 60% of children were aware of the pandemic and 60.3% had blood transfusion difficulties. Males had significantly lower anxiety levels than females (p < 0.001), and transfusion-dependent patients also had significantly lower anxiety levels than patients receiving chemotherapy (p < 0.001). Children who were aware of the COVID-19 pandemic had lower anxiety levels than those who were not (p = 0.006), while those suffering from fewer clinic days had higher anxiety levels (p = 0.02). Several factors have been shown to affect the HRQoL in the three patients' categories and anxiety significantly reduced the three HRQoL domains (p < 0.001). The overall emotional functioning score was better than the physical and social aspects. Conclusion: This study highlights the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety level and hence the HRQoL of chronic hematological/oncological pediatric patients as a crucial step in guiding policies and interventions to maintain their psychological wellbeing.


We have observed evidence of the emission of energetic He-and H-like ions of fluorine more than 1 MeV produced via the optical field ionization (OFI) from a solid target irradiated by an intense I=(2-4)x10(18) W/cm(2) (60 fs, lambda=800 nm), obliquely incident p-polarized pulse laser. The measured blue wing of He(alpha), He(beta), and Ly(alpha) lines of fluorine shows a feature of the Doppler-shifted spectrum due to the self-similar ion expansion dominated by superthermal electrons with the temperature T(h) approximately 100 keV. Using a collisional particle-in-cell simulation, which incorporates the nonlocal-thermodynamic-equilibrium ionization including OFI, we have obtained the plasma temperature, line shape, and maximal energy of accelerated ions, which agree well with those determined from the experimental spectra. The red wing of ion spectra gives the temperature of bulk plasma electrons.


A lifelong Tory but a man of few fixed convictions, the author of the most dramatic austerity programme this country has seen since the war, the most aristocratic member of an unusually privileged government and a ferociously ambitious moderniser with aspirations for the premiership, George Osborne is perhaps the most modern and metropolitan figure in British public life. This is the story of Osborne and the era he helped to shape. The Age of Osborne charts the mixture of rare brilliance, deadly opportunism and extraordinary good fortune that propelled his vertiginous ascent through British politics, from journalist fresh out of university to the youngest Chancellor in over a century. In doing so, it paints a portrait of that rare thing in the coalition government: a compelling character. New Labour teemed with big, complicated personalities, such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson. By contrast, the coalition's dramatis personae contain a surfeit of blandly well-rounded types, including David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Osborne is an exception, and yet the public only have the faintest sense of the man. His story is the story of the past two decades of British politics, from the revival of the Tories to the reformation of the state.


The objective of the current research was to investigate the pattern of subcutaneous adipose tissue growth during Peking duck (Anas platyrhynchos) early development and to determine the reasons for regional differences. The morphological characteristics in 5 regions of subcutaneous tissue, including the neck area (NSF), chest area (CSF), lower abdomen area (ASF), back area (BSF), and leg area (LSF), were analyzed by comparing the morphology of the sections, adipocyte volume and number, and lipid content from wk 1 to 8. Moreover, the mRNA expression of several molecular marker genes, including 47-kDa tail interacting protein (TIP47), adipose differentiation-related protein (ADRP), and perilipin, were detected from wk 1 to 8 using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results revealed that the average cell number declined greatly as fattening proceeded (except in the NSF) and changed very little after wk 4 in all 5 regions. In contrast, the average cell volume and triglyceride content per cell increased gradually during early duck growth. The BSF and LSF lipid content had a different pattern of change than the other regions. The NSF, CSF, and ASF regions had the highest lipid content values at all stages, the BSF was intermediate, and the LSF was the lowest at all weeks except wk 3. The highest TIP47 expression level was found in the NSF from wk 1 to 2 and BSF at wk 1. The relative expression level of TIP47 was higher in the CSF than in the ASF and BSF at wk 4, and was higher in the NSF than in the ASF at wk 6. The highest levels of ADRP and perilipin were detected in the LSF. These results suggest that a combination of adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy is mainly responsible for the development of duck adipose tissue before wk 4, after which adipose expansion is accomplished by adipocyte hypertrophy only. Adipocyte hyperplastic and hypertrophic capacity, fat storage capacity, and metabolic activity may be partial explanations for the regional differences during duck growth.


Mechanized cultivation plays a significant role in food production of Bangladesh. Now a day, the mechanization is increasing in such a manner which is very much able to acquire the food production requirement easily but the increasing population and decreasing rate of cultivable land daunting the food sufficiency in the future, which leads us to accomplish the study about finding out the current status of mechanization. A study was conducted in the Sylhet region as an undergraduate project work in the Department of Farm Power and Machinery, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet. The objective was to determine the present status of the adopted agricultural machinery and make a comparison of the machinery used in different upazilas of Sylhet. The Upazila agricultural office and the local farmers provided the data for the year of 2016-2017. On the basis of supplied data, it was found that the Osmaninagar Upazila of Sylhet district has the most number of machinery as well as 3 639 in number and the lowest, 997 pieces of machinery owned by Jaintapur Upazila. On the cumulative measurement, Low Lift Pump(LLP) used in the highest number, which is 9 225 but seeder, bed planter and hand reaper are adopted in less than 5 in Sylhet district. Significant use of sprayer occurs in Sylhet Upazila, which is 2 306 in quantity. Among 13 combine harvester, Golapganj and zakiganj upazila use 02 in quantity respectively. The cultivable area of each Upazila and the number of machinery indicates that Biswanath upazila belongs most machinery per square kilometer as 29.731 and the lowest is 6.358 per square kilometer in Gowainghat Upazila. Among 13 Upazilas Sylhet, Biswanath, Fenchuganj, Biyanibazar has over 20 pieces of machinery per square kilometer, which is exactly 21.901, 29.731, 23.544, and 21.031 respectively. In this regard, developed machinery is required in this district to update the mechanization status. With a proper extension program and good promotion about this less available machinery, the superstition can be broken and the mechanization can be sustainable.


Bluetooth (BT) technology through its considerable functionality and flexibility is incorporated inmany modern personal electronic devices, offering reliable and sufficient wireless connectivity. On the other hand, the new generation of cellular communication systems while providing wide coverage and mobility are unable to offer a cost effective interconnection of so many personal devices. Web browsing, e-mail, chat, gaming, voice and video are just a part of the services inquired from the modern communication systems. Here web-browsing performance of BT enabled devices is treated through analytical, numerical and simulation analysis. The foreseen scenarios assume that a personal device (PDA, Laptop) is connected to Internet through phone or WLAN, using BT as a connecting technology. For the purpose of the examination, a new generic simulation-based analysis and precise performance evaluation method is introduced. The method uses the formal language representation of the analyzed protocol specification, hereafter called behavior model. The behavior model code obtained from the IEEE 802.15 standardization committee has been assimilated and upgraded into a novel, comprehensive and standalone Specification and Description Language (SDL) - based simulator. A WWW traffic generator was created in accordance with the 3GPP specifications. The Bluetooth protocol performance was assessed in network scenarios with different traffic amounts and characteristics. This new concept is flexible and  versatile, and can be easily performed for any other kind of traffic, or any other communication standard. The analysis show that the simulation-based results match with the analytical and numerical calculated values, remarkably.


Direct evidence about the effects of antihypertensive treatment on vascular disease in older patients is available from five randomized trials conducted exclusively in patients over the age of 60 years. These trials involved a total of 12,483 individuals with systolic or diastolic hypertension (mean age = 72 years, mean entry blood pressure = 181/88 mmHg). Over an average follow-up period of 4.7 years, a 15/6 mmHg difference in blood pressure between study and control groups was achieved. Among those patients assigned active treatment, stroke incidence was reduced by 34% SD6 and coronary heart disease incidence was reduced by 19% SD7. These proportional reductions were of similar size to those observed in trials in predominantly younger patients. However, the absolute benefits observed in older patients were more than twice as great as those observed in younger patients. The results suggest that over 10 years, treatment would prevent at least one major vascular event among every 10 elderly patients at similar risk to those enrolled in the trials.


As artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies disrupt a wide range of industries, cloud datacenters face ever-increasing demand in inference workloads. However, conventional CPU-based servers cannot handle excessive computational requirements of deep neural network (DNN) models, while GPU-based servers suffer from huge power consumption and high operating cost. In this paper, we present a scalable systolic-vector architecture that can cope with dynamically changing DNN workloads in cloud datacenters. We first devise a lightweight DNN model description format called unified model format (UMF) that enables general model representation and fast decoding in hardware accelerator. Based on this model format, we propose a heterogeneous architecture that features a load balancer that performs a high-level workload distribution and multiple systolic-vector clusters, in which each cluster consists of a programmable scheduler, throughput-oriented systolic arrays, and function-oriented vector processors. We also propose a heterogeneity-aware scheduling algorithm that enables concurrent execution of multiple DNN workloads while maximizing heterogeneous hardware utilization based on computation and memory access time estimation. Finally, we build an architecture simulation framework based on actual synthesis and place-and-route implementation results and conduct design space exploration for the proposed architecture. As a result, the proposed systolic-vector architecture achieves 10.9x higher throughput performance and 30.17x higher energy efficiency than a compatible GPU on realistic ML workloads. The proposed heterogeneity-aware scheduling algorithm improves the throughput and energy efficiency by 81% and 20%, respectively, compared to a standard round-robin scheduling.