Diffusion-Weighted Imaging (DWI) is a Magnetic Resonance(MR) technique that measures water diffusion characteristics in tissue for a given direction. The diffusion profile in a specific location can be obtained by combining the DWI measurements of different directions. The diffusion profile gives information about the underlying fibrous structure, e.g., in human brain white matter, based on the assumption that water molecules are moving less freely perpendicularly to the fibrous structure. From the DW-MRI measurements often a positive definite second-order tensor is defined, the so-called diffusion tensor (DT). Neuroscientists have begun using diffusion tensor images (DTI) to study a host of various disorders and neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson, Alzheimer and Huntington. The techniques for reconstructing the fiber tracts based on diffusion profiles are known as tractography or fiber tracking. There are several ways to extract fibers from the raw diffusion data. In this thesis, we explain and apply geodesic-based tractography techniques specifically, where the assumption is that fibers follow the most efficient diffusion propagation paths. A Riemannian manifold is defined using as metric the inverse of the diffusion tensor. A shortest path in this manifold is one with the strongest diffusion along this path. Therefore geodesics (i.e., shortest paths) on this manifold follow the most efficient diffusion paths. The geodesics are often computed from the stationary Hamilton-Jacobi equation (HJ). One characteristic of solving the HJ equation is that it gives only the single-valued viscosity solution corresponding to the minimizer of the length functional. It is also well known that the solution of the HJ equation can develop discontinuities in the gradient space, i.e., cusps. Cusps occur when the correct solution should become multi-valued. HJ methods are not able to handle this situation. To solve this, we developed a multi-valued solution algorithm for geodesic tractography in a metric space defined by given by diffusion tensor imaging data. The algorithm can capture all possible geodesics arriving at a single voxel instead of only computing the first arrival. Our algorithm gives the possibility of applying different cost functions in a fast post-processing. Moreover, the algorithm can be used for capturing possible multi-path connections between two points. In this thesis, we first focus on the mathematical and numerical model for analytic and synthetic fields in twodimensional domains. Later, we present the algorithm in three-dimensions with examples of synthetic and brain data. Despite the simplicity of the DTI model, the tractography techniques using DT are shown to be very promising to reveal the structure of brain white matter. However, DTI assumes that each voxel contains fibers with only one main orientation and it is known that brain white matter has multiple fiber orientations, which can be arbitrary many in arbitrary directions. Recently, High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) acquisition and its modeling techniques have been developed to overcome this limitation. As a next contribution we propose an extension of the multi-valued geodesic algorithm to HARDI data. First we introduce the mathematical model for more complex geometries using Finsler geometry. Next, we propose, justify and exploit the numerical methods for computing the multi-valued solution of these equations.


Geographic subspecies of several ithomiine butterflies on the lower east Andean slopes display a black and orange "melanic tiger" aposematic wing pattern that occurs from Colombia to Bolivia, while geographically adjacent lowland subspecies typically bear a coloured, "tiger" pattern. However, it is not clear whether subspecies with similar wing patterns in different regions have arisen through independent events of convergent adaptation, possibly through parapatric differentiation, or result from allo- patric differentiation, as proposed by the refuge hypothesis. Here, we examine geographic patterns of divergence in the widespread and common ithomiine butterfly Hyposcada anchiala. We present phylogenetic hypotheses for 5 subspecies of H. anchiala, based on 1567 bp mitochondrial DNA. All topologies indicated that a single switch in mimetic pattern best explained the wing patterning of the H. anchiala studied here. This finding suggests that the subspecies of H. anchiala studied here result from at least two stages of differentiation, and is consistent with a single colonisation into a novel altitudinal zone coincident with a wing pattern switch, fol- lowed by subsequent divergence within, rather than across altitudinal zones. The subspecies divergences indicated diversifications were consistent with the Pleistocene. Furthermore, the lowland subspecies were more recently derived than the montane taxa, in con- trast to predictions of the "Andean species pump" hypothesis.


Radial modes, nS0, are long-period oscillations that describe the radial expansion and contraction of the whole Earth. They are characterized only by their centre frequency and quality factor Q, and provide crucial information about the 1-D structure of the Earth. Radial modes were last measured more than a decade ago using only one or two earthquakes. Here, we measure radial modes using 16 of the strongest and deepest earthquakes of the last two decades. By introducing more earthquake data into our measurements, we improve our knowledge of 1-D attenuation, as we remove potential earthquake bias from our results. For mode 0S0, which is dominated by compressional energy, we measure a Q value of 5982, much higher than previously measured, and requiring less bulk attenuation in the Earth than previously thought. We also show that radial modes cross-couple (resonate) strongly to their nearest spheroidal mode due to ellipticity and inner core cylindrical anisotropy. Cross-coupling improves the fit between data and synthetics, and gives better estimates of the centre frequency and attenuation value of the radial modes. Including cross-coupling in our measurements results in a systematic shift of the centre frequencies of radial modes towards the Preliminary Reference Earth Model. This shift in centre frequencies, has implications for the strength of the radial anisotropy present in the uppermost inner core, with our cross-coupling results agreeing with lower values of anisotropy than the ones inferred from just measuring the modes in self-coupling (isolation). Furthermore, cross-coupling between radial modes and angular-order two modes provides constraints on cylindrical inner core anisotropy, that will help us improve our knowledge of the 3-D structure of the inner core.


Land use changes from forest into cultivated ecosystems result in negative impact on soil structure and quality. The purpose of this study was to determine effect of land use and slope on selected properties and quality of an Alfisol in Afaka forest, Northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria. Land use systems, including natural forest and cultivated land were identified. Eighteen (18) composite disturbed and undisturbed samples were collected from depth of 0-5 and 5-10cm for analysis of pertinent soil properties in the laboratory using rigid grid procedure. Most physical and chemical properties show relative variations in response to land use types and geomorphic positions. Textural classes of soils under all the land uses on different topographic positions were sandy loam. Results  indicate  that the soils had  high degree of weathering potentials, low  to moderate  bulk density at 0-5cm depth values range between 1.42 to 1.49 Mg m-3 in  forest and  cultivated land, bulk density at 5-10cm depths had values ranging between 1.34 and 1.46 1.Mg m-3  for forest and  cultivated land respectively. The pH (H2O) ranged from 6.9 to 7.16 in the land uses. The electrical conductivity in the land uses was 0.13 dS/m and 0.12 dS/m was obtained for forest and cultivation land respectively, with highest EC at upper slope 0.16 dS/m. The total nitrogen content of 1.21 g kg-1 and 1.11 g kg-1 for forest and cultivation land uses was recorded. The highest available phosphorus of 8.78 mg kg-1 and 5.47 mg kg-1 was recorded under cultivated and forest land use while lowest value 4.12 mg kg-1 of available phosphorus was recorded at middle slope. Results indicate that soil fertility parameters were moderate to low in soils of cultivated land and all slope positions, suggesting that soil fertility management is required in order to make agriculture sustainable on Afaka area.


The pharmacokinetics aspects of levofloxacin were studied in healthy and experimentally renal damaged Muscovy ducks after single intravenous (IV) and oral (PO) dose of 10 mg kg−1 bwt. Following IV administration, elimination half-life (t 1/2(β)) and mean residence time (MRT) were longer in renal damaged ducks than in healthy ones. Total clearance (Cltot) in renal damaged ducks (0.20 L kg−1 h−1) was significantly lower as compared to that in healthy ones (0.41 L kg−1 h−1). Following PO administration, the peak serum concentration (C max) was higher in renal damaged than in healthy ducks and was achieved at maximum time (t max) of 2.47 and 2.05 h, respectively. The drug was eliminated (t 1/2(el)) at a significant slower rate (3.94 h) in renal damaged than in healthy ducks (2.89 h). The pharmacokinetic profile of levofloxacin is altered in renal damaged ducks due to the increased serum levofloxacin concentrations compared with that in clinically healthy ducks. Oral administration of levofloxacin at 10 mg kg−1 bwt may be highly efficacious against susceptible bacteria in ducks. Also, the dose of levofloxacin should be reduced in renal damaged ducks. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic integration revealed significantly higher values for C max/MIC and AUC/MIC ratios in renal damaged ducks than in healthy ones, indicating the excellent pharmacokinetic characteristics of levofloxacin in renal damaged ducks.


Members of the family of Fc receptor-like (FcRL) proteins, homologous to FcγRI, have been identified by multiple research groups. Consequently, they have been described using multiple nomenclatures including Fc receptor homologs (FcRH), immunoglobulin superfamily receptor translocation-associated genes (IRTA), immunoglobulin-Fc-gp42-related genes (IFGP), Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase anchor proteins (SPAP), and B cell cross-linked by anti-immunoglobulin M-activating sequences (BXMAS). They are now referred to under a unified nomenclature as FCRL. Eight different human FCRL genes have been identified, all of which appear to be related to the genes of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) of cellular adhesion molecules. These type 1 transmembrane glycoproteins are composed of different combinations of 5 types of immunoglobulin-like domains, with each protein consisting of 3 to 9 domains, and no individual domain type conserved throughout all of the FCRL proteins. Ligands for the majority of the FCRLs remain unknown. In general, FCRL expression is restricted to lymphocytes and is primarily expressed in B-lymphocytes, supporting FCRL's involvement in a variety of immune disorders. Most FCRLs functionally repress B-cell activation; however, they might have dual roles in lymphocyte functions as these proteins often possess immunoreceptor tyrosine activation (ITAM) and inhibitory (ITIM) motif elements. The biological functions of these newly recognized FCRL proteins are just beginning to emerge, and might provide the insight necessary for understanding pathophysiology of lymphocyte disorders and treating different immune diseases.


A system for the parametric statistical characterization and design of integrated circuits (IC's) is presented. This system integrates many common CAD tools with in-house developed software, and is modular such that old tools can eventually be discarded and new ones installed without disruption. The system supports traditional Monte Carlo, as well as, approximate statistical methods, and spans the entire process, device, and circuit design spaces. Applications are included that demonstrate the many diverse ways the system has been exercised on real-world problems.


The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), whose annual production is 26 million tons worldwide, is one of the main sources of protein and is known as one of the most important food sources. In this study, the karyotype variations and the genome size of four common bean genotypes in Turkey were investigated to determine whether the geographic variables in these regions affected the genome size and the karyotype parameters. In addition, it is known that as that the cytological and chromosomal parameters change under the influence of the climatic conditions of each region, appropriate and stable cytological methods for each plant facilitate and enable the determination of the chromosomal structure and the identification of specific chromosomes in the genotypes of the relevant region. Correct and valuable information such as this enables breeders and researchers to determine the correct shape and actual size of chromosomes. The genome size of the genotypes was measured with a flow cytometer, and chromosome analyses were performed with the squash method. For each genotype, the karyotype parameters, such as the number of somatic chromosomes, the Mean Total Chromosome Length (MTCL), the Mean Centromere Index (MCI), and the Mean Arm Ratio (MAR), were measured. The results showed that the highest and the lowest amounts of DNA per nucleus (3.28 pg and 1.49 pg) were observed in the Bitlis and Elaziğ genotypes. In addition, all genotype chromosome numbers were counted to be 2n = 2x = 22. The Mean Total Chromosome Length varied from 15.65 µm in Elaziğ to 34.24 µm in the Bitlis genotype. The Mean Chromosome Length ranged between 1.42 µm and 3.11 µm in the Elaziğ and Bitlis genotypes. The Hakkari and Van genotypes consist of eleven metacentric chromosomes, while the Bitlis and Elaziğ genotypes consist of ten metacentric chromosomes and one sub-metacentric chromosome. However, the Mean Centromere Index and Arm Ratio differed considerably among the genotypes. The highest (46.88) and the lowest (43.18) values of the Mean Centromere Index were observed in the Hakkari and Elaziğ genotypes, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest (1.15) and the highest (1.36) values of the Mean Arm Ratio were obtained in the Bitlis and Elaziğ genotypes, respectively. Eventually, intraspecies variations in genome size and chromosomal parameters were observed, and it was determined that the changes in nuclear DNA content and different chromosomal parameters among the four Phaseolus genotypes from four different regions of Turkey indicate the effect of climate change in the regions on these parameters. Such information in these areas can be used as useful information for the improvement of this plant and breeding programs.


The author reviews and discusses bootstrap methods for testing parameters in situations where sample size tends to be small or the distribution of the test statistic cannot be derived analytically. A bootstrap based variance stabilizing transformation for the parameter under test is considered. This procedure is crucial if the test is to have good power properties and also for the accuracy of the test level. These techniques are applied for comparing multiple coherences, a test which arises in finding optimal sensor locations for knock detection in spark ignition engines. Simulation and experimental results are presented as obtained on a test bed. The tests proposed are multiple tests and permit the finding of optimal positions for sensor groups to control knock in several cylinders at various rotation speeds.<<ETX>>


A decade of practice transformation, consolidation, and payment experimentation have highlighted the need for team-based primary care, but little is known about how team composition is changing over time. Surveys of Family Physicians (FPs) from 2014-18 reveal they continue to work alongside inter-professional team members and suggest slow but steady growth in the proportion of FPs working with nurses, behaviorists, clinical pharmacists, and social workers.


This p aper deals with numerical solution of a singular integral equation of the second kind with special singular kernel function. The numerical solution in this paper is based on Nystrom method. The Nystrom method is based on approximation of the integral in equation by numerical integration rule. Convergence of the numerical solution is shown. The paper is completed with numerical examples.


In addition to laser powder bed fusion, directed energy deposition (DED) is also gaining interest as an effective metal additive manufacturing technique. Due to its system configuration, it is more efficient and flexible for materials development. Therefore, it can be used for processing of metal matrix composites (MMCs) through the use of powder mixture as feedstock. 316L stainless steel has high corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, and ductility. Several studies have shown the feasibility of using DED to process 316L stainless steel. The material properties of 316L stainless steel can be improved using reinforcement particles such as TiB 2 to form MMCs. In this study, the effects of process parameters on microstructure and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel reinforced with TiB 2 ( 316L/TiB 2 ) MMC were studied. The process parameters, including laser power, scanning speed, and hopper speed, were varied and analyzed using Taguchi L9 array. It was found that the process parameters have insignificant effect on the bulk density of the samples produced. Through this study, it is also found that tumble mixing was not suitable for the powder feedstock preparation for MMCs to be processed by DED. The microstructure of DED 316L/TiB 2 MMC samples consists of columnar and equiaxed grains. Columnar grains were located within the layers while equiaxed grains were located at the interlayer zones. Fine sub-grains were also observed within these grains and their boundaries were enriched with molybdenum and chromium segregations. Precipitates containing titanium were also observed to segregate at the sub-grain boundaries. Finally, the Vickers microhardness of the DED 316L/TiB 2 MMC was found to be similar to pure 316L stainless steel produced by DED.


The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is one of Poland's most endangered bird species, with an estimated population of 380–500 individuals in four isolated areas. To study these natural populations in Poland further, more than 900 non-invasive genetic samples were collected, along with samples from 59 birds representing large, continuous populations in Sweden and Russia; and from two centres in Poland breeding capercaillie. Microsatellite polymorphism at nine loci was then analysed to estimate within-population genetic diversity and genetic differentiation among populations. The results confirmed that isolation of populations and recent decreases in their sizes have reduced genetic diversity among capercaillie in Poland, with all the country's natural populations found to be experiencing the genetic after-effects of demographic bottlenecks. The results of analyses of genetic differentiation and structure further suggest the presence of a 'lowland' cluster (encompassing birds of the Augustowska and Solska Primaeval Forests in Poland, and of Sweden and Russia), and a Carpathian cluster. Capercaillie from Sweden and Russia are also found to differ markedly. The Polish lowland populations seem more closely related to birds from Scandinavia. Our genetic analysis also indicates that the stocks at breeding centres are of a high genetic diversity effectively reflecting the origins of founder individuals, though identification of ancestry requires further study in the case of some birds. Overall, the results sustain the conclusion that the Polish populations of capercaillie from the Carpathians and the lowlands should be treated as independent Management Units (MUs). This is to say that the breeding lines associated with these two sources should be maintained separately at breeding centres. The high level of genetic differentiation of birds from the Solska Primaeval Forest suggests that this population should also be assigned the status of independent MU.


Bismuth incorporation has been shown to significantly decrease the performance of perovskite solar cells, which has led to the common belief that BiPb is a strong nonradiative recombination center in hybrid perovskites. Using rigorous first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that BiPb is not an efficient recombination center. However, Bi acts as a donor, and pushes the Fermi level closer to the conduction band; this shift promotes the formation of iodine interstitials, which are the actual nonradiative recombination centers. These insights explain why Bi incorporation is detrimental for the photovoltaic performance. More generally, it draws attention to the detrimental role unintentionally incorporated impurities can play, not by acting as nonradiative recombination centers themselves, but by shifting the Fermi level and thereby promoting the formation of efficiency-killing defects.


Boar semen freezing procedures include the use of centrifugation to concentrate sperm and remove seminal plasma prior to dilution in freezing extender. The centrifugation techniques employed have necessarily been a compromise between the need to recover as many spermatozoa as possible after centrifugation and the damage caused by pelleting the sperm. The use of an inert, dense, and isotonic solution as a cushion in the bottom of the tube leads to the use of higher-speed centrifugation to ensure maximum sperm recovery. However, it is necessary to know the viability and functionality of the samples after the thawing process. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of cushion-technique centrifugation on the in vitro sperm viability and the penetrating capacity after thawing. Sperm-rich fractions from five fertile boars were diluted and cooled to 15°C before centrifugation. Two centrifugation regimes were used: 800g for 10 min called the "standard method" (SM) (Westendorf P etal. 1975 Dtsch. Tierzartl Wochenschr. 82, 261–267) and 1000g for 20 min on an iodixanol isotonic solution 60% w/v gradient (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) called the "cushion method" (CM). Spermatozoa were diluted in lactose/egg-yolk extender, cooled to 5°C over 2 h and then frozen with glycerol and Equex by classic methodology (Westendorf P et al. 1975 Dtsch. Tierzartl Wochenschr. 82, 261–267). Frozen sperm samples were thawed in a circulating water bath at 38°C for 30 s. To detect increases in plasma membrane lipid packing disorder and viability, frozen-thawed samples of sperm were stained with merocyanine 540 (M540) and Yo-Pro 1 (Harrison et al. 1996 Mol. Rep. Dev. 45, 378–391) and evaluated by flow cytometry. In vitro penetration ability was assessed using the homologous in vitro penetration (hIVP) test with immature oocytes (Gadea and Matas 2000 Theriogenology 54, 1343–1357). ANOVA analysis revealed that centrifugation by CM showed higher values of intact viable spermatozoa than SM centrifugation (60.21 v. 54.68%, P < 0.05). The in vitro penetration assay showed no differences in penetration rate or mean number of sperm penetrated per oocyte. However, significant boar and interaction effects were found (P < 0.01). These results indicated that different effects of the treatment were found for every boar. In conclusion, the cushioned centrifugation method gives a simple means of processing porcine semen for freezing more efficiently without loss of fertilizing capacity. This work was supported by AGL-2003-03144.


Prospective examination of the ocular fundi was carried out in the newborn female sibling of a girl with incontinentia pigmenti and bilateral retinopathy. At age 3 months the new baby's peripheral retina was found to be avascular in both eyes. At age 2 years progressive vascular proliferation at the watershed area between normal and abnormal retina led to bilateral vitreous haemorrhage. The new vessel tufts promptly regressed when the avascular area in each eye was treated by single-freeze cryotherapy and the blood in the vitreous absorbed. Cicatricial retinopathy was thereby prevented. Prospective retinal examination of newborn female siblings of children with incontinentia pigmenti is advised, with early cryotherapy recommended if progressive neovascularisation is detected.


Virtualization enabled by container-based technologies is a recently emerging concept in the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing. Due of their lightweight nature, container-based virtualization tools improve manageability of cloud-based IoT solutions by making it possible to update application software on the fly. Although different studies have demonstrated the feasibility of efficiently running container-based virtualization on low-power IoT nodes, the implication of doing so on battery-powered nodes has been overlooked. In this paper, we investigate how much energy overhead is generated by Docker-based virtualization on battery powered camera sensor nodes. In our scenario, camera nodes are most of the time in "power off" state to save energy. They are switched on for streaming video only when activity is detected by motion sensor nodes. By means of empirical measurement and subsequent analysis, we found that starting and closing of containers in the Docker platform adds-up roughly 13 percent power consumption overhead during the boot-up and shutdown of the camera nodes. Furthermore, the fixed overhead occurring from boot-up and shutdown procedures become negligible with longer video stream sessions.


Classic dengue fever presents with a triad of fever, headache, and rash. A "saddleback" fever pattern, morbilliform rash with islets of sparing after apyrexia, and hematological/hepatic abnormalities are common findings. As the most common arbovirus infection, dengue is a significant health threat to deployed military forces worldwide. preventive measures such as personal protective equipment and repellants should be employed by individuals and other preventive measures should be considered for units departing endemic areas. Due to the increased risk of severe or hemorrhagic syndromes in the case of reinfection, limiting redeployment of individuals who have been infected by dengue should be considered, and further research is needed in this area. Development of tetravalent or DNA-based vaccines should be a priority to improve health protection for deploying forces.


AIM
To assess safety and clinical-economic effectiveness of complex postoperative rehabilitation after pancreatoduodenectomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
73 patients were included in the study. Main group consisted of 39 patients who underwent accelerated postoperative rehabilitation that was developed in our clinic. In the control group of 34 patients this protocol was not applied. The main components of rehabilitation were multicomponent analgesia, early enteral nutrition, physical rehabilitation by using of exercise therapy and physiotherapy.

RESULTS
There were no significant differences in the incidence of postoperative complications and mortality (58.8% and 74.3%; p=0.213, 5.8% and 7.7%; p=0.678, respectively). Median of postoperative hospital-stay in the study group was 13 days (9; 16), in the control group - 15 days (9; 24). An estimated economic effect in the study group was 558 764, 84 rubles.

CONCLUSION
Accelerated postoperative rehabilitation after pancreatoduodenectomy is safe and does not lead to increased number of postoperative complications and mortality. Developed protocol has clinical advantages and is cost-effective.


This qualitative study aimed to analyze how conflicts manifest in interpersonal relations and the dimensions they assume in nursing management in hospitals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 nurse managers from hospitals in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Content analysis was used to interpret the results. Among the results, it was highlighted that: a) 11 of the 13 nurses have been managers for more than 80% of their time since graduation and expressed that they had no idea about the management role before taking up this function; b) the nurses consider that conflicts are immanent in the organization, entailing the need to live and interact with them; c) internal conflicts showed to be the most determining for the managers. There is a need to understand the origin of conflicts and factors favoring their establishment, as well as to acknowledge the importance of an interdisciplinary response.


This article positions narrative as a needed, but often lacking, communicative resource for science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. While STEM curricula is quite effective at teaching students discipline-specific knowledge and preparing future generations of scientists to communicate within collegial discourse communities, there has been little attention paid to the importance of communicating effectively with public audiences—despite the fact that the public is a major stakeholder in scientific innovation. This article takes up this gap in current STEM curricula in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of best practices in communicating science, as well as the ways that these practices can be incorporated into academic programs. In achieving this goal, this article draws upon current pedagogical and curricular models in communication studies in its examination of the ways students at a leading American undergraduate STEM institution are taught to engage with public audiences. Of specific importance are the benefits of narrative in building bridges between academic and public stakeholders, particularly the ability of narrative to increase comprehension, interest, and engagement when communicating science to non-expert audiences.


Phishing is a type of Social Engineering cyber-attack, hackers use it to gain access to confidential credentials like bank account credentials details, details of their personal life like debit card details, social media credentials, etc. Phishing website links seem to seem just like the genuine ones and it's a tedious and troublesome task to differentiate among those websites. In this paper, features are extracted from a separate dataset of phishing and benign website URLs and then using the Machine Learning method we determine the phishing websites. We also rank the features based on the contribution of each feature used in determining the outcome of a URL link using built python libraries. Most of the phishing URLs use a large URL length when used for an attack. Hence, we proposed three machine learning models Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision trees models for the efficient detection of phishing using fake URLs. The performance of the models is also compared among themselves using a confusion matrix to determine the highest performance. The implemented models have shown an accuracy of 84.81 (for Random Forest and SVM),83.96 (Decision tree)


Gonadotroph adenomas are difficult to diagnose since they usually show as nonsecreting tumors or produce biologically inactive hormones with no clinical effects and classically grow silent until neurological symptoms appear. Presentation with bilateral ovarian masses and ovarian hyperstimulation has been described in fertile years. Gonadotroph adenomas are extremely infrequent in children. We report a 13-year-old postmenarcheal girl referred to our hospital with 6 months of amenorrhea, abdominal palpable mass presumptive of bilateral ovarian tumors. The patient had Tanner IV breast development and a large abdominal mass occupying the whole low hemiabdomen. Laboratory evaluation revealed high estradiol levels with suppressed luteinizing hormone and inappropriately high follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. Pelvic ultrasound showed enlarged ovaries containing multiple giant cysts. An MRI revealed a pituitary macroadenoma. Transsphenoidal resection of the adenoma was performed with an uneventful postoperative course. Immunohistologic examination only showed staining for FSH, thus confirming pituitary secreting FSH adenoma. Hormonal laboratory levels normalized and ovarian masses showed marked involution 1 month after surgery. Three months later the MRI showed tumor disappearance. Conclusion: The presence of bilateral ovarian tumors requires a careful endocrine and neurological evaluation to exclude the presence of an FSH-producing tumor in order to avoid unnecessary ovarian surgery.


Abstract The paper examines the selected physical properties of seeds of 8 plants used in agri-food processing industry. These are: winter rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) Adriana cultivar, sesame (Sesamumindicum L.), common flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Luna cultivar, husked sunflower (Helianthus L.) (country of origin – Bulgaria), hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Benikocultivar, blue poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) Major cultivar, garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.), black caraway (Nigella Sativa L.). In the research material we determined the following: mass of thousand seeds (MTS), piling angle and angle of repose, tap and bulk density and compressive resistance of single seeds. Some seeds from the selected plant species differed with shape and size. Thus, the results determining the physical properties were varied.


Two experiments tested the predictions of 'declarative' vs. 'perceptual‐mnemonic' views of perirhinal cortex function. The former view predicts that perirhinal cortex lesions should impair rapidly learned, but not more slowly learned, visual discriminations, whereas the latter view predicts that impairments should be related not to speed of learning but to perceptual factors. It was found that monkeys with perirhinal cortex lesions were impaired in the acquisition and performance of slowly learned, perceptually difficult greyscale picture discriminations, but were not impaired in the acquisition of rapidly learned, perceptually easier discriminations. In addition, these same monkeys were not impaired in the acquisition or performance of difficult colour or size discriminations, indicating that the observed pattern of impairments was not due to ceiling effects or difficulty per se. These findings, taken together, are consistent with the 'perceptual‐mnemonic' view that the perirhinal cortex is involved in both perception and memory, but are not consistent with the 'declarative' view that the perirhinal cortex is important exclusively for declarative memory, having little or no role in perception. Moreover, the results are consistent with the more specific proposal that the perirhinal cortex contributes to the solution of complex visual discriminations with a high degree of 'feature ambiguity', a property of visual discrimination problems that can emerge when features of an object are rewarded when part of one object, but not when part of another. These and other recent findings suggest the need for a revision of prevailing views regarding the neural organization of perception and memory.


Aberrant promoter hypermethylation is common in head and neck cancer and may be useful as a marker for cancer cells. We examined whether cells with tumor-specific aberrant DNA-methylation might be found in the saliva of affected patients. We tested 30 patients with primary head and neck tumors using methylation-specific PCR searching for promoter hypermethylation of the tumor suppressor genep16(CDKN2A), the DNA repair gene O-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase(MGMT) and the putative metastasis suppressor gene death-associated protein kinase (DAP-K). Aberrant methylation of at least one of these genes was detected in 17 (56%) of 30 head and neck primary tumors; 14 (47%) of 30 at p16, 10 (33%) of 30 atDap-K and 7 (23%) of 30 atMGMT. In 11 (65%) of 17 methylated primary tumors abnormal methylated DNA was detected in the matched saliva samples. Abnormal promoter methylation in saliva DNA was found in all tumor stages and more frequently in tumors located in the oral cavity. Moreover, none of the saliva from patients with methylation-negative tumors displayed methylation of any marker. Of 30 saliva samples from healthy control subjects (15 smokers and 15 nonsmokers), only one sample from a smoking patient was positive for DNA methylation at two target genes. Detection of aberrant promoter hypermethylation patterns of cancer-related genes in saliva of head and cancer patients is feasible and may be potentially useful for detecting and monitoring disease recurrence. Long-term longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate this approach for early detection of head and neck cancer in at-risk populations.


Aims. In this paper we investigate the deviations from von Zeipel's theorem at the upper layers of a distorted star. In addition, we derive an analytic expression for the gravity-darkening exponent β1. Methods. We introduce two different methods to derive the theoretical gravity-darkening exponents. In the first one we use a perturbation theory to derive an analytical expression for the gravity-darkening exponent for slow rotating stars as a function of the rotation law, colatitude, and opacity derivatives. In the second procedure we explore the validity of the mentioned theorem in the upper layers of a distorted star by adapting grey and non-grey atmosphere models to our numerical method, designed originally for stellar envelopes. Results. We have found significant deviations from von Zeipel's theorem when we compute gravity-darkening exponents at the upper layers of a distorted star using our modified numerical method. This is a consequence of using a transfer equation that is more elaborated than the diffusion approach, therefore such a theorem is not strictly valid at lower optical depths. The shifts depend on the optical depth, on the effective temperature, and on the adopted atmosphere models. For large depths, we restore the classical value of β1, say, 1.0 for hotter stars. Taking such deviations into account, it may be possible to explain the scattering around the theoretical predictions for double-lined eclipsing binaries, as well as the low value of β1 (0.75), recently inferred for the very fast rotating star α Leo for which the classical von Zeipel's theorem predicts β1 = 1.0.


We present 3-dimensional SPH simulations of supernova explosions from 100 seconds to 1 year after core-bounce. By extending our modelling efforts to a 3-dimensional hydrodynamics treatment, we are able to investigate the effects of explosion asymmetries on mixing and γ-ray line emergence in supernovae. A series of initial explosion conditions are implemented, including jet-like and equatorial asymmetries of varying degree. For comparison, symmetric explosion models are also calculated. A series of time slices from the explosion evolution are further analyzed using a 3-dimensional Monte Carlo γ-ray transport code. The emergent hard Xand γ-ray spectra are calculated as a function of both viewing angle and time, including trends in the γ-ray line profiles. We find significant differences in the velocity distribution of radioactive nickel between the symmetric and asymmetric explosion models. The effects of this spatial distribution change are reflected in the overall high energy spectrum, as well as in the individual γ-ray line profiles. Subject headings: black hole physics—stars: black holes—stars: supernovae— stars: neutron


Mivacurium is a new nondepolarizing muscle relaxant of the benzylisoquinoline type. Its short duration of action is due to rapid breakdown by plasma cholinesterase. The dose of mivacurium which produces 95% inhibition of twitch response (ED95) is between 60 and 80 μg/kg. Thus, mivacurium is 0.8 times and four times as potent as vecuronium and atracurium, respectively. With 2–3×ED95, tracheal intubation can be accomplished within 2.5 min of intravenous injection. The ensuing DUR25% (time from injection to 25% recovery of control twitch tension) is twice as long as with suxamethonium and about half as long as with equipotent doses of atracurium or vecuronium. For muscle relaxation during long surgical procedures, mivacurium has been used as a continuous infusion. The average 6‐min recovery index after infusion of mivacurium is particularly favourable for flexible control of muscle paralysis, whereas the recovery indices after infusion of atracurium or vecuronium are 15–30 min. In conclusion, mivacurium will close the pharmacodynamic gap between suxamethonium and the nondepolarizing muscle relaxants of intermediate duration of action. It will probably also be a suitable alternative to suxamethonium in elective cases.


The purpose of this work is designing a Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator and a Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) controller for a fixed-wing aircraft. The LQG regulator design is created in two steps. First, an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) is selected as an observer for system dynamics to procreate an overall best estimate of system states. Second, an optimal feedback gain is calculated via the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) approach. An LQI controller is designed for robust tracking of referenced outputs which are airspeed, sideslip, pitch angle and roll angle. The proposed LQG/LQI scheme is implemented in the MATLAB, Simulink environment. The simulation results show that the implemented system regulates and controls the system successfully in a noisy environment.


Pharmacology of the eye. The eye is vulnerable to trauma, infection, chemical contamination, and allergy, as well as being involved in many systemic diseases. It is not only the 'window of the soul', but is also a popular tool for pharmacological and toxicological tests in man as well as animals. An understanding of ophthalmic pharmacology is, therefore, an essential part of training in clinical pharmacology and toxicology. This volume attempts to cover in depth the recent advances in knowledge in this subject, and, as a whole, succeeds. Two general weaknesses, however, are a relative lack of reference to published human data, and to material published in the European literature (an unfortunate but all too frequent finding with North American authors). Separation of chapters on adrenergic agonists from antagonists has resulted in unnecessary repetition of several sections, and these chapters, in particular, contain some irritating errors. The index is also incomplete in some important aspects. In general, however, this volume will prove a valuable source of reference to experimental and clinical pharmacologists and toxicologists.


Transient forebrain ischemia induces specific changes in several neurochemical markers in the dorsolateral striatum. In the present paper, the density and distribution of mu and delta opioid receptors were analyzed in rat striatum 7 days after 30 min forebrain ischemia using the 4-vessel occlusion model. A marked (about 70%) decrease in the density of both opioid receptor subtypes was found in the dorsolateral striatum overlapping the areas of histological damage and of D1 dopamine receptor disappearance. Moreover, the density of delta opioid receptors and of the diffuse mu opioid receptors was also affected (30% decrease) in the ventromedial striatum, an area which is substantially spared by the ischemic lesion. In contrast, the striatal patches of mu opioid receptors were not affected in the ventro-medial striatum and were preserved to a large extent in the area of lesion, although their area and receptor density resulted markedly reduced. The impairment of both opioid receptor subtypes suggests that opiate systems, like dopaminergic systems, are involved in the neurochemical changes observed in the striatum after transient forebrain ischemia.


The occurrence of circulating antibodies (IgG) against oxidatively modified LDL was investigated in a group of normocholesterolemic, healthy, cardiovascular risk-free children and in a comparable group of normal adults. An increased titer of IgG recognizing Cu++-oxidized or malondialdehyde (MDA)-derivatized LDL (MDA-LDL) was a constant feature in children. The antigenic epitopes recognized by these antibodies were generated rather late in the process of copper-mediated LDL oxidation, concomitantly with the formation of fluorescent adducts between reactive aldehydes (including MDA) and apo B100. MDA-LDL was not the only antigen recognized: derivatization of other structurally unrelated proteins, such as HDL, serum albumin, fibrinogen, and transferrin with MDA led to generation of recognizable epitopes. However, among the various modified proteins, LDL exhibited the highest binding activity for IgG present in the group of children. This was associated with an enhanced propensity of LDL isolated from children to undergo in vitro oxidation, despite normal levels of the endogenous antioxidant α-tocopherol. These findings indicate that circulating antibodies recognizing proteins modified with end-products of lipid peroxidation (including LDL) are present in healthy cardiovascular risk-free children. The possibility that LDL oxidation occurs in vivo already in childhood and may act as the real immunogen is an attractive but still unproven hypothesis.


The concept of Ibnu Maskawaih's education about the power and humanity of human thinking, he conclude that in humans there are three forces, they are: an-nafs al-bahimiyah (animal passions) is worse force, an-nafs as-sabu'iyah (lust beast) in the middle force, and an-nafs an-nathiqiyah (intelligent soul) is good force. His concept of moral education is the obligatory education for each individual to sharp the power and capabilities of the human. According to his concept, environment will affect the education. Then, a good environment is the environment in which there is a harmonious relationship between all the components that exist in the environment. The concept of Ibn Khaldun's education about the power and ability of human thought that he laid the ratio (reason) at its central point. With human ratio, human can think and can produce science. In the process of education, morality is very important, therefore it cannot educate in a violent manner. Therefore, his thinking challenged the environment that the environment greatly influenced the human in carrying out his social function in the midst of society.


Towards the end of 1980 the first Spacelab will be launched. It represents the culmination of a major cooperative project between the nations subscribing to the European Space Agency and N. A. S. A. The Spacelab module contains a laboratory inside which a wide range of experiments can be carried out in an environment which, apart from the absence of gravity, is not unlike that of a terrestrial laboratory. From the point of view of the life scientist it represents an opportunity to carry out experiments to investigate the effect of zero gravity or modulated gravity on biological preparations including man. The first mission will last seven days, but subsequent missions planned for the decade 1980-1990 may last up to thirty days. The purpose of the paper is to introduce participants to the facilities which are available in Spacelab and to explain the procedure by which experiments may be proposed. There is also a discussion of the present funding arrangements in the United Kingdom.


Shaft is a rotational body used to transmit power or motion. Due to cyclic loading conditions, i.e. axial, bending and torsional load, surface cracks frequently grow in the shaft. Normally these cracks will propagate with a semi-circular shape and cause damage or premature failure to the whole system. These premature failures require expensive repair or replacement cost, and sometimes even worst the operators get severe injury when the shaft failed during it services. The objective of this project is to determine the stress intensity factor (SIF) for a crack emanating from a shaft by using finite element method and also to verify the finite element results with those obtained semi-analytically. The scope of this study is focused on the semi-circular crack on the shaft and the calculation of SIF for Mode I (Opening) and Mode III (Tearing/Torsion) crack loading. The study is divided into two phases. For the first phase, modelling of the cracked shaft is carried out in the ANSYS software, while for the second phase; verification is carried out between the finite element results and those obtained semi-analytically. In the results and discussion section, the relationship between the dimensionless stress intensity factor and the normalized relative crack depth is presented. The results obtained semi-analytically and numerically had been verified and the deviation in term of percentage is relatively small. In conclusion, the stress intensity factor of a shaft determined by the numerical method was verified to be accurate.


A 36-year-old woman was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Seven days after beginning glucocorticoid treatment, she developed reduced visual acuity, and atypical severe central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) was confirmed. Since glucocorticoid use is an important risk factor for CSC, the PSL was reduced, tacrolimus was added, and the visual acuity improved rapidly. Reduction in glucocorticoid combined with the use of immunosuppressive agents is one option for preventing a deterioration in atypical severe CSC while still controlling SLE.


Emotion is a key motivational factor of a person strivings for health and well-being. Understanding neural networks supporting different types of emotion bears far-reaching implications for mental health. Recent studies suggest that emotional processing is associated with a large number of brain regions. However, the precise functional connectivity (FC) of these regions in investigations of emotional processing are largely unknown. To address this issue, we recruited 359 participants who completed emotional-related measures including the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) the Self-Compassion Scale, while scanned with resting-state functional magnetic resonance images (fMRI). Here, we proposed a novel psychological characteristics analysis framework by using a dynamic sliding window method to characterize the nature of resting-state functional connectivity in the human brain, in relation to the static FC method. The comparison results showed that the dynamic FC method produced the better performance, compared to the static FC method. The global network analyses across all 6 possible connectivity matrices further demonstrated that the dynamically hemispheric asymmetry best predicted emotional processing. The dynamic FC method was evaluated on the three emotional labels - positive emotion, negative emotion, self-compassion and the best prediction performance was consistently observed in the dynamically hemispheric asymmetric FC.


3D surface moment invariants are a kind of integral invariants under translation, uniform scaling and rotation, and can be regarded as shape descriptors of 3D unclosed polygonal models. Few of the former literature used prior knowledge from the training set for supervised learning. In this paper, we illustrate how to select the training data and how to feed the feature vectors of the training models to back-propagation neural network for learning. Experimental result shows that the test models are sorted into the correct classes with high accuracy, including two-class classification and multi-class classification. Furthermore, we develop a novel method which uses weighted Manhattan distance to embed classification information into the traditional shape retrieval systems properly. It could determine and refine the retrieval results efficiently.


Introduction. The paper attempts to clarify the relation between ideas and concepts in philosophy seen as science and worldview. The author analyzes these forms of philosophical thought and reveals their epistemological similarities, as well as their essential and notional differences.Materials and Methods. The paper draws upon monographs and papers by Russian and foreign scholars focusing on issues connected with the analysis of philosophical ideas and notions. The methods implemented are comparative analysis, historico-philosophical synthesis, generalization, idealization, abstraction, and interpretation.Results. The central issue explored in the paper concerns similarities and differences between philosophical ideas and concepts. Philosophers do not have serious disagreements over the notion of a concept, but there is no consensus on what an idea is. While many thinkers seem to reduce ideas to representations, a philosophical idea is clearly different from a common opinion. Most notably, it must be expressed in form of a concept – the fact that characterizes it as an act of thinking. Analyzing these forms of thinking, the author arrives at the following conclusions: 1. Concepts reflect essence, ideas reflect aim (an ideal). 2. Concepts are a form of knowledge and are limited to the cognitive sphere; ideas pertain to understanding and are impactful. 3. Concepts are value-neutral, ideas are value-oriented. 4. Concepts are more static, ideas are more dynamic. 5. Philosophical concepts are usually anonymous, ideas are authorial. Ideas endow concepts with their original essence, while concepts endow ideas with their theoretical form. Without the creative power of ideas concepts degrade into banal epigonic thoughts. Thus, ideas and concepts are forms of thinking that have different purposes, but are still deeply connected and interchangeable.Discussion and Conclusions. The understanding of ideas proposed in the paper goes against the currently dominant epistemological tradition which regards ideas as opinions, views, or representations and in doing so renders the term conceptually indeterminable. The heuristic and creative potential possessed by ideas that influence and stimulate the development of philosophy should be adequately evaluated. The essential role that ideas play in history should not be ignored as well. While ideas express interests of different social groups, they should not be equated with interests, as philosophical ideas are meant to express fundamental issues of human essence and existence.


DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) is the enabling inverse technology of ADC that generates analog output proportionate to given digital input. In most of the control and digital processing system requires the DAC for meddlesome with real world. But most of the digital controlling microprocessor and microcontroller don't have an on chip DAC integrated peripheral architecture. For such implementing system, an external DAC chip is normally used but it decreases the efficiency of system such as power, cost, area. This paper reports on FPGA based Soft IP design for reconfigurable High Resolution DAC using PWM technique. FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) have advantage over to the traditional technology of reconfigurability, shorter time to market and non recurring cost and system on chip ability which reduces the board size with increasing efficiency. This designed soft IP core which can be used in parallel with another included FPGA based architectures.


A general guide on finding research materials in education, covering preschool, elementary & middle school, secondary, administration & leadership, and special education


High-spin states in 177Re have been populated in the 165Ho (16O, 4n)177Re reaction. A level scheme is constructed from the studies of γγ-coincidences, the relative excitation function, and γ-ray angular distribution measurements. Three decay sequences identified with 5/2+[402], 1/2-[541] and 9/2-[514] Nilsson orbitals have been extended up to spin 29/2+, 49/2- and 33/2-, respectively, and a newly observed sequence based on the 1/2+[660] Nilsson orbital is established. The experimental data are discussed within the Woods-Saxon cranking model. Observed shifts in the band crossing frequencies are interpreted theoretically as being caused by different deformation driving forces of quasiparticle orbitals. B(M1)/Q02 ratios are discussed in connection with quasineutron alignment.


Selected nickel alloys were melted by vacuum induction melting (VIM). Samples were melted and cast under vacuum into the shape of rods with diameter of 10 mm. Thus prepared castings were directionally solidified at the rate of 100 mm/h in order to eliminate casting defects. Flaw detection tests were performed on the samples in the directionally oriented condition. Thus prepared samples did not contain any casting defects and they were used for determination of the basic mechanical properties and fracture characteristics at room temperature. It is evident after comparison of the tensile diagrams of experimental alloys that the alloys based on IC396, IC221M and IC438 and have similar character of failures. The sample based on the alloy IC50 exhibits with comparison with other alloys lower yield strength, the value of which is almost half. The alloy exhibits very high ductility and higher strength than the other alloys, but its low yield strength limits the possibilities of its practical use. The alloy IC396 has, however, significantly improved ductility compared to the alloys IC221M and IC438. Porosity and micro-hardness was also determined in these samples. Porosity and micro-hardness results do not show significant differences at measurements in transverse and longitudinal direction. Evaluation of the phase composition was performed on an analytical scanning microscope. Matrix composition corresponds approximately to the nominal composition of the alloys. The alloys contain furthermore phases with variable content of basic and alloying elements. The obtained results will be used as input information for further laboratory and pilot testing.


Acute pancreatitis often results in life-threatening situations, making a prompt and accurate diagnosis cardinally important. To achieve these, it is crucial to correctly identify characteristic symptoms and test findings. However, when patients do not exhibit distinctive symptoms during a physician's examination, in addition to limited resources, these can become challenging. In this manuscript, we present an instructive case. A male in his twenties, who complained of generalized malaise, was admitted to our hospital. Unfortunately, however, he passed away within two days prior to undergoing detailed examinations or receiving therapeutic interventions. We performed an autopsy in order to ascertain the reasons for this outcome. The findings revealed that pulmonary edema and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage were the causative factors of his demise, with acute pancreatitis observed in the background. The occurrence of acute pancreatitis leading to death in youths is infrequent. Where could we have intervened to halt such an unfortunate course in a young individual? This patient probably had diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperlipidemia, both of which are known to be closely associated with acute pancreatitis. In retrospect, we should have noticed this point. In this case, the condition progressed too rapidly for appropriate therapeutic interventions. We believe that this case would provide educational instruction for similar situations that could arise in the future.


This presentation is aimed at University of the Free State OER creators. It is used during training sessions on creating OERs.


An 88-year-old woman was admitted to the emergency department after experiencing syncope while in a sitting position. Electrocardiogram showed advanced degree heart block. She has been on low-dose carbamazepine (200 mg/day) for the last year for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). After discontinuation of carbamazepine, the patient returned to normal sinus rhythm.


Time-homogeneous Markov chains are often used as disease progression models in studies of cost-effectiveness and optimal decision-making. Maximum likelihood estimation of these models can be challenging when data are collected at a time interval longer than the model's transition cycle length. For example, it may be necessary to estimate a monthly transition model from data collected annually. The likelihood for a time-homogeneous Markov chain with transition matrix $\mathbf{P}$ and data observed at intervals of $T$ cycles is a function of $\mathbf{P}^T.$ The maximum likelihood estimate of $\mathbf{P}^T$ is easily obtained from the data. The $T$th root of this estimate would then be a maximum likelihood estimate for $\mathbf{P}.$ However, the $T$th root of $\mathbf{P}^T$ is not necessarily a valid transition matrix. Maximum likelihood estimation of $\mathbf{P}$ is a constrained optimization problem when a valid root is unavailable. The optimization problem is not convex. Local convergence is explored in several case studies through graphical representations of a grid search. The example cases use disease progression data from the literature as well as synthetic data. The global maximum likelihood estimate is increasingly difficult to locate as the number of cycles or the number of states increases. What seems like a straightforward estimation problem can be challenging even for relatively simple models. Researchers should consider alternatives to likelihood maximization or alternative models.


Influent and effluent wastewater from the Goteborg Regional Sewage Works was regularly analyzed during 1989-1991 for the presence of organic pollutants using GC-MS. While concentrations of individual organic compounds in the influent varied from 0.1 µg/l to several mg/l, few of them were present in the effluent in concentrations higher than 0.5 µg/l The majority of the pollutants in the influent were either food related or due to the diffuse discharge from products used both in households and in industry. For a number of priority pollutants, a declining trend in influent loadings was observed. The treatment process removes hydrophobic organic pollutants effectively. However, the effects of an increased loading of hydrophilic compounds on the treatment process need to be evaluated.


BACKGROUND
Data on adherence to prescribed medication amongst diabetics are scarce. The purpose of this study was to collect information about the dynamics and patterns of compliance of elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus on oral treatment by using different assessment techniques.

METHODS
Adherence to prescribed sulfonylurea medication was prospectively assessed by Self-report (Sr), Pill count (Pc) and using a Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) over a period of 2 months in 19 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A pressure-activated microprocessor allowing the registration of each opening is located in the cap of the MEMS drug container. MEMS dosage adherence (MEMSd) was defined as the number of bottle openings divided by the number of doses prescribed), and MEMS regimen adherence (MEMSr) was defined as the percentage of days in which the dose regimen was taken as prescribed.

RESULTS
Adherence rates were 96.8 +/- 19.6% for Pc, 92.6 +/- 19.9% for MEMSd and 78.6 +/- 28.3% for MEMSr. Adherence rates for Pc were 103.8 +/- 10.9% in once daily regimens and 87.3 +/- 25.2% in bid/tid regimens (p = 0.0686). MEMSd was 101.0 +/- 4.8% in once daily regimens versus 81.0% +/- 26.8% in bid/tid regimens (p = 0.0255). MEMSr was 93.6 +/- 5.7% in once daily regimens versus only 57.8 +/- 34.1% in bid/tid regimens (p = 0.0031). Assessed by MEMSd as many as 42.1% of the participants had adherence rates greater than 100%. Over-compliance was found primarily in once daily regimens.

CONCLUSION
Adherence rates varied with different assessment techniques. Adherence rates were far from optimal. Once daily dosage led to significantly better adherence rates than two or three times daily regimens. However, over-compliance was surprisingly high and occurred more frequently on a once daily regimen.


Effective field theories are the most general tool for the description of low energy phenomena. They are universal and systematic: they can be formulated for any low energy systems we can think of and offer a clear guide on how to calculate predictions with reliable error estimates, a feature that is called power counting. These properties can be easily understood in Wilsonian renormalization, in which effective field theories are the low energy renormalization group evolution of a more fundamental ---perhaps unknown or unsolvable--- high energy theory. In nuclear physics they provide the possibility of a theoretically sound derivation of nuclear forces without having to solve quantum chromodynamics explicitly. However there is the problem of how to organize calculations within nuclear effective field theory: the traditional knowledge about power counting is perturbative but nuclear physics is not. Yet power counting can be derived in Wilsonian renormalization and there is already a fairly good understanding of how to apply these ideas to non-perturbative phenomena and in particular to nuclear physics. Here we review a few of these ideas, explain power counting in two-nucleon scattering and reactions with external probes and hint at how to extend the present analysis beyond the two-body problem.


The purpose of this study was to compare the Jackson-Rees circuit with the pediatric circle and MERA F breathing system (MERA F system) for pediatric anesthesia from the viewpoint of work of breathing (WOB). Twenty-three children (2-10 yr old) were studied during spontaneous breathing under endotracheal anesthesia with 4 L/min nitrous oxide, 2 L/min oxygen, and 1% end-tidal concentration of sevoflurane. WOB, inspiratory and expiratory airway resistance, dynamic compliance (CDYN), pressure time product (PTP), and arterial blood gasses were measured in the three circuits. The inspiratory WOB was estimated directly by measuring the esophageal pressure-volume loop using the Campbell technique. In a laboratory study, we measured the compliances of the Jackson-Rees circuit, the pediatric circle, the MERA F system, and the adult circuit. WOB differed among the three circuits (MERA F system > pediatric circle > Jackson-Rees circuit). Inspiratory and expiratory resistances, and arterial carbon dioxide tension in the Jackson-Rees circuit were significantly lower than those of both the pediatric circle and MERA F system. The CDYN and PTP in the MERA F system were significantly higher than those in both the Jackson-Rees circuit and the pediatric circle. The MERA F system had significantly higher compliance than the Jackson-Rees circuit and pediatric circle. It is concluded that the Jackson-Rees circuit is most efficient, the pediatric circle is intermediate, and the MERA F system is the least efficient from the viewpoint of WOB during spontaneous breathing for pediatric anesthesia. (Anesth Analg 1996;83:488-92)


Liver dysfunction reflects the status of heart failure, and previous studies have demonstrated that serum lactate dehydrogenase (S-LDH) levels are increased in patients exhibiting heart failure and liver dysfunction. Right heart failure is a main characteristic of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). The aim of the present study was to assess the prognostic significance of S-LDH levels in patients with IPAH. S-LDH levels were determined in 173 patients with IPAH, and these patients were subclassified into two groups according to a defined upper reference limit of S-LDH (250 IU/l). Right heart catheterization was performed in all patients. A total of 53 patients were found to have elevated S-LDH to ≥250 IU/l. In a mean follow-up period of 31.2±17.9 months, 57 patients succumbed. In the group with lower S-LDH levels (S-LDH <250 IU/l), 16.7% of the patients succumbed, compared with 69.8% of patients in the group with higher S-LDH levels (S-LDH ≥250 IU/l). The Kaplan-Meier survival curves demonstrated that patients with higher S-LDH levels had a significantly lower survival rate than did those with lower S-LDH levels (log-rank test, P<0.001). Cox proportional hazard analyses identified reduced body mass index, reduced cardiac index, elevated World Health Organization functional class, higher S-LDH and an absence of PAH-targeted therapy as significant predictors of adverse outcomes. In conclusion, elevated S-LDH is a risk factor for mortality in patients with IPAH.


In 1662, Pieter Balling (d. before 1669), a close friend to Spinoza, published Het Licht op den Kandelaar (translated into English in 1663 as The Light upon the Candlestick), which is often regarded as an exceptionally early "Spinozistic" text. This article, however, analyses the striking parallels with a much older source: the sixteenth-century moral rationalism of Dirck Volckertsz Coornhert (1522–1590). In doing so, I will show that the rationalistic interpretation of spiritualism presented in Het Licht was actually already available long before Balling developed his ideas. I will argue that, besides a deep ideological resemblance, there is sufficient historical evidence to link Balling's work with Coornhert's views. Subsequently, I will address the implications of my findings for our understanding of Balling as a radical and, more generally, the rise and spread of radical thought in the seventeenth century, as they help explain why Cartesian and Spinozist rationalism could grow so popular in the Dutch Republic. I will also argue that there is a much broader relevance to these findings, as they highlight the religious overtone of radical rationalism and the Radical Enlightenment as well as their rootedness in radical Reformational currents that developed during the sixteenth century.


Fludarabine phosphate (NSC-312878) was administered to 23 patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcomas. Patients entered on the study had a median performance status of 80 and had prior chemotherapy restricted to one previous regimen. Dose schedule was 100 mg/m2 in poor-risk patients (creatinine clearance < 70 cc/min) and 125 mg/m2 in good-risk patients every 3 weeks. No complete or partial responses were noted in the 20 evaluable patients. Median survival was 12 weeks. Leukopenia was the most common toxicity. Fludarabine phosphate in the above schedule failed to demonstrate therapeutic efficacy in this patient population.


Sanicro 25 austenitic heat-resistant steel is expected to be used in superheaters and reheaters for ultra-supercritical power plants above 600 °C due to its excellent structural stability and high temperature mechanical properties. In this paper, the effects of Co and W on the structural stability, thermodynamic stability and mechanical properties of Sanicro 25 steel are analyzed by calculating the formation energy, binding energy, Gibbs free energy, elastic constant, Peierls stress and generalized stacking fault energy (GSFE) with first-principles calculation method. By calculating the formation energy, binding energy and Gibbs free energy, it concludes that alloying elements Co and W in Sanicro 25 steel can improve the structural stability and thermodynamic stability. It indicates that W and a small amount of Co can improve the plasticity and ductility of Sanicro 25 steel by calculating the bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), Young's modulus (E), the B/G ratio, Poisson's ratio and Peierls stress. It is found that when Co and W are far from the stacking fault region, it will promote the formation of partial dislocations and twins in the system, thereby improving its plastic deformation ability and mechanical properties.


VTX002 is an oral selective sphingosine 1-phosphate-1 receptor (S1P1R) modulator in clinical development for treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Single and multiple doses of a spray-dried dispersion (SDD) oral suspension of VTX002 were well-tolerated up to 45 mg in a phase 1 study in healthy participants and were accompanied by dose proportional reductions in lymphocyte counts, an expected pharmacodynamic outcome of treatment.1 A separate phase 1 study compared the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics of the SDD oral suspension and a tablet formulation of VTX002.

 Healthy adult participants (N=12) were randomised (4 per dose group) in an open-label 3-way crossover study to receive single oral doses of 5 mg or 20 mg VTX002 tablets, or 20 mg VTX002 SDD suspension followed by at least a 1-week washout between each dose as shown in Fig. 1. Study assessments included: VTX002 plasma concentrations, PK parameters, change from baseline in absolute lymphocyte count (ALC), and adverse events (AE).

 A total of 10 participants completed the study. Mean plasma VTX002 concentrations were greatest with a single oral dose of 20 mg VTX002 SDD suspension (Fig. 2).

 The geometric mean peak (Cmax) and total (AUCinf) exposure to VTX002 were lower with the 5 mg (dose normalized to 20 mg tablet) and 20 mg VTX002 tablets compared to the 20 mg VTX002 SDD suspension (Table 1).

 Geometric mean ratios for the tablet and SDD formulations of VTX002 are shown in Table 2.

 Maximum percent (SD) reduction in ALC from baseline was greatest for the 20 mg VTX002 SDD suspension and was observed at 6 hours post-dose both for the SDD suspension and the 20 mg VTX002 tablet (59.9% [11.0%] and 51.6% [9.4%], respectively). The maximum percent reduction in ALC from baseline for the 5 mg VTX002 tablet was 22.4% (9.2%) which occurred 2 hours post-dose. A total of 23 AEs were reported; of which 19 were considered mild, and 4 were moderate.

 All doses and formulations of VTX002 were well-tolerated and associated with ALC reductions. Data from this relative bioavailability study was used to convert the results from the prior phase 1 multiple ascending dose study performed with VTX002 SDD suspension to AUC equivalent tablet doses and enable tablet dose selection for phase 2. A phase 2 study of VTX002 tablets for treatment of UC is underway (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT05156125).
 1Luo A, et al. 2020 Gastroenterology. 2020;158(6):S1188.


Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (1871-1949) was a Spanish-born polymath who, though mostly remembered for his historically inspired fashion designs, was first trained as a painter in Paris and would become a lighting and set designer, photographer, costume designer, and inventor. Working in Venice at the turn of the 20th century with an insatiable appetite for the historic, the notoriously secretive artist was often called a magician. Fortuny was able to produce a realistic night sky using his own electric stage lighting system. He inverted traditional photographic processes by printing horizontally with natural light from the window in his darkroom. And his most enigmatic creation is a series of rarely seen photographic prints made in a lightless process where mounds of damp fabric were pressed onto sensitized paper to form an abstract multiplicity of wrinkles. Despite being an inventor who relied on technological advancements and experiments, Fortuny?s deeply historical temperament is evident in his own declaration: ?Nothing is new in this world, so I do not pretend to bring new ideas?.He invented a machine for permanently pressing the Classical pleats of his delicate silk Delphos gown and with painted stencilling he re-created the glittering patterns of woven brocades and damasks from the Italian Renaissance ? often copied from 16th-century painting. Marcel Proust utilized these garments, which remained largely unchanged over forty years of production, as Venetian emblems of memory in � la recherche du temps perdu, where they conjure Carpaccio?s exquisitely painted velvet robes. Inspired by classical Greece and Renaissance Italy, amongst other eras, Fortuny was wildly historic in the way he brought together forms and patterns from disparate times and places. Invoking Michel Serres? illustration of multitemporality as a crumpled handkerchief, ?Reviving Fortuny?s Phantasmagorias? argues that Fortuny?s sense of time (like Proustian time) is pleated time ? where the past touches the present. This thesis utilizes the concept of phantasmagoria in multiple ways. The antique-filled Gothic palazzo in which Fortuny lived and worked, which like the 19th-century interiors that Walter Benjamin describes, manifests a phantasmagoric layering of past upon present. ?Reviving Fortuny?s Phantasmagorias? also employs Theodor Adorno?s writing on Wagnerian opera and Marina Warner?s historicised account of phantasmagoria to apply the term to Fortuny?s stage lighting designs, clothing, and photography. The thesis follows Fortuny?s self-assessment that he was ?first and foremost a painter? to argue that it was ?as a painter? that he thought of light throughout his work across various media. Though he is often relegated to footnotes in the large bodies of scholarship on Proust and Wagner, ?Reviving Fortuny?s Phantasmagorias? centres on Fortuny and his work in Venice (a pivotal point of intersection for all three): the watery city of both memory and desire, of flickering golden light and dark, damp shadows. This thesis argues that Fortuny, as a revivalist, accessed the past through art objects and material visual culture, in his personal collection and from reproductions, to re-create them in the early 20th century. His work is phantasmagoric because of the way it uses light and darkness, shadows and projections, and movement and colour to bring historical images to life, bringing together a multiplicity of times. Though these themes are easily identifiable in Fortuny?s work, they have yet to be traced throughout his oeuvre in any major piece of writing.


When parsing morphologically-rich languages with neural models, it is bene fi cial to model input at the character level, and it has been claimed that this is because character-level models learn morphology. We test these claims by comparing character-level models to an oracle with access to explicit morphological analysis on twelve languages with varying morphological typologies. Our results high-light many strengths of character-level models, but also show that they are poor at disam-biguating some words, particularly in the face of case syncretism. We then demonstrate that explicitly modeling morphological case improves our best model, showing that character-level models can bene fi t from targeted forms of explicit morphological modeling.


Bailey is with RBES Ltd., Birmingham, United Kingdom. Hillman is with the Dept of Kinesiology and Community Health, Psychology, and Internal Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Arent is with the Human Performance Laboratory, Dept of Exercise Science and Sport Studies, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ. Petitpas is the Director of the Center for Youth Development and Research, Dept of Psychology, Springfield College, Springfield, MA. Physical Activity as an Investment in Personal and Social Change: The Human Capital Model


During a 20-year period between January 1964 and December 1983, 317 radical hysterectomies and pelvic lymphadenectomies were performed for stage IB, IIA and IIB carcinoma of the cervix at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical School of Debrecen. The 5-year survival rate for Stage IB patients is 88.3 per cent, in Stage IIA 82.7%, in Stage IIB 68.0% and the major prognostic factor clearly being the status of the pelvic lymph nodes. In comparison with the literary data their results seem to suggest that routine pre- and postoperative radiotherapy reduces pelvic metastases and improves survival in patients with positive pelvic lymph nodes. It was noted that closed retroperitoneal suction drainage after radical operation effectively removes fluid from the pelvis and probably prevents some of the postoperative complications. Evidence seems to suggest that properly performed radical pelvic surgery with radiation therapy is successful in treating early cervical carcinoma. There does not appear to be any contraindication to operation in this group of patient as long as the condition is deemed medically operable.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of different low-cost instruments to measure pork colour in comparison to Minolta spectrophotometers and industry subjective standards. Canadian pork colour standards and commercial meat (252 loin chops and 46 tenderloins) were measured using two Minolta (CM 700D) spectrophotometers, four Nix sensors (two Nix Pro II and two Nix QC), and four Spectro devices (two Spectro 1 and two Spectro 1 Pro). Using Bland-Altman plots, all hand-held devices revealed similar performance on colour coordinates, except for the Nix Pro II, which had more variability on a* value, and Spectro 1 Pro on b* value, when compared to Minolta measurements. Low RSD values (< 5%) were obtained from repeated measurements on Canadian colour standards. The trend of colour coordinates on colour scores (0–6) were similar for all four commercial instruments, except for a* from Nix Pro and b* from Spectro 1. The correlation coefficients between subjective standards and colour coordinates from the Nix and Spectro devices were slightly higher than the Minolta spectrophotometers. Even though Nix and Spectro 1 series instruments generated different absolute colour coordinate values on meat samples, these pocket-size instruments presented great reliability to measure pork surface colour. However, operational limitations of the instruments, such as the internal calibration time between samples for the Spectro 1 series, should also be considered.


BACKGROUND
 Smart speakers to improve wellbeing had been trialled in social care by others but we were not aware of any implementation at scale. For widespread adoption of new technology, it has to be locally demonstrable and become normalised.

 OBJECTIVE
 For 150 (two thirds) care homes in one rural and coastal region to install smart speakers and to explore if and how devices were used, barriers to implementation, and potential benefits.

 METHODS
 Email, workshops, drop-in sessions, phone, and cold calling was used to contact all 230 care homes, offering a free smart speaker and some advisory support. Care homes accepting devices were followed up by telephone survey.

 RESULTS
 It took 7 months to install 156 devices in 92 care homes for older people, 50 for people with physical or mental health needs and eight others. Devices were used mainly for music but also for poetry, recipes, controlling lights, jokes, and video calls. Care home managers reported benefits for residents including enhanced engagement with home activities, enjoyment, calming effects, and acquisition of new skills. Implementation problems included internet connectivity, staff capacity and skills.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Affordable consumer devices, such as smart speakers, should be installed in all care homes to benefit residents. Voice-activated technologies are easy to use and promote interaction. This study indicates that implementation in care homes was possible and that smart speakers had multifaceted benefit for residents and staff. Most care homes in this region now use smart speakers for residents therefore normalising this practice.


Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is crucial for the development of T and B lymphocytes from common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) and for the maintenance of mature T lymphocytes. Its in vivo role for dendritic cells (DCs) has been poorly defined. Here, we investigated whether IL-7 is important for the development or maintenance of different DC types. Bone marrow-derived DCs expressed the IL-7 receptor (IL-7R) and survived significantly longer in the presence of IL-7. Migratory DCs (migDCs) isolated from lymph nodes also expressed IL-7R. Surprisingly, IL-7R was not required for their maintenance but indirectly for their development. Conventional DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) resident in lymph nodes and spleen were IL-7R(-). Using mixed bone marrow chimeras, we observed an intrinsic requirement for IL-7R signals in their development. As the number of CLPs but not myeloid progenitors was reduced in the absence of IL-7 signals, we propose that a large fraction of cDCs and pDCs derives from CLPs and shares not only the lymphoid origin but also the IL-7 requirement with lymphocyte precursors.


Steady axisymmetric equilibria of an earlier developed extended electromagnetic theory are considered, as based on a nonzero electric field divergence in the vacuum state and Lorentz invariance. The general solutions are derived from a generating function which yields electrically charged particle-like states when its radial part diverges at the origin. For a corresponding electron model, the integrated charge, magnetic moment, mass (energy), and angular momentum still become nonzero and finite, provided that the characteristic radius is made to shrink to that of a point-charge-like state. This removes the problem of an infinite self-energy, and presents a possible alternative to the conventional renormalization process. With the subsidiary quantum conditions on magnetic moment, angular momentum, and magnetic flux, a variational analysis is applied to find an extremum of the electronic charge. The resulting minimum value deviates only by about 3 percent from that of the experimentally determined elementary charge, and it depends only on the velocity of light and Planck's constant. This indicates that the electronic charge may no longer be considered as an independent constant of nature, but can be deduced in terms of these two constants. There could be several possible explanations of the obtained deviation, of which the most probable appears to be due to refinements caused by quantization of the field equations already from the outset.


This study investigated the influence of path-goal theory of leadership styles and the moderating role of task structure in leadership on teachers' satisfaction, motivation, and performance in the Division of San Pablo City public secondary schools. The research design adopted for this study was a descriptive-correlational study involving survey questionnaires administered to 579 junior high school teachers across 13 public secondary schools. Data analysis utilized mean, standard deviation, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Findings indicate that teachers perceived their school heads as demonstrating directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership styles. Task structure in leadership was generally perceived favorably. Teachers exhibited moderate job satisfaction, positive work motivation, and very satisfactory performance across various domains. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships between path-goal theory of leadership styles, work motivation, and teachers' performance. However, no significant relationship was found between leadership styles, task structure in leadership, and job satisfaction. Task structure in leadership showed a weak negative correlation with job satisfaction and a moderate negative correlation with aspects of work motivation but no significant relationship with teachers' performance. Regression analysis demonstrated that path-goal theory of leadership styles directly influenced work motivation and teachers' performance, while job satisfaction had a strong baseline level independent of leadership styles. Task structure in leadership moderated the relationship between leadership styles, job satisfaction, and teachers' performance but did not moderate work motivation. This study contributes to understanding leadership practices that positively influence teachers' motivation and performance, offering implications for enhancing school leadership and improving educational quality.


We report the case of a 62-year-old man with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction complicated by partial rupture of the antero-lateral papillary muscle in which severe mitral regurgitation with lateralized direction towards the right pulmonary veins gave unilateral pulmonary oedema, resembling an acute pneumonia.Unilateral pulmonary oedema is a rare entity, more frequently appearing as opacity of the right lung and always associated with severe mitral regurgitation. It is very important to suspect and promptly recognize unilateral pulmonary oedema because initial misdiagnosis leads to a delay in the initiation of appropriate treatment and to an increased risk of mortality.


The present study is concerned with an attempt to determine the direct mode of action of several of the more commonly used drugs in the treatment of pyelitis. The action of the alkalis, of hexamethylenamin and of phenyl salicylate has been studied. First, it must be said that pyelitis, in most instances, is a self limited disease, which may disappear almost as rapidly as it appears. It is sometimes discovered accidentally by routine examination of the urine. At other times, it may be associated with very severe symptoms, being, even, rapidly fatal, owing to renal complications. Our inability to distinguish between pyelitis with and without renal involvement makes it extremely difficult to differentiate, at the onset, the severe from the mild; at present, the clinical course is the sole criterion. This difficulty practically rules out the possibility of comparing the various modes of treatment by studying a given number of


The purpose of this research was to establish a strategy oriented towards economic and social growth in two indigenous communities, comprised by (12) twelve women belonging to Tukano Oriental and Nukak Makú ethnic groups resettled in San José del Guaviare. This will generate a strengthening for local development of the region, focused on the sustainable use of Chambira palms located in the administrative department of Guaviare Colombia, througly study applications and managing dynamics for the used vegetal species. By means of an experimental design supported by a mixed methodology, distributed in four phases: diagnosis, strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation. It was possible to evidence a clear absence of concertation mechanisms or productive alternatives agreed between the communities and the state, that give solution to the different problems present in the territory; likewise, an unnecessarily destructive use was identified in the harvest of the palm as a daily practice of the Nukak people in comparison with the process of non-destructive use adopted by the Tukano community. In conclusion, it is proposed the implementation of sustainable practices for adequated utilization, managing and transformation of vegetal fiber from native communities supported in an associativity strategy between base organizations and women from the involved etnies, generating exchange networks. Palavras-chave: Indigenous. Cumare. Sustainable utilization. Guaviare. Associativity.


Innovation is very important for companies to create value and competitive advantage. Whether there is an effect on the economic performance of firms the effect of patent, which is a safeguard tool that helps to benefit from innovations and encourages making other innovations, has been analyzed through the data of companies in Turkey. A statistically significant relationship was found between the number of patents and the firms' ability to increase employment and exports. In terms of negative financial performance in the short term, it is thought that firms may have a delayed effect due to certain factors.


Di-block copolymers of polystyrene-b-ethylene-co-propylene in the selective solvent dodecane form highly monodisperse spherical micelles. At concentrations above about 3 wt % these form microdomains with crystalline order, and the type of lattice appears to depend on the shear treatment of the sample. Formation of long range order is enabled by very low shear rates and gives rise in small angle neutron scattering experiments to a pattern of diffraction spots. The formation of the long range order and the melting at high shear rates has been followed in a sequence of SANS experiments carried out on samples contained in a Couette cell.


Cuff pressure of endotracheal tube (ETT) must be high enough to seal the trachea, and must be low enough to allow adequate perfusion of tracheal mucosa. Compared with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cuffed tubes, polyurethane cuffed tubes protect more efficiently. Different methods of ETT cuff pressure maintenance in practice have been reported. We planned to compare ETT cuff pressure using different techniques in PVC and polyurethane microcuff tubes in a prospective randomized study. Eighty surgical patients between 16–65 years belonging to American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I–III, scheduled for orotracheal intubation under general anaesthesia, were included. All enrolled patients were randomized into four groups (n = 20 per group), followed by corresponding treatments, including intubation by PVC ETT or polyurethane microcuff ETT and cuff inflation by auscultation of audible leak or pressure volume loop. Amount of air required to inflate cuff was more in polyurethrane tube as compared to polyvinyl tube. While comparing the two methods of cuff inflation, less volume of air was required in pressure volume loop method. We concluded that PVC cuff tube and polyurethane microcuff tube both are safe tubes used in adult patients. However, when inflated using same technique polyurethane microcuff tubes required larger volume to inflate cuff. Further, pressure generated in polyurethane microcuff tubes in much lower than PVC tubes. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Pt B D Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak (No. IEC/Th/18/Anst15) on January 20, 2018 and registered with Clinical Trials Registry-India (registration No. CTRI/2019/01/017170) on January 18, 2019.


Yes, another journal! The field of cognitive neuroscience continues to grow and mature, and it is important that publishing outlets continue to grow and mature in order to support the increasing volume of high-quality research. However, it is our intention that Cognitive Neuroscience will offer something genuinely different in terms of content and publishing standards. This editorial sets out the ethos behind the journal and presents some publishing statistics on our first year.


In a previous paper [1], a preliminary design methodology was proposed for the design of an axial turbine, replacing a conventional radial turbine used in automotive turbochargers, to achieve improved transient response, due to the intrinsically lower moment of inertia. In this second part of the work, the focus is on the optimisation of this preliminary design to improve on the axial turbine efficiency using a genetic algorithm in order to make the axial turbine a more viable proposition for turbocharger turbine application. The implementation of multidisciplinary design optimisation is essential to the aerodynamic shape optimisation of turbocharger turbines, as changes in blade geometry lead to variations in both structural and aerodynamics performance. Due to the necessity to have multiple design objectives and a significant number of variables, genetic algorithms seem to offer significant advantages. However, large generation sizes and simulation run times could result in extensively long periods of time for the optimisation to be completed. This paper proposes a dimensioning of a multi-objective genetic algorithm, to improve on a preliminary blade design in a reasonable amount of time. The results achieved a significant improvement on safety factor of both blades whilst increasing the overall efficiency by 2.55%. This was achieved by testing a total of 399 configurations in just over 4 h using a cluster network, which equated to 2.73 days using a single computer.


A passive hemagglutination (PHA) assay for antibody to Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin is described which utilizes chromic chloride-treated ovine erythrocytes coated with purified toxin. PHA antitoxin titers correlated well with those obtained by a cytotoxicity neutralization assay (r = 0.91, P less than 0.001), whereas the PHA assay was four to eight times as sensitive. The mean serum PHA titer of 16 patients convalescing from recent pseudomonas infections (log2 = 9.4 +/- 3.9) was significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than that of 17 healthy controls (2,7 +/- 2.6), and fourfold or greater rises were demonstrated in 5 of 7 patients examined sequentially. The lower levels of PHA antibody in sera from 11 of 17 controls suggested the acquisition of antitoxin secondary to asymptomatic infection.


The rapid growth of Islamic banking has attracted much attention lately in the economic literature. The main goal of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the Islamic banking, economic growth and innovation using data for the five Gulf Arab States (Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) in the period of 2001–2015. In the empirical analysis where the panel data method is used, unit root and co-integration tests were applied to the variables. It is postulated that according to the test findings, economic growth is co-integrated with Islamic banking and patent application. Long run co-integration coefficients of the variables were analysed throughout the panel using the method of Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (PDOLS). The conclusion of the empirical study indicates that Islamic banking funds and innovation in chosen Gulf Arab states have positive and significant relations with economic growth.


ABSTRACT The main purpose of this paper is to explore the differences between ordinary (narrative) and traumatic memory. Given that memory is embedded in the context of emotions and motivation, with regions involved in processing memory also involved in processing affective information, researchers have posited that memory is disrupted for traumatic events that cause undue stress to certain regions of the brain. Researchers have posited that traumatic memories are orchestrated by special mechanisms that are not involved in the processing of non-traumatic information (Edelstein, Alexander, Goodman, & Newton, 2004; Kraft, 2004). This paper explores the research findings on traumatic memory, offer suggestions for future exploration of this topic, and attempt to determine if traumatic memories really are special in nature.