In many laboratories, clinical biochemists add interpretative comments to laboratory reports. There is, however, little evidence base to support this activity. Interpretative comments attached to reports are quite complex, usually consisting of several components that may suggest possible diagnoses and additional tests. Every comment is different, and assessment of interpretation is difficult. We illustrate different approaches which can be used: assessing whole comments or comment components or key phrases; and using independent assessors or a pooled panel of experts. No approach has yet been optimized: assessment is a guide to and not a definition of exact solutions. Although External Quality Assurance Schemes examining interpretation provide information to individual participants on how their comments compare with others, a more important role of these Schemes is to enable us to pool knowledge, and their primary purpose is educational.


SUMMARY: Aspergillus nidulans has at least two permeases for L-proline. The prnB gene of the prn gene cluster specifies the major proline permease, which is inducible by proline. Synthesis of the prnB permease is subject to repression by ammonium at 37 ° but not at 25 °. A genetically unidentified minor proline permease(s) does not respond to proline induction or ammonium repression but is inhibited by ammonium. areAr mutants are unable to utilize nitrogen sources other than ammonium because they lack a positive-acting regulatory product required for expression of ammonium-repressible activities. However, there are very few cases in which the lack of growth of areAr mutants on a particular nitrogen source can be attributed to a reduction in the level of a particular enzyme activity or permease. Reduced expression of the prnB permease can account for the inability of areAr mutants to utilize proline. This is demonstrated by the ability of cis-acting regulatory mutations designated prnd , which derepress synthesis of the prnB permease, to suppress areAr mutations for proline utilization. The apparent ability of prnd mutations to derepress synthesis of proline oxidase and l-pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase is probably an indirect consequence of their ability to derepress synthesis of the prnB permease, preventing inducer exclusion. There is presently no evidence that prnd mutations directly affect expression of the prnA, prnC or prnD genes, but this possibility has not been definitively eliminated.


The aim of this study was to explore postoperative changes in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and risk factors that influence the clinical effects of ultrasound-guided permanent [(125)I] seed implantation in the treatment of prostate cancer. From July 2009 to December 2012, 41 prostate cancer patients who underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided [(125)I] seed implantation were followed up for 3-56 months. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to their results: group A, benign rebound group, 31 cases; and group B, biochemical relapse group, 10 cases. A blood analysis of group A showed that the initial PSA rise after a nadir occurred postoperatively at 16.8 ± 1.2 months, and in 65.8% (27/41) patients the rise occurred during 15-27 weeks. For group B, the initial PSA rise after a nadir occurred postoperatively at 30.2 ± 2.1 months, and the difference in the time parameter of the initial PSA rise after the nadir was statistically significant between the 2 groups (P < 0.01). During treatment, age was shown to be a risk factor for group A (P = 0.0027, P < 0.01). Postoperative changes in PSA levels after ultrasound-guided permanent [(125)I] seed implantation contributed to the assessment of the clinical treatment effects.


OBJECTIVES
Although deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) is routinely used to interrupt normal perfusion of the brain and prevent subsequent cerebral ischemic injury during cardiac surgery, it is associated with various forms of neurologic disturbances. Neurologic sequelae after prolonged HCA include motor, memory and cognitive deficits. The present study was designed to assess acute regional neuronal injury after HCA in an animal model.

METHODS
Six piglets underwent 75 min of HCA at 18 degrees C. Four piglets served as normal controls. After gradual rewarming and reperfusion, treatment animals were killed and their brains were perfusion-fixed and cryopreserved. Regional patterns of neuronal apoptosis after HCA was characterized by in situ DNA fragmentation using terminal deoxyneucleotidyl-transferase-mediated biotin-dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) histochemistry. Hematoxylin and eosin histology was used to characterize cell damage morphologically. TUNEL-positive cells were scored on a scale of 0 to 5. Grade 0: no TUNEL-positive cells; Grade 1: <10%, Grade 2: 10-25%, Grade 3: 25-50%, Grade 4: 50-75%; and Grade 5: >75%.

RESULTS
TUNEL-positive cells indicating DNA-fragmentation were scored in the precentral gyrus (motor neocortex), postcentral gyrus (sensory neocortex), hippocampus, cerebellum, thalamus and ventral medulla of HCA treated animals and were significantly greater than in normal controls (P<or=0.05). Significantly higher concentrations of TUNEL-positive cells were observed in the sensory and motor neocortex and hippocampus, compared to the cerebellum, thalamus and medulla, indicating an increased selective vulnerability of these brain subregions (P<or=0.05). Despite significant DNA fragmentation indicated by high-concentrations TUNEL-positive cells, no morphologic evidence of apoptosis or necrosis was observed in this acute model.

CONCLUSION
The data indicate that sensory and motor neocortex and hippocampal neurons are selectively vulnerable to neurologic injury after HCA as indicated by elevated levels of TUNEL-positive cells in these brain regions. It is noteworthy that evidence of significant neuronal injury is observed in the acute state. The absence of morphological evidence of apoptosis or necrosis with high levels of TUNEL-positive cells, strongly suggests activation of the apoptotic mechanisms at this early stage. These findings are compatible with data showing morphological evidence of apoptosis in these regions after a more prolonged period in a chronic animal model. The mechanisms underlying neuronal injury, and potential neuroprotective strategies remain to be elucidated.


With the development of information technology and the wide spread application of internet, information system is playing an important role in human society. Furthermore, operating system, which is the base of information system, manages the computer resources directly, so the security of operating system is the base of the security of information system. SELinux sub-system can enforce a policy based on robust Mandatory Access Control (MAC) and provide flexible security policy configuration, which allows for greater overall system security. Today, it is good reference for our research and development a security independent operating system. However, the policy configuration of SELinux is very powerful and complicated, which limit the scope of its application. Therefore, the research of the security policy and the analysis of the security consistency of policies are of great value.


Purpose: Recently, the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing among patients with low urinary tract symtoms (LUTS) caused by benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). We assessed current usage and awareness of phytotherapy, the most ubiquitous CAM, in BPH/LUTS patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 204 patients with BPH who completed a questionnaire between January 2009 and December 2010 were enrolled. The questionnaire was composed of questions about age, education level, accompanying disease, type of phytotherapy, route of purchase, reason of taking medicine and whether the patient is using phytotherapy in combination with conventional medicine. Results: The mean age was 55.5±(8.7 years. 56 of the total patients (27.5%) were using phytotherapy. The patients who were accompanied with erectile dysfunction used phytotherapy the most. The most commonly used phytotherapy for prescription and health functional food was Saw palmetto. The most common route of purchase was by clinician"s prescription (46.4%). Most patients answered the dissatisfaction of present treatment"s effect as the main reason for using phytotherapy. The number of patients who were taking combination therapy of BPH medication and phytotherapy was much more than using phytotherapy alone. Conclusions: 27.5% of patients who had BPH/LUTS were using phytotherapy. This is the point of time for many urologists to acquire the knowledge of studies and latest research of phytotherapy and use it in treating patients with BPH/LUTS.


Consider a multiple access channel with a large number of users. In most practical scenarios, due to decoding complexity, users are not scheduled together, and only one user may transmit at any given time. In this work, we analyze the delay and QoS of such systems under a specific, opportunistic and distributed scheduling algorithm, in which each user, at the beginning of each slot, estimates its channel gain and transmits only if it is greater than a given threshold. Specifically, we analyze the performance while assuming the users are not necessarily fully backlogged, focusing on the queueing problem and, especially, on the strong dependence between the queues. We first adopt the celebrated model of Ephremides and Zhu to give new results on the convergence of the probability of collision to its average value (as the number of users grows), and hence for the ensuing system performance metrics, such as throughput and delay. We then utilize this finding to suggest a much simpler approximate model, which accurately describes the system behaviour when the number of users is large. The system performance as predicted by the approximate models shows excellent agreement with simulation results.


In England, more young people are now able to change education institution at age 14. This follows a growth in recent years in the number of institutions that cater for 14–19-yearolds, such as university technical colleges (UTCs), studio schools and 14–19 free schools. These institutions typically have a focus on vocational or technical education, but promise to deliver a broad education to a wide mixture of pupils. UTCs, studio schools and 14–19 free schools were all introduced following the passing of the Academies Act 2010. Each of them implement different models of the provision of 14–19 education, and of the extent to which vocational and technical education is blended with a mainstream academic curriculum. All, however, are designed to build relationships with a range of business partners. Despite this growth in their number, relatively little is known about how 14–19 institutions impact upon their local education markets. This has led to many claims and counter-claims being made about UTCs and studio schools, ranging from arguments that they provide high-quality technical routes for young people, through to fears that they will 'track' low-attaining pupils and impede their chances of success. IPPR's 'Transitions at age 14' study seeks to understand these claims in more detail. It will examine how 14–19 education institutions are becoming a more significant part of local schools provision, and what this means for both nearby mainstream secondary schools and the wider education system. This briefing is the first, interim publication of our 'Transitions at 14' study, and presents new findings, based on analysis of the Department for Education's National Pupil Database, to help inform the debate.


Standards are generally delivered by means of static documents which are difficult to handle and to learn. Although their source text might have an open access, they do not offer an open source environment which effectively supports their assimilation, comprehension, and use. To achieve this goal, standards regulating the software process should be delivered in different "workable" formats to allow users to immediately start applying them with the support of software tools and methodologies.


Regulators have a choice of approaches available to them in regulating digital copyright issues that lie on a scale between restrictiveness and openness. In a world in which the regulator seems to exclusively rely on entrenching a restrictive approach, this paper questions whether the long-forgotten open approach is worth reconsidering in the digital age. The ideal of cyber socialism is examined in the context of the roots and structure of cyberspace and its state of nature, and digital distribution models operating outside of the existing law are considered. The Creative Commons licenses are evaluated for their suitability in opening the current one-note regulatory regime.


Deep reinforcement learning (RL) is being actively studied for robot navigation due to its promise of superior performance and robustness. However, most existing deep RL navigation agents are trained using fixed parameters, such as maximum velocities and weightings of reward components. Since the optimal choice of parameters depends on the use-case, it can be difficult to deploy such existing methods in a variety of real-world service scenarios. In this paper, we propose a novel deep RL navigation method that can adapt its policy to a wide range of parameters and reward functions without expensive retraining. Additionally, we explore a Bayesian deep learning method to optimize these parameters that requires only a small amount of preference data. We empirically show that our method can learn diverse navigation skills and quickly adapt its policy to a given performance metric or to human preference. We also demonstrate our method in real-world scenarios.


Starting from 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazoles (TBZs), we performed the design, synthesis, and the structure-activity relationship studies of a series of 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones. Some derivatives proved to be highly effective in inhibiting HIV-1 replication at nanomolar concentrations with minimal cytotoxicity, thereby acting as nonnucleoside HIV-1 RT inhibitors (NNRTIs). Computational studies were used to delineate the ligand-RT interactions and to probe the binding of the ligands to HIV-1 RT.


The authors begin by outlining fundamental hydrologic theories and the current general knowledge then expand into a formal discussion specific to Hawaii and the distinctive elements and their inter-relations under natural and human-influenced conditions. They include chapters on rainfall and climate, evaporation, groundwater, and surface run-off. Details on the quantification of hydrologic processes are available to those with more technical knowledge, but interested general readers will find much in this volume that is timely and accessible.


Cyclin D1 belongs to a family of protein kinases that have been implicated in cell cycle regulation. In the present study we characterized cyclin D1 expression in 6 cultured human pancreatic cancer cell lines and in normal and cancerous human pancreatic tissues. A 4.4-kb cyclin D1 mRNA transcript was present in all cell lines and in all pancreatic tissues. Cyclin D1 mRNA levels were 2.1-fold higher in the pancreatic cancers than in normal pancreatic tissues (p < 0.0002). Cancer patients with lower cyclin D1 levels (n = 16) had a median survival of 15.5 months whereas patients with higher levels (n = 16) had a median survival of 6.5 months (p < 0.007). These data indicate that cyclin D1 expression may serve as a predictor of postoperative survival in pancreatic cancer patients, and raise the possibility that treatment modalities blocking cyclin D1 activity may have a future role in the therapy of these patients.


Evidence plays an important role in the administration of justice and the protection of citizens' rights. Without evidence, cases may be delayed, thereby denying justice and this consequently infringes on the rights of the individual. This qualitative study collected data through questionnaires, interviews and content analysis to investigate the admissibility of digital records as evidence in Zimbabwe's Bulawayo High Court. The study focused on establishing how digital records are admissible as evidence in courts of law, taking into consideration that they are subject to manipulation, tampering, deletion and alteration, among other challenges. The population and sample included court officials such as the judge, prosecutors and lawyers as they are custodians of the law. Findings revealed that digital records were admissible as evidence although the focus at the moment was on audio-visual records. Acts relating to the issue of evidence were enacted years ago when technology was still far off. There were also no policies in place for the use of digital records as evidence. The National Archives Act of Zimbabwe (1986) does not adequately cater for the management of digital records generated within the public sector of Zimbabwe. The other finding was that there were no guidelines on the authentication of digital records. In view of the results, the study recommended that laws of evidence be amended to incorporate all forms of digital records as evidence in courts of law in a bid to guide legal practitioners.


Based on eight surveys conducted at 14 stations from the estuary to the upper reaches of Ba Che river, Quang Ninh province from August 2008 to February 2011, a total of 976 fish specimens were collected and analyzed. Of those 13 orders, 58 families, 102 genera and 123 species of fish were determined. The result reveals that eight of these species were already listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam (2007) by CR level: Bostrichthys sinensis, Plectorhinchus gibbosus ; EN level: Clupanodon thrissa , Channa maculata and VU level: Megalops cyprinoides , Nematolosa nasus , Konosirus punctatus and Parazacco vuquangensis . Of the thirdteen orders, Perciformes is the most abundant of familes, genera and species levels, and also being widely distributed from sea to freshwater. On the other hand, almost all species of Cypriformes are believed to occur in the freshwater. Not only being diverse of species composition, but there are also various marine to freshwater fishes in the research area. Particularly, of the 123 species, two freshwater fishes could be collected from the brackish water ( Pseudohemiculter dispar and Sinibrama affinis ). Based on the seasonal occurrence at stations, we suggested that fish distribution is abundant in the lowland, but is less dominant dispersion in midland of the river. Furthermore, marine or brackish fishes are limited to occur in lowland waters, whereas freshwater fish distribute throughout the fauna.


Surface radicals generated by 193 nm (nylon) or 172 nm (PET) UV light afford strongly antimicrobial amine functionality by grafting or by transformation. They are broadly effective in the lab and significantly viable in the field.


Polygraphic records of the whole duration of the second daytime sleep period have been performed in two groups of infants: 1st group (13 infants)--aged 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 months (a total of 65 polygrams), and 2nd group (14 infants)--aged 6, 9 and 12 months (a total of 42 polygrams). The analysis of the structure of the sleep period as a whole reveals that with increasing of the age the delta-wave stage (DS) of the QS (determined by defined polygraphic parameters) increases, while the paradoxical phase of sleep (PS) decreases, this change being more pronounced during the first six months than during the second ones of the first year of the life. During the second six months the change is significant for DS duration and slightly expressed for PS duration. By analysis of the consecutive sleep cycles, composing one sleep period, it is found that: (a) during infancy the first cycle has a relatively stable duration, slight change of the ratio between DS% and PS%; after the age of 6 months its PS is greater and DS is smaller than the respective values of the second cycle; (b) with increasing of the age the second cycle tends to become shorter than the first one, this phenomenon being better manifested during the second six months of the first year; the ratio between DS% and PS% reveals much greater age-dependent changes than in the first cycle. It is concluded that during the infancy the described general tendency of the sleep structure development, restricted to one daytime sleep period, is reflecting mainly the changes in the structure of the second cycle of this period.


A variable group delay line suitable for planar lightwave circuit realisation is investigated numerically showing that bandwidth limits have to be considered. A feedback scheme allows to stabilize the structure on wavelength and delay setting


Telecommunication reforms in Zambia and the subsequent liberalisation of the international gateway was perceived as one of the means of promoting social and economic growth in both the urban and rural areas of the country. The outcome of this undertaking propelled the rapid development of Internet which has evidently brought about unprecedented paradigm shifts in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It is indisputable that ICTs, and the Internet in particular, have revolutionalised the way we communicate today. Furthermore, the penetration of ICTs to other spheres of our daily lives is evidence enough that the impacts thereof go beyond mere communicative facets of our lives. However, many challenges arose in the implementation of telecommunications reforms. In order to achieve the status quo, government had to make strategic liberalisation policies in the telecoms sector that saw the opening up of the international communication gateways to the private sector. This is in tandem with the fact that the relationship between government (through its formulation of policies and regulations) and other stakeholders determines the ability of a country to generate and use advanced knowledge for industrial competitiveness. As such, in this paper, we present the genesis and evaluate the impacts associated with the telecommunications reforms and the subsequent liberalisation of international communication gateways, and Internet development in Zambia. We further consider the challenges this has brought about and discuss possible future directions. This is helpful in forecasting the future landscape of the ICT sector considering that the country seeks to achieve universal coverage of both Internet and communication facilities to all Zambians across the country.


Gao, M.-F., Peng, H.-Z., Li, S.-S., Wang, X.-L., Gao, L., Wang, M.-H., Zhao, P.-F. and Zhao, L.-X. 2015. Insight into flower diversity in Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum chilense using comparative biological approaches. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 467-478. Flowers, the defining feature of angiosperms, are reproductive organs that enable the continuation and propagation of flowering plant species. However, intra- and inter-species specific reproductive barriers have often evolved in plants; one such example being in the section Lycopersicum of the genus Solanum. This biological phenomenon is closely related to flower diversity, including visible morphologic features and processes such as pollination and fertilization are influenced by floral morphology, although the exact relationships remains unclear. In this study, two distinct Solanum accessions that exhibit either self-compatibility (SC) (S. lycopersicum, P86) or self-incompatibility (SI) (S. chilense, LA2405), from section Lycopersicum in Solanum were subjected to comparative analyses focusing on flower diversity. The long style of LA2405 was found to differ from that of P86 in that it exserts from the anther cone, and the irregular 'long strip villi on the lower style of LA2405 were structurally distinct from the typical 'finger shape' villi of P86. Pollen grains from both LA2405 and P86 were able to germinate on their own stigmas and those of the other accessions. Pollen tube growth was arrested 1/2 and 3/4 of the way down the style in P86 and LA2405, respectively, when LA2405 was used as pistil parent. Additionally, the disappearance of starch grains and lipid bodies in the cytoplasm of the transmitting tract cells was most evident in cells that were close to the pollen tube. An analysis of the expression of flower associated genes revealed that CUL1 and SLF had an anther-specific expression pattern, while SKP1 and RBX1 were constitutively expressed in flowers of both LA2405 and P86. It was also found that transcript levels of four flower associated genes encoding subunits of the SCF complex (Skp1-Cullin1-F-box-Rbx1) were higher in anthers than in other floral organs of the flower, and higher in LA2405 than in P86. Phylogenetic analysis of CUL1 sequences and RAPD (random amplified polymorphic DNA) analysis (genome-wide scanning) indicated that flower associated genes may represent a good resource for evaluating evolutionary relationships between tomato species. Taken together the results suggest that comparative biological methods not only represent a platform for detecting evolutionary differences in flowers of different tomato species, but also provide useful data for further dissecting the mechanisms of reproductive behaviors.


Live video recording of intracellular material transport is a promising means of deciphering the fascinating underlying mechanisms driving life at the molecular level. Such technology holds the key to realizing real-time observation at appropriate resolutions in three-dimensional (3D) space within living cells. Here, we report an optical microscopic method for probing endosomal dynamics with proper spatiotemporal resolution within 3D space in live cells: plasmonic dark-field STORM (pdf-STORM). We first confirmed that pdf-STORM has a spatial resolution comparable to that of scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, by observing two optical probes within a single organelle, we were able to track rotational movements and demonstrate the feasibility of using pdf-STORM to observe the angular displacements of an endosome during a "tug-of-war" over an extended period. Finally, we show various biophysical parameters of the hitherto unelucidated dynamics of endosomes—angular displacement is discontinuous and y-axis movement predominates and follows a long-tail distribution.


This article begins by presenting experimental evidence that remains unexplained by standard and utility-extended economic models: experimental subjects tend to honor their promises even on occasions when an assessment of consequences asks them to defect; subjects voluntarily contribute to collective goods, and this contribution is highly conditional on others contributing as well; subjects evaluate and value the intentions behind actions as well as the consequences of actions. Arguments are sought for in moral philosophy that would more plainly explain the collected experimental evidence and that would help economists revise their explanatory frames. The hypothesis advanced is that the observed behavior may be interpreted as resulting from the moral strength of indignation and justice norms.


Cold urticaria is characterized by the development of urticaria and/or angioedema after cold exposure. Cold drinks, cold air and cold objects are triggering factors of cold urticaria. Extensive cold contact of large areas of skin may lead to systemic reaction. The 12-year-old male patient who was followed up with a diagnosis of hypereosinophilic syndrome and hypothyroidism presented to our outpatient clinic with complaints of swelling, erythema and pruritus after exposure to cold. The patient's face, hands and feet had developed swelling, erythema and pruritus after exposure to snow, after he entered cold water, and in cold air, for the last six months. Hepatitis markers and cryoglobulin were negative. An ice cube test was performed and found positive. This case is presented to remind cold urticaria, a rare type of physical urticaria.


ABSTRACT Cough is one of the most common complaints for which sufferers seek medical assistance. However, currently available drugs are not very effective in treating cough, particularly that which follows an upper respiratory tract infection. Nonetheless, there has been a significant increase in our understanding of the mechanisms and pathways of the defensive cough as well as the hypersensitive/pathophysiological cough, both at airway and central nervous system (CNS) levels. Numerous molecules and signaling pathways have been identified as potential targets for antitussive drugs, including neurotrophins (NTs). NTs belong to a family of trophic factors and are critical for the development and maintenance of neurons in the central and peripheral nervous system including sympathetic efferents, sensory neuron afferents, and immune cells. Nerve growth factor (NGF) was the first member of the NT family to be discovered, with wide ranging actions associated with synapse formation, survival, proliferation, apoptosis, axonal and dendritic outgrowth, expression and activity of functionally important proteins such as ion channels, receptors, and neurotransmitters. In addition, NGF has been implicated in several disease states particularly neuropathic pain and most recently in the sensitization of the cough reflex. This review will briefly address the peripheral and central sensitization mechanisms of airway neurons and will then focus on NGF signaling and its role in cough hypersensitivity.


Gap junctional communication is a widespread mechanism for metabolic coupling of adjoining cells. In the immune system, evidence has built up showing that lymphocytes possess the protein building blocks of gap junctions, the connexins. The most widespread is connexin 43, but connexin 40 is also present in secondary lymphoid organs. Inhibitors of gap junctional communication, especially the highly specific connexin mimetic peptides, have been shown to decrease the secretion of immunoglobulins and cytokines by T and B lymphocyte cocultures, indicating that connexins may play a fundamental role in lymphocyte physiology. Traditionally, connexins function when assembled into gap junction‐intercellular channels. However, the possibility is now arising that gap junction hemichannels, previously viewed as plasma membrane precursors of gap junctions, are also involved in the release from cells of small metabolites, e.g., adenosine 5′‐triphosphate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide+, and this opens up a second, possible paracrine function for connexins detected in lymphocytes. The increasing structural and functional evidence points to a potential role that lymphocyte gap junctional intercellular communication may play within the complex signaling components of the immunological synapse.


ABSTRACT This article revisits a classic two-period engineering economy problem known as the oil pump problem and adds randomness to its cash flows one at a time. Conditional cumulative probability density functions of the internal and unconditional cumulative probability density functions of the external rates of return are reported. The analytical results are verified with Monte Carlo simulation. A procedure is proposed to assess project desirability by using the probability of project acceptance as the output. The cumulative distribution functions of both rates are used in numerical examples to illustrate how project desirability or acceptance probabilities can be calculated. It is shown that the distribution of the external rate of return yields the same probability of acceptance as the distribution of the internal rate of return. This article provides an up-to-date and exhaustive review of the literature on the distribution of the rate of return in stochastic investment problems. The review also shows that the oil pump problem is still popular and widely discussed.


The prevalence and clinical significance of aortic valve prolapse were determined prospectively in 2000 consecutive patients undergoing routine clinical cross sectional echocardiography. Two hundred and twelve patients were excluded because the aortic cusps were not adequately visualised. Aortic valve prolapse was defined as downward displacement of cuspal material below a line joining the points of attachment of the aortic valve leaflets. Twenty four cases of aortic valve prolapse (1.2%) were identified. The patients were aged 12-64 years and nine were women. All had underlying valvar heart disease and the commonest lesion (in 11 cases) was prolapse of the larger cusp in bicuspid valves. Aortic valve prolapse was seen in four patients with mitral valve prolapse (two with severe regurgitation), one of whom had marfanoid aortic root dilatation. The remaining examples of aortic prolapse were seen in patients with various disorders including one with pulmonary atresia, two with aortic root disease (one with dissection and one with idiopathic dilatation), and one case of severe mitral regurgitation. Valves destroyed by infective endocarditis were seen in two cases. Aortic valve prolapse may be detected in various cardiac disorders and does not imply the presence of aortic regurgitation, but when bicuspid aortic valves are present it may well be important in producing such regurgitation. Although aortic valve prolapse may be associated with severe forms of mitral valve prolapse, these patients rarely have aortic regurgitation.


Over the past decade, and especially after the scandals that occurred during the last economic recession, there has been a call for business leaders to pay attention not only to maximization of profit but also to corporate social responsibility (CSR). It is argued that responsible leadership can be an appropriate response to the diverse needs and challenges of a complex stakeholder society. The purpose of this explorative study was to investigate top business executives' understanding of responsible leadership and their perceptions of CSR for stakeholders' health and wellbeing. Key informant interviews were conducted with ten business executives representing a variety of sectors in East Central Sweden. Content analysis was conducted to detect patterns and categories in the data. business executives understood the role of a responsible leader to involve contribution, inclusiveness, and the creation of community and structure. They viewed CSR and stakeholders' health and wellbeing largely from an organizational point of view, including their own.


The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still practiced in many countries and mainly performed for traditional reasons. In this study, the relationship of the FGM type (type I and type III) with anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder as well as the attitude toward FGM was analyzed. For this purpose the data of N=109 of FGM type I and III affected women from Ethiopia were collected. Analyses show moderation effects. It was found that the symptoms of depression and PTSD were less pronounced with a positive attitude towards the FGM in the sample of severely mutilated women (type III). It seems that the attitude toward FGM plays a major role in enhancing social recognition of those affected, thus better coping can take place. As well, this study shows the importance of the attitude of FGM tradition in the population to protect young girls prone for FGM.


A new crop of technology grafting AI to data mining techniques is making unstructured data - emails, blogs, business records, manufacturer warranties, and other kinds of text - more useful to companies. This utility sprouts from computers' ability to automatically understand and organize text so that they can slice and dice it. Machine learning, natural language processing, hidden Markov models, and rules-based pattern matching methods parse text for meaning, break it into bits, tag it, and rearrange it. The newly structured text can reveal such information as workflows, instances of impropriety or legal incompliance, cases and causes of problems, and market trends.


Two spacetime metrics are constructed that provide examples that were conjectured to exist in a recent paper by Hall and Lonie. The first metric is an Einstein space that has a null recurrent vector field. The second metric is conformally flat and also has a null recurrent vector field.


Periportal and perivenous hepatocytes were isolated by the digitonin-collagenase perfusion technique. The activity of the cytosolic glutathione S-transferase was higher in perivenous cells, but the cytosolic glutathione reductase and the microsomal glutathione S-transferase activities were evenly distributed. In contrast, both the Se-dependent and the microsomal Se-independent glutathione peroxidase activity and the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity was much lower in perivenous hepatocytes, suggesting that these cells have a lowered detoxification capacity, which may contribute to their greater susceptibility to damage by xenobiotics. The mechanism of the ethanol-induced GSH depletion in vivo was studied by incubating conventionally isolated hepatocytes. In the absence of glutathione precursors, ethanol (80 mM) did not influence the GSH content, despite accumulation of acetaldehyde (10-100 MicroM). L-Methionine or L-cysteine stimulated GSH replenishment to in vivo rates. Ethanol oxidation resulted in acetaldehyde accumulation, but did not inhibit GSH replenishment from L-methionine and even stimulated that from L-cysteine. This seems to exclude conjugation of GSH with acetaldehyde as a mechanism by which ethanol suppresses GSH levels in vivo.


Exhaust gas recirculation and charge dilution with nitrogen were used to implement low temperature combustion with early injection in metal and optical engines, respectively. Based on the results of soot and NOx emissions in a metal engine test, in-cylinder visualization is focused on a region of simultaneous reduction in soot and NOx emissions. For injection timing of 20° crank angle (CA) before top dead center (BTDC), relatively high oxygen concentration condition showed two peaks of natural luminosity; one corresponds the OH chemiluminescence from high temperature heat release in periphery of piston bowl, and the another coincides with soot luminescence in diffusive flame. Both peaks are reduced as oxygen concentration at intake stream decrease, however, the luminosity corresponding to the diffusive flame is not apparent below a certain oxygen concentration. For injection timing of 30° CA BTDC with oxygen concentration being similar to that of 20° CA BTDC, the luminosity is weak for OH chemiluminescence and no apparent for soot luminescence. The earlier injection timing allows mixing period to prolong, thus relatively well-premixed charge resulted in reduction of soot particles. This result is also supported by the longer ignition delay calculated from the metal engine test.


This paper proposes fast speaker adaptation method using artificially distorted speech in telematics terminal under the car noise environment based on eigenspace-based maximum likelihood linear regression (ES-MLLR). The artificially distorted speech is built from adding the various car noise signals collected from a driving car to the speech signal collected from an idling car. Then, in every environment, the transformation matrix is estimated by ES-MLLR using the artificially distorted speech corresponding to the specific noise environment. In test mode, an online model is built by weighted sum of the environment transformation matrices depending on the driving condition. In 3k-word recognition task in the telematics terminal, we achieve a performance superior to ES-MLLR even using the adaptation data collected from the driving condition.


Ultrasound sound-speed tomography (USST) is a promising technique for breast cancer diagnosis that is currently under investigation. Compared with two-dimensional X-ray mammography, it not only provides three-dimensional images but also avoids radiation exposure. However, the image quality of USST is highly dependent on the accuracy of travel time map (TTM). To improve the accuracy, a novel automatic first-arrival picking method is proposed in this study. With this method, Akaike information criterion is used to obtain travel time roughly, then cross-correlation of neighboring traces is employed to correct the obtained travel time. Simulation, phantom, and ex vivo experiments are implemented. The simulation experiments showed that the absolute errors of the proposed method were 52 and 98 ns for simple and complex structure data, respectively. The phantom and ex vivo experiments demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method. In this study, a novel and robust first-arrival picking method was proposed for USST.


ABSTRACT Tigecycline is a new-generation of tetracycline (glycylcyclines) and is active in vitro against bacteria that possess any of the classical genes that confer tetracycline resistance through ribosomal protection or efflux pumps. Herein, tigecycline disposition in patients with community- or hospital-acquired pneumonia was described using a population pharmacokinetic model. Additionally, the influence of covariates, such as body surface area, severity of illness, and clinical laboratory measures, on tigecycline disposition was evaluated. An intravenous loading dose of 100 mg was followed by 50 mg of tigecycline every 12 h. The final population pharmacokinetic model was a two-compartment model with linear elimination and with a relationship between tigecycline clearance and body surface area and creatinine clearance. The model was parameterized using total clearance (CL), the volume of the central compartment, distributional clearance from the central to the peripheral compartment, and volumes of distribution at steady state. Relationships between body surface area and creatinine clearance were identified as significant predictors of interindividual variability on CL. This model will serve as the basis for estimating tigecycline exposure for pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic analyses for efficacy and safety among patients with community- or hospital-acquired pneumonia.


This paper studies the standard problem for a class of multiple-delay systems, where different input/output channels have different dead times. We present a procedure of converting the original problem to an equivalent delay-free problem via loop-shifting arguments. This brings about and, for the first time, explains an unorthodox form of the dead-time compensator, called the feedforward action Smith predictor (FASP), in which an interchannel feedforward term is present alongside the conventional internal feedback. Our developments lead to a qualitative conclusion that the structure of the dead-time compensator should rely upon the structure of the regulated output and/or the way in which exogenous signals affect the measurement.


Pentobarbital sleeping times and blood levels on arousal were determined in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive controls (WKR). Sleeping time for SHR was significantly less than for WKR, but blood levels of [14C]pentobarbital at awakening were not significantly different. The shorter sleeping time in SHR appears not to result from decreased brain sensitivity to pentobarbital. Instead, SHR appear to differ from WKR in the rate of metabolic clearance of the drug or in the distribution of the drug between blood and brain.


BACKGROUND
Previous studies suggest that most patients with pulmonary embolism die of their underlying diseases and pulmonary embolism is itself responsible for a minority of deaths. It has not been determined whether pulmonary embolism is associated with increased mortality among patients with different specific diseases.

METHODS
We assessed the mortality in 1,487 patients who had lung scans to pursue the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. An outcome classification committee prospectively reviewed deaths occurring up to 1 year after each patient's entry into the study.

RESULTS
Ninety-five (23.8%) patients with pulmonary embolism and 189 (18.9%) without pulmonary embolism died within 1 year of study entry (estimated relative risk, 1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.79). Mortality according to pulmonary embolism status was different among patients with COPD from mortality among patients who did not have COPD (interaction p = 0.03). Of 45 patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism, 24 (53.3%; 95% confidence interval, 38.8 to 67.9%) died within 1 year. After adjustment for patient characteristics, the estimated risk of dying within 1 year was 1.94 times (95% confidence interval, 1.17 to 3.24) for patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism compared with those without pulmonary embolism, and 1.14 (95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 1.54) for patients without COPD (interaction p = 0.08).

CONCLUSIONS
Patients with COPD and pulmonary embolism have an increased 1-year mortality. Further study is needed to clarify the reason(s) for the increase in mortality.


Detecting differences between two binary executables (binary diffing), first derived from patch analysis, have been widely employed in various software security analysis tasks, such as software plagiarism detection and malware lineage inference. Especially when analyzing malware variants, pervasive code obfuscation techniques have driven recent work towards determining semantic similarity in spite of ostensible difference in syntax. Existing ways rely on either comparing runtime behaviors or modeling code snippet semantics with symbolic execution. However, neither approach delivers the expected precision. In this paper, we propose system call sliced segment equivalence checking, a hybrid method to identify fine-grained semantic similarities or differences between two execution traces. We perform enhanced dynamic slicing and symbolic execution to compare the logic of instructions that impact on the observable behaviors. Our approach improves existing semantics-based binary diffing by 1) inferring whether two executable binaries' behaviors are conditionally equivalent; 2) detecting the similarities or differences, whose effects spread across multiple basic blocks. We have developed a prototype, called BinSim, and performed empirical evaluations against sophisticated obfuscation combinations and more than 1,000 recent malware samples, including now-infamous crypto ransomware. Our experimental results show that BinSim can successfully identify finegrained relations between obfuscated binaries, and outperform existing binary diffing tools in terms of better resilience and accuracy.


ABE-376, a 2-page fact sheet by Hal S. Knowles, III, Kathleen C. Ruppert, Karla A. Lenfesty, and Barbara Haldeman, is part 3 in the Education + Action = Wind Damage Mitigation series. It contains information on the proper tools and safety regarding installing/putting up plywood shutters. Published by the UF Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, November 2005.
ABE376/AE412: Protect with Plywood (ufl.edu)


Determining the exact solution to the partial differential equations has been one of the most important concerns of scientists in the various centuries. This paper applies the generalized exponential rational function method to a new extension of nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Many new analytical solutions are retrieved by choosing suitable coefficients of parameters under different family cases. Some important surfaces of results such as the imaginary part, the real part, and their modulus are also depicted with the help computational packet program. According to the results obtained in this paper, the method can be assumed to be a suitable tool in solving differential equations.


Ninety-seven children with either acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) received HLA-identical bone marrow transplants from sibling donors, after preparation with 1320 cGy of hyperfractionated total-body irradiation and high-dose cyclophosphamide. Kaplan-Meier product-limit estimates (means +/- SE) of disease-free survival at five years among patients with ALL in second remission, third remission, and fourth remission or relapse were 64 +/- 9, 42 +/- 14, and 23 +/- 11 percent, respectively, with probabilities of relapse of 13 +/- 7, 25 +/- 13, and 64 +/- 16 percent. Among patients with AML in first remission, second remission, and third remission or relapse, five-year disease-free survival estimates were 66 +/- 10, 75 +/- 15, and 33 +/- 19 percent, with respective relapse probabilities of 0, 13 +/- 12, and 67 +/- 19 percent. The most frequent cause of death in patients in early remission (ALL in second or third remission or AML in first or second remission) was bacterial sepsis, fungal sepsis, or both, most often in the presence of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease. Among patients with ALL who received transplants while in second remission, the duration of the initial remission had no effect on the probability of relapse after transplantation. The only pretransplantation factor that significantly affected outcome was the disease status at the time of transplantation; patients in early remission had better disease-free survival. We conclude that transplantation after preparation with hyperfractionated total-body irradiation and cyclophosphamide is an effective mode of therapy in children with refractory forms of acute leukemia.


Background -Hybridization and polyploidization are considered important driving forces of invasive processes. In the invasive Fallopia spp. complex, hybridization between taxa of various ploidy levels has been experimentally demonstrated. Extensive genetic variation has also been observed among hybrids in the field. However, what makes a certain hybridization event of evolutionary importance is still the subject of speculation considering the invasive potential of hybrid Fallopia. Aims -The present study examined landscape scale patterns of interspecific hybridization within the alien invasive Fallopia complex, and tested whether cold winter might act as selective agent for hybrid survival. Methods -Eighty seeds per clone were collected from four taxa (F. japonica, F. sachalinensis, F. aubertii, and F. xbohemica) and sown in greenhouse and outdoor conditions. Ploidy levels of the resulting seedlings were determined by flow cytometry at early stages of seedling growth and compared to those of mature clones present in the same landscapes. Key results -The four studied taxa were involved in interspecific hybridization patterns. Seedlings resulting from hybridization had a large range of ploidy levels, including aneuploid and euploid progeny, and polyploid levels that were not observed in mature clones. Cold winter had a negative effect on germination success. However, a comparison of ploidy levels of seedlings that survived the cold winter with those grown under greenhouse conditions indicated that cold winter was not a significant selection agent for particular ploidy levels. Conclusions -Our results stress the importance of interspecific hybridization and polyploidization events in generating invasive hybrids in the alien Fallopia spp complex. Cold winter represents a selection agent for the survival of early stages of progeny but does not explain the discrepancies in ploidy levels between produced seedlings and currently occurring mature clones.


Graph modeling allows numerous security problems to be tackled in a general way, however, little work has been done to understand their ability to withstand adversarial attacks. We design and evaluate two novel graph attacks against a state-of-the-art network-level, graph-based detection system. Our work highlights areas in adversarial machine learning that have not yet been addressed, specifically: graph-based clustering techniques, and a global feature space where realistic attackers without perfect knowledge must be accounted for (by the defenders) in order to be practical. Even though less informed attackers can evade graph clustering with low cost, we show that some practical defenses are possible.


It is an important time for scholars of communication to develop rich theory addressing critical applied interpersonal issues. Stress, substance abuse, violence, health problems, divorce, safety, and aging are but a few of the problems individuals address in their day-to-day interpersonal communication. That communication is critical to coping successfully with these challenges. Stressing the timeliness of such applied contributions, the International Communication Association instituted a regular feature in its newsletter on communication matters, and focused its most recent conference on applied issues in communication. This edited volume, containing individual chapters by original researchers, explores socially meaningful contributions to the study of interpersonal problems involving language and social action.


Potassium currents are an important factor in repolarizing the membrane potential and determining the level of neuronal excitability. We compared potassium currents in CA1 hippocampal neurons dissociated from young (2‐3 months old) and old (26 ‐30 months old) Sprague‐ Dawley rats. Whole-cell patch-clamp techniques were used to measure the delayed rectifier (sustained) and the A-type (transient) potassium currents. The delayed rectifier current was smaller in old (548 6 57 pA) than in young (1193 6 171 pA) neurons. In the absence of extracellular calcium, the delayed rectifier current was also smaller in old (427 6 41 pA) than in young (946 6 144 pA) neurons. The cell membrane capacitance was unchanged in old (13.3 6 1.2 pF) compared to young (13.6 6 1.2 pF). Therefore, the reduction in the delayed rectifier current was not due to a change in membrane surface area. Moreover, activation and inactivation of the delayed rectifier current were unchanged in old compared to young neurons. The slope of the current-voltage relation, however, was smaller in old (B 5 5.03) than in young (B 5 9.62) neurons. Similarly, the A-current was smaller in old (100 6 16 pA) than in young (210 6 44 pA) neurons in the presence of extracellular calcium. This reduction of potassium currents could account for the prolongation of action potentials reported previously for old rat CA1 hippocampal neurons. The age-related reduction in potassium current indicates plasticity in neuronal function that can impact communication in the hippocampal neural network during aging. J. Neurosci. Res. 63:176 ‐184, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.


Abstract Background: Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water is a growing public health issue affecting millions of people worldwide, including 35 to 57 million in Bangladesh. While tobacco smoking is beginning to decline in some Western populations, it is increasing in the Bangladeshi population as well as other developing nations. Arsenic and tobacco are known human carcinogens, with epigenetic modification suggested to underlie their mechanisms of carcinogenesis. Objectives: Among a random sample of 413 adult participants (218 males and 195 females) in the Bangladesh Vitamin E and Selenium Trial (BEST)'an NCI-funded 6-year chemoprevention trial of 7,000 individuals with arsenical skin lesions, we evaluated the association between chronic arsenic exposure, tobacco smoking, and epigenome-wide DNA methylation at baseline. Design and Methods: BEST participants, aged 25-65 years at enrollment, have been chronically exposed to naturally-occurring arsenic through the consumption of groundwater. Individual-level arsenic exposure was measured by urinary total arsenic and blood arsenic concentrations. Cigarette smoking was ascertained as current, former, and never smoker. DNA methylation status was assessed from whole blood DNA using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip, which measures methylation of 485,577 CpG sites. Linear regression models were used to examine the associations between arsenic as well as tobacco smoking with each CpG site, adjusted for sex, age, and batch. Bonferroni correction was applied to the level of significance to account for multiple comparisons in detecting differential methylation. Results: The mean urinary total arsenic concentration in the study sample was 307.8±370.0 μg/g, and the mean blood arsenic concentration was 9.4±11.3 μg/L. The Pearson correlation coefficient between the two arsenic measures was 0.88. In adjusted analyses, we observed 5 differentially methylated CpG sites with urinary total arsenic concentration and 12 differentially methylated CpG sites with blood arsenic concentration. Methylation of PLA2G2C cg04605617 was the most significantly associated site for both urinary (P=2.35 × 10-12) and blood arsenic concentrations (P=6.07 × 10-13). The prevalence of smoking was 66.5% among men and 4.6% among women; therefore, differential methylation was examined in male participants only for the tobacco smoking analyses. In adjusted analyses, we observed 42 differentially methylated CpG sites with ever versus never tobacco smoking. Methylation of AHRR cg05575921was the most significantly associated site (P=1.48 × 10-35) with tobacco smoking. Conclusion: Significant associations between arsenic exposure and the phospholipase A2 pathway were observed in this study. Additionally, a significant association between tobacco smoking and the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway was observed in this study among males. Our results suggest that these inflammation-related epigenetic modifications may be important pathways underlying arsenic and tobacco carcinogenesis and may inform future interventions for these environmental carcinogens. Citation Format: Maria Argos, Farzana Jasmine, Lin Chen, Rachelle Brutus, Shantanu Roy, Vesna Slavkovich, Joseph Graziano, Muhammad Kibriya, Habibul Ahsan. Differential DNA methylation related to arsenic exposure and tobacco smoking. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr 08.


This research paper deliberates the relationship between safety management practices, safety consciousness and safety behaviour among Small and Medium Enterprises manufacturing employees. This study is measured on a 7-point Likert scale. This study also explores the variables relationship using descriptive methods and considering survey method research whereby the respondents who answered the questions were administered through questionnaires. Based on the research objectives, the Probability Sampling was chosen as the sampling method. The response rate, demographic profiles of respondents' frequency statistics, reliability analysis, descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 was utilized to perform the statistical analysis. The reliability test indicated that all the items measuring both dimensions of independent variable as well as all the dependent variables are reliable. The Pearson correlation results indicated that out of seven variables only six variables (i.e. safety consciousness, safety training, safety rules and procedures, workers' involvement, management commitment and safety communication and feedback) have positive significant correlation with safety compliance. For safety participation, all seven independent variables were significantly related. The multiple regression analysis resulted out of fourteen hypotheses developed, twelve hypotheses were significant between safety management practices and safety consciousness with safety behaviour. However, two independent variables of safety management practices were not significant to safety compliance.


Introduction There are a number of pathological predictors of adverse outcome in rectal cancer which includes positive resection margin, extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) and tumour regression grade (TMG). The aim of this study is to elicit the prognostic significance of EMVI and TMG for primary rectal cancer. Method All patients undergoing surgery for primary rectal cancer were identified from a prospectively maintained database between 2004 and 2012. Tumours were graded using a quantitative 5-grade Mandard TRG classification and the presence of EMVI was histologically studied. Results A total of 342 patients were identified, of which 99 patients had a complete dataset for EMVI and TRG. The 5-year overall survival (OS) was 38% with a disease-free survival (DFS) of 72%. Poor TRG grades and EMVI positivity were found to prognostically significant for OS (p values 0.01 and 0.05, respectively) and DFS (p values 0.02 and 0.001, respectively) at univariate analysis. However, EMVI positivity remained statistically significant for OS (p = 0.05) and DFS (p = 0.01) at multivariate analysis over TRG (OS, p = 0.46 and DFS, p = 0.17). Conclusion The presence of EMVI is a more powerful prognostic factor than TRG in rectal cancer and should be taken into account during the risk stratification process when considering adjuvant chemotherapy. Disclosure of interest None Declared.


The one-pot three-component syntheses of new N-sulfonamide-thiazolidin-4-one derivatives were carried out in excellent yield using [HDBU][HSO4] as an ionic liquid under solvent-free conditions. The newly synthesized compounds were screened against fungal strains and a number of compounds were seen to display excellent antifungal activity. In addition, the synthesized compounds were screened for their scavenging activity of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and showed very good antioxidant activity. Finally, theoretical predictions derived from molecular docking studies against the potential target sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) helped establish a link between the observed biological activity and the binding affinity, thereby providing insights into the specific bonding and non-bonding interactions governing the activity.


ABSTRACT. Changes in executive function and motor aspects can compromise the prognosis of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and favor the evolution to dementia. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in executive function and gait and to determine the association between changes in these variables. Methods: A 32-month longitudinal study was conducted with 40 volunteers: 19 with preserved cognition (PrC), 15 with MCI and 6 with Alzheimer disease (AD). Executive function and gait speed were assessed using the Frontal Assessment Battery, the Clock-Drawing test and the 10-meter walk test. For data analysis, the Pearson product-moment correlation, two-way repeated-measures ANOVA, and chi-square were conducted. Results: After 32 months, an improvement in the executive function was found in all groups (p=0.003). At baseline, gait speed was slower in individuals with MCI and AD compared to those with PrC (p=0.044), that was maintained after the follow-up (p=0.001). There was significant increase in number of steps in all groups (p=0.001). No significant association was found between changes in gait speed and executive function. Conclusions: It should be taken into account that gait deteriorates prior to executive function to plan interventions and health strategies for this population.


This study aims to carry out the needs assessment for teaching/learning nursing ethics for Master of Nursing (MN) students, to review existing curriculum and to develop a nursing ethics education module for teaching nursing ethics to students. First-year MN students from the School of Nursing, Chitwan Medical College, Bharatpur, Nepal were invited to participate in the study. Data was collected with self-reported, pre-tested questionnaires and analysed for the descriptive statistics. The current MN curriculum of Tribhuvan University, Institute of Medicine, Nepal was reviewed and a nursing ethics module developed based on needs assessment and in consultation with students. Out of 16 students, 12 (75%) participated in the study. All were aware of the content of nursing ethics in their curriculum and recommended updating the content, with a focus on context-based practical issues. More than two-thirds suggested small-group, case-based presentations/discussions as a suitable teaching/learning method. The majority (83.3%) mentioned case analyses as an appropriate tool for assessment. No separate course for nursing ethics is included in the curriculum. Unit 4—"Ethical and bioethical issues in health and nursing"—is one of the seven units of the course "trends and issues in nursing". Subsequently, gaps in the existing curriculum related to nursing ethics were identified, and the nursing ethics education module was developed. Teaching/learning of nursing ethics has been initiated. Such steps may enrich the capacity of nurses in resolving ethical dilemmas, the quality of care and the virtue of the profession.


The spontaneous emergence of contraction-inducing electrical activity in the uterus at the beginning of labor remains poorly understood, partly due to the seemingly contradictory observation that isolated uterine cells are not spontaneously active. It is known, however, that the expression of gap junctions increases dramatically in the approach to parturition, by more than one order of magnitude, which results in a significant increase in inter-cellular electrical coupling. In this paper, we build upon previous studies of the activity of electrically excitable smooth muscle cells (myocytes) and investigate the mechanism through which the coupling of these cells to electrically passive cells results in the generation of spontaneous activity in the uterus. Using a recently developed, realistic model of uterine muscle cell dynamics, we investigate a system consisting of a myocyte coupled to passive cells. We then extend our analysis to a simple two-dimensional lattice model of the tissue, with each myocyte being coupled to its neighbors, as well as to a random number of passive cells. We observe that different dynamical regimes can be observed over a range of gap junction conductances: at low coupling strength, corresponding to values measured long before delivery, the activity is confined to cell clusters, while the activity for high coupling, compatible with values measured shortly before delivery, may spread across the entire tissue. Additionally, we find that the system supports the spontaneous generation of spiral wave activity. Our results are both qualitatively and quantitatively consistent with observations from in vitro experiments. In particular, we demonstrate that the increase in inter-cellular electrical coupling observed experimentally strongly facilitates the appearance of spontaneous action potentials that may eventually lead to parturition.


The aim of this study was to compare maximal isometric force (MIF) and the electrical activity of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, gluteus maximus and biceps femoris long head muscles between maximal voluntary contractions (MVC) performed at different joint angles, and to identify the most suitable positions to normalize the electromyography (EMG) signals from each of these muscles when they are activated under dynamic conditions. Ten men ranging in age from 20 to 30 years, who were familiar with strength training exercise, were studied. MVC at different joint angles of the knee extensors and flexors (0°, 60°, 90°) and hip extensors (-30°, 0°, 60°) and flexors (90°, 120°) were tested. The MIF values differed significantly between the 60° knee flexion and 60° and 90° knee extension positions (p 0.05). Significantly higher EMG values were only observed for the rectus femoris muscle at 90° knee extension (p 0.05). These results suggest that the 60° knee joint flexion position is the most suitable for assessment of knee extension and flexion MIF, and that all positions tested in this study are suitable for the assessment of hip flexion and extension.


This research was conducted in Simpang Baru Village, Tampan Sub-district, Pekanbaru with the title Social Control Function on Boarding House. This research was intended to know how boarding house rules, what was done by the people or the owner in implementing boarding house regulation, and to know the social punishment that given by society to violator. This research is descriptive qualitative research. The subject in this study was needed 25 people consist of the community, public figure, boarding houses, local youth, the house boardingers and the RT / RW that can help the researcher in the issues that discuss. The determination technique of the subject in this research was used purposive sampling that adjusted to research's purpose. The researcher collected the data by using guidelines. The results show that there are social control effort by the social control agents to avoid undesirable events in a boarding house environment which can disrupt the security, peace and tranquility of citizens. Kinds of control are performed from night patrols, deliberations, raids, written regulations and sanctions. In the implementation control of the house boardingers in the Simpang Baru villages run ineffective because of the bustle of society around the boarding house so they don't really care with the boarding house around them. Lack of supervision by the owner of the boarding house around Simpang Baru Village caused wind deviation behavior of the boardingers. But the deviation made by the boardingers still classified in a light deviation and the limits of reasonableness. And also there is no parental control.


As the proportion of older people in the population increases so too will the prevalence of age-related diseases, many of which are amenable to surgery. This will result in higher numbers of older people considering and undergoing surgical treatment. However, syndromes such as frailty, multimorbidity and functional dependence render this cohort prone to adverse postoperative outcomes. Identifying frailty early can facilitate timely shared decision making, resource planning and optimization of health to improve outcomes.


Abstract This study will examine the Jama'a Islamiyya (ji) as an example of a group that has, in different ways, tried to shape patterns of civility and position itself as an interface between state and society in Egypt. It charts and offers an explanation for the ji's intellectual and programmatic transition fromaspiring to create a totally new polity based on a Salafi Islamic form of civility to an accommodation with the state and apparently more tolerant posture vis-à-vis society. The study analyses the ji's shifting interpretation of hisba and argues that, although the ji appears reconciled to a more co-operative stance, the group continues to promote an unrealistic vision of state–society relations in Egypt. Whereas before the 'revisions' the ji proceeded from an idealised conception of the Islamic state and the potential for its realisation in Egypt, its new ideas suggest an equally naive conception of the existing state and its ability to regulate, and police, society. The political and intellectual trajectory of the ji tells us much about the role of societal groups in sustaining authoritarianism in Egypt and suggests that any compact between the ji and a regime like that of Mubarak is likely to remain 'uncivil'.


The article is devoted to the effect of pretreatment with a solution of carrageenan on the enzymatic activity of cherry fruits in the period of storage. For the purpose of research between 2019-2020, the fruits of the Alpha and Pamiat of Artemenko cherry varieties of the same color were selected, sorted, washed, and dried, covered with a solution that included carrageenan (1−2 g/100 ml of solution), glycerin (0.6 g/100 ml of solution) according to the options: without treatment (control) and treated with carrageenan solutions of 1% and 2% concentration. Cherry fruits were immersed in a pre-prepared solution, kept for 1-2 minutes, removed, allowed to drain, and dried at the flow of air created artificially by a fan. Experimental and control samples of fruits were placed in boxes and stored at a temperature of 1.0±0.5° C and relative humidity of 95.0±1.0%. The most effective was the treatment of cherry fruits with a 2% solution of carrageenan, which made it possible to reduce the activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase by 38.5–35.7% and superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 9.5−11.1%. Between the antioxidant enzymes (CAT, SOD, APX) of cherry fruit, close correlations (r = 0.86, r = 0.82) were established and the regression equation was derived.


It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will continue to exhibit symptomatology that is disruptive throughout their adult lives. Identification and diagnosis of adult ADHD, as well as primary and secondary characteristics and comorbid disorders, are discussed in this article. Counseling strategies are suggested to help clinicians treat adults with ADHD, such as educating the client about the disorder and providing training in attention management techniques, self-management skills, interpersonal and social skills, stress and time management, anger management, and problem-solving skills. Clinicians are encouraged to prepare themselves for understanding, identifying, diagnosing, and treating the adult population with ADHD.


Manufacturing Execution System(MES) is in charge of manufacturing execution in the shop floor based on the inputs given by high level information such as ERP, etc. The typical MES implemented is not tightly interconnected with shop floor control system including real (or near real) time monitoring and control devices such as PLC. The lack of real-time interfaces is one of the major obstacles to achieve accurate and optimization of the total performance index of the shop floor system. Smart factory system in the paradigm of Industry 4.0 tries to solve the problems via CPS (Cyber Physical System) technology and FILS (Factory In-the-Loop System). In this paper, we conducted Systems Engineering Approach to design an advanced MES (namely Smart MES) that can accommodate CPS and FILS concept. Specifically, we tailored Systems Engineering Process (SEP) based on an International Standard formalized as ISO/IEC 15288 to develop Stakeholders' Requirements (StR), System Requirements (SyR). The deliverables of each process are modeled and represented by the SysML, UML customized to Systems Engineering. The results of the research can provide a conceptual framework for future MES that can play a crucial role in the Smart Factory.


Similarity and categorization are usually formulated as operations over a set of available features at time t of conceptual development. In this paper, we discuss possible constraints on the development of the feature space such as the history of categorization, perceptual biases in the selection and the construction of features, and the role of higherlevel knowledge and beliefs. The history of categorization is defined as the feature vocabulary and the set of concepts people have acquired as a result of representing and categorizing objects. Perceptual and developmental biases refer to the salience of specific aspects of the stimuli which influence the selection and the construction of features at different stages of development. The constraining role of general knowledge on the selection and the creation of features is also discussed. It is argued that theories may need the constraints they are supposed to provide. We conclude by discussing issues related to the interactions of perceptions and conceptions in developing feature spaces for higher-level cognition.


Purpose: Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) entails infants and mothers having constant skin-to-skin contact. KMC is done in the hospital after delivery to preterm infants or after early discharge. Mothers or caregivers are sensitized on proper positioning, breastfeeding, hygiene, and preventive measures to protect infants from infections. Proper follow-up is critical to ensure effective results are achieved. The use of KMC was endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as routine care for preterm infants with a birth weight of ≤2000 grams, especially the clinically stable infants. This recommendation was based on the available moderate-quality evidence that it works by providing warmth (thermal care) and increasing breastfeeding opportunities irrespective of setting, birth weight, or gestational age. Also, KMC has been strongly acclaimed and used as a natural thermoregulator, infection prevention, and nutrition for preterm infants, which are critical for physiological functions that are strongly affected by physical immaturity. Although this technique offers quality care to these babies, its implementation is low. There is a need to determine the suitable methods to improve its implementation in Kenya's healthcare facilities. This study aimed to determine factors influencing the implementation of KMC in Makueni County health facilities.
Methodology: The study was conducted in maternity units of six sub-county hospitals (Makueni county referral hospital, Makindu sub-county hospital, Kibwezi sub-county hospital, Mbooni sub-county hospital, Kilungu sub-county hospital, and Sultan-Hamud sub-county hospital) in Makueni County. Cross-sectional study design with mixed methods was used. Semi-structured questionnaires and KMC checklist were filled by the researcher and research assistants. The convenience sampling technique was carried out, and 90 healthcare providers and 6 Key Informants were interviewed. Data was analyzed using version 23 of a statistical package for social sciences using descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: The study results reveal that young health care providers portrayed better KMC implementation compared to the old (r=-.210, p=0.047). In relation to gender, female health care providers had better KMC implementation compared to the male (r= -.290, p=0.006).Knowledge (r=.282, p=0.007) and health workers' perception of KMC (r=.245, p=0.02) had a positive and significant relationship with implementing KMC. Perception (β=1.149, p=0.05) and funds (β=0.958, p=0.05) had a positive and significant effect on implementing KMC. R squared indicated that jointly, age, gender, perception, and budget accounted for 29.4% of the overall variation in the KMC implementation. Results demonstrated a high level of KMC (33.3%) implementation among the health facilities. The study concluded that funds and collaboration had a positive and significant effect on implementing KMC.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends that the hospital management should ensure there is provision of adequate resources to support KMC implementation. In particular, the hospital management should focus on strengthening physical and human resources. There is also a need to link all relevant programs, such as essential newborn care and Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI), to support KMC implementation.


This article considers, first, the roles of Paris, Rome, Venice, and Vienna in the network of Peter Lambeck, the librarian of the Hapsburg emperor Leopold I, and, secondly, Lambeck's and Vienna's own places in the Republic of Letters during the period 1662–1680. It begins with a biographical account, in which I situate Lambeck both geographically and intellectually. The importance of Paris is contrasted with his not so positive experience in Rome. Secondly, I focus on Lambeck's declaration of intent to link Vienna to the Republic of Letters. Thirdly, I survey the eminently Venetian networks through which Lambeck tried to fulfil his intellectual goals. The tensions between France and the Habsburg Empire crashed against Lambeck's idealistic aims. This raises the issue of the impact of geo-politics on the production and circulation of knowledge in early modern Europe, and prompts questions about openness and secrecy in the Republic of Letters.


Molten salts (sodium and potassium nitrides) are going to be used in many different plants as heat transferring fluids, e.g. concentration solar plants, nuclear power plants, etc. In fact they present may important advantages: their absolute safety and non toxicity, availability and low cost. But their use, e.g. in the energy receiving pipe in the focus of the parabolic mirror concentrator of the solar thermodynamic plant, requires the accurate knowledge of the thermophysical properties, above all thermal conductivity, viscosity, specific heat and thermal linear expansion, in the temperature range 200°C÷600°C. In the new laboratory by ENEA Casaccia, SolTerm Department all these properties are going to be measured. Thermal conductivity is measured with the standard probe method (linear heat source inserted into the material) manufacturing a special probe suited to the foreseen temperature range (190-550°C). The probe is made of a ceramic quadrifilar pipe containing in different holes the heater (Ni wire) and the thermometer (type J thermocouple). The thermal linear expansion will be measured by a special system designed and built to this end, measuring the sample dilatation by the reflection of a laser beam by the bottom of the meniscus in the liquid solid interface. The viscosity will be evaluated detecting the start of the natural convection in the same experiment as to measure thermal conductivity. In the paper the construction of the devices, the results of preliminary tests and an evaluation of the obtainable accuracy are reported.


While sitting at a place designated for guests in a representative hall of the Lithuanian parliament, the Italian President was smiling at the Speaker of Seimas who was sitting right in front of him and quietly waited until the three minutes dedicated to photojournalists and television cameramen under the protocol were over. When the journalists left, his wide smile vanished, and the President confided to the Speaker of the Seimas that he 'also' did not like and even hated journalists but had no other choice than get used to them and be nice because they also 'were an authority'. He agreed for his words to be translated into Lithuanian and pointed out: "A very powerful authority, unfortunately". This  situation from the end of the 20th century  is in no way an exception in terms of the relationship between the media and government even if used in this article as a case example, because the author will present some more of such examples illustrating the issues of public relations (PR) of the parliament in respect of the media. It is just that this scene is quite typical. Even the description of the media as an authority that was voiced that morning was old news since it was publicly announced as in the early as 16th century in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom when observers sitting in the press gallery were called the "fourth estate". These words of the president, who had a long experience of parliamentary work, reflect the issue of relationship between the government and the media: politicians are constantly striving to make an influence by means of the media while the media, if it is not under the governmental control, naturally distrust politicians, their messages and alleged friendliness to journalists. The journalism, nevertheless, has been recognised as the most effective means of information since the 19th century after the periodic media systems have developed, since it has been able to reach crowds, audiences, public and is still the most effective way to satisfy the need for information about the events and personae of interest to society and therefore is of a permanent interest to political and judicial authorities. That's why the factor of the media is so important – probably the most important in systemic PR applications. That's why in our times the structures of authority responsible for PR try not only to understand the methods of journalism but also to 'integrate' into the process of journalism to become the main source and even to absorb the nature of the journalism, i.e. to become a medium between a politician and the audience. Let us suppose that social networks allow PR specialists to reach at least part of their audience directly, without using a journalist. Maybe a PR specialist needs to become a journalist then, to reincarnate? The author of this article has a goal to discuss the interaction between the media and public relations when seen through the prism of interests of a state institution. We will use the case of the Lithuanian parliament.


Researches on neurosonology of the author performed for 30 years or more are reviewed with episodes of humor that have made him urge to work on ultrasound, both in practice and at laboratory. The postoperative follow-up study with the aid of echodiagnosis of A-mode and of B-mode tomography afforded an accurate and simple method to find the regression and growth of malignant processes of surgery and neurosurgery after treatment, and those results were supported by basic studies of ultrasonic absorption coefficient of human brains and live organs. Pulsatile echoencephalography was studied by the analysis of time factors with a lot of result, which revealed potentials of differentiating occluded locations of cerebral arterial occlusive diseases, as well as of determining the state of brain death. The author has also achieved basic studies and applications of ultrasonic destruction of malignant tumors by making a comparison with the radiation therapy.


Biofilm forming ability is a major virulence factor of most of pathogenic bacteria. Over 65% of health care associated infections are caused by biofilm producing organisms.  The primary objective of this cross sectional study is to evaluate the biofilm forming ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from various departments of Al-Shifa hospital and to determine the susceptibility of the isolates for antimicrobial drugs and acetic acid. Swabs moistened with sterile normal saline were used to swab an area of three cm 2 . Samples were cultured and processed by standard microbiological procedures. P. aeruginosa isolates were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, the minimum inhibitory concentration for acetic acid and the biofilm forming ability were determined using Tube method and Crystal violet assay method. Susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolates for acetic acid was considered as high at Conc. = 0.0097 mg/ml (5%), moderate susceptibility (0.156 to 0.019 mg/ml) (86%) and low susceptibility (>0.312 mg/ml) (9%). The isolates were 100% resistance to Ceftazidime, Piperacillin (97.6%), Ciprofloxacin (28.57%), Norfloxacin (9.5%), Meropenem and Aztreonam (2.38%). All were susceptible to Gentamicin, and Amikacin. The results for biofilm formation showed that 16 sample were strong positive (38.09%), 18 sample moderately positive (42.85%), and eight-samples were negative (19.04%). Biofilm forming ability of the isolates was detected in 80.9% of isolates. In conclusion, both biofilm and antimicrobial resistance were high among the isolates. Acetic acid showed weak/strong/moderate antimicrobial activity against P. aeruginosa .


Level-of-Detail (LOD) techniques allow optimization of computing resources by removing details indistinguishable by human perception. This is especially important in time-critical rendering when both random fluctuations in frame rate and rapid deterioration of image quality can induce undesirable effects such as motion sickness and negative training on the user. We present a technique of managing LOD within a 3D graphics application by employing fuzzy logic control. Our method achieves better stability in terms of frame-rate and little loss in image quality (due to hysteresis) by making use of a hybrid LOD scheme.


A series of graphitized carbon materials, produced by the pyrolysis of an anthracene-based coke at temperatures ranging from 1600 to 2900 °C, were studied by Raman microspectroscopy to assess the applicability of this technique to the particular case of polished carbon materials. The polishing process was shown to change significantly the first-order Raman spectra (D band intensity increase) and therefore to induce unacceptable errors in the characterization of the intrinsic structure of these materials. The deconvolution of Raman spectra, related to the unpolished graphitized carbons at varying temperatures, highlighted a linear relationship between the intensity ratio ID/IG and the G band width. Thus, as the latter appears to be insensitive to the polishing, we highly recommend using it for a reliable assessment of the intrinsic structural disorder of polished carbon materials. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This thesis offers a feminist analysis of the ABC television show Once Upon A Time. The show is a modem day fairy tale that retells familiar tales. Through content analysis of season one episodes and promotional material, I have come to the conclusion that Once Upon A Time has rewritten fairy tales that were once extremely sexist and very demeaning towards women. Once Upon A Time is more feminist and portrays women in more powerful and active roles. The women in this show are not just passive, idle princesses but active, strong and independent warriors. However in spite of this advancement for female fairy tale characters the show still highly values feminine beauty, including thinness, youth and whiteness; all characteristics that can cause more damage to women. While this show has made some advancement towards giving women more positive roles, the show still demonstrates that there are still unrealistic ideals for females in society to fulfill. A Retelling o f Classic Tales in a New Light or Just Glares of the Old: An Analysis o f "Once Upon a Time" From a Feminist Perspective A Thesis Submitted to the University Honors Program In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Baccalaureate Degree With Upper/Full Division Honors Department Of Women's Studies By Jillian Lilly Schroeder DeKalb, Illinois Saturday, May 11th 2013 NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY


Dysphagia Lusoria is dysphagia secondary to an aberrant right subclavian artery that has a retroesophageal course. Adachi and Williams categorized aortic arch anomalies, showing that the right subclavian artery arising in this fashion (as the final branch of the descending aortic arch) is one of the more common. However, this very rarely coexists with a bicarotid trunk. We present such a case as it is manifested in a 36-year-old lady complaining of marked weight loss and dysphagia. The diagnosis remained elusive until a CT scan of the chest was performed; angiography further delineated the pathology. It is believed that the combination of the common carotid origins with the retroesophageal course of the aberrant vessel more frequently accounts for symptoms in the absence of an aneurysm of the origin of the aberrant vessel. Several techniques to manage the aberrant vessel have been described in the literature, but we favoured open ligation and transposition to the right carotid artery.


The taxonomy of two groups (designated as 3 and 4) of alginate-degrading Bacillus strains formerly classified as Bacillus circulans was studied. Three new group 3 and two new group 4 strains were isolated from soil and studied. High intragroup deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) relatedness values of 87 to 96% and low intergroup vlues of 27 to 36% indicated that these groups were genetically distinct taxa. Furthermore, low DNA complementarity values of 22 to 37% established that these two groups with guanine-plus-cytosine contents of 47 to 49 mol% were not closely related genetically to the type strains of recognized species with similar base contents. Low relatedness values were also measured between strains from the two groups and Bacillus pabuli, another alginate-degrading species. In general, negative reactions for growth at 50°C, for anaerobic growth, for casein hydrolysis, for nitrate reduction, and for acetylmethylcarbinol production differentiated the two groups from the named species. Growth in 0.001% lysozyme and utilization of citrate, fumarate, and succinate separated group 3 from group 4, which neither grew in lysozyme nor utilized the three organic acids. The data from the present and previous studies suggest that group 3 and 4 organisms are strains of two new species, for which are proposed the names Bacillus alginolyticus and Bacillus chondroitinus, respectively.


A series of charge-delocalized carotenoid mono- and dications have been prepared by treatment of selected carotenoids with Brønsted and Lewis acids. The detailed structures of the carbocations were established by NMR studies in the temperature range from -10 to -20 degrees C. The general strategy for structure elucidation by NMR of several cationic components in a mixture is outlined. Bond type and regions of bond inversion were established, as well as the charge distribution, which was determined from the difference in (13)C chemical shift at each carbon. This method gave a more accurate estimate for the partial charges than by using the Spiesecke-Schneider relationship. The resulting charge distribution was used as models for the structure of charged solitons. These carotenoid cations have the most delocalized charge so far determined, and the monocations represent the first experimental structure determination of positively charged solitons. The soliton width determined here is in good agreement with the results of previous AM1 calculations.


Murine mAb injected into patients behave as exogenous antigens and trigger a specific immune response characterized mainly by CD4+ T lymphocytes. They are recognized by T cells under a processed form and in a MHC class II-restricted fashion. IgG degradation which occurs in antigen-presenting cells (APC) has been studied in vitro. We have shown that partial reduction of this antigen is an early event which is significant for the generation of class II-restricted fragments presentable to antigen-specific T cells. Two different murine mAb were used as antigens and human monocytic U937 or antigen non-specific Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B cells as APC. Upon cellular internalization IgG are rapidly cleaved leading to 24-25 kDa fragments. One of the major and early events corresponds to partial reduction of IgG--the light chain is released from the intact molecule, heavy chains remaining bound together. Partial in vitro reduction of IgG followed by presentation by fixed B cells to specific T cells showed that only kappa light chain-specific T cell clones are stimulated, in contrast to heavy chain-specific T cell clones. The response to the kappa chains of specific T cells points to a significant role played by the early IgG partial reduction in the generation of kappa light chain class II binding fragments.


The alkali hydrothermal synthesis of zeolite A using oxide by-products such as blast furnace (BF) slag and aluminum dross was investigated. Na–P1 (Na6Al6Si6O32·12H2O) was synthesized directly in NaOH aqueous solution for 86.4 ks at 373 K using BF slag, Al2O3, and SiO2. On the other hand, zeolite A was successfully synthesized by a two-step method including an elution treatment of Al2O3. Under optimal conditions, the formation ratio of zeolite A in various compounds contained in the product was 56%. The utilization of dross residue squeezed out from the aluminum dross as a raw material to synthesis of zeolite A let this ratio increase to 60%. The heat of water adsorption of the product synthesized by the two-step method using BF slag, SiO2, and aluminum dross residue was measured, and it was 184 J/g, being higher than that of commercial zeolite A.


Nowadays, bilingual or multilingual speech recognition is confronted with the accent-related problem caused by non-native speech in a variety of real-world applications. Accent modeling of non-native speech is definitely challenging, because the acoustic properties in highly-accented speech pronounced by non-native speakers are quite divergent. The aim of this study is to generate highly Mandarin-accented English models for speakers whose mother tongue is Mandarin. First, a two-stage, state-based verification method is proposed to extract the state-level, highly-accented speech segments automatically. Acoustic features and articulatory features are successively used for robust verification of the extracted speech segments. Second, Gaussian components of the highly-accented speech models are generated from the corresponding Gaussian components of the native speech models using a linear transformation function. A decision tree is constructed to categorize the transformation functions and used for transformation function retrieval to deal with the data sparseness problem. Third, a discrimination function is further applied to verify the generated accented acoustic models. Finally, the successfully verified accented English models are integrated into the native bilingual phone model set for Mandarin-English bilingual speech recognition. Experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively alleviate recognition performance degradation due to accents and can obtain absolute improvements of 4.1%, 1.8%, and 2.7% in word accuracy for bilingual speech recognition compared to that using traditional ASR approaches, MAP-adapted, and MLLR-adapted ASR methods, respectively.


Although now a largely discredited idea, the notion that the period from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s generated a new breed of African leadership captured popular imagination, official discourse, and academic writing. Leaders like Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia, Isias Aferworki in Eritrea, and Paul Kagame in Rwanda were young, dynamic, and willing to break discredited predecessors' taboos. Among this bretheren, no personality better exemplifi ed the "new" breed than Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda. When the National Resistance Army/Movement (NRA/M) assumed power in the wake of Uganda's second civil war in the 1980s, the leadership of the Movement very quickly assumed an almost Guevaran posture in the discourse on African democratization and recovery. Nearly two decades later, Museveni still dominates Uganda's popular and intellectual imagination, but in many respects is beginning to look more and more like a scion of the old breed.


Taking many of the techniques explored in her international bestseller "Freeing the Natural Voice", in this companion volume Kristin Linklater shows how to apply them to the speaking of Shakespeare's language. Beginning with exercises designed to break long-held habits and allow an emotional rather than intellectual relationship to Elizabethan language, she analyses Shakespeare's strategies for creating character, story and meaning through figures of speech, iambic pentameter, rhyme and the alternation of verse and prose. Using copious examples from the plays, Linklater offers her readers the tools to increase understanding and make Shakespeare's words their own. First published in the US in 1992, this is the first UK edition of this invaluable guide to speaking Shakespeare.