Objectives The co-occurrence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in patients with schizophrenia (SCH) or schizoaffective disorder (SA) is frequent (7.8%-25%) and is associated with a high risk of suicide, severe impairment of social behaviour, poor quality of life and poor prognosis. Data on the effectiveness of serotonin reuptake inhibitors in patients with SCH/SA OCD comorbidities are limited and controversial, and to date no study exploring the effectiveness of CBT for patients with this comorbid condition has been carried out. The aims of this investigation are to examine the effectiveness of CBT for OCD in patients with stabilized SCH/SA and to analyze the relationship of alcohol/substance use disorder and temporal onset of OCD compared to that of SCH/SA and type of OCD (primary/secondary to second generation antipsychotics) with CBT outcomes in a naturalistic clinical setting. Methods Twenty-one consecutive patients with SCH/SA OCD comorbidity were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were: age 18-65 years; meeting DSM-IV criteria for OCD and either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder; OCD of at least moderate severity (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [Y-BOCS] total score ≥ 16); 4) stabilized SCH or SA, even if symptoms were not entirely absent (Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale [PANSS] total score ≤ 75). Primary outcomes were: adherence rate, defined as the percentage of patients who did not drop out during the trial and the OCD remission rate, defined as a Y-BOCS total score < 16. Secondary outcomes were OCD response, defined as a ≥ 25% decrease in the total Y-BOCS score from baseline to 1 year, and a Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score of ≤ 2 ("much" or "very much" improved). An intent-totreat analysis was performed. Results One patient (4.7%) discontinued CBT after 1 session, and 4 patients (19%) dropped out of the study. The mean scores of YBOCS, CGI-S and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scales showed statistically significant improvements at 6 months; from 6 to 12 months improvement continued, albeit at a slower rate. From baseline to 12 months, the mean total score reduction on the Y-BOCS was 8.5 points; on the Y-BOCS insight subscale it was 1 point, and on the CGI-S it was 1 point. General functioning also improved, as shown by a 6.7 point increase in GAF scores. At one year, 52% (11/21) of patients were rated as much/very much improved; 33% (7/21) were responders and 19% (4/21) were remitters. Compared with patients without alcohol/substance use, those with alcohol/substance use were significantly less likely to improve (68% vs. 0% p = 0.012). The percentage improved varied from 0% in patients in which the onset of OCD preceded that of SCH/SA to 50% in patients in which the OCD onset occurred after that of SCH/SA up to 83.3% in patients in which the onset of two disorders was simultaneous. No significant differences in outcome between patients with primary/secondary to second generation antipsychotics use OCD were found.


It is surprising that last two decades many works in time series data mining and clustering were concerned with measures of similarity of time series but not with measures of association that can be used for measuring possible direct and inverse relationships between time series. Inverse relationships can exist between dynamics of prices and sell volumes, between growth patterns of competitive companies, between well production data in oilfields, between wind velocity and air pollution concentration etc. The paper develops a theoretical basis for analysis and construction of time series shape association measures. Starting from the axioms of time series shape association measures it studies the methods of construction of measures satisfying these axioms. Several general methods of construction of such measures suitable for measuring time series shape similarity and shape association are proposed. Time series shape association measures based on Minkowski distance and data standardization methods are considered. The cosine similarity and the Pearson's correlation coefficient are obtained as partial cases of the proposed general methods that can be used also for construction of new association measures in data analysis.


The distinct noise of a horizontal-axis washing machine is analysed through the method of spectrum and correlation analysis. A measurement setup is designed to build a three input-single output system. The sound pressure in a standard location as the output, and the sound pressures near drum bearings and near the motor and the acceleration on the drum as three inputs are measured, respectively. The spectral and coherence results show that the puzzled abnormal noise is mainly in low frequencies below 225Hz, and that the harmonics of drum base frequency from the second to the fifteen are presented in the A-weighted sound auto-spectrum in the loading condition. It is concluded that there should be problems of bearings or of misalignment and clearance in the shafting and the drum bearing should be a main noise source for the washing machine. The study in the paper is helpful for the noise reduction of the washing machine and the method proposed is useful for the noise analysis and the identification of the noise sources.


A procedure is presented for investigating the optimal shape of electrodes and dielectrics. It is based on the 3-D calculation of electrostatic fields. The mathematical model, treatment of singular cases, and optimization procedure are described. The program is used for the numerical field calculation and optimization of a disconnecting element in SF/sub 6/-gas-insulated equipment. >


Gastric involvement with the varicella-zoster virus is an uncommon clinical condition where early suspicion and diagnosis are important to prevent the consequences deriving from its high morbidity and mortality, which in immunocompromised patients oscillate between 9% and 41% according to the various series. Two cases of gastric involvement with the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in two patients with blood cancer are reported below. Gastric lesions are usually preceded by typical papulovesicular skin lesions. When gastric involvement is the first symptom of the disease its diagnosis and management may be delayed, which may entail severe consequences for immunocompromised patients. It is therefore that we suggest its inclusion in the algorithm for immunocompromised patients with abdominal pain and ulcer-like endoscopic lesions.


Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a widely used plastic that is polymerized by terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG). In recent years, PET biodegradation and bioconversion have become important in solving environmental plastic pollution. More and more PET hydrolases have been discovered and modified, which mainly act on and degrade the ester bond of PET. The monomers, TPA and EG, can be further utilized by microorganisms, entering the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) or being converted into high value chemicals, and finally realizing the biodegradation and bioconversion of PET. Based on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering strategies, this review summarizes the current advances in the modified PET hydrolases, engineered microbial chassis in degrading PET, bioconversion pathways of PET monomers, and artificial microbial consortia in PET biodegradation and bioconversion. Artificial microbial consortium provides novel ideas for the biodegradation and bioconversion of PET or other complex polymers. It is helpful to realize the one-step bioconversion of PET into high value chemicals.


In this study, high-entropy alloy films, namely, AlCrTaTiZr/AlCrTaTiZr-N, were deposited on the n-type (100) silicon substrate. Then, a copper film was deposited on the high-entropy alloy films. The diffusion barrier performance of AlCrTaTiZr/AlCrTaTiZr-N for Cu/Si connect system was investigated after thermal annealing for an hour at 600 °C, 700 °C, 800 °C, and 900 °C. There were no Cu-Si intermetallic compounds generated in the Cu/AlCrTaTiZr/AlCrTaTiZr-N/Si film stacks after annealing even at 900 °C through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic probe tomography (APT) analysis. The results indicated that AlCrTaTiZr/AlCrTaTiZr-N alloy films can prevent copper diffusion at 900 °C. The reason was investigated in this work. The amorphous structure of the AlCrTaTiZr layer has lower driving force to form intermetallic compounds; the lattice mismatch between the AlCrTaTiZr and AlCrTaTiZ-rN layers increased the diffusion distance of the Cu atoms and the difficulty of the Cu atom diffusion to the Si substrate.


The detection of airborne gas phase biomarkers that emanate from biological samples like urine, breath and faeces may herald a new age of non‐invasive diagnostics. These biomarkers may reflect status in health and disease and can be detected by humans and other animals, to some extent, but far more consistently with instruments. The continued advancement in micro and nanotechnology has produced a range of compact and sophisticated gas analysis sensors and sensor systems, focussed primarily towards environmental and security applications. These instruments are now increasingly adapted for use in clinical testing and with the discovery of new gas volatile compound biomarkers, lead naturally to a new era of non‐invasive diagnostics.


Glucocorticoids are an effective therapeutic option for most forms of non-infectious rhinitis and sinusitis. In Germany, dexamethasone, beclomethasone diproprionate, flunisolide, fluocortin butyl ester, budesonide, fluticasone proprionate, triamcinolone acetonide and mometasone furoate are available for nasal application. The action of these drugs is mediated by cytoplasmic receptors (glucocorticoid receptors). In addition, receptor-independent immediate effects are also known. To ensure optimal efficacy of corticoid sprays, detailed patient instruction is of importance, with particular emphasis being placed on the correct spraying technique and regular application. Modern preparations are associated with very few side effects. There is no evidence that mucosal atrophy occurs.


Two similar structural versions of a molecular donor, in which two terminal hexyl‐substituted bithiophene units are connected to a central dithienosilole (DTS) through electron deficient thiadiazolopyridine (PT) units, and which differ only in the position of pyridyl N‐atoms, were explored to study the interplay of crystallization and vertical phase segregation as a result of annealing. The donor materials exhibit greatly contrasting photovoltaic performance despite similarity in molecule structure. The difference in position of the pyridal N‐atom which points away (distal configuration; compound 1) or towards (proximal configuration; compound 2) from the DTS core, modifies the aggregation/molecular packing in the solid state, resulting in differences in the phase segregation and formation of crystalline domains. A systematic study of the temperature dependence of photovoltaic performance reveals a parameter trade‐off: as annealing temperature increases, higher donor crystallinity and ordering results, but increased donor segregation near the surface or decrease in electrode selectivity also occurs, resulting in increased interfacial recombination and hence reduction in open‐circuit voltage (Voc). The higher crystalline nature of 2 is found to have a higher impact on cell performance despite a competing undesired effect at the donor/aluminum cathode interface, contributing to its superior performance to 1 when blended with [6,6]phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM). Molecule 2 exhibits a performance increase of a factor of two after thermal annealing at 100 °C, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 5.7%.


To elucidate the intrinsic biological activities displayed by platinum versus gold-based organometallic reagents, the isoelectronic and isostructural square planar complexes [Pt(C∩N)(C)Cl][PF6] (2) and [Au(C∩N)(C)Cl][PF6]2 (3), which are supported by a common N-heterocyclic carbene, 1-methyl-2-pyridin-2-yl-2H-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridin-4-ylidene (1), were synthesized. The complexes were characterized using a range of spectroscopic techniques as well as single crystal X-ray diffraction and a series of computational studies were also performed to gain additional insight into their fundamental electronic bonding structures. The cytotoxicities of the complexes were tested in vitro against non-small lung carcinoma (A549), colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. The measured IC50 values showed that the Au(III)–NHC complex is more potent than its Pt analogue.


Neurocomputing is widely implemented in time series area, however the nearness of exceptions
that for the most part happen in information time arrangement might be hurtful to the information organize
preparing. This is on the grounds that the capacity to consequently discover any examples without earlier
suppositions and loss of all-inclusive statement. In principle, the most well-known preparing calculation for
Backpropagation calculations inclines toward lessening ordinary least squares estimator (OLS) or all the
more particularly, the mean squared error (MSE). In any case, this calculation is not completely hearty
when exceptions exist in preparing information, and it will prompt false estimate future esteem. Along
these lines, in this paper, we show another calculation that control calculations firefly on slightest middle
squares estimator (FFA-LMedS) for BFGS quasi-newton backpropagation neural network nonlinear
autoregressive moving (BPNN-NARMA) model to lessen the effect of exceptions in time arrangement
information. In the in the mean time, the monthly data of Malaysian Roof Materials cost index from January
1980 to December 2012 (base year 1980=100) with various level of exceptions issue is adjusted in this
examination. Toward the finish of this paper, it was found that the upgraded BPNN-NARMA models
utilizing FFA-LMedS performed extremely well with RMSE values just about zero errors. It is expected that
the finding would help the specialists in Malaysian development activities to handle cost indices data
accordingly


A technique and results of experimental studies of geomagnetic field (GMF) induction in 195 different rooms in educational institutions, residential buildings, shopping malls and subway are presented. It is shown that in all the buildings there is weakening of the natural GMF. However, the GMF weakening is slight in the most areas and not dangerous to public health. Exceptions are areas of high-rise frame-cast-in-place residential blocks, offices and premises of shopping centers with steel frames and platforms of underground stations. Here, the GMF can be weakened to a dangerous level (less than 25 µT), which requires measures for its normalization.


The algorithm of creation of a confidential interval of model of an assessment of reliability of work of hydrotransport complexes is given. The concept of reliability is the basis for an assessment of reliability of transport and technological process, as probabilities of achievement by a complex of cars and mechanisms of an ultimate goal by production of installation and construction works. One of major factors of reliability of work of hydrotransport complexes of cars is their efficiency on time and an availability quotient to work. Outdated data on efficiency of cars are provided in normative documents during working time, which demand updating as cars are constantly improved. By results of natural tests of cars and complexes the database of values of availability quotients and efficiency on time was created. In a database the values which have passed two stages of check were brought: logical and mathematical. In article, an example of creation of a confidential interval of values of efficiency on time depending on a complex indicator of reliability is reviewed: availability quotient. For creation of model selection of values of a database was formed. After selection formation according to GOST 8.207-76 its accessory to the law of normal distribution by means of criterion of a consent of Pearson was checked. Further, the efficiency model on time depending on an availability quotient of hydrotransport complexes (the regression equation) and a confidential interval of model was under construction.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of "Focused Word Recognition Method" in teaching a student with reading difficulties in Hong Kong. "Focused Word Recognition Method" is considered as a structured and systematic instruction for word identification. The Chinese characters are grouped for instruction by making use of their phonological, orthographic or semantic features. The participant in this study was an 11-year-old student in the Intensive Remedial Teaching Programme in Primary Schools (IRTP). He had difficulties in reading and writing Chinese characters. The stimulus materials of this study were five lists of Chinese characters. Each list consisted of characters with similar orthographic features. This training programme lasted for four weeks. Comparison of the results of pre-tests and post-tests showed that the student made significant improvement in the performances of dictation, reading aloud and fill-in the blanks activities. Peter is 11 years of age. He is now in Primary 5. His parents are able to give support to Peter in his learning problems. Peter once repeated his Primary 2 study for one more year. He has been arranged to receive intensive remedial support since Primary 3. The major subjects for remediation are Chinese and English. The psychological report shows that Peter's achievement in Chinese is at only Primary 1 level. The initial assessment of the reading and writing problems shows that Peter found difficulties in reading, writing and dictation.


This qualitative research aimed to explore the integration of the components of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teaching Linear Equation with one unknown. For the purpose of the study, a single local case study with multiple participants was used. The selection of the participants was made based on various criteria: having more than 5 years of experience teaching mathematics and possessing high and low level of knowledge in algebra and high general PCK in mathematics. Six teachers were selected to be the respondents in this research. The data were collected using i) stimulated recall interview, ii) observation, and iii) analysis of documents. Nvivo 8 software was used to help the researcher organize and analyze the data. Kohen Kappa reliability values obtained from three experts were very good, exceeding 0.8. The findings showed that the integration of content knowledge component of pedagogical implications (CaP) is the most frequently used component in the teaching of Linear Equations with one unknown. This indicates that teachers focus mostly on the components of content knowledge and knowledge about students. The teachers were least likely to integrate content knowledge with pedagogical knowledge, which has implications on the knowledge of the students (C&PaS). The study suggests the need to improve teacher's knowledge through collaborative partnership with colleagues and through courses.


ABSTRACT Purpose Those travelling overseas for work or leisure including male expatriates, longer-term and frequent travellers (ELoFTs) may be at heightened risk for a range of health and wellbeing issues. Social support may mediate this risk. However, from a public health perspective, little is written about how ELoFTs access health information and support and the role of their social networks in facilitating health and wellbeing outcomes. This research was part of a study examining social network processes of Australian male ELoFTs travelling, living, or working in Southeast Asia (SEA). Methods Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory were the conceptual framework and methodology supporting semi-structured, in-depth interviews (n = 25) conducted in Australia and Thailand with Australian male ELoFTs to SEA, aged 18 years or older. Results Findings highlight supports that assist ELoFT transition and adjustment to country of destination or manage their transnational experience. Influential places, people, and points in the migration journey mediated engagement with social support. Conclusions ELoFT social networks and the support provided within them may provide a mechanism for intervention across a range of public health issues. Findings may support the development of policy and practice across industries charged with supporting successful ELoFT adjustment.


In the last few years, the technological evolution in the field of wireless sensor networks was impressive, which made them extremely useful in various applications (military, commercial, etc.). In such applications, it is essential to protect the network from malicious attacks. This presents a demand for providing security mechanisms in these vulnerable networks. In this paper, we design a new framework for intrusion detection in cluster-based wireless sensor networks. Our detection framework is composed of different protocols that run at different levels. The first protocol is a specification-based detection protocol that runs at intrusion detection system (IDS) agents (low level). The second one is a binary classification detection protocol that runs at cluster head (CH) node (medium level). In addition, a reputation protocol is used at each CH to evaluate the trustworthiness level of its IDSs agents. Each CH monitors its CH neighbors on the basis of a specification detection protocol with the help of a vote mechanism applied at the base station (high level). We evaluated the performances of our framework in the presence of four well-known attacks: hello flood, selective forwarding, black hole, and wormhole attacks. We evaluated specifically the detection rate, false positive rate, energy consumption, and efficiency. Simulation results show that our detection framework exhibits high detection rate (almost 100%), low number of false positives, less time to detect the attack, and less energy consumption. Our intrusion detection framework outperforms other schemes proposed in the literature in terms of detection, false positive rate, and energy consumption. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Although Merton himself recognized that positive innovations can occur under conditions of anomie, his famous typology did not examine social reactions and the existence of overconformity to norms. Accordingly, the typical focus of anomie theory is on negative behaviors (underconformity). We previously proposed a typology, which recognizes the existence of both norms and social reactions in the deviance production process. The typology cross‐classifies reactivist and normative definitions of deviance. Negative deviance is behavior that involves underconformity to norms and negative evaluations. Rate‐busting is overconformity that is negatively evaluated. Deviance admiration is underconformity that is positively evaluated. Positive deviance refers to overconformity that is positively evaluated. We use our typology to expand Merton's anomie theory of deviance, by showing that social reactions and overconformity are important to consider with any deviance typology.


Is contemporary student life stressful? And if so, what factors are associated with stress among students? This paper attempts to provide answers to these questions in reporting a research project that explored physical and mental health among students studying at Newcastle University in 1995. Forty-nine per cent of a stratified random sample of students (956 students) completed a postal questionnaire which, as well as addressing questions of health, covered numerous aspects of student living conditions and lifestyle. Stress was measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, which was converted into a 36-point scale. The analysis identifies various factors that were associated with stress, and culminates in the construction of a multi-variate model that explains 25 per cent of the variance in student stress. The findings are discussed within the context of the changing nature of higher education in Britain


Two-dimensional (2D) filter banks are used in subband coding of images, and are systems which split a signal into the narrow bands and/or resynthesize it. This paper presents a method of constructing 2D filter banks using 2D prefilter and 2D polyphase filter banks. First, the input signal is divided into four kinds of band on the 2D plane by 2D prefilter with IFIR (Interpolated FIR) transfer function. Then the 2D prefilter is designed so that the four kinds of band become 1. These resulting output signals are band-split separately and synthesized by 2D DFT polyphase filter banks. Hence, its design method becomes very simple and both the required order and the number of multiplications can be reduced.


Many tasks may be performed with greater efficiency and speed with haptic assistance. Using the Penbased Haptic Display, a low-power, low-friction, and high-precision device, we performed two separate experiments to measure two properties of human/haptic interactions. In the first experiment, we measured the level of force at which a subject may detect the presence of haptic feedback at a 71% accuracy level using a converging adaptive threshold algorithm. The average haptic threshold of eleven subjects was 20.8 milliNewtons. The second experiment quantifies changes in task performance using Fitts' Law. We measured improvements at three force levels compared to no force.


Abstract In the verification of identity, the aim is to increase effectiveness and reduce involvement of verified users. A good compromise between these issues is ensured by dynamic signature verification. The dynamic signature is represented by signals describing the position of the stylus in time. They can be used to determine the velocity or acceleration signal. Values of these signals can be analyzed, interpreted, selected, and compared. In this paper, we propose an approach that: (a) uses an evolutionary algorithm to create signature partitions in the time and velocity domains; (b) selects the most characteristic partitions in terms of matching with reference signatures; and (c) works individually for each user, eliminating the need of using skilled forgeries. The proposed approach was tested using Biosecure DS2 database which is a part of the DeepSignDB, a database with genuine dynamic signatures. Our simulations confirmed the correctness of the adopted assumptions.


In experiments and their interpretation usually the spin magnetic moment of magnons is considered. In this Letter, we identify a complementing orbital magnetic moment of magnons brought about by spin-orbit coupling. Our microscopic theory uncovers that spin magnetization M^{S} and orbital magnetization M^{O} are independent quantities; they are not necessarily collinear. Even when the total spin moment is compensated due to antiferromagnetism, M^{O} may be nonzero. This scenario of orbital weak ferromagnetism is realized in paradigmatic kagome antiferromagnets with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We demonstrate that magnets exhibiting a magnonic orbital moment are omnipresent and propose transport experiments for probing it.


We introduce a special issue that collects eight articles, comprising research from twenty-three countries and four continents on the sources, impact on citizens, and possible remedies to various digital threats to democracy, ranging from disinformation to hate speech to state interference with online freedoms. We set these contributions against the backdrop of a profound change in how scholars think about the implications of digital media for democracy. From the utopianism that prevailed from the 1990s until the early 2010s, the post-2016 reckoning has led to a change in the kinds of questions scholars ask, with the focus gradually shifting to investigations of the threats, rather than the benefits, of the Internet. The eight contributions presented in this special issue employ a variety of disciplinary approaches and methods, often comparing different countries, to address some of the most pressing questions on how the Internet can hinder the feasibility and well-functioning of democracy around the world. We conclude by setting out three challenges for future research on digital media and politics: a growing but still partial understanding of the extent and impact of the main digital threats to democracy; the risk that the dominant approaches become overly pessimistic, or founded on weak normative grounds; and the risk that research overemphasizes direct and short-term implications of digital threats on individuals and specific groups at the expense of indirect and medium-term effects on collective norms and expectations of behavior.


This article presents the status of the web 3D GIS platform, which has been developed in the National Applied Research Laboratories. The purpose is to develop a global earth observation 3D GIS platform for applications to disaster monitoring and assessment in Taiwan. For quick response to preliminary and detailed assessment after a natural disaster occurs, the web 3D GIS platform is useful to access, transfer, integrate, display and analyze the multi-scale huge data following the international OGC standard. The framework of cloud service for data warehousing management and efficiency enhancement using VMWare is illustrated in this article.


The stopping power and accumulation energy for protons in SiO 2 are calculated by using Monte Carlo software TRIM95. As a result, the ionizing stopping power and the nucleus stopping power are compared for protons in SiO 2 , and the relation between absorption dose of material surface and factual absorption dose of sensitive area is discussed. CC4007RH and CC4011 devices were irradiated with Co-60 gamma rays, 1MeV electrons and 1—9MeV protons to compare the ionizing radiation damage of the gamma rays with the charged particles. The result show that the radiation damages from Co-60 gamma rays, 1MeV electrons and 1—7MeV protons were equivalent for 0V gate bias conditions. Under 5V gate bias, the radiation damage for Co-60 gamma rays was most serious. The distinction in damage between 1MeV electrons and Co-60 gamma rays was not large. The damage from protons below 9MeV was always less than that from Co-60. The lower the proton energy, the less the damage.


AUC, area under the concentration-time curve; C hepatic clearance; 1-O- β Abstract Recent data suggest that the role of CYP3A4 in imatinib metabolism is smaller than presumed. This study aimed to evaluate the quantitative importance of different cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes in imatinib pharmacokinetics. First, the metabolism of imatinib was investigated using recombinant P450 enzymes and human liver microsomes with P450 isoform-selective inhibitors. Thereafter, an in silico model for imatinib was constructed to perform pharmacokinetic simulations to assess the roles of P450 enzymes in imatinib elimination at clinically used imatinib doses. In vitro , CYP2C8 inhibitors and CYP3A4 inhibitors inhibited the depletion of 0.1 µM imatinib by 45% and 80%, respectively, and the formation of the main metabolite of imatinib, N-desmethylimatinib, by >50%. Likewise, recombinant CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 metabolized imatinib extensively, whereas other isoforms had minor effect on imatinib concentrations. In the beginning of imatinib treatment, the fractions of its hepatic clearance mediated by CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 were predicted to approximate 40% and 60%, respectively. During long-term treatment with imatinib 400 mg once or twice daily, up to 65% or 75% of its hepatic elimination was predicted to occur via CYP2C8, and only about 35% or 25% by CYP3A4, due to dose-and time-dependent autoinactivation of CYP3A4 by imatinib. Thus, although CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 are the main enzymes in imatinib metabolism in vitro, in silico predictions indicate that imatinib inhibits its own CYP3A4-mediated metabolism, assigning a key role for CYP2C8. During multiple dosing, pharmacogenetic polymorphisms and drug interactions affecting CYP2C8 activity may cause marked interindividual variation in the exposure and response to imatinib. whereas it reduced the AUC of N-DMI by 59%-84%. The inhibition of both CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 was predicted to markedly increase imatinib AUC 2.9-fold, and almost completely inhibit N-DMI formation (by >79%). to evaluate the clinical relevance of CYP2C8 and CYP3A4 in imatinib elimination. Although clinical studies are necessary to confirm our in vitro-in silico findings, it is likely that imatinib time-dependently inhibits its own CYP3A4-mediated metabolism, leading to a key role for CYP2C8 in its elimination. Thus, during multiple dosing, both pharmacogenetic polymorphisms and drug interactions affecting CYP2C8 activity may cause marked interindividual variability in the exposure and response to imatinib. Overall, the present findings highlight the need to carefully evaluate the implications of MBI using integrated in vitro and modeling/simulation approaches.


A novel bacterium, strain Ru1T, was encountered during a survey of spirochaetes living in the gastrointestinal tract of ruminants. Comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence data indicated that strain Ru1T clustered within the genus Treponemabut shared at most 86.1 % sequence similarity with other recognised species of the genus Treponema. Further phylogenetic analysis based on partial recombinase A (recA) gene sequence comparisons, together with phenotypic characterization, also demonstrated the divergence of strain Ru1T from other recognised species of the genus Treponema. Microscopically, strain Ru1T appeared as a very small, highly motile, helical spirochaete with eight periplasmic flagella in a 4 : 8 : 4 arrangement. It exhibited C8 esterase lipase, leucine arylamidase, β-galactosidase and β-glucosidase activity. A distinctive, serum-independent growth pattern was also observed, characterized by colonies with an absence of the local haemolysis that is typical of many pathogenic treponemes. On the basis of these data, strain Ru1T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Treponema, for which the name Treponema ruminis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Ru1T (=DSM 103462T=NCTC 13847T).


Indonesia needs to obtain the legal protection that can provide safety and
comfort both to businesses and consumers. Since the enactment of Law No. 8 of
1999 on Consumer Protection on 20 April 1999 (hereinafter referred to as the
Consumer Protection Act is one of the laws and regulations is a fortress of
strength both businesses inside and businessmen from abroad and also a
protection for consumers . Consumer Protection Act regulates the rights and
obligations of businesses and consumers. Based on the description above, there
are problems How consumer protection on dangerous food products from abroad
in an effort to face the ASEAN free trade. Efforts to provide adequate protection
against the interests of consumers is an important and urgent to find a solution
soon, given the way the complex problems related to the protection of consumers
in Indonesia all the more welcome the free trade era of the Asean Economic
Community. The entry of dangerous food products that come from abroad to
watch.


w w w . i j m b s . c o m InternatIonal Journal of ManageMent & BusIness studIes 105 Abstract Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence. Like viruses, such strategies take advantage of rapid multiplication to explode the message to thousands, to millions. The study identifies the Factors affecting the exposure to Viral Marketing Messages. A literature review is done to gain understanding of the subject followed by a focus group to refine the understandings. A questionnaire is prepared based on the basis of the understandings from literature review and focus group, administered and interpreted to identify the Factors affecting the exposure to Viral Marketing Message. A Factor analysis revealed 'Peer Group Influence', 'Access Method', 'Source factors' and 'tempo spatial factors' as those that affecting the exposure to Viral Marketing Message. Peer Group Influence means that WOM from peer group, Source factors are the factors attached to the originator and passer of the message, Access Method includes the access methods to get exposed to the message whereas tempo spatial factors are associated with the time and space of where the respondent is.


Dengue is not only confined to its classical presentation of high-grade fever, body ache, shock, plasma leakage and thrombocytopenia. Itinvolves multiple organ like brain, heart, liver, abdomen, kidney, lungs, thyroid and causing concerning morbidity and mortality. In this review article we have tried to focus on the different variety of presentation which is now called Expanded Dengue Syndrome. This review article will be helpful to physician to combat Dengue virus where it is endemic.
Bangladesh J Medicine 2022; 33: 5-9


An optical tachometer is developed by the analog processing of the signals obtained from the silicon solar cell displacement sensors. Differentiating the speed signal, satisfactorily smooth acceleration signal is obtained by simple filtering. The torque-speed curve plotting for small motors by the application of this technique and the effects of the filtering on the plot are described.


Adhesive bonding is becoming a widely used assembling process in the naval field; it can allow great productivity, simplify design constraints and can lead, in general, to a significant weight reduction. Unfortunately, this technology is not completely mastered; parameters like the cure process, size of defects, joint adhesive thickness variations, size of parts to be assembled and non-linear behaviour of the adhesive joint, have to be considered to assess the risks and predict the service life. Moreover, for naval applications adapted state functions have to be proposed in order to take into account this variability of material properties, the time dependency of parameters like damage, solicitations or loads. Under these assumptions, time-independent reliability is insufficient to allow a pertinent-related failure probability calculation. The solution of such a problem can be given by the use of time-dependent reliability tools. This passes through coupling structural reliability software evaluation with a non-linear finite element code. This choice requires robust mechanical models able to describe the behaviour of naval structure with an acceptable numerical cost in order to perform the reliability study. This paper presents a time variant reliability approach based on the PHI2 method. Cohesive-zone models are used to model the adhesive. This choice allows limiting the numerical cost of simulations and permits us to model the non-linear behaviour of adhesive. It also presents a good compromise between numerical costs and quality of results. The damage at the interface can be modelled and it has been proven that using cohesive zone models is well suited for bonded joints as the possible degradation zone is well defined. In order to determine the cohesive zone model parameters, tests were performed. The most relevant results are presented. Different numerical results showing the feasibility of this approach for adhesively bonded assemblies are discussed and the case of a representative part of a naval structure has been studied in this paper.


Genetic diversity of 43 Dioscorea dumetorum accessions and two of Dioscorea cayenensis Lam as out-group species was evaluated for qualitative and quantitative traits in two different agro-climatic zones Baham (05°20.040' N/010°22.572' E and 1634±3 masl, agro-ecological zone III with rainfall of 1500 to 2000 mm, and mean annual temperature of 19°C) and Ekona (04°12.773'N/009°19.425'E and 445±3 masl, agro-ecological zone IV with rainfall of 2500 to 4000 mm and mean annual temperature of 26°C). Forty one (41) morphological characters according to International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptor, including nine quantitative and 32 qualitative characters were analyzed for multivariate analysis using cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and analysis of variance. For quantitative characters, cluster analysis revealed three major clusters. The first three components with eigen values > 1 contributed 83% of the variability. The PCA results indicate that traits which largely contributed to the variability within and between the accessions were stem length, leaf length, internode number, leaf width, harvest index, leaf number and internode length. Traits such as harvest index, internode number and stem length showed high heritability and high genetic advance. For qualitative traits, cluster and principal component analysis revealed two major clusters in Baham as well as in Ekona. The traits such as spines on stem base, spines on stem above base, spines length contributed to the variability within and between the accessions. However, the limits of morphological characters in the study of diversity have been detected. Key words : Dioscorea dumetorum, morphological traits, characterization, agro-climatic zone, Cameroon.


INTRODUCTION. Regulatory Requirements for Hazardous Waste Measurements. SAMPLING. Sampling and Analysis of Hazardous Wastes for Toxic Pollutants, Aida Fuents and Milagros. The Homogenization of Environmental Soil Samples in Bulk. Comparison of Soil Sample Homogenization Techniques. FIELD TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTATION. Air Monitoring at Remedial Waste Sites. Field Measurement of Organic Compounds by Gas Chromatography. Robotocized Analytical Techniques. The Application of Infrared Spectroscopy to Hazardous Wastes. X-Ray Fluorescence Field Method for Screening of Inorganic Contaminants at Hazardous Waste Sites. The Application of X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry to the Analysis of Hazardous Wastes. TOXICITY SCREENING METHODS FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE. Characterizing the Genotoxicity of Hazardous Industrial Wastes and Effluents Using Short-Term Bioassays. Detection of Genetic Hazards from Environmental Chemicals with Plant Test Systems. QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL. Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Quality Assurance for Hazardous Waste Measurements. 1990, ISBN 0-87371-171-8. FEATURES:


This essay examines the role that entomological workers played in U.S. public health efforts during the construction of the Panama Canal (1904–1914). Entomological workers were critical to mosquito control efforts aimed at the reduction of tropical fevers such as malaria. But in the process of studying vector mosquitoes, they discovered that many of the conditions that produced mosquitoes were not intrinsic to tropical nature per se but resulted from the human‐caused environmental disturbances that accompanied canal building. This realization did not mesh well with an American ideology of tropical triumphalism premised on the notion that the Americans had conquered unalloyed tropical nature in Panama. The result, however, was not a coherent counternarrative but a set of intra‐administrative tensions over what controlling nature meant in Panama. Ultimately, entomological workers were loyal not just to the U.S. imperial mission in Panama but also to a modernist culture of science and to the workings of mosquito ecology as they understood them.


Enolase-Phosphatase 1 (Enoph1), a newly discovered enzyme of the methionine salvage pathway, has been identified as a candidate gene involved in the modulation of stress responses. In the present study, we investigated the effect of Enoph1 on ischemic blood brain barrier (BBB) injury on an in vitro model of oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) and an in vivo rat model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Cell death and apoptosis were assessed by measuring 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol- 2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide formation, lactate dehydrogenase release and TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling staining. BBB disruption was evaluated based on fluorescein-labeled albumin (FITC-albumin) extravasation. ROS generation was assessed by DCFH staining. Real time-PCR and western blot were used to measure mRNA and protein expression, respectively. CRISPR-activated plasmid and siRNA were applied to manipulate Enoph1 expression in brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMVECs). Exposure of BMVECs to OGD for 6 hours markedly increased Enoph1 expression and decreased the protein levels of its substrate aci-reductone dioxygenase 1 (ADI1) protein, which was accompanied by membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) upregulation, increased apoptotic cell death and ROS generation. Increased Enoph1 expression was also observed in ischemic cerebromicrovassels where FITC-albumin extravasation was observed, indicating the co-localization of BBB disruption and increased Enoph1 expression. Knockdown of Enoph1 expression with siRNA significantly inhibited OGD-induce apoptosis, ROS generation, ADI1 protein reduction and MT1-MMP upregulation in BMVECs, while overexpression of Enoph1 CRISPR-activated plasmids exacerbated OGD-induced cell death and ROS generation. Of note, overexpression of ADI1 or knockdown of MT1-MMP with siRNA significantly blocked OGD-induced BMVECs apoptosis. In conclusion, our data demonstrate for the first time that cerebral ischemia activates Enoph1-ADI1-MT1-MMP axis to mediate BMVEC apoptosis and BBB disruption, and Enoph1 may represent a new therapeutic target for ischemic stroke.


Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological disease characterized by difficulties with social interaction, communication, and repetitive activities. The severity of these difficulties varies, and those with this diagnosis face unique challenges. While its primary origin lies in genetics, identifying and addressing it early can contribute to the enhancement of the condition. In recent years, machine learning-driven intelligent diagnosis has emerged as a supplement to conventional clinical approaches, aiming to address the potential drawbacks of time-consuming and costly traditional methods. In this work, we utilize different machine learning algorithms to find the most significant traits responsible for ASD and to automate the diagnostic process. We study six classification models to see which model works best to identify ASD and also study five popular clustering methods to get a meaningful insight of these ASD datasets. To find the best classifier for these binary datasets, we evaluate the models using accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, F1-score, AUC, kappa and log loss metrics. Our evaluation demonstrates that five out of the six selected models perform exceptionally, achieving a 100% accuracy rate on the ASD datasets when hyperparameters are meticulously tuned for each model. As almost all classification models are able to get 100% accuracy, we become interested in observing the underlying insights of the datasets by implementing some popular clustering algorithms on these datasets. We calculate Normalized Mutual Information (NMI), Adjusted Rand Index (ARI)&Silhouette Coefficient (SC) metrics to select the best clustering models. Our evaluation finds that spectral clustering outperforms all other benchmarking clustering models in terms of NMI&ARI metrics and it also demonstrates comparability to the optimal SC achieved by k-means.


Cold and mechanical allodynia are important symptoms in patients with neuropathic pain. The study of cold allodynia in animals can help us to understand the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropathic pain and to validate drugs. The evaluation of cold allodynia in gerbils with a chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve on the cold plate is not always stable. We developed a new application method of acetone using a specific spray technique with an Eppendorf® multistepper pipette. The chronic constriction injury of the sciatic nerve in gerbils resulted in a long-lasting mechanical and acetone spray-induced hyperreactivity throughout the testing period, which is clearly different from what was seen in sham-operated animals. The acetone spray test incorporates a multimodal stimulus different from direct cold stimulation. The reactivity to the acetone spray coincides in time and strength with the reactivity observed in mechanical allodynia in gerbils and with mechanical and thermal allodynia in other species. Furthermore, a pharmacological validation of the acetone spray test by different reference compounds was performed. Different compounds effective in neuropathic pain models in rodents influence the hyperreactivity to the acetone spray after acute and chronic administration. This study indicates that the multimodal acetone spray test is a valuable tool in the study of neuropathic pain in rodents.


Cloud data center capacities are over-provisioned to handle demand peaks and hardware failures which leads to low resources' utilization. One way to improve resource utilization and thus reduce the total cost of ownership is to offer unused resources (referred to as ephemeral resources) at a lower price. However, reselling resources needs to meet the expectations of its customers in terms of Quality of Service. The goal is so to maximize the amount of reclaimed resources while avoiding SLA penalties. To achieve that, cloud providers have to estimate their future utilization to provide availability guarantees. The prediction should consider a safety margin for resources to react to unpredictable workloads. The challenge is to find the safety margin that provides the best trade-off between the amount of resources to reclaim and the risk of SLA violations. Most state-of-the-art solutions consider a fixed safety margin for all types of metrics (e.g., CPU, RAM). However, a unique fixed margin does not consider various workloads variations over time which may lead to SLA violations or/and poor utilization. In order to tackle these challenges, we propose ReLeaSER, a Reinforcement Learning strategy for optimizing the ephemeral resources' utilization in the cloud. ReLeaSER dynamically tunes the safety margin at the host-level for each resource metric. The strategy learns from past prediction errors (that caused SLA violations). Our solution reduces significantly the SLA violation penalties on average by $\mathbf{2.7}\times$ and up to $\mathbf{3.4}\times$. It also improves considerably the CPs' potential savings by 27.6% on average and up to 43.6%.


Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease among women of reproductive age, which affects approximately 6 ~10 percent of females, but the pathogenesis of endometriosis is still ambiguous. Until now, the prevailing theory concerning the etiology of endometriosis is the retrograde menstruation hypothesis put forward by Sampson in 1921. However, it can't illustrate completely the etiology and pathology of the endometriosis. In recent years, immune-inflammatory factor is a hot point of endometriosis field. Many studies demonstrated that the numbers and level of cytokines in the peritoneal fluid of endometriosis patients, namely the macrophage migration inhibitor factor (MIF) which is one of the cytokines described previously, is increased. This has been observed to have a crucial role during the pathology of endometriosis as well as pelvic pain and infertility which are responsible for endometriosis. Therefore, MIF might be the target of new approach to diagnosis and therapy endometriosis.


Variational iteration method is introduced to solve the fifth-order boundary value problems. This method provides an efficient approach to solve this type of problems without discretization and the computation of the Adomian polynomials. Numerical results demonstrate that this method is a promising and powerful tool for solving the fifth-order boundary value problems.


This Work developed an accurate and efficient Antenna Isolation model to minimize interference in cohabiting Networks that used co-site parameters in the formulation of the mathematical model. The Work determined the maximum radius of co-site cell as1200metres and equally deduced the width of side-lobes in the received radiation pattern, whose minimization, using the 7th order Chebyshev Polynomials, minimized interference effects in the signal propagation path. Comparison of the Isolation models showed that the Traditional Antenna Isolation Model used by most Researchers, yield isolation loss of less than 75dB at the far-field distance of the interfered with CDMA 2000 1X Base Station (BS) antenna Receiver footprint with dropped calls of 42 and Call Drop Rate (CDR) of 13.33%; which was above the 13% Standard (3GPP TR, 2002). The use of the Proposed Isolation Model has the advantage of isolation improvement at no extra cost. Isolation loss of more than 99dB was attained at the far-field distance of the interfered with BS antenna Receiver and at the footprint, dropped calls of 31 and CDR of 9.84% were recorded.


ABSTRACT Since the mid-1980s, the working lives of teachers has become an enduring research topic. Much research has focused on early-career teachers and is often reported from deficit positions, i.e. why they leave the profession. However, career trajectory studies have described a small cohort of veteran teachers who remain positive and committed to teaching. This article reports on the creation and piloting of an instrument designed to test whether this positive cohort can be empirically identified within a wider teaching population. Four constructs (experimentation, challenge, comfort and leadership) drawn from Huberman (1993), and Day and Gu (2007) formed the basis for an online pilot survey completed by 145 teachers. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported three of the four factors (experimentation, comfort, leadership), with challenge loading strongly with experimentation. Initial findings suggest the potential of the instrument in helping identifying positive veteran teachers within systems, as well as the voracity of the research approach. Examining and articulating how these veteran teachers maintain their positive outlook may prove valuable as many countries confront an ageing teaching workforce, increasing student numbers and difficulties in retaining experienced teachers, meaning those who remain will be expected to sustain their commitment for longer.


The effects of streamline curvature-induced favorable pressure gradients on a Mach 4.9 turbulent boundary layer were investigated. The goal was to provide a physical explanation for the response of the Reynolds stresses, by examining the distortion, re-orientation, and attenuation of the turbulent structures. Pre-multiplied power spectra of the streamwise component displayed a peak at Λx + = 200 – 300 for all cases below y/δ = 0.1. The strong pressure gradient showed a greater relative amount of energy concentrated at that wavelength, suggesting that this length scale plays a more significant role in the SPG case. The swirling strength criteria, weighted by the sign of the vorticity to differentiate vortex orientations, was applied to each vector field. An initial inspection of the instantaneous distribution of turbulent structures shows strong similarities with incompressible flow, suggesting that the same hairpin packet model is applicable to the flowfields in question. Conditional averaging of the velocity fields was performed using prograde and retrograde vortices as the conditional event. The strong pressure gradient re-oriented the interface region to 20°, reduced the intensity of the induced low-speed fluid, and produced a more isotropic velocity distribution around the vortex. These observations suggest that the pressure gradient is attenuating the fluctuating velocity associated with the turbulent structures, thereby limiting their contribution to the Reynolds stress.


The rate of suicide among people in the United States is high among those ages 15 through 34. People in this age range are active online, and therefore, social media platforms give health communicators a method for reaching them with messages intended for suicide intervention. This paper proposes a framework for the construction of social media messages designed to influence behavioral intention and motivate action by suicide gatekeepers (those aware of a peer's suicide ideation). The framework is conceptualized through the lens of the theory of planned behavior and its determinants of behavioral intention—attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Three concepts are provided that may influence each of the determinants: framing with interdependence, emphasizing reciprocal relationships, and using empowering language.


Cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (cALD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by inflammatory demyelination in the central nervous system. Another neurodegenerative disease with a high prevalence, Alzheimer's disease (AD), shares many common features with cALD such as cognitive impairment and the alleviation of symptoms by erucic acid. We investigated cALD and AD in parallel to study the shared pathological pathways between a rare disease and a more common disease. The approach may expand the biological understandings and reveal novel therapeutic targets. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) were conducted to identify both the resemblance in gene expression patterns and genes that are pathologically relevant in the two diseases. Within differentially expressed genes (DEGs), GSEA identified 266 common genes with similar up- or down-regulation patterns in cALD and AD. Among the interconnected genes in AD data, two gene sets containing 1,486 genes preserved in cALD data were selected by WGCNA that may significantly affect the development and progression of cALD. WGCNA results filtered by functional correlation via protein–protein interaction analysis overlapping with GSEA revealed four genes (annexin A5, beta-2-microglobulin, CD44 molecule, and fibroblast growth factor 2) that showed robust associations with the pathogeneses of cALD and AD, where they were highly involved in inflammation, apoptosis, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. This study provided an integrated strategy to provide new insights into a rare disease with scant publicly available data (cALD) using a more prevalent disorder with some pathological association (AD), which suggests novel druggable targets and drug candidates.


We study distributed searches in fully decentralized peer-to-peer networks. This papers reports on a study that aims to understand the robustness and load balancing of a distributed search network. We focus on a visual analysis of search traffic, load distribution, and edge density when the network experiences adversaries. The analysis reveals that the network tends to rely more heavily on an even smaller portion of nodes for searches when an increasing number of nodes become unavailable. In the meanwhile, nodes become more exploratory and tend to engage more of those previously unutilized. The trade-off between a more skewed traffic distribution and a greater edge density in related scenarios is important to the robustness of the network and requires further investigation.


Soil artificially contaminated with fluorene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and benz[a]anthracene was inoculated with the wood‐rotting fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Antrodia vaillantii. During 12 weeks of incubation, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation and the formation of persistent degradation products were monitored by chemical analysis. In addition, the effect on the indigenous soil bacteria was studied by plate count techniques and by measuring the concentration of bacteria‐specific phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs). In both soils inoculated with fungi, the PAH degradation was enhanced compared to the control soil without fungi. The white‐rot fungus P. ostreatus accelerated the degradation rate radically the first weeks, while the effect of the brown‐rot fungus was more pronounced at later stages during the 12‐week study. In a soil with no amendments, the final degradation result was similar to that in the soil with added fungi, although the degradation pattern for the individual PAHs was different. Furthermore, the degradation by P. ostreatus was accompanied by an accumulation of PAH metabolites, that is, 9‐fluorenone, benz[a]anthracene‐7,12‐dione, and two compounds identified as 4‐hydroxy‐9‐fluorenone and 4‐oxapyrene‐5‐one, that was not seen in the other soils. The inoculation with the white‐rot fungus also had a large negative effect on the indigenous soil bacteria. This could be an important drawback of using the white‐rot fungus P. ostreatus in soil bioremediation since a sequential fungal—bacterial degradation probably is needed for a complete degradation of PAHs in soil. In the soil inoculated with A. vaillantii, on the other hand, no metabolites accumulated, and no negative effects were observed on the indigenous microorganisms.


There is an emerging need in the computing industry for higher bandwidth, longer distance, and increased density interconnections within clusters of high performance enterprise-class computer systems. Many of these servers share a common set of high level requirements which lend themselves to the use of parallel optical interconnects to either supplement or replace existing copper data buses. In this paper, we describe the results of application testing performed on 12-fiber parallel optical cables and connectors, including a relative comparison between three different multimode cable assembly sources. Assembly loss and effects of both axial and off-axis pull forces are measured for cable samples mated to a laser transmitter array. Significant variations exist in the performance of the same type of cable assembly from different manufacturing sources, particularly concerning their susceptibility to pull forces; we also investigate the effects of fiber strain relief to improve performance of these links. While currently available 12-fiber array connectors are not equivalent in performance to standard duplex connectors, this work suggests areas for future improvement and data communication application requirements which should be considered when using parallel fiber optic arrays.


A theory for gain and threshold of quantum dot lasers operating with inhomogeneously broadened dot ensembles is developed. Separate vs. simultaneous electron and hole capture and thermal vs. non-thermal carrier distributions and vertically coupled stacks are considered. In realistic lasers thermally distributed carriers allow lower threshold currents than non-thermal ensembles. Stacked quantum dots provide larger maximum gain but have a priori a higher threshold. However, vertical coupling leads to a redistribution of the carrier population and subsequently to similarly low thresholds as for lasers operating with single sheets of dots. Theoretical predictions are compared to experiments on quantum dot lasers operating on self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots.


The report concerns a discussion of some methodological and statistical problems in testing color vision with the Nagel anomaloscope and an evaluation of records compiled during a period of four and a half years' research work at the U. S. Air Force School of Aviation Medicine, Randolph Field, Texas. Following topics are dealt with: elimination of training effects and determination of the total number of readings required to detect specified minimum practical differences between individuals; application and frequency distribution of the anomalous quotient; determination of the normal matching range of mixtures and of comparison yellow; and test-retest reliability of the Nagel anomaloscope.


Web 2.0 is among the most talked-about, highest-buzz IT constructs of late, the subject of numerous articles and blogs and, since 2004, multiple conferences. While in many respects an Internet phenomenon, Web 2.0 is quickly gaining a beachhead against the legacy "stovepiped" way in which users manage and disseminate information of all kinds within the enterprise. It's also an outside-in revolution: Technologies developed and explored outside the enterprise are migrating inside it. People who've gotten hooked on Web 2.0 demand the same user experience, tools, and networking in their work that they've experienced at play. The good news for enterprise security practitioners is that the impact of Web 2.0 has thus far been evolutionary. However, Web 2.0 growth is accelerating, and it's doing so for reasons as varied as compliance, privacy, and protection of corporate assets. Organizations considering deployment of Web 2.0 capabilities must exercise caution and control, just as they do with non-Web 2.0 technologies. What's needed, in short, is Security 2.0.


The proposed work is performed as a part of an on-going research project aimed at creation of discourse annotated corpus of popular science texts written in Russian. Annotation is carried out within the framework of a multi-level model of discourse, which considers the text from the perspective of genre, rhetorical and argumentative organization. We conduct a comparative study of the rhetorical and argument annotations, discuss their similarities and differences on the segment and structural levels and show them on the examples of standard schemes of reasoning described in D. Walton's theory of structured argumentation: "Argument from Expert Opinion", "Argument from Example", and "Argument from Cause to Effect". Special attention is paid to discourse markers registered during annotation as key indicators of discourse structure. We report the results of the experiment with argument indicator patterns, based on the list of rhetorical markers, and aimed at the extraction of "from Expert Opinion" arguments.


In this paper we analyze the limits on communication induced by mobility. The case of no channel state information at the receiver (CSIR) is considered. We specifically analyze the matched filter bound (MFB), which corresponds to the ML performance for the detection of a symbol assuming all other symbols are known. This setting allows to incorporate channel estimation from the known symbols. Two channel models can be considered for two types of transmission. In the case of (quasi)continuous transmission, parametric channel models are considered with a decomposition into fast and slowly fading channel parameters, with the estimation errors on the slow parameters being neglected. For the case of block-wise transmission, we assume basis expansion models with the correlations between the basis components being taken into account. On the other hand one can also distinguish between specular (pathwise) and diffuse (separable correlation) channel models. The MFB degradation due to channel estimation is characterized in terms of a misadjustment factor, which is analyzed further for SISO flat channels and MIMO OFDM channels, with specular or diffuse channel models. The channel estimation based approach is also briefly contrasted with and outperforms differential (de) modulation approaches. Finally, some links with previous work on capacity analysis are made.


This paper investigates conceptual metaphors in the Moroccan Tachelhit variety in the light of the contemporary theory of metaphor advanced by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). The main objective of this research is to find out the conceptual differences between Tachelhit and English language. It also aims at contributing to the field of metaphor in Tamazight linguistics as well as filling the gap that exists in the literature. This qualitative research adopted content analysis as a technique with which data is collected, categorized, and analyzed. This research shows that metaphor can be used as a tool to examine the cultural groupthink of communities. The main findings of the present study include the conceptual differences between Tachelhit and English in metaphors such as: TIME IS A HUMAN BEING, NEWS IS A HUMAN BEING, DIRECTNESS IS UP, WORDS ARE LIQUID, HUNGER IS A KILLING THING, WEAKNESS IS EMPTINESS, GOODNESS IS A STRAIGHT LINE, MONEY IS DIRT, USEFULNESS IS A PRECIOUS OBJECT and REPUTE IS A DELICATE OBJECT; which are all examples of conceptual metaphors that exist in Tachelhit. This research paper also demonstrates that metaphor can structure gestures the way it structures metaphoric linguistic expressions. Conceptual metaphors are vital elements that need be taken into consideration in intercultural as well as intracultural contexts to overcome communication failures


The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the effects of COVID-19 on macro-plastic pollution and to consider short-term and long-term scenarios for its possible environmental and human health consequences and to discuss possible strategies to address and overcome key challenges. It was emphasized that, whether or not they are involved in a healthy health crisis, future actions should reflect the balance between public health and environmental protection, as there is no doubt that they are interrelated with bioremediation and microbial metabolism in the presence of optimal environmental conditions. Bioremediation uses natural and psychological microorganisms to break down toxic and harmful substances aerobically and anaerobically. It can be handled by a mixed microbial consortium or pure microbial strains on site (in situ) or off site (in the case of case) Phyto therapy or even natural care. Nutrients suitable for impurities, especially petroleum hydrocarbons are researched technologies for us, for this a biotechnological approach designed for bioremediation and observation. COVID 19 Pandemic pushed the world into a new challenge of waste management. In general, physicochemical technologies are used, which allow for proper ecological biomedical processes. Some bacteria are mobile, feel the contamination, and move towards it to neutralize it. This review emphasizes on current pollution, which is result of COVID 19 pandemic, as people follow use and discard strategies for different things which is a threat to our environment.

Keywords: Environment, waste management, COVID 19.


Existing evidence suggests that children, when they first pass standard theory-of-mind tasks, still fail to understand the essential aspectuality of beliefs and other propositional attitudes: such attitudes refer to objects only under specific aspects. Oedipus, for example, believes Yocaste (his mother) is beautiful, but this does not imply that he believes his mother is beautiful. In three experiments, 3- to 6-year-olds' (N = 119) understanding of aspectuality was tested with a novel, radically simplified task. In contrast to all previous findings, this task was as difficult as and highly correlated with a standard false belief task. This suggests that a conceptual capacity more unified than previously assumed emerges around ages 4-5, a full-fledged metarepresentational scheme of propositional attitudes.


The effect of dynamic stretch on the reactivity of the rat tail and mesenteric artery segments was studied. Segments mounted on a myograph were stretched by a computer-controlled motorized micromanipulator. Dynamic stretch (1, 5 or 7 Hz) inhibited the artery constriction induced by noradrenaline (10 microM), 5-hydroxytryptamine (0.7 microM), or electrical field stimulation of intramural nerves. In contrast, dynamic stretch enhanced the tetrodotoxin-insensitive dilation induced by electrical field stimulation of noradrenaline-contracted arteries. Maximal increase of dilation evoked by electrical field stimulation (24.5 +/- 5.0% in mesenteric and 50.3 +/- 15.6% in the tail artery) was observed at a dynamic stretch-frequency of 5 Hz. An inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis, NG-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM), abolished the difference in reactivity between static and dynamic conditions. The results indicate that dynamic stretch of the arteries activates nitric oxide synthesis/secretion, thus reducing constrictor and increasing dilator responses to the stimuli used.


Background

D,L-methadone (MET), an analgesic drug used for pain treatment and opiate addiction has achieved attention from oncologist and social media as possible chemosensitizing agent in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) treatment. MET has been reported to enhance doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in GBM cells via activation of the µ-opioid receptor (MOR) and subsequent apoptosis induction. Here, we further aimed at quantifying MET effects in comparison to other opioids alone and in combination with doxorubicin and clinically more relevant temozolomide (TMZ) in a set of GBM cell lines and primary GBM cells.
Methods

MOR expression in GBM cells was investigated by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. Resistance to drugs alone or in combination was assessed by MTT assays. Concentration effect curves were fitted to data points by nonlinear regression analysis and IC50 values were calculated. Apoptotic rates were determined by Annexin V staining.
Results

We found that MET alone was cytotoxic to GBM cells at high micromolar concentrations in MTT assays by induction of apoptosis and necrosis while morphine and oxycodone were hardly cytotoxic. Naloxone was not able to block MET-induced cytotoxicity, indicating that cell death inducing effects of MET are not MOR dependent. We recorded doxorubicin and TMZ concentration response curves by MTT assays in combination with fixed MET concentrations. MET only enhanced doxorubicin cytotoxicity in one cell line and in part in primary cells at certain MET concentrations. MET was not effective in sensitizing cells towards TMZ. Contrarily, in two cell lines MET even decreased sensitivity towards TMZ.
Conclusions

MET can be considered cytotoxic to GBM cells only at clinically not relevant concentrations by induction of apoptosis and necrosis. Sensitizing effects are only observed in combination with doxorubicin but not with TMZ and are highly dependent on cell line and applied drug concentrations.


Practical face recognition has been studied in the past decades, but still remains an open challenge. Current prevailing approaches have already achieved substantial breakthroughs in recognition accuracy. However, their performance usually drops dramatically if face samples are severely misaligned. To address this problem, we propose a highly efficient misalignment-robust locality-constrained representation (MRLR) algorithm for practical real-time face recognition. Specifically, the locality constraint that activates the most correlated atoms and suppresses the uncorrelated ones, is applied to construct the dictionary for face alignment. Then we simultaneously align the warped face and update the locality-constrained dictionary, eventually obtaining the final alignment. Moreover, we make use of the block structure to accelerate the derived analytical solution. Experimental results on public data sets show that MRLR significantly outperforms several state-of-the-art approaches in terms of efficiency and scalability with even better performance.


HLS tools are becoming fashionable again. Is this second wave of HLS the one industry will surf on? There are a lot of technical, strategic and human related questions behind this HLS comeback. In this session the panellists from System, S/C, EDA companies and Universities will look into the following questions: have designs become so complex that they cannot avoid higher level of abstraction? Have HLS tools become so much better? Can HLS yield entitlement gate count? Is HLS a new market? What are the practical issues with HLS production flows? Does HLS improve design predictability and efficiency? What are the next challenges?


The entire subject of the management of breast cancer is in turmoil, and a spate of books, pamphlets, audiotapes, videotapes, and conferences reflect the tensions. This book, edited by respected clinical surgeons of the old Memorial School, New York, reviews the subject with a historic perspective brought up to date by clinical colleagues primarily from the New York metropolitan area. Forty-five percent (29/64) of the authors are from New York, where the "Memorial tradition" is very strong. The book best serves as a pragmatic reference for clinicians. Many controversial issues, from etiology and risk factors to alternative methods of treatment, are covered. Some chapters are remarkably short (four to six pages), but they are well illustrated, adequately supported by factual data, and, in general, extremely well referenced. The major strength of this book is its role as a practical, succinct reference. Its equally major weakness is its lack of scientific


To find a multiple amputee more severe than a triple amputee is not easy. This is a report of a 36-year-old patient with right knee disarticulation, left trans-femoral amputation and right elbow disarticulation due to peripheral ischemic necrosis, when he was applied vasopressor in septic shock condition. His left hand was also 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th distal interphalangeal joint disarticulation status, and it was more difficult for him to do rehabilitation program, such as donning and doffing the prostheses. For more efficient rehabilitation training program, we first focused on upper extremities function, since we believed that he might need a walking aid for gait training later. After 13 weeks of rehabilitation program, he has become sit to stand and walk short distance independently with an anterior walker. Although he still needs some assistance with activities of daily living, his Functional Independence Measure score improved from 48 to 90 during the course of 13 weeks.


The CE phase of La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 displays long-range magnetic, charge and orbital order of the eg states of the Mn ions. The magnetic order of the t2g spins of Mn is determined by the antiferromagnetic superexchange and the ferromagnetic double-exchange. The checkerboard charge and the orbital order is the consequence of the Jahn-Teller coupling of the eg orbitals to the lattice. Using a mean-field slave-boson approach for the eg electrons in two orbitals per site with excluded multiple occupancy and Hund's rule coupling between the eg and t2g states, we obtain the tight-binding band structure of the CE phase. The unit cell of the CE phase consists of 16 sites. The 32 eg bands in the Brillouin zone are grouped into two sets of 16 bands separated by a charge order gap. The charge gap does not directly affect the properties of the compound. If long-range orbital order is included an additional gap opens at the Fermi level.


While most studies of the Holocaust stop in 1945, the year of the liberation and the official end of the Holocaust, Tam s Stark follows the fate of the Hungarian Jews until the Communist takeover in the late 1940s. The basic problem confronting quantitative experts in Holocaust studies is the difficulty in locating accurate data relating to the Holocaust and the immediate postwar era. The author has collected and evaluated virtually every primary and secondary source related to the quantifying of human loss among the Hungarian Jewish communities to produce a full, detailed measure of the scope of destruction. The author goes on to cover the enlarged, war-years territory of Hungary, and then to a detailed comparison of the destruction of Jewish communities and the emigration of the survivors.


This document presents our main contributions to the field of compilation, and more generally to the quest of performance of
computing systems.

It is structured by type of execution environment, from static compilation (execution of native code), to JIT compilation, and purely
dynamic optimization. We also consider interpreters. In each chapter, we give a focus on the most relevant contributions.

Chapter 2 describes our work about static compilation. It covers a long time frame (from PhD work 1995--1998 to recent work on real-time
systems and worst-case execution times at Inria in 2015) and various positions, both in academia and in the industry.

My research on JIT compilers started in the mid-2000s at STMicroelectronics, and is still ongoing. Chapter 3 covers the results we obtained on various aspects of JIT compilers: split-compilation, interaction with real-time systems, and obfuscation.

Chapter 4 reports on dynamic binary optimization, a research effort started more recently, in 2012. This considers the optimization of a native binary (without source code), while it runs. It incurs significant challenges but also opportunities.

Interpreters represent an alternative way to execute code. Instead of native code generation, an interpreter executes an infinite loop that
continuously reads a instruction, decodes it and executes its semantics. Interpreters are much easier to develop than compilers,
they are also much more portable, often requiring a simple recompilation. The price to pay is the reduced performance. Chapter 5
presents some of our work related to interpreters.

All this research often required significant software infrastructures for validation, from early prototypes to robust quasi products, and
from open-source to proprietary. We detail them in Chapter 6.

The last chapter concludes and gives some perspectives.


We report a novel process to fabricate single-mode independently addressable oxide-isolated vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays. The array is fabricated with a novel simple two-mask process where a single oxidation layer is used to define the laser aperture and to isolate the interconnects. The 4/spl times/8 VCSEL array has very uniform electrical, modal and geometrical characteristics that make it ideal for two-dimensional (2-D) array applications.


IN THE DESIGN of transformers, there are a great many problems regarding fields. Both dielectric and magnetic fields are involved and most of them are extremely difficult to solve mathematically. One problem involving the magnetic field is that of stray losses and heating of tanks. A specific case illustrative of this problem is the core-type transformer with unbalanced windings.


As financial success with risk contracting continues to elude many IDSs, some of these organizations have started questioning their overall mission as risk-bearing entities. To determine whether to continue to assume risk, an IDS should consider its market environment, the commitment of its provider constituents to the organization, its core competencies, the likelihood of success with risk contracting, and alternatives. To determine its future course, the IDS should engage in a strategic-planning process that includes all IDS stakeholders. Such a process can help build consensus regarding the IDS's market characteristics and benefits of IDS membership; determine the IDS's appropriate roles, services, and functions; and evaluate resources required to pursue the desired strategy. The process should include planning for various possible future scenarios, and results should be communicated to all IDS provider constituents.


Climate change adaptation plan has been marred with assertion that genders are not treated equally both in designing and implementation which have been eventually the cog in the wheel of progress of many developmental programmes in forest-based communities such as REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). This assertion has however not been "perceptionally" proven aside from the general vulnerability-gender relationships. This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Primary data was collected with the aid of questionnaire from 200 respondents (male and female category) randomly selected within six purposive UN-REDD+ piloted villages according to Cochran formula in South-South, Nigeria. Sixteen perceptional statements were developed with Likert scale rating along categorical variables such as participation, decision making, recognition and inclusion, forest resources management as well as village institution composition to assess and explain different factors militating against procedural component of climate justice (participation, decision making and level of engagement) at an individual level. The result of the research showed that the participation and decision making rate of women/female in the REDD+ in South-south Nigeria is weak, mostly only at the level of Tokenism, where over 97% were not aware of such project in the community, but the remaining 3% were privy to the information via their husbands where either their views or opinions have influenced policy. The female participation level about REDD + projects is low. This is due to cultural and socio-political societies that still retain traditional gender roles which only locate and position women/female for domestic affairs thus undermining their position and responsibilities in public places as attested to by Focus Group Discussion(FGD). Besides, discrimination by male leaders and their lack of self-esteem, and low levels of education weaken them from playing a role in their village community even in the implementation of the REDD+ project. This underscores the importance of proactive gender mainstreaming with all encompassing inclusiveness intervention rather than " male versus female" or "men versus women" in order to address gender bias both in designing and implementation of adaptation action plan such as REDD+. This study has extended the "individual perceptional statements" of climate justice to create the most flexible approach in Journal of Agriculture Science & Technology JAGST 21 (2) 2022, 66-82 Climate change and climate justice


Background Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (DSE) is a genetic chondrodysplasia causing early osteoarthritis witch prédominates in hips, knees and shoulders. We report in this context 7cases. Objectives We propose to study the clinical and radiologcal features of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia in our patients. Methods We studied the clinical and radiological features collected from records of patients treated for spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia. Results This was 7 patients (4H/3F) 31. Their middle age was 31,5 years. The diagnosis delay was on average 6,25ans [4 months-13 years]. Clinical signs were present in all cases: low back pain in 3 cases, hip disease in 3 cases, and a dwarfism in 2 cases. The clinical examination objectified abnormalities in all patients. This was strain in six cases: flexion of the elbows and/or knees, scoliosis in 3 cases each. Joint restriction in one or both hips was observed in 2 patients. The diagnosis was retained in all patients on radiological data. Vertebral dysplasia was demonstrated in 4cas. Femoral involvement was noted in 2 cases (pseudo rheumatoid dysplasia), knees in 2 cases. Three patients underwent measurement of bone mineral density, which found osteoporosis. Treatment was to prescribe analgesics and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory for all patients, a support unit in rehabilitation and physical medicine in one case and total hip in one case. Conclusions SDE is a child or adolescent pathology which must always be suspected in advanced osteoarthritis in young adults. Early diagnosis, through a better understanding of this entity, could improve the quality of life of these patients. References Kohler G, Hesse B. Epiphyseal dysplasia–symptoms and differential diagnostic aspects. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 2004 Jul-Aug;142(4):397-402. Acknowledgements SDE. Disclosure of Interest None declared


This book is designed to provide graduate students and other researchers in dynamical systems theory with an introduction to the ergodic theory of Lebesgue spaces. The author's aim is to present a technically complete account which offers an in-depth understanding of the techniques of the field, both classical and modern. Thus, the basic structure theorems of Lebesgue spaceThis book is designed to provide graduate students and other researchers in dynamical systems theory with an introduction to the ergodic theory of Lebesgue spaces. The author's aim is to present a technically complete account which offers an in-depth understanding of the techniques of the field, both classical and modern. Thus, the basic structure theorems of Lebesgue spaces are given in detail as well as complete accounts of the ergodic theory of a single transformation, ergodic theorems, mixing properties and entropy. Subsequent chapters extend the earlier material to the areas of joinings and representation theorems, in particular the theorems of Ornstein and Krieger. Prerequisites are a working knowledge of Lebesgue measure and the topology of the real line as might be gained from the first year of a graduate course. Many exercises and examples are included to illustrate and to further cement the reader's understanding of the material. The result is a text which will furnish the reader with a sound technical background from the foundations of the subject to some of its most recent developments.


A multi-scale triangular mapping and its inverse mapping are presented. Combined with an mton mapping, scrambling method based on triangular mapping has a flexible variation scale scrambling ability. It can scramble any image with numerous different scales in position space to change the position relevance or in colour space to change the grey-value relevance or in both position and colour space to change both the position and grey-value relevance. The experiments show triangular mapping based scrambling method flexible ability in scrambling image, low cost in scrambling and recovering image, wonderful scrambling performances by comparing with conventional scrambling methods.


A selective anion-exchange separation in potassium iodide-hydrochloric acid media has been combined with ICP-AES for the determination of trace metals in steel. An appropriate amount of steel sample was decomposed with a mixture of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, or a mixture of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid, and prepared as a potassium iodide-hydrochloric acid solution containing ascorbic acid to reduce iron(III) to iron(II). The sample solution was passed through a strongly basic anion exchange resin column to remove iron. The trace metals adsorbed on the column were simultaneously eluted with a dilute nitric acid solution and determined by ICP-AES. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of Bi, Te, Cu, Pb and Sb at ppm levels in steel reference materials provided by Japan Iron and Steel Federation, and National Institute of Standards and Technology, yielding reasonable results with regard to accuracy and reproducibility.


This contribution looks at the role of Special Forces in anti-terrorist operations with particular emphasis on the British Special Air Service. It argues that Special Forces have played a pivotal role in such operations since the era of Palestinian terrorism in the early 1970s. The essay looks at the operations in Afghanistan leading to the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 and shows that the seven Special Forces involved there proved crucial to the success of the limited ground forces. In particular they served a valuable force multiplier by acting as a nexus between the regional warlords and the use of air power as well as mobile strike units against fortified Al Qaeda and Taliban positions. In the latter instance their success was mixed, involving attacks on difficult cave hideouts, though overall it can be concluded that Special Forces have demonstrated their capacity in fighting unconventional warfare against mobile and transnational terrorist groupings.


An electronic nose was used in conjunction with a human panel and artificial neural networks to predict human assessments on a hedonic (pleasantness) scale when confronted with spent and phase I mushroom substrate odors. Odor samples were collected and presented to both the electronic nose and the human panelists. The human panelists were required to rate the odor samples on a hedonic scale. After calculating the average rating from the human panel for each odor sample, the hedonic rating was matched with the 32 electronic nose sensor readings from the corresponding sample. Once the hedonic ratings had been matched to the corresponding sensor readings, the data were then used to develop and train an artificial neural network.
Two artificial neural networks were developed from these training data. The first artificial neural network was developed using Ward Systems Neuroshell 2. This neural network used 10 of the electronic nose sensor readings to predict the hedonic rating of the sample odor. This artificial neural network produced predictions with an r2 of 0.95.
The second artificial neural network was developed using Ward Systems Neuroshell Predictor. This neural network used all 32 of the electronic sensor readings to predict the hedonic rating of sample odors and was examined in two modes. The first mode of operation was termed Non-Enhanced Generalization; in this mode the artificial neural network attempted to fit the data tightly. In the Enhanced Generalization mode, the neural network predictions were not as tightly fit; this method is generally used for new inputs for which the neural network had not been trained. In Non-Enhanced Generalization mode, an r2 of 0.95 was determined. In the Enhanced Generalization mode, the predictions were a bit more relaxed; an r2 of 0.89 was determined.
The results obtained from the electronic nose data and the developed neural networks prove promising in the area of hedonic rating. It should be emphasized that this type of modeling or simulation is very specific and that any developed neural network is only as good as the data on which it is was trained. There are many considerations that need to be addressed when taking on a matter of this magnitude. First, a small change in chemical composition can radically affect the odor of a compound. Secondly, the intensity of an odor can affect the perception of an odor. For example, some odorants at small quantities are perceived as pleasant, but at higher concentrations they can become offensive. The first two considerations would require the collection of an infinite amount of data to represent all of the possible combinations. Third, in a subjective matter such as this, life experiences, cultural differences, etc., contribute to each panelist's perception of an odor. Carefully choosing and training the human panel can help minimize the third consideration. Fourth, it is well known that the human nose is much more sensitive than any electronic nose to subtle changes in an odorant. Until advances are made in the electronic nose area, this technology may not be sensitive enough to simulate human perception except for very specific and limited applications. This research may be small step toward much larger research and applications.


Background : We evaluated the analytical performances of Diasys reagents manufactured by Diasys Diagnostic Systems (Holzheim, Germany) with Hitachi 747. Methods : We evaluated AST, ALT, ALP, -GT, calcium, and glucose. Only two tests were adapted to different methods from the current ones: the photometric test using the arsenazo III for calcium, the kinetic colorimetric test according to Szasz/Persijin using l-gamma-glutamyl-3-carboxy-4-nitranilide as a substrate for -GT. Precision, interference, linearity, and method comparisons were evaluated by NCCLS guidelines. Results : The coefficient of variation (CV) of total precision was less than 6.8% in all items. Precisions and linearities of all items were acceptable. Correlation coefficients were more than 0.9884 and all items showed excellent agreement compared to the current reagents in the reportable range. We could not find any significant interference for six test items up to 750 mg/dL triglyceride, 50 mg/dL hemoglobin, and 20 mg/dL bilirubin, except that the latter ALT showed a negative bias by more than 5 mg/dL of bilirubin. Conclusions : Diasys reagents showed high precision, linearity and correlation in comparison to the current reagents. So we conclude that these reagents are good for routine clinical use with Hitachi 747.


In this paper we present a local force model and its integration in a hierarchical analysis of the estimation of the left ventricle motion over a cardiac cycle. The local force model is derived from the dynamics of independent point masses driven by local constant forces over a short time. A force field is assumed to be constant over short periods of time. This force drives independent point masses within a regional patch of the left ventricle surface from one time instant to another. The trajectory that minimizes the energy required to move the point mass from one surface to another is considered as the local displacement vector. This estimated trajectory takes into account surface constraints and previous estimations derived from the volumetric image sequences so that the point masses travel along smooth trajectories resembling the realistic left ventricle surface dynamics. This proposed model is able to recover the point correspondence of the nonrigid motions between consecutive frames when the surfaces and the initial conditions of left ventricle at consecutive time frames are given. The local force model is incorporated in a hierarchical analysis scheme providing us with the complete dynamics of the left ventricle as compared to the local kinematic analysis of previous approaches. Experimental results based on synthetic and real left ventricle CT volumetric images show that the proposed scheme is very promising for cardiac analysis.


This research aims to examine: (1) the MSMEs businessmen profiles, perceptions and the utilization level of ICT (2) means of analyzing the difference in profile, the perception of businessmen MSMEs and the level of utilization of ICT means in rural and urban areas. This research was conducted in Kabupaten Bandung, Kabupaten Bogor, Kota Bandung, and Kota Bogor from December 2016 until April 2017. The sample of respondents totaled 358 based on election results from the overall population of 3479. Methods of data analysis used in this study is the analysis of different test, the Kruskall Wallis test and Dunn test. Based on the results of this study showed that the highest percentage of compliance with the requirements of perception, perception of ease to use, the level of utilization of ICT means it is known that the highest percentage is in the region of the County, namely rural, for marketing activities, promotion and communications. There is a difference between the perception of businessmen against the relative benefit or use of the means of ICT among businessmen in rural and urban areas. The actors of MSMEs in rural areas tend to have a low perception levels will benefit the use of ICT means.