We evaluated in this study the therapeutic management of all newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients followed in our center between July 2007 and September 2013, after stratification on age, prognostic factors, whether they were candidate to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), transplanted or not with the evaluation of each therapeutic strategy and its impact on overall survival. A total of 572 consecutive newly diagnosed AML patients were included; there were 311 (54%) males and 261 females with a median age of 63 years (range: 20-92), 406 (71%) were de novo AML and 166 (29%) secondary AML. Complete cytogenetic and molecular biology data were collected for all patients and prognosis was differentiated according to the European LeukemiaNet classification (Dohner et al. Blood 2010). Accordingly, 335 (59%) patients were unfavorable, 83 (15%) favorable, 48 (8%) intermediate I and 106 (18%) were in intermediate II category. Following the Acute Leukemia French Association (ALFA) guidelines for allo-HSCT in AML, patients with intermediate II and unfavorable prognosis ≤ 65 years should receive intensive chemotherapy followed by allo-HSCT in the presence of related or unrelated HSCT donors. We divided the population into two sub-populations, the first was considered as "young" with age ≤ 65 years (N=318, 56%) and the second considered as "old" with age > 65 years (N=254, 44%). In the young population, there was 4 groups, group 1: patients with good prognosis (favorable/intermediate1) who received intensive chemotherapy within or according to ALFA protocols (N=105, median age= 47 years); group 2: patients with poor prognosis (intermediate2 /unfavorable) who received intensive chemotherapy within or according to ALFA protocols followed by allo-HSCT (N=126, median age= 50 years), group 3: patients with poor prognosis who received only intensive chemotherapy without allo-HSCT (N=69, median age= 57 years), and group 4: patients with poor prognosis who could not be treated due to early death (N=18). In the old population we distinguished, group 1: patients with good prognosis who received moderate intensity chemotherapy within or according to ALFA protocols (N=25, median age=73 years); group 2: patients with poor prognosis who received azacitidine (N=25, median age=76 years), group 3: patients with poor prognosis who received moderate intensity chemotherapy (N=89, median age=76 years), group 4: patients with poor prognosis who received low dose Ara-C (N=28, median age=76 years), group 5: patients with poor prognosis who received other treatment (N=38, median age=77 years) and finally group 6: patients with poor prognosis considered as palliative or who did not receive any treatment (N=49, median age=77 years). After a median follow-up of 34 months (range: 4-77) for surviving patients, the 2-years probability of overall survival (OS) in the "young" population for groups 1,2,3 and 4 was 84%, 56%, 31% and 0% respectively; and in the "old" group it was 71%, 37%, 31%, 5%, 21% and 0% for groups 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 respectively (figure). We showed that newly diagnosed AML patients with good prognosis all ages included could achieve very good survival rates after intensive chemotherapy; allo-HSCT after induction chemotherapy remains the best therapeutic option for fit patients with poor prognosis while the same fit patients with no donor have significantly lower survival (p Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


In [21], Peikert presents an efficient and provably secure set of lower level primitives for practical post-quantum cryptography. These primitives also give the first lattice-based scheme to provide perfect forward secrecy, and thus represent a major advancement in providing the same sort of security guarantees that are now expected for modern internet traffic protection. However, the presentation in [21] might prove a bit daunting for the slightly less mathematical reader. Here we provide what we hope will be a clear and selfcontained exposition of how the algorithm can be implemented, along with sample code and some initial analysis for potential parameter sizes. We focus on the simpler case, as chosen by Bos et al in [1], of cyclotomic rings whose degree is a power of two. We describe the necessary arithmetic setup and choices regarding error sampling, and give a possibly cleaner mechanism for reconciliation of the shared secrets. Then we present Peikert's Diffie-Hellman-like key exchange algorithms along with security, correctness and implementation analysis. We demonstrate parameter choices that outperform [1] by a factor of up to 13 for equivalent security.


In BitTorrent systems, there are eleven types of messages for data communication between the peers, among which HAVE, REQUEST and PIECE messages are the three main transmission parts in terms of quantity and flow. In order to improve the efficiency of network transmission and decrease the management costs of file delivery, this paper investigates the mechanism of HAVE message of BitTorrent systems and propose a novel MultiHave message scheme. Experimental results show that under the environment of high bandwidth and consistent peers, together with assistant of the timer, the flow ratio of MultiHave message to HAVE message can be reduced to 11%, so MultiHave message can decrease the flow of messages and prevent the HAVE message storm efficiently. Furthermore, MultiHave message can adapt itself to various BT systems with various bandwidths. If the action of network peers is inconsistent, it can degenerate to the original HAVE message and keep the high performance of BitTorrent systems.


The presence of podcasts is a form of development of radio journalism practice in the era of convergence. This article discusses three podcast programs on Tempo media: Berita Utama Koran Tempo, Apa Kabar Tempo, and Celetuk Bahasa Tempo. This article uses a qualitative approach to examine how the play on-demand aspect as one of a podcast's characteristics works in radio journalism practices. The results show that three Tempo podcast content applies content production practices that cannot be separated from the character of radio media, such as auditive, emphasizing conversation, at a glance, and global. The article also shows that although podcasts come with the concept of play on-demand that allows listeners to re-listen to old episodes, podcasts have not succeeded in building interaction between the mass media and their listeners. Thus, interactivity as one of the characteristics of radio journalism has not been fully present in this podcast.


Accounting function aims at providing accurate and sufficient accounting information to facilitate proper financial reporting and management performance. Accounting information is usually in the form of periodic or annual financial statements which are products of costing, financial and management accounting prepared for the benefit of a number of external interest groups. Accounting has its roots in the stewardship approach and as a management performance tool to guide the agent and the principal over the exact status of the going concern. Accounting function also involves financial statement analysis, interpreting the accounts by computing and evaluating ratios which relate pairs of financial information or items with one another. This analysis of ratios can be cross-sectional comparing the results of one company with another or trend. In doing so close attention is usually paid to profitability ratio to help keep pace with effective management performance. The exploratory research design was adopted for the study and result showed positive correlation between accounting function and management performance. The study was not exhaustive, therefore, further study should examine the relationship between audit failure and business failure as a matter of finding a solution to the problem. It was recommended that management should always carefully study audit reports to enhance decision making and management performance.


Objective Current healthcare reform in China has an overall goal of strengthening primary care and establishing a family practice system based on contract services. The objective of this study was to determine whether contracting a general practitioner (GP) could improve quality of primary care. Design A cross-sectional study using two-stage sampling conducted from June to September 2014. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to control for confounding between patients with and without contracted GP. Setting Three community health centres in Guangzhou, China. Participants 698 patients aged 18–89 years. Main outcome measures The quality of primary care was measured using a validated Chinese version of primary care assessment tool (PCAT). Eight domains are included (first contact utilisation, accessibility, continuity, comprehensiveness, coordination, family-centredness, community orientation and cultural competence from patient's perceptions). Results A total of 692 effective samples were included for data analysis. After PSM, 94 pairs of patients were matched between the patients with and without contracted GPs. The total PCAT score, continuity (3.12 vs 2.68, p<0.01), comprehensiveness (2.31 vs 2.04, p<0.01) and family-centredness (2.11 vs 1.79, p<0.01) were higher in patients who contracted GPs than those did not. However, the domains of first contact utilisation (2.74 vs 2.87, p=0.14) and coordination (1.76 vs 1.93, p<0.05) were lower among patients contracted with GPs than in those who did not. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that patients who had a contracted GP tend to experience higher quality of primary care. Our study provided evidence for health policies aiming to promote the implementation of family practice contract services. Our results also highlight further emphases on the features of primary care, first contact services and coordination services in particular.


The foreguts of the mysids Antarctomysis maxima , A. ohlinii , Hansenomysis antarctica , Heteromysis formosa , Mesopodopsis slabberi , Neomysis integer , Paramysis kessleri , Praunus flexuosus , and Siriella jaltensis were examined by maceration methods, histological techniques, and scanning electron microscopy. Their morphology, their connection with the midgut glands, and probable function are described and summarized. Previous stomach investigations on mysids and the results of the present study are tabulated; a list of foregut characters, common to all Mysida, is presented. The phylogenetic relevance of these characters within the Malacostraca, especially within the Peracarida, is discussed. Most features are inherited from the ground pattern of the Malacostraca or Eumalacostraca. The bulbous cardia with its dorsal fold, the armature of the lateralia, and the construction of the funnel region are apomorphies for the Mysida. The results suggest that characters of mysidan and other peracaridan foreguts might also be useful in the elucidation of the phylogeny of the Mysida and Peracarida, respectively.


Abstract:The development of the vernacular language during the New Culture Movement was only intended as a transitional stage to the goal of abolishing the Chinese language. Intellectuals such as Qian Xuantong, Lu Xun, Hu Shi, and Chen Duxiu all advocated to varying degrees the Romanization, Latinization, and abolition of the Chinese language. Chen Yinke, however, argued that the adoption of a Europeanized grammatical structure, and the borrowing of neologisms from abroad, such as Japan, altered the fundamental property of Chinese as an independent language. Reassessing the language reform of the May Fourth today, it is evident that the development of the simplified character, the vernacular language, and the pinyin did not achieve the goal of unifying the spoken and written Chinese. Instead by eliminating the classical language, the language reform removed the ability of the vernacular-speaking masses to create a literature of the written words.


CGD is an immunodeficiency caused by mutations in genes encoding subunits of the NADPH oxidase complex. Normally, assembly of the NADPH oxidase complex in phagosomes of phagocytic cells leads to a "respiratory burst" essential for the clearance of microorganisms. CGD patients lack this mechanism, which results in life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections and granuloma formations. The leading cause of death are pneumonia and pulmonary abscess, septicemia and brain abscess. In neurogical manifestations various pathogens have been involved including Aspergillus spp., S. prolificans, A. infectoria, Salmonella and Staphylococcus spp. There are only some several reports on fungal brain and spinal cord infection due to Candida spp. To decrease mortality and morbidity from fungal infections the prophylactic use of itraconazole or voriconazole is widely recommended. A relatively new azole, posaconazole is active in pulmonary and cerebral fungal manifestations, indeed may be effective against fungi with inherent resistance to AmpB or voriconazole. In the past twenty years we have managed seven children with CGD. We present a two – year history of an X-linked CGD patient with brain abscess. In spite of our effort we were unable to identify any causative pathogen. The brain abscess did not respond to conventional antibacterial and antifungal treatment for a long time. Based on the findings and literature data we presumed the causative agent might be some kind of moulds. We suppose the use of echinocandin and posaconazole as salvage ("prophylactic") therapy. It has resulted significant regression of the brain abscess.


We examine whether German state governments manipulated fiscal forecasts before elections. Our data set includes three fiscal measures over the period 1980-2014. The results do not show that electoral motives influenced fiscal forecasts in West German states. By contrast, East German state governments underestimated spending in pre-election years (compared to other years) by about 0.20 percent of GDP, tax revenues by about 0.36 percent of GDP, and net lending by 0.30 percent of GDP. Predicting low levels of spending and tax revenues, East German state governments thus underestimated the size of government in pre-election years.


Pax6 is known as a neurogenic factor in the development of the central nervous system and regulates proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells and promotes neuronal differentiation. In addition to neurogenesis, Pax6 is also involved in the specification and maturation of glial cells. Here, we show that Eyeless (Ey), Drosophila homolog of Pax6, regulates the production of glial cells in the brain. In the developing fly visual center, the production of neurons and glial cells are controlled by the temporal transcription factors that are sequentially expressed in neuroblasts (NBs). Among them, NBs of the last temporal window produce astrocyte-like glial cells. Ey is strongly expressed in the middle aged NBs, whose temporal window is earlier compared with glia producing older NBs. Weak Ey expression is also detected in the glia producing NBs. Our results suggest that Ey expression in the middle aged NBs indirectly control gliogenesis from the oldest NBs by regulating other temporal transcription factors. Additionally, weak Ey expression in the NBs of last temporal window may directly control gliogenesis. Ey is also expressed in neurons produced from the NBs of Ey-positive temporal window. Interestingly, neuronspecific overexpression of Ey causes significant increase in glial cells suggesting that neuronal expression of Ey may also contribute to gliogenesis. Thus, Pax6-dependent regulation of astrocyte-like glial development is conserved throughout the animal kingdom. & 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


We specialize Olver's and Rosenau's side condition heuristics for the determination of particular invariant sets of ordinary differential equations. It turns out that side conditions of so-called LaSalle type are of special interest. Moreover we put side condition properties of symmetric and partially symmetric equations in a wider context. In the final section we present an application to parameter-dependent systems, in particular to quasi-steady state for chemical reactions.


Having energy flexible buildings is a very important aspect to enable the application of smart demand side management strategies (DSM). DSM is getting more and more relevance in energy systems planning and operation due to the overall increasing energy demand. An energy flexible building is intended to be able to change, in a planned manner, the shape of its energy demand curve, electrical and thermal, while the comfort of the end-users is still guaranteed. The objective of this study is to develop a methodology that allows to classify buildings according to their potential to provide energy flexibility on the basis of their design features. Similarly to the energy performance label, this methodology aims to be a means to extend the energetic characterization of a building also to its energy demand management ability. In this paper the thermal energy demand of buildings (supplied by electrically driven devices, e.g. heat pumps) is mainly taken into account. A quantification method is introduced to estimate the thermal energy demand flexibility. Since the potential to manage the energy demand of a building is strongly influenced by dynamic boundary conditions, "test conditions" have been defined in order to make the method repeatable, not dependent on the specific operational conditions, but more on the design specifications. In this manner the evaluation takes into account only the intrinsic aspects of the building, identified by the construction characteristics and the type of distribution system for the heating and cooling apparatus. Different buildings typologies, representing the most common Italian residential buildings, are considered. The results show a great potential as energy flexibility providers for the latest generation buildings (from 2006 onwards) with a good level of insulation and a radiant system served by a heat pump.


The content of the search consists of introduction in HACCP system, problem of the search, aim of the search and hypotheses of the search. After that the search displays a history of HACCP system, the requirements for implementation of HACCP system, also obtains the seven principles of HACCP, food cycle, and finally shows the benefits of HACCP system and obstacles or barriers that prevents implementation of HACCP system. Additionally the search presents the methods of the study such as the form of a questionnaire, validity and reliability, Statistical standards such as the Mean, Standard Deviation and Standard Error and ANOVA analysis. Also the search presents the participation rate of the respondents and clarify questions which is relating to the concept of HACCP system to measure the awareness about HACCP for all managers of food & beverage department, pre-requests of HACCP system and clarify the benefits that accrue to the hotel after implementation of HACCP system, as well as detects obstacles and barriers that prevents implementation of the program. Finally the search presents recommendations and conclusions for hotels to apply HACCP system in the Red Sea Governorate.


The successful realization of a wireless body area network (WBAN) requires innovative solutions to meet the energy consumption budget of the autonomous sensor nodes. The radio interface is a major challenge, since its power consumption must be reduced below 100 /spl mu/W (energy scavenging limit). The emerging ultra-wide-band (UWB) technology shows strong advantages in reaching this target. First, most of the complexity of an UWB system is in the receiver, which is a perfect scenario in the WBAN context. Second, the very little hardware complexity of a UWB transmitter offers the potential for low-cost and highly integrated solutions. Finally, in a pulse-based UWB scheme, the transmitter can be duty-cycled at the pulse rate, thereby reducing the baseline power consumption. We present a low-power UWB transmitter that can be fully integrated in standard CMOS technology. Measured performances of a fully integrated pulse generator are provided, showing the potential of UWB for low power and low cost implementations. Finally, using a WBAN channel model, we present a comparison between our UWB solution and state-of-the-art low-power narrow-band implementations. This paper shows that UWB performs better in the short range due to a reduced baseline power consumption.


China has evolved into one of the worldi¯s largest trading nations. China has adequate supply for imports and exports, and therefore, major shipping companies from various countries around the world all joined this market to perform freight transport. Currently, the main method of transporting goods is via shipping. Chinai¯s containerized freight index (CCFI) is mainly used as a reference to evaluate the current freight tariffs standard. This study uses fuzzy time series to predict the CCFI. The results of our analysis found the following: 1. CCFI yield series has a volatility-clustering characteristic (the mean of the current yield is negative); 2. the R.M.S.P.E. (root mean square percentage error) value is 0.078%, indicating that the goodness-of-fit of the model is quite good; 3. future CCFI will be maintained at a low point of around 893.557, which is an optimistic long-term indication for freight; 4. currently, the supply of ships outweighs the demand, causing a long-term low CCFI. These four conclusions are hoped to serve as references for relevant policymakers in the future.


Objectives: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are composed of distortion and reflection components. Much is known about the influence of the stimulus frequency ratio (f2/f1) on the overall/composite DPOAE level. However, the influence of f2/f1 on individual DPOAE components is not as well examined. The goals of this pilot study were to systematically evaluate the effects of f2/f1 on DPOAE components in clinically normal-hearing young adult ears. To extend the limited reports in the literature, this examination was carried out over an extended frequency range using two stimulus-level combinations. Design: DPOAEs were recorded from seven normal-hearing, young adult ears for f2 frequencies between 0.75 and 16 kHz over a range of f2/f1 using two stimulus-level combinations. The distortion (DPOAED) and reflection (DPOAER) components were separated using an inverse fast Fourier transform algorithm. Optimal ratios for the composite DPOAE and DPOAE components were determined from smoothed versions of level versus ratio functions in each case. Results: The optimal ratio for the composite DPOAE level increased with stimulus level and decreased as a function of frequency above 1 kHz. The optimal ratios for the DPOAE components followed a similar trend, decreasing with increasing frequency. The optimal ratio for DPOAED was generally higher than that for DPOAER. The overall level for DPOAED was greater than that of DPOAER, both decreasing with increasing frequency. DPOAER, but not DPOAED, became unrecordable above the noise floor at the higher frequencies. Conclusions: DPOAE components behave similarly but not identically as a function of f2/f1. The ear canal DPOAE is generally dominated by DPOAED. The behavior of DPOAED as a function of f2/f1 is entirely consistent with known properties of cochlear mechanics. The behavior of DPOAER is more variable across ears, perhaps reflective of the increased number of parameters that influence its final form. Attempting to use an f2/f1 that would allow a greater bias of the ear canal DPOAE toward one component or the other does not appear to be practical.


A rare case of rapidly growing osteosarcoma that developed in the uterine corpus of a 62‐year‐old woman is presented. The tumor occupied almost the entire pelvic cavity and extended into the abdominal cavity, with marked involvement of the intestines. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of an osteoblastic component, accompanied by conspicuous bone formation, and a fibroblastic component. The tumor cells were positive for vimentin and osteocalcin, as well as desmin, α‐smooth muscle actin and muscle‐specific actin, but negative for h‐caldesmon. The results indicated myofibroblastic differentiation in a part of the tumor. A review of 14 reported cases and our case of uterine osteosarcoma revealed that this tumor has a biologically aggressive nature, although its histopathological and immunohistochemical features are similar to those of osteosarcomas in soft tissue and bone. As the prognosis of patients with this tumor is poor, it is of importance to differentiate this tumor from other types of tumors arising from the uterine corpus.


Borrowers' housing equity is an important component of their wealth and a critical determinant of their vulnerability to shocks. In this paper, we create a unique data set that enables us to provide a comprehensive look at the ratio of housing debt to housing values—what we refer to as household leverage—at the micro level. An advantage of our data is that we are able to study the evolution of household leverage over time and locations in the United States. We find that leverage was at a very low point just prior to the large declines in house prices that began in 2006, and rose very quickly thereafter, despite reductions in housing debt. As of early 2016, leverage statistics are approaching their pre-crisis levels, as house prices have risen more than 30 percent nationally since 2012. We use our borrower-level leverage measures and another unique feature of our data—updated borrower credit scores—to conduct "stress tests": projecting leverage and defaults under various adverse house price scenarios. We find that while the riskiness of the household sector has declined significantly since 2012, it remains vulnerable to very severe house price declines.


The purpose of these studies was to evaluate cardiovascular structural and functional changes in a model of hypertension-induced myocardial hypertrophy in which vasodilator therapy decreased blood pressure to normal levels. Thus, we determined the separate contributions of hypertension and hypertrophy on myocardial and coronary vascular function and structure. Twelve-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) with and without 12 weeks of vasodilator antihypertensive treatment (hydralazine) were studied using an isolated perfused rat heart model. Hydralazine treatment normalized blood pressure in SHR but did not cause regression of cardiac hypertrophy (heart weight to body weight ratio of SHR + hydralazine 4.33 +/- 0.098 vs. SHR 4.66 +/- 0.091; WKY 3.21 +/- 0.092 and WKY + hydralazine 3.38 +/- 0.152; mean +/- SEM). Coronary flow reserve, elicited by adenosine vasodilation in the perfused heart, was decreased in SHR (29%) compared with WKY (105%) and WKY + hydralazine (100%) and was significantly improved in SHR + hydralazine (75%). Morphometric evaluation of perfusion-fixed coronary arteries and arterioles (30-400 microns diameter) demonstrated a significant increase in the slope of the regression line comparing the square root of medial area versus outer diameter in SHR (0.444) compared with WKY (0.335) and WKY + hydralazine (0.336, p less than 0.05). Blood vessels from SHR + hydralazine were not different from control (0.338). Cardiac oxygen consumption was decreased in SHR (10.9 +/- 0.74 mumols oxygen/min/g/60 mm Hg left ventricular pressure) compared with WKY (22.4 +/- 1.47) and WKY + hydralazine (23.4 +/- 1.90; p less than 0.01), while SHR + hydralazine was intermediate (16.0 +/- 1.60). These studies suggest that significant alterations in myocardial and coronary vascular structure and function occur in hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy. The coronary vasculature is responsive to blood pressure, independent of cardiac hypertrophy, although moderate coronary deficits do remain after chronic antihypertensive therapy.


These studies were carried out for the elucidation of liming effect on the growth of rice seedlings and the chemical characteristics of an acid sulphate paddy that shows not only extremely high acidity of soil but also poor growth of rice plants, consequently low yield. Thus the liming effect on the changes of acidity, oxidation-reduction potential, and the contents of iron, aluminium, sulphate, and phosphorus fractions in the soil was investigated under the waterlogging and drying condition. The reclaimable or inhibitory effect of phosphorus, iron and aluminium on the growth of rice seedlings was also investigated under liming. The results are summarized as follows: 1. After liming, the pH of the acid sulphate subsoil decreased again on drying. 2. The oxidation-reduction potential reached a minimum after 5 days of flooding and greatly decreased on liming but increased after drying. 3. The contents of ferrous iron soluble in water-and Morgan's solution reached a maximum after 15 days of flooding and only the content of water soluble ferrous iron was greatly decreased. 4. The content of aluminium soluble in water-and Morgan's solution decreased by flooding and liming, and showed a tendency to increase on drying. 5. In the limed acid sulphate soil, the content of water soluble calcium showed a highly significant negative correlation with the content of sulphate and liming decreased sulphate content in the soil. 6. The contents of total phosphorus was 496.3 ppm in the acid sulphate topsoil and 387.5 ppm in the subsoil. The content of each phosphorus fraction was in the order of Fe-P>Occ. Fe-P>Ca-P>Occ. Al-P>Al-P and Fe-P content in the soil was the highest fraction among them. 7. Lime application increased greatly Ca-P and Al-P, and Occ. Fe-P and Occ. Al-P only slightly, but decreased Fe-P differently in each soil. 8. Effect of phosphorus on the dry matter yield of rice seedlings was great. The optimum amount of phosphorus to produce maximum dry matter yield of rice seedlings appeared to be 6.8% of maximum absorption (absorption coefficient) without liming and 10.0% with liming. 9. In rice seedlings liming increased the content and uptake of calcium and silica but decreased those of iron and aluminium. Phosphorus application increased the content and uptake of phosphorus and decreased iron while the application of iron and aluminium increased their contents and uptake but decreased those of phosphorus. 10. Liming greatly alleviated such toxicity of iron and aluminium. 11. When phosphorus was applied, the dry matter yield of rice seedlings showed highly significant positive correlations with uptake of phosphorus, calcium and silica each. When iron and aluminium were applied, dry matter yields indicated significant positive correlations with the contents or uptake of calcium and silica each, but significant negative correlations with the content or uptake of iron and aluminium. 12. Under the application of phosphorus and lime, dry matter yields showed significant positive correlations with pH and Morgan's extractable calcium each of the soil samples after harvest. Under the application of lime, iron and aluminium, dry matter yields showed significant positive correlations with pH, calcium and silica each, but negative correlations with iron and aluminium contents each of the soil samples after harvest.


An accurate earth model is key to any successful depth imaging project. FWI is an advanced velocity model building process that uses the full two-way wave equation and overcomes the limitations of existing methods that use a ray-tracing approach to distribute velocity errors within the model. Full-waveform inversion (FWI) has long been considered by the industry to be the next logical step in deriving detailed velocity models. The availability of low-frequency, long-offset data sets and increased compute power has now allowed FWI to become the preferred method for building detailed velocity models. In this presentation, we will show examples of imaging improvements obtained with FWI velocity models from different geological environments around the world


Suspended sentences have been the subject of recent or current review in several Australian jurisdictions. This article presents findings from a recent review of suspended sentences in the ACT conducted on behalf of the ACT Law Reform Advisory Council, and the ACT Government's response to that review. The article reports on recent trends in the use of suspended sentences in the ACT, and observes on the quality of publicly available sentencing data. Supreme Court data are presented on the age, gender, plea and prior record of offenders receiving wholly suspended sentences in the ACT, as well as data on the length of sentences and operational periods imposed, the conditions of sentence and the mitigating factors cited by the court. The policy implications for further inquiry and human rights implications are also considered.


The long-term postoperative follow-up of children treated for craniopharyngioma is influenced by the patient's age at time of diagnosis, tumor location, texture, interface and adherence to brain, and achievements of the first operation. These factors will be examined as they apply to 51 children treated at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto. A brief comment on the role of irradiation treatment is also provided.


Fibroblast Growth Factor Homologous Factors (FHFs) are cytosolic members of the of the FGF proteins. Four members of this subfamily (FHF1-4) are differentially expressed in multiple tissues in an isoform-dependent manner. Mutations in FHF proteins have been associated with multiple neurological disorders. FHF proteins bind to the C-terminus of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels and regulate current amplitude and gating properties of these channels. FHF2, which is expressed in DRG neurons, has two main splicing isoforms, FHF2A and FHF2B, which differ in the length and sequence of their N-termini, have been shown to differentially regulate gating properties of Nav1.7, a channel that is a major driver of DRG neuron firing. FHF2 expression levels are downregulated following peripheral nerve axotomy, which suggests that they may regulate neuronal excitability via an action on Nav channels after injury. We have previously shown that knockdown of FHF2 leads to gain-of-function changes in Nav1.7 gating properties: enhanced repriming, increased current density and hyperpolarized activation. From this we posited that knockdown of FHF2 might also lead to DRG hyperexcitability. Here we show that knockdown of either FHF2A alone or all isoforms of FHF2 results in increased DRG neuron excitability. In addition, we demonstrate that supplementation of FHF2A and FHF2B reduces DRG neuron excitability. Overexpression of FHF2A or FHF2B also reduced excitability of DRG neurons treated with a cocktail of inflammatory mediators, a model of inflammatory pain. Our data suggest that increased neuronal excitability after nerve injury might be triggered, in part, via a loss of FHF2-Nav1.7 interaction.


Summary We assessed the efficacy of diphencyprone (DPCP) treatment in a total of 26 children with alopecia areata (AA). Sixteen children had alopecia areata totalis (AAT) and 10 had alopecia areata localis (AAL), DPCP is an absolute contact sensitizer. Twenty‐five children could be sensitized with a 2% DPCP solution, whereas one child could not be sensitized. Patients were treated, once a week for at least 3 months, for up to 1 year. Twenty‐one of the 25 (84%) children showed hair regrowth to a greater or lesser extent after DPCP treatment. Eight of the 25 (32%) children showed cosmetically acceptable hair regrowth. Cosmetically acceptable regrowth at the end of the study was seen in four of the 15 (27%) children with AAT and in four of the 10 (40%) children with AAL. These results are comparable with those reported in an earlier study in children with AA. Our opinion is that DPCP is a beneficial therapeutic agent in children with severe AAT and AAL showing no spontaneous remission.


Objectives: In this study, we explored the promoting effects of the Exercise Behavioral Ecological Model on the physical activity behaviors of middle school students, and relevant risk factors for physical inactivity. Methods: A total of 291 middle school students (junior and senior high school students) were enrolled as the research participants. The sedentary behavior of middle school students was assessed using the Adolescent Sedentary Behavior Scale. We used the Exercise Behavioral Ecological Model to influence the exercise behaviors of middle school students from the perspectives of environment, physiology, and psychology. Then the independent risk factors for physical inactivity behaviors of middle school students were analyzed by means of multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The change strategy, positive effect on decision-making balance, and self- efficacy scores were higher and the negative effect on decision-making balance score was lower than those before intervention (p<.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis denoted that grade (senior high school students), sedentary time (> 4 hours), daily TV watching time (>2 hours) and change stage (pre-contemplation stage) were associated risk factors for physical inactivity among middle school students (p <.05). Conclusions: The Exercise Behavioral Ecological Model can facilitate physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior.


: The priority during speckle reduction in Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (Pol-SAR) data is to maintain the polarization information. For this reason, it is undesirable to separate each element of polarimetric SAR. Based on the multiplicative noise model and complex matrix, an effective distance similarity measure method is derived, which can process covariance matrix C or coherent matrix T directly. Experiments show that this method can effectively reduce speckle and maintain the polarization information, point targets, and texture structure. Moreover, it can handle large polarimetric SAR with simplicity and ease.


With increased awareness of the importance of land use change at both local and regional scales within watershed-based planning, the study of land use analysis has become the focus of several international scientific endeavors. Since land use change has become a major issue in this century due to global urbanization, the study of watershed-based land use analysis will play an important role in a sustainable future. This paper undertakes a comprehensive review of watershed-based land use analysis to clarify the research trends in this area, including basic tools, factors, methodologies, study regions, scales and areas. Land use detection methods, land use modeling and thresholds in watershed delineation were identified as the fundamental tools, while land use policies, water quality, surface runoff, flooding control, land use suitability and land allocation analysis, and landscape structure were identified as the main factors in watershed-based land use planning.


Purpose of review Status epilepticus is the most common neurologic emergency in children. The understanding of its less recognizable forms, its pharmacologic management, the role of electroencephalography and the long-term morbidity and mortality as a result of status epilepticus are consistently evolving. This review frames the current understanding of several issues as they apply to acute management in the emergency department. Recent findings Researchers are working to define less recognizable forms of status epilepticus such as nonconvulsive, autonomic and psychogenic. Buccal and intranasal forms of midazolam are emerging as suitable alternatives to rectal diazepam in the initial treatment of status epilepticus. Valproic acid, chloral hydrate and newer-generation antiepileptics are being proposed as safe and effective alternatives to the traditional drugs used to treat status epilepticus. The role of electroencephalography in diagnosis is being elucidated. Risk factors for neurologic sequelae and mortality after status epilepticus remain an area of research with conflicting findings and no real consensus. Summary The understanding of different types of status epilepticus, the options for pharmacologic treatment, the tools for diagnosis and the morbidity and mortality of the disease are still evolving. As a result, several areas for further research remain that will help clinicians in their approach to this complex condition.


It is without question that the use of digital technology (DT) has pervaded everyday life. From video chatting with a family member in another country, to checking the weather on a handheld computer, technology has provided society with many benefits. Social media, like Facebook (FB), Twitter, and LinkedIn, have seemingly brought the world closer, but at what cost? In this article, we show that the mass use of technology, more specifically social media, have led to the conscious will of users to be hijacked by platforms in order to increase their user-base and capital. We do this by first evaluating the impact of technology on one's conscious will, the feeling that one's actions are caused by oneself. After finding that technology makes users feel as though their actions are more consciously willed, and people naturally want to feel consciously willed, the next logical step is to analyze how modern tech companies use this to their advantage. Looking at features from popular social media, we describe how these features artificially increase the feeling of users' actions being consciously willed, regardless of if the users are actually consciously willing their actions. Finally, we discuss ways in which individuals can reclaim control over their conscious will, and how to reduce this commodification of will at a company level. The ability of a company to control the decision-making metrics of their users should strike one as troubling; whereas the power of a company to hypnotize its users into thinking that they are using the platform because they want to, and not because the company wants them to, is quite concerning.


Case law of the International Court of Justice and international criminal tribunals reveals different judicial attitudes toward the relationship among State responsibility law, international humanitarian law (IHL) and the classification of armed conflicts. The legal precedents on this topic have been called 'the most cited example of the "fragmentation of international law"'. This contribution examines this conflict, or fragmentation, in order to shed light on the question whether IHL, or its interpretation and application, has had any influence on the general international law of State responsibility. With arguments specifically derived from the nature of international humanitarian law and from the structural design of State responsibility law, the article demonstrates that international armed conflicts involve two States that are responsible for the acts of their forces through which they act. Having in mind this symbiotic relationship between IHL and State responsibility for purposes of the classification of conflict, the case law on this matter, which is often cited as an example of fragmentation, can to some extent be reconciled, as long as one recognizes that attribution rules have a certain influence on the scope and application of primary rules of IHL. The article concludes that IHL (and the interpretation thereof by international tribunals with subject-matter expertise) has exercised no influence on attribution rules as found in the general international law of State responsibility, apart from the recognition that primary rules of international law (such as IHL) may contain secondary leges speciales rules dealing with the attribution of conduct in times of armed conflict.


This paper highlights potential challenges to privacy posed by electronic health records and proposes to increase patient involvement in maintaining the privacy of their data. Electronic health records are heavily promoted in the United States, rendering sensitive health information accessible and potentially jeopardizing patient privacy. Yet certain HIPAA regulations are consistently violated, suggesting that the Federal Government is unable to fully enforce privacy standards. On the other hand, proportionately there are few civilian complaints to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), implying that patients are unaware of privacy breaches, the means to report them, or both. Without permitting patient control over information, the proposed privacy system assumes that leakages will occur and offers to notify patients of breaches after the fact. This deprives patients of the right to defend their intimate details, which are more available to caretakers, employers, and insurers than ever. Our proposed solution is to render usage of patient information transparent by default, so that patients can monitor and control who is privy to what input. This will enhance patient empowerment, feeding into improved governmental control over health data.


Author(s): Cachia, Amanda | Advisor(s): Kester, Grant | Abstract: This dissertation aims to illustrate the interventions of moving disabled bodies across time and space as a means of instilling social change. I will do this by exploring how various disabled artists engage differently and deliberately with the architectures of public space, ranging from the museum to the street, to that of the able-bodied subject, which have never before been addressed in art history and criticism. It also examines the possibilities and limitations of raw form, gesture, movement and interactivity through multi-sensorial, synaesthetic, and empirical modalities in contemporary art practice. Specifically, I highlight how particular physical and neuro-developmental experiences may shed new light on a "disability choreopolitics," offering an array of viewpoints, ranging from the perspectives of those who have blindness, cerebral palsy, deafness, dwarfism, prostheses, hearing aids, and who use wheelchairs for their mobility. Through mining the rich resources that the lived experiences these atypical bodies have to offer us, and the world, we will begin to observe how their moving, active bodies have been moving, shaking, dancing, hopping, running, crawling, screaming, tracing, bending, crouching, peering, and tripping in atypical shapes and forms in order to propel us towards a transformation of political life. Blending together a dynamic intersection of installation, sculpture, architecture, video, works on paper, site-specific work, and experimental performance, my dissertation attempts to develop a new rhetorical framework for the "choreopolitics" of complex embodiment. Coined by writer and curator Andre Lepecki, the term "choreopolitcs" is a portmanteau word that fuses the sound and meaning of the words choreography and politics, where politically passive bodies may become mobilized through manifold movement, in juxtaposition with an engagement with other bodies, objects, surfaces, and environments. Lepecki's "choreopolitics" is adopted and applied towards a disabled, or complex embodiment, in this dissertation because it offers a relevant theoretical framework with which to develop my discussions of the artists. The politics of the disabled body in motion is rich and offers new knowledges that have never before considered from multi-modal perspectives. I argue that the choreography of the disabled body as discussed through the artwork in this dissertation are political because the disabled body is a social and cultural object that carries great stigma and taboo. The disabled body as a moving body with agency is thus a powerful form of resistance and disruption, where it aims to shed reductive associations tied to antiquated ideas of restriction, similar to how Lepecki's project aims to dismantle limiting associations between dance and movement. Hand in hand with this theoretical framing of the artwork in this dissertation, I will also demonstrate how these interdisciplinary practices have been informed by interdisciplinary seminal social movements, and art genres and philosophies such as Fluxus, happenings, minimalism, sound art, activist art, critical dance studies, phenomenology, institutional critique, architecture, and more, through a comparative analysis with the contemporary work.My chapters will not only consider what such radical, activist performative acts in public space represent, and how they might be transformative; they will also chart, document and archive a rich resource of lived experiences from several unique disabled point of views. By focusing specifically on aspects of performance, entwined with socially engaged, discursive art practices and everyday urban architectures through the work of contemporary artists, I aim to build a new discourse for the epistemology of disability art in this dissertation as a mode of disability activism. As a critical offshoot to this, I also aim to rethink the very frameworks of how art history and art discourse in general judge bodies and by extension the work of certain kinds of bodies.


Contrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people's different life possibilities and circumstances in Swedish society. This article explores and discusses whether, and if so why, people who belong to the group that is categorised as "non-white", with an emphasis on Afroswedes, and depicted as racially different, experience being targets of diverse variations of bias-based policing, harassment and hate crime. Theories relating to colonial stereotypes, racism, doing difference, the geography of hate, race/ethnicity profiling and intersectionality are used to analyse our material. Based on individual and focus group interviews with "non-whites", this article discusses how visible differences are highlighted in different kinds of social contexts. The interview results show that people with dark skin are often targets of different kinds of private and public policing based on race- and ethnicity profiling that often occurs on or near borders/boundaries. When those who are targets of racial harassment and exclusion resist such treatment, e.g. by crossing borders/boundaries, they are at risk of becoming victims of hate crime.


Rollback and recovery (RR) is a method of enchancing the reliability of file or data base systems. At certain points in time, called checkpoints, a copy of the data or files is made on tape (or other storage devices). A chronological record is kept of all transactions which modify the data stored by the system; this record is called the audit trail. When an error is detected, the copy of the files or data made at the most recent checkpoint is loaded, and all transactions on the audit trail since this check point are reprocessed in chronological sequence, thus recovering from the error. This paper presents models and techniques which aid in determining optimal times for checkpoints.


This study aims to estimate critical concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in the soil which negatively affect growth of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. seedlings, and to estimate some phytoextraction parameters for heavy metals (HM) from the soil to evaluate efficiency of seedlings in their potential use in phytotechnology to improve the environment with phytoremediation. Eucalyptus seedlings were treated with Cd concentrations 0, 25, 55, 85, and 110 mg kg-1 dry soil as CdCl2, and Pb concentrations 0, 125, 250, 450, and 550 mg kg-1 dry soil as PbCl2, and the experiment was designed using the completely randomized design (CRD) as a two-factor factorial experiments and the data were analyzed using SAS system. Results showed that the highest percentage decrease in dry weight of stems, leaves and roots were 55, 68.6, and 67.2%, respectively, at the interaction (110 Cd and 550 Pb) mg kg-1 dry soil compared with control, and Cd concentrations in stems, leaves and roots ranged between (0.375-372.167), (0.417-128.167) and (0.583-162.083) mg kg-1, respectively and Pb concentrations in stems, leaves and roots ranged between (9.583-62.375), (10.042-20.417) and (2.875-73.500) mg kg-1. It was found that values of translocation factor (TF), biological accumulation coefficient (BAC), bioconcentration factor (BCF) and concentration index (CI) for Cd ranged between (0.611-4.239), (1.333-28.790), (0.383- 16.840) and (1-490.812) respectively, and values of TF, BAC, BCF, and CI of Pb ranged between (0.275-5.702), (0.769-4.246), (0.295-7.539) and (1-3.833) respectively, and tolerance index (TI) values ranged between (0.370-1). We concluded that Eucalyptus seedlings are suitable for phytoextraction applications within phytoremediation processes of soils contaminated with Cd and Pb.


Background It is now recognized that many anticancer treatments positively modulate the antitumor immune response. Clinical and experimental studies have shown that inhibitors of the classical renin–angiotensin system (RAS) reduce tumor progression and are associated with better outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer. RAS components are expressed by most immune cells and adult hematopoietic cells, thus are potential targets for modulating tumor-infiltrating immune cells and can provide a mechanism of tumor control by the renin–angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi). Aim To investigate the effects of the RASi captopril on tumor T lymphocyte distribution in a mouse model of colorectal liver metastases. Methods Liver metastases were established in a mouse model using an autologous colorectal cancer cell line. RASi (captopril 750 mg/kg) or carrier (saline) was administered to the mice daily via intraperitoneal injection, from day 1 post-tumor induction to endpoint (day 15 or 21 post-tumor induction). At the endpoint, tumor growth was determined, and lymphocyte infiltration and composition in the tumor and liver tissues were analyzed by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results Captopril significantly decreased tumor viability and impaired metastatic growth. Analysis of infiltrating T cells into liver parenchyma and tumor tissues by IHC and flow cytometry showed that captopril significantly increased the infiltration of CD3+ T cells into both tissues at day 15 following tumor induction. Phenotypical analysis of CD45+ CD3+ T cells indicated that the major contributing phenotype to this influx is a CD4 and CD8 double-negative T cell (DNT) subtype, while CD4+ T cells decreased and CD8+ T cells remained unchanged. Captopril treatment also increased the expression of checkpoint receptor PD-1 on CD8+and DNT subsets . Conclusion Captopril treatment modulates the immune response by increasing the infiltration and altering the phenotypical composition of T lymphocytes and may be a contributing mechanism for tumor control.


In March 1983, a consensus development conference was held at the National Institutes of Health to address issues related to the practice of critical care medicine. This monograph, consisting of 31 chapters written by 40 contributors, was compiled with the ambitious goal of addressing "all of the major issues presently facing the field of Critical Care." The scientific basis and appropriateness of application of the multifaceted technology applicable to the care of critically ill patients are addressed. The organizers asked whether the remarkably rapid expansion of intensive care facilities has been cost redeeming with respect to reduction in morbidity and mortality, the risk of iatrogenic complications, and the high monetary costs of life-saving care. Their effort to examine the overall results objectively is constructive. At one extreme, previously healthy patients who have attempted suicide by drug overdose have an extraordinarily favorable outlook with intensive care and especially mechanical ventilation. At


Objective. To assess the technical success and long-term outcome in Chinese patients with transplant renal artery stenosis (TRAS) after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), with or without stenting. Methods. A retrospective review of 44 consecutive PTA (with or without stenting) in 35 patients with TRAS from September 2003 to January 2012 in two regional hospitals of the New Territories East Cluster, Hong Kong was conducted. Technical success, complications, serum creatinine level, arterial blood pressure, and number of antihypertensive medications taken before and after intervention were assessed and compared. Graft survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier method. Result. Of 44 interventions (17 PTA and 27 PTA with stenting) performed, 35 were primary interventions and the remaining 9 were secondary for re-stenosis. Overall technical success rate was 95.5% (PTA: 88.2%; PTA with stenting: 100%). No major complication or graft loss during intervention was observed. There were four minor complications including a self-limiting dissection in external iliac artery and three puncture site haematomas. There was no significant difference in restenosis rate between the PTA (25.0%) and PTA with stenting (26.1%) groups (p > 0.05). There was a persistent improvement in graft dysfunction and hypertensive control in the short and intermediate term, with satisfactory clinical success in patients presenting with graft dysfunction (100%) and hypertension (94%). Long-term clinical success in hypertensive control was relatively sustained (84.6%) while that in creatinine level it was only partially sustained (68.5%) with a mean follow-up of 70.3 (standard deviation, 32.9) months. Estimated allograft survival after all interventions was 100% at 1 year and 97% at 5 years. Conclusion. Treatment of haemodynamically significant TRAS with percutaneous endovascular intervention is a safe procedure with high technical success, showing beneficial effects in improving allograft function and blood pressure in the short and intermediate term, as well as good long-term graft survival.


Our laboratory provides national standards on fast neutron fluence. Neutron fields are always accompanied by gamma rays produced in neutron sources and surroundings. We have characterised these gamma rays in the 5.0 MeV standard neutron field. Gamma ray measurement was performed using an NE213 liquid scintillator. Pulse shape discrimination was incorporated to separate the events induced by gamma rays from those by neutrons. The measured gamma ray spectra were unfolded with the HEPRO program package to obtain the spectral fluences using the response matrix prepared with the EGS4 code. Corrections were made for the gamma rays produced by neutrons in the detector assembly using the MCNP4C code. The effective dose equivalents were estimated to be of the order of 25 microSv at the neutron fluence of 10(7) neutrons cm(-2).


Electroplating is a key technology in many large-scale industrial applications such as corrosion-resistant and decorative coatings. Issues with current aqueous processes, such as toxicity of reagents and low current efficiencies, can often be overcome by using ionic liquids, and this approach has turned ionometallurgy into a fast-growing area of research. This review outlines the interactions in ionic liquids that are responsible for the advantageous properties of these solvents in electroplating. It summarizes recent research in which these properties have been analyzed or exploited and highlights fundamental issues in research and technology that need to be addressed.


Migration was and still is one of the main topics repeated continuously throughout history and studied by scientific communities. Yet, studies have been lacking the relation between migration and the urban fabric of a city, either in terms of preparedness or as an impact. Migration should not be seen entirely as a socio-economic issue; the pressure this creates on land resources and its impact on the urban fabric needs to be as well taken into consideration. In the scope of migration, one would always find two types of cities; departure cities where the efflux arises and arrival cities receiving the influxes. Certainly, both types of cities are positively and negatively affected by migrations. In the Mediterranean basin, the origin of so many cultures based on the mobility of their inhabitants, the current socio-economic and political instability in the MENA region, contributed to a massive influx of migrants to European cities for many reasons including, but not limited to, its proximity and the relatively high livelihood quality. This particular phenomenon obliges us to question the time-being used methods to deal with the present extensive influxes and to rethink new city planning approaches towards a resilient Arrival city. This paper demonstrates the case of European Arrival cities; definitions, characteristics, as well as the urban, socio-economic and political adaptations for the current overflowed migration influxes. The demonstration and discussion should be primarily seen as a catalyst that does not only promote for a healthier absorption in choked cities impacted by migrations but intensify the vital role of states, urban planning and resilience in shaping satisfactory conditions for fruitful development impacts of migrations to exist in such cities.


Plant tissue culture techniques have been used to evaluate the effects of many different substances and/ or conditions in plant growth and development. It provides information of great value about problems related to basic and applied aspects of plant as well as contributed to understanding of factors responsible for growth, metabolism, synthesis of secondary compounds, stress response. Considering all this wide range of applications and as all plant tissue culture techniques are undergone under axenic and controlled conditions (culture medium composition, light and temperature, for instance), it seems to be a value model for Ultra High Diluted (UHD) studies. Lippia alba is a Brazilian plant that tissue cultures protocols and in vitro essential oil production have already been described in scientific literature. None of all scientific papers evaluated the effects of UHD substances on in vitro development or secondary metabolic production. The main goal was to evaluate the use of plant tissue culture to investigate the effects of UHD benzilaminopurine (BA) on Lippia alba shoot culture. Nodal segments obtained from plants growth in vitro was subcultured to Murashigue & Skoog semi-solid medium added with 2ml of these different solutions: BA 3µmol, BA 12CH (10-24), water 12CH and water (no dilution and succussion). Weekly 1 ml of solutions were added to cultures. The experiment was repeated twice and each one consisted in 3 culture vessel with 5 nodal segments per treatment (n=30). All plants were maintained in growth room under controlled temperature (25°C), light and photoperiod (16L/8D). The tested substances were prepared according to the method of stepwise dilution and succussion as describe in Brazilian Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia. The experiment was blinded all the time. After 60d, plantlets were evaluated for number of shoots, shoot length, rooted plants (%), callus development (%) and fresh biomass. Data were submitted to ANOVA following by Duncan's and t-test. Plants from water 12CH and BA 12CH increased the number of new shoots and promoted the highest shoot length. By adding BA 3µmol the organogenetic response was inhibited since neither shoot nor root were developed. However, it was observed a significant basal callus development. Plant tissue culture could be adapted for UHD studies. More studies are being conducted in way to analyze other experimental conditions and biochemical/phytochemical parameters.


Some instructions have more impact on processor performance than others. Identification of these critical instructions can be used to modify and improve instruction processing. Previous work has shown that the criticality of instructions can be dynamically predicted with high accuracy, and that this information can be leveraged to optimize the performance of load value prediction and instruction steering for clustered architectures. In this work, we revisit the idea of criticality, but we propose several processor enhancements that can exploit criticality information and can be directly applied to modern x86 microarchitectures. For the investment of a small (less than 1KB) criticality predictor, we can make a conventional single-read-port data cache achieve the performance of an ideal dual-read-port cache, yielding an average 10% performance improvement. Our remaining techniques can reuse the predictor (i.e., no additional overhead) to further optimize other aspects of load processing (e.g., caching decisions, store-to-load forwarding, etc.), yielding an overall performance improvement of 16% over a conventional processor. Some of these techniques also allow us to decrease power and area costs for several related hardware structures.


Objective To explore mild hypothermia on severe cerebral vasospasm after traumatic brain injury and prognosis.Methods Sixty patients with severe traumatic brain injury were randomly divided into hypothermia treatment group and control group 30 cases respectirely,the control group received normal temperature routine therapy.After treatment the patients were the first 1,3,5,7d at the bedside transcranial dopple(rTCD)monitoring of middle cerebral artery mean flow velocity and extracranial internal carotid artery mean flow velocity,were compared the occurrence of cerebral vasospasm,spasm index changes and two on the prognosis.Results Aappear mild hypothermia group were significantly lower than the incidence of CVS control group(P0.05).Spasm index showed two groups:the first one day the two groups spasm index,the difference was not statistically significant(P0.05),the first 3 days,5 days,7 days,statistics show that two groups of spasm index,differences were statistically significant(P all0.05).And over time,the spasm index between the two groups the difference increases.Good prognosis of mild hypothermia group was significantly higher,and the morbidity and mortality were also significantly lower than the control group,after statistically show that the differences were statistically significant(P all0.05).Conclusion Mild hypothermia after severe head injury by stable cycle function,especially after severe head injury can stabilize the acute perfusion,decreased cerebral vasospasm incidence and thus significantly reduce the volume of brain edema and improve the prognosis,is worthy of promotion and application.


Final construction project cost is significantly determined by construction rate. The Industrialized Building System (IBS) was promoted to enhance the importance of prefabrication technology rather than conventional methods in construction. Ensuring the stability of a building constructed by using IBS is a challenging issue. Accordingly, the connections in a prefabricated building have a basic, natural, and essential role in providing the best continuity among the members of the building. Deficiencies of conventional precast connections were observed when precast buildings experience a large induced load, such as earthquakes and other disasters. Thus, researchers aim to determine the behavior of precast concrete structure with a specific type of connection. To clarify this problem, this study investigates the capacity behavior of precast concrete panel connections for industrial buildings with a new type of precast wall-to-wall connection (i.e., U-shaped steel channel connection). This capacity behavior is compared with the capacity behavior of precast concrete panel connections for industrial buildings that used a common approach (i.e., loop connection), which is subjected to monotonic loading as in-plane and out-of-plane loading by developing a finite element model. The principal stress distribution, deformation of concrete panels and welded wire mesh (BRC) reinforcements, plastic strain trend in the concrete panels and connections, and crack propagations are investigated for the aforementioned connection. Pushover analysis revealed that loop connections have significant defects in terms of strength for in-plane and out-of-plane loads at three translational degrees of freedom compared with the U-shaped steel channel connection.


Moving fronts of cells are essential for development, repair and disease progression. Therefore, understanding and quantifying the details of the mechanisms that drive the movement of cell fronts is of wide interest. Quantitatively identifying the role of intercellular interactions, and in particular the role of cell pushing, remains an open question. In this work, we report a combined experimental-modelling approach showing that intercellular interactions contribute significantly to the spatial spreading of a population of cells. We use a novel experimental data set with PC-3 prostate cancer cells that have been pretreated with Mitomycin-C to suppress proliferation. This allows us to experimentally separate the effects of cell migration from cell proliferation, thereby enabling us to focus on the migration process in detail as the population of cells recolonizes an initially-vacant region in a series of two-dimensional experiments. We quantitatively model the experiments using a stochastic modelling framework, based on Langevin dynamics, which explicitly incorporates random motility and various intercellular forces including: (i) long range attraction (adhesion); and (ii) finite size effects that drive short range repulsion (pushing). Quantitatively comparing the ability of this model to describe the experimentally observed population-level behaviour provides us with quantitative insight into the roles of random motility and intercellular interactions. To quantify the mechanisms at play, we calibrate the stochastic model to match experimental cell density profiles to obtain estimates of cell diffusivity, D, and the amplitude of intercellular forces, f0. Our analysis shows that taking a standard modelling approach which ignores intercellular forces provides a poor match to the experimental data whereas incorporating intercellular forces, including short-range pushing and longer range attraction, leads to a faithful representation of the experimental observations. These results demonstrate a significant role of cell pushing during cell front movement and invasion.


This study analyzes the impact of socio-cultural factors on dividend policy in 83 countries, for 12,150 companies in the period of 2009-2013. Using a hierarchical linear modelling it is noticed that there is a significant influence of socio-cultural factors on the dividend payout decision. Also, some financial factors, considered classics in literature, have been tested. Using a Logit-Normal Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Model it is proven that there is an association between socio-cultural factors and the probability to pay dividends. The main results confirm that religion, corruption, anti-self dealing index, law system, property rights and business freedom index have a significant impact on dividend policy.


We thank J. Downar and colleagues for their interest in our study [1] and their contributions to this important clinical issue. Downar and colleagues view our findings through the lens of palliative medicine. We recognise the role of opioids for symptom relief among individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as part of end-of-life care. We intentionally excluded individuals who were receiving palliative care from our study, acknowledging that "goals of care and indications for opioid use may differ in this context" [1]. Our goal was instead to evaluate, from a respiratory safety perspective, the use of opioid drugs among the broader older adult COPD population. Our previous work on opioids in COPD [2] suggests that musculoskeletal pain is probably the main reason for opioid drug receipt in the older adult COPD population rather than respiratory symptoms. Opioids combined with non-opioid agents, like acetaminophen or aspirin, accounted for close to 90% of opioid use among older adults with COPD [2]. These combination opioid/non-opioid agents are unlikely to be used in end-of-life care and their use more likely reflects treatment of musculoskeletal pain, which commonly occurs in COPD [3, 4]. Opioids were also less commonly used among individuals with COPD with frequent exacerbations [2] and this group is more likely to be troubled by refractory respiratory symptoms. Less common use of opioids by these individuals supports the argument that opioids are prescribed for reasons other than palliation of respiratory symptoms. New opioid drug use is associated with increased respiratory-related morbidity and mortality in nonpalliative COPD http://ow.ly/wRfb303k4Yl


A four-year-old, castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was evaluated because of a one-year history of sporadic cough. On physical examination a grade 5 of 6 holosystolic murmur was audible over the right apex of the heart. Radiographic findings included the presence of air bronchograms in apical lobes accompanied by pulmonary venous congestion. Colour Doppler echocardiography revealed a left-to-right shunting compatible with a ventricular septal defect. Medical therapy was initiated at the time of the diagnosis. The ferret was presented again 2 months after the initial examination for coughing and respiratory distress. Echocardiographic findings included tricuspid regurgitation, relative enlargement of left-atrial diameter and decreased systolic function, with presence of pleural effusion. Thoracocentesis was performed and the therapeutic plan was revised. In the following months the symptoms did not recur. In the authors' opinion this is the first report to describe the clinical findings of isolated ventricular septal defect in the ferret. Congenital heart defects are rare in this species, the present ferret being only the second case described.


Objectives To explore the accuracy of application of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) tool in epidemiological studies focused on the evaluation of the role of antibiotics in selecting resistance, and to derive and test an extension of STROBE to improve the suitability of the tool in evaluating the quality of reporting in these area. Methods A three-step study was performed. First, a systematic review of the literature analysing the association between antimicrobial exposure and acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and/or multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii was performed. Second, articles were reviewed according to the STROBE checklist for epidemiological studies. Third, a set of potential new items focused on antimicrobial-resistance quality indicators was derived through an expert two-round RAND-modified Delphi procedure and tested on the articles selected through the literature review. Results The literature search identified 78 studies. Overall, the quality of reporting appeared to be poor in most areas. Five STROBE items, comprising statistical analysis and study objectives, were satisfactory in <25% of the studies. Informative abstract, reporting of bias, control of confounding, generalisability and description of study size were missing in more than half the articles. A set of 21 new items was developed and tested. The new items focused particularly on the study setting, antimicrobial usage indicators, and patients epidemiological and clinical characteristics. The performance of the new items in included studies was very low (<25%). Conclusions Our paper reveals that reporting in epidemiological papers analysing the association between antimicrobial usage and development of resistance is poor. The implementation of the newly developed STROBE for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) tool should enhance appropriate study design and reporting, and therefore contribute to the improvement of evidence to be used for AMS programme development and assessment.


Abstract:Heteronormativity structures biomedical justifications for continuing surgical interventions on infants' genitals that are cosmetic and medically unnecessary. It would seem, then, that queer theory is uniquely suited to challenge this continuing practice. This article takes up the question of what queer theory can do for intersex, with particular focus on queer temporality. I consider the example of "hypospadias repair," a surgical intervention justified by invoking restrictive norms of what the penis should look like and be able to do at some point in the future. In contrast, intersex activists invoke post-medical futures, structured by norms of consent and bodily integrity. While queer approaches to temporality might challenge the notion of intervening surgically on an infant for the sake of the future adult the child will become, might this queer critique also disrupt the ability of activist individuals and organizations to invoke other narratives of the future, including ones where adults have not had irreversible surgeries as infants? I will ask whether queer theories of temporality and futurity can challenge medical practices that compromise consent and bodily integrity. Can queer theory question surgery as a queer moment and help us to conceptualize all bodily differences within a more expansive frame, without reinstating heteronormative narratives of futurity?


Paramagnons are the collective modes that govern the spin response of nearly ferromagnetic conductors. Their interactions with quasiparticles can induce spin-triplet superconductivity, a scenario that may occur in spin-valley coupled two dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides such as 2H-NbSe2. This motivates this work exploring paramagnons in systems with spin split bands due to spin orbit coupling leading to spin-valley coupling. We use both a Kane-Mele-Hubbard model and a tight-binding model derived from DFT calculations for a monolayer of 2H-NbSe2. We find paramagnons with energies around 1 meV that feature a colossal magnetic anisotropy. In the longitudinal (spin preserving) channel, we obtain the conventional paramagnon enhancement of the spin response, whereas spin response is quenched in the transverse channel. We discuss a possible connection of these Ising paramagnon with Ising superconductivity observed in these materials.


The Swiss National Science Foundation made a call for National Centers fo Competence in Research (NCCR) for the first time in 1999 and 2004. Together, these announcements concerned all disciplines and led to 126 preproposals, which were put forward by 2134 men and women researchers. It can be assumed that this operation mobilised Swiss researchers who regarded themselves as particularly well qualified to conduct high-level research in their field. The article uses network analysis and regression analysis methods to examine to what extend women had a lower success rate than men in the two selection rounds because of their sex. On the whole, the findings attest the gender neutrality of the National Science Foundation's selection procedures. However, they also confirm the well-known fact that women scientists are less represented in the higher echelons of academia and concentrated in the social sciences and humanities, as well as showing that this concentration reduces women's chances of success in scientific competition. The article shows that unequal gender-specific success rates prior to the NCCR funding contest play a fairly significant role.


The present invention relates to an X-ray imaging apparatus. The X-ray imaging apparatus, according to the present invention, uses a movement source and a tension spring for enabling the reciprocating movement of a grid in order to remove scattered radiation. The movement source generates movement force for moving the grid in one side direction, and the tension spring applies tension to the grid so as to move the grid in the other side direction. According to the present invention, since the movement of the grid is carried out at a nearly constant velocity, image quality is improved.


Organic-rich carbonate mudrocks are among the most important petroleum source rocks in the world, sourcing most of the hydrocarbons of Arabia and many other oil provinces. Hydrocarbon generation and migration in organic-rich carbonate source rocks and the governing geological processes have previously been widely discussed. However, only a few studies focus on the early mobilisation of initial bitumen and its relationship to pore space and fracture development during early maturation. We investigated these initial stages in petroleum generation and primary migration in the organic-rich, immature to early mature (<0.6 VRE) Upper Cretaceous source rocks of Jordan, both observationally on samples from 15 subsurface cores and experimentally through artificial maturation and pyrolysis of carefully selected unfractured samples. Both sets of samples (untreated and artificially matured) were examined using optical microscopy, BIB-SEM (Broad Ion Beam-Scanning Electron Microscopy) and micro-CT scanning and analysed for their geochemistry (Total Organic Carbon; TOC, sulphur content and maturity). The rocks are mainly composed of carbonate minerals and Type II-S kerogen, with a TOC of 16 wt.% on average and relatively high total sulphur contents (2.08 - 7.39 wt.%). The organic matter has a high capacity for oil generation, based on its high Hydrogen Index (HI) of up to 852 mg HC/gTOC. Observations from the untreated core samples show that early-expelled hydrocarbons either disseminate in the host rock filling primary matrix porosity or existing fractures/microfractures. Our sequential artificial maturation experiments provide insights into the mechanisms and pathways of both the hydrocarbon expulsion and fracturing that could be expected under continued burial and natural maturation. After one week of pyrolysis, a significant part of the organic matter has been converted to hydrocarbons and mobilised through the remaining primary porosity, pre-existing microfractures and pore space generated within organic laminae. Thin section and BIB-SEM characterisation indicate that the mobilised bitumen passively invades pre-maturation created fractures or the pore network generated in organic matter during conversion, disturbing rock fabric and creating new migration pathways. This artificially generated bitumen forms bridges between existing kerogen particles and partly create new fractures. The migration pathways mainly propagate parallel to bedding, based on thin sections and BIB-SEM images. The innovative experimental approach utilised in this study creates an improved understanding of hydrocarbon expulsion processes and associated migration during the successive stages of maturation. This, in turn, provides insights into the thermal maturity evolution of source rock sequences in Arabia and elsewhere.


External warning cues temporarily increase the brain's sensitivity for upcoming events, helping individuals to flexibly adapt their reactions to the requirements of complex visual environments. Previous studies reported that younger and cognitively normal older adults profit from phasic alerting cues. Such an intact phasic alerting mechanism could be even more relevant in individuals with Alzheimer's disease who are characterized by reduced processing capacities. The present study employed a theory of visual attention based verbal whole report paradigm with auditory cues in order to investigate phasic alerting effects in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Patients with aMCI were also compared to a previously reported sample of cognitively normal older adults. In patients with aMCI, visual processing speed was higher in the cue compared to the no-cue condition. Further, visual processing speed was reduced in patients with aMCI compared to cognitively normal older adults. Taken together, the results suggest that the processing system of patients with aMCI exhibits general declines but can still integrate auditory warning signals on a perceptual level.


The traffic control architecture of an integrated network is modeled as a real-time system that asynchronously interacts with its environment, i.e., the network through an interface. The interface is specified by a set of state variables to which sensors are attached for monitoring. The entity-relationship model is used to represent the software and hardware objects in the network. The interface is modeled using the entity-relationship model and a computation model. How to translate the specification of the environment and the interface into an object-oriented system is described.<<ETX>>


The region of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo State, Brazil, is located over recharge area of the Guarany aquifer, the most important source of groundwater in the South Central region of the country. This region is also the most important sugarcane producing area of the country which produces a large amount of the ethanol. This study was conducted to determine the potential risk of herbicide groundwater contamination. The leaching risk potential of herbicides to groundwater was conducted using the weather simulator "Weather Generator" (WGEN) coupled with the model "Chemical Movement Trough Layered Soils" (CMLS94). The following herbicides were evaluated in clayey and sandy soils (Typic Haplorthox and Typic Quartzipsamment soils) found in the region: ametryn (N-ethyl-N'-(1- methylethyl)-6-(methylthio)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), atrazine (6-chloro-N-ethyl-N'-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine- 2,4-diamine), clomazone (2-[(2-chlorophenyl)methyl]-4,4-dimethyl-3-isoxazolidinone), diuron (3,4-dichlorophenyl)- N,N-dimethylurea), halosulfuron (3-chloro-5-[(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidinyl)amino]carbonyl], hexazinone (3- cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4 (1H,3H)-dione), imazapic ((±)-2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4- (1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-5-methyl-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid), imazapyr ((±)-2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl- 4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid), MCPA (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxy)acetic acid), metribuzin (4-amino-6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-(methylthio)-1,2,4-triazin-5(4H)-one), MSMA (Amonosodium salt of MAA), paraquat (1,1'-dimethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium ion), pendimethalin (N-(1-ethylpropyl)-3,4-dimethyl-2,6- dinitrobenzenamine), picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinecarboxylic acid), simazine (6-chloro-N,N'-diethyl- 1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine), sulfentrazone [N-[2,4-dichloro-5-[4-(difluoromethyl)-4,5-dihydro-3-methyl-5-oxo-1H- 1,2,4-triazol-1-yl]phenyl]methanesulfonamide], and tebuthiuron [N-[5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl]-N,N'- dimethylurea]. Results obtained by our simulation study have shown that the herbicides picloram, tebuthiuron, and metribuzin have the highest leaching potential, in either sandy or clayey soils, with picloram reaching the root zone of sugarcane at 0.6m in less than 150 days.


We present a method to automatically outline the optic disc in a retinal image. Our method for finding the optic disc is based on the properties of the optic disc using simple image processing algorithms which include thresholding, detection of object roundness and circle detection by Hough transformation. Our method is able to recognize the retinal images with general properties and the retinal images with variance of unusual properties since the parameters of our method can be flexibly changed by the unusual properties


Objective Hypoxia-ischemia-induced brain injury is a major cause of acute mortality and chronic neurological disability in infants and children. Imaging plays a vital role in diagnosing and treating hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and as an adjunct to acute conditions and provides valuable information on long-term prognosis. Materials & Methods Our study was prospective with 50 neonates aged 34 weeks and older with HIE. Cerebral ultrasound and MRI were performed on the infants, and the pattern of lesions was recorded. A pediatric neurologist examined the infants, and their developmental status was assessed and recorded with electroencephalography (EEG) findings. The data were analyzed. Results The sonography pattern was normal in 26 (76.5%) term neonates, and also, the PVL pattern was observed in 10 term neonates. The incidence of observing an edema pattern (17.6%) was significantly different between the term and pre-term infants (P-value = 0.001). MRI findings were normal in 20 (58.8%) term neonates and 11 premature neonates. However, the PVL pattern was observed in MRI performed in six term neonates (6.6%). The watershed pattern (17%) showed that these differences were significant between the term and pre-term infants (P-value = 0/001). Conclusion Normal sonography was significantly higher in neonates with normal neurodevelopment than in patients with normal MRI and EEG findings but with poor neurodevelopment. Also, the probability of having normal MRI results was lower in neonates with moderate to severe asphyxia compared to ultrasound and EEG.


In high thromboembolic risk patients who experienced hemorrhagic stroke, the prevention of cardioembolic events and recurrence of intracranial bleeding should be guaranteed. The consultant cardiologist should carefully identify the most appropriate therapeutic approach for these patients. Among patients with previous hemorrhagic stroke, only few restart oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) after cerebral bleeding; however, as reported by some registries, it is likely that resuming OAT exerts a favorable effect on the combined outcome of ischemic stroke/systemic embolism/all-cause death. In these patients, several parameters should be evaluated, such as the type of intracranial bleeding, the presence of a previous thromboembolic event, the global thromboembolic risk, as well as the history of a previous OAT. This review deals with a particularly interesting matter, requiring a number of decision-making turning points, i.e. whether it is appropriate or not to start or resume OAT, what drug class and timing choice in such a case, and the potential valuable alternatives to OAT.


The project to establish the reference center for addressing scientific-practice, organizational and methodological challenges of immunohistochemical, pathomorphological and molecular genetic laboratories and centers of data analysis and interpretation of radiological methods started in 2020 within the Department of fundamental pathology of Endocrinology research center. The present review focuses on the prospects of a concept of reference center with an emphasis on the current state of Russian pathology service.


The evolution of the Internet has been spectacular in recent decades. However, the Internet is still a linear scenario, focused on showing contents and dissociated from the physical world. On the other hand, there are many social groups that don't know how to use the opportunities that ICT can offer them, such as children. In this scenario, Project Enjoy.IT! designs, develops, and validates an entertainment platform with advanced contents that will set up a practical realization of the new products and services from the Future Internet. Project Enjoy.IT! integrates the physical world as an extension of the virtual world and vice versa. Thus, the project creates an AmI system that is able to act depending on the children's knowledge and necessities. The platform is based on a Services Choreography that allows an easy, simple integration of the necessary elements to give support to interactive entertainment activities.


In this paper, a new variable ordering algorithm, distributed reordering algorithm that allows more faster solution than existing ones, is presented. Since this method can accomplish fast optimization of BDD in less memory and computation time, the proposed algorithm is more efficient for dynamic variable ordering. Also, the proposed algorithm can achieve more optimized results in combining with other variable ordering method.


The prevalence of the house-dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in four different kinds of test mattresses was investigated. In a first series of experiments the mites showed no preference to any of the mattresses - irrespective of the stuffing material - when the surface was smooth and unstitched. In a second series of experiments two buttons each were sewed on on both sides of the mattresses. Subsequently the mites showed a distinct preference to the depressed area around the buttons. These findings were confirmed in used mattresses provided by patients. The importance of these "nishes" in relation to mite allergies is discussed.


An aspect of the problem of constructing a minimal length link schedule for a PRN (packet radio network) is examined. Specifically, it is assumed that a PRN of unrestricted topology is given, including a set of users, a set of channels, a set of interference links, a frequency band assignment, and an initial link schedule. It is required that any link schedule satisfies two constraints. The first is the transmission/reception constraint, namely that users cannot transmit and receive simultaneously and cannot transmit/receive more than one packet at a time. The second is the interference-free constraint, namely that no user interferes with any other. It is assumed that the initial link schedule satisfies the transmission/reception constraint, but not necessarily the interference-free constraint. Then it is shown that a simple modification of the initial link is needed to satisfy the latter constraint as well, i.e. the two constraints can be decoupled. >


State of the art methods in astronomical image reconstruction rely on the resolution of a regularized or constrained optimization problem. Solving this problem can be computationally intensive and usually leads to a quadratic or at least superlinear complexity w.r.t. the number of pixels in the image. We investigate in this work the use of convolutional neural networks for image reconstruction in astronomy. With neural networks, the computationally intensive tasks is the training step, but the prediction step has a fixed complexity per pixel, i.e. a linear complexity. Numerical experiments show that our approach is both computationally efficient and competitive with other state of the art methods in addition to being interpretable.


Observations of oviposition behaviour by Chilo partellus revealed that antennae, ovipositor tip and possibly tarsi were all involved in the choice of oviposition site. Among a very large number of typical mechanoreceptor hairs on the tip of the ovipositor valves, two pairs of stouter, blunt-tipped hairs were discovered. These hairs alone took up silver nitrate stain and transmission electron microscope sections revealed that the hair shaft had a hollow lumen within which ran a group of four or five dendrites. It is concluded that these sensilla are contact chemoreceptors and they are positioned in such a way that, with the placing of each egg, they would contact the oviposition substrate. Similar hairs were found on the ovipositor of Spodoptera littoralis. It is suggested that the hairs may prevent oviposition on surfaces directly chemically harmful to the eggs.


Crucial for the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises on global markets is that companies not only use AI to concentrate on the efficiency and thus improvement of internal processes but also on the effectiveness, i.e. the development of (service) business models. In this context more and more companies are realising the potentials of AI, but they are lacking the knowledge of how they could integrate it into their existing business. In order to systematically support the effective and efficient development of AI-based (service) business models for small and medium-sized enterprises, this article is targeted at the development of a design framework for the implementation of AI-based service business models for small and medium-sized enterprises.


Relation extraction (RE) is an important text mining task which is the basis for further complex and advanced tasks. In state-of-the-art RE approaches, syntactic information obtained through parsing plays a crucial role. In the context of biomedical RE previous studies report usage of various automatic preprocessing techniques applied before parsing the input text. However, these studies do not specify to what extent such techniques improve RE results and to what extent they are corpus specific as well as parser specific. In this paper, we aim at addressing these issues by using various preprocessing techniques, two syntactic tree kernel based RE approaches and two different parsers on 5 widely used benchmark biomedical corpora of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) extraction task. We also provide analyses of various corpus characteristics to verify whether there are correlations between these characteristics and the RE results obtained. These analyses of corpus characteristics can be exploited to compare the 5 PPI corpora.


Frenzied slaughter, savage mutilations, forced conversions, and the wanton destruction of property characterized the conflict in Ambon following its eruption on 19 January 1999. Driven by the festering wounds of past colonial injustices against Muslims and present Christian fears, as well as by rumors of a Christian conspiracy to wipe out Islam, on the one hand, and of Islamization policies on the other, it claimed an estimated 9,000 lives and produced more than 400,000 refugees. Yet it was not until the emergence of Laskar Jihad and the group's determination to wage jihad in Ambon that Jakarta politicians started to take note, albeit without doing much to address the situation. The call for jihad also attracted international attention, again without significant action. In fact, only after the events of 11 September did Laskar Jihad's interpretation of Islam, paramilitary presence, and above all its international links to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines come under closer scrutiny. This brought pressure on the Indonesian government to find a solution to the Ambon conflict, which resulted in the February 2002 Malino II Declaration.