Modern biometric identification methods combine interdisciplinary approaches to enhance person identification and classification accuracy. One popular technique for this purpose is Brain-Computer Interface (BCI).The signal so obtained from BCI will be further processed by the Autoregressive (AR) Model for feature extraction. Many researches in the area find that for more accurate results, the signal must be cleaned before extracting any useful feature information. This study proposes Independent Component Analysis (ICA), k-NN classifier, and AR as the combined techniques for electroencephalogram (EEG) biometrics to achieve the highest personal identification and classification accuracy. However, there is a classification gap between using the combined ICA with the AR model and AR model alone.Therefore, this study takes one step further by modifying the feature extraction of AR and comparing the outcome with the proposed approaches in lieu of prior researches. The experiment based on four relevant locations shows that the combined ICA and AR can achieve higher accuracy than the modified AR. More combinations of channels and subjects are required in future research to explore the significance of channel effects and to enhance the identification accuracy.


1. 1. The physiological properties of contraction and the ultrastructure of the longitudinal retractor muscle (LRM) of a sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus were studied to give information about the sources of activator Ca in echinoderm somatic smooth muscles.

2. 2. The magnitude of ACh- and K-induced contractures was dependent on [Ca], and both contractures were eliminated in Ca-free solution, while they were not markedly influenced by Mn ions (10 mM) and low pH (4.0).

3. 3. Procaine (5 mM) decreased ACh-contracture tension with a long lasting after-effect, which was removed by the application of high [K].

4. 4. ACh-contractures were markedly potentiated shortly after the termination of mechanical response to the removal of external Na.

5. 5. The LRM could also be made to contract by caffeine (10 mM), the removal of external divalent cations and hypertonic solutions, indicating the presence of intracellularly stored Ca available for the activation of the contractile mechanism.

6. 6. The LRM fibres contain poorly developed intracellular membranous structures. The inner surface of the plasma membrane and small vesicles located underneath the plasma membrane seem to be two of the sources of activator Ca.


In order to test whether farmer training and farmer health risks determine adoption of Integrated Pest and Production Management (IPPM) in Zimbabwe, a Poisson regression model was developed. The empirical analysis uses measures of farmer awareness of IPPM practices, pesticide health risks, labor and capital availability, expected pest damage and other conditioning variables. The results of the analysis show that farmer awareness of IPPM practices is significantly associated with their adoption. Pesticide-related health risks however had no significant influence on the adoption of IPPM technologies. This evidence suggests that the government of Zimbabwe should expand its use of farmer field schools and other farmer-to-farmer approaches that diffuse IPPM awareness.


Three iso-structural Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II) complexes with 1-benzyl-2-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole (BPB), ZnBPB, CdBPB, and HgBPB, respectively, were synthesized by reaction of the ligand with the corresponding metal chlorides in methanolic solutions. The complexes [MCl2(BPB)2], where M = Zn(II), Cd(II), or Hg(II), were characterized by elemental analysis, 13C, 1H, and [1H–15N] heteronuclear multiple bond coherence NMR measurements, and Raman spectroscopy. The structures of the cadmium and mercury complexes were solved by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, while the structure of the zinc complex was determined by X-ray powder diffraction. The three compounds crystallize in the triclinic system in P-1 space group with the metal ions lying in a distorted tetrahedral environment. The zinc complex shows high luminescence in the solid state at room temperature. Graphical Abstract


We present a modeling laboratory, Virtual Laboratory for the Simulation and Analysis of Social Group Evolution (ViSAGE), that views the organization of human communities and the experience of individuals in a community as contingent upon on the dynamic properties, or micro-laws, of social groups. The laboratory facilitates the theorization and validation of these properties through an iterative research processes that involves (1) forward simulation experiments, which are used to formalize dynamic group properties, (2) reverse engineering from real data on how the parameters are distributed among individual actors in the community, and (3) grounded research, such as participant observation, that follows specific activities of real actors in a community and determines if, or how well, the micro-laws describe the way choices are made in real world, local settings. In this article we report on the design of ViSAGE. We first give some background to the model. Next we detail each component. We then describe a set of simulation experiments that we used to further design and clarify ViSAGE as a tool for studying emergent properties/phenomena in social networks.


Cancer is a life-threatening disease, contributing approximately 9.4 million deaths worldwide. To address this challenge, scientific researchers have investigated molecules that could act as speed-breakers for cancer. As an abiotic drug delivery system, liposomes can hold both hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs, which promote a controlled release, accumulate in the tumor microenvironment, and achieve elongated half-life with an enhanced safety profile. To further improve the safety and impair the off-target effect, the surface of liposomes could be modified in a way that is easily identified by cancer cells, promotes uptake, and facilitates angiogenesis. Integrins are overexpressed on cancer cells, which upon activation promote downstream cell signaling and eventually activate specific pathways, promoting cell growth, proliferation, and migration. RGD peptides are easily recognized by integrin over expressed cells. Just like a multistage rocket, ligand anchored liposomes can be selectively recognized by target cells, accumulate at the specific site, and finally, release the drug in a specific and desired way. This review highlights the role of integrin in cancer development, so gain more insights into the phenomenon of tumor initiation and survival. Since RGD is recognized by the integrin family, the fate of RGD has been demonstrated after its binding with the acceptor's family. The role of RGD based liposomes in targeting various cancer cells is also highlighted in the paper.


In order to identify factors predicting survival following acute variceal haemorrhage, data were collected prospectively from 100 admissions in 70 patients managed by a standard policy employing oesophageal tamponade, injection sclerotherapy and, if necessary, oesophageal transection. Of the ten predictive factors identified by univariate analysis, only prothrombin ratio, serum creatinine and the presence of encephalopathy on admission were shown by stepwise logistic regression to have independent significance. The derived regression equation allowed clearer identification than conventional scoring systems of high and low risk groups and successfully predicted outcome in 90 per cent of admissions.


We present a new ultraviolet irradiation apparatus for Corneal cross-linking optimized to perform faster. It is designed for treating keratoconus, ulcer, infectious keratitis and post LASIK ectasia. Using a plastic band around the patient's head, a matrix of UV- LEDs is located at a controlled distance from the cornea of the eye. The matrix-LEDs emits a total cut-off power of 40 mW at a wavelength of l= 390±5nm. Using a widget, the matrix moves to the left or right eye. The duration of exposure is 2 minutes. The power density on the cornea of the eye is 42,1 mW/cm2 with an illuminated diameter on the corneal surface of d = 1.1 cm. This corresponds to surface-density of the energy accumulated on the cornea of 5.1 J/cm2. With the parameters described above, the ultimate effect can be achieved for a short time. The described apparatus is more convenient and features compactness, portability, functionality. Our new apparatus emits ultraviolet light of 390 nm wavelength in difference to the known from the literature apparatus using 360 nm. In this way we address the maximum absorption of ultraviolet light by collagen fibrils.


"So," I asked, "how did it happen?"

"Well," he said, "I was at a wedding and I got up to dance—that's when I felt the pain in my chest."⇑

I was curious; for the third time in a matter of weeks a man in his 50s had had an infarct while at a wedding. The risk factors were obvious: overweight, unfit, suddenly hurled into intense physical activity, but could there be something more going …


Si oxidation technological process is common occurrence in the semiconductors production process. The oxide which is growing in thermal oxidation causes intrinsic stresses in all structure. In stress area might be arising dislocations. Various intrinsic stresses appear when using integrated elements isolation methods such as LOCOS and oxidized trench. Thin films such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide and polysilicon are mostly usable in the semiconductors production. These films have the intrinsic stresses, which appear in the films deposition process apropos of different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials. By using mathematical simulation program ATHENA was accomplished mathematical simulation of Si thermal oxidation and thin film deposition technological processes and was evaluated the distribution of stresses in all semiconductor structure, Ill. 8, bibl. 7 (in English; summaries in English, Russian and Lithuanian).


In this work, the correlation between thermal oxide breakdown and dislocations in n-type 4H-SiC epitaxial wafers has been investigated. Thermal oxide was grown by oxidation in N2O at 1250°C followed by annealing in NO atmosphere. The electron beam induced current (EBIC) technique was employed to find correlations between the electrically active defects in epitaxial layers and regions where the oxide breakdowns occurred. The test measurements of leakage currents in MOS devices were performed in order to correlate the leakage currents with number of defects in the epi-layer detected by EBIC technique.


Efficacy of oral vaccination for control of streptococcal disease in cultured yellowtail was studied. The bacterin, the formalin-killed cells of Streptococcus sp., as the etiological agent of this disease, was used.This bacterin was administrated 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 times at a level of 5 mg dry weight per fish per day, and 8, 12 times at a level of 20 mg wet weight per fish per day. About a week after the last vaccination, fish were challenged for the estimate of efficacy of oral vaccination. Duration of oral vaccination effect was also tested. Dry bacterin was fed 2, 4, 8 times, and about 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks after the first vaccination, fish were challenged for the estimate of oral vaccination effect.Both dry and wet bacterin were effective, and the efficacy became more active with an increase in frequency of oral vaccination. But antibody in the blood was not detected. Duration of oral vaccination effect was very short. That effect was prolonged for only 2 weeks after the last vaccination.In order to compare with oral vaccination, efficacies of hyperosmotic infiltration and intraperitoneal injection for control of this disease were also studied. Hyperosmotic infiltration was more effective than oral vaccination. Intraperitoneal injection was the best method of three experimented.


This book is a major intervention in the debate about how to understand Singapore's political regime, as it powerfully exposes the limitations of ascendant liberal pluralist critiques of authoritarianism. Those critiques have been heavily weighted towards documenting and lamenting the liberal democratic shortfalls of Singapore's political regime. Chua Beng Huat, too, is critical of authoritarianism, but challenges the ideological conceptions of liberal individualism and market capitalism as the basis of so many critiques. Culturalist approaches rationalizing authoritarianism are also emphatically rejected. Instead, Chua analyses the interrelated historical, ideological and social bases of the ruling People's Action Party (PAP). He harnesses this approach to highlight and explain what he depicts as the PAP's systematic aversion to both liberal individualism and free market capitalism, and to argue that social democracy remains integral to the political success of the PAP. There is no previous book with quite this focus and argument, even though Chua is not the first — and this is not his first work —


The paper deals with the results of analysis of the influence of blocked of BD-GABA-ionophore complex and its separate components on recover of memory trace amnesia during BD-receptors activation in experiments on elaboration of CR of passive avoidance in mice. It is shown that at "neurochemical tuning" the improvement of conditioned reaction reproduction on the 2-nd and 21-st day after learning and amnestic action was observed only at GABAA receptor blockade by bicuculline, while the blockade of BD-receptor by flumazepil and of chlorine channel by picrotoxin was ineffective. Simultaneous blockade of all BD-GABA-ionophore complex components was not more effective in comparison with the blockade of its separate links in the recovery of conditioned reaction reproduction. The presented data allow to suppose that "psychogenic" amnesia development is determined by the functional state of neurotransmitter brain systems at learning and amnestic action which stipulates subsequent possibility of memory trace retrieval.


COVID-19, which is speedily distributed across the world and presents a significant challenge to public health, is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Following MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and SARS, this is the third severe coronavirus outbreak in less than 20 years. To date, there are no exact agents and vaccines available for the treatment of COVID-19 that are clinically successful. Antimicrobial medications are effective in controlling infectious diseases. However, the extensive use of antibiotics makes microbes more resistant to drugs and demands novel bioactive agents' development. Polysaccharides are currently commonly used in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries for their remarkable applications. Polysaccharides appear to have a wide range of anti-virus (anti-coronavirus) and antimicrobial applications. Polysaccharides are able to induce bacterial cell membrane disruption as they demonstrate potency in binding onto the surfaces of microbial cells. Here, the antiviral mechanisms of such polysaccharides and their success in the application of antiviral infections are reviewed. Additionally, this report provides a summary of current advancements of well-recognized polysaccharides as antimicrobial and anti-biofilm agents.


Welcome to SecEd's NQT special edition. The next eight pages offer a range of advice for NQTs as they approach the end of their first term. To begin, Chris Keates looks at the entitlements and support that all NQTs should be receiving…


In this study sour cherry pomace was extracted with food-grade solvent (50% ethanol), concentrated and stabilized in whey and soy proteins by encapsulation. Soy proteins exhibited higher encapsulation efficiency (94.90%), but not significantly (p < 0.05), from whey (90.10%). Storage properties of whey (WP) and soy protein (SP) encapsulates in terms of total polyphenols, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity were tested for 6 weeks. At the end of storage period the retention of polyphenols in SP and WP was similar (67.33 and 69.30%, respectively), while the content of anthocyanins has increased in SP (for 47.97%) and decreased in WP (for 1.45%). The decrease in antioxidant activity in SP (12.22%) was lower than in WP (35.04%). Colour parameters of encapsulates have followed the similar trend as anthocyanin change during storage. The technique reported herewith can be used for obtaining quality encapsulates for their use as functional food additives, as a way of fruit waste valorization.


In this paper, we analyze the properties of a complex network of predator-prey systems, modeling the ecological dynamics of interacting species living in a fragmented environment. We consider non-identical instances of a Lotka-Volterra model with Holling type II functional response, which undergoes a Hopf bifurcation, and focus on the possible synchronization of distinct local behaviours. We prove an original result for the near-synchronization of non-identical systems, which shows how to and to what extent an extinction dynamic can be driven to a persistence equilibrium. Our theoretical statements are illustrated by appropriate numerical simulations.


AIMS
To investigate relationships between takeaway food and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption with cardiometabolic phenotypes during childhood and mid-adulthood.

METHOD
Design: Cross-sectional Child Health CheckPoint within the national population-representative Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Participants: 1838 children (mean age 11.5 years; 49.1% female) and 1846 adults (mean age 43.7 years; 87.6% female). Exposures: Self-reported takeaway food and SSB consumption ('frequent': ≥ weekly). Outcomes: Functional (pulse wave velocity (PWV), blood pressure (BP)) and structural (carotid intima-media thickness, retinal microvascular calibre) preclinical cardiovascular phenotypes; lipids (total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides). Analysis: Linear regression (exposure: takeaway or SSB consumption, individually or together) adjusted for age, sex and socio-economic position; and mediation analysis for body mass index (BMI).

RESULTS
Associations were small among children (standardized mean difference (SMD) ≤0.15). In adults, associations were stronger with functional, but not structural, cardiovascular phenotypes and lipids, particularly for frequent takeaway food consumption (e.g. PWV (0.20 m/s; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.03 to 0.37); systolic (3.3 mmHg; 95% CI 1.3 to 5.3) and diastolic BP (1.4 mmHg; 95% CI 0.2 to 2.6); LDL (0.10 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.02 to 0.18); HDL (-0.14 mmol/L; 95% CI -0.19 to -0.10) and triglycerides (0.30 mmol/L; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.48)]. BMI mediated associations between takeaway food consumption and PWV, BP, HDL and TG (proportion of mediation 34% to 75%), while mediation effects were smaller for SSB consumption.

CONCLUSIONS
Frequent takeaway food consumption in adults was associated with adverse blood lipids and vascular function (mainly via BMI). Lack of strong associations in children highlights opportunities for prevention.


Persons AND colleagues 1 have raised some intriguing, provocative, and clinically important issues in their review and critique of two clinical practice guidelines: one by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), 2, 3 aimed at primary care (PC) practitioners, and the second by the American Psychiatric Association (APA), 4 directed toward psychiatrists. In essence, Persons et al find a greater basis for recommending psychotherapy alone as a treatment for major depressive disorder, and they view the stronger call for combined treatment (medication and psychotherapy) by the APA as lacking empirical support. They make several recommendations for subsequent guideline development (eg, multidisciplinary panels, comments on cost, highest reliance on randomized controlled trials [RCTs], periodic revisions, etc). The following comments, intended to be explanatory rather than in defense of, in particular, the AHCPR guidelines, focus on the philosophical basis underpinning the development and use of clinical practice guidelines. Assumptions made


As benchmarks for judging the catalytic power of sulfate monoesterases, we sought to determine the rates of spontaneous hydrolysis of unactivated alkyl sulfate monoesters by S-O bond cleavage. Neopentyl sulfate proved to be unsuitable for this purpose, since it was found to undergo hydrolysis by a C-O bond cleaving mechanism with rearrangement of its carbon skeleton. Instead, we examined the temperature dependence of the spontaneous hydrolyses of aryl sulfate monoesters, which proceed by S-O cleavage. Extrapolation of a Bronsted plot [log(k(25)(N)) = (-1.81 ± 0.09) pK(a)(LG) + (3.6 ± 0.7)] based on the rate constants at 25 °C for hydrolysis of a series of sulfate monoesters to a pK(a)(LG) value of 16.1, typical of an aliphatic alcohol, yields k(25)(N) = 3 × 10(-26) s(-1). Comparison of that value with established k(cat) values of bacterial sulfatases indicates that these enzymes produce rate enhancements (k(cat)/k(uncat)) of up to 2 × 10(26)-fold for the hydrolysis of sulfate monoesters. These rate enhancements surpass by several orders of magnitude the ~10(21)-fold rate enhancements that are generated by phosphohydrolases, the most powerful biological catalysts previously known. The hydrolytic rates of phosphate and sulfate monoesters are compared directly, and the misleading impression that the two classes of ester are of similar reactivity is dispelled.


This study aims to investigate determinants of adoption of the Dorper Black Head Somali (DBHS) Crossbred Sheep by the pastoralists in Yabello District, Ethiopia. Data from 123 sample respondents (pastoralists) were collected and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. A binary logistic regression model was used to estimate the effects of hypothesized independent variables on the dependent variable (adoption of DBHS crossbred sheep) which is dichotomous. The result of descriptive statistics and focus group discussion showed that lack of sources for improved sheep breed (41.5%) and information on the breed (17%) were the major factors hindering pastoralists' decision to adopt.  The binary logistic regression model results revealed that number of livestock owned in Tropical Livestock Unit (TLU), access to credit, participation in training, total farm income and educational level of household heads positively and significantly affected adoption of DBHS crossbred sheep; while family labor/size of the household head and distance from water sources significantly and negatively influenced it as well. Therefore, all concerned sheep production bodies need to focus on those variables to maintain or enhance their positive influence and minimize or avoid their negative influences on the decision of pastoralists to adopt the newly introduced DBHS Sheep Crossbreeding to speed up the rate of adoption in the study area.

 Key words: Adoption, Dorper Black Head Somali (DBHS) crossbred sheep, binary logistic regression analysis, district.


A descriptive issue is addressed here. The form of the nonmanual marking of conditionals in ASL has been variously described, perhaps because of variability in the data, but more likely because it is difficult to pick out the recurrent nonmanual features that are ever present in ASL signing. This paper describes head thrust as a significant nonmanual signal, which occurs on the final sign in a conditional clause, in combination with a brow raise and a rotated head position (found in other constituent markings). This makes conditional marking in ASL unlike the other grammatical signals involving a brow raise, because it involves both a static configuration (brow raise and head rotation) throughout the clause and a dynamic movement of the head (head thrust) only during the production of the final sign of the clause.


Several theories have been proposed to explain the current pulse of Trichel, at low pressure, in accordance with experimental results. Nevertheless, these theories failed to explain the very fast rise time (a few nanoseconds) observed at high pressure. The aim of this study is to propose a numerical simulation of the Trichel pulse which explains the typical current shape observed in air at atmospheric pressure in terms of field-effect emission. This theory explains the principal mechanisms responsible for the formation of Trichel pulses and takes into account the cathode material and its surface state. The effects of the field magnification factor on the pulse shape resulting from cathode microprotrusions are discussed. In the same way, the value of the discharge channel's radius is also discussed and compared with the experimental measurements.


Developing the rural community is one of the main government agendas. One of the methods used by the government to develop the rural community is by ensuring continuous delivery of information. In tandem with this, many high impact projects for the rural community have been introduced particularly on ICT. Nonetheless, besides ICT, the government also has rural library to rely on. In a number of local and international studies, rural library has been proven to benefit the rural community. The main query of this study is to identify the impingement factors of the rural library usage among rural youth and the findings obtained are expected to contribute to the existing literatures. Using a qualitative method, focus group discussions (FGDs) have been carried out among two groups, one of the FGDs was conducted with six librarians and another FGD was conducted among six rural library users. The FGDs were conducted in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia. Data gained were later transcribed verbatim and analysed. Based on the analysis done, a total of eight main factors that can impinge their usage of rural library services have been identified. In order to further enhance the usage of rural library services among youth, this study suggests that issues such as relevant sources and activities, youth involvement in the planning process, a better way of promotion and roles of librarians should be highly considered.


An Artificial Neural Network (ANNs) is a model that has been studied for many years in the hope of achieving human like performance. It was used in many applications like (pattern recognition, signal processing, vision, speech recognition, and decisions making aids and robotics).There are many types of ANNs, most of these types are suffering from some problems such as Convergence, Design and some of these ANNs cannot solve the non-linear problems.Since Genetic Programming (GP) is a machine learning technique used in the automatic induction of computer programs, therefore we used it as automatic system for designing and implementing ANNs trying to overcome the previous problems.In this paper we proposed an approach to build ANNs based on evolutionary computation, which uses the GP to evolve both the architecture and weights of General non-recurrent NN simultaneously. New GP modification operations were proposed which are (structure-preserving crossover, structure-preserving mutation, and structure-preserving permutation), these modification operations have clear effects in improving the results of the proposed system.The proposed system has been used in solving five simple problems which are (AND, OR, NOT, Exclusive-OR, and Half-Adder) problems. In addition, we compare the results of the proposed system with Koza work and with three major types of supervised ANNs, which are (Perceptron, Back-Propagation, and Adaline).


ABSTRACT Background Clinical supervision is assumed to be essential to the development of competent psychological therapists. While the evidence for effective psychological therapy training remains sparse, there is some support for the role of supervision and the experiential learning cycle in trainees' progression. Despite a growing demand for cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp), no research has investigated the components of CBTp supervision necessary for skilful therapeutic practice. Methods We completed a qualitative thematic analysis of 385 supervision questions from 11 trainee CBTp therapists. Results The analysis yielded three main themes – knowledge/content (What?) questions; procedure/process (How?) questions; and course requirements/assessment methods (Training) questions. What? questions decreased over the 20 weeks of supervision, How? questions were raised throughout, and Training questions increased prior to academic deadlines. The thematic analysis also showed that active experimentation (the final stage of the experiential learning cycle) may be omitted from supervisory practice. Discussion These results indicate that CBTp supervision should prioritise knowledge, procedural learning and active experimentation, in training therapists to deliver high quality CBT for people with psychosis.


This paper proposes a single-ISA heterogeneousmulti-core architecture as a mechanism to reduce processorpower dissipation. It assumes a single chip containing a diverseset of cores that target different performance levels and consumedifferent levels of power. During an application's execution,system software dynamically chooses the most appropriate core tomeet specific performance and power requirements. It describesan example architecture with five cores of varying performanceand complexity. Initial results demonstrate a five-fold reductionin energy at a cost of only 25% performance.


This review provides an overview of the progress in using the low-gravity environment of space to explore critical phenomena and test modern theoretical predictions. Gravity-induced variations in the hydrostatic pressure and the resulting density gradients adversely affect ground-based measurements near fluid critical points. Performing measurements in a low-gravity environment can significantly reduce these difficulties. A number of significant experiments have been performed in low-Earth orbit. Experiments near the lambda transition in liquid helium explored the regime of large correlation lengths and tested the theoretical predictions to a level of precision that could not be obtained on Earth. Other studies have validated theoretical predictions for the divergence in the viscosity as well as the unexpected critical speeding up of the thermal equilibrium process in pure fluids near the liquid-gas critical point. We describe the scientific content of previously flown low-gravity investigations of critical phenomena as well as those in the development stage, and associated ground-based work.


Water Alternating Gas (WAG) is a consolidated enhanced oil recovery method that outperforms secondary recovery methods such as waterflooding or gas injection. Optimization of the WAG parameters can increase the cost function and improve revenues, but the algorithms usually implemented require high computational resources and time. In this context, a bio-inspired algorithm, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is used to determine the best candidate for only two parameters, water and gas injection time, resulting in the determination of the WAG cycle and WAG ratio, thus drastically reducing the complexity of the problem. The proposed long-term optimization algorithm was applied in a modified version of a well-known reservoir benchmark Egg model, in which the fluid composition was adapted to resemble Brazilian pre-salt reservoir fluids and WAG injection. Moreover, it is shown that the best results obtained consider longer periods of water injection and improve the NPV by 5.5%.


In this paper, we present a reinforcement learning approach for mapping natural language instructions to sequences of executable actions. We assume access to a reward function that defines the quality of the executed actions. During training, the learner repeatedly constructs action sequences for a set of documents, executes those actions, and observes the resulting reward. We use a policy gradient algorithm to estimate the parameters of a log-linear model for action selection. We apply our method to interpret instructions in two domains — Windows troubleshooting guides and game tutorials. Our results demonstrate that this method can rival supervised learning techniques while requiring few or no annotated training examples.1


The 2-summing norm of an n -dimensional Banach space computed with n vectors is known to belong between and . It is shown that the 2-summing norm of real computed with three vectors is 5/3. Some lower estimates for 2-summing norms of computed with n vectors are stated, which are considerably better than universal ones and are based on the existence of certain block designs or Hadamard matrices.


Current research suggests a link between childhood sexual abuse and risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) in emerging adults. However, previous studies neglect evaluating the influence of high levels of cumulative childhood victimization. The present study examined the relationships among polyvictimization, six aggregate categories of childhood victimization, and RSB in college women. This study first examined the relative contributions of polyvictimization and individual categories of childhood victimization in predicting RSB and then tested whether polyvictimization contributes any unique variance, beyond that accounted for by the combination of all six aggregate categories in a sample of 321 college women in a Southern state. Regression analyses reveal that (a) polyvictimization accounts for a significant proportion of variability in scores for RSB, beyond that accounted for by any of the six categories of childhood victimization alone; (b) the categories of childhood victimization contribute little to no variability beyond that accounted for by polyvictimization; and (c) polyvictimization accounts for a significant proportion of variability in RSB, beyond that already accounted for by the simultaneous entry of all six categories as predictor variables. Results suggest treatment providers working with college students should assess polyvictimization in relation to RSB and inform their prevention efforts given this link.


The values of the Arek cultural community, as a coastal community, are clearly reflected in the shape and color of each Jekdong Puppet. Through the culture of tacit knowledge, the visualization of Jekdong puppets has its own standard, but along with the development of the visual transformation of Jekdong puppets, it continues to perfect and adapt to Arek's cultural values. This phenomenon can be seen in the transformation of the Sabrangan puppet form, which represents the Bolo Trajutresna puppet, into a newer form, which several Jekdong puppeteers in Mojokerto agree upon. This study focused on visual observation of changes in the Bolo Trajutresna puppet both before and after being transformed. An ethnographic approach was used through the Spradley visual component analysis process. The results of the analysis showed that the transformation process is influenced by the values of the cultural character of Arek East Java, which are represented in the transformed Bolo Trajutresna puppet. The values of straightforwardness and simplicity seem to influence the patterns of transformation in the Jekdong puppet. The straightforwardness of form is very important in the socio-cultural community of Arek culture for accommodating the ease in conveying messages. This can be seen in the transformed form of the Bolo Trajutresna puppet. In addition, the drive for equality with forms of court art is characterized by the value of refinement of taste manifested in detailed motifs and coloring patterns / textures, and is considered to be a greater influence on the embodiment of the transformed aesthetic form of the Jekdong Bolo Trajutresna puppet. It is hoped that this research can make a contribution to the development of the Jekdong puppet show from a scientific point of view of art, particularly in the province of East Java.
Keywords: Wayang Jekdong, visual transformation, coastal culture


Federated learning is proposed as a machine learning setting to enable distributed edge devices, such as mobile phones, to collaboratively learn a shared prediction model while keeping all the training data on device, which can not only take full advantage of data distributed across millions of nodes to train a good model but also protect data privacy. However, learning in scenario above poses new challenges. In fact, data across a massive number of unreliable devices is likely to be non-IID (identically and independently distributed), which may make the performance of models trained by federated learning unstable. In this paper, we introduce a framework designed for large-scale federated learning which consists of approaches to generating dataset and modular evaluation framework. Firstly, we construct a suite of open-source non-IID datasets by providing three respects including covariate shift, prior probability shift, and concept shift, which are grounded in real-world assumptions. In addition, we design several rigorous evaluation metrics including the number of network nodes, the size of datasets, the number of communication rounds and communication resources etc. Finally, we present an open-source benchmark for large-scale federated learning research.


. Manganites of the series . La 1 − x Ca x / MnO 3 , with x D 0 ; 0 : 1 ; 0 : 3 ; 0 : 5 ; 0 : 7 and 1.0, have been characterized in ceramic form and thin films have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition. Characterization techniques included x-ray diffraction, conductivity and magnetoresistance, magnetization and susceptibility, optical spectroscopy and the Faraday effect. Both the films and ceramics exhibit a maximum low-temperature conductivity at x (cid:25) 0 : 3 which is coexistent with ferromagnetic order. The negative magnetoresistance effect is qualitatively different for the x D 0 : 3 and x D 0 : 5 compositions. For x D 0 : 3 the magnetoresistance peak occurs around the Curie point, whereas for x D 0 : 5 the onset of magnetoresistance is somewhat below T c and increases monotonically as T ! 0. The applied field appears to modify the magnetic order (on the scale of the spin diffusion length) down to the lowest temperatures for x D 0 : 5, but for x D 0 : 3 the ferromagnetic order is essentially complete and collinear below the Curie point.


Aim Dyslipidaemia is a major risk factor for development and progression of coronary arteriosclerosis. Low density lipoprotein-Cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration is strongly associated with an increase in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD). Targeting LDL-C earlier significantly decreases the lifetime risk of CVD. Our main aim was to evaluate the management of lipids in high risk CVD patients admitted for PCI procedures at our tertiary centre. Methods This was a retrospective study performed over a period of 1 month which included all the patients admitted for urgent, elective and primary PCI(PPCI) in our centre and they were followed up to 12 months thereafter. A detailed case note evaluation was performed including discharge summaries. Data collected include demographics, risk factors, reason for admission, procedure performed, lipid parameters and management, family history and follow up including outpatient (OP) appointments or admissions for repeat procedures, lipid levels and mortality over 12 months. Definitions: Treatment to target LDL-C was defined as LDL-C ≤ 2 mmol/L. Lipid thresholds for consideration of Simon Broome criteria for Familial Hypercholesterolaemia - Total cholesterol ≥ 7.5 mmol/L and /or LDL-C a level ≥ 4.9 mmol/L (pre-treatment). Results A total of 101 patients (69 Male; 32 Female) were admitted for PCI procedures with a mean age of 65 years (42-90). They had multiple co-morbidities. Majority were admitted for PPCI (58,57.4%) followed by NSTEMI (23,22.4%) and elective (20,19.8%) procedures Lipid profiles were unavailable for review in (32,29.6%) patients (PPCI :14, NSTEMI :10 and electives:8). 37 patients had a Total Cholesterol of >5mmol/l(5-6.9) and 57 (56.4%) had an LDL level of > 2mmol/l (Mean LDL PPCI ,36: 3.1, NSTEMI ,10:3.1; Electives,9:3.3). At the time of discharge,97 patients were on statins, of whom 9 were on sub-optimum dose of statin and 4 statin naive. 5 patients fulfilled Simon Broome criteria for consideration of Familial Hypercholesterolaemia. High LDL group: In this group 65% had lipid profile tested for the first time at index admission and the rest (35%) though on statins had not been treated to target. Discharge summaries had insufficient information on family history of premature CAD, lipids on admission or treatment targets for primary care. As per our standard protocol, all patients post-PPCI and NSTEMI had one consultation in secondary care prior to being discharged to primary care. 12 months post PCI: Treatment target was achieved in 8(14%) patients, 7(12%) were not treated to target and 42(73%) of patients had no lipids available for comparison for the trend post-discharge. 27 (47%) events were recorded which included PCI:5; CABG:4; Angiograms:2, Death:4; PVD (peripheral vascular disease):4; Stroke:2; Permanent pacemaker insertion:1; OP appointments:4 (chest pain, breathlessness) At 12 months, 4 (7%) were not on any statins and 7 (12%) were on sub-optimum dose of statins. There were no referrals made to the Lipid Clinic. Conclusions Our study showed that high-risk CVD patients were not adequately treated to target LDL-C concentrations. This highlights the need for education and increasing awareness of local guidelines and patient pathways for secondary prevention of CVD. We recommend a comprehensive discharge summary post-PCI inclusive of family history of premature heart disease, lipid levels and targets for treatment for the primary care . Conflict of Interest None


The theory of spin-wave generation in nonuniform magnetic fields is reviewed. Detailed theoretical results concerning the photon-magnon conversion, the magnon-phonon conversion, the frequency- and field-dependence of the delay time, and the insertion loss are presented. A general theory of the nonuniform demagnetizing field of nonellipsoidal samples is described. Experimental results concerning the field dependence of the delay time are presented both for the case in which the spin waves generated are exchange dominated and for the case in which they are dominated by the magnetostatic interaction. The insertion loss was found to vary with the applied magnetic field in an approximately periodic fashion showing two distinct periods of the order of 1 Oe and 100 Oe. The fast variation (period approximately 1 Oe) has been definitely identified as arising from the excitation of magnetoelastic resonances in the nonuniform magnetic field near the endfaces of the sample. The slow variation (period approrimately 100 Oe) is tentatively attributed to the interference of different partial waves arising from the reflection of the primary wave at the sidefaces of the sample.


Author(s): Jiang, Yan | Advisor(s): Chun, Dorothy M. | Abstract: This paper reports on a study of Chinese speakers who received sustained, systematic online training on English prosody (i.e., pausing, prominence and tone choice) in order to improve their oral speech quality. Twelve students in the experimental group completed the training in four weeks, and another 12 students in the control group did not receive the training. The training modules employed discourse-based materials, and consisted of instruction videos, as well as listening and speaking activities, including learner-created visual pitch contours as instant feedback. The students read a script and gave a one-minute speech on a given topic at the beginning and the end of the study. Four native English speakers judged the speech comprehensibility, fluidity, accent, confidence and attractiveness of the speech. The results show that both groups of students faced challenges of using appropriate prosody when speaking English. The online modules helped the experimental group of students improve on almost all aspects of their script-reading and spontaneous speech. The improvement in comprehensibility and confidence of the spontaneous speech was statistically significant. In contrast, the control group did not show improvement. The students gave high ratings on the helpfulness of the training modules. This study also conducted acoustic analyses of the speech samples, and compared the auditory measures to the acoustic measures of intonation in predicting the speech quality. While both approaches were able to predict some aspects of the speech quality, the auditory approach was able to predict more variables and explain more variances than the acoustic approach. The findings have implications for teaching pronunciation to English learners and developing computer assisted pronunciation training tools.


Angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang(1-7)] is a peptide hormone that produces opposite responses to those of the well-characterized peptide angiotensin II (Ang II). The main actions of Ang(1-7) and AII occur, respectively, via MAS and Angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R), respectively. Ang (1-7) has blood pressure and proliferative effects contrary to those of AngII, exhibits significant antiangiogenic activity and may be a novel therapeutic agent for lung cancer treatment targeting a specific AT(1-7) receptor (Soto-Pantoja et al., 2009). Here, our aim was to evaluate T47D breast cancer cell proliferation and cAMP production after treatment with Ang (1-7) and AngII.By means of the cyclic AMP (cAMP) competitive enzymeimmunoassay system we measured cAMP content of T47D cells. Cell proliferation was measured using incorporation of BrdU after Ang (1-7) and AII stimulation. Intracellular cAMP increasing drugs like Forskolin (FK) and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) were also used to stimulate T47D cells.AII inhibited cAMP production (−39%) and A-(1-7) increased its formation (48%). Pattern of cAMP production was not altered when cells were previously incubated with FK. Results were inverted after IBMX incubation. In proliferation, opposite responses were observed for Ang II and Ang (1-7), that is, increasing (7.6 times) and decreasing (7.5 times) proliferation rates respectively. Also both peptides decreased proliferation when cells were stimulated by FK. Exactly the opposite happened after IBMX stimulation, both peptides increased proliferation. These results suggest that Ang (1-7) inhibits growth of T47D cells probably through inhibition of the via RAS/RAF/MAP quinase, what corroboraties previous findings. On the other hand, AngII can induce cell proliferation by an alternative via (CREB/growth factor). Therefore, Ang (1-7) seems to be not only a promising target to develop novel lung cancer therapeutic drugs, but it also might help to prevent the molecular changes that lead the normal breast epithelial cells to cancer initiation. Financial Support: FAPESP. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P5-07-06.


Abst ract : Most of India's literature was written in Bengali since the beginning of the 19th century. Hundreds of authors have contributed to the enrichment of Bengali literature for years. Besides that, nearly 300 million people around the world speak in Bengali. The language, having a rich traditional background and popularity throughout the world, must be taken care for the web users in the present era of World Wide Web (WWW). The digitization of Bengali literary works and the development of the search engine is very important for the benefit of the Bengali language users all over the world. The paper describes Anwesan, a search engine for Bengali literature. Currently the entire work of Rabindranath Tagore and a part of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's work is searchable through Anwesan. Several advanced search features necessary for simple and expert users are supported. It also serves as a digital library with various metadata information. The engine is implemented by customizing DSpace in Bengali language and is perhaps the most exhaustive exercise in this direction. This search system was primarily open for the public in Kolkata Book Fair 2010 only with Rabindra Rachanabali collection. Since then, its been in high use. Anwesan: A Search Engine for Bengali Literary Works.


ABSTRACT This article engages questions of authority and authorship in the discipline and the IR classroom, driven by a search for affirmative horizons within critical scholarship and academic practice. Prompted by a series of 'failures' attached to the social and disciplinary performance of 'expertise' in the context of violent conflict, I explore the practice of writing as it unfolds from Michel Foucault's lesser cited essays and interviews as a generative, creative resource. I follow Foucault in breaking down the normalised perceptions of the 'author function,' revealing writing as an act that diagnoses, discovers, and potentially transforms writer, reader and the social structures that the writing addresses. Foucault's experimental ethos brings to light the complex life worlds of sense-making through the vehicle of writing. It also invites us to embrace the transgenerational heritage that quietly structures our relationships to knowledge together with the multiple selves that arise and are co-present in the text. I enter such processes of negotiation and transgression in Foucault's work and my own writing through a series of vignettes, which aim to actualise the 'method' these gestures may harbour for making 'uncommon sense' and re-inhabiting research and pedagogical practice as continuous, self-reflexive and self-authori(zi)ng journeys.


ABSTRACT Background: Interest in additive manufacture has grown significantly in recent years, driving a need for printable materials that can sustain high strains and still fulfill their function in applications such as tissue engineering, regenerative medicine field, food engineering and field of aerospace, etc. As an emerging and promising technology, 3Dprinting has attracted more and more attention with fast manipulation, reduce production cost, customize geometry, increase competitiveness and advantages in many hot research areas. Many researchers have done a lot of investigations on printable materials, ranging from a single material to composite material. Main content: This review focuses on the contents of printable edible inks. It also gathers and analyzes information on the effects of printable edible ink material properties on 3D print accuracy. In addition, it discusses the impact of printing parameters on accurate printing, and puts forward current challenges and recommendations for future research and development.


Non-stationary parallel multisplitting iterative methods based on the AOR method are studied for the solution of nonsingular linear systems. Convergence of the synchronous and asyn- chronous versions of these methods is studied for H{matrices. Furthermore, computational results about these methods on both shared and distributed memory multiprocessors are discussed. The numerical examples presented cover the non-stationary parallel multisplitting Gauss-Seidel and SOR methods applied to the solution of the linear system yielded by a nite dierence discretization of the two-dimensional Laplace's equation on a rectangular domain under Dirichlet boundary conditions. These results show that non-stationary AOR-type methods (synchronous and asynchronous) are bet- ter than the corresponding standard parallel multisplitting AOR method. Moreover, asynchronous versions always behave better than the synchronous ones.


ABSTRACT This editorial is a call for radical work that deconstructs and creatively reimagines intervention and statebuilding discourses, processes, practices and tools. For over two decades, critics of liberal interventionism have advocated for the need to rethink its dominant top-down and state centric logics. We now see a new generation of scholars that mobilize feminist, marxist, queer, or decolonial theories to critically engage with the ongoing transformation of the post-liberal order. Interventions and statebuilding processes are key to these changes. As scholars and practitioners, we have an opportunity to partake in shaping emerging visions and nurture hope in complex times.


Abstract A significant Geographic Information Science (GIS) issue is closely related to spatial autocorrelation, a burning question in the phase of information extraction from the statistical analysis of georeferenced data. At present, spatial autocorrelation presents two types of measures: continuous and discrete. Is it possible to use Moran's I and the Moran scatterplot with continuous data? Is it possible to use the same methodology with discrete data? A particular and cumbersome problem is the choice of the spatial-neighborhood matrix (W) for points data. This paper addresses these issues by introducing the concept of covariogram contiguity, where each weight is based on the variogram model for that particular dataset: (1) the variogram, whose range equals the distance with the highest Moran I value, defines the weights for points separated by less than the estimated range and (2) weights equal zero for points widely separated from the variogram range considered. After the W matrix is computed, the Moran location scatterplot is created in an iterative process. In accordance with various lag distances, Moran's I is presented as a good search factor for the optimal neighborhood area. Uncertainty/transition regions are also emphasized. At the same time, a new Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) tool is developed, the Moran variance scatterplot, since the conventional Moran scatterplot is not sensitive to neighbor variance. This computer-mapping framework allows the study of spatial patterns, outliers, changeover areas, and trends in an ESDA process. All these tools were implemented in a free web e-Learning program for quantitative geographers called SAKWeb© (or, in the near future, myGeooffice.org).


Abstract Considering the exponential growth of technology and media in Iranian society as well as the significant role of media culture in reproducing, reinforcing, and legitimizing dominant ideologies such as sexism, the central question posed by this paper is how Iranian feminist activists critically analyze media messages. Further, this paper explores the extent to which this analysis fits the critical media literacy framework. Using a critical media literacy framework underpinned by feminist standpoint theory, this paper presents results from qualitative interviews with 15 Iranian feminist activists. We find that Iranian feminist activists focus more on politics of representation and critique of gender ideology in the critical analysis of media products. Thus, critical analysis of media by Iranian feminist activists better fits the definition of critical media literacy than its core concepts. The findings also demonstrate that a transformative dimension of critical media literacy is ignored by the feminist activists despite using media in the struggle against dominant gender ideology.


This thesis examines the underlying causes of food insecurity, famine in general and green famine in particular in the enset-dominant livelihood zones of Kambata land in southern Ethiopia, which are historically considered more resilient and less vulnerable to food insecurity and famine than other parts of Ethiopia. Given Ethiopia's long-standing history of food insecurity and famines, the discourse of food insecurity and famine is dominated by natural and demographic factors as the main causes. In order to unpack the multi-layered underlying causes of food insecurity in general and green famine in particular, the thesis adopts Sen's analytical framework of 'entitlement to food'. Using multi-site qualitative research techniques, this thesis captures the perceptions of different actors at different levels about the causes of green famine, identifies the sources of livelihood vulnerability and the types of livelihood strategies undertaken by households in the study area. By systematically capturing and analysing these different aspects, the study concludes that the causes of green famine extend beyond the dominant narratives of drought and population growth, and that these factors alone cannot fully explain famine occurrence. Green famine is caused by a web of complex and intertwined policy-related, political, natural, socio-‐economic and demographic factors that have long been present in the study area.

The thesis further investigates how the contemporary understanding and classification of famine is dominated by anthropometric and mortality outcomes ('objective indicators') and thresholds set by outsiders and how 'subjective indicators' such as the perceptions, knowledge, experience and coping strategies of famine victims are undervalued and given less weight by 'famine scales'. By incorporating 'subjective indicators' of famine, this thesis
challenges conventional famine conceptualisation and measurement and recommends that these indicators be given equal treatment and weight to 'objective indicators' in famine classification.


The concept of orthogonality between halogen and hydrogen bonding, brought out by Ho and coworkers some years ago, has become a widely accepted idea within the chemists' community. While the original work was based on a common carbonyl oxygen as acceptor for both interactions, we explore here, by means of M06-2X, M11, ωB97X, and ωB97XD/aug-cc-PVTZ DFT calculations, the interdependence of halogen and hydrogen bonding with a shared π-electron system of benzene. The donor groups (specifically NCBr and H2O) were placed on either or the same side of the ring, according to a double T-shaped or a perpendicular geometry, respectively. The results demonstrate that the two interactions with benzene are not strictly independent on each other, therefore outlining that the orthogonality between halogen and hydrogen bonding, intended as energetical independence between the two interactions, should be carefully evaluated according to the specific acceptor group.


The heterogeneous cloud radio access network (Cloud-RAN) provides a revolutionary way to densify radio access networks. It enables centralized coordination and signal processing for efficient interference management and flexible network adaptation. Thus it can resolve the main challenges for next-generation wireless networks, including higher energy efficiency and spectral efficiency, higher cost efficiency, scalable connectivity, and low latency. In this article we will provide an algorithmic approach to the new design challenges for the dense heterogeneous Cloud-RAN based on convex optimization. As problem sizes scale up with the network size, we will demonstrate that it is critical to take unique structures of design problems and inherent characteristics of wireless channels into consideration, while convex optimization will serve as a powerful tool for such purposes. Network power minimization and channel state information acquisition will be used as two typical examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of convex optimization methods. Then we will present a twostage framework to solve general large-scale convex optimization problems, which is amenable to parallel implementation in the cloud data center.


Prenatal cocaine use is more accurately measured by maternal hair assay than by urine toxicology screening or self-report. To investigate the consequences of improved measurement, the authors ascertained cocaine use during pregnancy by maternal hair test, urine test, and self-report in a sample of 691 patients recruited from one New York City hospital in 1990-1992. Associations with intrauterine growth retardation, head circumference, and length of gestation were investigated. A positive hair test at delivery was not more strongly associated with birth weight (-38.1 g; 95% CI: -164, 88.3) or head circumference (-1.73 mm; 95% CI: -5.91, 2.44) than a positive urine test at delivery (-182 g (95% CI: -295, -69.8) and -6.11 mm (95% CI: -9.99, -2.24), respectively). Cocaine concentration in hair (which was higher if urine tests were positive) had a dose-response relationship with birth weight: a 27-g decrease (95% CI: -51.9, -1.04) with each log-unit increase in concentration. Birth weights were similar among infants of never users and infants of users who stopped using cocaine before delivery. Heavier use of cocaine, but not lighter use, was associated with intrauterine growth retardation, and exposure in late pregnancy was necessary to the association. Although maternal hair tests were instrumental in clarifying these relations, their clinical use is probably not warranted.


In the one-dimensional case, for a function satisfying the Gurov-Reshetnyak condition, the infimum of the indices of the Muckenhoupt classes containing this function is found. It is also shown that each Muckenhoupt class lies in some Gurov-Reshetnyak class.


Wireless communication technology or generally called as Wireless Technology (Teknologi Nirkabel) is considered as efficient technology in terms of cost and the usage. The home lighting controller by wireless with bluetooth technology module HC-05 using radio frequency 2,4 GHz is a system that are designed to ease the operator or user in controlling home lighting remotely by using bluetooth technology with Arduino microcontroller as its controller system programming as well as using smartphone as the remote control. The design of this prototype covers several stages : 1. Requirement Identification, 2. Requirement Analysis, 3. Tools' design (Proteus Simulation), 4. Tools' development (Hardware), 5. Controller Programming (Arduino Software), 6. Prototype, 7. Testing. From the result of the method, it can be resumed that the Home Lighting Controller via Wireless Bluetooth 2,4 GHz based on Arduino could simplify operator or user in turning the lights (ON – OFF) wirelessly. Besides it also can be exposed as an introduction and learning media for basic knowledge on Electrical Engineering in terms of Telecommunication at the Basic Electrical Engineering Laboratory, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta.


SINCE the liver is the body's chief repository of stored iron, it was inevitable that clinical investigation of the organ in its diseased state eventually included disturbances in that function of storage. Widespread use of needle biopsy has led to the realization that siderosis of the liver not infrequently follows acute viral hepatitis and certain nutritional disturbances. 1 In turn, that observation has stimulated the investigation of changes in serum iron resulting from hepatic disease, particularly viral hepatitis. Reports of such studies are common in European literature but are few in this country, a real oversight when one considers the conclusion drawn by one investigator that "acute hepatitis is the only disease in human beings which is consistently associated with a marked hypersideremia." 2 The conclusion indicates a remarkable degree of specificity which, unfortunately, cannot often be assigned to a laboratory procedure. Certainly, it warrants investigation of serum iron determination as a test of hepatic function in the differential diagnosis of jaundice—still a


PURPOSE
To evaluate the use of radiofrequency (RF) ablation as a primary treatment for symptomatic primary functional adrenal neoplasms and determine the efficacy of treatment with use of clinical and biochemical follow-up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
After obtaining institutional review board approval, the authors retrospectively evaluated images and medical records from 13 consecutive patients with symptomatic functional adrenal neoplasms (<3.2 cm in diameter) who underwent RF ablation during a 7-year period. There were six men and seven women with a mean age of 54.1 years (range, 42-71 years). Cross-sectional images, findings from clinical examination, and adrenal biochemical markers were available for all patients. Ten of the 13 patients (77%) had an aldosteronoma and one patient each had a cortisol-secreting tumor, testosterone-secreting tumor, and pheochromocytoma. RF ablation was performed by two radiologists using an internally cooled electrode and a pulsed technique according to manufacturer's specifications. Clinical and laboratory follow-up was performed for all patients. Three patients underwent imaging follow-up for other reasons.

RESULTS
All patients demonstrated resolution of abnormal biochemical markers after ablation (mean biochemical follow-up, 21.2 months). In addition, all patients experienced resolution of clinical symptoms or syndromes, including hypertension and hypokalemia (in patients with aldosteronoma), Cushing syndrome (in the patient with cortisol-secreting tumor), virilizing symptoms (in the patient with testosterone-secreting tumor), and hypertension (in the patient with pheochromocytoma). For the patients with aldosteronoma, improvements in hypertension management were noted. The mean blood pressure before ablation was 149/90 mm Hg with a mean (±standard deviation) of 3.1 ± 0.6 blood pressure medications, and this decreased to 122/77 mm Hg at a mean of 2.8 months after ablation with 1.3 ± 0.9 medications (P < .001) and 124/75 mm Hg at a mean of 41.4 months. There were two minor complications: one small pneumothorax and one limited hemothorax, neither of which required overnight admission. There were two episodes of transient self-remitting procedural hypertension-one in a patient with aldosteronoma and one in the patient with a cortisol-secreting tumor; however, none of these patients required further therapy during overnight observation.

CONCLUSION
RF ablation may be an effective, minimally invasive method for treating small functional primary adrenal tumors.


Despite the continuous progress in the research and development of Ti3C2Tx (MXene) electrodes for high-power batteries and supercapacitor applications, the role of the anions in the electrochemical energy storage and their ability to intercalate between the MXene sheets upon application of positive voltage have not been clarified. A decade after the discovery of MXenes, the information about the possibility of anion insertion into the restacked MXene electrode is still being questioned. Since the positive potential stability range in diluted aqueous electrolytes is severely limited by anodic oxidation of the Ti, the possibility of anion insertion was evaluated in concentrated aqueous electrolyte solutions and aprotic electrolytes as well. To address this issue, we have conducted in situ gravimetric electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (EQCM-D) measurements in highly concentrated LiCl and LiBr electrolytes, which enable a significant extension of the operation range of the MXene electrodes toward positive potentials. Also, halogens are among the smallest anions and should be easier to intercalate between MXene layers, in comparison to multiatomic anions. On the basis of mass change variations in the positive voltage range and complementary density functional theory calculations, it was demonstrated that insertion of anionic species into MXene, within the range of potentials of interest for capacitive energy storage, is not likely to occur. This can be explained by the strong negative charge on Ti3C2Tx sheets terminated by functional groups.


The EMPIRE code system is being extended to cover the resolved and unresolved resonance region employing proven methodology used for the production of new evaluations in the recent Atlas of Neutron Resonances. Another directions of Empire expansion are uncertainties and correlations among them. These include covariances for cross sections as well as for model parameters. In this presentation we concentrate on the KALMAN method that has been applied in EMPIRE to the fast neutron range as well as to the resonance region. We also summarize role of the EMPIRE code in the ENDF/B-VII.0 development. Finally, large scale calculations and their impact on nuclear model parameters are discussed along with the exciting perspectives offered by the parallel supercomputing.


The main purpose of this study was to analyze the Factors Affecting on risk management in wheat production among farmers of Razavieh region (Khorasan-E-Razavi province, Iran). Statistical population of the study was 1520 farmers that they had water cultivation. By using of stratified proportional random sampling 156 respondents were selected from 8 villages. For the calculation of the risk-aversion coefficient degree among farmers, the Safety First Rule model was used. The findings revealed that the dominant respondents (65%) were risk-averse. The results of exploratory factorial analysis showed that five factors determined about 74.267 % from total variance for wheat farmers' risk management that consist of: economy & marketing management factor, planting management factor, harvest management factor, infrastructure management of farming and risk-sharing management factor. From among of the above mentioned factors, the most important factor of risk management in study region was factor of economy & marketing management.


: This paper presents a novel method of bone fracture evaluation based on A-Mode ultrasound. Utilising the pulse echo method, the attenuation of 1 MHz ultrasound wave propagating through a normal and fractured bone was investigated. Two types of bone fracture were investigated, namely the linear fracture and comminuted fracture. An ultrasound transducer was used to transmit the sound wave to the normal and fractured bone in the body, simulated using a goat's bone encased in gelatine. The transducer then captured the reflected echoes to be viewed via an oscilloscope. The echo signal indicated the time used by the sound wave to travel back and forth from the bone surface. The echo was filtered and the power spectral density was calculated for attenuation measurement based on insertion loss method. The comparison of power spectral density from a normal and fractured bone showed that average signal power on the fractured bone was lower than the normal bone by 4.3dB for both linear and comminuted fractures. Based on the result, the ultrasound signal attenuation showed a potential for use to detect bone fracture; nevertheless, further studies are still needed to determine the type of fractures. The present finding shows the potential of ultrasound in diagnosing bone fracture as an adjunct to x-ray imaging.


As I sat writing this 'personal reflections' manuscript in the spring of 2015, I was seeing press reports related to the use of tobacco to make an Ebola therapeutic called ZMapp. For several months newspaper articles, radio shows and hour‐long TV documentaries have given the public unprecedented exposure to the fact that 'plant‐made pharmaceuticals' (PMP) can be life‐saving drugs. I have been asked by many nonspecialists – why tobacco? How can this work? After spending over twenty years doing research in this field and many, many hours in public policy meetings promoting PMPs as an important tool of public health, I do not tire of hearing the same questions. Although there is an increasing pipeline of new protein drugs that will come from plants for both human and animal health, the general public has little knowledge of these specialized tools and therefore limited support for the field. ZMapp has given us free advertising on an international scale that I could never have anticipated.


ABSTRACT The outbreak related to SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 has been classified as a pandemic. Many healthcare institutions enacted policies to limit the spread within their facility. As hospitals begin to return to normal particularly with elective procedures, a common concern is how an organization should react in the event that healthcare workers test positive for COVID-19. When our organization had a cluster of positive inpatient healthcare workers, we elected to test all direct patient care healthcare workers. Through this process we learned two valuable lessons that have redefined our practice: 1) the recognition that aggressive contact tracing provides greater yield than testing everyone and 2) organizations must implement effective social distancing both within each department and how departments interact with each other to limit the scope of contract tracing.


RDWB procedures were applied to study the excitation cross sections induced by electron collision for F-like selenium. code was used for atomic structure calculations. By approaching from the `post' form approximation, it was possible to overcome the complexity involved in using non-orthogonal orbits. From the multipole expansion of the inter-electron potential used, it was found justifiable to add a correction term to the exchange Slater integrals due to the non-orthogonal orbitals. Comparisons are made of the resulting cross sections for excitation from the three low-lying levels as calculated using 113-level and 279-level MCDF configuration expansion both between themselves as well as with existing data. More than 10% in difference has been found in these comparisons.


Cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) is one of the multipurpose underexplored crops grown as green vegetable and for gum production in dryland areas. Cluster bean is known as relatively tolerant to drought and salinity stress. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in the drought tolerance of cluster bean cultivar RGC-1025, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of the drought-stressed and control samples was performed. De novo assembly of the reads resulted in 66,838 transcripts involving 203 pathways. Among these transcripts, differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis resulted in some of the drought-responsive genes expressing alpha dioxygenase 2, low temperature-induced 65 kDa protein (LDI65), putative vacuolar amino acid transporter, and late embryogenesis abundant protein (LEA 3). The analysis also reported drought-responsive transcription factors (TFs), such as NAC, WRKY, GRAS, and MYB families. The relative expression of genes by qRT-PCR revealed consistency with the DEG analysis. Key genes involved in the wax biosynthesis pathway were mapped using the DEG data analysis. These results were positively correlated with epicuticular wax content and the wax depositions on the leaf surfaces, as evidenced by scanning electron microscope (SEM) image analysis. Further, these findings support the fact that enhanced wax deposits on the leaf surface had played a crucial role in combating the drought stress in cluster beans under drought stress conditions. In addition, this study provided a set of unknown genes and TFs that could be a source of engineering tolerance against drought stress in cluster beans.


After more than one year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disaster predicted in Africa by experts has not occurred. The present review aimed to discuss factors which may have played an important role in this low incidence. The analysis of data provided by the WHO database and the ECDC (European Center for Disease Prevention and Control) was made. Using explicit reasoning and existing data, the most significant factors were listed and discussed. We found that Africa had the lowest percentage of COVID-19 cases per population (0.33%) and various factors such as rapid reactions, effective preventive measures, demographics, the impact of previous epidemics, genetic and immunity factors may have played an important role in this low incidence of the pandemic in Africa. It appears that Africa is globally less affected. Most of the factors discussed may have played an important role, but the genetic hypothesis and the potential undercount of cases, less studied to date, should be investigated.


As discussed in Part 1 of this paper, the silicosis litigation class actions against gold mining companies in South Africa in the 21st century have influenced the Occupational Health Southern Africa editors to include a series of papers covering occupational health litigation. This series, written through the eyes of an occupational hygienist, using the definition of 'litigation' as "the process of taking legal action", will travel, in general, from the 19th century to the current silicosis litigation in South Africa. The second paper in this series, dealing with 'slavery', will travel back to antiquity. The series will also trace the development of industrial/occupational hygiene as we know the terms today, to add to the published history on this subject and because their development can often be linked to occupational health litigation.


Active distribution networks are being challenged by frequent and rapid voltage violations due to renewable energy integration. Conventional model-based voltage control methods rely on accurate parameters of the distribution networks, which are difficult to achieve in practice. This paper proposes a novel physical-model-free two-timescale voltage control framework for active distribution systems. To achieve fast control of PV inverters, the whole network is first partitioned into several sub-networks using voltage-reactive power sensitivity. Then, the scheduling of PV inverters in the multiple sub-networks is formulated as Markov games and solved by a multi-agent soft actor-critic (MASAC) algorithm, where each sub-network is modeled as an intelligent agent. All agents are trained in a centralized manner to learn a coordinated strategy while being executed based on only local information for fast response. For the slower time-scale control, OLTCs and switched capacitors are coordinated by a single agent-based SAC algorithm using the global information with considering control behaviors of the inverters. Particularly, the two-level agents are trained concurrently with information exchange according to the reward signal calculated from the data-driven surrogate model. Comparative tests with different benchmark methods on IEEE 33- and 123-bus systems and 342-node low voltage distribution system demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively mitigate the fast voltage violations and achieve systematical coordination of different voltage regulation assets without the knowledge of accurate system model.


Network and Digital Forensics provide information about electronic activity in new, sometimes unprecedented forms. These new forms offer new, powerful tactical tools for investigations of electronic malfeasance when incorporated under traditional legal regulation of state power, particular that of Fourth Amendment limitations on police searches and seizures under the U.S. Constitution. These tactical tools raise issues of public policy and privacy that may raise concerns about the proper police oversight of civil society. How those issues are resolved will define personal privacy, autonomy and dignity in the 21st digital century.


It is widely believed that autoimmunity is an integral part of the immune system, and that genetic, immunologic, hormonal, environmental and other factors contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmune disease. Thus, autoimmune disease may represent an abnormal expression of immune functions instead of loss of tolerance to self, and it can be organ specific or systemic in its manifestations. We review the various factors that contribute to the development of autoimmune disease; we also review the mechanisms of polyclonal B-cell activation, with emphasis on the role of infectious agents. We consider systemic lupus erythematosus in humans and in experimental animals as prototypic autoimmune disease, and we summarize data to indicate that polyclonal B-cell activation is central to the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune disease. The effect of polyclonal B-cell activation, brought about by injections of a B-cell activator - lipopolysaccharide from Gram-negative bacteria—is sufficient to cause autoimmune disease in an immunologically normal host. In fact, autoimmune disease can be arrested if excessive polyclonal B-cell activation is suppressed; alternatively, autoimmune disease can be exacerbated if polyclonal B-cell activation is enhanced. We explore the mechanism of tissue injury when autoimmune disease is induced or exacerbated, and we consider the pathogenic roles of autoantibodies, immune complexes, complement, the blood cell carrier system, and the mononuclear phagocyte system. Although polyclonal B-cell activation may be the mechanism whereby various factors can cause or exacerbate systemic autoimmune disease, polyclonal B-cell activation may cause autoimmune disease on its own.


A valve assembly (106) for an electromagnetically actuated viscous clutch (100) includes a cover plate (140) defining a seating portion configured to selectively cover an opening (138) from a reservoir (112), a flexible mounting plate (142), and an armature (144) that is movable in response to applied magnetic flux to move the cover plate (140) relative to the opening (138) from the reservoir (112). The armature (144) includes a base portion (146) connected to the cover plate (140) and the mounting plate (142), and a finger (148) extending from the base portion (146). The finger (148) and the base portion (146) define a path for conducting magnetic flux.


In this paper, we present results on the implementation of a hierarchical quaternion based attitude and trajectory controller for manual and autonomous flights of quadrotors. Unlike previous papers on using quaternion representation, we use the nonlinear complementary filter that estimates the attitude in quaternions and as such does not involve Euler angles or rotation matrices. We show that for precise trajectory tracking, the resulting attitude error dynamics of the system is non-autonomous and is almost globally asymptotically and locally exponentially stable under the proposed control law. We also show local exponential stability of the translational dynamics under the proposed trajectory tracking controller which sits at the highest level of the hierarchy. Thus by input-to-state stability, the entire system is locally exponentially stable. The quaternion based observer and controllers are available as open-source.


A study of 419 first admissions to a private general hospital psychiatric inpatient unit showed that only 8.8 per cent were blacks, while 23 per cent of the population in the community were blacks. When compared to white patients, blacks were much less likely to be rerred for hospitalization by private sources, were substantially younger, and had shorter hospitalizations. The most common diagnosis for blacks was paranoid schizophrenia. The authors conclude that despite the widespread availability of third-party insurance coverage, blacks use the private general hospital less ofter than whites and their patterns of use are substantially different.


Context Dyslipidemias, disorders of lipid metabolism, are important risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). Identification of children with dyslipidemias could lead to interventions aimed at decreasing their risk of CHD as adults. Objective To determine the strengths and limits of evidence about the effectiveness of selecting, testing, and managing children and adolescents with dyslipidemia in the course of routine primary care. Screening children and adolescents has the potential to identify three groups with dyslipidemia: those with 1) undiagnosed monogenic dyslipidemia, 2) undiagnosed secondary dyslipidemia, and 3) idiopathic dyslipidemia (polygenic, risk factor associated, or multifactorial). Key questions examined a chain of evidence about the accuracy and feasibility of screening children in various settings, tracking of lipid levels through childhood to adulthood, role of risk factors in selecting children for screening, effectiveness of interventions for children identified with dyslipidemia, and adverse effects of screening and interventions. Data Sources Relevant studies were identified from multiple searches of MEDLINE, PsychInfo, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews and controlled clinical trials, and EMBASE (1966 to September 2005). Additional articles were obtained from recent systematic reviews, reference lists of pertinent studies, reviews, editorials, and websites, and by consulting experts. Study Selection Eligible studies were applicable to U.S. clinical practice, available in English, and provided primary data relevant to key questions. Cohort studies were used for assessment of risk factors. Comparative and non-comparative prospective studies of screening for dyslipidemia in children provided information on the efficacy of these programs and the accuracy of screening with family history information. Randomized, non-randomized and non-comparative studies were used for assessment of risk factors. Only randomized controlled trials were considered for examining the effectiveness of interventions. Studies of children with previously diagnosed monogenic dyslipidemia were considered for the evaluation of treatment because those are the only children in whom some drugs have been tested. Data Extraction Data were extracted from each study and entered into evidence tables. Data Synthesis Studies were summarized by descriptive methods and rated for quality using criteria developed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Normal values for lipids for children and adolescents are currently defined according to population levels (percentiles). More recent studies indicate age, sex, and racial differences and temporal trends that shift cut points. Tracking of lipid levels through childhood is strongest for TC and LDL. Approximately 40–55% of children with elevated total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) defined by percentile will continue to have elevated lipids on follow-up. Current screening recommendations based on family history will fail to detect substantial numbers (30–60%) of children with elevated lipids. Evidence from epidemiologic studies establish a strong statistical association between overweight and elevations in lipids whereas other risk factors (diet, physical inactivity, aerobic capacity/fitness, puberty level and smoking) have not been adequately assessed. Currently recommended screening strategies have limited diagnostic accuracy, low adherence to guidelines by providers, and limited compliance by parents and children. No trials compare strategies of screening in children. Parental non-compliance with screening and follow-up recommendations is reported. Drug treatment for dyslipidemia in children has been studied only in children with familial monogenic dyslipidemias (familial hypercholesterolemia [FH] or familial combined hyperlipidemia [FCH]). In this population, 9 randomized controlled trials demonstrate the effectiveness of statins for reducing TC and LDL (% mean reduction from meta-analysis of trials: 24.4%[95% CI 19.5, 29.2] for TC, 30.8% [95% CI 24.1, 37.5] for LDL, 8 studies). Two fair quality trials showed benefit from bile acid binding resins. Randomized controlled trials of diet supplements (psyllium, oat, garlic extract, and sterol margarine) and advice showed marginal improvements in lipids in children with monogenic dyslipidemia. For children without monogenic dyslipidemia, a good quality study showed that high intensity counseling is effective in reducing TC and LDL levels while the intervention is sustained, but not after it ceases. Other studies of diet advice showed no or minimal improvement. Dietary fiber supplements had mixed results in two trials in children and adolescents without monogenic dyslipidemia, and one oat bran supplement trial showed no effect. Six trials of exercise demonstrated little or no improvements in lipids for children without monogenic dyslipidemia (% mean reduction from meta-analysis of trials: 0% [-5.6, 5.6] for TC, 3.1% [-7.7, 1.5] for LDL, 4 studies). Eighty-one controlled and non-controlled studies of treatment reported a variety of adverse effects of drug, diet, exercise, and combination therapy in children and adolescents. There are reports of growth retardation and nutritional dwarfing in children and adolescents for whom formal dietary assessment and advice was delayed. Although reported adverse effects were not serious, studies were generally small and not of sufficient duration to determine long-term effects of either short or extended use. Conclusions Normal values for lipids for children and adolescents are currently defined according to population levels (percentiles). Tracking of lipid levels in children is variable, although evidence is stronger for TC and LDL than for HDL and TG. Screening using family history misses substantial numbers of children with elevated lipids. Most trials of drug interventions demonstrate improvement, but these trials were performed in selected groups of children. Several key questions could not be addressed because of lack of studies, including the effectiveness of screening on adult CHD or lipid outcomes, optimal ages and intervals for screening children, cost-effectiveness of screening, or the effects of treatment of lipids in childhood on adult CHD outcomes. Keywords Dyslipidemia; Children; Screening.


Many countries in the world depended on theirindustrial sectorsas impetus to rapid economic development.This is made possible by diversifying primaryresources such as labour and/or material inputsincreating value-added chains, mobility ofactivities in varying economic sectors, expand workers and capital capability as well asincreasingoutput and exportsof goods that resulted in enhancing economic development.In addition to diversifying production from agriculture to manufacturing activities, many countries rely on their own industries to develop their economic development rapidly by shifting production activities from a group of industries to another, which are considered as key sectors. The above process is essentially shifting the production activities in favor of those with higher valueadded, skill level and export orientation. Current economic uncertainties nevertheless are pressured more by external uncertainties than the domestic demands whose changes have impacted industrial shifts in Malaysia. Exogenous changes particularly from rising world price of crude oil had certainly impacted the economy. The proposed paper will examine the impact of these exogenous changes on the macroeconomic variables such as growth, employment, inflation, private consumption and household"s welfare and on industrial performances by employing MIER-CGE macroeconomic model. By simulating anominal wage and crude oil price increase, estimates on important macroeconomic variables are expected to assist in examining policy solutions towards overcoming issues that hinders towards rapid economic development.


BACKGROUND
According to the National Health and Nutrition Survey of 2012, more than a quarter of older adults (26.9%) have some degree of disability, requiring a primary caregiver to perform basic activities of daily living. The aim is to determine the prevalence of depression and burden on primary caregivers of elderly persons with physical dependence.

METHODS
A descriptive cross-sectional study with non-probability sampling that included the primary caregivers of elderly patients with physical dependence. Barthel scale was applied as a tool to measure the level of physical dependence in elderly patients; while the primary caregivers were applied to the Beck Depression and Zarit scale for assessing the level of caregiver burden. A sample of 76 primary caregivers was calculated and descriptive statistical analysis was performed.

RESULTS
Of the 76 primary caregivers, 55.3% were without depression, 32.9% had mild depression, and 11.8% with moderate depression. According to the Zarit scale, 40.8% had no burden, 44.7% had burden light, and 14.5% intense burden.

CONCLUSIONS
The role of primary caregiver is a stressful task which can interfere with their family health; so our role is to provide care not only to the geriatric dependent patients, but also to their caregiver.


A degenerate four-wave mixing experiment with the solutions of some dyes has been performed using 10 ns pulses at 530 nm. Large resonant and off-resonant third order hyperpolarizabilities were obtained.


The file tracking system has been one of the areas of concern in most of our organizations. Much research over the years has been carried out to tackle the problem of file monitoring system in our institutions. As we all know large volumes of data are usually generated in most institutions of learning today. Locating files using the manual method is a tedious and time-consuming process for most of our administrative staff of such institutions. This paper aims to analyze and propose a file tracking system that will eliminate the problem caused by the manual system of a file monitoring system. This can be achieved by interviewing the staff who is in charge of the file monitoring system in the institution. The proposed system was designed based on the information gathered from staff using UML diagrams such as use case diagrams and easy designer to create a database diagram. Which helps in managing the flow of files effectively and efficiently. All the files such as reports, decisions, requests, and location history can be processed and tracked by the system at any period.


This paper describes a 80 ns, 2.7 V to 3.6 V single voltage supply 8 Mb/spl times/16 flash memory. It uses a high speed Vcc detector to control the wordline boost level and an intelligent programming algorithm to optimize the program time. Erase is achieved by a new low Vcc negative charge pump. The device is fabricated using a 0.5 /spl mu/m design rule, double layer metal, dual layer polysilicon, and triple well CMOS. The single transistor cell size is 1.7/spl times/1.7 /spl mu/m/sup 2/. The memory cell uses a conventional drain side channel hot electron for programming and negative gate Fowler-Nordheim tunneling on the source side for erase.


Sports participation is not without risk, and most athletes incur at least one injury throughout their careers. Combat sports are popular all around the world, and about one-third of their injuries result in more than 7 days of absence from competition or training. The most frequently injured body regions are the head and neck, followed by the upper and lower limbs, while the most common tissue types injured are superficial tissues and skin, followed by ligaments and joint capsules. Nutrition has significant implications for injury prevention and enhancement of the recovery process due to its effect on the overall physical and psychological well-being of the athlete and improving tissue healing. In particular, amino acid and protein intake, antioxidants, creatine, and omega-3 are given special attention due to their therapeutic roles in preventing muscle loss and anabolic resistance as well as promoting injury healing. The purpose of this review is to present the roles of various nutritional strategies in reducing the risk of injury and improving the treatment and rehabilitation process in combat sports. In this respect, nutritional considerations for muscle, joint, and bone injuries as well as sports-related concussions are presented. The injury risk associated with rapid weight loss is also discussed. Finally, preoperative nutrition and nutritional considerations for returning to a sport after rehabilitation are addressed.


The emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria, necessitated the discovery and development of alternative therapy to bacterial infections. This work assessed the inhibitory property of ethanolic leaf extract of Eucalyptus citriodora against clinical isolate and E. coli ATCC 35218. Agar well diffusion test was used to determine the antibacterial activity of the extract on both isolates of E. coli. For both isolates, no zone of inhibition was observed at concentrations of the extract between 50-150 mg/ml, but at 200-500 mg/ml, there were significant (P>0.05) zones of inhibitions that ranged between 4.2 – 13.7 and 4.7 – 15.4 mm for clinical isolate and E. coli ATCC 35218 respectively. The susceptibility of both isolates to conventional antibiotics revealed ciprofloxacin (10 ug) having the highest inhibitions against both isolates (17.3 mm and 13.9 mm) respectively, followed by gentamycin (14.4 mm and 10.8 mm). The clinical isolate was resistant to amoxicillin (30 ug), while E. coli ATCC 35218 was susceptible (4.3 mm). The MIC of the extract for both isolates was 200 mg/ml while the MBCs were 300 and 350 mg/ml respectively. The inhibitory activities of the extract (15.4 mm and 13.7mm) at 500 mg/ml concentration is comparable with ciprofloxacin (17.3 mm and 13.9 mm) at a concentration of 10 µg, while that of Gentamycin at 30 µg (14.4 mm and 10.8 mm) is comparable with concentration of the extract at 450 mg/ml (13.7 mm and 11.3 mm). The zones of inhibitions produced by the extract increased with increasing concentrations. This study revealed the potency of E. citriodora ethanolic leaf extract as a future herbal candidate to treat infection caused by E. coli at high concentrations of the extract.


This paper investigates the secure transmission of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals, masked under non-orthogonal FDM signals of approximately the same overall bandwidth. Carrier orthogonality of traditional OFDM is intentionally violated in order to generate an encrypted signal at the physical layer, without any loss in bandwidth efficiency or extra overhead. A symmetric secret key is used for the modulation of part of the FDM signal while the original information symbol modulates the remaining carriers. The encrypted FDM signal generation takes place in an IFFT stage by simple truncation of part of its output. At the receiver, a straightforward suppression of the induced Inter-Carrier Interference (ICI) is performed before the OFDM demodulator, based on knowledge of the secret key. The key holder subsequently uses the traditional OFDM FFT demodulator to extract the information symbol. We demonstrate that an eavesdropper cannot demodulate the transmitted FDM signal by reduced complexity detection methods due to its severe ill-conditioning. Conversely, they have to rely on vectorial Maximum Likelihood detection of exponential complexity. Furthermore, in real noisy environments the eavesdropper detection capability is further affected by the abrupt shrinking of the FDM demodulator detection regions.