Many Members of the intracellular nucleotide binding and oligomerisation domain(NOD)-like receptor (NLR) family have functions in the innate immune system. The NLR NOD1 acts as pattern recognition receptor and confers immune responses against a broad range of bacteria by triggering NF-kappaB and MAPK signalling cascades upon detection of bacterial peptidoglycan. This contributes to bacterial clearance, to the onset of a pro-inflammatory immune response and the release of anti-microbial peptides. As overwhelming inflammatory responses can be detrimental to the host, inflammatory signalling cascades have to be tightly controlled. Even though the main components of the NOD1 signalling cascade are identified,little is known about the regulation and fine-tuning so far.

In this project, we identified novel components of the NOD1 signalling pathway by an auto-mated high-throughput siRNA screen using a cell based NF-kappaB reporter system in epithelial HEK293T cells. To this end,we screened the human druggable genome siRNA library for NOD1-mediated NF-kappaB activation upon stimulation with the elicitor Tri-DAP. Hits specifically involved in NOD1-mediated NF-kappaB activation were identified using TNF-α-stimulation as differential read-out. Finally, these hits were validated in myeloid THP1 cells. Beside the established NOD1 pathway component RIP2, the combined screening steps identified the BIRC family member XIAP as the strongest inhibiting hit. Follow-up experiments confirmed XIAP as an essential component of NOD1-mediated responses to the minimal NOD1 elicitor and to Shigella flexneri. We also revealed that XIAP contributes to responses mediated by the closely related NOD2 protein. In line with a recent report, we provide evidence that XIAP acts upstream of the IKK complex in the NOD1 signalling cascade.
Strikingly, the screen revealed that the type II BMP receptor BMPR-2 is specifically involved in NOD1 signalling. Further experiments confirmed these findings and revealed that BMPR-2 positively regulates NOD1 signalling, likely by contributing to stabilisation of XIAP.
Furthermore, we analysed the contributions of the BIRC proteins BIRC2 and BIRC3, which are closely related to XIAP, and of the other human BIRC proteins to NOD1-mediated responses. By using siRNA-mediated gene knock-down, we confirmed that BIRC2 positively regulates NOD1 signalling. Furthermore, we provide evidence that also BIRC5 and BIRC8, which have not been linked to innate immunity so far, positively contribute to NOD1-mediated inflammatory responses.

Another event in NOD signalling that is still not fully understood is how bacterial peptidoglycan is translocated to the cytoplasm of host cells, as extracellular bacteria are known to activate NOD1 as well as NOD2. In the second part of this project, we analysed if bacterial outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) might serve as carriers for peptidoglycan. We provide clear evidence that OMVs derived from the extracellular pathogen Vibrio cholerae are internalised by host cells, contain peptidoglycan and trigger NOD1- and NOD2-dependent inflammatory responses. OMVs derived from bacteria deficient for HapR, a master regulator of quorum sensing that represses the expression of virulence genes, induced markedly lower NOD-mediated inflammatory responses than OMVs derived from WT bacteria. In contrast, the overall peptidoglycan composition and the inflammatory potential of bacterial lysates derived from deltahapR compared to WT bacteria did not change. We conclude that V. cholerae uses quorum sensing to influence the pepdidoglycan content of OMVs, to prevent detection by the host innate immune system under virulent conditions.


SUMMARY The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is mutated in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The most common CF-associated mutation is deletion of phenylanine at residue 508, CFTRΔF508. When expressed in heterologous cells, CFTR bearing the ΔF508 mutation fails to progress through the normal biosynthetic pathway and fails to traffic to the plasma membrane. As a result, CFTRΔF508 is mislocalized and is not present in the apical membrane of primary cultures of airway epithelia. Consequently, the apical membrane of CF airway epithelia is Cl−-impermeable, a defect that probably contributes to the pathogenesis of the disease.


This paper contributes new empirical evidence on the relationship between productivity and international trade. This is accomplished using an econometric approach that combines input-output and productivity data, which allows a more detailed tracking of the relationship between trade in intermediate and final products and productivity in countries at different stages of economic development. The results show that various forms of trade integration strongly support productivity in emerging economies. Exporting final products, importing intermediates for domestic production and re-exporting are all associated with higher productivity levels, pointing to the particular importance for this country grouping of being able to integrate into regional and global value chains. Our results emphasise also important linkages between different economic sectors and call for broad-based approaches to facilitating integration with foreign intermediate inputs and final products markets.


Glycine acts as an obligatory co-agonist with glutamate on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. Brain glycine availability is determined by glycine transporters (GlyT1 or SLC6A9), which mediate glycine reuptake into nerve terminals. Since hypofunction of NMDA receptors has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, this study tests the hypothesis that GlyT1 genetic variants confer susceptibility to schizophrenia. Four GlyT1 polymorphisms were studied in a sample population of 249 people with schizophrenia and 210 normal controls. One polymorphism (rs16831541) was not informative in our Chinese population while the other three polymorphisms (rs1766967, rs2248632 and rs2248253) were analysed with chi-square tests and haplotype analysis. Significant linkage disequilibrium was obtained among the three polymorphisms. Neither single marker nor haplotype analysis revealed an association between variants at the GlyT1 locus and schizophrenia, suggesting that it is unlikely that the GlyT1 polymorphisms investigated play a substantial role in conferring susceptibility to schizophrenia in the Chinese population. Further studies with other GIyT1 variants, relating either to schizophrenia, psychotic symptoms or to therapeutic response in schizophrenia, are suggested.


In May 2008, the commission on growth and development (the growth commission) issued its report entitled 'the growth report'. In it the commission attempted to distill what had been learned in the past two decades, from experience and academic and policy research, about strategies and policies that produced sustained high growth in developing countries. It became clear in the course of the work that politics, leadership, and political economy (the interaction of economic and political forces and choices) were centrally important ingredients in the story. Dealing with the politics and the interaction of political and economic forces is a work in progress in research, an important one. Given this breadth, one of the editors' roles is to focus the reader's attention on what they take to be common issues across these chapters. These common problems are fourfold: (1) promoting national unity; (2) building good, solid institutions; (3) choosing innovative and localized policies; and (4) creating political consensus for long-run policy implementation. This report represent an excellent first step toward understanding the role of leadership in generating economic growth, and the author hope that they generate ideas and lead to new research on the problem of leadership in economic growth.


Our own experience, and a review of the American literature, suggests a number of areas in the diagnosis and follow-up of prostate cancer in which transrectal ultrasonography is a useful adjunct. Accurate clinical staging in patients with known prostate cancer is an obvious area in which this technique had ready and practical impact. Its performance prior to radical prostatectomy should facilitate further ultrasonographic and histopathologic correlation. This imaging modality may be coupled with other devices to guide in a precise manner subsequent biopsy or implantation. Further collaborative efforts in this area are likely to result in a number of new and ingenious methods of mapping the prostate gland for further diagnostic or therapeutic intervention with pinpoint accuracy. At present, one of the most useful applications of transrectal ultrasound is in determining local response to therapy, whether hormonal, radiotherapeutic, or chemotherapeutic. Normalization of the prostatic image is seen in patients sustaining a favorable response to therapy. It is most likely that changes in the prostate following hormonal therapy or chemotherapy for metastatic prostate cancer would mirror the systemic response to therapy, but the correlation of local and systemic response to treatment requires further study and analysis. Finally, there are unresolved problems in the use and interpretation of transrectal ultrasonography as currently employed. Most significantly, ultrasonographic criteria for the diagnosis of prostate cancer are lacking. The internal echo patterns in particular which characterizes prostate cancer defy precise definition, and prostate disorders may be identified with high sensitivity but low specificity. More recent and convincing reports indicate that most prostate cancers are hypoechoic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The rapid development of computing technology has made powerful tools, such as finite element codes, available for more and more companies. The use of simulation tools, predictive engineering, is a prerequisite today in product development. To describe the material deformation a variety of constitutive models, based both on physical foundations and empirical considerations, are available. Common for all models is that they contain material parameters, which have to be estimated by utilising experimental methods. Despite the advanced numerical tools, the most common method to characterise materials in industry today is to use standard tensile tests. Those tests have a major drawback. When the loading is no longer homogenous, and plastic instability has initiated, the stress-strain relationship is no longer valid. The aim for this work is to investigate methods for parameter estimation in material models. The test material used is hot-rolled cold-forming steel. A further aim is to yield stress-strain curves more appropriate for large deformations compared to a standard tensile test. The main features are the use of experiments, finite element analysis (FEA) and inverse modelling combined. The parameter estimation is formulated as an inverse problem and an objective function, describing the residual error between experimental data and data from a FEA of the experiment, is formulated as a least-square functional. The objective function is minimised by an optimisation algorithm yielding a vector of best fit, or estimated, material parameters. Two approaches are investigated. One global, where experimental data from a forming experiment is used. Data is in the form of tool force and displacement, hence global data. This is in contrast with a local approach where in-plane full-field measurements of displacements on a flat specimen (hence, local data), subjected to a tensile test, are collected through the whole deformation history until fracture. The measurements are made with digital speckle photography (DSP). Parameters are estimated for a total of three different material models, assuming isotropic material properties and yield surface according to von Mises. Results from the global approach show significant difference in the stress-strain curves and a force response with optimised models compared to an extrapolated tensile test curve. In the local approach the DSP-technique provided measurements, where the maximum equivalent plastic strain in a specimen was approximately 0.8. The true stress-strain curves based on the estimated parameters are validated in the low strain region by comparison with curves from standard tension tests.


Pyrene dye has many superior characteristics for oxygen sensing studies such as long fluorescence lifetime, high quantum yield, and good sensitivity. It is preferred in some cases over ruthenium dyes for its more lipophilic character and higher sensitivity. However, easy photodegradation of pyrene is a challenging problem. In this study, pyrene dye was for the first time immobilized in an ethyl cellulose matrix and used for oxygen sensing in the form of thin films and electrospun sensing slides. The hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate was used as additive for the first time for dissolved oxygen sensing studies. The oxygen sensitivity of the dye was evaluated with both steady state- and fluorescence lifetime-based measurements. The sensing slides were stable for 45 min under continuous irradiation and could be stored for 100 days under ambient laboratory conditions. This storage time is the longest reported lifetime for pyrene-based sensors. The enhanced stability can be attributed to the presence of ionic liquid, which behaves like a sink for oxidative, reductive, acidic, and/or basic effects. The sensor response time was between 6 and 20 s, depending on the oxygen concentration. The method can be applied for both dissolved and gaseous oxygen measurements.


We studied the development of NCAM and gap junctional communication, and their mutual relationship in chick neuroectoderm in vitro. Expression of NCAM, as detected by monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, and development of junctional communication, as detected by extensive cell-to-cell transfer of 400-500-D fluorescent tracers, occurred in cultures from stage-2 embryos onward. Both expressions presumably required primary induction. The differentiating cells formed discrete fields of expression on the second to third day in culture, with the NCAM fields coinciding with the junctional communication fields delineated by the tracers. Other neural differentiations developed in the following order: tetanus toxin receptors, neurofilament protein, and neurite outgrowth. Chronic treatment with antibody Fab fragments against NCAM interfered with the development of communication, suggesting that NCAM-mediated adhesion promotes formation of cell-to-cell channels. Temperature-sensitive mutant Rous sarcoma virus blocked (reversibly) communication and the subsequent development of neurofilament protein and neurites, but expression of NCAM continued.


This thesis explores the motivations, patterns and dynamics of young offenders' illicit drug use in prison. Based on qualitative research with thirty inmates and ten prison officers in a Young Offenders Institution the thesis describes the nature of inmates' drug use; the impact of the prison context on inmates' motivations to use; and the relationship between time and drug use. Drug markets, the nature of drug supply and their relationship with the dominant inmate culture is also discussed. The theory of legitimacy is related to staff and inmates' attitudes towards drug control and mandatory drug testing in prison.

The conclusion identifies four main factors that influenced inmates' drug use in prison: individual, structural, relational and societal. Individual factors relate to the inmates' drug use before custody, stressing the need to understand the connection between inmates' drug using lifestyles outside and inside prison. Structural factors relate to the structures and regimes in prison. The organisation of prison life influenced when drugs were used and the motivation for using. The relational factors highlight the extent to which staff prisoner relationships influence trafficking and drug use in prison. Understanding inmates' relationships also provides an insight into drug markets, supply and distribution in custody. As neither the staff nor the inmates are immune to changing attitudes towards drugs, the societal factor highlights the broader structural context of drug use and considers the importance of understanding the complexity and continuity of inmates' drug use and offending, in order to effectively tackle their behaviour in prison.


Robotics is a science, which aims at controlling mechanical systems through electrical systems and computer techniques. Robotics has a high rate of applicability but, in order to make it easier to comprehend when it comes to learning processes, methodologies that enhance the student's performance and learning curve, like the project-based learning method, are indispensable. The project-based learning technique diverges from the conventional approach, as it makes the many students the object itself of their learning development, by giving them the power of choice and major control over the entire process. This article aims at presenting the project developed by students from the "Robotics and Its Elements" class ministered at Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto UFOP. The project dealt with concepts, approaches, explanations, and techniques that created a robot-cell (Melfa RV-2AJ and its peripherals) which used the ROS framework system alongside computer vision resources. The robot, after its completion, was able to perform repetitive tasks such as the detection and gathering of specific physical elements – it can manipulate them properly. To make those tasks possible, a Kinect camera was used to obtain data such as the depth and location of the elements which were in the robot's range of grasp. In addition, a detection mechanism derived from the combination of an open source graphic library called OpenCV with the usage of the HSV color system was an important accessory, so that color calibration and orientation addressed properly. Finally, the designated framework (ROS) suited to establish a connection between the robot and its whole operational environment, in order to make the data-sharing and input signal both able to work over the robot's mobility.


Summary:The pathogenesis of syringomyelia of Arnold-Chiari malformation (ACM) has been debated for decades. Theories abound; each fits some cases, but none fits all. Recently, it seems clear that the herniation of the cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum is the most constant feature of ACM. The herniated cerebellar tonsils at the foramen magnum may induce three events: (a) a check-valve effect at the central canal of the spinal cord, (b) a functional occlusion of the subarachnoid space at the foramen magnum, and (c) a functional occlusion of the foramen of Magendie due to mass effect, scarring arachnoiditis, or both. Mathematically, eight pathological possibilities may spring from the three events. An analysis of the eight pathological possibilities comes to the conclusion that a block of the subarachnoid space at the foramen magnum is a prerequisite for the pathogenesis of syringomyelia. The hydrodynamic theory of Gardner is applicable to one of the conditions where the outlet of the fourth ventricle is inadequate and the check-valve effect at the central canal of the spinal cord is absent. The therapeutic implications from such a conclusion are discussed.


Background The Inflectra (infliximab) product monograph indicates slightly higher aggregate proportions than the reference product Remicade. Purpose To evaluate the similarity between the reference Remicade and its marketed biosimilar Inflectra by means of tracking the aggregate contained in several solutions prepared in conditions for hospital use, in a stability study over time stored at 4°C. Similarity of reconstituted medicines regarding aggregate content when subjected to freeze/thaw cycles was also assessed. Material and methods Two vials of Remicade and Inflectra were used. Three concentrations (10 mg/mL reconstituted with water, and 5 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL in NaCl 0.9%) were analysed. The aggregates profile was obtained by size exclusion high performed liquid chromatography with diode array detection (SE-HPLC-DAD). Samples were analysed immediately after the solutions were prepared and the chromatographic aggregate profiles recorded were compared with those obtained periodically in the samples stored at 4°C for up to 15 days and in the samples which underwent several freeze (−20°C)/thaw cycles. Results Aggregate chromatographic profiles clearly indicated the presence of aggregates in reconstituted (10 mg/mL) and diluted 5 mg/mL Inflectra samples as natural infliximab aggregates. No aggregates were detected in the 2 mg/mL dilution. These profiles were unchanged over time, and for the freeze/thaw cycles of the reconstituted samples. For Remicade, no aggregates were detected in the chromatographic profiles until day 15; and no aggregates were detected for the reconstituted samples after the freeze/thaw cycles. Conclusion Remicade and its biosimilar Inflectra showed slight differences regarding aggregates, with natural aggregates in Inflectra that persisted in dilutions up to 5 mg/mL and over time when stored at 4°C. Inflectra seemed to be more stable regarding the aggregation process, since the aggregation profiles remained unchanged over the time period. Remicade suffered some degradation that led to the formation of aggregates on day 15 day after preparation of the solutions. No new aggregation was induced in both medicines after five cycles of freeze/thaw. Therefore, and despite the initial slightly higher content of aggregates in Inflectra, in use stabilities of the biosimilar and the reference medicine were similar. References and/or acknowledgements Financial support provided by Project PI10/00201, and therefore it was partially supported by the European Regional Development Funds (ERDF). No conflict of interest


This paper describes the problem of Privacy Preserving Data Mining (PPDM). It describes some of the common cryptographic tools and constructs used in several PPDM techniques. The paper describes an overview of some of the well known PPDM algorithms, - ID3 for decision tree, association rule mining, EM clustering, frequency mining and Naive Bayes. Most of these algorithms are usually a modification of a well known data mining algorithm along with some privacy preserving techniques. The paper finally describes the problem of using a model without knowing the model rules on context of passenger classification at the airlines security checkpoint by homeland security. This paper is intended to be a summary and a high level overview of PPDM.


An efficient method of face detection based on two-dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) incorporating with support vector machine (SVM) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a 2DPCA coarse filter with relatively lower computational complexity is applied to the whole input image to filter out most of the non-face, then follows the SVM classifier to make the final decision, so the detection process is speeded up. As opposed to PCA, 2DPCA is based on 2D image matrices rather than ID vector so the image matrix does not need to be transformed into a vector prior to feature extraction. The experiment results show that the method can effectively detect faces under complicated background, and the processing time is shorter than using SVM alone


Each plant has a story, one that reflects the distance traveled from its ancient geographical origins, from wild to domesticated forms, and ultimately to culinary, cultural, medical, and social uses in the 21st century. Herbs and spices have taken these winding historical paths, and the journeys reflect myriad uses by widely different cultures because they ultimately reach our kitchens, serving plates, and palates.


This paper studies the incentives to undertake uncertain R&D initiatives in a dynamic duopoly network industry. It is shown that network externalities positively affect the incentives to invest in R&D. In the model, competition resembles a preemption race and, therefore, market performance implies an overinvestment in R&D in comparison with the social optimum. Moreover, network externalities have an important impact in the dynamic evolution of the industry. Although in the long-run a single firm dominates the market (i.e. wins the race), short-run competition is very fierce and concentrated on neck-and-neck technological configurations. This short-run competition is fiercer and longer, the higher the level of network externalities. Policy measures that increase technological diffusion (i.e. mandatory licensing), increase the level of competition and/or prolong the short-run competition have an important positive impact on consumer welfare and on firms? R&D incentives.


We consider an online preemptive scheduling problem where jobs with deadlines arrive sporadically. A commitment requirement is imposed such that the scheduler has to either accept or decline a job immediately upon arrival. The scheduler's decision to accept an arriving job constitutes a contract with the customer; if the accepted job is not completed by its deadline as promised, the scheduler loses the value of the corresponding job and has to pay an additional penalty depending on the amount of unfinished workload. The objective of the online scheduler is to maximize the overall profit, i.e., the total value of the admitted jobs completed before their deadlines less the penalty paid for the admitted jobs that miss their deadlines. We show that the maximum competitive ratio is 3 − √2 and propose a simple online algorithm to achieve this competitive ratio. The optimal scheduling includes a threshold admission and a greedy scheduling policies. The proposed algorithm has direct applications to the charging of plug-in hybrid electrical vehicles (PHEV) at garages or parking lots.


A systematic review of the literature was performed on the association of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) with malignancy. Hematological disorders are the most common association, particulalry non‐Hodgkin lymphoma. CIDP frequently precedes the malignancy diagnosis, and there is a favorable CIDP response to treatment more than 70% of the time. Melanoma is the second most common association and may be accompanied by antiganglioside antibodies; CIDP shows a good response to immunotherapy. Other cancers are rare, with variable timings and presentations but good responses to immunomodulation and/or cancer therapy. Unusual neurological features such as ataxia, distal/upper limb predominance, or cranial/respiratory/autonomic involvement may suggest associated malignancy as may abdominal pain, diarrhea/constipation, poor appetite/weight loss, dermatological lesions, and lymphadenopathy. In the appropriate clinical and electrophysiological setting, CIDP associated with cancer should be considered. Immunomodulatory therapy, cancer treatment alone, or a combination may be effective. Muscle Nerve 57: 875–883, 2018


A high‐energy Aptian–Albian platform margin in northern Oman fronted onto an open oceanic basin, making the area a valuable analogue for coeval guyot margins. Most similar aged carbonate margins described in the literature faced either intracratonic or minor oceanic basins. The studied margin is characterized by a stabilized outer rim, which, although it did not rise discernibly above the adjacent lagoonal deposits, flanked a steep upper slope (32–40°) basinwards with a relief of at least 30 m. Two main facies provided the rigidity of the outer margin: Lithocodium boundstones that constituted up to 50% of the rock volume; and marine fibrous cements that occluded up to 35% of primary pore space. In contrast, coral–rudist patches and other shelly sessile benthos were distributed irregularly, and the rudist bioherms of the outer margin were often disrupted, with shells being transported and redeposited. The inner margin is characterized by wedge‐shaped storm layers that radiate from the platform top lagoonwards, where they interdigitate with carbonate sands and small rudist bioherms. Polygenetic discontinuity surfaces that bear evidence of both marine hardground and subaerial exposure stages are prominent features of the margin. Throughout the latest Aptian to Middle Albian, the platform succession recorded some 30 relative sea‐level falls, of which seven reached amplitudes of many tens of metres. These seven high‐amplitude falls in sea level are recorded across the entire south‐eastern portion of the Arabian craton and are probably of eustatic origin.


nDevelopment of information technologies that accelerate played a role in improving the quality of every agency of services, Including agency engaged in savings and loans cooperative. Data processing in large numbers conducted in computerized able to minimize the wrong may happen due to human error And processing shorten time over human speed . System data processing savings and loan in cooperatives that is still done manually often causes a number of problems of them error in recording transactions savings and loan, searching the data and the data processing savings and loan transactions , the presence of duplicating data , and the provision of the report calls for a long time. Manual system make data inaccurate , was not very effective and efficient . A computerized system is expected to be the solution for the problems that occur. Waterfall used as the methodology to explain the live system . The writers use java programming language to designing programs loan and save cooperative and mysql format to manage the databases .The results of the study in the form of engineering desktop based programs as using software netbeans 1.8 IDE.
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Keywords: information system, savings and loans cooperative.


A vertically integrated, research-based approach to teaching the concept of energy in primary, middle and upper secondary schools was designed. In primary school, the energy concept is developed from the idea of a state property of bodies, occurring in four types, which transform from one to another during interactions. In middle school, transformations are analyzed in terms of variations in quantities associated with each energy type in simple experiments. In upper secondary school, the conservation of energy is addressed through the conversion of the different types into internal energy to identify their formal definitions. The learning process is monitored by means of students' responses to tutorials and pre/post-tests, and interviews.


Abstract. People are moving towards an automated strategy for building a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from a high-resolution Google Earth photograph as technology advances. Manually terrestrial measurements are both time and money costly. The automatic creation of DEMs became possible because to recent advances in image matching algorithms and intelligent filtering. The goal of this work is to give an overview of how to create DEMs automatically in the tough situation of a build-up area with the extraction of building points. The calculation of building heights, is to produce a digital elevation model, which may be easily obtained by collecting automatic Lidar point cloud data The estimation of building height with its shadow plays important role in determination. In this detection of shadow and removal of false shadow is also very important. During picture segmentation, shadow detection is performed. Statistical features are used to extract the suspected shadow. Support vector machine on IOOPL matching could effectively remove the shadow for shadow removal. The approach can successfully detect shadows in high-resolution remote sensing photos of cities and can effectively repair shadows at a rate of over 95%. SVM classifier with the accuracy of 92% as compared to others on lower end. The average variation in height estimation comes out to be 1.64 m. First, the building with height more than 20 m and slope more than 3 m, give significantly improved precision in determining building height. Second, the strategy is cost-effective because most RS images from Google Earth are free to use with less knowledge of RS is needed for computation.


The High Redundancy Actuator project deals with the construction of an actuator using many redundant actuation elements. Whilst this promises a high degree of fault tolerance, the high number of components poses a unique challenge from a control perspective, especially when actuation elements are used in series.
This paper describes how an adaptive control scheme can be used to deal with faults in a High Redundancy Actuator. This is based on previous results leading to a simplified model of the HRA with serial elements. In case of the fault, the parameters change, but the otherwise the deviation from the simplified model is minimal.
This approach has two benefits. For one, it can restore the original system dynamics even after a fault has occurred. The parameter estimate can also be used for health monitoring purposes, because it reflects the number of effective faults in the HRA.


This paper discusses in detail our approaches for producing the submitted summaries to TRECVID, including the two baseline methods. The cluster method performed well in terms of coverage, and adequately in terms of user satisfaction, but did take longer to review. We conducted additional evaluations using the same TRECVID assessment interface to judge 2 additional methods for summary generation: 25x (simple speed-up by 25 times), and pz (emphasizing pans and zooms). Human assessors show significant differences between the cluster, pz, and 25x approaches. The best coverage (text inclusion performance) is obtained by 25x, but at the expense of taking the most time to evaluate and perceived as the most redundant. Method pz was easier to use than cluster and had better performance on pan/zoom recall tasks, leading into discussions on how summaries can be improved with more knowledge of the anticipated users and tasks.


Knowledge has become increasingly relevant for organizations since the shift from an industrial economy based on assembly lines and hierarchical control to a global, decentralized, information-driven economy (Barua, 1996; Levine, 1995). Although knowledge is a wider concept than information because it is based also on expertise, we can consider the Information Management as the enabler for the Knowledge Management (KM). In particular, KM is viewed as an emergent process in which bits and pieces of information are integrated, within and across organizational boundaries, to produce and share new knowledge. Thus, the basic aim of KM is to capture and increase the knowledge of individuals. We are going to consider the perspective according to which the organization is a knowledge transfer system (Hertog and Huizenga, 2000), since virtual corporations are based on technological and communication means that help it. After defining why the knowledge dissemination is a win strategy for people within an organization, we are going to describe how managers can promote it. In this respect, we consider the cooperative banks experience in Italy very interesting. In order to exploit the power coming from their institutional network, they decide to create a unique knowledge management system in which competences and process are shared by all banks participating to the virtual network.


According to previous studies, papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) type 2 is known to have a poor prognosis, especially in cases with metastases. We report a case of pRCC that responded well to axitinib administered as second line therapy. The patient was a 52-year-old woman who presented at our hospital with an incidental tumor on the left kidney. She underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, and the pathological diagnosis was pRCC type 2, grade 3 pT1b. Multiple lung and bone metastases were observed following the four months, and histological findings of lung metastases was metastatic RCC. Although sunitinib was administered as first line therapy, tumor progression was observed after the first cycle of treatment. Therefore, axitinib (10 mg/day) was administrated as second-line therapy and was gradually increased to 14 mg/day. Five months after the administration of axitinib, the maximum tumor diameter of the lung metastases reduced by 83%. At present, eight months have passed since the start of axtinib administration, but the response was still maintained and the adverse events were generally tolerable.


Abstract In order to use renewable energy effectively, a multiple‐input multiple‐output power converter using the Flyback structure is developed in this paper. In this design, line power, solar energy, and a battery are used as input power sources. The output provides power to different loads and to charge a battery also. In the usual situation, the solar energy is used as the primary source. If the solar energy is insufficient, then the reserved energy in the battery is used to supply the loads. When both the battery and solar energy are insufficient, the system model switches to the power grid for supplying loads. This development uses a transformer together with a single chip controller to control the input activation and output feedback control. With the single chip controller, one transformer can achieved multiple‐input to multiple‐output functions which significantly reduce the volume and weight of the entire system, thereby achieving the goal of its being light, thin, short and small.


Tax treaty dispute resolution is neither efficient nor equitable at the moment. This is particularly problematic in light of countries' adopting aggressive tax policies to tackle base erosion and profit shifting practices, resulting in an increase in disputes. The MAP has had limited success, while discussions on new mechanisms to supplement the MAP (such as tax treaty arbitration) have proved controversial and have failed to bring developed and developing countries to a consensus. India has been one of the countries in vocal opposition to tax treaty arbitration, even as it staggers under the sheer volume of international tax disputes. Against this backdrop, this article proposes a workable means of tax treaty dispute resolution, with specific focus on the concerns expressed by India. The authors first analyse available domestic and international mechanisms in India for resolving disputes, including the MAP under tax treaties. The authors then evaluate the pros and cons of non-binding or binding solutions to supplement the MAP under tax treaties. Next, they examine concerns raised by developing countries, with specific reference to Indian constitutional and legal concerns as regards a binding dispute resolution regime. In light of this analysis, the authors propose a possible institutional framework for tax treaty dispute resolution tailored for India that takes into account these concerns and attempts to be both inclusive and equitable.


Background: Conventional clinical risk factors are imprecise for determining recurrence risk. Multigene classifiers may provide useful information to resolve treatment decisions in the presence of these risk factors. We assessed the impact of the 21-gene assay on frequency and cost of CT usage in ESBC patients with risk factors in Czech medical centers. Methods: Eligible patients had ER+, HER2-, N0, grade 2 tumors and one secondary risk factor (high Ki67, micrometastatic disease, low/negative progesterone receptor expression). Following surgery, a treatment recommendation was formulated, then the 21gene assay was ordered. Following receipt of the assay results, the treatment recommendation was reevaluated. Changes in treatment decision and influence of the assay result on treatment decision were recorded. Results: The study recruited 200 consecutive patients at 13 centers, with Recurrence Score data available for 196 (109 (55.6%) low, 75 (38.3%) intermediate, and 12 (6.1%) high Recurrence Score results). Overall, 63.7% of treatment recommendations changed after receipt of the assay result (62.2% switched from CHT to HT and 1.5% switched from HT to CHT). Most physicians agreed (59.5%) or strongly agreed (33.5%) that the 21-gene assay influenced their decision. Budget impact analysis in this patient population at the current 23% rate of testing, showed that utilization of the 21-gene assay results in a total budget impact of $183,019 in 2016 increasing to $279,806 in 2020. Conclusions: In this population of ESBC patients with grade 2 tumors the 21-gene assay reduced CT use by more than 60%, with >90% of physicians indicating that it influenced their treatment decision. The total budget impact of usage of the 21-gene assay in the Czech Republic is expected to be almost $282,851 per year in 2020, with part of the assay reimbursement cost compensated for by reduced CT usage. Further health economic studies are warranted to evaluate cost effectiveness.


How do human infants learn the causal dependencies between events? Evidence suggests that this remarkable feat can be achieved by observation of only a handful of examples. Many computational models have been produced to explain how infants perform causal inference without explicit teaching about statistics or the scientific method. Here, we propose a spiking neuronal network implementation that can be entrained to form a dynamical model of the temporal and causal relationships between events that it observes. The network uses spike-time dependent plasticity, long-term depression, and heterosynaptic competition rules to implement Rescorla-Wagner-like learning. Transmission delays between neurons allow the network to learn a forward model of the temporal relationships between events. Within this framework, biologically realistic synaptic plasticity rules account for well-known behavioral data regarding cognitive causal assumptions such as backwards blocking and screening-off. These models can then be run as emulators for state inference. Furthermore, this mechanism is capable of copying synaptic connectivity patterns between neuronal networks by observing the spontaneous spike activity from the neuronal circuit that is to be copied, and it thereby provides a powerful method for transmission of circuit functionality between brain regions.


The paper presents a first attempt towards unsupervised neural text simplification that relies only on unlabeled text corpora. The core framework is composed of a shared encoder and a pair of attentional-decoders, crucially assisted by discrimination-based losses and denoising. The framework is trained using unlabeled text collected from en-Wikipedia dump. Our analysis (both quantitative and qualitative involving human evaluators) on public test data shows that the proposed model can perform text-simplification at both lexical and syntactic levels, competitive to existing supervised methods. It also outperforms viable unsupervised baselines. Adding a few labeled pairs helps improve the performance further.


We investigate a `pseudo thermalization' effect, where an open quantum system coupled to several non-Markovian reservoirs presents an emergent thermal behaviour in spite of its coupling to a non-equilibrated environment. The thermal behaviour is visible at both static and dynamical levels and the system satisfies the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Our analysis is focused on the exactly solvable model of a weakly interacting driven-dissipative Bose gas in presence of frequency-dependent particle pumping and losses, and is based on a quantum Langevin theory, which we derive starting from a microscopical quantum optics model. For generic non-Markovian reservoirs, we demonstrate that the emergence of thermal properties occurs in the range of frequencies corresponding to low-energy excitations. For the specific case of non-Markovian baths verifying the Kennard-Stepanov relation, we show that pseudo-thermalization can instead occur at all energy scales. The possible implications regarding the interpretation of thermal laws in exciton-polariton low temperature experiments are discussed. We finally show that the presence of either a saturable pumping or a dispersive environment leads to a breakdown of the pseudo-thermalization effect.


Introduction/purpose The treatment of symptomatic chronic subdural hematomas is challenging. Patients are often elderly, on anticoagulation, and have multiple medical comorbidities. Less invasive surgical techniques such as the subdural evacuating port system (SEPS) have been supported in this high risk surgical patient population. However, there is a high rate of recurrence of chronic subdural hematomas requiring repeat intervention. Recurrence is thought to occur due to bleeding from the friable vascularized membranes that form in chronic subdural hematomas. Case reports suggest that embolization of the middle meningeal artery can reduce the arterial supply to the membranes and reduce recurrence rates. Materials and methods We present a case of a 74-year-old male on aspirin with a history of recurrent symptomatic chronic right-sided subdural hematoma treated successfully with a SEPS and right middle meningeal artery embolization with poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) microparticles. The patient initially presented to the emergency department with headaches, difficulty walking, and left sided hemiparesis. CT Head showed a large chronic right-sided subdural hematoma measuring 2.7 cm thick with 1 cm of leftward shift. Patient underwent placement of a right-sided SEPS and the subdural hematoma decreased in size to 1.0 cm with 2 mm of leftward shift. The patient had resolution of headaches and neurological symptoms and was discharged home. Three months later, the patient returned to the emergency department with headache and left hand numbness. CT Head showed an acute on chronic right-sided subdural hematoma measuring 1.4 cm with 3 mm of leftward shift. Patient underwent right-sided SEPS placement. Repeat CT Head showed reduction in the subdural hematoma to 1.2 cm. The SEPS was removed and the patient had resolution of neurological symptoms. The patient then had a diagnostic cerebral angiogram with PVA microparticle embolization of the right middle meningeal artery. A SEPS was placed at the time of the angiogram to further reduce the size of the subdural hematoma. Results Repeat CT Head after SEPS and middle meningeal artery embolization showed decrease in size of the subdural hematoma. Follow-up CT Head showed stability of the subdural hematoma and patient had no further neurological symptoms. Patient was discharged home. Conclusion Middle meningeal artery embolization is a useful endovascular technique for reducing the arterial supply to the membranes in chronic subdural hematomas. Middle meningeal artery embolization can reduce the recurrence rate of subdural hematomas. Disclosures A. Strickland: None. B. Bohnstedt: None.


significant brightness deviations between different camera views can often be observed in multi-view images. In this paper, a new method of brightness correction based on dynamic programming with control points constraint is proposed. The SIFT feature is firstly extracted and matched. The fundamental matrix constrain is then applied with RANSAC algorithm, and the inliners of matched points are acquired. Then, the brightness relationship between the matched points is extracted. After monotonic increasing consistence check, control points are finally acquired. In the process of dynamic programming based histogram matching, those control points are used as a constrain policy to improve the accuracy and reliability of matching results. Experimental results show that it can correct the brightness difference of multi-view images effectively, and can achieve better performance compared to Cox's method.


Abstract Rabbit stomach is waste from rabbit slaughtering that has the potential to be used as an alternative source of rennet for cheese production. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of ripen‐ ing by using Lactobacillus acidophilus on the chemical composition and free fatty acids (FFA) profile of goat milk cheese with extract of rabbit stomach as coagulant. Lactobacillus acidophilus (1%) was inocu‐ lated into pasteurized goat milk and incubated for 1 h, rennet extract up to 3% was added and incu‐ bated for 25 min. Cheese was stored at 4C for 42 d. The moisture, fat, protein and ash content were analyzed at day 0, 21 and 42, whereas the FFA of goat milk cheese were analyzed on day 0 and 42. There were significantly differences in the moisture, protein, and ash content in the goat milk cheese on 21 and 42 days of ripening, but there was no significant difference in the fat content. The long‐chain saturated (C16:0 and C18:0) and unsaturated (C18:2) FFA were the most abundant in goat milk cheese, and there were no significant differences between pre or post ripening. The concentration of short chain fatty acid (C6:0, C8:0 and C10:0) and the overall concentration of FFA in goat milk cheese after 42 days rip‐ ening was higher compared to those pre‐ripening.


Abstract Background: We investigated the expressions and ratios of type 1 T helper cell (Th1) cytokines interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2), as well as type 2 T helper cell (Th2) cytokines interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-13 (IL-13) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) patients. Methods: The human cytokine LINCOplex multiplex bead array was used to measure the plasma levels of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in 50 healthy controls, as well as in 41 PID patients before and after routine protocol treatment. Results: Significantly increased expressions of Th1 cytokine IFN-γ (p=0.004), as well as Th2 cytokine IL-5 (p=0.001), and dramatically increased IL-10 (p=0.0001), but significantly decreased expression of Th1 cytokine IL-2 (p=0.029) in PID patients were found after comparison to the control group. The ratio of IFN-γ to IL-13 showed a significant increase, but the ratios of IFN-γ to IL-10 and IL-2 to IL-10 was significantly decreased in PID patients before treatment compared to after treatment and controls. Conclusions: The results indicate that the imbalance and cross-regulation between Th1 and Th2 cytokines pathways is probably contributed to the mechanism of PID. Clin Chem Lab Med 2008;46:1609–16.


Suicidal phenomena in the general hospital can take a variety of forms that can be parsed by taking into account whether or not the patient 1) intended to hasten death, and 2) included collaborators, including family and health care providers, in the decision to act. These two criteria can be used to distinguish entities as diverse as true suicide, non-compliance, euthanasia/physician-assisted suicide, and hospice/palliative care. Characterizing the nature of "suicide" events facilitates appropriate decision-making around management and disposition.


Food security for a growing population presents a significant challenge for crop production, with increasing pressures upon agriculutral productivity. There is a vast need to improve crop yield and quality using an efficient approach that does not present negative environmental impacts. A novel interrogation technique that is able to provide information of the overall health of a plant, would be extremely beneficial in an agriculutral, as well as research, setting. This information could be utilised to better understand the mechanisms of plant functions, including stress responses. Vibrational spectroscopy encompasses a range of techniques that are able to derive chemically specific information from a biological sample in a rapid, nondestructive and cost-effective manner. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy are two such approaches and have been readily implemented across biological samples. However, their applications in the field of plant science have been relatively underexploited. This is largely associated with the presence of water and fluorescent metabolites found in plant tissues. The application of attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-FTIR and spontaneous Raman spectroscopy for in vivo plant monitoring to elucidate spectral alterations indicative of healthy plant growth in a non-destructive manner. These approaches are able to characterise the biochemical signature of leaves at distinct developmental stages, and correspond to known biological processes within the leaf such as cell wall expansion. This information is useful prior to monitoring studies as normal leaf growth could be considered background variance. No significant local or systemic effects manifest as a consequence of interrogation with these techniques, establishing this as a non-destructive approach for plant system investigations. Raman microspectroscopy as a tool for monitoring nutrient uptake at the leaf surface is also considered, alongside complementary ion probe and elemental analysis. Such a technique is useful in the agrochemical production of foliar fertilisers, where the efficiency of specific formulae can be rapidly compared. This can also further the current understanding of nutrient transport into plant tissues, as well as translocation. Agriculturally relevant levels of calcium were applied to the leaf surface and uptake was successfully illustrated at concentrations as low as 15 mM using Raman microspectroscopy. Ion probe analysis also complemented these findings, with elemental analysis unable to detect this subtle uptake of nutrients. This assay is now being implemented in agrochemical practise as a fertiliser screening method. Deficiencies in essential nutrients such as calcium are detrimental to crop yield and thus are a potential target for improving crop production. A range of spectroscopic methods, including the use of synchrotron radiation, were utilised to presymptomatically detect these deficiencies prior to their onset in live samples. Coupled with multivariate analysis, these techniques discriminate between deficient and control samples with high sensitivity and specificity, without extensive sample preparation that traditional analytical techniques require. These results suggest that Raman and ATRFTIR spectroscopic approaches could highly valuable in the field, where plant health and nutrient status could be assessed rapidly in situ. Here it is shown that these issues can be overcome and that qualitative spectral measurements can be obtained from plant samples. Due to the non-destructive nature of these approaches, they can be applied for a wider range of crop screening investigations, including the efficiency of nutrient uptake, as well as distinguishing nutrient deficiencies presymptomatically. As such, these spectroscopic methods may be implemented to unearth further details regarding nutrient use efficiency during crop production.


Citrus canker (caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri) is a destructive disease, reducing yield and rendering fruit unfit for fresh sale. Accurate assessment of citrus canker severity and other diseases is needed for several purposes, including monitoring epidemics and evaluation of germplasm. We compared measurements of citrus canker severity (percent area infected) from automated image analysis to visual estimates by raters and true values using images from five leaf samples (65, 123, 50, 50, and 200 leaves; disease severity from 0 to 60%). Severity on leaves was measured by automated image analysis by (i) basing threshold values on a presample of leaves, or (ii) replacing healthy leaf color on a leaf-by-leaf basis before automating image analysis. Samples 1 to 4 were assessed by three trained plant pathologists, and sample 5 was assessed by an additional 25 raters. Healthy leaf area color replacement gave the most consistent agreement with the true severity data. Using color replacement, agreement with true values based on Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (ρc) was 0.93, 0.79, 0.71, 0.85, and 0.89 for each of the samples, respectively. The range and consistency of agreement was generally less good for automated thresholds based on a presample (ρc = 0.35-0.90) or visual raters (ρc = 0.30-0.94). The constituents of agreement (precision and accuracy) showed similar trends. No one rater or method was best for every leaf sample, but replacing healthy color in each leaf with a standard color before automation of image analysis improved agreement, and was relatively quick (20 s per image). The accuracy and precision of automated image analysis of citrus canker severity can be comparable to unaided, direct visual estimation by many raters.


In response to hypoxia during tumor growth, a number of genetic changes are induced that allow the cancer cells to survive. These changes are orchestrated by the Hypoxia Inducible Factors (HIFs), respectively HIF-1alpha, HIF-2alpha and HIF-3alpha. HIF-1alpha is the main regulator of this response and can initiate the switch to glycolysis, angiogenesis and invasion. As a consequence, for most solid tumors including the Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a high expression of HIF-1alpha and its target genes such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is correlated with a worse prognosis. In order to establish the role of these factors in the formation of GBM, astrocytes lacking HIF-1alpha or VEGF, were implanted in the flank and brain of immunocompromised mice. When grown in the flank, loss of HIF-1alpha reduced tumor growth. In contrast, tumor formation by these cells was not reduced when grown in the brain. In both locations, loss of HIF-1alpha impaired angiogenesis. This was not a disadventage when grown in the brain; in this highly vascular organ the HIF-1alpha null cells grew around the existing blood vessels and thus survived. This was not possible in the relatively vessel poor area of the flank, resulting therefore in a reduced tumor growth in this location. An increased expression of the HIFs and their target genes is also detected in tumors formed as a result of loss of the negative HIF regulator, the Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene. In order to determine how these factors contribute to tumor formation mediated by loss of VHL, astrocytes lacking VHL alone, or in combination with either HIF-1alpha or VEGF, were grown in the flank and brain of mice. Tumor growth as a result of loss of VHL was independent of HIF-1alpha. Loss of VEGF impaired VHL mediated tumor growth only in the flank and not in the brain, indicating that VEGF is not an essential growth factor in cancer associated with VHL disease. HIF-1alpha is required for the switch to glycolysis, and cells grown under hypoxia are sensitized to inhibitors of this pathway, such as 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG). To test whether cells that show an increased expression of HIF-1alpha are also sensitized to 2DG, VHL null astrocytes were exposed to 2DG both during cell culture and when grown as tumors in mice. In cell culture, astrocytes lacking VHL showed an increased growth inhibition when exposed to 2DG, but this effect was not recapitulated when the same cells were grown in the flank of mice. Targeting the glycolytic or hypoxic pathway seems an attractive method to reduce tumor growth. As described in this thesis however, depending on the organ in which the cells are grown, unexpected mechanisms can be activated which can reduce the potency of such inhibitors.


Piezoelectric actuator is being widely used in precision positioning technology for its high resolution of displacement, high stiffness and fast frequency response. However, its hysteresis nonlinearity limited its control accuracy. The key way to eliminate this limitation is to describe the nonlinearity. Aiming at the inaccuracy of Preisach model, the characteristic of piezoelectric actuator was introduced, and its static hysteresis were studied by experiment. Then bilinear interpolation was introduced to calculate the Preisach model prediction which was not located in the experiment table, and a bilinear interpolation Preisach hybrid model was proposed. The experiment results revealed the proposed Preisach hybrid model to be an accurate one.


Chemical functionalisation is one of the most active areas of graphene research, motivated by fundamental science, the opportunities to adjust or supplement intrinsic properties, and the need to assemble materials for a broad array of applications. Historically, the primary consideration has been the degree of functionalisation but there is growing interest in understanding how and where modification occurs. Reactions may proceed preferentially at edges, defects, or on graphitic faces; they may be correlated, uncorrelated, or anti-correlated with previously grafted sites. A detailed collation of existing literature data indicates that steric effects play a strong role in limiting the extent of reaction. However, the pattern of functionalisation may have important effects on the resulting properties. This article addresses the unifying principles of current graphene functionalisation technologies, with emphasis on understanding and controlling the locus of functionalisation.


OBJECTIVE
Optimal diagnostic thresholds were determined for DSM-IV attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the psychometric properties were compared to alternative definitions.

METHOD
Structured diagnostic interviews of multiple informants for 380 clinic-referred youths aged 4-17 years were conducted. In addition, standardized clinicians' validation diagnoses of attention deficit disorder were obtained to assess agreement with clinical judgment. Measures of impairment were obtained to assess the accuracy of identifying youth with an impairing condition.

RESULTS
Three subtypes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined types) were distinguished on the basis of the degree of deviance on separate dimensions of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. These three subtypes were found to differ in terms of types of impairment, age, and sex ratio, but not ethnicity. In terms of case identification of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, DSM-IV was found to be very similar to DSM-III-R, except that DSM-IV identified more impaired girls and preschool children.

CONCLUSIONS
These results support the decision to subdivide the heterogeneous category of DSM-III-R attention deficit hyperactivity disorder into three subtypes. The resulting DSM-IV definition appears to be somewhat less biased toward the symptom pattern typical of elementary school boys.


OBJECTIVES
Children often present during winter with painful, red-purple swollen fingers and/or toes, usually misdiagnosed as Raynaud's phenomenon. Pernio, or chronic chilblains, is a localised inflammatory lesion of the skin resulting from an abnormal response to cold. The aim of this study was to better characterise the clinical presentation of chronic chilblains in children.

METHODS
This is a single-centre retrospective study of patients referred to our paediatric rheumatology clinic with cold, purple, and painful hands. Patients were identified from the paediatric rheumatology clinic database, at the Safra Children Hospital, Israel. Data of the clinical presentation, physical findings, laboratory investigations and the course of the disease were extracted from the patients' charts and analysed.

RESULTS
A total of 33 patients (27 females, sex ratio 4.5:1) were identified. Patients age at presentation was 13.5±2.1, and disease duration was 2.0±1.0 winters. Patients presented with prolonged capillary refill time (100%) and abnormal modified Allen test (75.6%). Fingers swelling was the most common finding (81.8%), followed by proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPs) swelling (63.6%), skin ulceration (54.5%), and dry, irritated skin (45.5%). Nailfold capillary microscopy was normal in all patients. The only abnormal laboratory test was the test for anti-nuclear factor (ANA) in 25%.

CONCLUSIONS
We report a large series of children with a unique symptomatology consisting in chronic chilblains.


Objective The objective of this study was to clarify the embryologic features of CL/Fr mice in relation to cyanosis. Method Orofacial examinations were conducted on 18-day-old term fetuses and newborns. Except for open eyelids in a few cases, all of the external abnormalities in this strain were cleft lip and/or palate (CLP). Results The CLP incidence in term fetuses was 28.4%. The body and placental weights were not different between CLP(+) and CLP(-) fetuses. Several types of CLP were found; the most frequent was bilateral complete CLP (60%) followed by left complete (16%). Bilateral complete CL, which is the most severe CL type, was associated with poorly developed secondary palate and wide cleft. In newborns, 39.4% of CLP(+) mice showed cyanosis, where no CLP(-) mice had such signs. The body weight of cyanotic mice with CLP was significantly lighter than that of noncyanotic mice with CLP. Cyanotic mice had severe types of CLP and unelevated palatal shelves. Conclusion We suggest that mechanical airway obstruction may be one of the causes of cyanosis in newborn CL/Fr mice.


BACKGROUND
In the construction industry, free crystalline silica (FCS), mostly in the form of quartz, is in a very common use. Construction, especially repair and demolition works, are associated with emission of considerable amounts of FCS-containing dusts. Studies concerning the work environment, carried out recently in other countries, indicate that exposure to quartz frequently exceeds hygiene standards, i.e. safety limits for workers' health. The aim of this study was to assess dust exposure of workers employed at selected workposts in the construction industry in Poland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The Polish study was performed in a group of workers employed in large and small enterprises and involved in establishing new constructions and demolishing old buildings. The group comprised 43 workers, employed at 9 workposts, who underwent 107 measurements of dust concentrations, of which 78 measurements were included in the analysis. At each workpost, concentrations of inhalable and respirable dusts were measured with the filtration and gravimetric method. Individual dust dosimeters were used to collect air samples and infrared spectrometry to determine concentrations of FCS dusts in samples of inhalable and respirable dusts. An identification analysis of dust samples was performed with use of X-ray diffraction.

RESULTS
The results of the study show that geometric means of inhalable dust concentrations fell within a wide range from 2.1 (concrete mixer operator, plasterer) to 66.0 mg/m3 (laborer engaged in hand demolition), and those of respirable dust at the same workposts ranged from 0.4 to 16.2 mg/m3, respectively. Quartz was present in the majority of construction materials applied, and its concentration in inhalable dusts ranged from 7 to 13 mg/m3.

CONCLUSIONS
It was found that dust concentrations exceeded hygiene standards at most of the workposts. Particularly high concentrations were observed at the workposts of surface abrasive grinders-coat finishers and workers engaged in drilling and hammering wholes. In conclusion, the need to use technical means, primarily personal respiratory protectors, to reduce dust concentrations should be strongly stressed.


This paper reports on RoboWaiter—the first robot competition in the rapidly growing area of assistive robotics—that was conducted in conjunction with the annual international Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest in 2009. Organized with active participation of members of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities, RoboWaiter's overarching goals were to promote awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities while providing an engineering challenge to designers of all levels of skill within an atmosphere of friendly, teambased competition. An additional goal was to encourage students to think about responsibilities of engineers to society. In this paper we describe the RoboWaiter 2009 assignment and the associated engineering challenge, and we present results of our educational studies. We also discuss the potential of the RoboWaiter competition for developing and demonstrating assistive robotics technologies, providing a fruitful environment for robotics and opportunities for socially responsible education.


The study was designed to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of some quercetin derivatives 6-Bromoquercetin (Comp 1), 6,8-Dibromoquercetin (Comp 2), 2',5',6,8-Tetrabromoquercetin (Comp 3) and ,5',6,6',8-Pentabromoquercetin (Comp 4) in acute experimental liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride and paracetamol. The effects observed were compared with a known hepatoprotective agent, silymarin. Four quercetin derivative was prepared by bromination, 6-Bromoquercetin (Comp 1), 6,8-Dibromoquercetin (Comp 2), 2',5',6,8-Tetrabromoquercetin (Comp 3) and ,5',6,6',8-Pentabromoquercetin (Comp 4) respectively. In the acute liver damage induced by different hepatotoxins, quercetin derivatives 6-Bromoquercetin (Comp 1) and 6,8-Dibromoquercetin (Comp 2) significantly reduced the elevated serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and bilirubin whereas other quercetin derivatives 2',5',6,8-Tetrabromoquercetin (Comp 3) and 2',5',6,6',8-Pentabromoquercetin (Comp 4) did not show significant reduction in elevated serum levels when compared to standard silymarin (100mg/kg body weight). Histological examination of the liver tissues supported the hepatoprotection. It is concluded that the quercetin derivatives possesses good hepatoprotective activity.


The Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) observes vertical profiles of atmospheric minor constituents related with stratospheric and mesospheric chemical processes. The retrieved profiles contain some error originated from the response characteristics of radio spectrometers of the SMILES instrument. The on-orbit properties are necessary to be characterized and be modeled, in order to minimize the retrieval errors.


Under some circumstances the wrong responses a subject makes on a test may contain important information. In this study, the notion of facet design provided a systematic method for a priori ordering of the distractors on the Coloured Progressive Matrices test as to degree of correctness. A score based on type of distractor chosen was shown to have a moderate degree of test-retest reliability, concurrent and predictive validity, and cross-cultural applicability. The results suggest a re-examination of Sigel's finding that type of error and total score were unrelated.


Extraction of three-dimensional structure of a scene from stereo images is a problem that has been studied by the computer vision community for decades. Early work focused on the fundamentals of image correspondence and stereo geometry. Stereo research has matured significantly throughout the years and many advances in computational stereo continue to be made, allowing stereo to be applied to new and more demanding problems. We review recent advances in computational stereo, focusing primarily on three important topics: correspondence methods, methods for occlusion, and real-time implementations. Throughout, we present tables that summarize and draw distinctions among key ideas and approaches. Where available, we provide comparative analyses and we make suggestions for analyses yet to be done.


Behavioral syndromes that occur in patients with aphasic disorders without localizing neurologic signs may appear strikingly similar to psychiatric disorders. In the absence of abnormal physical findings, the predominance of psychiatric symptoms, such as avoidance/withdrawal, irritability/hostility, paranoia, or depression, can lead the busy primary care clinician and the unsuspecting psychiatrist away from an organic diagnosis. Through review of selected literature and case presentations, we provide guidelines for evaluating and correctly identifying aphasic disorders masked by complex behavioral syndromes.


In this paper, the training sequence design for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency- division multiplexing (OFDM) systems under the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion is addressed. The optimal training sequence for channel estimation in spatially correlated MIMO-OFDM systems was not known for an arbitrary signal- to-noise ratio (SNR). Only one class of training sequences was proposed in the literature in which the power allocation is given only for the extreme conditions of low and high SNRs. The current paper presents a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal training sequence, and reformulates the training design problem as a convex optimization problem whose optimal solution is efficiently solved. In addition, tight upper bounds for MMSE and resulting low complexity iterative algorithms with the closed-form expression in iterations to find the optimum training sequence are derived. Simulation results confirm the superiority of the proposed design over the existing one in terms of both MSE estimation and BER performance. The proposed methods are also shown to be robust with respect to the spatial correlation mismatch at the transmitter.


Biomedical Nanotechnology is an emerging area of great scientific and technological opportunity. It is widely recognized as one of the most potentially beneficial applications of nanotechnology to industry and society to date. Work in this area has a number of computational aspects: information technology based tools and measurement techniques are used to study biosystems with micro- and nano-scale physics and chemistry, and computational methods are helping to generate remarkable new insights into how biological systems function, how metabolic processes interrelate, and how new molecular scale machines can operate. This paper reviews current advances in computational algorithms and tools applied to biomedical nanometrics and nano-materials. We categorize algorithms into three general areas, describe representative methods, and conclude with several promising directions of future investigation.


Background: Most recently there was a well established study showed that pityriasis alba of ten progresses into vitiligo (Sharquie et al.). These findings were considered a new thought that might support a new hypothesis regarding the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Objective: In order to do further work on hypothesis which is in favor that pityriasis alba might progress into vitiligo, so the present research including clinical and histopathological study to confirm that pityriasis alba might progress to vitiligo. Patients and method: This is a descriptive clinical and histopathological comparative study carried out in Department of Dermatology, Baghdad Teaching Hospital during the period from January 2015 to August 2016. Thirty eight patients with pityriasis alba (group A) and twenty eight patients with vitiligo stage I (group B) and twelve patients with both pityriasis alba and vitiligo (group C) were included in this study. All patients were fully interviewed and full history was taken from all the patients. Also careful asking about personal and family history of vitiligo was taken. Blunt trauma was done to induce Koebner's phenomenon. Punch biopsies were taken from skin lesion of all patients and ten biopsies from 10 persons were taken from normal skin. Each biopsy specimen was processed and stained with Hematoxylin-eosin (H & E) and Fontana-Masson (FM) for histological evaluations. Results: Clinical study-Group A: Pityriasis alba patients: The mean of age of patients in pityriasis alba ± SD was 8.68 ± 5.94 years including 33 (86.84%) males and 5 (13.16%) females. Koebner's phenomenon was positive in 2 (5.26%) patients and family history of vitiligo was positive in 17 (44.74%) patients. Group B: stage I vitiligo patients: The mean of age ± SD was 15.46 ± 12.50 years with 15 (57.14%) male patients and 12 (42.86%) female patients. A Koebner's phenomenon was positive in 11 (39.28%) patients and family history of vitiligo was found in 11 (39.29%) patients. Group C: pityriasis alba and vitiligo patients: The mean of age ± SD was 8.33 ± 2.78 years including 9 (75%) male patients and 3 (25%) female patients. Koebner's phenomenon was positive in 6 (50%) patients and family history of vitiligo was positive in 7 (58.33%) patients. Histopathological study: Group A: pityriasisalba: </


Inter-observer mean difference was −0.04 mm (95% confidence interval −0.8, 0.71). The isthmal Z-scores were calculated in a two-stage process: 1. Predicted width isthmus: ln (predicted cardiac dimension) = m ln (femur length) + c; 2. Z-score: [ln (measured cardiac dimension) – ln (predicted cardiac dimension)]/root mean standard error (MSE) (where c (intercept) = −0.4988, m (multiplier) = 0.9504, root MSE = 0.16384). Conclusions: We have defined Z-scores based on femoral length for the fetal aortic isthmus measured in the three-vessel view. For cases of suspected isolated fetal coarctation, these Z-scores may be helpful in longitudinal assessment of the arch and may aid prenatal diagnosis.


In the city of Venice, the combination of light, water, and architecture of buildings and public spaces has inspired artists, photographers, and filmmakers (1). Venetians have cultivated the image of their city as a place of exceptional beauty and deliberately used art to enhance it (2, 3). Its art goes back to the Byzantine period. Today it maintains a prominent position in the art world through art festivals, such as the Venice Biennale established in 1895, which includes alternating the International Art Exhibition and, from 1980, the Architecture Exhibition (4).

During the Italian Renaissance, the Venetian approach emphasizing color was contrasted with the Florentine one, which favored drawing ( disegno ), although there is also a rich tradition of Venetian drawing (5). The leading Venetian school was that of Giovanni Bellini (1430–1516) and several members of his family, followed by Giorgione (1478–1510) and Titian (1490–1576), and later Paolo Veronese (1528–88) and Tintoretto (1519–94) (5, 6). In the 18th century, the leading Venetian painter was Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770) (6–8).

And then there were the view painters ( vedutisti ) of the 18th century (9). The paintings representing city views were desirable souvenirs to acquire during a Grand Tour—a period of continental travel fashionable among North European elites between the 17th and 19th centuries. The most prominent vedutisti were Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697–1768), known as Canaletto; his nephew Bernardo Bellotto (ca 1722–80); and Francesco Guardi (1712–93) (10). Canaletto's pictures were painted with great precision and, apart from the architecture, contained a broad range of figures representing Venetian life. In contrast, Guardi's paintings were more impressionistic, being painted with looser brushstrokes. Fig. 1 shows one of them, representing the church of Santa Maria …


The overriding principle of bacterial metabolism is the utilization of extracellular nutrients to provide building blocks and energy to support cellular growth. Nutrients are (if necessary) degraded by specific extracellular depolymerases, taken into the cell via specific membrane-bound transport systems, and mobilised by specific enzymes, the synthesis and activity of which are controlled in response to the nutritional status of the environment. Saccharolytic clostridia exhibit the capacity to utilise a wide spectrum of carbon sources for growth. Polymers such as starch and cellulose are degraded by a variety of enzymes; the products, and other soluble, low molecular mass substrates, are accumulated by a number of different mechanisms, predominant among which is the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent carbohydrate phosphotransferase system (PTS). Although not fully characterised, the clostridial PTS has been shown to be functionally related to the PTS in other bacteria. Many catabolic enzyme and transport systems in clostridia have been found to be induced by the substrate and repressed in the presence of a rapidly metabolised sugar such as glucose, but mechanisms responsible for these phenomena have not been identified. Description of these mechanisms will depend on a detailed molecular analysis of catabolic genes and their expression, and is essential to providde a complete understanding of clostridial physiology.


Undergraduate thesis submitted to the Department of Computer Science, Ashesi University, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems, April 2019


Visual surveillance systems have gained a lot of interest in the last few years. In this paper, we present a visual surveillance system that is based on the integration of motion detection and visual tracking to achieve better performance. Motion detection is achieved using an algorithm that combines temporal variance with background modeling methods. The tracking algorithm combines motion and appearance information into an appearance model and uses a particle filter framework for tracking the object in subsequent frames. The systems was tested on a large ground-truthed data set containing hundreds of color and FLIR image sequences. A performance evaluation for the system was performed and the average evaluation results are reported in this paper.


GPS traces from cyclists are used to retrieve their path by matching the traces to a detailed, attribute-rich urban road network. The main objective of this research is to explore the influence of road network characteristics on the cyclist's path choice behaviour. The dataset used in this study consists of ~27,500 GPS traces, which cyclists have recorded in Bologna, Italy, over a period of 4 weeks using a special smartphone application. Work trips are extracted from all traces by selecting only straight trips during the mornings of work days. After matching the traces to a specially prepared road map, the distributions of trip length, trip time and trip speed are determined. The shortest possible path between origin and destination of each trip is determined and compared with the chosen path. Results show that most cyclists tend to use the shortest path and accept only small detours. However, comparing the shortest path with the chosen path for each trip, it is possible to identify the network characteristics causing the cyclists to deviate from the shortest path. The main results of this study indicate that the chosen paths contain more cycleways and less intersections compared with the respective shortest paths.


As of 2011, 39% of drinking water systems on Canadian First Nations' reserves could be classified as high risk, or unequipped to safely deal with the infiltration of a pollutant (Neegan Burnside 2011a). In recent years, some First Nations have contracted water services from neighboring population centres through 'Municipal Type Agreements', or 'MTAs'. Using a unique data set of 804 First Nation water systems, we explore both factors that influence participation in MTAs, and the effect of participation on the likelihood that a First Nation will be under a boil water advisory. Our empirical analysis consists of two probit models. The first model describes the likelihood that a MTA agreement will emerge between a First Nation and neighbouring population centre. The second estimates the likelihood that a First Nation will be under a boil water advisory. Our primary finding is that MTAs reduce the likelihood of a boil water advisory being in effect on a reserve. This is an important consideration when developing incentives or institutions that influence infrastructure collaboration between First Nations and Canadian population centres.


Two cases of tricuspid valve dysplasia are reported. Dogs were presented for evaluation of weakness and ascites. In both cases, echocardiography disclosed tricuspid insufficiency and, in one of them, tricuspid leaflets also were displaced down into the right ventricle, substantiating Ebstein's anomaly. Medical therapy for congestive heart failure was initiated. One of the dogs suddenly died shortly after diagnosis was established. Although the other dog recovered much better initially, sudden death also occurred. Post-mortem examinations showed right atrioventricular enlargement, and thickened tricuspid leaflets. Clinical features, diagnostic methods and medical therapy are discussed in this paper.


PAGE In t roduc t ion 361 Theoret ical considerat ions . . . . . . . 363 Methods 370 Tuberculosis mor ta l i ty ra tes in var ious areas . . . . 3 7 1 Eng land a n d Wales , 1851-60 t o 1931-40 (males) . . 371 Eng land and Wales , 1851-60 t o 1931-40 (females) . . 374 Scotland, 1861-1941 375 Ire land, 1871-1941 378 Norway , 1896-1900 to 1936-40 381 Towns of D e n m a r k , 1890-99 to 1931-40 . . . . 383 Sweden, 1911-41 384 City of Par i s , 1889-93 to 1929-33 385 Massachuset ts , 1880-1940 388 Comparison of tuberculosis mor t a l i t y in var ious areas . . 389 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . 392 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . 394 Bibl iography 395


In recent years, understanding of the multifactorial nature of periodontal disease has taken great strides. Periodontal disease is initiated and sustained by the presence of bacteria, but disease progression is significantly modified by the body's response to the bacteria. This article highlights the emerging evidence regarding which risk factors are predominant in influencing the disease process and how the incorporation of prognostic risk factors in overall diagnosis can help facilitate treatment planning. These factors appear to be smoking, genetic susceptibility, compliance, and diabetes. The first three factors mentioned are the focus of this article. Each is discussed with regard to their role in amplifying the disease process and how this information can be used in clinical practice. By acknowledging the importance of these factors, dentists can consider their patients' risk to allow for more cost-effective planning and treatment. The opportunity to identify high-risk patients and treat them more proactively is significant; the challenge rests with dentists' willingness and ability to embrace the change before them.


In this observational study, we compared erythrocyte membrane fatty acids in infants consuming formula supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA) with those consuming other types of milks. In 110 infants who were participants in a cohort study of otherwise healthy children at risk for developing type 1 diabetes, erythrocytes were collected at approximately 9 months of age, and fatty acid content was measured as a percentage of total lipids. Parents reported the type of milk the infants consumed in the month of and prior to erythrocyte collection: infant formula supplemented with ARA and DHA (supplemented formula), formula with no ARA and DHA supplements (non-supplemented formula), breast milk, or non-supplemented formula plus breast milk. Membrane DHA (4.42 versus 1.79, P < 0.001) and omega-3 fatty acid (5.81 versus 3.43, P < 0.001) levels were higher in infants consuming supplemented versus non-supplemented formula. Omega-6 fatty acids were lower in infants consuming supplemented versus non-supplemented formula (26.32 versus 29.68, P = 0.023); ARA did not differ between groups. Infants given supplemented formula had higher DHA (4.42 versus 2.81, P < 0.001) and omega-3 fatty acids (5.81 versus 4.45, P = 0.008) than infants drinking breast milk. In infants whose mothers did not receive any dietary advice, use of supplemented formula is associated with higher omega-3 and lower omega-6 fatty acid status.


1. The effect of ethanol on the metabolism of [1-(14)C]palmitate in rat liver was investigated in a single-pass perfusion system at concentrations of 10mm- or 80mm-ethanol and 0.2mm- or 1mm-palmitate. 2. After the perfusion the hepatic lipid was isolated in subcellular fractions. The two major fractions contained triacylglycerol from cytoplasmic lipid droplets and from endoplasmic reticulum plus Golgi apparatus respectively. 3. In experiments with 0.2mm-palmitate perfusion with 10mm- or 80mm-ethanol did not measurably increase the esterification, and the oxidation was markedly decreased and the fatty acid uptake was not affected. 4. Perfusion with ethanol, at 1mm-palmitate, increased the fatty acid uptake, increased esterification and decreased oxidation. The effects of 10mm- and 80mm-ethanol were similar. The incorporation of [1-(14)C]palmitate into triacylglycerol in cytoplasmic lipid droplets was not affected statistically significantly by ethanol. Ethanol increased the incorporation of [1-(14)C]palmitate into di- and tri-acylglycerol in the membranous fraction. Estimated chemically, the contents of di- and tri-acylglycerol were only slightly affected by ethanol. These results suggest that the effect of ethanol was to increase the turnover of fatty acids in triacylglycerol rather than to increase its accumulation. 5. The results indicate that an increased concentration of fatty acids is more important for the formation of acute fatty liver in fed rats than are the direct effects of ethanol on hepatic fatty acid metabolism.


Humans carry stereotypic tacit assumptions (STAs) (Prince, 1978), or propositional beliefs about generic concepts. Such associations are crucial for understanding natural language. We construct a diagnostic set of word prediction prompts to evaluate whether recent neural contextualized language models trained on large text corpora capture STAs. Our prompts are based on human responses in a psychological study of conceptual associations. We find models to be profoundly effective at retrieving concepts given associated properties. Our results demonstrate empirical evidence that stereotypic conceptual representations are captured in neural models derived from semi-supervised linguistic exposure.


We have investigated the effects of chemical alkylation of microsomal membranes on nascent chain binding and translocation. Assays were conducted using either full-length or truncated preprolactin transcripts in combination with a reconstituted membrane system consisting of proteolyzed rough microsomes and the cytoplasmic domain of the signal recognition particle receptor. Treatment of rough microsomes with N-ethylmaleimide was observed to inhibit preprolactin processing at a site other than the signal recognition particle or the signal recognition particle receptor. As formation of a translocation competent junction between the ribosome/nascent chain complex and the membrane has recently been demonstrated to require GTP (Connolly, T., and R. Gilmore. J. Cell Biol. 1986. 103:2253-2261), the effects of membrane alkylation on this parameter were assessed. N-ethylmaleimide treatment did not inhibit nascent chain targeting or GTP-dependent signal sequence insertion. Translocation of the targeted and inserted nascent chain was, however, blocked. These data indicate (a) that the process of nascent chain translocation is distinct from targeting and signal sequence insertion, and (b) translocation of the peptide chain across the membrane is mediated by an N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive membrane protein component(s). To further substantiate the observation that nascent chain targeting and signal sequence insertion can be distinguished from translocation, the temperature dependencies of the two phenomena were compared. Signal sequence insertion occurred at low temperatures (4 degrees C) and was maximal between 10 and 15 degrees C. Translocation was only observed at higher temperatures and was maximal between 25 and 30 degrees C.


We describe a case of sinonasal lymphoma in a child with
 immunosuppression who presented with symptoms of
 complicated acute rhinosinusitis with orbital abscess.
 Despite appropriate medical and surgical therapies, patient
 developed intracerebral extension. Histopathology
 confirmed EBV-positive B-cell lymphoma and this was
 thought to be related to Immunosuppression-Associated
 Lymphoproliferative Disorders (IALD). Disease progression
 halted and later regressed with appropriate chemotherapy.
 Although rare, this case highlights the importance of having
 high index of suspicion and consideration of all possibilities
 including lymphoma in immunosuppressive patient. In this report, we also present review of literature relating to IALD
 with sinonasal manifestation.


Introduction Parachuting is said to be a relatively safe activity. We sought to undertake a study to assess parachute-related deaths in our jurisdiction. Methods A retrospective study of parachute-related deaths in Southern Arizona was conducted by searching the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner database between 2001 and 2016. This search revealed 24 deaths. Results The decedents ranged from 19 to 61 years of age, with a median age of 36 years. Twenty-two of the decedents were male. The racial breakdown was 22 white, one Asian, and one not recorded. The manner of death in all cases was classified as an accident. All deaths were due to multiple blunt force injuries and only one case was found to have no injuries to the head or neck. The most common circumstances were failure of chute deployment (seven), mid-air collisions (three), and becoming entangled with other parachutists (three). Six deaths occurred during military training. Four of the nonmilitary decedents were described as "experienced" parachutists and one case involved a tandem jump team with a survivor. Natural disease was found in four cases with three having moderate coronary artery atherosclerosis. Toxicology was performed in 21 of the deaths with three positive for cannabinoids, one positive for 7-aminoclonazepam, and one positive for 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Discussion Parachuting is a relatively safe activity, with very few deaths. Investigation of these deaths should include a complete autopsy with toxicology as well as a thorough scene investigation and evaluation of the jumper's equipment.


In order to study the evolution strategy adopted by the telecom industry in a new competitive environment, this paper introduces an ecological theory and method. The authors build a model for the telecom industry's ecosystem and analyze the dynamic evolution process of the telecom industry through a Logistic model. The results show, when the telecom industry's ecosystem comes to the mature phase, the main body of it need to change the evolution strategy from quickly occupying market with quantity to expanding market capacity by improving business innovation and constantly developing new value-added services. Different from traditional qualitative analysis, the dynamic and quantitative method adopted by this study gives a deep insight for the evolution mechanism of the telecom industry's system, and guides the telecom market towards rational development.


Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest 1822) is one of world's rarest endangered species (IUCN 2008). Currently,  their distribution  is  limited  to Ujung Kulon National Park  (UKNP) of  Indonesia. Natural disasters, disease, poaching, encroachment, and competition are threats  facing Javan rhino's population, hence creating pockets of habitats outside  the UKNP was necessary and  should be based on  scientific  studies of  javan  rhino utilization distribution and habitat selection in UKNP as the natural habitat. The objectives of the study were to determine  the utilization distribution of Javan rhino and  its habitat characteristics and determine  javan rhino habitat selection within UKNP.  The research  indicated  that Javan rhinos highest use of areas comprised of swampy shrub (w = 2.197) and shrub (w = 2.012), relatively open habitat (w = 4.233), flat area (w = 1.313) and slightly sloping areas (w = 1.007), lowland (w = 1.346), close to river (w = 1.087), close to road network (w = 1.395), close to coasts/beaches (w = 1.862), close  to wallowing areas (w = 3.709), and close  to rumpang (w = 3.783).  The results suggested  that  javan  rhino  showed  selection and preferences  for  its habitat.


Tomasz Zamoyski during his lifespan (1594-1638) was voivode of Podolia (1617-1618), Kiev (1618-1628), vice chancellor and then chancellor. He was concerned about Swedish issue, which was shown in his letters and public appearance. The Swedish throne was lost by the Polish branch of House of Vasa in the end of XVI century. This fact lead to conflict between the two lines of royal household, Polish-Swedish war in Duchy of Livonia and Prussia. Conflict Polish-Swedish was also an element of rivalry between two countries with dominum Maris Baltici, and was another element of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648).Tomasz Zamoyski took part in two unsuccessful Polish-Swedish negotiation (1626, 1628). The voivode also took the part in the Prussian campaign from 1626 and lost for the side Polish battle under Gniew. He tried about the royal hetman dignity then, and did not receive her when the royal troops left the camp shortly before the meeting of the parliament in Torun at the end of 1626. Under the pretext of illness he did not appear on the diets and did not participate in the war, which in 1629 ended the truce in Altmark. Under his shameful conditions Tomasz Zamoyski, the Vice-Chancellor of the Crown, not put his seal and sealed the system Chancellor James Zadzik, and the parliament ratified the agreement. He strongly supported Sigmund III Vasa's claim for Swedish throne and was unwilling to make any concession.


Gas turbines inherently depict unique frequency response characteristics compared with other conventional synchronous generation technologies as their active power output is not entirely determined by the governor response during frequency deviations of the power network. Thus, gas turbine dynamics significantly influence on system stability during frequency events in power networks. Power system and power plant operators require improved understanding of the gas turbine characteristics during various frequency events in order to mitigate adverse impact on power system. Therefore a comparative analysis has been performed between combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) and open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) in order to characterise the dynamic behaviour considering different types of frequency events in power networks. Study has shown that CCGTs result in significant frequency variations in power networks in comparison with OCGTs because of the temperature control action performed by the fast acting inlet guide vanes at the combustor. In particular, they are susceptible to lean blowout during large frequency increase events such as short-circuit faults in power networks. Furthermore, a case study was developed based on the New England-39 bus system in order to illustrate the impact of gas turbine dynamics on network frequency during short-circuit events in power networks.