Charcot and Babinski: beyond a simple teacher-student relationship. Jean-Martin Charcot (18251893) is now considered to be the father of clinical neurology in France. He trained a generation of eminent neurologists, among them Joseph Babinski, with whom he had a special relationship. Babinski was undoubtedly Charcot's favorite pupil and they enjoyed an excellent collaboration at la Salpétrière. Even though both men felt tremendous respect for each other, it is sad that this relationship may, in one instance, have been detrimental to Babinski. This is probably the reason why Bouchard denied him full professorship, a decision with eventual consequences for both men. In spite of this, the neurologist of Polish origin held his master in tremendous admiration, even as he pursued Charcot's research on hysteria after his death. Even though Babinski eventually contradicted his master on many fundamental issues, it did not affect his devotion to him. The relationship between the two men can be considered as more than a simple relationship between a teacher and his pupil and may be compared to a father-son relationship, which is a reminder of the original model of Hippocratic teaching.


Training neural networks with discrete stochastic variables presents a unique challenge. Backpropagation is not directly applicable, nor are the reparameterization tricks used in networks with continuous stochastic variables. To address this challenge, we present Hindsight Network Credit Assignment (HNCA), a novel gradient estimation algorithm for networks of discrete stochastic units. HNCA works by assigning credit to each unit based on the degree to which its output influences its immediate children in the network. We prove that HNCA produces unbiased gradient estimates with reduced variance compared to the REINFORCE estimator, while the computational cost is similar to that of backpropagation. We first apply HNCA in a contextual bandit setting to optimize a reward function that is unknown to the agent. In this setting, we empirically demonstrate that HNCA significantly outperforms REINFORCE, indicating that the variance reduction implied by our theoretical analysis is significant and impactful. We then show how HNCA can be extended to optimize a more general function of the outputs of a network of stochastic units, where the function is known to the agent. We apply this extended version of HNCA to train a discrete variational auto-encoder and empirically show it compares favourably to other strong methods. We believe that the ideas underlying HNCA can help stimulate new ways of thinking about efficient credit assignment in stochastic compute graphs.


BACKGROUND
Prolonged peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy can result in the development of encapsulating peritoneal sclerosis (EPS), characterized by extensive sclerosis of the peritoneum with bowel adhesions often causing obstruction.

METHODS
As a proof-of-principle study, holistic profiling of endogenous metabolites has been applied in a prospective collection of PD effluent collected in multiple UK renal centres over 6 years in order to investigate metabolic differences in PD effluent between PD therapy patients who later developed clinically defined EPS (n = 11) and controls, who were matched for PD vintage, age and gender (n = 11).

RESULTS
'Fit-for-purpose' analytical methods employing gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (MS), direct injection MS and quality control samples were developed and validated. These methods were applied in a proof-of-principle study to define metabolic differences in PD effluent related to subsequent development of EPS. Changes in amino acids, amines and derivatives, short-chain fatty acids and derivatives and sugars were observed prior to EPS developing, and changes in the metabolomic profiles could be detected.

CONCLUSION
There is potential for applying metabolic profiles to identify patients at risk of developing EPS although long-term prospective studies with larger patient cohorts are required.


Advanced aircraft capable of high angle of attack maneuverability, tight coupling along the lateral axes, and asymmetric configurations present many challenges for the design of fast, accurate, and computationally robust flight control systems (FCSs). The new generation of digital signal processing integrated circuits affords an opportunity to develop a multiprocessor approach that would provide for parallel connectionist implementation of flight control laws, fast computation and sampling speeds, IEEE standard 32-b floating point accuracy, and the increased memory access capabilities required in the next generation of FCSs. A preliminary design for an autonomous lateral-directional flight control system utilizing a multiprocessor reconfigurable control and adaptive learning network for the monitoring of control surface compliance, control law synthesis, and system attribute learning is presented.<<ETX>>


: Thin map of gene 43, controlling the synthesis of T4 DNA polymerase, is obtained by mapping experiments performed with 39 amber mutants, and is used for analysis of the sites of DNA polymerase gene from the point of view of displaying the mutator effect. The mutant sites studied possessed different reaction on amino acid substitutions in the polypeptide chain of the enzyme. Most of sites of the DNA polymerase gene, with the exception of two "supersensitive", responsed only on the apparent type of the amino acid substitutions: the mutator effect of amber mutations, which are located at these sites, was exhibited only in the case of insertion of the definite amino acid in the respective point of polypeptide chain. The proposed system of amber mutations for studying the mutator effect, allowed the authors to obtain the data on the effect of concrete alterations in the polypeptide chain of the enzyme on the development of its mutator properties.


Background Adipokines have inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties that may contribute to erosive joint damage. The association of serum adipokine levels with progression of radiographic joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was prospectively explored. Methods Patients with RA underwent serum adipokine assessment (adiponectin, resistin, leptin) at three timepoints and hand/feet x-rays, scored using the Sharp-van der Heijde Score (SHS), at baseline and the third study visit, separated by an average of 39±4 months. The associations of baseline and average adipokine levels with change in SHS were explored, adjusting for pertinent confounders. Results Of the 152 patients studied, 85 (56%) showed an increase in SHS (defined as >0 SHS units). Among the adipokines studied, only adiponectin was significantly associated with radiographic progression, with average adiponectin levels more strongly associated than baseline levels. After adjusting for average C reactive protein and baseline SHS, patients in the highest quartile of average adiponectin had a SHS progression rate more than double the lowest quartile (1.00 vs 0.48 units/year; p=0.008). Similarly, those in the highest quartile of adiponectin had a more than fivefold greater odds of any radiographic progression compared with the lowest quartile (OR 5.75; p=0.002). The magnitude of the association of average adiponectin levels with radiographic progression was greater in women, those with body mass index <30 kg/m2 and those receiving baseline biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Conclusions These prospective data provide evidence of temporality and dose-response in the relationship between circulating adiponectin and erosive joint destruction in RA, and highlight subgroups of patients at highest risk for adiponectin-associated radiographic progression.


The ISO 26262 functional safety standard provides appropriate development processes, requirements and safety integrity levels specific for the automotive domain. One crucial requirement consists of the creation of a safety case, a structured argument, which inter-relates evidence and claims, needed to show that safety-critical systems are acceptably safe. The standard is currently not mandatory to be applied to safety critical systems installed in heavy trucks, however, this is likely to be changed by 2016. This paper describes the experience gathered by applying the standard to the Fuel Level Estimation and Display System, a subsystem that together with other subsystems plays a significant role in terms of global system safety for heavy trucks manufactured by Scania. More specifically, exploratory and laborious work related to the creation of a safety case in compliance with ISO 26262 in an inexperienced industrial setting is described, and the paper ends with presenting some lessons learned together with guidelines to facilitate the adoption of ISO 26262.


New adaptive, iterative approaches to the decoding of block Thrbo codes and multilevel codes are developed. Block Turbo codes are considered as they can readily provide high data rates, low decoding complexity and good performance. Multilevel codes are considered as they provide a moderate complexity approach to a high complexity code and can provide codes with good bandwidth efficiency. The work develops two adaptive sub-optimal soft output decoding algorithms for block Turbo codes. One is based on approximation and the other on the distance properties of the component codes. They can be used with different codes, modulation schemes, channel conditions and in different applications without modification. Both approaches provide improved performance compared to previous approaches on the additive white Gaussian noise (A WG N) channel. The approximation based adaptive algorithm is also investigated on the uncorrelated Rayleigh fiat fading channel and is shown to improve performance over previous approaches. Multilevel codes are typically decoded using a multistage decoder (MSD) for complexity reasons. Each level passes hard decisions to subsequent levels. If the approximation based adaptive algorithm is used to decode component codes in a traditional MSD it improves performance significantly. Performance can be improved further by passing reliability (extrinsic) information to all previous and subsequent levels using an iterative MSD. A new iterative multistage decoding algorithm for multilevel codes is developed by treating the extrinsic information as a Gaussian random variable. If the adaptive algorithms are used in conjunction with iterative multistage decoding on the AWGN channel, then a significant improvement in performance is obtained compared to results using a traditional MSD.


This thesis is concerned with three distinct but interrelated problems in inorganic photophysics, namely (i) the photosensitisation of an important alkylcobalt(III) complex, (ii) the photophysics and photoelectron transfer reactions of two bis(bipyridine) ruthenium(II) complexes and (iii) a preliminary study of a luminescent binuclear complex of platinum. The first two problems comprise the major part of the work and the literature survey is focused on these. The principal methods of investigation have been 347 nm laser flash photolysis (in emission and absorption), fluorimetry and quantum yield determination.

Photosensitisation of Alkylcobalt(III) Complexes: While alkyl- cobalamins and their model compounds, the alkylcobaloximes are known to photodissociate in high yield under visible light irradiation, the multiplicity and energy of the photoreactive state have not been identified. Now acidopentammine complexes of cobalt(III) are known to be photosensitised both by organic triplet states and by the 'solar energy' complex [Ru(bpy)3]2+, indicating the dissociating state to have triplet character and to be of lower energy than signified by the absorption maxima. Accordingly we investigated the possibility of such sensitisers functioning in the case of the organocobalt(III) compounds both by measuring the kinetics of interaction between the donor triplet states and the alkylcobalt(III) compound by laser flash photolysis, which indicated that while donors with ET > 170 kJ mol-1 were quenched very effectively, those with low values of ET (< 110 kJ mol-1), such as rubrene and 6-carotene, where virtually without effect (kq < 107 dm3 mol-1 s-1). The detailed picture, covering a comprehensive range of triplet donors, enables a Wilkinson plot to be compiled and hence a clear picture of the energies of the active states of the alkylcobalt(III) complex. This work was extended to a range of inorganic donors of widely varying reduction potential from which it became clear that the principal process of quenching is energy- rather than electron- transfer (although the latter might participate in favoured cases). A comparative study was carried out on tris-(acetylacetonato) cobalt(III). The laser kinetic studies were augmented by a series of quantum yield experiments using sensitisers with Sj absorption well to the red of the band maxima of the CT transitions of the R-Co(III) species, but with very high values of φT.

Photophysics and Photoelectron Transfer Reactions of Bis(polypyridyl) Ruthenium(11) Complexes: We examined the temperature dependence of the luminescence lifetimes of the complexes [Ru(bpy)2acac]+ and [Ru(bpy)2en]2+ from 77 to 300 K with the view of elucidating whether their comparatively very short lifetimes at ambient temperature are due to small activation barriers to deactivation, as shown by two groups for the well-known complex [Ru(bpy)3]2+, or to large pre-exponential terms. In fact the activation barriers are very much lower than for [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and the frequency terms are also somewhat lower, the overall behaviour is thus energy-controlled. However, sizeable solvent-isotope effects (up to ca. 2) are found indicating a considerable amount of CTTS character in the electronic transition responsible for the deactivation step.

Studies of the quenching of these same Ru(II) complexes by a wide variety of electron acceptors, combined with electrochemical and lifetime measurements, indicates that whilst the behaviour of [Ru(bpy)2acac]+ follows Weller theory for excited- state electron-transfer very closely, as does [Ru(bpy)3]2+, the result for [Ru(bpy)2en]2+ indicates a generally much faster quenching than predicted for full electron-transfer, indicating the possibility of either non-radiative exciplex formation or an initial one electron oxidation of the ligand, ethylenediamine.

Luminescence from a Binuclear Platinum Complex: The complex [Pt(PPh3)2]2 luminesces not only at low-temperature (77 K), t 660 nm in glassy solvents (as recorded before), but also at ambient temperatures at 'v 460—520 nm. The room temperature emission is strongly quenched by dioxygen, which indicates it to be spin-forbidden. Temperature studies indicate that there is no gradual shift in the emission band as the temperature is raised, but rather are two coexistent and distinct emissions at 460-520 and 660 nm.


Abstract Approximately 3 billion people around the world cook and heat their homes using solid fuels in open fires and rudimentary stoves, resulting in household air pollution. Household air pollution secondary to indoor combustion of solid fuel is associated with multiple chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) outcomes. The exposure is associated with both chronic bronchitis and emphysema phenotypes of COPD as well as a distinct form of obstructive airway disease called bronchial anthracofibrosis. COPD from household air pollution differs from COPD from tobacco smoke with respect to its disproportionately greater bronchial involvement, lesser emphysematous change, greater impact on quality of life, and possibly greater oxygen desaturation and pulmonary hypertensive changes. Interventions that decrease exposure to biomass smoke may decrease the risk for incident COPD and attenuate the longitudinal decline in lung function, but more data on exposure–response relationships from well-designed longitudinal studies are needed.


Background: Cardiomyopathies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases that often lead to progressive heart failure
with significant morbidity and mortality. The improved recognition or of other factor, the incidence and prevalence of
heart failure due to cardiomyopathy appears to be increasing. Aims & Objectives: To study the prevalence, clinical profile
and outcome of patients with cardiomyopathies and to study the echocardiographic profile. Material & methods: It is
retrospective observational study of 65 patients, with age >15 years and admitted in medical ICU and ward of KIMSU,
karad. This study was conducted over period of one year. All eligible subjects underwent relevant investigations including
echocardiogram, Doppler study, electrocardiogram, chest radiogram and coronary angiogram. Proforma included age
gender presenting complaints, past history, history of medications, clinical examination and laboratory investigations.
Trans-thoracic 2-dimensional echocardiogram and Doppler study was done according to the standard protocol. Statistical
analysis: Results were given as mean ± SD. Means are compared by unpaired Students t-test. Chi-square was used as
appropriate. The observations and data were analyzed in the statistical package social sciences (SPSS) trial version 11.
The level of significance was set at P<0.05. Results: A total of 65 patients were admitted from Jan 2010 to Dec 2012
who were diagnosed with cardiomyopathy with mean age of 58.76 years (SD±15.98). Out of the total 65 cardiomyopathy
patients admitted 27 (41.53%) had Dilated cardiomyopathy (idiopathic), 15 (23.07%) patients were diagnosed with
Ischemic cardiomyopathy. Total 42 (64.61%) patients had Dilated cardiomyopathy (i.e. idiopathic and ischemic dilated
cardiomyopathy). A total 11 (16.92%) had Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), 2 (3.07%) patients had Hypertrophic
obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) with LVOT significant gradient, 5 (7.69%) patients had Restrictive cardiomyopathy
(RCMP), 4 (6.15%) had Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and 1 (1.53%) patient had miscellaneous (alcohol induced)
Cardiomyopathy. Out of 27 patients diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), 15 (55.55%) were male patients
and 12 (44.45%) were females. Out of 15 patients diagnosed with Ischemic cardiomyopathy, 7(46.66%) were males and
8(53.33%) were females. Out of 11 patients diagnosed with HCM, 9(81.81%) were males and 2(18.18%) were females.
Out of 2 patients diagnosed with HOCM 1(50%) was a male patient and 1(50%) was a female patient. There were 4
female patients who were diagnosed with PPCM. A total of 5 patients were diagnosed with RCMP, out of which 1(20%)
was a male patient 4(80%) patients were females. There was 1 male patient diagnosed with cardiomyopathy secondary
to chronic alcohol consumption. In present study breathlessness 89.23% was most common presenting symptom and
palpitations (81.53%) and cough (58.46%) were next to it with 'p' <0.001. Overall VPC's (36%) were the most common
ECG abnormality in patients with cardiomyopathy in present study with 'p' value <0.01. The LBBB (35.71%) was
more frequently seen in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy with 'p' <0.02. The atrial flutter/ fibrillation found more
commonly in patients with restrictive cardiomyopathy (80%) with 'p' value < 0.02. Total 74.07% of DCM, 86.67% of
ischemic cardiomyopathy, 50% of PPCM, 81.82% of HCM, 100% of HOCM, RCMP and alcoholic cardiomyopathy
patients had diastolic dysfunction. Idiopathic Dilated cardiomyopathy had 22% (±7.7) of lowest left ventricular ejection
fraction (LVEF). Out of total 65 patients two patients with dilated cardiomyopathy succumbed with overall mortality
3.08% and case fatality rate for DCM was 4.76%. Total 96.92% patient were discharged after treatment from the hospital.
Conclusion: Present study highlights significant burden of Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and next to it was ischemic
cardiomyopathy. A total 6 (9.23%) patients had potentially reversible cardiomyopathy like peripartum, alcoholic and
myocarditis. The cardiomyopathy is asymptomatic in the early stages hence early diagnosis and management is of vital
importance in the form of judicious use of anticoagulant, digoxin, diuretics, ACE inhibitors and betablocker is mandatory
to reduce complications, morbidity and mortality associated cardiomyopathies. Trans-thoracic echocardiogram is an
important, simple and noninvasive modality of investigation which can be reproducible for the diagnosis and fallow upof most of the cardiomyopathies. Key words: Echocardiogram, Dilated cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic obstructivecardiomyopathy, Peripartum cardiomyopathy,
Restrictive cardiomypathy.


Kinetic theory based numerical scheme such as direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) and information preservation (IP) schemes properly solve micro-nano flow problems in transition and free molecular regimes. However, the high computational cost of these methods encourages the researchers toward extending the applicability of the continuumbased equations beyond the slip flow regime. In addition to correct velocity profile, the continuum-based equations should predict accurate mass flow rate magnitude. The secondorder velocity slip models derived from the kinetic theory provide accurate velocity profiles up to Kn=0.5; however, they yield erroneous mass flow rate magnitudes because the basic Navier-Stokes equations are invalid for transition regime calculation. To remedy this shortcoming, the rarefaction effects must be considered on dynamic viscosity, i.e., µ=µ(Kn), in order to achieve correct mass flow rate magnitude despite using the kinetic-based slip model. Using shear stress distribution of IP simulations, we develop an analytical formula for dynamic viscosity for the early transition regime and use it to modify the continuumbased equations to improve more accurate mass flowrate magnitudes. Before using the IP results, we compare the accuracy of IP solution with the standard DSMC, the linearized Boltzmann and the continuum-based analytical solutions. Using the viscosity coefficient obtained from IP, the analytical expression for the mass flow rate is derived. We show that it provide accurate solutions for mass flow rate for the region of 0.1


Reducing the system cost and achieving significant profit are the key factors for every successful business sector. A consignment contract under distribution-free approach may be a fruitful combination to achieve a profitable business. This model deals with a single-period newsvendor problem with a consignment policy. The consignment policy is an agreement between any two parties, named as the consignor and the consignee. Under Stackelberg approach, firms act as leader and follower. Both parties carry some parts of the holding cost instead of one. A new policy for paying the fixed fee to the consignee is introduced. This paper considers no specific probability distribution for customer's demand except a known mean and standard deviation. An efficient approach is proposed to reduce the retailer's cost and building a sustainable consignment contract. The solution of this model is obtained using distribution free approach. A comparison between the traditional supply chain policy and the consignment policy is established. The price-sensitivity on demand is analysed. Some numerical examples and graphical representations are given for both traditional and consignment policy. Result proves that consignment policy is dominating over the traditional policy and a significant reduction of retailer's royalty is found.


We present theory and calculations of a real-time-domain interferometry for the photodetachment dynamics of negative ions in the presence of a single-cycle terahertz pulse. The photoelectron can follow two or more classical trajectories to arrive at a detector simultaneously allowing the electron waves to interfere quantum mechanically. Both the in-phase and antiphase oscillations can be observed in the photoelectron interferences from negative hydrogen and fluorine ions depending on the pulse strength and the observing angle. Especially, a temporal-caustic bifurcation is observed when the detection angle is not in line with the pulse polarization direction. Similar interferences and bifurcations are also expected in the angle-resolved energy spectrum, as a result of its approximate equivalence with the time-dependent electron flux at large distances.


A model of arch stability in a conical hopper section has been derived, based upon the approaches of Walters, Walker and Li. A simple flow rule has resulted from this analysis. The model has been applied to vibrationally activated conical hoppers. Two limiting conditions were considered: the push mode, in which the vibrated wall section compresses the bulk material at plastic yield; and the pull mode, in which the wall releases stress upon the contained material and, with in the limit, exerts no hoop stress over the vibrated section of the hopper wall. The pull mode is assumed to induce a switch in stress orientation from a passive to an active stress state. Theoretically, this is very effective at causing flow within the contained materials. The model has been applied to a number of scenarios involving typical bulk materials, and the following conclusions have been deduced:. (1) Vibration can be very effective at inducing flow in hopper systems and can generate flows at shallower wall-slope angles and much smaller outlet diameters than conventional analysis will permit. (2) The flow regime from a vibrationally induced system will probably be stick-slip. (3) The most effective strategy is to induce vibration over the complete height of the hopper. This will permit flow through very small outlets (theoretically down to zero diameter).However, there are mechanical problems associated with this approach. (4) When vibration is applied to a section of the cone, the location of the vibration source is acritical design parameter. The proposed model may provide the beginnings of a rational basis for design in this respect. (5) The 'one-third cone height' vibration mount rule is not generally applicable.


BACKGROUND
Compact and short pre-travel immunization schedules, which include several vaccinations in a single visit, are desirable for many travelers. However, concomitant vaccination could potentially compromise immunogenicity and/or safety of the individual vaccines and, therefore, possible vaccine interferences should be carefully assessed. This article discusses the immunogenicity and safety of travel vaccines for typhoid fever (TF) and yellow fever (YF), when administered with or without a quadrivalent meningococcal glycoconjugate ACWY-CRM vaccine (MenACWY-CRM).

METHODS
Healthy adults (18-≤60 years) were randomized to one of three vaccine regimens: TF + YF + MenACWY-CRM (group I; n = 100), TF + YF (group II; n = 101), or MenACWY-CRM (group III; n = 100). Immunogenicity at baseline and 4 weeks post-vaccination (day 29) was assessed by serum bactericidal assay using human complement (hSBA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), or a neutralization test. Adverse events (AEs) and serious adverse events (SAEs) were collected throughout the study period.

RESULTS
Non-inferiority of post-vaccination geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) and geometric mean titers (GMTs) was established for TF and YF vaccines, respectively, when given concomitantly with MenACWY-CRM vaccine versus when given alone. The percentages of subjects with seroprotective neutralizing titers against YF on day 29 were similar in groups I and II. The antibody responses to meningococcal serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y were within the same range when MenACWY-CRM was given separately or together with TF and YF vaccines. The percentage of subjects reporting AEs was the same for TF and YF vaccines with or without MenACWY-CRM vaccine. There were no reports of SAEs or AEs leading to study withdrawals.

CONCLUSIONS
These data provide evidence that MenACWY-CRM can be administered with typhoid Vi polysaccharide vaccine and live attenuated YF vaccine without compromising antibody responses stimulated by the individual vaccines. MenACWY-CRM can, therefore, be incorporated into travelers' vaccination programs without necessitating an additional clinic visit (NCT01466387).


Bullying is one of the major problems among students in school. Bullies use scare tactics to bully smaller or weaker students that might affect their esteem. High self-esteem and positive self-concept are important characteristics of an individual. The study intends to determine the association of perceived bullying and self-esteem of the junior high school students in Jagobiao National High School. This study used the quantitative approach descriptive survey design to determine the association between level of perceived bullying and their self-esteem. The researchers used checklist as the research instrument. The checklist has two parts consisting 10 indicators in each part. The first 10 indicators are about perceived bullying and the next 10 parts are all about students' self-esteem. The data gathered will be treated with the use sum, frequency and simple percentage, weighted mean and chi-square. The result shows that the students were sometimes bullied by lies and false rumors that were told by others to hurt them. The students sometimes do not trust their strength and capabilities. There is no significant association between bullying and students' self-esteem. Perceived bullying among students has nothing to do with their self-esteem.


Fermentation in the large bowel has been postulated to play a protective role against colon cancer. Hydrogen and methane are end products of this fermentation process and are absorbed into the bloodstream and excreted via expired air in the breath. Breath levels of hydrogen and, to a lesser extent, methane correlate strongly with colonic fermentation and may serve as useful biomarkers for this process. In a preliminary study to assess the usefulness of these two markers in epidemiologic studies, we followed the hourly excretion of the two gases in expired alveolar air for 48 hr in 20 healthy subjects, using a Quintron gas chromatograph equipped with a solid-state detector specific for reducing gases. All subjects excreted hydrogen, but 71% did not excrete methane. Possible atmospheric contamination of the samples was corrected for on the basis of breath carbon dioxide levels. A clear circadian pattern of excretion was observed for breath hydrogen, with a decrease during the early morning followed by a progressive increase during the rest of the day. Methane excretion was constant throughout the day. This study shows that four samples collected at convenient times (0600, 1300, 1800, and 2200 hr) are optimal to characterize individuals by their breath excretions of hydrogen and methane during a 24-hr period.


We address the problem of designing a stabilizing output feedback, via the separation principle. Our aim is to propose a more usable technique. The system can be written in any coordinates and is supposed to be locally uniformly observable. Starting form a known state feedback we do one step of backtepping to have access to the input derivative. This is sufficient to design a high gain observer in the original coordinates that we modify to prevent peaking and constrain the estimated state to remain in the observability domain.


Summary
Nodamura virus, an ether- and chloroformresistant arbovirus, uniformly passed filters with pore sizes of 100 but not 50 mµ, and 55 to 75 mµ virus-like particles were seen in infected mouse brain and heart. It produced limb paralysis, inflammatory and degenerative lesions in centralnervous-system tissues, skeletal muscle and brown fat, and death of suckling mice 5 to 15 days after intracranial, subcutaneous, or intraperitoneal inoculation. Suspensions of mouse limb muscle contained higher concentrations of infectious virus than brain suspensions. Antibody formation without disease occurred after one sc inoculation of a pig and after three or four ip or intramuscular inoculations of adult mice and rabbits; however, neutralizing antibody did not form in baby chicks after one sc inoculation. No overt illness occurred after inoculation of baby chicks (ic or im), weanling mice and rabbits (ic), weanling guinea pigs and Syrian hamsters (ic, ip, and im), or embryonated chicken eggs (chorioallantoic membrane, amniotic sac, or yolk sac). No cytopathologic effects were seen within 9 to 25 days after inoculation of primary cell cultures of Syrian hamster, porcine, calf, rabbit, suckling Swiss albino mouse and cynomolgus-monkey kidney, whole chicken embryo and human amnion, or of continuous cell cultures from human cervical carcinoma (HeLa), human liver and conjunctiva (Chang), C2H mouse subcutaneous tissue (L), rabbit papilloma, and rabbit skin.
Infection of swine was common on farms near Tokyo during 1956–57, but only one of 54 herons and egrets, none of 29 rural residents, and none of 13 urban residents near Tokyo showed N antibody in plasma collected during 1956–57.


[1] High-resolution spectra of the night sky at near-equatorial latitudes have been obtained with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph on the 8.2 m Kueyen telescope, European Southern Observatory, Cerro Paranal, Chile, during the 29–31 October 2003 geomagnetic superstorms. These spectra show indications of both thermospheric and ionospheric disturbance. Numerous emission features observed in these spectra have behaviors that correlate with the negative magnitude of the disturbance storm time index (Dst), a measure of the ring current influence on equatorial magnetic field strength. Specifically, the intensity of the optically forbidden and rarely observed O+(2Do–4So) doublet lines at 372.6 and 372.9 nm increases with decreasing Dst and have profiles that often possess unusual morphology. Also observed on nights with strong geomagnetic activity is sustained emission after twilight from both the N2+ first negative system 0-0 band at 391.4 nm and the He(3p3Po–2s3S) 388.9 nm line. The intensities of permitted neutral oxygen lines nominally arising from electron radiative recombination are suppressed during active periods relative to levels measured during quiescent periods. The pattern of emission in these spectra may reflect the manifestation of a variety of storm time phenomena, including negative ionospheric storms, energetic neutral auroras, and stable auroral red arcs, and indicates substantial energy deposition at high altitudes.


Digital therapeutics (DTx) companies are making efforts to expand their consumer base in the growing market. To this end, many of them reposition their existing products to identify new target diseases. In this study, we provide a link prediction framework for DTx product repositioning on the basis of a multiplex disorder network by integrating multiple data sources, such as associated genes between disorders, shared drugs, and patents of treatment protocols. To capture the disorders' latent features, both random-walk-based and deep-learning-based graph embedding methods are applied to transform the graph structure into vectors. Consequently, new indications are suggested for DTx products based on the cosine similarity between original and candidate disorders. Our framework was applied to five psychiatric DTx products to determine new target disorders that have the highest treatment potential for each product. Therefore, the study results are expected to assist DTx firms in entering the novel target market with low risk within a short period. Moreover, the applicability of DTx products to a wider variety of disorders may increase access to overall patient groups and gradually improve public health.


In this paper, a novel color face recognition method is proposed based on local binary patterns (LBP) of quaternionic Gabor features (QGF). By introducing quaternion Gabor analysis into image representation, we make full use of the interrelationship among different color channels to enhance the performance of the face recognition system. Moreover, the QGF are used to encode the positions and attributes of the face elements. Non-parametric transformation is then imposed on these QGF using LBP method to obtain the robustness against variations of pose, illumination and facial expressions. Compared with the monochromatic face recognition systems, which nowadays dominate the marketplace and research field, this approach materializes the strong potential use of color face recognition system by establishing invariant quaternion wavelet features of color images. The experimental results on the open face database testify the validity of the proposed method under severe noise corruption and distinct variations of scale, illumination and facial expressions.


Fractons are topological quasiparticles with limited mobility. While there exists a variety of models hosting these excitations, typical fracton systems require rather complicated many-particle interactions. Here, we discuss fracton behavior in the more common physical setting of classical kagome spin models with frustrated two-body interactions only. We investigate systems with different types of elementary spin degrees of freedom (three-state Potts, XY, and Heisenberg spins) which all exhibit characteristic subsystem symmetries and fracton-like excitations. The mobility constraints of isolated fractons and bound fracton pairs in the three-state Potts model are, however, strikingly different compared to the known type-I or type-II fracton models. One may still explain these properties in terms of type-I fracton behavior and construct an effective low-energy tensor gauge theory when considering the system as a 2D cut of a 3D cubic lattice model. Our extensive classical Monte-Carlo simulations further indicate a crossover into a low temperature glassy phase where the system gets trapped in metastable fracton states. Moving on to XY spins, we find that in addition to fractons the system hosts fractional vortex excitations. As a result of the restricted mobility of both types of defects, our classical Monte-Carlo simulations do not indicate a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition but again show a crossover into a glassy low-temperature regime. Finally, the energy barriers associated with fractons vanish in the case of Heisenberg spins, such that defect states may continuously decay into a ground state. These decays, however, exhibit a power-law relaxation behavior which leads to slow equilibration dynamics at low temperatures.


Reward shaping is one of the most effective methods to tackle the crucial yet challenging problem of credit assignment and accelerate Reinforcement Learning. However, designing shaping functions usually requires rich expert knowledge and hand-engineering, and the difficulties are further exacerbated given multiple tasks to solve. In this paper, we consider reward shaping on a distribution of tasks that share state spaces but not necessarily action spaces. We provide insights into optimal reward shaping, and propose a novel meta-learning framework to automatically learn such reward shaping to apply on newly sampled tasks. Theoretical analysis and extensive experiments establish us as the state-of-the-art in learning task-distribution reward shaping, outperforming previous such works (Konidaris and Barto 2006; Snel and Whiteson 2014). We further show that our method outperforms learning intrinsic rewards (Yang et al. 2019; Zheng et al. 2020), outperforms Rainbow (Hessel et al. 2018) in complex pixel-based CoinRun games, and is also better than hand-designed reward shaping on grids. While the goal of this paper is to learn reward shaping rather than to propose new general meta-learning algorithms as PEARL (Rakelly et al. 2019) or MQL (Fakoor et al. 2020), our framework based on MAML (Finn, Abbeel, and Levine 2017) also outperforms PEARL / MQL, and could combine with them for further improvement.


A 27-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with the complaint of general fatigue. He had cervical and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Laboratory examination revealed anemia, hypergammaglobulinemia, and increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). A chest radiograph showed opacities in both lung fields. Pathological findings from thoracoscopic mediastinal lymph node and lung biopsies were compatible with multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD), plasma cell type with pulmonary involvement. Chemotherapy combined with radiation therapy resulted in no improvement of his lymphadenopathy and inflammatory symptoms. Eight mg/kg humanized anti-human IL-6 receptor antibody (tocilitumab) was thus administered biweekly. Soon after initiating the tocilitumab treatment, the patient's general fatigue disappeared, and anemia, CRP, ESR, hypergammaglobulinemia and lymphadenopathy all improved remarkably. Further treatment with tocilitumab for two years resulted in maintenance of this good response without any severe adverse events, but the pulmonary findings showed no obvious improvement. Tocilitumab therapy was effective in this MCD patient, however its influence on concurrent lung disease needs to be investigated further.


A low interest rate environment can pose a key risk to the life insurance sector. A deteriorating return on investment holdings jeopardizes the guaranteed return on life insurance contracts. In this paper, we examine the effect of low interest rates on German life insurers by applying various adverse scenarios to a simple model of life insurers' balance sheets. A low return on investment can lead to a depletion of the bonus and rebate provisions. As a result, life insurers resilience may deteriorate. By way of this analysis, we can model approximately when the bonus and rebate provisions will be depleted.


Rock and concrete are typical heterogeneous material that the meso-scale heterogeneity may have a significant effect on their macro-scale mechanical responses. In this work, a digital image-based (DIB) technique is employed to characterize and quantify the heterogeneity of concrete, and the obtained data is directly imported into a numerical code named RFPA (Rock Failure Process Analysis) to study the effect of heterogeneity on the failure process of concrete. The upgraded RFPA is capable to simulate the progressive failure of brittle materials such as rock and concrete, representing both the growth of existing fractures and the formation of new fractures, obviating the need to identify crack tips and their interaction explicitly. The simulated results are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements and phenomenological observations reported in previous studies.


The seminal work of J. B. Jefferys highlighted two unusual features of the Victorian equity market, namely high share denomination and uncalled capital. This article examines the extent to which publicly traded company stocks in the nineteenth century had these features. It also analyses the effect of these features on stock returns using monthly data for the London Stock Market over the period 1825–70. We find that stocks with unpaid capital earned a higher return, which is consistent with investors being rewarded for the risk of a call on their personal assets. We also find that stocks with a high share denomination earned a lower return, which is consistent with the view that this feature was conducive to superior corporate governance.


According to the demand of laser initiating device miniaturization and low power consumption of weapon system, research on the low power pulse laser detonation circuit with super capacitor. Established a dynamic model of laser output based on super capacitance storage capacity, discharge voltage and programmable output pulse width. The output performance of the super capacitor under different energy storage capacity and discharge voltage is obtained by simulation. The experimental test system was set up, and the laser diode of low power pulsed laser detonation circuit was tested and the laser output waveform of laser diode in different energy storage capacity and discharge voltage was collected. Experiments show that low power pulse laser detonation based on super capacitor energy storage circuit discharge with high efficiency, good transient performance, for a low power consumption requirement, for laser detonation system and low power consumption and provide reference light miniaturization of engineering practice.


Disparities in access and outcomes of thoracic surgical oncology are long standing. This article examines the patient, population, and systems‐level factors that contribute to these disparities and inequities. The need for research and policy to identify and solve these problems is apparent. As leaders in the field of thoracic oncology, surgeons will be instrumental in narrowing these gaps and moving the discipline forward.


Actual bidders in Internet auctions were more likely to participate in auctions when sellers' screen names had the same first character as their own screen name. This is a case of implicit egotism, whereby people gravitate toward things that resemble the self, and the first such case to be driven by a non-birth given characteristic. However, bidders were less likely to win higher-priced auctions under the same conditions. We propose that this reversal of implicit egotism is due to the salience of risk that may have negative implications for the self. John enjoys participating in Internet auctions. His screen name is pguy111. One day he comes across two auctions for a new DVD. One seller's screen name is patrick6, while the other's is matman. Judging from information like the sellers' feedback ratings, John believes both are equally trustworthy and that neither one's auction represents a potential cost savings over the other. In which auction will John participate? It may be expected that John will be indifferent. In this paper we propose that John will be more likely to participate in patrick6's auction than matman's auction. Further, we propose that if the auction was not for a DVD, but for a more expensive item such as a DVD player, then John might tacitly avoid patrick6's auction. One reason John may choose to participate in patrick6's auction is because of John's apparent self association with the letter P, as indicated by the choice of his own screen name. Research on implicit egotism indicates that for the most part people feel good about themselves and that these positive associations spill over into judgments of stimuli that share even the most superfluous characteristic with the self such as the initial of their first name (Jones, Pelham, and Mirenberg 2002; Pelham, Mirenberg, and Jones 2002). The implicit egotism effect has been shown to be truly implicit, outside of conscious awareness (Jones et al. 2004). Implicit egotism has been shown to influence major life decisions including choices of professions (Pelham, Mirenberg, and Jones 2002; e.g. Dennis is likely to be dentist.), living locations (Pelham et al. 2003; e.g. Florence is likely to live in Florida.), and romantic partners (Jones et al. 2004; e.g. Jennifer is likely to marry Jesse.). It has also been shown to influence brand choices (Brendl et al. 2005). Based on this line of research, if John associates himself with the letter P, then he should have positive associations about sellers who also use the letter P to represent themselves. Thus, while his conscious comparison of matman's and patrick6's auctions may deem them equal, we argue that John should be more likely to participate in the latter's auction because his implicit judgment of patrick6 should be more positive than that of matman. This is an important contribution because extant research shows that implicit egotism stems only from a person's birth-given characteristics. This research shows that the effect of implicit egotism is more prevalent than previously thought because other types of self-associations (e.g., pseudonym) may lead to implicit egotism. To date, research has shown only positive effects of implicit egotism. However, negative effects are theoretically possible. For example, if John encounters someone who resembles himself, like patrick6, and that person potentially has negative attributes, would John still gravitate toward this person? Prior research indicates that an individual will distance oneself from a group when the group exhibits undesirable attributes that might reflect negatively on oneself (Cialdini et al. 1976; Snyder, Lassegard, and Ford 1986; Schimel et al. 2000). When John bids on Internet auctions, he is aware that sellers might act fraudulently. When auction prices are high, the threat of fraud should loom particularly large. John should not want to associate his self-concept with the negative attributes that sellers may possess. Therefore, if auctions for an item have high prices, then John should avoid those auctions in which the seller's screen name shares characteristics with his own. If matman and patrick6's auctions are for a DVD player, then John should avoid patrick6's auction because he does not want to associate potentially negative characteristics with his self-concept. As discussed next, our data support this argument. Thus, this research makes another important contribution by demonstrating the reversal of implicit egotism for the first time. A field study demonstrates the influence of implicit egotism in Internet auction participant behavior. Data was collected from the popular Internet auction site Ebay from November 2005 through January 2006. The set included 123,639 unique auction-bidder-seller combinations and 59,208 unique auction-winner-seller combinations. To ensure that we were studying a truly implicit effect, we examined Advances in Consumer Research (Volume 34) / 363 the likelihood of bidding on an auction when only the first character of the seller's screen name matched the first character of the bidder's screen name. Indeed, bidders had a greater than chance likelihood of participating in an auction when the first character of the seller's screen name matched the first character of their own. To examine the hypothesis that the implicit egotism effect would reverse for high priced auctions, we looked at winner-seller pairs because auction winners are financially committed to the transaction. Consistent with our theorizing, for auctions with high bids over $50, bidders had a less than chance likelihood of winning an auction when the first character of the seller's screen name matched their own. Experimental data currently being collected will replicate and extend these findings. This research has a number of implications. Implicit egotism not only causes people to gravitate toward things that resemble the self. It also drives people away from self-resembling entities when those entities have potentially negative implications for the self. This opens up a new line of questioning in implicit egotism research. For example, would people named Carl have a higher than chance likelihood of living in Compton, California, notorious for its housing projects and gang activity? Additionally, implicit egotism had been primarily demonstrated through birth-given characteristics (name, birthday). This study shows that implicit egotism can also work via characteristics one selects to represent oneself (e.g., job title). References Brendl, C. Miguel, Amitava Chattopadhyay, Brett W. Pelham, and Mauricio Carvallo (2005). Name letter branding: Valence transfers when product specific needs are active. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(Dec), 405-415. Cialdini, Robert B., Richard J. Borden, Avril Thorne, Marcus Randall Walker, Stephen Freeman, and Lloyd Reynolds Sloan (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 406-415. Jones, John T., Brett W. Pelham, Mauricio Carvallo, and Matthew C. Mirenberg (2004). How do I love thee? Let me count the J's: Implicit egotism and interpersonal attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 665-683. Jones, John T., Brett W. Pelham, and Matthew C. Mirenberg (2002). Name letter preferences are not merely mere exposure: Implicit egotism as self-regulation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 170-177. Pelham, Brett W., Mauricio Carvallo, Tracy DeHart, and John T. Jones (2003). Assessing the validity of implicit egotism: A reply to Gallucci. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 800-807. Pelham, Brett W., Matthew C. Mirenberg, and John T. Jones (2002). Why Susie sells seashells by the seashore: Implicit egotism and major life decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 469-487. Schimel, Jeff, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pysczynski, Heather O'Mahen, and Jamie Arndt (2000). Running from the shadow: Psychological distancing from others to deny characteristics people fear in themselves. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 78(Mar), 446-462. Snyder, C. R., MaryAnne Lassegard, and Carol E. Ford (1986). Distancing after group success and failure: Basking in reflected glory and cutting off reflected failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 382-388. An Exploratory Study on Attitude Toward Luxury Products, Counterfeits and Imitations Brigitte Muller, HEC Lausanne, Switzerland Bruno Kocher, HEC Lausanne, Switzerland


Objectives: On standard axillary radiographs of normal shoulders, the clavicle may appear subluxated posteriorly. This subluxation might be viewed as an indication for surgical stabilization in acromioclavicular (AC) injury. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of identification of anteroposterior displacements of the AC joint on standard axillary radiographs of the human shoulder. Methods: We performed 170 radiographs of the AC joint in 10 cadaveric shoulders using various projection angles. The distance from the anterior margin of the acromion to the distal clavicle was measured to identify an "optimal" view to image the true anteroposterior alignment of normal AC joints. Results: On the standard axillary view of intact shoulders, we found an average posterior translation of 1.7 mm (range, −3 to 7; SD, 2.8) and of 0.9 mm (range, −5 to 5; SD, 2.8) in an "optimal view," tilted 15 degees dorsal and 15 degees lateral. Conclusions: The standard axillary radiograph has a very high sensitivity but poor accuracy in identifying a posterior clavicular translation in the AC joint. We could not identify a reliable modification of the axillary radiographic projection to improve the accuracy. Therefore, an apparent posterior subluxation of the clavicle identified on an axillary radiograph is more likely a false positive finding than an identification of a true pathology.


Simulations of the thermal and dynamical evolution of primordial gas typically focus on the role played by H2 cooling. H2 is the dominant coolant in low-density primordial gas and it is usually assumed that it remains dominant at high densities. However, H2 is not an effective coolant at high densities, owing to the low critical density at which it reaches local thermodynamic equilibrium and to the large opacities that develop in its emission lines. It is therefore important to quantify the contribution made to the cooling rate by emission from the other molecules and ions present in the gas. A particularly interesting candidate is the H3+ ion, which is known to be an effective coolant at high densities in planetary atmospheres. In this paper, we present results from simulations of the thermal and chemical evolution of gravitationally collapsing primordial gas, which include a detailed treatment of H3+ chemistry and an approximate treatment of H3+ cooling. We show that in most cases, the contribution from H3+ is too small to be important, but if a sufficiently strong ionizing background is present, then H3+ cooling may become significant.


We present new results from a series of CDM simulations of cluster mass haloes resolved with high force and mass resolution. These results are compared with recently published simulations from groups using various codes including PKDGRAV, ART, TPM, GRAPE and GADGET. Careful resolution tests show that with 25 million particles within the high-resolution region we can resolve to about 0.3 per cent of the virial radius and that convergence in radius is proportional to the mean interparticle separation. The density profiles of 26 high-resolution clusters obtained with the different codes and from different initial conditions agree very well. The average logarithmic slope at one per cent of the virial radius is γ = 1.26 with a scatter of ±0.17. Over the entire resolved regions the density profiles are well fitted by a smooth function that asymptotes to a central cusp ρ ∝ r−γ , where we find γ = 1.16 ± 0.14 from the mean of the fits to our six highest-resolution clusters.


We present a case report of chemotherapy induced renal salt wasting syndrome (RSWS) that was initially diagnosed and managed as syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), based on osmolality values as well as hydration status. The patient was receiving chemotherapy for metastatic testicular cancer. Progressive deterioration of electrolyte balance prompted the diagnosis of RSWS. This was confirmed by a high urinary sodium concentration, a simple but important investigation which is rarely requested in the initial investigation of hyponatraemia. Urine sodium concentration is high in RSWS but normal in SIADH. With chemotherapy playing such an important role in cancer management, the correct diagnosis of hyponatraemia in an oncology patient is vital in order to allow appropriate management. Although the distinctions between SIADH and RSWS can be very subtle, the management of these two distinct clinical situations is very different—namely, fluid restriction versus salt replacement.


Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) is very prevalent, with 12% of the general population and 20% of older individuals being affected. The purpose of this study was to determine if non-invasive measurements of baseline flux (the product of blood flow velocity and blood volume) or thermal hyperemia (heat-induced flux increase) of the skin, in affected areas of patients with severe lower limb PVD could detect a perfusion deficit. In addition, the relative contributions of the co-morbid conditions diabetes mellitus (DM), congestive heart failure (CHF) smoking (SMO) and hypertension (HTN) to the flux data were evaluated. Cross-sectional study of 73 subjects with PVD involving analysis of skin perfusion images obtained with a laser Doppler Imager and the thermostatically controlled heating element of a TCO2M transcutaneous PO2/PCO2 monitor that elevated temperature of a circular skin area of 8 mm diameter to 44°C. The dissipation of the heat hyperemia with distance was quantified by fitting the values of flux beyond the border of the heating element (F) and their distance (D) to the first order rate equation: F = A * EXP(B*D)+ C. The parameter A represents the difference between flux at the border of the heating element and at the farthest (non-heated) distance away from it, B is the reciprocal of the space constant for flux decay and C is the asymptotic value of flux away from the heated area. These parameters were calculated by non-linear regression with a Newton-Gauss algorithm. Mean of parameter A (402.4) but not of parameters B (0.34) and C (109.9) of subjects with PVD were below the lower 95% confidence interval of laboratory normal values (A: 445.6-586.6; B: 0.29-0.40; C: 91.2-119.6). Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that HTN was the only co-morbid condition studied to significantly aggravate the decrease in parameter A. Image analysis of LDI data obtained from heated and non-heated areas of lower limb skin detected a decrease of heat hyperemia in subjects with PVD. The presence of the co-morbid condition HTN aggravated this deficit. Further exploration of the mechanism of this deficit and its potential prognostic value are warranted.


Background: It is thought that apocrine gland carcinoma in the eyelid is rare and its prognosis is very poor. To achieve a curative treatment, we must remove the tumour with surrounding normal tissue, such as orbital contents or the skin of the face, in which case the loss of physiologic lacrimal function and facial cosmesis are serious concerns.
Methods: A case presentation, treatment, and review of the literature and discussed.
Results: Patient was a 54-year-old male. The tumour at the right inferior eyelid extended to the upper eyelid via the medial can thus, infraorbital fat tissue and medial rectus muscle. We performed a curative operation. The tumor was removed completely, along with the medial side of the eyelids, orbital contents and the right maxillary bone.
Conclusions: We performed the treatment for adenocarcinoma of the eyelid. As a result, we could obtain patient's and his families' satisfaction.


INTRODUCTION
To determine the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of diagnostic and therapeutic ureteroscopy in renal allograft ureters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
We reviewed 1560 consecutive renal allografts have been preformed between June 1989 and February 2002.Twenty-eight patients (1.8%) had indication for endoscopic procedure on allograft ureter. Six patients had obstructive ureteral calculi with a history of failed ESWL, 3 had suspected ureteral stricture, 9 had upward migrated ureteral stents and 10 had ureteral stricture at ureteroneocystostomy site. Ureters were anastomosed to bladder using Leadbetter- Politano and Lich-GreGoire methods in 6 and 22 cases, respectively. Ureteroscopies were performed with semi rigid 9.8F wolf ureteroscope.

RESULTS
Identifying and introducing the ureteral orifice was successful in 19(68%) cases. If we exclude 10 patients with ureteral stricture, ureteroscopy was successful in 13 out of 18 (72%). Four ureteral calculi (67%) were removed with ureteroscope.Seven out of nine migrated stents (78%) were retrieved. Four patients with ureteral stricture at ureteroneocystostomy site (40%) had successful ureteral dilatation and double J ureteral catheters were also inserted. Diagnostic ureteroscopy was successful in all cases. Two complications including one urinary leakage and one symptomatic urinary tract infection occurred that were managed conservatively.

CONCLUSION
Ureteral endoscopy was safe and effective method for management of urological complications after RT (renal transplantation). This procedure can be considered as the first choice compared with percutaneous and antegrade modalities.


Introduction: The gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a dirt borne human and creature pathogen that courses in regular foci of contamination. It could be transmitted to anthropogenic condition to build up foci of disease at ranches and food industry plants. The majority of listeriosis cases in people are brought about by a couple of clonal buildings. In the interim, dominant part of L. monocytogenes strains convey a similar arrangement of significant destructiveness factors. We proposed that exceptionally harmful strains convey explicit variations of significant harmfulness factors. Especially, the intrusion components of the internalin family, InlA and InlB that give crossing the intestinal boundary, could be better adjusted in profoundly harmful strains. The reason for this examination was to check this speculation on the model of the intrusion factor InlB.
Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen liable for an illness called listeriosis, which is possibly deadly in immunocompromised people. This bacterium, first utilized as a model to consider cell-interceded resistance, has risen in the course of recent years as a worldview in contamination science, cell science and principal microbiology. In this Review, we feature ongoing advances in the comprehension of human listeriosis and L. monocytogenes science. We depict unsuspected methods of seizing host cell science, running from changes in organelle morphology to coordinate consequences for have translation through another class of bacterial effectors called nucleomodulins. We at that point examine progresses in understanding contamination in vivo, including the disclosure of tissue-explicit destructiveness factors and the 'weapons contest' among microorganisms going after a specialty in the microbiota. At long last, we portray the multifaceted nature of bacterial guideline and physiology, fusing new bits of knowledge into the instruments of activity of a progression of riboregulators that are basic for effective metabolic guideline, anti-infection opposition and interspecies rivalry.
Listeria monocytogenes turned into an expanding pathogen included all the more as often as possible in inconsistent serious sicknesses and flare-ups of foodborne contaminations. This examination researches in vitro defenselessness of 26 strains of Listeria monocytogenes segregated from the clinical examples gathered between March 2009 and November 2013, from 24 patients hospitalized in three clinical organizations in Bucharest.
All disengages were tried by plate dissemination strategy to 15 antimicrobial operators, by utilizing circle dispersion tests. Among the 26 clinical L. monocytogenes confines tried, no multidrug safe strains were distinguished, however 18 (72%) were seen as impervious to at any rate one clinically applicable anti-microbial. Among them, 18 clinical secludes were safe against ciprofloxacin too. Protection from Ciprofloxacin was especially seen to the strains in Romania.
Serological and atomic composing by Multiplex PCR strategy identified two sub-atomic sorts 1/2 a, 3a and 1/2 b, 3b, with respect to the more successive segregated among contemplated cases. These sorts of L. monocytogenes could be related to the higher pathogenic movement of immunodeficient patients.
Listeriosis, a typical foodborne sickness can turn into a serious ailment in high hazard populaces, for example, pregnant ladies or infants, and patients with hidden immunodeficient maladies. Listeriosis can build up an obtrusive nature and can prompt high lethality (20-30%) in instances of immunodeficient patients. Because of the universal nearness of L. monocytogenes, the danger of disease can be spoken to by a huge assortment of creature and vegetable food items
L. monocytogenes is viewed as a risky operator in the food business, because of its capacity to develop and duplicate at low temperature or gas or in items put away and kept refrigerated, having the option to increase at refrigeration temperatures and to shape biofilms
L. monocytogenes additionally make due in various mixes of pH and salt fixations and create protection from overwhelming metals or sanitizers utilized in the food business. As opposed to other microbes, L. monocytogenes has not been created as a high safe life form to anti-microbials regularly utilized in the treatment of contamination infections. Be that as it may, the primary strains of L. monocytogenes indicating a multidrug-safe trademark have been depicted in the years 1988-1995. Morvan et al. [11] dissected the defenselessness to 27 anti-microbials of 4,816 clinical L. monocytogenes strains, detached somewhere in the range of 1926 and 2007, and found that obstruction against antibiotic medications and fluoroquinolones were increasingly normal and has as of late rose. In our work
Philosophy: InlB changeability was examined on a research center assortment of 65 L. monocytogenes strains and contrasted and information accessible from GeneBank. Transcendent InlB isoforms were utilized to supplement inlB erasure in EGDeΔinlB strain. Destructiveness was surveyed in cell attack test and a mouse model. Purged InlB isoforms were described by SEC and fluorescence.
Discoveries: Four InlB variations were pervasive among L. monocytogenes. Being cloned in EGDeΔinlB, all variations reestablished intrusion in mammalian cells. After intragastric disease, the strain conveying InlB variation Var14 was the best and indicated 40-crease higher loads in the liver, persistance in Peyer's patches and animated lower levels of INFgamma. Var14 was the main InlB isoform that gave perinatal contamination. All cleansed InlB isoforms-initiated c-Met yet varied in energy Erk1/2 and Akt flagging pathways InlB isoforms contrasted in protein steadiness. End and Significance: InlB isoforms distinctively influenced L. monocytogenes harmfulness because of contrasts in their organic and physicochemical properties.
Results: The work bolstered the speculation about destructiveness factor changeability as a cellar of exceptionally harmful strains emerging.


In this experiment, a residual water level gaging in a bellows tube is implemented by appling the immersion ultrasonic technique. The bellows tube is located in a complex structure. Since it is located at considerable depth implemented, it is difficult to approach it from the outside working area, which has a residual water level after a drainage of the water in it, because a structure like the bellows has a peak and mold shape.


Although rapidly developing information technologies, like the Internet, can improve the patient's access to health information, a patient still doesn't have enough ability to appropriately use health information. Hence doctors' efforts to help patient understand and interpret medical information by efficiently communicating with patient might enhance the patient's ability to utilize relevant medical information by which the patient's use of medical care would be affected. Furthermore, by manipulating doctor's payment method, doctor's effort of effectively communicating with patient would be affected and in turn patient's medical care use would be affected. This research seeks to determine whether a doctor's effort mentioned above can affect the patient's use of medical care, and in the policy perspective, whether the doctor's payment method can affect effort level provided to patients. The empirical results suggest the doctor's rate of supply-side cost sharing, representing a doctor's financial constraint, has a statistically significant positive effect on doctor's effort level and the doctor's effort level in turn has a statistically significant negative effect on medical care use of those patients who are prone to overuse it.


As a continuation of our efforts in developing new antimycobacterial agents, a series of new 1,3-thiazolidine-2-thione derivatives were synthesized. The chemical structures of the compounds were elucidated by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and Mass spectra. The analysis of theoretical toxicity risks, drug-likeness and drug-score for these series using Osiris program showed acceptable results.


Abstract The Viséan–Serpukhovian boundary is poorly defined in South China, hampering regional and global stratigraphical correlations. The foraminiferal and conodont distribution of the Baping Formation in the carbonate-slope Danlu section permits the recognition of an interval from the middle Viséan to the uppermost Serpukhovian in a continuous succession. The base of the Serpukhovian in Danlu is recognized by the first occurrences of Janischewskina delicata, Howchinia subplana and questionable 'Millerella' tortula. At a slightly younger level, the conodont Lochriea ziegleri is first recorded. A calibration on the first occurrence of L. ziegleri in different basins at a global scale has been revised compared to auxiliary markers within the ammonoids and foraminifers. The late occurrence of L. ziegleri in the Danlu section also supports a lack of synchronicity in the global first occurrence of this taxon. This study calls for the recognition of a new base for the Serpukhovian under a far better correlation between different zonal schemes and fossil groups.


The Humphead Wrasse Cheilinus undulatus is a naturally rare coral reef fish species. This study was designed to understand further the regulations in Hong Kong and mainland China, both major consumer markets, for HHW import, re-export and domestic sale; as well as the level of implementation of national laws, including inspection and enforcement practices for shipments made between Hong Kong and mainland China.


The fine-grained carbonate deposits of the Oligocene to early Miocene of Cyprus are the most characteristic example of onshore outcropping carbonate drifts. These deposits were analyzed from a sedimentological and ichnological perspective, in order to determine the origin of the lenticular bedding characteristic of such deposits. The facies at the two study sections, Tsada and Petra Tou Romiou, consist of an alternation of thin, poorly cemented, intensely bioturbated marly limestone intervals and thick cemented wackestone intervals with abundant bioturbation and "lenticular bedding." The ichnoassemblage, comprising Zoophycos, Thalassinoides, and Planolites is attributable to the Zoophycos Ichnofacies. The alternation of intervals with medium to well-preserved traces with completely biogenically homogenized facies reflects changes in substrate consistency related to changes in bottom-current velocity or to sedimentation. The presence of lenticular-bedding-like structures in the study deposits, traditionally considered diagnostic of bottom-current action in carbonate-drift outcrops, is shown to be exclusively the result of bioturbation. In the study sections, the "lenticular bedding" is the result of the coalescence of successive Zoophycos structures, which are readily preserved because they are constructed in the historical layer. It is proposed that the overlap of abundant isolated cone-shaped burrows of Zoophycos is the origin of the putative lenticular bedding recorded in the Oligocene fine-grained carbonate deposits of Cyprus, traditionally identified as drifts. Since this bedding is not related to currents in the study sections, the consideration of these carbonate deposits of Cyprus as drifts should be reevaluated. This has crucial implications for the recognition of carbonate drift outcrops elsewhere. Onshore carbonate drift outcrops wherein lenticular bedding is the main diagnostic criterion should be revisited and evaluated ichnologically.


Purpose – The underlying objective of this literature review was to investigate what kinds of semiotics researches have been employed in user interfaces design and usability evaluation, and how were they employed. Design/methodology/approach – This research follows a systematic literature review process that consists of three key stages: planning the review, conducting the review, and reporting the review. Starting with an initial set of about 1,000 research articles, 65 were selected for this review, using an inclusion and exclusion criteria. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted from the selected literatures following a data extraction strategy in six themes of data extraction. The extracted data were synthesized to formulate the stated research questions to obtain the review goals. Findings – This systematic review identified research strengths, gaps, and challenges. Apart from this, further research possibilities were also explored in this review. For research, the review showed clear needs for more researches to increase both the number and the quality of studies that can be focused on the research gaps identified by this systematic review related to: outcome validation; cultural issues consideration; user interfaces of mobile applications and websites; semiotics perception in usability evaluation; and further improve the value and applicability of research ideas. For practice, the review showed the significance of semeiotics in user interface design and usability evaluation to develop users' intuitive interfaces for boosting the system's usability. Originality/value – Based on a systematic literature review, the paper not only depicts the current status of semiotics research in user interface design and evaluation, but also provides a number of implications for research and practice. Thus, the review contributes to the scientific community of user interface design and evaluation, as well as suggesting the actual advances in the state of the practice in semiotics research on user interface.


The Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) is the nearest dense star-forming region at ∼400 pc away, making it an ideal target to study the impact of high stellar density and proximity to massive stars (the Trapezium) on protoplanetary disk evolution. The OMC1 molecular cloud is a region of high extinction situated behind the Trapezium in which actively forming stars are shielded from the Trapezium's strong radiation. In this work, we survey disks at high resolution with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at three wavelengths with resolutions of 0.″095 (3 mm; Band 3), 0.″048 (1.3 mm; Band 6), and 0.″030 (0.85 mm; Band 7) centered on radio Source I. We detect 127 sources, including 15 new sources that have not previously been detected at any wavelength. 72 sources are spatially resolved at 3 mm, with sizes from ∼8–100 au. We classify 76 infrared-detected sources as foreground ONC disks and the remainder as embedded OMC1 disks. The two samples have similar disk sizes, but the OMC1 sources have a dense and centrally concentrated spatial distribution, indicating they may constitute a spatially distinct subcluster. We find smaller disk sizes and a lack of large (>75 au) disks in both our samples compared to other nearby star-forming regions, indicating that environmental disk truncation processes are significant. While photoevaporation from nearby massive Trapezium stars may account for the smaller disks in the ONC, the embedded sources in OMC1 are hidden from this radiation and thus must truncated by some other mechanism, possibly dynamical truncation or accretion-driven contraction.


Based on compression curves of spherical pores Al foam measured, compressive yield strength, the densification starting pointand energy absorption had been investigated. The compressive stress-strain curve of spherical pores Al foam consists of three distinct regions, i.e., the linear elasticity region, yield platform stage and the densification region. The way to determine the densification starting pointεD of high density metal foam has been presented. Spherical pores Al foam is a cellular metal material of high plastic performance, so energy absorption capability of it is bigger than that of spherical pores Al alloy foam. Compressive yield stress was in good agreement with Gibson-Ashby model's expectation.


Photonic integrated circuits often use semiconductor components such as amplifiers, detectors, and electroabsorption modulators. For a proper circuit design, it is important to know the absorption spectrum of these semiconductor optical components and how it depends on an applied electric field. We propose a fast and accurate method that uses a compact segmented contact structure to measure the absorption characteristics. The method is based on measuring the transmission of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from a single forward-biased section through a varying number of reversely biased absorbing sections. Provided the ASE source emits light in both polarizations, the method measures the absorption spectra for both polarization modes simultaneously, without the need for a polarization filter in the measurement setup.


Peer-to-peer (P2P) applications are enormously popular on the Internet. Their uses vary from file sharing to Voice-over-IP to gaming and more. Increasingly, users are moving toward wireless networked devices and wish to continue using P2P applications in these new environments. A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is an infrastructureless network which allows users to dynamically form a mobile, wireless network. Though P2P and MANETs share some similarities, such as self-organization, dynamism, and resilience to failure, it is necessary to create new P2P algorithms that take advantage of the realities of MANETs. These algorithms must account for the numerous challenges found in these networks, including node mobility, resource constrained nodes, and the necessity of fully distributed algorithms.
In this thesis, we propose a framework for mobile P2P computing in MANETs (P2P-MANETs). Our proposal includes the following components. First, nodes must be able to locate and join the P2P overlay. We therefore propose a fully distributed bootstrapping algorithm in which nodes multicast join requests and cache responses. Next, the overlay peers must form a topology of connections between themselves. We propose a fully distributed topology control heuristic which supports the dynamic nature of the P2P-MANET. It is important that peers contribute to the network by sharing their resources and forwarding traffic for others. We therefore propose a dynamically priced incentive scheme which rewards users for contributing to the network. We also propose a path selection algorithm to allow peers to select how many parts of a file to download from which servers and which paths to satisfy the user's preference for download time and cost. Finally, we propose a content distribution system that allows users to download large files through the use of network coding and multicasting. Each of these components is the first proposed for its respective place in a P2P-MANET architecture. Simulation results show that each of the proposed components achieves the goals set out for it and outperforms the comparison schemes. The results also show that the overlay topology and path selection heuristics provide good approximations compared to the optimal solutions.


ABSTRACT The Ghanaian population in the Netherlands is relatively well-endowed in terms of human capital. In addition, a large number of them came when deindustrialisation had run its course and the Dutch economy, the service sector in particular, started growing again after 1985. On the basis of the Mixed Embeddedness model, we expected that the combination of, on average, higher levels of human capital and the transformation of the (urban)economy, would lead to rather different patterns of entrepreneurship when compared to their predecessors who came as guest workers. We explored this issue using interviews with 84 Ghanaian entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. Our data only partly corroborated our hypotheses. Notwithstanding, the higher levels of human capital and the shifts in the urban economies, a significant number of Ghanaian entrepreneurs still end up in the lower echelons of the opportunity structure.


The need for timely and relevant information on crime and disorder has never been more crucial. The statutory
requirement in Britain for the police and local authorities to produce crime audits and strategies for their areas coupled
with the drive towards evidence-based policy has placed data sharing and analysis at centre stage. Considerable efforts
are often expended on the identification of data sets on crime, command and control incidents and contextual
information (e.g. population, levels of deprivation, administrative boundaries, road networks) needed to build such
systems. Progress has also been made on defining workable data exchange protocols to enable a wide number of
agencies to share information. There is now a growing number of regional and sub-regional crime information systems
in Britain. Not surprisingly, where systems have been put in place there are often high expectations of what they will
achieve. However, this level of enthusiasm is often met with disappointment because the (often implicit) expectations
far exceed the capabilities of systems to deliver in terms of their data sets and functionality. The problem appears to
stem from a failure to identify the expected outcomes of data sharing and information system development and the
processes or mechanisms through which these can be achieved. Thus, whilst the expected outcome from a burglary
initiative (e.g. target hardening) is to reduce burglary, the anticipated outcomes from a crime and disorder information
system are not as easily identifiable and are rarely made explicit. This paper begins by discussing the rationale behind
sharing and analysing crime data and then goes on to explore the theory (or lack of it) that underpins the development of
crime and disorder information systems. A number of key issues are explored drawing on the author's experience in the
development and use of information systems (including GIS) in crime research and policy evaluation. Particular
attention is paid to the role of theory in the selection of relevant data sets (hypothesis-driven data capture) and to the
notion of 'decision support' in relation to crime and disorder (e.g. What does 'support' mean? What types of decision
need supporting? Can tools be designed to help people make decisions? What would they be like?). The paper
concludes with a checklist of considerations to bear in mind in creating a crime and disorder information system


The objective of this study was to determine the degree to which the balance of red blood cells between transfusions and phlebotomies affects iron stores, represented by serum ferritin levels, in low birth weight infants. A retrospective review was made of transfusions, phlebotomies, and ferritin level before initiation of oral iron administration in 29 low birth weight infants with a mean birth weight of 1001 +/- 304 gm (+/- 1 SD) and gestational age of 27.0 +/- 1.8 weeks. Correlation was determined between ferritin level and net balance of red blood cells, maturity, or age. Serum ferritin levels correlated with estimated net red blood cells gained or lost (r = 0.87, p < 0.0001, 95% confidence intervals 0.74 to 0.94). Serum ferritin level can be a useful guide to estimating iron stores in low birth weight infants who have undergone transfusion and phlebotomy. How serum ferritin level could be used to guide initiation of oral iron supplementation needs further study.


This poster presentation is part of a capstone project submitted to the St. David's School of Nursing at Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing, May 2019.


This paper illustrates the effectiveness of generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC) in characterizing time-varying neural connectivity by properly extrapolating its single trial asymptotic statistical results to a multi trial setting. Time-varying estimation is performed with a sliding-window procedure based on the proposal in [1], whereby a time-frequency map of the connectivity between channels is built. The technique is validated on a non-linear toy model generating simulated EEG and then applied to a publicly available real EEG dataset for benchmarking purposes.


When performing an analysis on a collection of molecular sequences, it can be convenient to reduce the number of sequences under consideration while maintaining some characteristic of a larger collection of sequences. For example, one may wish to select a subset of high-quality sequences that represent the diversity of a larger collection of sequences. One may also wish to specialize a large database of characterized "reference sequences" to a smaller subset that is as close as possible on average to a collection of "query sequences" of interest. Such a representative subset can be useful whenever one wishes to find a set of reference sequences that is appropriate to use for comparative analysis of environmentally derived sequences, such as for selecting "reference tree" sequences for phylogenetic placement of metagenomic reads. In this article, we formalize these problems in terms of the minimization of the Average Distance to the Closest Leaf (ADCL) and investigate algorithms to perform the relevant minimization. We show that the greedy algorithm is not effective, show that a variant of the Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) heuristic gets stuck in local minima, and develop an exact dynamic programming approach. Using this exact program we note that the performance of PAM appears to be good for simulated trees, and is faster than the exact algorithm for small trees. On the other hand, the exact program gives solutions for all numbers of leaves less than or equal to the given desired number of leaves, whereas PAM only gives a solution for the prespecified number of leaves. Via application to real data, we show that the ADCL criterion chooses chimeric sequences less often than random subsets, whereas the maximization of phylogenetic diversity chooses them more often than random. These algorithms have been implemented in publicly available software.


Strategies to promote active aging and counteract the development of age-related diseases are among the most challenging researches in the framework of Horizon 2020, accordingly with the World Health Organization's declaration that "increased longevity without quality of life is an empty prize". The aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of blood circulating microRNAs (miRs) and their expression profile characterizing aging and longevity trajectories, and particularly to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy longevity. To this purpose two experimental designs were defined, the former applied the advanced technology of smallRNA-sequencing (Illumina platform) to screen circulating miRs in a small cohort of different aged people, the latter was based on selected miRs analyzed on a larger cohort. The protocol for sequencing analysis, including library preparation, was optimized and applied on 12 donors, i.e. 3 young healthy donors, 3 old healthy donors, 3 healthy centenarians and 3 unhealthy centenarians. Significant miRs identified by sequencing, i.e. miR-30a-5p, -766-3p, -598-3p, were measured on a larger cohort of 48 subjects. Aging-related miRs previously described, i.e. miR-133a-3p, -206, -16, were analyzed in the same cohort of 48 donors. Circulating miR-206 and miR-16 levels described significant trajectories of aging, while miR-598-3p and miR-133a-3p levels characterized longevity trajectories. All these miRs are involved in the PI3K-Akt signaling, a central pathway for aging process. Finally, blood circulating molecules able to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy were obtained by joining the identified miRs and hemato-biochemical parameters, opening the possibility for further studies on therapeutic approaches.


Investors use varies tools in the investment process. Some use technical or fundamental analysis, or both in that process. The aim of the following survey research is first, to examine differences between professional portfolio managers to amateur investors in their approach towards technical and fundamental analysis. Second, we want to study the difference of use of fundamental and technical tools in the buying versus selling stocks. We used online survey in one of the leading business portals in addition to asking professional investors in a leading investment house in Israel. Our results show no significant difference between professional and non-professional investors in terms of how frequently they use fundamental and technical investment tools. Both groups of investors use more frequently fundamental tools than technical when they make buy/sell decisions. We also found that non-professional investors use more fundamental tools such as "analysts' recommendations" when they buy stocks and more technical tools such as "support and resistance lines" when they sell stocks. Moreover, our study indicates that investors use financial statements and support and resistance lines together as a primary tool for their investment behavior. This result breaks a common hypothesis arguing that fundamental and technical tools do not mix.


Deficit irrigation is an optimum technique for producing products under drought stress conditions. The superabsorbent hydrogel is a hydrophilic polymer with cross-linked 3-D hydrophilic nets that can take up and keep noteworthy values of water and aquatic liquids. This study aimed to investigate the superabsorbent effect on the yield and some of the growth factors of Vicia faba L. under the drought stress conditions.The experimental factors included: Irrigation treatments at two levels of 100% and 70% water requirement by the plant. The second factor included the levels of superabsorbent application which included three levels of control treatment, potting soil with a weight percentage of 1, and 2. The third factor was the location of the superabsorbent application.The results showed that plant height, leaf relative water content, leaf proline content, grain protein, number of branches, number of pods per plant,grainyield under different levels of drought stress, and superabsorbent polymer weresignificantly different at 1% level. Besides, S1M treatment (2% of pot soil weight and superabsorbent application along the root zone) with a mean of 4211.6 kg/ha achieved the maximumgrain yield and the control treatmentwith a mean of 3103.20 kg/ha had the minimumgrainyield.Using the superabsorbent could achieve acceptable yield by consuming less water amount. It is recommended to use the superabsorbent along the root zone in the pot.


ABSTRACT Increasing dolomite abundance with age (relative to limestone) has long been accepted as one of the general truisms of sedimentary geology, a relationship which suggests that dolomitization is a cumulative process occurring slowly over the full burial history of a carbonate sequence. However, reevaluation of data in support of this assumption indicates that, although relative dolomite abundances do change significantly throughout Phanerozoic carbonate sequences, no data set demonstrates any direct correlation between dolomite content and age, whereas tabulation of available data does suggest greater amounts of dolomite formation during periods of continental flooding. Global mass balance calculations of potential magnesium sources also indicate that most dolomite has formed from marine or marine-derived fluids at the Earth's surface. This conclusion is indirectly supported by significant short-term (period scale) changes in Phanerozoic dolomite abundance, a variation which would be more attenuated if dolomitization were dominantly a burial process. Dolomitization may be enhanced during times of global transgression, higher atmospheric pCO2, and lower calcite saturation state in shallow-marine settings.


The new edition of Thomas' Analysis and Design of Linear Circuits features more skill examples, exercises, and associated problems. Specific topics emphasized are Thevenin Equivalent Circuits, Nodal and Mesh Analysis, Op-Amp Circuits, and Phasor Analysis. Furthermore the text is enhanced with great support to developing fundamental skills by adding similar-type skill problems. New and additional features include: additions to the IM containing worked-out solutions to many exercises; updated ABET section of the IM to reflect the latest changes to Criteria 2000; improved SM to include worked-out solutions showing key intermediate steps with rationale, and where appropriate, METLAB solutions.


Background: Cardiovascular disease has become the main cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Aims: This study was aimed to explore the association between the prevalence of hypertension among employees population and its associated risk factors in private sectors. Settings and Design: The study was cross-sectional screening campaigns by visiting every company. Materials and Methods: The sample size was 915 male employees aged 20-64 years, who voluntarily participated in the screening program. Weight, random blood glucose, and blood pressure (BP) were collected. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 for windows. A descriptive statistics, t-test, and simple linear regression were used between the variables. Results: Forty-four percent of the participants were prehypertensive and 34% were hypertensive. There were significant differences between participants based on glucose levels, age, and body weight in systolic BP (P < 0.001), and between participants based on their age and body weight in diastolic BP (DBP) (P < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences between groups classified by occupational status (supervisor, skilled, and unskilled jobs) in age and weight (P < 0.001), as well as DBP (P = 0.049). Exercise and smoking did not affect BP. Conclusion: The findings provided limited proof that the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension were high in male employees in the private sector in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Age, body weight, and diabetes were risk factors of hypertension.


Despite the immeasurable investment in e-government initiatives throughout the world, such initiatives have yet to succeed in fully meeting expectations and desired outcomes. A key objective of this research article is to support the government of the UAE in realizing its vision of e-government transformation. It presents an innovative framework to support e-government implementation, which was developed from a practitioner's perspective and based on learnings from numerous e-government practices around the globe. The framework presents an approach to guide governments worldwide, and UAE in particular, to develop a top down strategy and leverage technology in order realize its long term goal of e-government transformation. The study also outlines the potential role of modern national identity schemes in enabling the transformation of traditional identities into digital identities. The work presented in this study is envisaged to help bridge the gap between policy makers and implementers, by providing greater clarity and reducing misalignment on key elements of e-government transformation. In the hands of leaders that have a strong will to invest in e-government transformation, the work presented in this study is envisaged to become a powerful tool to communicate and coordinate initiatives, and provide a clear visualization of an integrated approach to e-government transformation.