Background: Radiation thyroiditis is a known complication of radioactive
iodine therapy (RAI) resulting in mild exacerbation of thyrotoxic symptoms.
However, thyroid storm following RAI is rare.
Case Reports:
Case 1: A 33-year-old lady with long standing Grave's thyrotoxicosis was
given 15mCi of radioiodine 1-131 and developed worsening palpitation,
sweating, tremor, fever, vomiting and diarrhea two days after treatment.
At presentation, she had tremor and severe diaphoresis with heart rate
of 141bpm and temperature of 39.8oC. She had small diffuse goiter and
her weight was 54kg with BMI of 21.4kg/m2. There was no arrhythmia
or heart failure and other systems examination was unremarkable. Her
thyroid function test showed TSH <0.01uIU/ml, FT4 65.43pmol/l and
FT3 28.09pmol/l. Her Burch-Wartofsky score was 70. She was treated
as thyroid storm and as her blood culture was positive for E.coli she was
given intravenous Ceftriaxone 1g OD. She made full recovery following
treatment with lugol's iodine, prophylthiouracil, propranolol, hydrocortisone
and adequate hydration.
Case 2: A 16-year-old girl with persistent thyrotoxicosis since 2010
presented five days after given 15mCi of RAI as her family noted that
she progressively became irritable, restless and insomniac. These were
associated with vomiting and diarrhea. At presentation, GCS was 12/15
with heart rate 110bpm and temperature 37oC. There was no palpable
goiter and her weight was 55kg with BMI of 21.5kg/m2.There was no
meningism or focal neurological deficit and other system examination was
unremarkable. Her thyroid function test showed TSH <0.01uIU/ml, FT4
>77.22pmol/l and FT3 >46.08pmol/l. Her Burch-Wartofsky score was
55. Full neurological recovery occurred after 72 hours of treatment with
hydration, lugol's iodine, methimazole, propranolol and dexamethasone.
Discussion: For the first case, the thyroid storm could be precipitated by
the E.Coli infection. Her previous medical record showed history of lowgrade
squamous intraepithelial lesion of the cervix, which usually precedes
cytoplasmic intraepithelial neoplasia of the cervix. No plausible cause was
found for the second case.
Other possible causes that may contribute to the occurrence of the storm
in these cases was usage of high doses of iodine 131 in relatively low BMI
patients with small or no goiter. As the patients were given radioiodine within
two consecutive days, the quality and integrity of the radioiodine substance
maybe a factor contributing to this phenomenon.
Comment: Although rare, thyroid storm can be precipitated by RAI and it
is mostly severe and can be fatal.


Resistive losses in the form-wound stator winding of a high-speed induction motor (HSIM) are minimized in the design stage by using Differential Evolution (DE). Time-discretized finite-element analysis (FEA) serves as a tool to offer electromagnetic losses in the machine for the optimization process. Temperature rise of the machines is fast checked during the optimization by using a thermal network model. Insulation thicknesses and power factor are other constraints in the algorithm. Time consumption of using time-discretized FEA is still a problem when a large number of variables or motor dimensions is required for the optimization algorithm. To reduce the number of required variables, the influence of stator dimensions on the electromagnetic losses is analyzed by using the Taguchi approach. From this evaluation, the important stator parameters to be varied during optimization algorithm are determined. Finally, form-wound stator winding with a minimum loss for a HSIM is obtained within certain limitations.


Immediate verdict is decision which can be executed although it has not had any legal force which is final and conclusive (inkracht van gewijsde). The implementation of immediate verdict should be based on the prevailing regulations in order to forestall new problems as the result of the implementation of the immediate decision itself. The formulas of the problem were as follows: how about the immediate decision in Law on Bankruptcy, how about legal protection for debtors who had immediate decision imposed upon him in Law on Bankruptcy, and how about the consideration of the Constitutional Court on Judicial Review No. 144/PUU-VII/2009. The research used judicial normative, using primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The data were analyzed qualitatively by conducting library research.


More than 60 delegates convened at the Rose Bowl in Leeds on 7 May 2010 for this event to explore the developing relationship and overlap between Open Access research repositories and so called 'CRISs' – Current Research Information Systems – that are increasingly being implemented at universities. The Welsh Repository Network (WRN) [1], a collaborative venture between the Higher Education institutions (HEIs) in Wales, funded by JISC, had clearly hit upon an engaging topic du jour. The event, jointly supported by JISC [2] and ARMA (Association of Research Managers and Administrators)[3], was fully booked within just five days of being announced. In the main, delegates were either research managers and administrators, or repository managers, and one of the themes that came up throughout the day was the need for greater communication between research offices and libraries (where repository services are often managed.) As well as JISC and ARMA, euroCRIS [4], a not-for- profit organisation that aims to be an internationally recognised point of reference for CRISs, was represented at the event. Delegates could also visit the software exhibition and speak with representatives of Atira, Symplectic Ltd and Thomson Reuters, among others.


To investigate the mechanisms involved in expression of the Drosophila melanogaster engrailed gene, we purified GAGA protein, one of several putative transcriptional activator proteins that binds to the proximal region of the engrailed promoter. Antibodies raised against GAGA protein were used to demonstrate that the protein is present in all nuclei of young embryos. We isolated cDNA clones encoding GAGA protein in which a putative 519-codon open reading frame contains general sequence motifs characteristic of other transcription factors. These include stretches of polyglutamine, a 60-amino-acid region with 18 (30%) lysine or arginine residues, and a single putative zinc finger motif. In addition, a 120-residue N-terminal region shares significant sequence homology with several other known Drosophila transcription factors, including those encoded by Broad Complex and tramtrack. Up to 35-fold GAGA protein-dependent stimulation of transcription in Schneider line 2 tissue culture cells was observed after transfection of GAGA protein-encoding sequences. The GAGA gene is present in one copy in the Drosophila genome, at cytological location 70EF, and it encodes RNAs which vary in size between 2.4 and 4.4 kb.


In the 3G mobile communication systems, the services consist of symmetric services such as voice service and asymmetric services such as WWW browsing. The TDD mode CDMA systems can adapt itself well to time varying asymmetric traffic. In this paper, a new Dynamic Channel Allocation (DCA) model based on Markov Decision Programming (MDP) has been established to dynamically adapt the switching point in the TDD radio frame according to the states of the system. Simulation results have shown that it will decrease the system blocking rate and increase the resource usage compared with the Fixed Channel Allocation (FCA) scheme.


Purpose: UTI is the broad term used to describe infection of any part of urinary tract and is a problem frequently encountered by health care providers today. E.coli is found to be the main causative agent for causing UTI (80%). The prevalence of UTI are increasing and the present standard of care includes the usage of antibiotics. The alarming and exponential use of nonspecific antibiotics, increased resistance and the high cost of prescribed medications for the management of the infective microorganisms will raise the need for alternate and safe medication. The signs and symptoms of Mutrakruchra and UTI are similar in nature. The combination of Brihatyadi Ksheera Kashaya, Chandraprabhavati and Shweta Parpati is widely practiced in Mutrakruchra. The present study was aimed at exploring the combined effect of the above combination in UTI.
Materials and Methods: The present study was a single group study with pre and post test study design. 20 diagnosed cases of UTI based on ICD10N39.0 diagnostic criteria and proper exclusion were selected from IPD and OPD of Amrita Ayurveda Hospital. They were administered Brihatyadi Ksheera Kashaya, Chadraprabhavati and Shweta Parpati for 15 days.
Result: The obtained data were analyzed statistically with symptoms of UTI, Urine analysis and urine culture by using Wilcoxon signed rank test done on the 0th and 16th day. There was significant change with 100% of improvement in clinical symptoms of UTI after treatment. Statistically significant result was obtained in reduction of WBC with p value 0.001, Epithelial cells with p value 0.005, and Nitrites, Leucocyte esterase, Bacteria with p value 0.0001. There was reduction in growth of E.coli in urine culture with statistically significant p value 0.0001. Conclusion: The combination of Brihatyadi Ksheera Kashaya, Chandraprabhavari and Shwetaparpati is effective in UTI.


Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are used to precisely maintain the setpoint temperature of photonic components generating variable heat loads under varying ambient conditions. The non-component side of TEMs is mounted onto conventional heat sinks (CHSs). At any combination of setpoint temperature, heat load and ambient temperature, there is a unique thermal resistance between the non-component side of a TEM and the ambient corresponding to minimal TEM power consumption. Indeed, a zero thermal resistance heat sink minimizes power consumption when a TEM operates in refrigeration mode, but when it operates in heating mode a relatively high thermal resistance one is optimal. This paper considers replacing a CHS with a variable thermal resistance heat sink in the form of a finned variable conductance heat pipe (FVCHP). An FVCHP passively and (generally) favorably alters its thermal resistance in response to changes in operating conditions, thereby reducing TEM power consumption. An analytical model of a TEM-FVCHP assembly is developed in order to quantitatively estimate achievable energy savings. The model assumes that there is 1-D flow of heat and charge through a TEM and that a "flat front" divides the condenser section of an FVCHP into thermally active and inactive regions. Calculations are performed for representative TEM-FVCHP assemblies that maintain the setpoint temperature of a photonics component over prescribed ranges of heat loads and ambient temperatures. Average TEM power consumption is reduced by up to 55% compared to a comparable TEM-CHS assembly. Finally, further optimization of the TEM and FVCHP design parameters is considered.


Apart from his own willingness to classify himself as an entertainer, one of the major reasons for the general view of Evelyn Waugh's early novels as frivolous is that they betray little in the way of overt philosophical content. While it is true that the didactic novel has fallen into disfavor and we tire of the Rupert Birkins more easily than we used to, we still demand a message from fiction, and Waugh seems to deny us one. The problem raised here is one of subject matter. If Waugh's subject is merely the foibles of English society between the wars, then he is a sort of humorous chronicler of the period, and of limited interest to later generations, who will find him funny but will not perhaps understand allusions to the Oxford aesthetes. But English society is not Waugh's only subject. In his first six novels, in fact, he was writing to a considerable extent about fiction, particularly its limited ability either to imitate "reality" in the sense that conventional realistic and naturalistic narratives attempt to do, or to present the ideal suggested by Dr. Johnson's "just representations of general nature." Nor, in spite of his fascination with fantasy, did he aspire to Sidney's poetic world, which offers not an insight into reality, but a superior alternative to it: Nature's world is "brazen, the poets only deliver a golden." Although he contradicts himself on the matter in his statements on fiction, Waugh clearly rejects escape and mere entertainment in his own novels; as D. H. Lawrence said, trust the tale, not the teller. Further, while he did not anticipate the alternatives to traditional novel form offered by later writers, Waugh shared post-modern ideas about the novel's limitations, especially the objections to the conventions of the realistic novel raised by Alain Robbe-Grillet and the other proponents of the nouveau roman in France and their followers in England and America.(1) The majority of these writers would agree, I think, that a message on the limits of fiction, on what art cannot do, is not trifling with the novel or with art, but bears its own importance as a subject. It is here that Waugh's permanent value as a novelist (as opposed to his value as a satirist) lies. Waugh's attitude toward realism in fiction is clear. He avoided both Victorian attempts at verisimilitude through causal plot structures and modern experiments in realistic character representation, particularly stream of consciousness techniques: he did not believe the novel should be an attempt to represent life directly. Waugh admired writers like Ivy Compton-Burnett, creators, as he says, of "a timeless wonderland directed by its own interior logic, not distorting, because not reflecting, the material world" (Davis 248). He insisted on the separation between the artistically created and the actual world. Thus in his first novel, Decline and Fall, he presents us with Paul Pennyfeather, a fictional character based on another fictional character. The whole book, the narrator explains, "is really an account of the mysterious disappearance of Paul Pennyfeather," and we have actually been reading about the adventures of his shadow, for, "as the reader will probably have discerned already, Paul Pennyfeather would never have made a hero, and the only interest about him arises from the unusual series of events of which his shadow was witness" (332). Waugh is not merely defining the picaresque hero, who is, indeed, less important than his surroundings; he is making a statement about fiction as mimesis, and he puts the artist's imitation in much the same position Plato did--at two removes from reality. Far from the position of Henry James, then, who wrote that at times his characters seemed to have lives of their own, or, to take a more recent example, of John Fowles, whose double ending in The French Lieutenant's Woman is supposedly caused by a character's decision to do something other than what the author had planned, Waugh insisted that his characters remain fictional. …


We have shown previously that the periplasmic domain of penicillin-binding protein 1B (PBP 1Bper; residues 90-844) from Escherichia coli is insoluble in the absence of detergents, and can be reconstituted into liposomes [Nicholas, Lamson and Schultz (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 5632-5641]. These data suggested that native PBP 1B contains a membrane association site in addition to its N-terminal transmembrane anchor. We have studied the membrane topology of PBP 1B in greater detail by assessing detergent binding and solubility in the absence of detergents for PBP 1Bper and a set of proteolytic fragments of PBP 1B. PBP 1Bper was shown by three independent methods to bind to detergent micelles, which strongly suggests that the periplasmic domain interacts with the hydrophobic milieu of membrane bilayers. Digestion with high weight ratios of thrombin of purified PBP 1B containing an engineered thrombin cleavage site on the periplasmic side of the transmembrane anchor generated four fragments in addition to PBP 1Bper that varied in size from 71 to 48 kDa. In contrast to PBP 1Bper, all fragments of 67 kDa and smaller were eluted from a gel-filtration column in the absence of detergents and did not bind to detergent micelles. The N-terminal sequences of the four fragments were determined, allowing the cleavage sites to be located in the primary sequence of PBP 1B. These data localize the membrane association site of PBP 1B to a region comprising the first 163 amino acids of the periplasmic domain, which falls within the putative transglycosylase domain. Lipid modification does not appear to be the mechanism by which PBP 1Bper associates with membranes.


In this paper, powder spreading property in Wood-Plastic Composite(WPC) Selective Laser Sintering(SLS) rapid prototyping(RP) process is studied. WPC is more suitable for make parts by SLS according to its advantages, such as low-cost and green biological etc.. But as wood power is mainly composed of wood fiber and wood fibers have irregular shapes, easy to aggregate and block power spreading process, spreading powder uniformly on bed by leveling roller is difficult, resulting in bad shape quality of parts. In order to further improve powder spreading property of RP process, with optimal design of components, viscosity reducer calcium is added into WPC. Finally, as result of better powder spreading property, shape quality of the parts made by WPC is improved greatly and have good as well as with good laser sintering properties.


Background: Previous research suggests that those who enter prison with a low level of criminal attitudes, tend to acquire more deviant attitudes during their sentence due to persistent contact with criminal others, and moreover, presence of criminal personality may be sufficient to develop criminal attitudes. Aim: To determine which of the independent variables: age, education level, marital status, number of children, location, recidivism, association with criminal friends, and personality traits could be used to explain why ex-prisoners hold criminal attitudes. Method: The Measure of Criminal Attitudes and Associates together with Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and Recidivism Scale were distributed to the opportunistic sample of sixty four ex-prisoners (N = 64). Results: Multiple regression analysis reported that personality, association with criminal friends, and recidivism explained 71% of the variance in criminal attitudes, indicating psychoticism as the best predictor of criminal attitudes. Conclusion: This study constitutes the first piece of empirical evidence demonstrating a predictive relationship between antisocial personality traits and criminal attitudes. These results lead to a better understanding of the underlying psycho-sociological mechanisms of criminal attitudes and indicate that future research regarding the nature of criminal attitudes should consider the role of personality, associations with criminal friends, and recidivistic behaviour.


In this paper 1 we investigate how Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) learn dynamics. To demonstrate the ability of CRF in learning dynamics, a discriminative probabilistic framework, Temporal Conditional Random Fields, is presented for the modeling of the object motion and tracking. The main drawback of generative models, such as HMM and MRF is that they can simply employ the relation between states without considering the relation between states and measurements, while discriminative frameworks can model any arbitrary relation between measurements and states. To facilitate such a powerful graphical model to learn the object motion, and to achieve a CRF-based estimation based upon the advantage of the discriminative framework, a set of graphical temporal relations is proposed for the object tracking, including feature functions, such as optical flow (calculated based upon consequent frames) and line field features. Based on temporal feature function, we show the ability of CRF in dynamic learning mathematically. As it is assumed that the object motion is nearly constant and that the current measurement is not available when TCRF estimates the target state, therefore, the changing of the object motion is addressed by utilizing a template matching in order to determine and then retrain TCRF. The proposed method is validated using synthetic and real data sequences. This shows that the TCRF estimation error is approximately zero.


BACKGROUND
Betibeglogene autotemcel (beti-cel) gene therapy for transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia contains autologous CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells transduced with the BB305 lentiviral vector encoding the β-globin (βA-T87Q) gene.

METHODS
In this open-label, phase 3 study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of beti-cel in adult and pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia and a non-β0/β0 genotype. Patients underwent myeloablation with busulfan (with doses adjusted on the basis of pharmacokinetic analysis) and received beti-cel intravenously. The primary end point was transfusion independence (i.e., a weighted average hemoglobin level of ≥9 g per deciliter without red-cell transfusions for ≥12 months).

RESULTS
A total of 23 patients were enrolled and received treatment, with a median follow-up of 29.5 months (range, 13.0 to 48.2). Transfusion independence occurred in 20 of 22 patients who could be evaluated (91%), including 6 of 7 patients (86%) who were younger than 12 years of age. The average hemoglobin level during transfusion independence was 11.7 g per deciliter (range, 9.5 to 12.8). Twelve months after beti-cel infusion, the median level of gene therapy-derived adult hemoglobin (HbA) with a T87Q amino acid substitution (HbAT87Q) was 8.7 g per deciliter (range, 5.2 to 10.6) in patients who had transfusion independence. The safety profile of beti-cel was consistent with that of busulfan-based myeloablation. Four patients had at least one adverse event that was considered by the investigators to be related or possibly related to beti-cel; all events were nonserious except for thrombocytopenia (in 1 patient). No cases of cancer were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Treatment with beti-cel resulted in a sustained HbAT87Q level and a total hemoglobin level that was high enough to enable transfusion independence in most patients with a non-β0/β0 genotype, including those younger than 12 years of age. (Funded by Bluebird Bio; HGB-207 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02906202.).


This article contains the edited transcript of a forum on personal liability of directors held at Harvard Law School in November 2005. Eleven panelists offer their diverse views and perspectives on this subject. The participants in the panel, which is moderated by Lucian Bebchuk, are: Joseph Bachelder, Roel Campos, Byron Georgiou, Alan Hevesi, William Lerach, Robert Mendelsohn, Robert Monks, Toby Myerson, John Olson, Leo Strine, Jr., and John Wilcox.


The almost-pure quartz–cemented Fontainebleau Formation (Paris Basin, France) sandstones are known to preserve their porosity because of microcrystalline quartz coatings. Here, we use nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques, petrography, scanning electron microscopy, porosity and permeability measurements, hysteresis, and mercury injection capillary pressure curves to identify and analyze their porosity structure. Nuclear magnetic resonance experiments include transverse relaxation time (T2) distributions and T2-filtered T2–T2 exchange (T2F-TREx), a technique that provides estimates on the diffusion coupling by comparing the evolution of families of pores in T2 distributions at different exchange times. Samples were divided according to their texture, composition, and abundance of microcrystalline quartz crystals, comprising group 1 samples with very low amounts of coatings and group 2 samples with entire grains coated by microquartz. Both groups show three (or four) peaks in NMR 2-MHz T2 distribution at approximately 1 (peak A), 10−1 (peak B), and 10−2 s (peak C); group 2 samples present a slight shift to shorter T2 times in comparison with other samples. The longest T2 peak A is because of intergranular macropores, whereas the shortest peak C is because of the microporosity associated with the microcrystalline quartz coating at the surface of the pores. Peak B is also because of microporosity associated with microcrystalline quartz, but with a different surface/volume ratio being likely related to flat-shaped pores within the microcrystalline coating. The T2F-TREx indicates the proton exchange is higher between macropores and the pore surface micropores (peak C) than between macropores and the internal flat-shaped micropores; no exchange between the two sets of micropores can be observed. Our results show the potential of NMR techniques in characterizing the microporosity in Fontainebleau sandstones, which is key for the mechanism of porosity preservation in these rocks.


The recent emergence of joint CTC-Attention model shows significant improvement in automatic speech recognition (ASR). The improvement largely lies in the modeling of linguistic information by decoder. The decoder joint-optimized with an acoustic encoder renders the language model from ground-truth sequences in an auto-regressive manner during training. However, the training corpus of the decoder is limited to the speech transcriptions, which is far less than the corpus needed to train an acceptable language model. This leads to poor robustness of decoder. To alleviate this problem, we propose linguistic-enhanced transformer, which introduces refined CTC information to decoder during training process, so that the decoder can be more robust. Our experiments on AISHELL-1 speech corpus show that the character error rate (CER) is relatively reduced by up to 7 %. We also find that in joint CTC-Attention ASR model, decoder is more sensitive to linguistic information than acoustic information.


A new family of C-trinitromethyl-substituted pyrazoles was designed and obtained in good yields by the reaction of N2O4 with the pyrazolecarbaldehyde oxime followed by further N-nitration and C-nitration. All of the new compounds were fully characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Compounds 2 and 3 were further confirmed by X-ray crystallography. These pyrazole derivatives have good densities, positive enthalpies of formation and acceptable sensitivity values. Theoretical calculations carried out using Gaussian 03 and EXPLO5 program demonstrate good to excellent detonation velocities and pressures in the range of ADN and HMX. Compound 3 exhibiting a positive oxygen balance, high specific impulse and moderate thermal stability is a promising high energy density oxidizer.


This paper proposes an efficient hybrid modulation scheme for a mixed phase-shift keying and pulse-position modulation (PSK/PPM) for heterogeneous networks employing ultra-wideband impulse radio (UWB-IR). The proposed scheme can support both coherent and noncoherent reception and is compatible with the IEEE 802.15.4a standard. Conventional hybrid modulation schemes for heterogeneous networks are generally constructed with a super-orthogonal coding (SOC) technique with which coherent receivers can get an additional performance improvement by encoding the phase bits. However, with the proposed modulation scheme, a coherent receiver can achieve a performance improvement by displaying its best capability on phase detection through a simple waveform mapping scheme. The proposed scheme requires no extra hardware or power consumption for performance improvement in coherent receivers. Simulations show that the BER of the proposed scheme in a coherent receiver is increased by 2.7dB over the hybrid modulation with no combined phase coding and also comparable to the SOC-combined modulation scheme employed in the IEEEE 802.15.4a. The error performance of the proposed scheme is analyzed, and the numerical results are presented in this paper.


Surface-based observations were taken of cloud and precipitation particles on the Avery Plateau (66°50.34′S 65°29.58′W), Antarctic Peninsula from 25 November to 13 December 1995. This paper considers cloud parameters on three days during this period when the cloud base reached ground level and snow was falling. It was found that on all three days more ice crystals were present in the cloud than would be expected from simple theoretical considerations. The rate of snowfall decreased as the number of ice crystals increased, the large number of ice crystals present effectively suppressing the formation of large precipitation-sized crystals. The source of the ice nuclei that allowed the formation of the large number of crystals is not known for certain but is thought to be the snow surface, possibly in the form of very fine ice crystals blown from the surface during blowing/drifting snow episodes.


This study was designed to explore an optimized hybrid system through dual measurement approach of contrast measurement method and CIE L*a*b* measurement method to arrive a logical interface for achieving the highest matching between the print and original in sheet fed offset printing process. The work was started with the detailed study of contrast measurement, CIE L*a*b* measurement method, visual and computational intelligence based assessment and control. The master was designed in such a way that value of density and other values can be measured easily in effective way. X-Rite eXact instrument is used for capturing the readings, the 10 standard observers were selected initially by manual method and finally by using on line Fransworth-Munsell 100 Hue Colour Vision Test and visual assessments and judgement were done on X-Rite's Macbeth Lighting Booth and their visual assessments are recorded, analyzed and represented. All the parameters like Paper, Ink, Measuring Conditions and Measuring Instruments etc. were maintained in compliance with ISO specifications. After the analysis of data, the study reached to the following main conclusion i.e. It is observed that almost in all the cases, preference of the Standard Observers are for Delta E Value leading to the higher contrast value instead of Minimum Delta E with less contrast value. Therefore the dual approach of "Hybrid System" will help us to arrive at the most convincing, measurable and perceptually acceptable print result which will be the highest (closest) match to the original by clubbing the best of "CIE Lab, Contrast Method and Standard Observers Visual Perception" as there are positives and negatives in all these three when one approaches individually. The objective of this paper was to develop a dual measurement approach of CIE Lab & Contrast to arrive at a logical inference for the highest level of matching between the original and print in the sheet fed offset printing.


In this paper, we present a polynomial-time barrier algorithm for solving multi-stage stochastic convex semidefinite optimization based on the Lagrangian dual method which relaxes the nonanticipativity constraints. We show that the barrier Lagrangian dual functions for our setting form self-concordant families with respect to barrier parameters. We also use the barrier function method to improve the smoothness of the dual objective function so that the Newton search directions can be exploited for usage. We finally implement the proposed algorithm on di ff erent test problems to show its e ff ectiveness and e ffi ciency.


The concentrations of trace metals in hair of fishermen from the Persian Gulf region were assessed to detect the relationships between element levels in hair and potential factors influencing these relationships. The hair of 19 fishermen were sampled from six stations in the Persian Gulf (Abadan, Deylam, BushehrNirogah, Dayyer, Lengeh and Bandar Abbas in Khuzestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces) and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry inductively (ICP-MS) and Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometer to detect the trace metals and mercury levels, respectively. In this study we did not find significant correlation between fish diet and hair element levels, except for mercury (r=0.74, P=0.01). Our results demonstrated that the average concentrations of Cr, As and V in different stations were almost comparable, while the accumulation of Cu, Zn, Pb and Co in hair samples from Lengeh were much higher than those of other regions. Statistical analysis demonstrated that a positivly strong significant correlation (p<0.05) existed between V, Cr, Co, Cu and Zn concentrations in the human hair, which might have been originated from similar sources. The accumulation levels of Cd, Cu and Cr in our results were much lower than the corresponding accepted levels. The hair samples contained arsenic in high concentrations, as against arsenic level in normal healthy hair. Ninty percent of detected Pb levels were below 110 μg g -1 as dangerous level. Among the detected elements in hair, Pb, Ni and As could be used as marker of environmental exposure.


Background: The pharmaceutical industry has been responsible for major medical advances, but the industry has also been heavily criticized. Such criticisms, and associated regulatory responses, are no doubt often warranted, but do not provide a framework for those who wish to reason systematically about the moral dimensions of drug development. We set out to develop such a framework using Beauchamp and Childress's "four principles" as organizing categories. Methods: We conducted a qualitative interview study of people working in the "medical affairs" departments of pharmaceutical companies to determine: (1) whether our data could meaningfully be organized under the headings of "autonomy," "beneficence," "nonmaleficence," and "justice"; (2) how principles might be expressed in this particular commercial setting; and (3) if these principles are expressed, whether and how competing principles are balanced. We then critiqued these findings using existing normative theory. Results: Our interviews demonstrated that three of Beauchamp and Childress's four principles were salient to our participants: beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Within each of these principles, participants had two broad ethical orientations: an altruistic public focus ("other-ness") and a commitment to their companies ("firm-ness"). Our participants also demonstrated efforts to balance these principles and highlighted the importance of phronesis (or practical wisdom) in balancing and enacting principles. Notably, however, our participants did not spontaneously emphasize the importance of autonomy. Conclusions: It is possible to use qualitative empirical research, together with normative analysis, to derive a framework for pharmaceutical ethics. We suggest that our framework would be useful for those who wish to reason ethically within, or in collaboration with, the pharmaceutical industry.


The efficient reclamation of printed circuit board (PCB) is of important significance to environmental protection, optimal configuration of resources and development of circulation economy. In the paper, several important physical mechanical recycling strategies of PCB were analysed, and a cost-profit evaluation model for these recycling strategies was established to evaluate reclamation profit quantitatively. With one specific recycling example, an accurate economic analysis of it was given by the use of the evaluation model. Finally, the best recycling strategy of the mainboard was acquired and some suggestions were given to improve the reclamation economy.


Web identity management systems are complex systems with powerful features - and many potential vulnerabilities. They aim to facilitate the management of identifiers, credentials, personal information, and the presentation of this information to other parties. In many schemes, an identity provider (IdP) issues identities or credentials to users, while a relying party (RP) depends on the IdP to check the user credentials before it allows users access to Web site services. By separating the role of and IdP from the RP, identity management systems let users leverage one identifier across multiple Web services.


The first application of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) recently celebrated its 25th birthday. Aside from the very early days when chromosomal diagnoses were used (by sexing) for the selective implantation of embryos unaffected by sex linked disorders, the paths of chromosomal and monogenic PGD have diverged. For monogenic disorders, progress has been impeded by the need to tailor each diagnosis to the mutation in question. For chromosomal diagnoses, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) technology was replaced by array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), and then next generation sequencing (NGS). Karyomapping is a novel approach that allows the detection of the inheritance of (grand) parental haploblocks through the identification of inherited chromosomal segments. It involves genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of parental DNA, a reference from a related individual of known disease status (typically an affected child) and amplified DNA form biopsied cells of the (usually blastocyst) embryos in question. Identification of informative loci for each of four parental haplotypes is followed by direct comparison to the reference, ultimately creating a Karyomap. The Karyomapping programme (Illumina) displays homologous chromosomes, points of crossing over and the haplotype of each of the embryos. It also detects meiotic trisomy, monosomy, triploidy and uniparental heterodisomy (some of which NGS and aCGH will not). Inherent in the design is the analysis of "key SNPs" (heterozygous informative calls) thereby avoiding the risk of misdiagnoses caused by the phenomenon of allele drop out (ADO). Karyomapping is currently in use for the detection of monogenic disorders and around 1000 clinics offer it worldwide making use of about 20 diagnostic laboratories. At the time of writing, over two and a half thousand clinical cases have been performed. Because of the limited detection of some post-zygotic errors such as post-zygotic trisomy which can also lead to mosaicism, Karyomapping has not yet been fully applied clinically for aneuploidy screening. The diagnostic potential of the technique will be fully recognised with the application of this technology on clinical cases.


Abstract A major theoretical issue about health system reform involving decentralization has been whether it promotes equity of health system funding. An article by the principal author and others in 2003 showed that, under certain conditions and policies, decentralization improved the equity of allocation of financial resources to different income levels of municipalities in Colombia and Chile. Another recurring issue has been whether reforms can be sustained over time. In a follow-up study in 2015, we found that the equity of national allocations was sustained even though the allocation rules for intergovernmental transfers and insurance funding sources had changed, as long as per capita allocation rules were retained. Nevertheless, the wealthier municipalities in Chile were able to increase their own source funding contributing to a larger gap between wealthy and poor municipalities, suggesting that in order to assure continued equity some compensation for these funds be included in intergovernmental transfer rules or that local source funding be restricted by national policy. These reforms may be more likely to be sustained if they become embedded in existing financial systems and if they receive support of status quo constituencies.


Open reconfigurable router (ForCES) is based on the separation of control parts and forwarding parts that can satisfy the open programmable request of the next generation router, and is the next generation router's development direction. At present, the research on ForCES architeture router has completed the system structure and interface standard protocol design, and realized the basic logic function blocks (LFBs) of the control element (CE) and forwarding element (FE), ForCES prototypemachine has also succeeded in operation. However, the performance of any software and protocol must be inspected. Performance evaluation can adopt queuing theory、random Petri nets、 stochastic process algebra and OPNET software, etc. OPNET with user-friendly interface and stratified modeling thought can simplify the process of modeling, clear modeling methodology. The paper adopts OPNET Modeler simulation software to study on ForCES architecture router performance.


The capacity for suburban households to respond to a changing global energy context by changing their motor vehicle technology is examined. Transforming transport systems will make up a crucial element in policy and planning responses to energy and climate challenges. Government policy appears focused on a transition to more-efficient vehicle types or alternative fuel and engine types. Yet such policies have failed to account for the considerable social differences in household exposure to the costs of transport energy and the adaptability of households in altering their use of modes and vehicle types. Nor do such policies recognize how urban social structure, household social status, and automobile type intersect spatially within Australian cities. The links between urban social structure and composition of the motor vehicle fleet are examined to test whether the households that are most reliant on motor vehicles for transport have the financial capacity to rapidly alter their vehicle technology in response to changing energy prices and supply conditions. Australian Bureau of Statistics census data and motor vehicle registration data at the postcode level are used to compare socioeconomic status with the age, fuel consumption, and value of the suburban vehicle fleet for the Brisbane and South East Queensland regions of Australia. This spatial deployment of census and vehicle registration data is novel in the Australian context. It is argued that policies that focus on vehicle technology alone face a number of social equity hurdles as measures to overcome urban transport fuel security problems.


A new method for evaluation of adhesion in cutting is proposed. Adhesion of chip induces fluctuation in chip flow or stick-slip movement of chip, so that dynamic component of cutting forces depends on the cutting conditions and properties of the work materials. In this investigation continuous turning of a medium carbon steel was carried out and dynamic components of cutting forces are measured by piezoelectric dynamometer. Fluctuation in dynamic force on rake face of the tool is considered at a range of cutting speeds under dry condition and oil-mist lubrication. Surface profiles of machined surfaces and sticking of chip on tool face were also investigated. In cutting of medium carbon steel, the dynamic components below 500Hz increased under the condition of build-up edge (BUE) formation, and gradually decreased as increase of cutting speed. Tool-edge geometry well transferred onto the machined surface when the dynamic components were low level. Smoothness of chip flow on rake face is strongly associated with good surface finish.


Nanosprings made of piezoelectric materials that change shape in response to applied electric voltage would be of great value in nanotechnology as actuators and sensors. In his Perspective, [Korgel][1] discusses results reported in the same issue by [ Gao et al. ][2] in which crystalline zinc oxide nanosprings have been fabricated with appreciable yield. An unusual mechanism appears to create the coiling: A superlattice defect structure within the material causes the lattice to rotate into a helical shape. The mechanical properties were measured, and future studies will probe the piezoelectric properties of these structures. Moreover, the superlattice rotation mechanism may lend itself to nanospring formation in other materials.

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5741/1683
 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/309/5741/1700


Context: Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal committed to the advancement of interdisciplinary research in exploration of the most pressing and emerging key social and political issues of the 21st century. These include the implications of accelerated globalization, pluralism and diversity, human rights and freedoms, sustainable development, and inter-religious encounters. Researchers in the humanities and social sciences are invited to contribute to a better understanding of major moral and ethical issues through creative cross-pollination of ideas, perspectives, and methodologies. In an effort to bridge different cultures, the journal will also publish translations of significant articles. Context welcomes articles, essays and book reviews in all areas of interdisciplinary studies.


Insect herbivory activates plant defense mechanisms and releases a blend of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). These volatile compounds may be involved in plant-plant communication and induce defense response in undamaged plants. In this work, we investigated whether the exposure of sweet pepper plants to HIPVs [(Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate, (Z)-3-hexenyl butanoate, hexyl butanoate, methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate] activates the sweet pepper immune defense system. For this, healthy sweet pepper plants were individually exposed to the each of the above mentioned HIPVs over 48 h. The expression of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid related genes was quantified. Here, we show that all the tested volatiles induced plant defenses by upregulating the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid signaling pathway. Additionally, the response of Frankliniella occidentalis, a key sweet pepper pest, and Orius laevigatus, the main natural enemy of F. occidentalis, to HIPV-exposed sweet pepper plants were studied in a Y-tube olfactometer. Only plants exposed to (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate and methyl salicylate repelled F. occidentalis whereas O. laevigatus showed a strong preference to plants exposed to (Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate, (Z)-3-hexenyl butanoate, methyl salicylate and methyl jasmonate. Our results show that HIPVs act as elicitors to sweet pepper plant defenses by enhancing defensive signaling pathways. We anticipate our results to be a starting point for integrating HIPVs-based approaches in sweet pepper pest management systems which may provide a sustainable strategy to manage insect pests in horticultural plants.


The physico-chemical characteristics of Korni river water in Pipariya Madhya Pradesh have been studied. The stretch of Korni river contained in the Hoshangabad district (located at 250 23'-260 52'N, 760 28'-790 15' E) is extended up to 65 km downstream from Satpura hills (Chhindwara) to the confluence of the Korni with Narmada river, Machha. Two sampling stations viz., StationNandwara and Khaparkheda, were established for the collection of water samples during June, 2010 to July, 2011. The water quality parameters, namely transparency , turbidity, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, total alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, nitrate, nitrite, sulphate, phosphate, silicate, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia, sodium and potassium, reflects on the pristine nature of the river in Hoshangabad. On the basis of various parameters studied, the water quality analysis indicated that the river water in the Pipariya area is polluted and can serve as a bad habitat for many aquatic animals including endangered species with Narmada River. Keyword: Korni River, Water quality, Pollution status, Pipariya area.


OBJECTIVE Inhibitory effect of insulin like growth factor II (IGF-II) antisense RNA on malignant phenotype of hepatic cancer cells was studied. METHODS A 0.1 kb cDNA of human IGF-II was reversely inserted into a eukaryotic expression vector of pcDNA3 and an IGF-II antisense RNA expression vector of pIGF-II As was obtained. The pIGF-II As was then introduced into human hepatic cancer cell line SMMC-7721. The effect of IGF-II antisense RNA which was expressed by pIGF-II As on SMMC-7721 cell cycles progression was measured with FCM. RESULTS The coloning formation in anchorage-independent assay of SMMC-7721 cells with pIGF-II As was significantly decreased by comparison with control groups of SMMC-7721 cells and SMMC-7721 cells transfected with pcDNA3 vector alone. FCM analysis showed that the S phase of cell cycles for SMMC-7721 cells with pIGF-II As was increased, but there were no obvious changes in the control groups of SMMC-7721 cells and SMMC-7721 cells with pcDNA3. CONCLUSION The pIGF-II As of IGF-II antisense RNA acts as an inhibitor on carcinogenesis of the SMMC-7721 cells in vitro.


In many organisms, normoglycemia is achieved by a tight coupling of nutrient-stimulated insulin secretion in the pancreatic -cell (acute insulin response [AIR]) and the metabolic action of insulin to stimulate glucose disposal (insulin action [M]). It is widely accepted that in healthy individuals with normal glucose tolerance, normoglycemia can always be maintained by compensatorily increasing AIR in response to decreasing M (and vice versa). This has been mathematically described by the hyperbolic relationship between AIR and M and referred to as glucose homeostasis, with glucose concentration assumed to remain constant along the hyperbola. Conceivably, glucose is one of the signals stimulating AIR in response to decreasing M. Hypothetically, as with any normally functioning feed-forward system, AIR should not fully compensate for worsening M, since this would remove the stimulus for the compensation. We provide evidence from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and prospective data from Pima Indians (n 413) and Caucasians (n 60) that fasting and postprandial glucose concentrations increase with decreasing M despite normal compensation of AIR. For this physiologic adaptation to chronic stress (insulin resistance), we propose to use the term "glucose allostasis." Allostasis (stability through change) ensures the continued homeostatic response (stability through staying the same) to acute stress at some cumulative costs to the system. With increasing severity and over time, the allostatic load (increase in glycemia) may have pathological consequences, such as the development of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 52:903–909, 2003


Guided by the six elements of Translational Ecology (TE; i.e., decision-framing, collaboration, engagement, commitment, process, and communication), we showcase the first explicit example of a Translational Science Education (TSE) effort in the coastal redwood ecosystem of Humboldt County, CA. Using iNaturalist, a flexible and free citizen science/crowdsourcing app, we worked with students from grade school through college, and their teachers and community, to generate species lists for comparison among 19 school and non-profit locations spanning a range of urbanization. Importantly, this TSE effort resulted in both learning and data generation, highlighting the ability of a TSE framework to connect and benefit both students and researchers. Our data showed that, regardless of the age of the observers, holding organized BioBlitzes added substantially more species to local biodiversity lists than would have been generated without them. In support of current ecological theory, these data showed an urbanization gradient among sites, with rural sites containing fewer non-native species than urban ones. On the education side, qualitative assessments revealed students and educators remained engaged throughout the project. Future projects would also benefit by establishing quantifiable metrics for assessing student learning from project conception. Throughout the project, the fundamentals of TE were followed with repeated interactions and shared objectives developed over time within trusted community relationships. Such positive human interactions can lead new naturalists to think of themselves as champions of their local biodiversity (i.e., as land stewards). We anticipate that such newly empowered and locally expert naturalists will remain committed to land stewardship in perpetuity and that other scientists and educators are inspired to conduct similar work.


Purpose: Socially anxious people are typically thought of as being behaviorally
inhibited; however, an atypical subgroup, which is impulsive rather than inhibited,
has recently been identified [1]. Theoretically, inhibition and impulsivity could
be viewed as different strategies for coping with anxiety that have the same goal—escape
from negative emotions—but they seem to have different implications. Previous studies
have found that the socially anxious-impulsive subgroup was higher on risk-prone
behavior, as for example drug use, compared with a socially anxious-inhibited subgroup
[1]. In this study, we aimed to identify these subgroups in a general population,
and asked whether they also experience various levels of depressive symptoms and
life satisfaction, as well as moderating effects of gender. Methods: Cluster analysis
was used to identify subgroups of young adults (20 - 24 years old; N = 772) characterized by different profiles
of social anxiety and impulsivity. These subgroups were compared on levels of internal
adjustment, and the moderating effects of gender were also tested. Results: We identified
five clusters, including an Anxious-Inhibited and an Anxious-Impulsive cluster.
In the interaction between gender and cluster membership, gender showed evidence
of moderation regarding both depressive symptoms and life satisfaction, with the
young women in the Anxious-Inhibited and the Anxious-Impulsive
clusters faring worst. Conclusions: We replicated previous findings demonstrating
the existence of a socially anxious-impulsive subgroup, thus solidifying current
knowledge that may be important when it comes to diagnostics and treatment. This
may prove particularly important for young women regarding internalizing symptoms.


Keyphrases can be used to facilitate Web users grasping the main topic(s) of a Web page. We present a practical system of automatic keyphrase extraction for Web pages. In this system, a regression model was first trained based on a set of human-labeled documents. Then it was used to extract keyphrases from new pages automatically. This paper makes three contributions. First, the structure information in a Web page was investigated for keyphrase extraction task. Second, the query log data associated with a Web page collected by a search engine server were used to help keyphrase extraction. Third, a method was put forward in this paper in order to evaluate the similarity of phrases.


Insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are used extensively in sprays and transgenic crops for pest control, but their efficacy is reduced when pests evolve resistance. Better understanding of the mode of action of Bt toxins and the mechanisms of insect resistance is needed to enhance the durability of these important alternatives to conventional insecticides. Mode of action models agree that binding of Bt toxins to midgut proteins such as cadherin is essential for toxicity, but some details remain unresolved, such as the role of toxin oligomers. In this study, we evaluated how Bt toxin Cry1Ac and its genetically engineered counterpart Cry1AcMod interact with brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from resistant and susceptible larvae of Pectinophora gossypiella (pink bollworm), a global pest of cotton. Compared with Cry1Ac, Cry1AcMod lacks 56 amino acids at the amino-terminus including helix α-1; previous work showed that Cry1AcMod formed oligomers in vitro without cadherin and killed P. gossypiella larvae harboring cadherin mutations linked with >1000-fold resistance to Cry1Ac. Here we found that resistance to Cry1Ac was associated with reduced oligomer formation and insertion. In contrast, Cry1AcMod formed oligomers in BBMV from resistant larvae. These results confirm the role of cadherin in oligomerization of Cry1Ac in susceptible larvae and imply that forming oligomers without cadherin promotes toxicity of Cry1AcMod against resistant P. gossypiella larvae that have cadherin mutations.


Blockchain is a technology that has been available for several years and has already had several generations. Multiple implementations exist. In this paper, we describe how one of them, the Hyperledger Fabric, is used today to demonstrate the wide usage of the technology for multiple markets beyond finance and cryptocurrency. The use cases highlight the relevance of security—due to the type of data and the distributed foundation of blockchain—and of system performance to enable the use cases in production. Security and performance are the base for the architecture of blockchain on the IBM LinuxONE systems. The Secure Service Container prevents tampering, and the cryptocard usage hardens the solution—and the performance optimization in the compiler, cryptoinstructions, and large caches provides the performance. These optimizations have been further extended with the IBM z14 beyond previous IBM Z generations. In this paper, we describe how a cluster topology is used to implement a high-availability service that scales dynamically from small networks to large ones using the hot plug capabilities of the IBM LinuxONE systems.


Interoperability represents the accurate exchange of information and the use of the information for effective decision making. For information exchange to be interoperable, it must be widely interpretable between multiple information systems. At a more granular level, it focuses on the accuracy, consistency and reliability of information exchanged between systems. The healthcare industry has defined many problems when it comes to the best practice of interoperability. Technical, financial, and managerial barriers are present that produce large scale complex problems for the whole industry. Although, a variety of potential solutions have been developed. Some have even been implemented already focusing on semantics, standardization, patient privacy and security. The private and government sectors of the economy have produced new legal and economic incentives, product innovations, along with widely available educational resources that have shown success. Overall improvements will increase quality of care, patient safety, and decrease associated costs across the entire healthcare industry.


BACKGROUND
There is increasing interest in research, prevention and management of mobbing in the field of occupational psychosocial risks.

OBJECTIVES
To describe mobbing and its health effects by analysis of the cases examined from 1997 to 2003 at the Department of Occupational Health "Clinica del Lavoro Luigi Devoto" in Milan.

METHODS
A total of 226 clinical records of patients who reported a mobbing situation when undergoing medical examination were selected out of 2455 patients examined for stress-related disorders.

RESULTS
The percentage of women was higher (53.1%) than in men (46.9%) with a prevalent age range of 35-54 years. There was a great variety of jobs, especially white-collars and workers in large service companies. In one third of the cases, mobbing occurred within 4 years from beginning of employment and mostly after company reorganization and management changes. The most frequent negative acts included social isolation and demotion. The most frequent symptoms were exhaustion, sleep, mood and sexual disorders. The number of symptoms was not related to the duration of mobbing but to the number and frequency of negative actions. 61.1% of the subjects took psychotropic drugs. Occupational health physicians play an essential role in primary prevention (information on occupational risks) and in early diagnosis and rehabilitation and could act as mediators between workers and enterprises.


Abstract
The aim of this research paper is to present the findings of an extensive literature review related to barriers international students experience transitioning to employment and permanent residency in Canada. International students who wish to work in Canada temporarily have difficulty receiving employment because of limited co-operative education opportunities and a lack of professional networks. The lack of settlement services, the numerous complexities of immigration policies, and the minimal awareness among students hinder the process for these individuals to immigrate to Canada permanently. These realities hold significant policy implications for the federal and provincial levels of government because Canada continues to admit educated and skilled labour in order to address national priorities such as long-term labour shortage and population decline. International students, especially those who hope to secure employment and permanency in Canada, are an attractive population, given the Canadian education and social capital they have received upon completion of their studies. This report will also provide a comprehensive review of several best practices and policy suggestions in addressing the challenges described above. Additionally, I will offer some practical recommendations for those involved in this transition process.


ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 5 Number 5 (2016) pp. 307-321 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com The purpose of this study was (1) To evaluate the value of Gram stained smear (GSS) and quantitative cultures ofendotracheal aspirates(QC ETA) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (QC BALF) by correlating it with clinical criteria(CC)for the diagnosis of ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP).(2) To correlate GSS with QETA and QBALF cultures for the same. A prospective study was conducted over a period of one year. Respiratory samples – ETA: 53, BAL:25 and blood culture (BC):35 were collected from 53 patients admitted to medical and surgical ICU's who were on mechanical ventilation (MV) for >48 hrs (2-10 days). All these patients had various underlying comorbid illness and all of them were receiving antibiotics prior to the admission to ICU. A diagnosis of VAP was made on the basis of clinical, radiological and microbiological criteria. Cohen's Kappa coefficient was used to quantify the level of agreement between the diagnostic tests. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) of GSS of ETA with CC was found to be 80%, 24.2%, 39%, 67%;the strength of agreement was fair and the GSS of BALF with CC was 41.67%, 23%, 33%, 30%; the strength of agreement was just by chance alone. From this we conclude that taking GSS study (ETA & BALF) alone into consideration is not a reliable indicator for the diagnosis of VAP. Therefore the initial management of patients with suspected VAP could be based on carefully studied GSS examination correlated with clinical criteria and vise versa. The sensitivity, Specificity, PPV and NPV of QETA cultures with clinical criteria was 90%, 21.2%, 40%, 77.8% respectively; the strength of agreement is considered to be fair and that of BALF cultures with CC were 58%, 23%, 41%, 37.5%; the strength of agreement was considered to be moderate. QETA cultures have shown greater sensitivity and NPV. Hence they are best interpreted by taking clinical criteria into consideration as well. QBALF cultures have shown low sensitivity and specificity; but a moderate strength of agreement when compared with clinical criteria. Greater sensitivity and specificity could probably have been obtained if the samples were collected from the lower bronchoscope segments. We conclude that when it is not feasible to do BAL, QETA cultures correlated with CC can reliabely be taken into consideration for the diagnosis of VAP. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of GSS with QETA cultures was 86%, 66.67%, 92.6%, 50%, and that of QBALF cultures were 76.5%, 75%, 86.7% and 60%. The strength of agreement was moderate with cultures. Since GSS study of both cultures have considerably shown high sensitivity and specificity, the initial management of patients with suspected VAP could be based on GSS examination. K ey wo rd s Clinical criteria, Gram-smear, QETA, QBALF, VAP. Accepted: 15 April 2016 Available Online: 10 May 2016 Article Info Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2016) 5(5): 307-321


In the new thinking of the scientific and academic community of Iran, applying science and guiding it to meet the fundamental needs of human society is one of the most important tasks. The identification of these phenomena with the help of GIS theoretical spatial sciences leads to the identification of how each of the human phenomena has been established in the past. Spatial modeling for spatial analysis and scattering of archeological sites in Khonj County is the main purpose of the present research. In terms of purpose and terms of methodology, this research is applied and descriptive-analytical, based on the library, model, and spatial studies. The selected indicators were collected in two stages by studying the records (research projects, statistics, books), using the viewpoints of the experts (taking advantage of Delphi's method and extracting the opinions of academic theorists and managers of related organizations), and they were integrated using the Delphi method. In this section, 14 indicators were identified, and then the ANP-Dematle hybrid analytical model was used to identify the effect of indicators and criteria on each other and ranking. Finally, they were overlapped by GIS software using fuzzy analysis. Research results show: the latitude variable (a3) has the highest impressment (0.120) and then variables of the gradient (c3) and height (b1) with impressment of 0.118 and 0.117 are in the next ranks, respectively. The results of the analysis of fourteener indicators in the ArcGis software environment, which are effective in determining the spatial scattering of 93 archaeological sites show that distance and proximity to water, good soil, and high altitude are some of the reasons for the formation of settlements in this county. The most important reasons that influence the settlement patterns of this region are dependence on three important characteristics: water, good soil for agriculture as well as suitable height.


Airway management is of major importance in emergency care. The basic technique for all health care providers is bag-valve mask (BVM) ventilation, which requires skill and may be difficult to perform. Endotracheal intubation, which is the advanced method for securing the airway, is a demanding technique that has been shown to be associated with infrequent success, even when used by experienced paramedical personnel. Therefore, alternative airway devices have been sought. The use of the laryngeal tube (LT) by experienced anesthesia personnel had been studied in anesthetized patients and manikins in emergency medical training. We decided to evaluate the ability of inexperienced firefighter-emergency medical technician students (fire-EMT) to insert the LT or perform BVM in anesthetized patients. Thirty fire-EMTs randomly inserted the LT (n = 15) and performed 1 min of ventilation or used the BVM (n = 15). We found that all students successfully (100%) inserted the LT. Those who inserted the LT on the first attempt (73%) required 48.2 ± 14.7 s for the insertion. Both the LT and BVM provided adequate oxygenation and ventilation. In this study, we found that inexperienced fire-EMT students inserted LT and performed 1-min ventilation with a reasonable success rate and insertion time in anesthetized patients.


PHILOSOPHERS from many different countries came to Hiroshima, Japan, in the summer of 2007 to discuss the problems of war and peace on the occasion of the Seventh World Congress of the International Society for Universal Dialogue (ISUD). The theme was After Hiroshima: Collective Memory, Philosophical Reflection and World Peace. The essays included in this volume were originally presented at that conference and reflect some of the aspects of these discussions. In the first three parts of this introductory essay, I will address ideas conveyed by discussions during the Hiroshima conference regarding an open history, as well as various aspects of violence-prone globalization and its challenges to ethics and to peace. Then, within this context, the fourth part of this introduction will provide a brief review of some of the main themes arising out of the conference and elaborated in the essays of the volume. I From the Metaphysical Claims of Historicism Toward an Open History and Ethics of Co-Responsibility THE TWENTIETH CENTURY was marked by a sharp contrast between achievements in technology-based material production and the unprecedented violence of the two world wars, the Cold War, the nuclear arms face, and many other civil wars and international conflicts that collectively took millions of human lives. This globalization of violence poses challenges to philosophy and calls for its transformation. The breakdown of civilization led Theodor Adorno to proclaim in 1949 that "[t]o write poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric." He worried that "mankind, instead of entering into a truly human condition, is sinking into a new kind of barbarism." After Auschwitz and Hiroshima, a relapse into barbarism is not merely a hypothetical threat: "Auschwitz was this relapse, and barbarianism continues as long as the fundamental conditions that favored that relapse continue largely unchanged.... Furthermore, one cannot dismiss the thought that the invention of the atomic bomb, which can obliterate hundreds of thousands of people literally in one blow, belongs in the same historical context as genocide." (1) The monstrosity that took place has shattered the basis for reconciling speculative metaphysical thought with experience, and: "After Auschwitz, our feelings resist any claim of the positivity of existence as sanctimonious, as wronging the victims." (2) According to him, philosophy has failed badly in its efforts to comprehend this social catastrophe. He criticized philosophy as the "Western legacy of positivity," and called on philosophy to reflect on its own failure and its own complicity in such events. If philosophy is to be possible today, it must be a philosophy that regards human suffering as the precondition of thought and as the undoing of all claims to totality. Adorno's statements, aimed against "empty and cold forgetting" or shallow rhetoric about those tragic events, reflected the concerns of many intellectuals about the role of philosophy, its failures in the past, and the need for its transformation in order to fulfill its potential for humanity in the wake of the Holocaust and Hiroshima. An important aspect of this transformation was a critical rethinking of previous concepts in the philosophy of history, in order to surmount the deterministic and teleological tendencies of existing historicism. In this way, Adorno and others hoped, it might be possible to develop the concept of an open history. This necessity had already been indicated by Karl Popper, who in his publications after World War II criticized the ideology of historicism in its various versions, asserting its connection to the tragic events of European history. In tracing the roots of historicist metaphysics to Plato, Hegel, and Mill, Popper critically examines its interrelated doctrines of "specific historical laws which can be discovered, and upon which prediction regarding the future of mankind can be based," and its notion of the chosen people, "selected as the instrument of destiny, ultimately to inherit the earth," who are struggling for supremacy. …


Objective To characterize the mechanism of in vitro antigen-induced apoptotic T-cell death in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of HIV-1-infected individuals. Design and methods PBMC from HIV-1-infected and uninfected individuals were unstimulated or stimulated with HIV-1 envelope synthetic peptides (Env) or influenza A virus to determine the extent of antigen-stimulated apoptotic T-cell death, whether this death was limited to the CD4+ subset, and the effects of cytokines on T-cell death. Death was assessed by apoptotic nuclear morphology after 7 days of culture by fluorescence microscopy using a DNA-specific dye. Transwell cultures and supernatant transfers were utilized to test whether a soluble factor produced by HIV-positive PBMC induced death of HIV-negative T cells. Exogenous cytokines [interleukin (IL)-12, interferon (IFN)-γ, IL-4 and IL-10, as well as antibodies against endogenously produced cytokines (IL-4, IL-10, IL-12, and lymphotoxin) were tested for their ability to modulate death. Results Antigenic stimulation induced death in PBMC from HIV-positive donors, but not in PBMC from HIV-negative donors. Antigen-stimulated death was seen in CD4+ but not CD8+ T-cell subset from the HIV-positive patients. Apoptotic death was blocked by IL-12, IFN-γ, anti-IL-4, anti-IL-10, and anti-lymphotoxin, but not by anti-IL-12. Transwell and supernatant transfer experiments indicated that antigen-stimulated HIV-positive PBMC produced a factor that killed T-cell blasts. The factor was inhibited by anti-lymphotoxin, but not by anti-IL-10. Conclusions Stimulation of HIV-positive PBMC with CD4-dependent antigens results in selective death of CD4+ T cells that is modulated by cytokines. Our results suggest that apoptotic death is not limited to HIV-infected or HIV-specific T cells, but occurs in bystander cells. Lymphotoxin is a mediator of antigen-stimulated T-cell death in this in vitro model.


This paper seeks to establish a correlation between surface topographical defects and water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) measured under laboratory conditions for aluminium–oxide (Al2O3) barrier film employed in flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules. Defects in the barrier layers of PV modules causing high WVTR are not well characterised and understood. A WVTR of ~10−1 g/m2/day is sufficient for the most packaging applications, but ≤10−6 g/m2/day is required for the encapsulation of long–life flexible PV modules (Carcia et al., 2010a, 2010b). In this study, surface metrology techniques along with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for a quantitative characterisation of the barrier film defects. The investigation have provided clear evidence for the correlation of surface defect density and the transmission of water vapour through the barrier coating layer. The outcomes would appear to suggest that small numbers of large defects are the dominant factor in determining WVTR for these barrier layers.


For light and medium mass systems the capture cross-section may be considered to be the same as that for complete fusion, whereas for heavy systems leading to superheavy formations the evaporation residue cross-section is dramatically reduced due to the quasifission (QF) and fusion-fission processes thus making the capture cross-section to be essentially the sum of these two cross-sections, with QF occurring at a much shorter time-scale. Consequently, quasifission is the primary reaction mechanism that limits the formation of superheavy nuclei. Within the last few years the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) approach has been utilized for studying the dynamics of quasifission. The study of quasifission is showing a great promise to provide insight based on very favorable comparisons with experimental data. In this article we will focus on the TDHF calculations of quasifission observables for the $^{48}$Ca+$^{249}$Bk system.


Biometric national identity systems are rare in industrial democracies. Recent attempts to introduce them in the United Kingdom and the United States have been defeated by civil libertarian opponents. In both cases, the proposed identity systems were closely linked to national security and the US-led Global War on Terror. A biometric identity database is now being introduced on an unprecedented scale in the world's largest democracy: India. By 2015, 600 million Indians will be issued a Unique Identification Number (UID), a number linked to a resident's fingerprints, iris scan, and facial photograph. This time the primary motive is not national security, but rather social benefits. The UID began life in a form similar to that of the abortive UK and US systems. In 2003, the then-ruling center-right coalition proposed the creation of a Multipurpose National Identity Card for the purpose of fighting terrorism and crime. After the coalition failed to win reelection, its successor, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), temporarily suspended the idea. The UPA's 2009 election manifesto, however, revived the notion of a biometric identity system but with a new function. The Unique ID, later branded "Aadhaar," is intended to revolutionize the nature of welfare schemes in India. Aadhaar is the brainchild of the Unique Identification Authority of India, a new government agency headed by Nandan Nilekani, billionaire software entrepreneur and former Chairman of Infosys Technologies. The scheme has the backing of the three most important figures in the Indian government: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and her son Rahul, and the first numbers will be issued before the end of 2010. It took the United States three decades to create a de facto identity system in the form of the Social Security number; India is attempting to do the same in biometric form in under five years. That OECD countries do not have biometric identity schemes is a frequent criticism of Aadhaar. Yet its advocates point out that the absence of identity is a unique impediment to India's poorest, who are thereby excluded from the very welfare programs that are created to help them. For example, millions of the poorest Indians do not possess ration cards, as they are unable to pay the requisite bribe to the local panchayat (village council). Two schemes that could be cleaned up in the short term are the Public Distribution System (PDS), which distributes food grains, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which provides enrollees with 100 days work at slightly more than US$2 per day. It is estimated that of the US$9 billion annual outlay for NREGS, up to US$3.6 billion is lost to mid-level corruption; enrollees consequently typically receive only 60 percent of the promised income. By giving such concrete identity credentials to the poorest Indians, many of whom have never possessed any kind of identity proof in their lives, Aadhaar can ensure that PDS food grains reach their intended source. …


Asymmetric information is crucial for understanding the disruption of the supply of credit. This paper studies a dynamic economy featuring asymmetric information and resulting adverse selection in credit markets. Entrepreneurs seek loans from banks for projects, but asymmetric information about entrepreneurs' riskiness causes a lemons problem: relatively safe entrepreneurs do not get funded. An increase in the riskiness of some entrepreneurs raises interest rate spreads, aggravates adverse selection, and shrinks the supply of bank credit. The model calibrated to the U.S. economy generates significant business fluctuations including severe recessions comparable to the Great Recession of 2007-09.


In the care of adolescent patients, all aspects of clinical medicine are played out against a background of rapid physical, psychological, and social developmental changes. These changes produce specific disease patterns, unusual presentations of symptoms, and above all, unique communication and management challenges. This can make working with adolescents difficult. However, with the right skills, practising medicine with young people can be rewarding and fruitful. These skills are needed by everyone who works with young people in the course of their work.

As a young person enters adolescence, their parents are still largely responsible for all aspects of their health. By the end of adolescence, health issues will be almost entirely the responsibility of the young person. The challenge is to maintain an effective clinical relationship while the health responsibilities transfer from the parents to the young person.person.

Figure 1

Specialised clinical communication skills are needed to take an accurate history, bearing in mind new life domains not applicable to children (sex and drugs) and adding communication and engagement of the family to the standard adult consultation. Physical examinations of adolescents require consideration of privacy and personal integrity as well as requiring additional skills such as pubertal assessment. For effective treatment of illness in adolescence, doctors need to know about adolescent development if they are to manage adeptly issues of adherence (compliance), identity, consent and confidentiality, and relationships between young people and their families. Evidence from randomised controlled trials clearly shows that such skills can be developed and practised effectively in primary care.care.

Table 1

The primary challenges of adolescence


User satisfaction, though difficult to measure, is the main goal of Information Retrieval (IR) systems. In recent years, as Interactive Information Retrieval (IIR) systems have become increasingly popular, user effectiveness also has become critical in evaluating IIR systems. However, existing measures in IR evaluation are not particularly suitable for gauging user satisfaction and user effectiveness. In this paper, we propose two new measures to evaluate IIR systems, the Normalized Task Completion Time (NT) and the Normalized User Effectiveness (NUE). The two measures overcome limitations of existing measures and are efficient to calculate in that they do not need a large pool of search tasks. A user study was conducted to investigate the relationships between the two measures and the user satisfaction and effectiveness of a given IR system. The learning effects described by NT, NUE, and the task completion time were also studied and compared. The results show that NT is strongly correlated with user satisfaction, NUE is a better indicator of system effectiveness than task completion time, and both new measures are superior to task completion time in describing the learning effect of the given IR system.


Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, are a widespread but often understated problem. A pressure ulcer is an injury that develops with constant pressure on an area of skin for a long time. They range from bruises to open wounds to even exposed bone. These injuries especially impact bedridden and elderly hospital inpatients, since these people must depend on nursing staff for mobility. Pressure ulcers can seem to be a solved problem. Solutions that completely eliminate pressure ulcers do exist. These solutions, however, are too expensive for widespread use, at thousands of dollars per bed. Other solutions, such as relying on nursing staff to move all patients is not reliable, and nurses develop chronic back pain from the strain of moving so many patients so often. The Pressure Ulcer Prevention System is designed specifically to be an affordable solution for these injuries in a hospital or assisted living setting. The system collects data from a gyroscopic sensor and multiple pressure sensors mounted on the patient, and sends an alert to the nurses' station if a patient is at risk of developing a pressure ulcer, and needs attending. The system does not replace nurse care, nor does it change the most common solution of manually moving patients, but it instead helps nursing staff be more efficient.


This technical note establishes a novel result for adaptive asymptotic tracking control of uncertain switched linear systems. The result exploits a recently proposed stability condition for switched systems. In particular, a time-varying positive definite Lyapunov function is used to develop a novel piecewise continuous model-reference adaptive law and a dwell-time switching law. In contrast with previous research, where asymptotic tracking was possible only in the presence of a common Lyapunov function for the reference models, in this work asymptotic tracking is shown in a more general setting. Additionally, in the presence of persistence of excitation, the controller parameter estimation errors will converge to zero asymptotically. The main contribution of this work consists in establishing a symmetry between adaptive control of classical non-switched linear systems and adaptive control of switched linear systems. A practical example with an electro-hydraulic system is adopted to illustrate the results.


The lower Pliocene shallow-marine successions deposited within half-graben subbasins exposed in the northern Crotone Basin (southern Italy) are good examples illustrating the variable development of small-scale cycles (2–15 m [6.6–49 ft] thick) within the hanging-wall blocks of normal growth faults. Shallow-marine small-scale cycles forming the successions deposited near the immediate hanging wall of half-graben subbasins show a clear alternation between well-cemented shell-rich intervals and weakly cemented siliciclastic sandstones. In contrast, the shallow-marine successions deposited in hanging-wall dip-slope locations and in the footwalls show a poorly preserved cyclicity related to lower subsidence rates and a higher degree of cycle amalgamation. The vertical alternation between well-cemented carbonate-rich intervals and less cemented sandstones creates a marked heterogeneity in the permeability of these shallow-marine half-graben fills, which are sealed by impermeable offshore and lagoonal mudstones and may be considered as an outcrop analog of potential reservoirs. As a consequence of the well-developed cyclicity, therefore, the potential reservoir is vertically compartmentalized. This feature tends to vanish toward the hanging-wall dip slopes, where the cyclicity is remarkably less appreciable. The correct prediction of geometry and effective volume of reservoirs and, in particular, the recognition of their vertical compartmentalization have an important impact on hydrocarbon exploration and production. The developed conceptual model of compartmentalized half-graben fill may be useful in several contexts to study fault-bounded basins from a reservoir point of view.


Background: This research study investigates the degree of medication-related satisfaction experienced by Palestinian patients with diabetes. In addition, this study further assesses the association between certain clinical and socio-demographic factors and the degree of satisfaction among the patients. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study design consisted of 415 randomly selected patients from the Palestine Medical Complex (PMC), the Palestinian Ministry of Health Clinics, and from the Palestinian Diabetes Institute (also known as: Al-Bireh Medical Center). The Diabetes Medication Satisfaction (DiabMedSat) questionnaire measured patients' satisfaction levels regarding their medications. Results: Odds ratios from binomial logistic analysis and the analysis of variance determined statistically significant correlations. The analysis has displayed the presence of significant associations between clinical and socio-demographic factors and treatment satisfaction. Significance was determined at p values < 0.05 and p values < 0.01. Conclusion: This research identified statistically significant associations between certain clinical and socio-demographic factors and diabetic patients' satisfaction regarding their treatment. Addressing the concerns and difficulties experienced by the patients may impede treatment incompliance and hinder the development of complications, or at least postpone them.


: Structural differences between untreated and tretinoin treated acne, uniquely evident with the scanning electron microscope, provide insight into the disease and its response to the drug. Early tretinoin therapy is characterized by the appearance of loosely adherent, parakeratotic cells which account for comedo expulsion and a disrupted skin surface. Persistence of the follicular and comedonal alterations account for the prophylactic value of long-term therapy. Meanwhile, the structure of the stratum corneum returns toward normal, with the clinical accommodation to the topical tretinoin.


When conducting workshops with business people, there is a significant risk to become bogged down in the details of the underlying business process rather than seeing the big picture of the value provided by the process to its stakeholders. In this paper, we describe combination of methods that we use in workshops with business people to entice them to be more creative when thinking about new products and services. These techniques range from top-down value modeling to bottom-up business processmodeling. We bring together knowledge and information management in order to understand what information the stakeholders need that provides value to them.


Fast thermalization and a strong build up of elliptic flow of QCD matter were investigated within the pQCD based 3+1 dimensional parton transport model BAMPS including bremsstrahlung $2 \leftrightarrow 3$ processes. Within the same framework quenching of gluonic jets in Au+Au collisions at RHIC can be understood. The development of conical structure by gluonic jets is investigated in a static box for the regimes of small and large dissipation. Furthermore we demonstrate two different approaches to extract the shear viscosity coefficient $\eta$ from a microscopical picture.


The growing popularity of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) has led to the search for efficient computational platforms to enable these algorithms. Resistive random-access memory (ReRAM)-based architectures offer a promising alternative to commonly used GPU-based platforms for CNN training. However, backpropagation in CNNs is susceptible to the limited precision of ReRAMs. As a result, training CNNs on ReRAMs affects the final accuracy of learned model. In this work, we propose REGENT, a heterogeneous architecture that combines ReRAM arrays with GPU cores, and exploits the benefits provided by 3D integration along with a high-throughput yet energy efficient Network-on-Chip (NoC) for training CNNs. We also propose a bin-packing based framework that maps CNN layers and then optimize the placement of computing elements to meet the targeted design objectives. Experimental evaluations indicate that REGENT improves full-system EDP by 55.7% on average compared to conventional GPU-only platforms for training CNNs.


The Hands-On Guide to Flash Video is a professional reference book written by industry experts that are currently helping professionals produce Web video and implement Flash Media Server. This book covers Flash Video production from soup to nuts, beginning with how to configure your camcorder and ending to advanced server techniques like bandwidth detection and FMS logging and reporting. Real word lessons from case studies of successful Flash Video deployments are also included. Supplemental files located at: www.flashvideobook.comBy reading this book, you'll learn to:* Shoot high quality video for streaming* Choose the best encoder and encoding techniques for producing Flash Video* Deploy Flash Video via progressive download or via the Flash Media Server. * Create and light a compression friendly set* Deinterlace and preprocess your video prior to encoding* Choose encoding parameters like data rate, resolution and frame rate* Optimize encoding with Sorenson Squeeze, Flix Pro and the Adobe Flash Video Encoder* Shoot and produce chromakey video for alpha channel delivery* Customize a Flash player via skinning, and use Cue Points for navigation * Setup, install, and maintain Flash Media Server Key Features Include:* Advanced Flash Media Server guidance and support* Tecniques for shooting Web video specifically for Flash streaming* Author tips from "in the trenches" experiences from two industry experts * Case studies show you real-world examples of successful Flash video deployment


In this investigation, nine chloroplast, paternally inherited simple‐sequence repeat (cpSSR) markers were used to describe genetic variation of three closely related species belonging to the halepensis complex (Pinus halepensis Ait., P. brutia Mill. and P. eldarica Medwed.). Both the infinite allele model (IAM) and stepwise‐mutation model (SMM) have been applied to the analysis of the genetic structure of natural populations and the geographical distribution of haplotypic variation. SMM‐based estimators performed better than IAM‐based estimators for large values of within‐population diversity and divergence between population pairs. Overall, large haplotypic variation and high genetic divergence were detected for both P. halepensis and P. brutia. The genetic structures of the three species are discussed with consideration to the evolutionary and ecological characteristics of these species. Three highly informative markers showing size variants distinguishing P. halepensis from the other two species were used to provide more information on the occurrence of natural hybridization in a Turkish sympatric population of P. halepensis and P. brutia. Strong evidence of introgression of 'halepensis' chloroplast haplotypes into P. brutia seeds (but not vice versa) was detected. According to previous evidence from controlled crossings, matings between the above species seem to be successful only when P. halepensis is the pollen donor and P. brutia is the female parent (but not reciprocally). The existence of unidirectional gene flow in sympatric populations confirms previous evidence about partial reproductive barriers between P. halepensis and P. brutia. Implications of the above evidence for the evolutionary history of these species are discussed.


Abstract Context Various herbal medicines are thought to be useful in the management of cardiometabolic disease and its risk factors. Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. (Ganodermataceae), also known as Lingzhi, has received considerable attention for various indications, including some related to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic disease by ameliorating major cardiovascular risk factors. Objective This review focuses on the major studies of the whole plant, plant extract, and specific active compounds isolated from G. lucidum in relation to the main risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. Methods References from major databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were compiled. The search terms used were Ganoderma lucidum, Lingzhi, Reishi, cardiovascular, hypoglycaemic, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory. Results A number of in vitro studies and in vivo animal models have found that G. lucidum possesses antioxidative, antihypertensive, hypoglycaemic, lipid-lowering, and anti-inflammatory properties, but the health benefits in clinical trials are inconsistent. Among these potential health benefits, the most compelling evidence thus far is its hypoglycaemic effects in patients with type 2 diabetes or hyperglycaemia. Conclusions The inconsistent evidence about the potential health benefits of G. lucidum is possibly because of the use of different Ganoderma formulations and different study populations. Further large controlled clinical studies are therefore needed to clarify the potential benefits of G. lucidum preparations standardised by known active components in the prevention and treatment of cardiometabolic disease.


The current test for secondary liability usually turns on foresight of a risk that the principal might commit the crime, but this is misguided. If some form of foresight must be used, which is both doubtful and if true, regrettable, the current formulation of it is unacceptable. It is commonly said now that S is liable for the same offence as P, where S foresees a "real risk" or "substantial possibility" that P will commit that offence. This is a poor cousin to recklessness, the hard-won common law test for wrongful risk-taking. In particular, reference to quantifying the risk cannot take the place of the other established element of recklessness: recklessness only criminalises foreseeing a risk and unjustifiably taking it, rather than merely the taking of any appreciated risk, however small. A return to established principle might help to level off from the last twenty years' downward spiral of the level of culpability required for secondary liability and prevent further problems in the law. At the very least, the law should recognise the situations where the validity or utility of the conduct by the secondary party makes the risk that it contributes to a crime taking place insufficient to justify criminal liability.


Abstract Dioctophyma renale is a parasite that frequently occurs in animals but rarely in humans. The present report describes the clinical observations of a D. renale infection in a 51-yr-old woman. Its clinical signs and diagnostic findings were unspecific until giant worms were observed in the urine and histological findings confirmed it was a D. renale infection. She refused treatment and died of bilateral renal function failure. This is the first confirmed report to follow the natural progression of D. renale infection in a human. Here, we discuss a conservative therapeutic approach and features associated with this parasitic infection.


The Nilgiris in Indian subcontinent is one of the major Biodiversity hot spot in India and renowned for the endemism. Crucifers are the imperative cash crops cultivated in various parts of this high altitude. Insect pests diversity associated with cruciferous crops were evaluated at four different sample sites in Nilgiris district. Thirteen species of cruciferous crop pests belong to four orders such as, Lepidoptera, Homoptera, Coleopteran, and Hemiptera were recorded. Highest number of individuals was recorded in Lepidoptera and lowest number of species in Coleopteran and Hemiptera. Among the families, aphididae (Homoptera) was dominant followed by plutellidae, pyraustidae and noctuidae (Lepidoptera). Among the species, Lipaphis erysimi (Homoptera: aphididae) was eudominant, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: plutellidae) was dominant and other species were subdominant, recedent, subrecedent. Total number of cruciferous insects found declined from October to December and there after a steady increase was observed up to March. However, such a variation was not observed in terms of species composition and diversity. 2011 Trade Science Inc. INDIA