Dynamic information flow tracking (DIFT) is a technique to track potential security vulnerabilities in software and hardware systems at run time. Untrusted data are marked with tags (tainted), which are propagated through the system and their potential for unsafe use is analyzed to prevent them. DIFT is not supported in heterogeneous systems especially hardware accelerators. Currently, DIFT is manually generated and integrated into the accelerators. This process is error-prone, potentially hurting the process of identifying security violations in heterogeneous systems. We present TaintHLS, to automatically generate a micro-architecture to support baseline operations and a shadow microarchitecture for intrinsic DIFT support in hardware accelerators while providing variable granularity of taint tags. TaintHLS offers a companion high-level synthesis (HLS) methodology to automatically generate such DIFT-enabled accelerators from a high-level specification. We extended a state-of-the-art HLS tool to generate DIFT-enhanced accelerators and demonstrated the approach on numerous benchmarks. The DIFT-enabled accelerators have negligible performance and no more than 30% hardware overhead.


Social preference research has received considerable attention among economists in recent years. However, the empirical foundation of social preferences is largely based on laboratory experiments with self-selected students as participants. This is potentially problematic as students participating in experiments may behave systematically different than nonparticipating students or nonstudents. In this paper we empirically investigate whether laboratory experiments with student samples misrepresent the importance of social preferences. Our first study shows that students who exhibit stronger prosocial inclinations in an unrelated field donation are not more likely to participate in experiments. This suggests that self-selection of more prosocial students into experiments is not a major issue. Our second study compares the behavior of students and participants recruited from the general population in a trust experiment. In general, we find very similar behavioral patterns for the two groups, but nonstudents make significantly more generous repayments suggesting that results from student samples might be seen as a lower bound for the importance of prosocial behavior.


While the influence of spatial-numerical associations in number categorization tasks has been well established, their role in mental arithmetic is less clear. It has been hypothesized that mental addition leads to rightward and upward shifts of spatial attention (along the "mental number line"), whereas subtraction leads to leftward and downward shifts. We addressed this hypothesis by analyzing spontaneous eye movements during mental arithmetic. Participants solved verbally presented arithmetic problems (e.g., 2 + 7, 8–3) aloud while looking at a blank screen. We found that eye movements reflected spatial biases in the ongoing mental operation: Gaze position shifted more upward when participants solved addition compared to subtraction problems, and the horizontal gaze position was partly determined by the magnitude of the operands. Interestingly, the difference between addition and subtraction trials was driven by the operator (plus vs. minus) but was not influenced by the computational process. Thus, our results do not support the idea of a mental movement toward the solution during arithmetic but indicate a semantic association between operation and space.


The notion of cyber-journal embraces all the different forms of e-publishing in cyber-space (the virtual and non geographical world generated by the Internet) to the extent that they provide news reporting, such as e-versions of newspapers, news bulletins and TV news; news (section of) mail-lists, search-engines and portals; web-zines, personal news web sites, etc.
This wide notion appeals both to technical and legal reasons. Technically, news-reporting (considered as the whole of its publishing and journalistic profession terms) consists of the process of selection, organisation and diffusion of facts considered to be relevant to the social community, regardless of the practical form this process implies. Legally, as a consequence of its social function in modern democracies, news-reporting is the most important expression of the principle of Freedom of information. We can say that Freedom of information becomes news-reporting when the information provided acquires, for its content and form, a public dimension. Though news-reporting is subject to the same general protection of Freedom of information, it may give rise to more particular problems, mostly for its economic implications, which will be considered in the next paragraphs.
The right of Freedom of information is recognised to every individual by international law, particularly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations (ONU), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention of Human Rights. All these international acts proclaim the ability of everyone to exercise Freedom of information "regardless of frontiers". The latter principle is the main point of our discussion. Cyber-journal corresponds exactly to that: news-reporting provided by any individual at its pure no-frontiers dimension. This is a real phenomenon: it is a matter of fact - an increasing number of news-sites managed by individuals are accessible from everywhere, through the Internet. A proper legal regime of cyber-journal, or on-line news-reporting, has to adapt law to this new reality of Freedom of information not to repress it


958 Figure 1 Abstract 958 Table 1958 Table 1 Conclusion In conclusion, biallelic variants in TTC21B have been shown to produce a wide spectrum of kidney phenotypes, resembling both NPHP and FSGS. This mixed tubulointerstitial and glomerular disease can often present with earlyonset hypertension, and the diagnosis may be overlooked due to the lack of typical ciliopathy features. The addition of TTC21B to the early-onset hypertension gene panels can ensure a timelier genetic diagnosis for this rare tubuloglomerular kidney disease (figure 1). 1091 THE OUTCOME AND RENAL STATUS OF CHILDREN FIVE YEARS AFTER AN INITIAL DIAGNOSIS OF PRIMARY VESICOURETERAL REFLUX Nimantha Vithanage, Imalke Kankananarachchi, Dulshanie Silva, Chanika Roshini Kulatunge, Jayantha Udupitikankanange. Senior Clinical Fellow in Paediatrics and Neonatology, Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisleys; Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna; Teaching Hospital Karapitiya; Consultant Radiologist, Teaching Hospital Karapitiya; Senior Professor of Paediatrics and Chair, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna 10.1136/archdischild-2022-rcpch.159 Aims To evaluate the long term renal outcome of children with Vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and compare the outcome of Grade I-II VUR and Grade III-V VUR. Methods A total of 42 Patients with primary VUR (detected by Micturating Cystourethrogram) followed up for at least five years at the renal clinic, in a Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka, were enrolled on the study. They were divided into two groups for the analysis: Grade I-II VUR and grade III-V VUR. Clinical data were extracted using clinic records. Anthropometric measurements, Blood pressure (BP), Urine for micro-albuminurea, Serum Creatinine were obtained at the time of study. Renal Ultrasound scan was done to measure the kidney size an d to detect persistent VUR. Renal volume was calculated using Ellipsoid formula. 2 Results Among 42 children, 54.8% (n=23) were females, and 52.4% (n=22) had Grade III-V VUR (severe). The mean age of the Grade I-II VUR (mild) group was 95.40 (±30.6) months, whereas the other group had a mean age of 103.4 (±45.9). All children had at least one urinary tract infection, whereas 52.3% (n=22) had two or more episodes. Regarding the first UTI, the most prevalent organism was Escherichia coli (50%, n=21), whereas 9.5% (n=4) had atypical UTIs. In the severe VUR category, 13.6% (n=3) and 36.4% (n=8) children had stunting and thinness. However, the two groups showed no significant difference in stunting (p=0.3166) or thinness (p=0.1157). Higher grades of VUR had no predisposition to recurrent UTI (p=0.7683). Microalbuminuria was observed in 22.7% (n=5) in the severe VUR group and 25% (n=5) in the mild VUR group. Among patients with higher VUR, 9% (n=2) had hypertension, and 13.6% (n=3) had elevated creatinine. No patient with mild VUR suffered from hypertension. More than half, 54.5% (n=12) patients with severe VUR had persistent ultrasonographic evidence of reflux, which was statistically significant compared (p=0.0022). Furthermore, renal scarring of at least one kidney was present in 63.6% (n=14) with severe VUR compared to 25% (n=5) in the mild VUR category (p=0.0276). However, the severe VUR group had 31.8% (n=7) at least one small/contracted kidney, whereas 25% (n=5) of children with mild VUR also showed small kidney. (p=0.6251). Table 1 summarizes the results. Abstract 1091 Table 11091 Table 1 Conclusion Higher grade VUR result in high chance of renal scaring. However, both higher grade and lower grade VUR can cause renal damage, microalbuminurea, and small contracted kidneys, hence need to follow up until adolescence or later life. REFERENCES 1. Batrum RJ, Smith EH.et al. The ultrasonic determination of renal transplant volume.JClin Ultrasound.1974;2:281-285. Abstracts A98 Arch Dis Child 2022;107(Suppl 2):A1–A537 on S etem er 6, 2023 by gest. P rocted by coright. http/adc.bm jcom / A ch D is C hild: frst pulished as 10.1136/arcild-2022-rcpch.159 on 17 A uust 222. D ow nladed fom 2. ScholbachTh, Weitzel D. Body surface area related renal volume: A common normal range from birth to adulthood.Scientifica(Cairo).2012;2012:949164. 1183 HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE, PERSONALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MALADJUSTMENT, EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS, AND FAMILY IMPACT IN CHILDREN WITH NEPHROTIC SYNDROME Randula Ranawaka, Prasad Chathurangana, Hasitha Liyanaarachchi, Prasanjith Dissanayake, Danushi Mihirani, Supun Manathunga, Niranga Devanarayana, Shaman Rajindrajith. University of Colombo; The National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Colombo; Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya 10.1136/archdischild-2022-rcpch.160 Aims Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) is the commonest chronic glomerular disease of childhood. A majority (70–80%) have relapsing disease persisting throughout childhood causing a significant psychosocial impact on both children and their families. Objectives of this study were to assess the quality of life (QOL), personality and psychological maladjustment, emotional and behavioural problems, and family impact in children with NS compared to a matched healthy control group. Methods A case-control study was conducted in the nephrology clinic, Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Personality and psychological maladjustments were assessed using the Personality Assessment Questionnaire. The Child Behavior Checklist and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used to assess the emotional and behavioural problems and psychological symptoms, respectively. The family impact was quantified using the Impact on Family questionnaire. The centre for epidemiological studies depression (CESD) scale was used for the assessment of depressive symptoms of mothers. The quality of life of children was assessed using the Health-Related Quality of Life questionnaire. Data were analysed using the R language for statistical computing. Results The nephrotic syndrome (NS) group and the control group contained 151 (age 6.7 ±4.03 years) and 125 (age 7.95 ±4.31 years) subjects respectively. A statistically significant difference of the means was found between the control and NS groups for personality assessment (p<0.05), psychological problems score (p<0.001), family impact (p<0.001), depressive symptoms of mothers (p<0.001) and health-related quality of life (p<0.001). The score for the strengths and difficulties significantly correlated with all the other 5 test scores. Strong positive correlations were observed between the family impact and the depressive symptoms scores of mothers (r = 0.66, p-value < 0.001), family impact and child behavioral checklist scores (r = 0.58, p-value < 0.001) and strengths and difficulties and child behavior checklist (r = 0.55, p-value < 0.001). Conclusion Nephrotic syndrome had a significant psychosocial and behavioural impact on the child as well as the family. Care should be taken to address these issues when treating nephrotic syndrome in children. 1341 CONGENITAL CHYLOTHORAX FLUID MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN NEONATES: A 6-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW Eftychia Thodi, Alessandra Glover Williams, Jan Dudley. University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust 10.1136/archdischild-2022-rcpch.161 Aims To describe a single, tertiary-NICU's experience of neonatal chylothorax over a 6-year period (2016-2021) examining fluid management strategies and associated survival. Methods Retrospective single-centre review of neonates with congenital chylothorax as defined by a diagnosis made on or before day 30 of life without an operative cause. Results 10 neonates were diagnosed with congenital chylothorax. Average gestational age was 33+3 weeks (29-36+4 weeks) with a mean birthweight of 2515grams (1230-4100g). Analysis showed an overall survival rate of 60% and a mean length of stay of 52.3 days (19-106 days). 90% (9) of the neonates were diagnosed antenatally; 88.8% (8) of these underwent pleuroamniontic shunting. Infants who received inutero intervention had a 62.5% survival rate; the infant who did not receive antenatal intervention did not survive. Survival rate of neonates diagnosed with both congenital chylothorax and hydrops during their admission was 33.3% (2/6) while survival of those with chylothorax alone was 100% (4/4). There was no correlation between maximum fluid input per day (ml/kg/day) and mortality noted. The maximum amount of fluid given to any infant in the cohort was 263ml/ kg/day; this infant survived. Human albumin solution (5%, 20%) was administered in 90% of the neonates included in the cohort. 70% received mostly 5% HAS with a survival rate of 57%. 20% received a 50/50 combination of 5% and 20% HAS, survival was 50%. Of those who did not receive HAS, survival rate was 100%. Diuretics were given as stat doses or as a continuous infusion, with neither method being associated with improved survival. Peritoneal Dialysis was commenced in 2 patients; neither patient survived. Of note, mortality was strongly associated with other serious accompanying conditions (e.g. Noonan's syndrome, TwinTo-Twin-Transfusion Syndrome), as previously recognised in the literature. Conclusion Although limited by small numbers and singlecentre cohort, this retrospective analysis adds new fluid management strategy detail to the literature on the challenging management of chylothorax. Approach continues to be perplexing and treatment always requiring of individualisation dependent on associated diagnoses. Continuing larger, detailed cohort studies are needed to accumulate data on a group of patients that holds potential for systematic review and metaanalysis in what is a rare diagnosis. 1202 HYPER EOSINOPHILIA: A MULTISPECIALITY DIAGNOSTIC


Recently, people devote to the development of Ni-free shape memory alloys in order to avoid the Ni-hypersensitivity and toxicity and pursue absolute safety. The shape memory effect and superelasticity have been reported in the biomedical Ti-Nb based alloys. The purpose of this paper is to report the phase constitution, tensile property, shape memory effect and corrosion resistance of the Ti-Nb alloys. The phase constitutions of the Ti-Nb alloys are investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results reveal that β+α′′ phases are presented in the Ti-35Nb alloy and only β phase in the Ti-52Nb alloy at room temperature. The tensile test and bending tests indicate that the Ti-35Nb alloy exhibits shape memory effect. The shape recovery ratio is near to 80% when the bending strain is 4.4% and decreases with the increase of the total bending strain. The corrosion resistance of the Ti-Nb alloys in the Hank's solution and artificial saliva (pH=7.4) at 37 are investigated by OCP, Tafel and anodic polarization methods. The results indicate that the Ti-35Nb alloy has a better corrosion resistance in the artificial saliva and can replace the Ti-Ni alloy in the dental application. In the non-oral condition, the Ti-52Nb alloy may be preferable.


Lowering the CP level in piglet diets reduces the risk of post-weaning diarrhea and N excretion to the environment. The question remains at what point CP becomes limiting. An experiment was designed with 2 standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys levels (10 and 11 g) and 6 CP levels (140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190 g/kg) in a 2 x 6 factorial design (with 6 pens of 6 animals each per treatment). Linear and quadratic (QP) mixed models of performance in function of CP were fitted to study the effect of Lys and CP and their interaction. To determine optima, QP models and broken line models with linear (BLL) or quadratic (BLQ) ascending portions were fitted through the data. It was hypothesized 1) that the response to a decreasing digestible CP level could be described with broken line models and 2) that the breakpoint of these models is dependent on the dietary SID Lys level. Decreasing the CP level decreased ADG (P < 0.001). For G:F, the effect of decreasing CP level depended on the SID Lys level (P of the interaction = 0.028 in the linear model and P = 0.002 in the QP model). According to the BLL model, with 11 g SID Lys in the diet, G:F started to decline with CP levels below 176 g CP (SID Lys:apparent total tract digestible (ATTD) CP = 0.077), and with 10 g SID Lys, CP levels below 165 g/kg (SID Lys:ATTD CP = 0.075) depressed performance. Serum creatinine levels showed a linear decrease with increasing Lys:CP levels (P < 0.001). Across both SID Lys levels, when fitting a BLL model, minimal serum urea levels were reached at a Lys:CP ratio of 0.064. This seems to be the point where CP and not Lys limits muscle deposition. The small difference in breakpoint between serum urea level and performance suggests that the composition of nonessential AA may be also at stake. The effect of decreasing CP level depends on SID Lys and using a maximal SID Lys:CP ratio may be useful for optimizing the AA profile of dietary CP. When the Lys:CP ratio exceeds 0.064 (SID Lys:ATTD CP above 0.079), protein and not individual AA limits growth in most piglets between 4 and 9 weeks of age.


The origins of a conservation ethos in the urban Australia of the late 1960s and early 1970s is commonly assumed to stem from international influences. Yet there is also a local cultural element to this urban conservationism, the recognition, celebration and preservation of historic environments, which pre-dates the 1970s popular heritage movement. A generation of postwar urbanists espoused ties between the preservation (or creation) of monuments and the purposeful promotion of nationhood and "national character", proposing fresh understandings of the value of the Australian urban environment. This paper considers the mid-twentieth century and the nascent recognition of the potential value of urban-historic environments in Australia. It examines the role of Melbourne's prolific and diverse Bread and Cheese Club, which was at its most active in the 1940s and 1950s. In publishing and otherwise discoursing on issues not just of urban decay and the loss of nineteenth-century city fabric, but also of the broader urban experience, the Bread and Cheese Club's membership provide a record of the polarised attitudes toward the city among literary nationalists in the mid-twentieth century. The literary suppression of Australian urban life, that of Sydney's "Bush Bohemians", was largely overcome by this Melbourne literary set. The Bread and Cheese Club's archives illustrate an older ambivalence, but also a new-found affection, felt by women and men in mid-century Melbourne towards "progress", "modernisation" and "heritage".


A local-scale Gaussian dispersion-deposition model (OML-DEP) has been coupled to a regional chemistry-transport model (DEHM with a resolution of approximately 6 km× 6 km over Denmark) in the Danish Ammonia Modelling System, DAMOS. Thereby, it has been possible to model the distribution of ammonia concentrations and depositions on a spatial resolution down to 400 m× 400 m for selected areas in Denmark. DAMOS has been validated against measured concentrations from the dense measuring network covering Denmark. Here measured data from 21 sites are included and the validation period covers 2–5 years within the period 2005–2009. A standard time series analysis (using statistic parameters like correlation and bias) shows that the coupled model system captures the measured time series better than the regionalscale model alone. However, our study also shows that about 50 % of the modelled concentration level at a given location originates from non-local emission sources. The local-scale model covers a domain of 16 km× 16 km, and of the locally released ammonia (NH3) within this domain, our simulations at five sites show that 14–27 % of the locally (within 16 km × 16 km) emitted NH3 also deposits locally. These results underline the importance of including both high-resolution local-scale modelling of NH3 as well as the regional-scale component described by the regional model. The DAMOS system can be used as a tool in environmental management in relation to assessments of total nitrogen load of sensitive nature areas in intense agricultural regions. However, high spatio-temporal resolution in input parameters like NH 3 emissions and landuse data is required.


We show that density functional theory calculations have reached an accuracy and speed making it possible to use them in conjunction with an evolutionary algorithm to search for materials with specific properties. The approach is illustrated by finding the most stable four component alloys out of the 192 016 possible fcc and bcc alloys that can be constructed out of 32 different metals. A number of well known and new "super alloys" are identified in this way.


We propose a scalable neural network framework to reconstruct the 3D mesh of a human body from multi-view images, in the subspace of the SMPL model. Use of multi-view images can significantly reduce the projection ambiguity of the problem, increasing the reconstruction accuracy of the 3D human body under clothing. Our experiments show that this method benefits from the synthetic dataset generated from our pipeline since it has good flexibility of variable control and can provide ground-truth for validation. Our method outperforms existing methods on real-world images, especially on shape estimations.


PURPOSE
We report a rare case of rapid transformation of a conjunctival keratoacanthoma (KA) into a highly aggressive squamous cell carcinoma requiring enucleation. To our knowledge, this is the second such case reported in the literature.

METHODS
Case report.

RESULTS
A 73-year-old man presented with a recurrent conjunctival lesion in the right eye. A slit lamp examination revealed a hyperkeratotic lesion in the limbar conjunctiva adhered to deep planes but with no ocular involvement. An incisional biopsy was performed because an area of scleromalacia was observed underlying the lesion. Histological findings were consistent with conjunctival KA. One week later, a raised lesion was observed invading the anterior chamber. Histological examination of another excisional biopsy specimen indicated conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. The right eye was enucleated. Histological analysis confirmed intraocular tumor invasion. Complete clinical remission was observed over one year of follow up.

CONCLUSIONS
Although conjunctival keratoacanthoma is normally benign, it is important to correctly differentiate between KA and squamous cell carcinoma, and closely monitor the eye after surgery because of the rare possibility of recurrence or conversion to squamous cell carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry could help in the diagnosis and management of dubious cases.


ABSTRACT Knowledge sharing is the key factor that influences the performance of open source software (OSS) projects, which are the representative cases of distributed innovation. This paper aims to explore the mechanism of knowledge sharing in OSS projects from the perspective of developers in China. A quantitative method with the analysis of 403 valid questionnaires is adopted. A series of hypotheses about how distributed innovation (independent variables) influences knowledge sharing (mediating variable) and then affects the performance of OSS projects (dependent variable) are tested and approved. On the one side, we argue that developers will actively affect knowledge sharing in terms of participative motivation, social network and organisational culture. On the other hand, users may also affect the knowledge sharing when considering innovation willingness and capacity. It is interesting to find that social network is the most important factor in Chinese cases. It is strongly recommended to strengthen the collaboration between software companies and OSS communities.


Ring closure by direct amide cyclization was used in the synthesis of 19-membered cyclic depsipeptides 27 (Schemes1 and 3). The linear hexapeptide precursors 4, containing the beta-hydroxy acid 3-hydroxy-2-phenylpropanoic acid (Tro), and five alpha-amino acids of the type Aib, Gly, and Pro, were prepared according to Scheme 2. The alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acid Aib was incorporated into the peptide chain via the azirine/oxazolone method, and Gly and Pro were introduced by using the TBTU/HOBt coupling method. The cyclic depsipeptides 27a - 27f were obtained in reasonable-to-excellent yields (Scheme 3 and Table 1).


In the estimation of the benefits of mortality reduction, a simple approach is to multiply the value of a statistical life (VSL) by the expected reduction in fatalities, thus holding the VSL constant. This procedure approximates benefits for small changes in mortality, but inaccurately characterizes benefits for large risk changes because it does not account for variations in the VSL. Building on the theoretical framework of the VSL, we outline a practical approach to calculate the benefits of large mortality reductions. This approach is readily applicable, yielding closed-form expressions that only require statistics broadly available for VSL-based calculations. Using recent empirical estimates of the VSL, we apply this approach to estimate the benefits of social distancing to combat COVID-19 in the United States and Brazil, two of the countries most affected by the pandemic. Our findings show that social distancing generates a benefit of $4 to 4.4 trillion in the United States, and $0.6 trillion in Brazil. We extend this analysis to other 72 countries using VSL projections and find that benefits correspond to 17% of the gross national income on average. Our results indicate that the constant VSL approach overestimates the benefits of social distancing by 74% on average.


Purpose: To assess the correlation between the disc damage likelihood scale (DDLS) objectively measured by a nonmydriatic fundus camera, confocal laser scanning ophthalmoscopy (HRT3), and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in uveitic glaucoma. Methods: A total of 59 patients with uveitic glaucoma (21 female, 38 male; mean age 56.8 ± 18.7 years) were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. All patients were measured by the Kowa Nonmyd WX 3D camera (2D/3D nonmydriatic retinal camera, Kowa Company), the HRT3 (Heidelberg Engineering), and SD-OCT (Carl Zeiss Meditec) by one examiner on the same day. All 3 devices graded the optic disc topography. Statistical data were calculated using SPSS (v 20.0, SPSS). Results: In patients showing borderline results in one of the modalities (n = 45), the DDLS showed a significant correlation with the retinal nerve fiber layer (p = 0.016), while Moorfields regression analysis (p = 0.550) and glaucoma probability score (p = 0.629) did not correlate significantly. The highest predictive power was demonstrated by the objectively measured DDLS (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.445-0.588), compared to R. Burk (0.149-0.375) and F.S. Mikelberg (0.033-0.450) coefficients considering HRT and optical coherence tomography. Conclusions: In this study cohort, the objective DDLS showed the highest predictive power and thus is a reliable tool in diagnosing uveitic glaucoma. These 3 devices cannot be used interchangeably. As diagnosis and follow-ups are challenging in uveitis patients, the stereophotography is additionally a valuable tool.


We have focused on three aspects of adjuvant chemotherapy applied to mice with one of the metastasizing tumors: Lewis lung carcinoma (LL) or mammary carcinoma 2661 (M2661). The first aspect concerned the timing of adjuvant chemotherapy. To investigate this, tumor-bearing mice were treated postoperatively with cyclophosphamide using a standard regimen. In M2661, adjuvant therapy was marginally effective in contrast to the clearly significant results obtained in LL. Any delay in the initiation of adjuvant therapy decreased the efficacy of the treatment. The effect of administering chemotherapy before surgery was also studied; normally, marginally effective adjuvant therapy was found to become effective when started preoperatively in M2661. In LL, effective adjuvant therapy was found to become less effective when started preoperatively. The second aspect considered was the comparability between the increase in relapse-free survival time and the increase in cure rate as alternate goals of adjuvant therapy. To study this, mice with small, medium, or large residual tumor loads were subjected to surgery and subsequently treated with cyclophosphamide. While the effect of adjuvant therapy on the cure rate increased proportionally with decreasing tumor load, the increase in lifespan in nonsurvivors was not related to tumor load. The final aspect of study was the selection procedure for drugs to be applied in adjuvant treatment in our models. Taking the volume response of large tumors as being predictive for the successful use of the same agent in adjuvant therapy, we obtained both false-negative and false-positive results in our tumor lines.


We report two adult cases of sudden cardiorespiratory arrest because an acute epiglottitis that ocurred in our hospital. Although it is an uncommon pathology nowdays with good prognosis generally, we try to call the attention about this complication which can happen of unforseeable way even in previous absence of respiratory obstruction. One of the patients required coniotomy in ICU due to impossibility of orotracheal intubation (OI) and the other died in spite of an urgent performance.


Summary
Salamanders are abundant consumers in many fishless stream ecosystems, but few studies have explicitly examined their ecological role. Stream-dwelling salamander larvae are generalist predators of aquatic macroinvertebrates and may play an important role in structuring macroinvertebrate communities. The potential for emergent effects of multiple predator species suggests that changes in salamander diversity could alter their effects on macroinvertebrate communities, but this has not been tested.
We used in-stream enclosures to manipulate the presence and diversity of the two most abundant salamanders, Eurycea wilderae (EWIL) and Desmognathus quadramaculatus (DQUA), in a southern Appalachian Mountain headwater stream to examine the impacts of salamander predation on macroinvertebrate communities. We were particularly interested in testing for potential diversity effects by comparing the effects of each species in monoculture to polycultures of both species (BOTH).
Salamanders reduced macroinvertebrate abundance compared to the control treatment (CONTROL), but only when both species were present together. The general pattern of macroinvertebrate abundance among treatments was: CONTROL = EWIL = DQUA > BOTH, although no treatment significantly reduced the abundance of epibenthic taxa. The BOTH treatment also significantly altered macroinvertebrate community structure and reduced taxon richness by c. 57%. The effects of salamanders were particularly pronounced for chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae), which comprised the majority of macroinvertebrate total abundance.
Increased salamander diversity substantially altered macroinvertebrate communities, suggesting that niche complementarity or facilitation occurred despite the apparent functional similarity of these two species. Therefore, changes in salamander diversity may alter the effects of salamander communities on macroinvertebrates, which may cascade through food webs to affect stream ecosystem function.


In 1988, at the beginning of the 'Urban Origins in Eastern Africa' research project, it was thought that no towns existed in Madagascar prior to the 17th century. This thesis shows that Madagascar did in fact support an urban population with a wide range of local and regional contacts from the end of the first millennium AD. Mahilaka is similar in date and structural morphology to sites such as Kilwa and Manda in Eastern Africa.Previous historical, anthropological and archaeological research in Madagascar is reviewed. The environ-mental context of Mahilaka is presented with an emphasis on resource availability for foraging, herding, hunting and fishing and mineral exploitation. Can the favourable environment available today be extrapolated into the past? Was the productivity of the Mahilaka area sufficient to sustain an urban population?Northwestern Madagascar has been settled for at least 1000 years. Mahilaka was previously investigatedarchaeologically by Verin to a limited degree in the 1970s. It is now known as a result of the work carried out for this thesis to be the most important and largest town in the region. It contains a wide range of locally produced and imported items.More than 600 drillcores, 50 mm in diameter, and additional augering defined the extent of the site. Thethickness, extension and contents of archaeological deposits were ascertained. Phosphate analyses wereundertaken and combined with soil colour and texture to establish the archaeological sequence of the site. Four main phases were identified, the initial occupation (Ia), a consolidation period (I b), followed by the maximum area of occupation (IIa) and the final settlement phase (IIb). Additional information about surface substructures including the perimeter wall was obtained through electroresistivity survey. Together these results have deter; mined the choice for excavation of c. 150 m3 of the site.Finds including pottery, glass, beads, bones and metal finds have been analysed and show the spatial organisation of the site. Local production of glass beads and stone bowls is proposed. Finally Mahilaka is placed in its inter-regional context of the trading networks of the western Indian Ocean.


Bidirectional DC-DC converter can not only act as a contact bridge between two different voltage levels systems, but also can achieve the energy flow in both directions. However, due to the operating characteristics of the active switch and diode in the converter, thereby the inverter becomes a strong nonlinear circuit. In light of this, the push-pull bidirectional DC-DC converter is designed and the method of state space small signal analysis is proposed. First of all, the state-space equations of the converter are established. Then each variable of inverter circuit is averaged in a switching cycle to eliminate the influence of the switching ripple. The respective average variable expressions are decomposed into the DC component and AC small signal component. After the DC component of the signal is eliminated, the expression of the AC small signal component is obtained, to achieve the purpose of separating the small signal. Finally, the expression of small signal component is linearized, thereby the nonlinear system is approximated the DC operating point. This study will provide the theoretical foundation ready for the analysis and design of converter controller.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
In Cyperoideae, one of the two subfamilies in Cyperaceae, unresolved homology questions about spikelets remained. This was particularly the case in taxa with distichously organized spikelets and in Cariceae, a tribe with complex compound inflorescences comprising male (co)florescences and deciduous female single-flowered lateral spikelets. Using ontogenetic techniques, a wide range of taxa were investigated, including some controversial ones, in order to find morphological arguments to understand the nature of the spikelet in Cyperoideae. This paper presents a review of both new ontogenetic data and current knowledge, discussing a cyperoid, general, monopodial spikelet model.

METHODS
Scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy were used to examine spikelets of 106 species from 33 cyperoid genera.

RESULTS
Ontogenetic data presented allow a consistent cyperoid spikelet model to be defined. Scanning and light microscopic images in controversial taxa such as Schoenus nigricans, Cariceae and Cypereae are interpreted accordingly.

CONCLUSIONS
Spikelets in all species studied consist of an indeterminate rachilla, and one to many spirally to distichously arranged glumes, each subtending a flower or empty. Lateral spikelets are subtended by a bract and have a spikelet prophyll. In distichously organized spikelets, combined concaulescence of the flowers and epicaulescence (a newly defined metatopic displacement) of the glumes has caused interpretational controversy in the past. In Cariceae, the male (co)florescences are terminal spikelets. Female single-flowered spikelets are positioned proximally on the rachis. To explain both this and the secondary spikelets in some Cypereae, the existence of an ontogenetic switch determining the development of a primordium into flower, or lateral axis is postulated.


The lack of resources is often highlighted as the most important correlate of poor learning outcomes in developing countries. However, increasing school resources may not necessarily drive better learning if resources are not properly translated into learning outcomes. The current paper investigates the efficient utilization of school resources to promote learning. Applying the Data Envelopment Analysis methodology, an efficiency analysis is performed using PASEC 2014 learning assessment that covers 10 francophone, West and Central African countries. This paper also tries to better understand to which extent efficiency plays a role in the relationship between school resources and learning outcomes. The results show that the efficiency of school resource utilization varies across countries and across schools within the same countries. The relationship between some of the key elements of school resources and learning is weak in the least efficient schools. This suggests that resources allocated to the low efficient schools should consider first addressing inefficiency issues. While efficiency drivers may vary depending on the country's specific contexts, findings show that students' absenteeism, implication of the community in school management, teaching time and school environment play a role in school efficiency.


This study aimed to describe post-discharge medication self-management by geriatric patients with polypharmacy, to describe the problems encountered and to determine the related factors. In a multicenter study from November 2019 to March 2020, data were collected at hospital discharge and two to five days post-discharge. Geriatric patients with polypharmacy were questioned about medication management using a combination of validated (MedMaIDE) and self-developed questionnaires. Of 400 participants, 70% did self-manage medication post-discharge. Patients had a mean of four different deficiencies in post-discharge medication management (SD 2.17, range 0–10). Knowledge-related deficiencies were most common. The number of medicines and the in-hospital provision of medication management by nurses were significant predictors of post-discharge medication management deficiencies. In addition to deficiencies in knowledge, medication-taking ability and obtaining medication, non-adherence and disrupted continuity of medication self-management were common in geriatric patients with polypharmacy post-discharge. Improvements in in-hospital preparation could avoid medication self-management problems at home.


The decoupling of direct payments from production introduced in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is expected to make production decisions more market-oriented and farmers more productive. However, ex-post analyses of the productivity of farms have yet to uncover any evidence of a positive impact of the decoupling policy on farm productivity. Using Irish, Danish, and Dutch farm-level data, we identify whether the decoupling policy has contributed to productivity growth in agriculture and farm product adjustment behavior. We find some evidence that the decoupling policy had significant positive effects on farm productivity and behavioral changes related to farm specialization.


Women-led SMEs are faced with challenges that inhibit the performance of their businesses. By aligning their human competencies, mobile technology and the appropriate business strategy, they can steer their businesses to better performance. However, there is a scarcity of studies providing insight into how they can achieve this. Given the existence of the interplay between human competencies, mobile technology and business strategy, the perspective of alignment as Gestalts was adopted to determine the best way women-led SMEs may align these three aspects. Data was collected from 70 women-led SMEs in four provinces in South Africa and analysed using cluster analysis. Of the four clusters that emerged, one performed highly. This study contributes to theory by showing the value of Gestalts theory in assessing the configuration and patterns of organisational variables; and to practice, by providing insight into ways women-led SMEs can combine these three variables to achieve high business performance.


Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is the main instrument used by Governments to ensure that environmental management in companies is in conformity with society's environmental objectives. Despite its project-specific applications, the scope can be widened to a regional scale (e.g. a river basin) in view of assessing the cumulative effects of multiple industrial activities on the environment and human living conditions. Within the Subarnarekha catchment, mines, processing plants and copper metallurgy plants are ore were operating since nearly 100 years. In this area where monitoring stations were equipped with data loggers and probes for various physico-chemical parameters. They act as an alarm network covering the mining district, around and downstream of the major point sources identified in the area.-measuring appropriated parameters used to define the level of pollution, and will lead to a sampling survey for a more precise determination of the contamination.-accounting for seasonal variations, especially those linked with the monsoon regime,-performing chemical analyses in the laboratory,-setting-up a chronological database of the performed heavy metal analyses and also meteorological, hydrogeological, sedimentological and all other specific data considered in the study and showing the time-related evolution of water and soil quality. The environmental data collected served as a baseline which was previously lacking. The network of sampling stations for all the media as well as the implemented protocols provided the embryo of a basin-wide monitoring system. The large amount of data collected allowed to synthesise a view of hydro-geochemical processes operating in the basin. Despite large emissions and widespread impacts, no major issue in connection with health was identified in water or soil. The main issue was the unabated pyrometallurgy air emissions. The heavy monsoon rain and floods act as a natural yearly flushing of accumulated pollution. The solute fraction of the pollution was not detectable due to large dilution, while most of the pollution transfer occured in water-borne solid form. The impacts of solid transport were recorded until the estuary, 200 km downstream, but most of the accumulation is likely to lie in the Gulf of Bengal.


Learning-to-rank plays a pivotal role in information retrieval. To emphasize the top training of the permutation and improve the accuracy of the ranking model, several cost-sensitive listwise ranking algorithms have been proposed by incorporating the cost-sensitive learning idea into the ranking model. However, these methods ignore the impact of the high-dimensional features of the sample on the complexity of model, which results in low computational efficiency of the model. In this article, we proposed a cost-sensitive ListMLE ranking algorithm based on sparse representation which takes into account both the accuracy and computational efficiency of the ranking model. For the sake of achieving sparsity, the `1 regularized sparse term is added to the existing cost-sensitive ListMLE ranking model, and the global optimal parameters of the model are obtained by a simple yet efficient proximal gradient descent (PGD) learning method. Experiments performed on several benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can improve empirical performance accuracy in building sparse model.


Outbreak of COVID 19 has caused an abrupt surge in the consumption of disposable face masks around the world. WHO has stated that wearing a face mask in public reduces the chances of being exposed to COVID 19 virus. With unchecked disposal of these used masks, a new kind of pollutant has emerged in the environment. Since these masks are generally made of polypropylene and polyurethane material, they can be considered as a potential source of microplastics (MPs) in the environment. In this study, we have evaluated the release of MPs particles from these face masks (namely from N95 and surgical masks) in deionized (DI) water and tap water over the span of 1 to 180 days. More specifically, a systematic study has been carried out to see the effect of temperature on release of MPs in water. MPs particles released in tap water (837 ± 113 particles/piece in 30 days) were significantly higher than that in DI water (564 ± 37 particles/piece in 30 days). When these masks were kept at a constant temperature of 45 ◦ C for 30 Days, highest amount of MPs release (N95 899 ± 65 particles, Surgical 1038 ± 65 particles/piece) was observed as compared to other conditions. Most of the MPs particles released were polypropylene which were transparent and white in case of N95 while for surgical mask they were found to be of blue and white colour. With the aging of masks in water, quantity of MPs release was increased with simultaneous reduction in their size. Our study indicates that these disposable face masks are emerging to be a prominent source of MPs release in the environment and more hazardous for the tropical climate.


The accelerated life testing is the key methodology of evaluating product
reliability rapidly. This paper presents statistical inference of Gompertz
distribution based on unified hybrid censored data under constant-stress
partially accelerated life test (CSPALT) model. We apply the stochastic
expectation-maximization algorithm to estimate the CSPALT parameters
and to reduce computational complexity. It is shown that the maximum
likelihood estimates exist uniquely. Asymptotic confidence intervals and
confidence intervals using bootstrap-p and bootstrap-t methods are constructed. Moreover the maximum product of spacing (MPS) and maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimates of the model parameters and accelerated factor are discussed. The performances of the various estimators of
the CSPALT parameters are compared through the simulation study. In
summary, the MAP estimates perform superior than MLEs (or MPSs) with
respect to the smallest MSE values.


The effects of Sm substitution on magnetic and magneto-optical properties of TbCo/Cr films have been investigated. It was found that partial Tb substituted by Sm will directly affect the magnitude of saturation magnetization Ms and the Kerr rotation angle. These results are explained by the ferri-magnetical structure of the rare earth-transition metal alloy. When the magnetic layer composition was (Sm0.343Tb0.657)31Co69, values of magnetization as high as 385 emu/cm3 and coercivity above 4.7 kOe at room temperature were obtained.


The recent landslipping in the Lyme Regis area has, as Mr Conway indicates, related to reactivation of reconstituted and 'brecciated' Lias (Lias Head) and Upper Greensand (Cretaceous Head) (Conway, this issue). This is exemplified by the current slippage of East Cliff, and that adjacent to Cobb Road in March 1977. However, not all the movements in the area are of this type, and I would like to present a short case study of a different kind of slip and to comment on the present situation at that site. On 12 February 1962, the area of Lyme Regis now occupied by Lister Gardens, near the Cobb, slipped, severely damaging a number of properties including Cliff Cottage and Cliff House (Fig. 1). Regrading of the slope had been under-taken with a view to developing the site (Anon. 1962) and may have led to local oversteepening of the slope. Movement took place a few days after the completion of regrading work, with a large tension crack and subsequently a back scar developing in the slope (Fig. 2). A length of slope (almost 200 m) parallel to Marine Parade was affected. A programme of remedial works was carried out, consisting of drainage and regrading of the slipped area of the slope, the construction of a large retaining structure at the toe (which now houses a parade of shops and part of the promenade), and a small retaining wall at the head of the slipped area. The regraded


Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an important tool in optimization and has seen successful in many real world applications.
Most important among these is in the optimisation of aerodynamic surfaces which has become Multi-Objective (MO) and Multidisciplinary (MDO) in nature. Most of these have been carried out for a given set of input parameters such as free stream Mach number and angle of attack. One cannot ignore the fact that in aerospace engineering one frequently deals with situations where the design input
parameters and flight/flow conditions have some amount of uncertainty attached to them. When the optimisation is carried out for fixed values of design variables and parameters however, one arrives at an optimised solution that results in good performance at design condition
but poor drag or lift to drag ratio at slightly off-design conditions. The challenge is still to develop a robust design that accounts for uncertainty in the design in aerospace applications. In this paper this
issue is taken up and an attempt is made to prevent the fluctuation of objective performance by using robust design technique or Uncertainty.


This report presents an investigation of the characteristics for transitional natural-convection flow in an open-ended inclined channel heated from below in the air under uniform heat flux intensity and non-Boussinesq condition. The investigated range of modified Rayleigh number and inclination is from 5.93 × 106  to 1.45 × 109  and 30–90 deg to the horizontal, respectively. Fine-resolution implicit large Eddy simulation is performed to solve the compressible governing equations using the modified preconditioned all-speed Roe scheme, hybrid boundary condition, and dual-time-stepping technique. The Nusselt number based on the maximum wall-temperature differs significantly while based on averaged wall-temperature is closer to the previously proposed laminar correlations. Transition is found to be pronounced at a lower angle of inclination (30 deg) for the considered heat flux intensity. The absolute magnitude of the critical length for the start and end of the transition when converted to nondimensional parameters is found to be higher compared to similar data for natural convection flow over a flat plate in water but the ratio of the end to start of the transition is found to be comparable. Single-roll longitudinal vortices periodically placed in spanwise direction exists in the transition region whose wavelength is found to be higher than those reported for channel flow under the isothermal condition and flow over a flat plate in water. Correlations for Nusselt number, critical aspect ratio, and vortex wavelength to the modified Rayleigh number are presented.


Games generally require a certain level of skill to control the avatar. However, this can also potentially lead to frustration since there is no way for a game to truly adapt to the player's skill during gameplay. We propose the PhysioSense controller, a custom designed gamepad controller that senses the player's electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate, and motion to compute their cognitive load level in real-time and trigger a haptic feedback during key events in the game. The haptic feedback is delivered via subtle actuation on the button, allowing the player to still retain their sense of agency. We performed an initial evaluation on the PhysioSense Controller using a platforming action game with three custom difficulty levels. We found that there was a clear physiological and motion response to the presented difficulties, and that the player's behavior changes to adapt to them. We believe that our system can potentially make more players enjoy most games in the future regardless of presented difficulty.


This study explores how rationales for information technology use relate to the extent of its assimilation in organizations and considers whether and how rationales associated with the technology-in-practice are transformed as the organization makes use of the technology. A multiple-case study of electronic data interchange (EDI) adoption and assimilation was analyzed, looking at both institutional and strategic rationales for EDI use. The degree of assimilation was greatest among those organizations that cited a strategically-oriented rationale for using EDI. The study also found evidence of a shift from institutional to strategic rationales in several organizations as they decided to extend their use of EDI beyond their initial implementation. Shifts in rationale emerged as organizational members gained greater exposure to the organizing vision of the larger EDI community and, to a lesser extent, as they experienced improvements in organizational performance through the use of EDI.


In the tradition of American comic literature, Mary Wilkins Freeman's comic stories of the 1880s and 1890s do not shy away from the paradoxical connections between death and creativity, and they are obsessively concerned with individual freedom and the consequences to freedom of social and biological constraints.(1) Freeman's work repeatedly confronts choices between individual freedoms and social connections, between justice and compatibility. But unlike much American comedy that, in its satiric argument, demonstrates a preference for freedom, Freeman's tales use comedy less to resolve these tensions in favor of freedom than to face frankly the costs, both social and individual, of resolving these tensions in either direction. Showing that each of us has no choice but to make choices, Freeman's humor finally serves as compensation for those costs by celebrating the existence of choice itself. Before I can discuss how her humor works, though, I must first address the question of whether Freeman's works are humorous at all. Indeed, in the critical literature, a 1991 essay by Shirley Marchalonis seems to be the only current essay on Freeman that substantially addresses Freeman's humor, and it, too, begins with an apologia: To propose a humorous reading of Mary Wilkins Freeman's work certainly contradicts most published criticism. Yet her earliest important critic, William Dean Howells, and most contemporary reviewers, even as they gave her the "local color realist" label that has so limited reading of her work, saw a mixture of "humor and tenderness" or "humor and pathos," particularly in her stories. (222) The few other critics who even in passing mention Freeman's humor do so from a distinctly serious point of view, namely the view that Freeman was a realist and that reality is not funny. In particular, recent critics for the most part counter the old consensus opinion, that Freeman was the master chronicler of decline who vividly described stunted lives, by insisting that Freeman was realistically chronicling the hidden strengths of women who, though boxed in by the patriarchy, were in fact irrepressible. Susan A. Toth's "A Defiant Light: A Positive View of Mary Wilkins Freeman," for example, extols the heroism of Freeman's characters, all but ignoring the humor even as she mentions it: "Freeman has turned it ["A Village Singer"] into a challenge to selfish community spirit, an individual's refusal to be denied humanity and justice, and a sometimes humorous, occasionally pathetic but never maudlin character study of a remarkable old woman" (126). Toth's faint sense of comedy is overwhelmed by her grand sense of heroism. In either case, the realism label gets in the way of understanding the full reach of Freeman's work because the teleologies of our literary histories shove comedy out of the picture. In periodizing the late nineteenth century as a time of transition from local-color realism to naturalism, literary histories do not know what to do with humor, based as it is on extravagant fantasy, caricature, exaggeration, and absurd implausibilities. Given that Freeman wrote local-color fiction, most critics insist on Freeman's realism, and in so doing they still see her according to that grand flow of realism that reached its crest in the early twentieth century. In concentrating on this history, though, we miss another marked and parallel shift in literary styles, from the amiable humor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to the modern sense of comedy as veiled aggression. Ignoring the fantasy of comedy for her putative realism, critics miss how thoroughly involved Freeman was in this latter aesthetic debate. Of course, the modern view of comedy as aggression is really a return to the Hobbesian view of laughter as the outward sign of social victory. The late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century definitions of humor, as distinct from wit and satire, were postulated in response to Hobbesian naturalism (Tave passim). …


OPAL is a tool for charged-particle optics in accelerator structures and beam lines. Using the MAD language with extensions, OPAL is derived from MAD9P and is based on the CLASSIC class library, which was started in 1995 by an international collaboration. IPPL (Independent Parallel Particle Layer) is the framework which provides parallel particles and fields using data parallel ansatz. OPAL is built from the ground up as a parallel application exemplifying the fact that HPC (High Performance Computing) is the third leg of science, complementing theory and the experiment. HPC is made possible now through the increasingly sophisticated mathematical models and evolving computer power available on the desktop and in super computer centres. OPAL runs on your laptop as well as on the largest HPC clusters available today. The OPAL framework makes it easy to add new features in the form of new C++ classes. It comes in the following flavours: OPAL-CYCL tracks particles with 3D space charge including neighbouring turns in cyclotrons with time as the independent variable. OPAL-T is a superset of IMPACT-T [40] and can be used to model guns, injectors and complete XFEL's excluding the undulator. It should be noted that not all features of OPAL are available in all flavours. The icon OPAL-T means that a feature is not yet available in OPAL-T . Similar icons are used for the other flavours.


Polarization switching (PS) appearing in long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) subject to orthogonal optical injection is investigated theoretically and experimentally. We have studied the injected optical power required for PS as a function of the frequency detuning between the injected light and the orthogonal linear polarization of the VCSEL. For a wide range of bias currents applied to the device, the injected power required for the occurrence of PS exhibited a minimum and a plateau with respect to the frequency detuning. The minimum (plateau) was found at negative (positive) frequency detuning. The bistable behavior of the polarization is described. Our experimental results confirm the theoretical predictions of Sciamanna and Panajotov. The levels of the minimum and the plateau were observed to increase as higher bias currents were applied to the VCSEL. A first theoretical and experimental observation of the disappearance and further appearance of PS when increasing the injected power in long-wavelength VCSELs is described. This situation is obtained for small levels of negative frequency detuning and for large enough values of applied bias current. A good overall qualitative agreement is found between our theoretical and experimental results.


Smart city initiatives in Latin America aim to harness information and communication technologies to make urban service provision and management more efficient, transparent and user-friendly. Latin American cities have been relatively slow to adopt such initiatives, but there is inter- and intra-urban variety in the region. We offer illustrative vignettes of Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and Medellín, which have experimented with different formats for smart city programme design, implementation and management. While top-down and flashier smart city projects in these cities reflect worlding aspirations on the part of urban elites, mixed and bottom-up approaches serve to provincialise and often informalise the initiatives in manners that destabilise elitism and more equitably distribute costs and benefits. One of the biggest challenges these cities share in developing smarter initiatives is inequality, given that most interventions are located in or benefit higher-income areas and actors. As instruments to provincialise the discourses and practices of smart cityness in the region, we propose that cities adopt the '6-Es smart cities framework' (efficiency, economy, ecology, equity, education and engagement) and mobilise public–private–people partnerships within city plans and implementation processes.


ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. AFLP, bulked segregant analysis, astringency, RFLP marker ABSTRACT. Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) cultivars are classified into four types depending upon the nature of astringency loss of the fruit. Among them, the pollination-constant and nonastringent (PCNA) type is the most desirable for fresh fruit consumption due to the trait of stable loss of astringency on the tree with fruit development. Lack of tannin accumulation is the main cause of natural astringency loss in PCNA-type fruit, and is qualitatively inherited. The PCNA trait is recessive to the non-PCNA trait. In this study, we investigated amplified fragment length polymor- phism (AFLP) markers for the trait of natural astringency loss of PCNA-type fruit using bulked segregant analysis (BSA) for efficient selection of PCNA type plants in a breeding population. A total of 128 primer combinations were tested and one AFLP marker was found to be linked to the dominant allele controlling the trait for astringency. This marker, EACC/ MCTA-400, was absent in all of the PCNA-type plants tested, whereas it was present in about half of the non-PCNA-type plants tested. However, RFLP analysis using this marker enabled the detection of the other dominant allele, and all PCNA-type plants could be distinguished from the non-PCNA-type plants. Application of this marker system will be useful for the selection of PCNA-type plants in persimmon breeding.


COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus (CoV), was identified in Wuhan, China, in 2019. No specific therapies are available, and investigations regarding COVID-19 treatment are lacking. Crystallised COVID-19 main protease (Mpro), which is a potential drug target. The present study aimed to assess drugs found in literature as potential COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors, using a molecular docking study. Molecular docking was performed using Autodock 4.2, with the Lamarckian Genetic Algorithm, to analyse the probability of docking. The docking was cross-validated using Swiss Dock. COVID-19 Mpro was docked with several compounds, and docking was analysed by Biovia Discovery Studio 2020. Quinine and hydroxychloroquine were used as standards for comparison. The binding energies obtained from the docking of 6LU7, 2GTB with screened drugs viz., Quinine, Artesunate, Clotrimazol, Artemether, Quercetin, Mefloquine, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, cipargamin, SJ-733 were in between -7.0 to -9.6 kcal/mol. On consideration of similar binding energy obtained from Autodock vina and SWISSDock and interaction residue pattern specifically (GLU 166,CYS 145, CYS44 and MET 49 residue) for SJ-733 & JPC-3210 may represent potential treatment options, and appeared to have the best potential to act as COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors. However, further research is necessary to investigate their potential medicinal use against CoV.


During the 2007 OSVD conference at Findhorn, Scotland a working group formulated a manifesto on screendance with the proposition that "through an accretion of images of bodies in motion, a larger truth may unfold'.
Written a year later this paper revisits the manifesto and discusses its propositions in the light of Andre Lepecki's recent publication Exhausting Dance. In accordance with Lepecki the paper draws on Sloterdijk's notion of a kinetic excess of modernity and argues that current screendance practice colludes with a modernist agenda in its production of ongoing spectacles of movement. Rather than unfolding any truths these ongoing flows of bodies in motion perform imagined idealist subjects.


Despite its obvious economic and social impact, the Christmas period as a regularly occurring festival and cluster of rituals is curiously absent from analysis as an occurrence of organisational importance. This research investigates invitation to and attendance at the Christmas party of clients for these independent consultants. These individuals exist in between organisations, clients and professions using their tacit knowledge and human capital to solve complex strategic problems for clients. Using thematic analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews with independent consultants and drawing on the literature on liminality, rituals and unintended consequences it makes impacts in three important ways. Firstly, the Christmas party is an important event that highlights and promotes the feelings of in-betweeness that is inherent in the liminal position these individuals occupy and how they organise to counter this. Secondly, it highlights the dual role of rituals at a legal and social level to include and exclude but unearths a tension between these roles. Moreover, this analysis demonstrates that our understanding of the Christmas party and wider organisational rituals may need to change as a result of changes to employment and work. Finally, the confusion over the legislation concerning these individuals is inherent in their participation in the and illustrates how something designed to tackle disguised employment and increase treasury receipts actually impacts attendance at what seems like a fairly harmless event; the work Christmas party.


Data Preparation for Data Mining addresses an issue unfortunately ignored by most authorities on data mining: data preparation. Thanks largely to its perceived difficulty, data preparation has traditionally taken a backseat to the more alluring question of how best to extract meaningful knowledge. But without adequate preparation of your data, the return on the resources invested in mining is certain to be disappointing.Dorian Pyle corrects this imbalance. A twenty-five-year veteran of what has become the data mining industry, Pyle shares his own successful data preparation methodology, offering both a conceptual overview for managers and complete technical details for IT professionals. Apply his techniques and watch your mining efforts pay off-in the form of improved performance, reduced distortion, and more valuable results.On the enclosed CD-ROM, you'll find a suite of programs as C source code and compiled into a command-line-driven toolkit. This code illustrates how the author's techniques can be applied to arrive at an automated preparation solution that works for you. Also included are demonstration versions of three commercial products that help with data preparation, along with sample data with which you can practice and experiment. * Offers in-depth coverage of an essential but largely ignored subject.* Goes far beyond theory, leading you-step by step-through the author's own data preparation techniques.* Provides practical illustrations of the author's methodology using realistic sample data sets.* Includes algorithms you can apply directly to your own project, along with instructions for understanding when automation is possible and when greater intervention is required.* Explains how to identify and correct data problems that may be present in your application.* Prepares miners, helping them head into preparation with a better understanding of data sets and their limitations.


We describe a special education teacher and a history teacher who, together, gave specific learning disabled (SLD) and emotionally disabled (ED) students the opportunity to make historical documentaries in a self-contained special education classroom. Students were diverse in race, gender and disability. Findings indicated documentary making yielded positive outcomes for students as well as for the teachers. By selectively appropriating desktop documentary making technology, teachers engaged students in a technology-based project. Documentary making also opened opportunities for teachers' close interaction with students, while still managing a potentially disruptive classroom. Students, who struggled with reading and writing, completed an engaging, lengthy, complex history project and exercised historical thinking skills. This study has implications for using documentary making technologies for engaging and refining students' historical thinking skills.


This paper presents an issue related to interior architectural environments, which is currently being investigated through an empirical research program entitled
the NetWorkPlaceTM© study. It is delivered from a speculative standpoint which invites consideration and feedback. The radical structuralist conception of Castells' network society is adopted as the position from which to explore the experience of being-at-work in
contemporary organisations. This brings into proximity the experience of the space of place and the space of flows as the new expression of sociability in networked organisations. This juxtapositioning, of what appear to be competing terms, provides the research space for
investigating both a contemporary commercial phenomenon and in parallel, for postulating the ideological foundations of interior design. The speculative position, on which this
discussion is based, anticipates that the proposed research framework and the experience of the investigative process are ones that also provide an ethical and rigorous foundation for establishing at least one perspective on the formulation of a design ethos.


Philippa J. Page. Politics and Performance in Post-Dictatorship Argentine Film and Theatre. UK: Tamesis, 2011."Performance" and "performativity" are terms that have become rather common when discussing post-dictatorial politics in Argentina. Leigh Payne, for instance, provided an original perspective on the country's fairly recent historical events through a detailed analysis of the performative elements present in the public confessions of individuals responsible for past state violence (Unsettling Accounts: Neither Truth nor Reconciliation in Confessions of State Violence. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008). Antonius Robben, for his part, also presented the element of performativity, although he did not give it that name, in his article on the 1983 public trials of the Junta commanders ("How Traumatized Societies Remember: The Aftermath of Argentina's Dirty War." Cultural Critique, 59, Winter 2005, 120164).Philippa J. Page's volume applies this interest in performance and politics to theatre and cinema as media that wanted to "re-establish their agency as politically and socially engaged art forms" in the period that followed the 1976-1983 military dictatorship in Argentina. According to Page both, film and theatre, enjoyed a particularly rich period of societal influence during the 1960s and 1970s, even though Argentina as a whole was suffering under military dictatorships at the time. What seems to differentiate theatre and cinema in the 1960s and 1970s from the 1976-1982 dictatorship is the ambivalence that plagued these media in the latter period when they enjoyed a heightened status as agents of social change. Moreover the experience of the 1976-82 military dictatorship differed from the military governments of the 1960s and 1970s in that it wiped out political opposition by using disappearances, kidnappings, and government-sponsored torture. The postdictatorial period after 1983 did not see theatre and film reprise the Utopian and socially-committed impulses of the past; instead, these media engaged in a process of "re-politicisation [sic] and socialization" (2) that was indeed preoccupied with politics, but also with questions of identity, genre, and hybridization as well as the boundaries between theatre, film and politics. Starting in 1983, societal mores were becoming increasingly de-politicized in Argentina, a phenomenon that Page attributes to the collapse of the left, to "the fact that politics can no longer be mobilized along specific ideological lines" (3), and to Argentina's opening up to neoliberalism and globalization. The latter tended to increase the "aestheticisation" (3) of politics. Following performance theorist Richard Schechner, Page's volume examines the boundaries between aesthetic and politics, as theatre and film negotiated the aestheticisation of politics and the politicization of aesthetics and provided a postmodern response to modern ideals of historical progress until then identified with Utopian political models and the autonomy of the art object. Each of the chapters of Page's examination takes as its point of departure a series of appropriations made by theatre and film from each other, as well as from neighboring genres, art forms and media. Those appropriations are instrumental in examining the boundaries between theatre and film, their collaborations through the codes they share as performance arts, and their goal to carve a space for themselves as legitimate narrators of the nation as against the dominant genres of literature and television.The volume's introduction maps out the theoretical framework Page uses in her examination of "contemporary Argentine theatre and cinema through the optics of genre and performance" (4), focusing on the ways in which the political enters into the genres' aesthetic forms and the ways in which the fluidity among the genres' boundaries generated anxiety about their autonomy. Page also discusses the dimension of hybridity which, according to her reading of Garcia Canclini, provides a "fundamental paradigm in conceptualizing Latin America's inconsistent experience of (post)modernity" (5). …


Within various time periods, the Biržai Manor Court was called differently: the castle court, the manor court and the economist court, though it's purpose and activities did not change substantially:it was the administration of justice. All legal means in the administration of justice (evidence, peculiarities of court proceedings, etc.) are recorded in the court books of the Biržai Manor (1620-1745), which provide court decisions and form a rather fragmented picture of the court proceedings of that time. During 14th – 18th centuries, oath was used as one of the most effective means of establishing truth and administering justice in the court of Biržai manor.
After analyzing the judgments contained in the court records of the Biržai Manor, it is clear that the court assessed the validity of the testimony before giving the opportunity to swear. The oath was a confirmation of the veracity and righteousness of the evidence. Only one party, plaintiff or defendant, was allowed to take the oath. The right to take an oath was the right to justice. If the oath was found to be false, it was possible to impose the death penalty. Such application of the oath was in accordance with the legal regulation of the Statute of Lithuania. The oath as autonomous evidence in a particular case was often still supposed to be reinforced, i.e. others who had to be trusted had to swear.
An analysis of the Biržai estate court judgments suggests that the oath as an independent measure of probative value was applied in civil and criminal cases. The most considered cases were the disputes related to the performance of debt obligations (repayment of debt), etc. Oaths were given in court or in the church, according to the customs of their own religion, but the oath's relationship with religion gradually waned. Biržai Manor Court decisions relating to the application of the oath often refer to the Statute of Lithuania; in this way, the exercise of oaths and of justice becomes lawful and justified.


Believe me, my dear Cyril, modernity of form and modernity of subject-matter are entirely and absolutely wrong. We have mistaken the common livery of the age for the vesture of the Muses, and spend our days in the sordid streets and hideous suburbs of our vile cities when we should be out on the hillside with Apollo. Certainly we are a degraded race, and have sold our birthright for a mess of facts.


Anthurium propagation by tissue culture techniques appears as an alternative to increase the production. Plant regeneration of Anthurium andraeanum cultivars "Arizona" and "Sumi" (Anthura) has been achieved through adventitious shoots formation from callus. The leaf explants were used for the propagation by indirect organogenesis. Callus induction medium consisted of half-strength MS basal salt with 0.6 mg/l 2,4-D, 1 mg/l BA. Shoot regeneration medium consisted of modified halfstrength MS salts with NH4NO3 lowered to 250 mg/l, 0.1 mg/l 2, 4-D and 1 mg/l BA. Rooting medium was (modified half-strength MS salts) supplemented with 1mg/l IBA and 0.04%active charcoals. The callus induction rate of Arizona variety was higher as compared to Sumi variety and this increase was found significant. The number of shoots per explants for Arizona variety also significantly increased as compared to Sumi variety. Arizona and Sumi root percentages were high and these percentages were 98% and 95% respectively. The results showed that Arizona variety had different responses as compared to Sumi variety for callus induction and the number of shoots per explants. Shoot multiplication for two varieties increased in the multiplication stages and this increase in number of shoots per explants were found important (p<0.05).


In this paper, two homotopy methods, which combine the advantage of the homotopy technique with the effectiveness of the iterative hard thresholding method, are presented for solving the compressed sensing problem. Under some mild assumptions, we prove that the limits of the sequences generated by the proposed homotopy methods are feasible solutions of the problem, and under some conditions they are local minimizers of the problem. The proposed methods overcome the difficulty of the iterative hard thresholding method on the choice of the regularization parameter by tracing solutions of the sparse problem along a homotopy path. Moreover, to improve the solution quality of the two methods, we modify them and give two empirical algorithms. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the two proposed algorithms in accurately and efficiently generating sparse solutions of the compressed sensing problem.


This paper utilizes a rich longitudinal data set -- the Women's Employment Study (WES) to investigate whether obesity, which is common among women of low socioeconomic status, is a barrier to employment and earnings for current and former welfare recipients. We find evidence that, among current and former welfare recipients, high body weight is a greater barrier to labor market success for white women than for African-American women. Among white women, we consistently find a negative correlation between weight and labor market outcomes such as employment, hours worked, and earnings. Among African American women, weight is not correlated with employment, hours worked, or earnings, but it is correlated with the percentage of months spent on welfare between interviews. We provide suggestive evidence that these differences between white and African-American women in the relationship between body weight and labor market outcomes are partly due to differential weight-based discrimination in employment.


The present article describes the problems, which are connected with consequences of the ever-increasing influence of the world integration processes upon the national economies in the sphere of energy business. At the global level, this influence is evident as the dependency of governmental budgets of the oil and gas sector from commercial interests of the international corporations, which are owners of the production enterprises in the countries with developing economies. Moreover, it creates new vectors and trends of development both for entire industry and for power markets particularly. Goal of this article is to test this hypothesis on the basis of the corporate structured approach with the help of statistical and financial methods and instruments. Another goal of this article is to determine degree of influence of corporations upon national economies of developing countries in the power-generating sector. As the result, we have succeeded in improvement of the LRD (Limited Risk Distributor), which is the model of the corporate business management. This model is topical one and it is applicable for any energy companies within corporate entities (holdings and groups of companies) in the countries with developing economies.


As a part of a study of reuse of waste okara, the kinetic mechanism of okara hydrolysis and the properties of the water-soluble polysaccharides (WSP) extracted were investigated. Okara was hydrolyzed by being autoclaved at pH 4.5 in two volume of water with or without a chelator such as hexametaphosphate. Okara hydrolysis proceeded by surface degradation mechanism without a chelator. Characterization of WSP suggested that the "egg-box regions" in okara were susceptible to degradation by a chelator and that the "non-egg-box regions" contained WSP linked with hydrophobic proteins. WSP with a molecular weight of more than 10(5) and the amount of protein bound to the polysaccharides seemed to govern their emulsifying characteristics.


Background Wide-necked and large intracranial aneurysms are challenging to treat through endovascular approach. Adjunctive treatments like Balloon-assisted coil embolization (BACE) and Stent-assisted coil embolization (SACE) play a major role in the treatment of such aneurysms. The TransForm™ Occlusion Balloon Catheter (TOBC) registry is intended to evaluate safety and efficacy of BACE using the TOBC. It is the first prospective registry trial of BACE for intracranial aneurysms. Hypothesis BACE using TOBC is safe and effective. Design The TOBC registry is a prospective multicenter registry trial. 7 sites in the USA and 1 in Spain were selected to enroll; each site could enroll up to 20 patients. Final analysis of data collected for 81 patients enrolled from November 2013 through January 2015 was performed. Results Mean age was 54.78 yrs (SD±14.51). 30.86% were male and 69.14% were females. TOBC was used for BACE in 73.9%, test occlusion 5.7%, safety 9.1% and others (vasospasm and post flow diverter placement) 11.4%. Most common arteries where TOBC was used were internal carotid artery (35.9%), MCA (18.5%), ACA (13.0%) and BA (10.9%). Mean proximal vessel diameter was 3.29 mm (SD±1.19). Mean distal vessel diameter was 2.89 mm (SD±1.26). Most common contrast concentrations used were 70/30 (35.87%) and 50/50 (30.43%). Most common balloon type used were Compliant 4 x 10 mm (31.40%) and Super compliant 4 x 7 mm (17.44%). Most common guide wires used were Transend (54.9%) and Synchro14 (15.9%). Mean dome to neck ratio of the aneurysms treated was 1.31 (SD±0.69). 50% were at bifurcation, 45.8% of the aneurysms were sidewall and 4.17% were terminal aneurysms. Following were the means scores (1= Excellent, 2=Very good, 3=Good, 4= Fair, 5=poor); for visibility under fluoroscopy 1.78 (SD±0.84), ability to reach intended site 1.59 (SD±0.78), stability during first positioning 1.54 (SD±0.63), stability during inflation 1.56 (SD±0.68), stability during deflation 1.57 (SD±0.64), ability to temporarily stop flow 1.55 (SD±0.67), ability to assist in coil embolization 1.71 (SD±0.80). Mean time to inflate the balloon was 4.85 seconds (SD±3.17) and mean time to deflate was 5.64 seconds (SD±4.53). Complete obliteration of the aneurysm (Raymond class I) was achieved in 69.44%. Thrombus formation occurred in 4/81 (4.8%) cases. In all cases thrombus resolved with medications and no patient suffered infarction. In all cases an underlying hyper coagulable state from subarachnoid hemorrhage was considered a contributing factor. Vessel rupture/perforation occurred in 1/81 (1.2%) case but was unrelated to TOBC. Conclusions BACE using TOBC was safe and effective. The balloon catheter performed as intended in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms in our cohort of patients. All variables assessed for TOBC performance showed good to excellent results. No serious side effects occurred. The short inflation and deflation times and ability to use a 0.014 guidewire allowed improved performance of this balloon catheter in comparison to older balloon catheters available. Disclosures M. Taqi: None. S. Quadri: None. A. Puri: None. B. Fitzsimmons: None. A. Rai: None. C. Given: None. J. Masso: None. C. Powers: None. J. English: None. S. Zaidat: None.


Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and central sleep apnoea have been identified and described in adults, children, and infants.1-3 It is not certain, however, if the adult sleep apnoea syndromes, particularly OSA, originate from childhood or whether paediatric and adult sleep apnoea are separate syndromes. Some investigators have suggested that the pathophysiology, criteria for diagnosis, and the management of paediatric patients with OSA are different from that for adults.4-7 Other investigators have found that risk factors, clinical symptoms, and the consequences of OSA share common features between adults, children and infants.8-11 We propose that the adult sleep apnoea syndrome is related to sleep apnoea in children, and that adult patients with sleep apnoea have been predisposed to developing apnoea since early infancy. The differences in OSA in patient populations of different age groups may represent different stages in the development of the adult form of OSA. This review will discuss the similarities and differences between adult, childhood and infant sleep apnoea, particularly OSA. The risk factors, potential mechanisms, and familial factors of OSA will be presented to ascertain the possible genesis of adult sleep apnoea during childhood.

The OSA syndrome in adults was identified more than 30 years ago,12 has been described extensively in adults, and is believed to be caused by collapse of the oropharyngeal airway.1 It is not certain whether adult patients had OSA as infants or children; however, the diagnosis of OSA in adults often occurs several years after the onset of symptoms, sometimes starting during adolescence. Obstructive apnoea is associated with repetitive episodes of hypoxaemia, sleep fragmentation, and cardiovascular and neurobehavioural sequelae (fig 1).13-15 Several risk factors have been identified that predispose an individual to developing OSA including obesity, age, sex, upper airway structural abnormalities, and a family history of …


Noninvasive sensing of blood glucose based on near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is a research hotspot in the biomedical field. However, its accuracy is severely limited by the weak specific signal of glucose and the strong background variations caused by other constituents in the blood, the measuring instrument, and the environment. In this paper, special source–detector distances, defined as the floating reference position, are used to conduct relative measurements and correct for background variations. These floating reference positions are chosen so that the diffuse reflectance is not sensitive to the change in glucose concentration due to the combined effects of absorption and scattering. Nine 10% intralipid samples with glucose concentrations in the range of 1000–5000 mg dL–1 at an interval of 500 mg dL–1 were prepared. Using a custom-built, continuously moving, spatially resolving, double-fiber measurement system with a superluminescent diode (SLD) as the light source, the diffuse reflectance of intralipid samples containing glucose under different source–detector distances (0.2–5 mm, with intervals of 0.2 mm) were collected. Then, a correlation analysis between the spectra and the glucose concentration was carried out to determine the floating reference position and the optimal measuring position. The signal in the floating reference position was used to correct the background variation because it contains the same systematic drift and interference as the signal in the optimal measuring position. The results showed that the correlation between the diffuse reflectance and the glucose concentration was increased significantly compared with traditional correction by subtracting the nearest spectrum of pure 10% intralipid solution. The correlation between the diffuse reflectance and the concentration of glucose is significantly increased, which indicated that the combination of the correlation analysis and a floating reference is able to eliminate the influence of background variations.


PURPOSE
The purpose of this work is to assess the variation in performance of various commercially available dosimetry diodes for quantitative small field dosimetry, specifically by intercomparing measurements of SRS cone factors.

METHODS
Measurements were made in 6 MV photon beams with fixed SRS cones for two accelerator-based SRS systems: a Varian Clinac iX (Varian/Zmed cones) at 600 MU/min and a CyberKnife model G4 at 800 MU/min. Measurements were made at 1.5 cm depth in water using the IBA Dosimetry "blue phantom" 3D scanning system, controlled by OMNIPRO-ACCEPT software. Source-to-detector distance was 100 cm for the Clinac, 80 cm for the CyberKnife. Two normalization methods were used for the Clinac, one directly referenced to diode measurements in a 10 cm x 10 cm square field and the other indirectly by "daisy-chaining" diode measurements to ion chamber measurement in the 10 cm x 10 cm reference field through an intermediate 4 cm x 4 cm square field. CyberKnife factors were referenced directly to measurements in the 60 mm reference field. Seven commercial diodes were evaluated: PTW TN60008, TN60012, TN60016, TN60017; IBA Dosimetry SFD; Sun Nuclear EDGE; Exradin SD1 (first generation prototype).

RESULTS
With the exception of the SFD, all the evaluated devices yielded surprisingly consistent results. Standard deviations of Clinac factors for four diodes (SD1, EDGE, TN60008, and TN60012) ranged from approximately 0.50% at 30 mm to 2.0% at 5 mm cones size when referenced directly to the 10 cm x 10 cm measurement. The daisy-chaining strategy reduced the standard deviation to approximately 0.30% at 30 mm and 1.9% at 5 mm. Standard deviations for the same four diodes in the CyberKnife beam ranged up to approximately 1.0% at 5 mm.

CONCLUSIONS
The inter-detector variation is small and appears to be systematic with detector packaging, more inherent filtration producing flatter curves for both the relatively hard Clinac beam and the softer CyberKnife beam. The daisy-chain strategy appears to be of limited value for most of the diodes, but does bring the SFD results into significantly better agreement with the others.


CPKelco ApS, Denmark is the largest pectin plant in the world and the second largest refined carrageenan plant. The products are used for texturising purposes, primarily within the food industry, but also within the pharmaceutical industry. The products are extracted from imported natural raw materials, like dried citrus peel and special seaweed plants. In the production processes a considerable amount of water and energy are used. The excess water from the production processes is led to CPKelco's own WWTP, which is one of the largest industrial WWTPs in Denmark. In order to obtain higher process stability and lower energy consumption in the WWTP, CPKelco decided to change the nitrogen removal process from a conventional nitrification/denitrification process to a nitration/denitration process, which comprises an oxidation of ammonium to nitrite and a controlled reduction of nitrite to N2. Theoretically this process will decrease the oxygen consumption for oxidation by 25% and the use of carbon source for the reduction will be decreased by 40% compared to the conventional process. This paper presents and discusses the experiences and results from three year's continuous operation of the nitration/denitration process in an activated sludge plant, and the overall performance results are discussed in relation to the previous results. Accordingly the implementation of the nitration/denitration process was done successfully, and today the plant operates with much higher process stability than obtained before, and even the most stringent effluent requirements for nitrogen can be obtained.


Capsule Yellow Wagtails showed seasonally variable foraging preferences, favouring field margin and crop habitats, although habitat availability did not influence brood productivity. Aims To identify key habitats and prey types for Yellow Wagtails in arable farmland, assessing the importance of foraging habitat availability in determining breeding productivity. Methods Intensive nest searches were conducted across six areas in eastern England over two breeding seasons. Focal nest watches were used to determine foraging habitat selection. Nestling condition was analyzed in relation to surrounding habitat characteristics and weather conditions. Diet was assessed using chick faecal samples. Results Wet ditches and tracks were favoured foraging habitats, together with crop fields used for nesting. Crop preference varied seasonally, with autumn‐sown wheat preferred in May–June and potatoes preferred in July–August. Chick diet was dominated by flies (Diptera), although beetles (Coleoptera) were prevalent in early broods and damselflies (Zygoptera) in late broods. Weather and foraging habitat availability were poor predictors of nestling condition. Conclusion Our results highlight key microhabitats for Yellow Wagtails in arable farmland. The late‐season avoidance of autumn‐sown cereals implies that breeding season length could be limited in cereal‐dominated areas. The provision of alternative late‐season breeding habitats might represent an effective conservation strategy for this species.


The prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in 200 pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic (ANC) of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) between April and June 2003 was determined. Geimsa-stained thick and thin blood films were examined microscopically for malaria parasites; the parasite densities were determined on the thick films. Eighteen (9%) of the women were positive for malaria parasites and only Plasmodium falciparum was encountered in the study. Pregnant women in the 15-20 year age group recorded the highest prevalence of 16%, closely followed by the age group 21-25 years with 15.2%. The 26-30, 31-35, 36-40 and 41-50 year age groups recorded 6.7%, 4.5%, 4.1% and 0% prevalence rates respectively. Women in their first trimester recorded 13.3% as against 10.2% and 3.8% for the second and third trimester respectively. The primigravidae had a prevalence of 12.9% as against 7.2% for multigravidae. Most of the women with malaria parasitaemia (89%) had parasite densities of less than 1000/µL of blood. The low prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in the ANC women is attributed to the regular prophylactic malaria therapy and the impacts of the health talks normally given to pregnant women during routine antenatal visits Key words: Malaria, pregnancy, prevalence, prophylaxis
Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2005; 6(2): 91-94


The article introduces the architecture of the querying components of the visual information retrieval framework VizIR. A major design goal was to assure adaptability and extensibility in manifold ways. VizIR components can be arbitrarily combined to build extensive applications. The framework provides various visual content descriptors, similarity measures and query models. Moreover, the platform can be extended by visual features or similarity measures as well as entirely novel query paradigms. VizIR introduces an approach for Video Browsing based on MPEG-7 visual features and SelfOrganizing Maps for clustering. Furthermore, a recently proposed approach for integrating browsing and retrieval techniques is presented. Following this approach, the user is enabled to interact with the querying system in several ways which improves retrieval quality and performance considerably.