This chapter serves as an introduction to 3D representations of scenes or Structure From Motion (SfM) from straight line segments. Lines are frequently found in captures of man-made environments, and in nature are mixed with more organic shapes. The inclusion of straight lines in 3D representations provide structural information about the captured shapes and their limits, such as the intersection of planar structures. Line based SfM methods are not frequent in the literature due to the difficulty of detecting them reliably, their morphological changes under changes of perspective and the challenges inher- ent to finding correspondences of segments in images between the different views. Additionally, compared to points, lines add the dimensionalities carried by the line directions and lengths, which prevents the epipolar constraint to be valid along a straight line segment between two different views. This chapter introduces the geometrical relations which have to be exploited for SfM sketch or abstraction based on line segments, the optimization methods for its optimization, and how to compare the experimental results with Ground-Truth measurements.


DC microgrids are gaining popularity over ac microgrids, because of high efficiency and reliability with low installation cost. To achieve equal load sharing (in per unit) among sources, droop based controllers are used. However, equal sharing of load is achieved in ideal system. This paper investigates the deviation in load currents from their ideal values. Steady state mathematical model of the system is developed. This model is applicable to any interconnecting structure of sources and loads. Deviation of source currents from their ideal values is expressed in terms of load distribution pattern and differences in nominal voltages. Sensitivity of source currents to load currents and nominal voltages is derived. Effects of branch resistances and droop constants on the sensitivity of source currents are examined. Results obtained by analysis are verified by detailed simulation study. Viability of the model is confirmed by experimental results from a scaled-down laboratory prototype of dc microgrid.


According to the World Health Organization (WHO) it is estimated that between 5 and 10% of the population is electro sensitive, the excessive or prolonged exposure to electromagnetic waves can damage health. Currently the electromagnetic radiation generated by wireless mobile telephony involves our daily lives, since it is reported that there are more than 5 billion cell phone users. Each country establishes its own relative national standards on exposure to electromagnetic fields, which Peru lacks. Nevertheless, they are based in standards that has not been revised since 1996. This contribution seeks to identify the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) generated by the most used mobile phone in Peru in 2017 using the ComoSAR measuring system in the GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) band at a frequency of 900 MHz. The results obtained will evaluate the behavior of electromagnetic waves by affecting the emulated tissues of body density and dielectric constant. The maximum SAR values recorded in the measurement were 0.05 W/Kg for a 1 g cube and 0.02 W/Kg for a 10 g cube. On the other hand, the average values obtained were 0.046 W/Kg for a 1 g cube and 0.019 W/Kg for a 10 g cube. The SAR values measured in the conditions of the experiment are below that what is indicated by the US standard and the European standard of SAR values. Keywords—Electromagnetic radiation; SAR; ComoSAR; GSM


The latitude gradient in comparative development is a striking fact: as one moves away from the equator, economic activity rises. While this regularity is well known, it is not well understood. Perhaps the strongest correlate of (absolute) latitude is the intensity of ultraviolet radiation (UV-R), which epidemiological research has shown to be a cause of a wide range of diseases. We establish that UV-R is strongly and negatively correlated with economic activity, both across and within countries. We propose and test a mechanism that links UV-R to current income differences via the impact of disease ecology on the timing of the take-off to sustained growth.


Airway epithelial cells and immune cells participate in the inflammatory process responsible for much of the pathology found in the lung of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Intense bronchial neutrophilic inflammation and release of proteases and oxygen radicals perpetuate the vicious cycle and progressively damage the airways. In vitro studies suggest that CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-deficient airway epithelial cells display signalling abnormalities and aberrant intracellular processes which lead to transcription of inflammatory mediators. Several transcription factors, especially nuclear factor-κB, are activated. In addition, the accumulation of abnormally processed CFTR in the endoplasmic reticulum results in unfolded protein responses that trigger 'cell stress' and apoptosis leading to dysregulation of the epithelial cells and innate immune function in the lung, resulting in exaggerated and ineffective airway inflammation. Measuring airway inflammation is crucial for initiating treatment and monitoring its effect. No inflammatory biomarker predictive for the clinical course of CF lung disease is currently known, although neutrophil elastase seems to correlate with lung function decline. CF animal models mimicking human lung disease may provide an important insight into the pathogenesis of lung inflammation in CF and identify new therapeutic targets.


Five species of the aphid genus Sipha Passerini (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are reported in North America and are reviewed herein. Of these species, three are adventive species and include: Sipha elegans del Guercio, Sipha glyceriae (Kaltenbach), and Sipha maydis Passerini. Sipha maydis was discovered in California in 2007 and now has been found in Georgia. The genus also includes two native species: Sipha agropyronensis (Gillette) and Sipha flava (Forbes). Sipha maydis can be distinguished easily from all the other species in the genus that occur in North America because it is black. All the species except S. agropyronensis have been implicated in damage to crop plants. A key to the apterae and alatae of Sipha found in North America is included.


This technical note is concerned with the sampled-data synchronization control problem for a class of dynamical networks. The sampling period considered here is assumed to be time-varying that switches between two different values in a random way with given probability. The addressed synchronization control problem is first formulated as an exponentially mean-square stabilization problem for a new class of dynamical networks that involve both the multiple probabilistic interval delays (MPIDs) and the sector-bounded nonlinearities (SBNs). Then, a novel Lyapunov functional is constructed to obtain sufficient conditions under which the dynamical network is exponentially mean-square stable. Both Gronwall's inequality and Jenson integral inequality are utilized to substantially simplify the derivation of the main results. Subsequently, a set of sampled-data synchronization controllers is designed in terms of the solution to certain matrix inequalities that can be solved effectively by using available software. Finally, a numerical simulation example is employed to show the effectiveness of the proposed sampled-data synchronization control scheme.


Abstract Leishmaniasis is a group of diseases that have limited and high toxic therapeutic options. Herein, we evaluated the antileishmanial potential and cytotoxicity of hexanic extract obtained from the Antarctic brown alga Ascoseira mirabilis using bioguided fractionation against Leishmania amazonensis and murine macrophages, which was fractionated by SPE, yielding seven fractions (F1-F7). The fraction F6 showed good anti-amastigote activity (IC50 = 73.4 ± 0.4 μg mL−1) and low cytotoxicity (CC50 > 100 μg mL−1). Thus, in order to identify the bioactive constituent(s) of F6, the fraction was separated in a semipreparative HPLC, yielding four fractions (F6.1-F6.4). F6.2 was the most bioactive fraction (IC50 = 66.5 ± 4.5 μg mL−1) and GC-MS analyses revealed that the compounds octadecane, propanoic acid, 1-monomyristin and azelaic acid correspond to 61% of its composition. These data show for the first time the antileishmanial potential of the Antarctic alga A. mirabilis. Graphical Abstract


The authors review the options available for industrial AC and DC systems, and how portions of these standards have been applied in developing the ground architecture for a shipboard electrothermal chemical gun system. They review shipboard practices and philosophy for low-voltage systems and project how this philosophy will lead to the selection of a grounding architecture for an electric gun system. The shipboard standards for routing dedicated, redundant, and survival distribution systems are also reviewed. >


Introduction: Peri-ictal breathing dysfunction was proposed as a potential mechanism for SUDEP. We examined the incidence and risk factors for both ictal (ICA) and post-convulsive central apnea (PCCA) and their relationship with potential seizure severity biomarkers (i. e., post-ictal generalized EEG suppression (PGES) and recurrence. Methods: Prospective, multi-center seizure monitoring study of autonomic, and breathing biomarkers of SUDEP in adults with intractable epilepsy and monitored seizures. Video EEG, thoraco-abdominal excursions, capillary oxygen saturation, and electrocardiography were analyzed. A subgroup analysis determined the incidences of recurrent ICA and PCCA in patients with ≥2 recorded seizures. We excluded status epilepticus and obscured/unavailable video. Central apnea (absence of thoracic-abdominal breathing movements) was defined as ≥1 missed breath, and ≥5 s. ICA referred to apnea preceding or occurring along with non-convulsive seizures (NCS) or apnea before generalized convulsive seizures (GCS). Results: We analyzed 558 seizures in 218 patients (130 female); 321 seizures were NCS and 237 were GCS. ICA occurred in 180/487 (36.9%) seizures in 83/192 (43.2%) patients, all with focal epilepsy. Sleep state was related to presence of ICA [RR 1.33, CI 95% (1.08–1.64), p = 0.008] whereas extratemporal epilepsy was related to lower incidence of ICA [RR 0.58, CI 95% (0.37–0.90), p = 0.015]. ICA recurred in 45/60 (75%) patients. PCCA occurred in 41/228 (18%) of GCS in 30/134 (22.4%) patients, regardless of epilepsy type. Female sex [RR 11.30, CI 95% (4.50–28.34), p < 0.001] and ICA duration [RR 1.14 CI 95% (1.05–1.25), p = 0.001] were related to PCCA presence, whereas absence of PGES was related to absence of PCCA [0.27, CI 95% (0.16–0.47), p < 0.001]. PCCA duration was longer in males [HR 1.84, CI 95% (1.06–3.19), p = 0.003]. In 9/17 (52.9%) patients, PCCA was recurrent. Conclusion: ICA incidence is almost twice the incidence of PCCA and is only seen in focal epilepsies, as opposed to PCCA, suggesting different pathophysiologies. ICA is likely to be a recurrent semiological phenomenon of cortical seizure discharge, whereas PCCA may be a reflection of brainstem dysfunction after GCS. Prolonged ICA or PCCA may, respectively, contribute to SUDEP, as evidenced by two cases we report. Further prospective cohort studies are needed to validate these hypotheses.


Background Due to the nature of emergency department, quantity of medicine used and starting of a newly established emergency medicine residency program in our hospital it was decided to use clinical pharmacist interventions to protect patients from adverse drug events. Purpose To assess clinical pharmacist intervention impact on reduction of medication errors. Materials and methods Retrospective evaluation orders of emergency medicine residents from October 2010 to January 2011 were done. The frequency of prescription errors determined by a clinical pharmacist based on patients medical records. Subsequently, weekly educational sessions on prescribing for emergency medicine residents conducted by a clinical pharmacist. Recording errors continued for 4 months period prospectively and statistical analyses compared the results before and after interventions. Results In a retrospective study The authors evaluated 5320 prescription with total number of 22346 medication ordered. Results indicated 4941(22.1%) ordering errors. After clinical pharmacist intervention the rate diminished significantly to (5.6%) 1276 errors in 5602 prescriptions (22743 medication orders) (P<0.01). Inappropriate drug choice (23%), improper dose(21%), inaccurate dosing interval(19%), drug interactions(16%), misdiagnosis(14%), choosing wrong dosage form(4%), and improper route of administration(3%) were errors before clinical pharmacist interventions. The most frequent errors after intervention were inappropriate drug choice (20%), and drug interactions (18.5%). The rate of other kind of errors were in this order: misdiagnosis (18%), improper dose (18%), inaccurate dosing interval (15.5%), choosing wrong dosage form (6%), and improper route of administration (4%). Inaccurate dosing interval decreased more than other prescribing errors with pharmacist intervention (from 939 to 198 errors). Conclusions The results show that reduction in prescribing errors was significant after pharmacist intervention. Monitoring of orders and drug therapy education of the physicians seems to be a substantial factor in hospitals which lead to patient safety and rational drug use.


This report presents results of an analysis of changes in the geographic patterns of U.S. markets for overseas cargo service between 1980 and the mid-1990s. The study determines which U.S. cities have and have not participated in the period's dramatic service expansion, and the ways in which their competitive positions have changed as a result. The study identifies industries that rely heavily on air cargo service to facilitate export activities and examines their employment distributions among U.S. cities to demonstrate demand for overseas air cargo service. A classification of U.S. metropolitan regions based on the mismatches revealed improvement or decline in service supply and demand, as well as identifying cities with winning and losing records during the period. Case studies of Portland, Oregon; St. Louis; Washington-Baltimore; and Minneapolis-St. Paul indicate the influences of location, local economic conditions, airline networks, carrier health, and industry changes; and leadership on and off the airport. Study results make clear the need for coordinated local and regional efforts to actively promote better air service for communities in the face of competition for limited service. Civic leaders must address those issues within their influence and develop long-range plans carefully attuned to concurrent airline industry and regulatory changes.


Little is known about the sleep habits of South African students. The objectives in this study were to evaluate sleep habits and daytime behaviours of South African university students and to examine possible factors associated with their sleep quality and daytime sleepiness. Nine hundred and eighty-six undergraduate students completed a questionnaire about their sleep and lifestyle habits over the previous month, and their fatigue-related driving history. Sleep habits were similar for male and female students, although male students went to bed later and had fewer night-time awakenings. Black students went to bed significantly later than white and Asian students and woke earlier than white students during the week; consequently they were more likely to have a shorter time in bed than white students. Black students were more likely to nap than white students, possibly to supplement their overall sleep amount. Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were not influenced by gender or ethnicity. Twenty percent of the students reported having ever fallen asleep while driving and 2% reported having had a fatigue-related accident; these findings have implications for road safety. Eighteen percent of the students reported poor sleep quality, although few students (4%) had consulted a doctor about a sleeping problem. Logistic multiple regression modeling revealed that poor sleep quality was associated with the following factors: long sleep onset latency; night-time awakenings; late bed times; use of sleep medication; not getting enough sleep; and low energy. Based on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, 44% of the students had a high propensity for daytime sleepiness, which was associated with not getting enough sleep, consuming more caffeinated beverages, daytime napping, and having no/little energy. Daytime sleepiness and associated factors in South African students need to be investigated further and it is recommended that students be better informed about sleep problems and their consequences. First-line help-professionals such as psychologists, doctors, and healthcare workers should be better trained to support students with sleep problems.


Ethics of Fast Food industry applications have been identified as one of the most important topics worthy of academic research in marketing and producing fields. In this paper we examine whether Fast Food sector companies behave ethical or not. Because Fast Food companies claim that they are behave ethical. Fast Food sector has a crucial economic power on the world. We know that a lot of Fast Food stores open every day all over the world and Fast Food sector is growing day by day. However some countries forbidden to open Fast Food stores and close a lot of Fast Food stores, some countries forbidden to sell fast food product in schools. We examine Fast Food product contents and their advertisement strategies.


streams: assessing the toxicity potential in urban sediment Understanding which sources of urban sediment have the greatest toxic potential can reduce uncertainty associated with mitigation efforts. for poorly Four methods can improve the quality of aquatic toxicity testing of substances with low water solubility. Fisheries studies should consider the effects of fish parasites , by Fish parasites can increase mortality rates, modify life history traits, alter physiology, and affect natural behaviors; they need to be considered in fish population and community studies.


The Internet poses a number of threats to the safety of young people. Using numerous examples, this article discusses a wide range of such threats, including: cyberstalking; the 'grooming' of potential victims of sexual abuse; a new 'wish list' scene (where teenagers encourage contact with potential abusers); the creation and distribution of child pornography; and the emergence of services that create child pornography to order. It is suggested that the last has provided individuals with the ability to inflict sexual abuse on young people from a distance, an act the authors have termed virtual sex tourism. The final section of the article suggests that paedophiles and pornographers have been quick to adopt new technology as a means of concealing their activities. The article concludes by warning of the danger of overestimating or underestimating the threats described.


Excerpt] Resettlement policies and laws in South Asian countries at present focus primarily on compensation payment for property acquired for a public purpose. This book assesses the adequacy of conventional compensation and resettlement assistance programs such as cash-for-land, land-for-land compensation, limited and temporary employment opportunities at project construction sites, better housing in urban development projects, and income and livelihood restoration and improvement assistance programs. It also examines affected persons' perspectives, how they perceive their displacement, and what strategies they use to respond to displacement with or without assistance from project sponsors and authorities. This knowledge will help policy makers, project sponsors, and project executive agencies to improve resettlement planning and implementation programs and, at least to some extent, will assist in reforming resettlement policies and land laws. Such reforms, this book argues, should consider (i) the adequacy of current resettlement policy frameworks to deal with complex, widespread, and ambiguous experiences of affected persons of development interventions; (ii) the almost inevitable impoverishment of project-affected persons from the pre-displacement phase to post-resettlement phase; (iii) limited state commitment to broadening such policy frameworks into national laws; and (iv) widespread weak institutional capacity to implement the laws. During the past 60 years, various interpretations of the land acquisition acts have been attempted by policy makers, academics, development practitioners, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and national courts in South Asia. Such interpretations have mostly been people-centered and have intended to provide a better compensation package to the displaced, particularly to poor and vulnerable persons. Key issues that have been discussed and articulated include (i) the adequacy of consultation with affected persons and communities on land acquisition and compensation; (ii) the comparative costs of cash-for-land and land-for-land compensation as acquisition modalities; (iii) the desirability and possibility of assisting physically displaced households to resettle at a project-sponsored resettlement site compared to providing sufficient cash compensation and incentives to help displaced households self-relocate; and (iv) how to avoid impoverishment of displaced persons and their households. These are also the key issues that this book considers, using in-depth fieldwork from several South Asian countries. The book comprises recent displacement and resettlement case studies conducted by several anthropologists and sociologists in South Asia. Each contributor wrote around the key theme of the book: Is resettlement a development opportunity for those displaced by a development intervention? In this book, resettlement carries a broader meaning to include physical and economic displacement, restricted access to public land such as forests and parks, relocation, income rehabilitation, and self-relocation.


In this paper, we present a watermarking scheme using the halftone technique to embed gray scale logo images as watermark signals. To embed the watermark, the gray scale logo image first undergoes a halftoning process to become a 1-bit image before embedding. Direct spread spectrum is used to insert the watermark signal into the original image. The robustness and invisibility of the proposed scheme are determined by the chip-rate and another parameter. The method is proved to be robust to different signal processing techniques.


We observe a novel hybrid optical bistability by using an electro-optically tuned cw fibre laser with a fibre Fabry–Perot filter. The principles of the optical bistable device in two operation manners are analysed. The applications in monitoring the wavelength shift of a tunable fibre laser and fibre sensor of digital type are also discussed.


Background/Objective: The analysis of linkage disequilibrium is relevant for the exploration of the structure and evolution of genomes and for the gene mapping of quantitative characters and human diseases. The strength of linkage disequilibrium between diallelic loci is commonly measured by the coefficients D′ and r. Recent studies suggest that r is more useful than D′ as a general measure of the strength of disequilibrium because it provides much more precise (lower sampling variance) and accurate (lower bias) estimates of disequilibrium. We compared for the first time the statistical properties of D′ and r taking into account their differences in range. Methods: The sampling properties of D′ and r were evaluated by simulation under a variety of realistic population conditions and varying sample sizes using standardised statistics that allow for comparisons of the precision, accuracy and efficiency of estimates with different ranges. Results: Simulations revealed that estimates of r do not tend to be significantly more precise, accurate or efficient than those of D′ when compared by means of standardised statistics. Conclusion: The supposed advantage of r over D′ based on direct comparisons of their sampling distributions is more apparent than real. The obtained results are useful to assess the uses and applications of these widely used disequilibrium measures.


Spatial Database Management Systems (SDBMS), e.g., Geographical Information Systems, that manage spatial objects such as points, lines, and hyper-rectangles, often have very high query processing costs. Accurate selectivity estimation during query optimization therefore is crucially important for finding good query plans, especially when spatial joins are involved. Selectivity estimation has been studied for relational database systems, but to date has only received little attention in SDBMS. In this paper, we introduce novel methods that permit high-quality selectivity estimation for spatial joins and range queries. Our techniques can be constructed in a single scan over the input, handle inserts and deletes to the database incrementally, and hence they can also be used for processing of streaming spatial data. In contrast to previous approaches, our techniques return approximate results that come with provable probabilistic quality guarantees. We present a detailed analysis and experimentally demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed techniques.


The Thin Coherence of the Enlightenment: Equality, Society, and Religion in Enlightenment Encyclopaedias

 One of the key trends in scholarship on the Enlightenment since the early 1980s has been the fragmentation of the movement into numerous strands based variously on national context, religion, or philosophical school, a fragmentation that risks emptying the signifier 'Enlightenment' of all meaning. This article argues that analyzing the concepts of 'equality' and 'society' in Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie and one of its most important successors, the Swiss Encyclopédie d'Yverdon, enables us to see that, in spite of the very real philosophical, religious, and political differences between Enlightenment thinkers, the movement can nonetheless be characterized as possessing thin coherence. Religion became compartmentalized in an inner sphere, ceding ground to the concept of society, which came to describe the fundamental domain of human interdependence. In the new intellectual space created by the Enlightenment, inequality came to be viewed as something artificial and in need of justification, thus demonstrating that the modern concepts of 'society' and 'equality' hang together in an intellectual movement characterized by thin coherence.


OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have indicated relationships between trauma in childhood and pain in adulthood, although some studies have reported no such relationships and challenge the methodologies of large-scale community samples. In this study involving a clinical sample, we examined relationships among (1) childhood trauma at ages 12 or younger, (2) rated pain for 3 time points in adulthood, and (3) pain catastrophizing (ie, catastrophic thoughts and feelings about pain).

METHOD
Using a cross-sectional approach and a self-report survey methodology in a consecutive sample of adult internal medicine outpatients (n = 243), we examined relationships among 5 types of childhood trauma (witnessing violence, physical neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse); ratings of pain now, over the past month, and over the past year; and scores on the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and its subscales (rumination, magnification, and helplessness). Data were collected in November 2012.

RESULTS
In univariate analyses, nearly all types of childhood trauma statistically significantly (P < .01) correlated with all self-ratings of pain, as well as the total PCS score and scores on the subscales of the PCS, with a few exceptions involving physical neglect, which demonstrated a weaker relationship. In multivariate analyses, emotional abuse (standardized β = 0.17, t = 2.37, P < .05) and sexual abuse (standardized β = 0.16, t = 2.26, P < .05) were uniquely predictive of the summed ratings of pain for each participant, and emotional abuse uniquely predicted catastrophic thoughts and feelings about pain (standardized β = 0.32, t = 4.58, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS
In this clinical sample of adult outpatients, there were clear relationships between childhood trauma and all forms of pain assessment and pain catastrophizing. We discuss possible explanations and implications of these findings.


This paper considers social and political aspects of organizational change arising from the selection of a new informaiton system, and emphasizes the importance of understanding how competing commitments can lead to workthink as a tactic of resistance to organizational change. Perceptions play an important role in the political decisions made by various groups during organizational change, and this can be seen in the interactions of staff during the meetings. Workthink can be defined as an act of agreeing to a particular action so that the participant can return to a task that he or she perceives to be more important than the reason for the meeting. Workthink can have significant impact on the success of a change implementation, especially if workthink actions are reinforced by informal communications amongst staff. This paper reports a particular change event brought about by the selection and recommendation to implement a new information system. The steering committee for the project comprised members drawn from various departments throughout the organization. The use of workthink as a political strategy explains some of the reactions of the committee members to the meetings. Given that not all members attended committee meetings on each occasion, their workthink strategy may explain the apparent haste to conclude the meetings, or the disinterest that some members related that they felt during the meetings. In this case, workthink can be further interpreted as a form of resistance in which delaying decisions and the manipulation of tasks would provide opportunities to build up coalitions with other committee members who did not attend the meeting.


The realization of the current-mode quadrature sinusoidal oscillator was presented in this paper. In this design, a single active building block, named Current Differencing Cascaded Transconductance Amplifier (CDCTA) was used with grounded resistor and two grounded capacitors. The proposed circuit was a simple structure which was attractive for integrated circuit implementation. The proposed oscillator could generate two sinusoidal signals with 90°degree phase difference. The output current nodes were high impedance which was ideal for cascading in the current-mode circuit without the requirement of the current buffers. Moreover, the control of the Frequency of Oscillation (FO) and the Condition of Oscillation (CO) were orthogonally and electronically via the DC bias current of CDCTA. The workability of the proposed sinusoidal oscillator was verified with PSpice in which simulation results agree well with theoretical expectations.


Context: Managing Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs) in software projects is challenging, and projects that adopt Model-Driven Development (MDD) are no exception. Although several methods and techniques have been proposed to face this challenge, there is still little evidence on how NFRs are handled in MDD by practitioners. Knowing more about the state of the practice may help researchers to steer their research and practitioners to improve their daily work. Objective: In this paper, we present our findings from an interview-based survey conducted with practitioners working in 18 different companies from 6 European countries. From a practitioner's point of view, the paper shows what barriers and benefits the management of NFRs as part of the MDD process can bring to companies, how NFRs are supported by MDD approaches, and which strategies are followed when (some) types of NFRs are not supported by MDD approaches. Results: Our study shows that practitioners perceive MDD adoption as a complex process with little to no tool support for NFRs, reporting productivity and maintainability as the types of NFRs expected to be supported when MDD is adopted. But in general, companies adapt MDD to deal with NFRs. When NFRs are not supported, the generated code is sometimes changed manually, thus compromising the maintainability of the software developed. However, the interviewed practitioners claim that the benefits of using MDD outweight the extra effort required by these manual adaptations. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that it is important for practitioners to handle `NFRs in MDD, but further research is necessary in order to lower the barrier for supporting a broad spectrum of NFRs with MDD. Still, much conceptual and tool implementation work seems to be necessary to lower the barrier of integrating the broad spectrum of NFRs in practice.


A set of recent international studies reveal the scarcity of coherent entity-level estimation systems able to lead to an adequate identification and valuation of social and environmental performance, despite the large number of entities claiming their concern for the environmental impact of their business activities. The status quo is mainly caused by the lack of domain-specific accounting regulation, along with a general "information gap" in the field of the potential benefits eco-costs and externalities absorption may generate. Eco-costs and externalities absorption technologies for the costing model are still going through their experimental stages, aiming to reflect both the historicalpolitical context and the philosophical motivations of an organization's management and stakeholders. We held as appropriate (and the paper at hand will speak for) the intent to promote this class of technologies for the Romanian business environment, mainly by reviewing the relevant literature in the field and developing an eco-costing model able to provide cost levels consistent with the sustainable development goals.


Italian electricity consumers have been free to choose their supplier since 2007, but about 66 percent are still supplied under the so-called maggior tutela, a regulated regime. Italy's Annual Competition Law states that regulated prices will be phased out by July 1st, 2019. This paper performs an analysis of the country's retail electricity market following the structure-conduct-performance paradigm. Two main issues emerge that need to be addressed: market concentration and consumer inertia. The paper proposes several policy tools, aimed at both the supply and the demand side, aimed at promoting supply diversification, market entry and an increased customer engagement.


The Vehicle Ad-Hoc Network (VANET) is a method that has made Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) important for the benefit of daily life. Vehicle Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) are gaining rapid attention because of the variety of services they can offer. Real- time identification for all forms of attacks has become an important problem for VANET, including Distributed Denial of Service attacks (DDoS). This is due to the intermittent real- time exchange in VANET of security and the delivery of road emergency messages. Therefore, there is a need for efficient storage and intelligent VANET Infrastructure Architecture (VIA), which includes confidence. To address the problem of DDoS attack to protect the end-users as well as precious resources, E-Firecol composed of intrusion detection is proposed. Dealing with VANET attacks is a challenging issue. Most of the current DDoS detection techniques are suffering from poor accuracy and high overhead computation. To address these issues, a new approach to intrusion detection called the E-Firecol Intrusion Detection System (FIDS) and to prevent DDoS attack from entering the network, a Dynamically Growing Self-Organizing Tree (DGSOT) algorithm within RSU is included. The Proposed methodology was successfully implemented and the proposed method gives effective output.


Modeling the reactions of human characters to a dynamic environment is crucial for achieving perceptual immersion in applications such as video games, training simulations and movies. Virtual characters in these applications need to realistically react to environmental events and precisely follow high-level user commands. Most existing physics engines for computer animation facilitate synthesis of passive motion, but remain unsuccessful in generating motion that requires active control, such as character animation. We present an optimization-based approach to synthesizing active motion for articulated characters, emphasizing both physical realism and user controllability. At each time step, we optimize the motion based on a set of goals specified by higher-level decision makers, subject to the Lagrangian dynamics and the physical limitations of the character. Our framework represents each decision maker as a controller.


Background: Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in women may lead to metabolic consequences in patients. This study was performed to determine the glucose tolerance and lipid profile after menopause resulting from bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. Methods: From September 2011 to March 2013, 31 women participants aged 46-52 years who underwent hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for benign reasons were recruited. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol, low density lipoproteis (LDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL) was performed before and 6 months after surgery. Fasting insulin and 2-hour insulin levels, fasting insulin / glucose indexes and homeostasis model assessment HOMA indexes were also measured. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.6±2.9 years. The mean 2-h glucose level in OGTT changed from 26.7 before surgery to 111.1 μUnit/ml (P=0.030). The mean level of lipid profile before and after surgery for TG was 132.3 versus 181.2 mg/dl (P=0.005), total cholesterol 177.4 versus 206.7 mg/dl (P=0.0001) and LDL 98.4 versus 115.3 mg/dl (P=0.003). The other variables showed no significant difference. Conclusion: The results indicate that lipid profile changes like increase of TG, total cholesterol and LDL should be considered before removing the ovary during hysterectomy in premenopausal women.


This paper presents a novel two-level silicon bulk micromachining for integration of RF devices. The RF devices are fabricated at the frontside of Si(100) wafers using conventional IC technology. A post-processing module is applied from the wafer backside with precise alignment to the frontside. This module can provide a blanket ground plane at an optimum position beneath the wafer surface, a frontside contact from the wafer surface to that ground plane, and trenches to suppress crosstalk through the conductive silicon by adding two mask levels. An extension to four masks allows for an integration of large passive components beneath circuitry for a much reduced chip area, lowering chip size and cost. The feasibility of the novel post-process module is demonstrated through the fabrication of microstrip transmission lines, conductor-backed spiral inductors, trench-barriers against crosstalk through the conductive silicon substrate, and high-quality subsurface spiral inductors.


This study evaluated short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production from purified fiber sources when fermented in vitro using pig cecal contents as an inoculum. Fiber sources of interest were inulin from chicory root (native and long-chain inulin with 90 and 98% fiber, respectively), pectin from citrus peel (high methoxyl pectin), resistant starch (native starch), potato starch (commercial grade), and β-glucan (β-1,3;β-1,6 yeast-derived). Cellulose and cornstarch were used as indigestible and highly digestible carbohydrates, respectively. Triplicate samples of substrates (2 g) were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis with pepsin and pancreatin for 6 h. Subsequently, hydrolyzed residues (200 mg) were incubated under anaerobic conditions at 39°C with 30 mL solution of cecal inoculum collected from 3 sows fed a standard commercial diet and buffered mineral solution. After 48 h of incubation, solutions from fermented samples were analyzed for pH, SCFA, and branched-chain fatty acids (BCFA) using gas-liquid chromatography. Enzymatic hydrolysis had no effect on digestion of β-glucan, but total SCFA concentration after fermentation was highest (26.13 mmol/g) followed by resistant starch (22.61 mmol/g) and potato starch (22.20 mmol/g) and was lowest for cellulose (13.91 mmol/g). In contrast, native inulin was highly digested during enzymatic hydrolysis, resulting in the lowest substrate available for fermentation (11.84% DM) and the highest pH (5.98). Enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation of resistant starch increased (P< 0.001) concentrations of acetate (0.60 mg/g), whereas potato starch and β-glucan yielded more butyrate (0.60 and 0.54 mg/g respectively), and β-glucan resulted in greater (P< 0.001) propionate concentrations (0.69 mg/g). Pectin resulted in the highest fermentation (82.38% DM disappearance) and the lowest pH (4.03) compared to the other fiber sources (P< 0.001) and yielded the lowest BCFA concentration (1.89 mM, P< 0.001). Results suggest that fermentation of resistant starch, potato starch, and β-glucan produced higher SCFA concentrations, while pectin resulted in a decreased pH of fermentation solution.


Frequency responses of seismic wave propagation can be obtained either by directly solving the frequency domain wave equations or by transforming the time domain wavefields using the Fourier transform. The former approach requires solving systems of linear equations, which becomes progressively difficult to tackle for larger scale models and for higher frequency components. On the contrary, the latter approach can be efficiently implemented using explicit time integration methods in conjunction with running summations as the computation progresses. Commonly used explicit time integration methods correspond to the truncated Taylor series approximations that can cause significant errors for large time steps. The rapid expansion method (REM) uses the Chebyshev expansion and offers an optimal solution to the second-order-in-time wave equations. When applying the Fourier transform to the time domain wavefield solution computed by the REM, we can derive a frequency response modeling formula that has the same form as the original time domain REM equation but with different summation coefficients. In particular, the summation coefficients for the frequency response modeling formula corresponds to the Fourier transform of those for the time domain modeling equation. As a result, we can directly compute frequency responses from the Chebyshev expansion polynomials rather than the time domain wavefield snapshots as do other time domain frequency response modeling methods. When combined with the pseudospectral method in space, this new frequency response modeling method can produce spectrally accurate results with high efficiency.


The e2v CCD236 is a swept charge device (SCD) designed as a soft X-ray detector for spectroscopy in the range 0.8 keV to 10 keV [1]. It benefits from improvements in design over the previous generation of SCD (the e2v CCD54) [2] to allow for increased detector area, a reduction in split X-ray events and improvements to radiation hardness [3]. To enable the suppression of surface dark current the device is clocked continuously, therefore there is no positional information making responsivity variations difficult to measure. This paper describes investigated techniques to achieve a responsivity map across the device using masking and XRF, and spot illumination from an organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The results of this technique should allow a deeper understanding of the device sensitivity and allow better data interpretation in SCD applications.


The UK Amniotomy Group 1994). The caesarean section rates in both the United Kingdom and the United States have risen despite different approaches to our management of labour. The adoption of more aggressive regimes of oxytocin administration in the United States may not be the answer to their problems, and it is likely that we may have to look elsewhere for the solution on both sides of the Atlantic.


This study investigated the monthly average dry, wet and total deposition fluxes in total-PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ in Wuhu and Bengbu, respectively. In addition, sensitivity analyses for both scavenging ratio and wet deposition of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ in Wuhu were also conducted. In 2015, the annual dry deposition fluxes, wet deposition fluxes, and total deposition fluxes were 6407, 1538, and 7945 pg WHO2005-TEQ m–2 year–1 in Wuhu, and were 7101, 1525, and 8626 pg WHO2005-TEQ m–2 year–1 in Bengbu. The annual scavenging ratios of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ were 30144 and 31267 in Wuhu and Bengbu, respectively. As to the sensitivity analysis for the scavenging ratio of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ, the most positive sensitivity parameters were PCDD/Fs concentration and PM10 concentration; the second positively correlated sensitivity parameter was PM2.5 concentration, then, followed by atmospheric temperature, which was negatively correlated; the last negative correlated sensitivity factor was the rainfall. In terms of the sensitivity analysis for wet deposition of total-PCDD/Fs-WHO2005-TEQ, the most positive sensitivity parameter was air temperature; the second positive or negative correlated sensitivity factor was atmospheric PCDD/Fs mass concentration, followed by PM2.5 and PM10 concentration, which were positively correlated; the last positive correlated sensitivity factor was the rainfall. This study led to greater insight into the parameters affecting the atmospheric wet deposition of PCDD/Fs, which will benefit development of appropriate control strategies for PCDD/Fs and provided useful information for the scientific community.


Latency and refresh rate are known to adversely affect human force perception in bilateral teleoperators and virtual environments using kinesthetic force feedback, motivating the use of sensory substitution of force. The purpose of this study is to quantify the effects of latency and refresh rate on force perception using sensory substitution by skin deformation feedback. A force-controlled skin deformation feedback device was attached to a 3-degree-of-freedom kinesthetic force feedback device used for position tracking and gravity support. A human participant study was conducted to determine the effects of latency and refresh rate on perceived stiffness and damping with skin deformation feedback. Participants compared two virtual objects: a comparison object with stiffness or damping that could be tuned by the participant, and a reference object with either added latency or reduced refresh rate. Participants modified the stiffness or damping of the tunable object until it resembled the stiffness or damping of the reference object. We found that added latency and reduced refresh rate both increased perceived stiffness but had no effect on perceived damping. Specifically, participants felt significantly different stiffness when the latency exceeded 300 ms and the refresh rate dropped below 16.6 Hz. The impact of latency and refresh rate on force perception via skin deformation feedback was significantly less than what has been previously shown for kinesthetic force feedback.


The results of pressure recording in patients with irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis and diverticulosis with pain were compared with the results in control subjects. The motility showed variable higher values in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. The motility was clearly higher in patients with diverticulosis and in patients with diverticulosis with pain. The patients with irritable bowel syndrome were younger than the patients in the two groups with diverticulosis. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the irritable bowel syndrome is an aetiologic factor in diverticulosis


Discrete time, 25 KTPI track-following servos were designed for magnetic hard disk drive dual stage actuators using the /spl mu/-synthesis methodology. The design methodology was tested on two microactuator models. The first is a model of a piezoelectrically actuated suspension, under development by Hutchinson Technology Incorporated. The second is a model of an electrostatically actuated MEMS microactuator, under development by the IBM Almaden Research Center. Low order controllers were successfully designed for both models, which achieved the prescribed robustness and performance requirements.


ABSTRACT Determination of relative proportions of quartz grains having different provenance-process histories is a major objective of Fourier grain shape analysis. Such "unmixing" is the key to tracing sediment dispersal pathways and evaluating the relative importance of potential sources. Unmixing is achieved using the Q-mode programs EXTENDED CABFAC-QMODEL on shape frequency distributions. The efficacy of these algorithms was tested using synthetic mixtures as well as an empirical data set. Results indicate that, when used optimally, relative proportions can be estimated with a precision of ± 3 percent.


Abstract. The morphology of deltas is determined by the spatial extent and variability of the geomorphic processes that shape them. While in some cases resilient, deltas are increasingly threatened by natural and anthropogenic forces, such as sea level rise and land use change, which can drastically alter the rates and patterns of sediment transport. Quantifying process patterns can improve our predictive understanding of how different zones within delta systems will respond to future change. Available remotely sensed imagery can help but appropriate tools are needed for pattern extraction and analysis. We present a method for extracting information about the nature and spatial extent of active geomorphic processes across deltas from ten parameters quantifying the geometry of each of 1239 islands and the channels around them using machine learning. The method consists of a two-step unsupervised machine learning algorithm that clusters islands into spatially continuous zones based on the ten morphological metrics extracted from remotely sensed imagery. By applying this method to the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna Delta, we find that the system can be divided into six major zones. Classification results show that active fluvial island construction and bar migration processes are limited to relatively narrow zones along the main Ganges River and Brahmaputra and Meghna corridors, whereas zones in the mature upper delta plain, with smaller fluvial distributary channels stand out as their own morphometric class. The classification also shows good correspondence with known gradients in the influence of tidal energy with distinct classes for islands in the backwater zone and in the purely tidally-controlled region of the delta. Islands at the delta front, under the mixed influence of tides, fluvial-estuarine construction, and local wave reworking have their own characteristic shape and channel configuration. The method does not distinguish between islands with embankments (polders) and natural islands in the nearby mangrove forest (Sundarbans), suggesting that human modifications have not yet altered the gross geometry of the islands beyond their previous natural morphology. These results demonstrate that machine learning and remotely sensed imagery are useful tools for identifying the spatial patterns of geomorphic processes across delta systems.


Interferometry is used in a wide variety of fields for the instrumentation and analysis of subjects and the environment. When light beams interfere, an interference fringe pattern is generated. Captured widefield interference patterns can be used to determine changes in the optical path length of interfering beams across a 2D area. Two interferometer schemes regularly implemented in modern systems include the homodyne interferometer, where light with the same optical frequency in used to generate static intensity fringe patterns, and the heterodyne interferometer, where light with different optical frequencies are used to generate a fringe pattern that is modulated at a frequency equal to the optical frequency difference (beat frequency). A widefield heterodyne system is not straightforward to bring into practice, however, it does offer some benefits over a comparable homodyne interferometer, such as direct phase interpretation and the suppression of low frequency background light in interferograms.

In this thesis, a widefield heterodyne interferometer system is presented. A custom prototype modulated light camera (MLC) chip was used to capture both homodyne and heterodyne fringe patterns. The 32x32 pixel camera is capable of continuously demodulating incident modulated light at frequencies between 100kHz and 17MHz. In the presented system, an error in the interferogram phase was determined to be Δφ = ±0.16radians (~9.1o). Comparisons between homodyne and heterodyne interferograms, captured using the MLC, are also presented.

With modifications to the system, an ultrastable widefield heterodyne interferometer system was implemented. The intention of this system was to eliminate the contribution of piston phase to a captured interferogram without the need for common path optics. In contrast to the standard heterodyne setup, the reference signal used in the demodulation process was derived from one of the pixels on-board the MLC, rather than from an external source. This new local reference signal tracks the common changes in the temporal phase detected by all the MLC's pixels, eliminating piston phase and substantially reducing the contributions of unwanted vibrations and microphonics from interferograms. To demonstrate this ultrastable system, it is incorporated into a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, where a vibration is induced onto an object arm mirror (using a mounted speaker) at various frequencies. Stable interferograms are captured with the mirror moving at up to 85mm/s at 62Hz (an optical path length of 220μm, or 350 wavelengths for λ = 633nm), however, this limit was the result of the complex motion in the mirror mount rather than the stability limit of the system. The system is shown to be insensitive to pure piston phase variations equivalent to an object velocity of over 3m/s.

As an application of the ultrastable system, a novel interferometer has been developed that captures the widefield fringe patterns generated by interfering two independent light sources, rather than by a single split source. The two separately stabilised HeNe lasers, constructed in the laboratory, produce light with a reasonably stable output frequency. Interfering two of these sources produce a heterodyne interference pattern with an unknown beat frequency. The beat frequency continuously varies because of the variation in the output frequency of each laser, but these stabilised lasers produce a beat frequency that drift by as little as 3MHz over 30 minutes. As the ultrastable system tracks changes in the temporal phase and instantaneous frequency of an incident fringe pattern, it can be used to track the variations in the modulation frequency generated by the fluctuations in the two separate lasers. The separation between the two lasers with regards to the images presented was about 35cm, but they can be separated by much larger amounts.


Abstract Grazing management has focused largely on promoting vegetation homogeneity through uniform distribution of grazing to minimize area in a pasture that is either heavily disturbed or undisturbed. An alternative management model that couples grazing and fire (i.e., patch burning) to promote heterogeneity argues that grazing and fire interact through a series of positive and negative feedbacks to cause a shifting mosaic of vegetation composition and structure across the landscape. We compared patch burning with traditional homogeneity-based management in tallgrass prairie to determine the influence of the two treatments on the aboveground invertebrate community. Patch burning resulted in a temporal flush of invertebrate biomass in patches transitional between unburned and patches burned in the current year. Total invertebrate mass was about 50% greater in these transitional patches within patch-burned pastures as compared to pastures under traditional, homogeneity-based management. Moreover, the mosaic of patches in patch-burned pastures contained a wider range of invertebrate biomass and greater abundance of some invertebrate orders than did the traditionally managed pastures. Patch burning provides habitat that meets requirements for a broad range of invertebrate species, suggesting the potential for patch burning to benefit other native animal assemblages in the food chain.


This study concerns factors influencing international tourists' length of overnight stay in Venice. The data are from a survey conducted by the Bank of Italy on international tourism. Both zero-truncated negative binomial (ZTNB) and ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions are estimated. In general, the estimates from ZTNB and OLS regressions are similar. The results suggest that age, returning directly to the country of residence and the summer season have a positive influence on the length of stay. On the other hand, international tourist expenditure and visiting other places than Venice have a negative impact on the length of stay. Moreover, the average length of overnight stays differs among nationalities and those who have visited Venice previously tend, on average, to stay longer. One finding is that visitors from North America and Australia stay longer and spend more than visitors coming from neighbouring countries.


Abstract: Two level non-regular designs are widely used in industrial experimentation for factor screening. At the initial stage of experimentation, it is not possible to know in advance which factors are active so it is necessary to choose the screening design that can accommodate as many models as possible. In this thesis, we have used D-efficiency criteria to evaluate projections onto three dimensions with and without blocking and onto four dimensions without blocking for some screening design with small number of runs. The investigated designs are the 12 run Plackett-Burman designs (PB), the Minimum Resolution IV 10 and 12 runs design, and the John's ¾ design in 12 run. Overall, 12 run PB designs came out as the preferable choice of design. Only in a few cases, it was out performed by the 12 run Minimum Resolution IV design.


News coverage of tobacco issues influences both individual behavior change and policy progression. Thus, media advocacy is increasingly recognized as important for promoting public health. Letters to the editor (LTE) are a basic form of media advocacy, serving to demonstrate community sentiment on a given issue. Such letters are yet to receive systematic analytic consideration. The authors conducted an ethnographic content analysis of LTE on tobacco issues from a sample of 11 Australian daily newspapers over a 3-year period (2001 to 2003, N = 361). They argue that letters are artifacts of active engagement in a public debate and note that various stakeholders adopt similar strategies to pursue their objectives. They illustrate how identifying personal and collective identities is crucial in the assertion of legitimacy of voice in LTEs. Better understanding is needed of both the particular issues that spark public engagement, and the salient rhetoric employed by advocates of disparate positions.


This work is motivated by a paper of Davenport and Schmidt, which treats the question of when Dirichlet's theorems on the rational approximation of one or of two irrationals can be improved and if so, by how much. We consider a generalization of this question in the simplest case of a single irrational but in the context of the geometry of numbers in $\mathbb R^2$, with the sup-norm replaced by a more general one. Results include sharp bounds for how much improvement is possible under various conditions. The proofs use semi-regular continued fractions that are characterized by a certain best approximation property determined by the norm.


From the beginning of his research, the Belgian physicist Diederik Aerts has shown great creativity in inventing a number of concrete machine-models that have played an important role in the development of general mathematical and conceptual formalisms for the description of the physical reality. These models can also be used to demystify much of the strangeness in the behavior of quantum entities, by allowing to have a peek at what's going on behind the "quantum scenes," during a measurement. In this author's view, the importance of these machine-models, and of the approaches they have originated, have been so far seriously underappreciated by the physics community, despite their success in clarifying many challenges of quantum physics. To fill this gap, and encourage a greater number of researchers to take cognizance of the important work of so-called Geneva-Brussels school, we describe and analyze in this paper two of Aerts' historical machine-models, whose operations are based on simple breakable elastic bands. The first one, called the spin quantum-machine, is able to replicate the quantum probabilities associated with the spin measurement of a spin-1/2 entity. The second one, called the connected vessels of water model (of which we shall present here an alternative version based on elastics) is able to violate Bell's inequality, as coincidence measurements on entangled states can do.


This study tried to explore what motivates international students to attain PhD graduation requirements in mathematics and sciences studies in a Chinese research university. The design of the study was qualitative and all collected data were analyzed by thematic analysis. The study explored the motive forces that enable international PhD students to persist and solve all challenging situations to fulfill PhD graduation requirements in mathematics and sciences studies. The internal and external motivations were found to be the main cause of their persistence to continue their studies until they meet their graduation requirements. International PhD students in mathematics and sciences reported to be challenged by the communication barriers, unfit social interaction, advanced software to be used and different high requirements to be attained in a research university. The discussions of findings considered other existing related studies and theories that help people to persist and achieve their desired goals and targets. Possible solutions to existing challenges and further research' areas were suggested in this study.


These days, the demand on searching underwater area by using underwater sensor network becomes higher. However, we cannot apply terrestrial network protocols directly for this challenge because of the high attenuation and absorption of water that affect radio and optical waves. In underwater environment, especially, it is important to save redundant control messages required to establish and maintain the network at maximum. In this paper, we propose an integration method between localization and routing which were discussed separately so far by simply extending control packets exchanged for localization. The target of this work is efficient setup of the network. Finally, we show the effectiveness of the proposed method by computer simulation.


Endogenous nitric oxide (NO) inhibits the contractile response to beta-adrenergic stimulation, but its effect on cardiac hypertrophy mediated by beta-adrenoceptors remains unclear. The present study was designed to determine whether overproduction of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) could inhibit cardiac hypertrophy induced by chronic isoproterenol (ISO) infusion (30mg/kg per day) using eNOS overexpressing (eNOS-Tg) mice and wild-type (WT) mice. In a separate group, WT mice were treated with ISO and hydralazine to decrease blood pressure to the same levels in eNOS-Tg mice. The eNOS expression, NOS activity, and cGMP levels in the heart were remarkably higher in eNOS-Tg mice than in WT mice. ISO increased both heart weight and the heart/body weight ratio, which were significantly attenuated in eNOS-Tg mice compared with WT or hydralazine-treated WT mice. Histological examination revealed that the extent of fibrosis was not significantly different among the 3 groups, and that the increase in myocyte size was more than 10% lower in eNOS-Tg than in the other groups. In addition, up-regulated expression of atrial natriuretic peptide mRNA associated with cardiac hypertrophy was significantly inhibited in eNOS-Tg mice during ISO infusion. These results indicate that endogenous NO might act as a negative modulator for the hypertrophic response to beta-adrenergic stimulation.


This paper presents a novel miniature module of orientation sensors for CubeSat nanosatellites. A high-precision sun sensor and a detector of the Earth horizon are located in one small module body. A two-axis digital sun sensor built into the orientation module is based on the registration of the sunspot formed on the matrix CMOS image sensor when the sun's rays pass through a pinhole in the front mask. A commercially available miniature array of infrared thermometers is used as the Earth horizon sensor. The paper is mainly devoted to the development of the sun sensor. For laboratory tests, a prototype of the orientation module was developed. Laboratory tests and sun sensor calibration confirmed the sun sensor field of view of 120° and made it possible to determine its angular resolution of ±0.015°. The final accuracy of determining the direction to the Sun by the sensor that was calibrated using the existing experimental setup is ±0.15° with 95% confidence. It is possible to improve the accuracy of the sun sensor by improving the experimental setup for its calibration.


Resistance of Helicobacter pylori to metronidazole often causes failure of commonly used combination drug treatment regimens. We determined the MICs of metronidazole and clarithromycin against 18 H. pylori strains from Peru using tetrazolium egg yolk (TEY) agar. The MIC results obtained by agar dilution with petri dishes were compared with the results found through a miniwell format. The results of the two protocols for measuring drug susceptibility differed by no more than 1 dilution in all cases. On TEY agar, bright-red H. pylori colonies were easy to identify against a yellow background. Sixty-one percent (11 of 18) of the strains were resistant to metronidazole (MIC, > or = 4 micrograms/ml) and 50% (9 of 18) were resistant to clarithromycin (MIC, > or = 0.125 micrograms/ml), whereas none (0 of 5) of the strains tested were resistant to tetracycline (MIC, > or = 1 micrograms/ml). Thus, the prevalence of metronidazole and clarithromycin resistance in Peru is higher than that in developed regions of the world. The miniwell plate with TEY agar allows easy H. pylori colony identification, requires about one-third less of the costly medium necessary for petri dish assaying, conserves space, and yields MICs equivalent to those with agar dilution in petri dishes.


A relatively recent development in the generative framework is the hypothesis that there exist in syntax silent elements (SEs) that have a semantic content that is recovered by accessing their phonologically overt counterparts (cf. Kayne 2005, 2012 and Her and Tsai 2015, among others). In this paper, we provide a careful assessment of the two SEs that have been argued by O'Neill (2011) and Homer (2015) to be present in the French (ne)...que exceptive construction; namely silent rien 'nothing' and silent autre 'other'. In doing so, we take to heart one of the main points made by Her and Tsai (2015) in relation to their criticism of Kayne (2012); namely, that for a proposed SE to be learnable, there cannot be any deviation in meaning from its overt counterpart. That is, the recoverability constraint assumed in the generative framework to be at work in, say, PF-deletion ellipsis, applies to all phonologically silent categories, including SEs. Additionally, as Her and Tsai argue, if semantic deviance between SEs and their phonologically overt counterparts were allowed, SEs would become 'empirically intractable'. We argue that while positing a silent n-word in (ne)...que is faithful to the recoverability constraint on silent categories, the alleged second SE, namely, silent autre 'other', is not semantically equivalent to its phonologically overt counterpart in several respects. As we demonstrate, however, if one assumes instead that its overt counterpart is plus 'more', the recoverability requirement is restored. This working paper is available in University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol25/iss1/4


: This paper focuses on the congruence between party positions and voter preferences directly after the "third wave" of democratization in Latin America, and on its historical origins. Latin America displays a wide variation in the degree to which parties are anchored in society and reflect specific social groups. I argue that party systems that experienced ideological polarization in the early 20th century were set on a programmatic track and today are likely to exhibit high levels of congruence in the representation of their voters' interests. In other contexts, where elites relied heavily on clientelistic resources to de-mobilize the citizenry when the suffrage was expanded in the first half of the 20th century, programmatic representation is likely to remain weak until the 1990s. These hypotheses are verified by combining the PELA-surveys of Latin American legislators with mass-level survey data. The first task is to discuss how congruence between voter preferences and party positions should be measured, which involves not only a number of methodological and conceptual issues, but also questions ultimately rooted in differing normative conceptions of representation. I then move on to assessing empirically what constitutes the relevant dimensions of conflict in seven Latin American countries, and measure the quality of representation along these dimensions. The results not only reveal important contrasts in the congruence of representation across the seven countries studied, but also that these differences can be explained rather well by historical patterns of party system formation. Abstract This paper focuses on the congruence between party positions and voter preferences directly after the "third wave" of democratization in Latin America, and on its historical origins. Latin America displays a wide variation in the degree to which parties are anchored in society and reflect specific social groups. I argue that party systems that experienced ideological polarization in the early 20 th century were set on a programmatic track and today are likely to exhibit high levels of congruence in the representation of their voters' interests. In other contexts, where elites relied heavily on clientelistic resources to de-mobilize the citizenry when the suffrage was expanded in the first half of the 20 th century, programmatic representation is likely to remain weak until the 1990s. These hypotheses are verified by combining the PELA-surveys of Latin American legislators with mass-level survey data. The first task is to discuss how congruence between voter preferences and party positions should be measured, which involves not only a number of methodological and conceptual issues, but also questions ultimately rooted in differing normative conceptions of representation. I then move on to assessing empirically what constitutes the relevant dimensions of conflict in seven Latin American countries, and measure the quality of representation along these dimensions. The results not only reveal important contrasts in the congruence of representation across the seven countries studied, but also that these differences can be explained rather well by historical patterns of party system formation.


A product of the nineteenth-century age of "isms," authoritarianism describes a worldview that promotes the establishment of a hierarchical relation whereby one person or group dominates and governs another without recourse to either physical force or persuasion. Authoritarianism is the advocacy of authority as a source or origin that compels voluntary obedience without question. A person has authority if he or she can command someone to do something without having to do anything other than issue a command; which is to say that the person who obeys recognizes the authority of the person who commands as legitimate or correct. The word authority comes from the Latin, auctoritas, which Cicero employs to characterize the distinctive influence of the Senate in ancient Rome: "Power is with the people, authority with the Senate." Whereas power (potestas) is political and relies on force or persuasion to command obedience, authority enjoys unequivocal obedience as a source beyond the contested realm of politics.


A South Korean naval vessel sank on 26 March 2010. A seismic event with magnitude (ML) of 1.5 was observed at the time of vessel-sinking. Seismic waveforms were collected from three local stations. The event origin time is refined based on the P and S arrival times at the stations. The calculated event location and time are close to the reported vessel-sinking location and time, suggesting that the observed seismic event is associated with the vessel-sinking. The amplitudes of S waves are comparable to those of P waves. Seismic waves coupled from acoustic waves are observed, providing additional constraints of epicentral distance and source type. The coupled acoustic waves have a dominant frequency of ∼32 Hz. The acoustic waves and high P=S amplitude ratios suggest an underwater explosion. The body- wave magnitude based on Pn is determined to be 1.46, which is consistent with the reported ML. P energy is dominant at around 8.5 Hz, with multiple frequencies of 17.7 and 34.6 Hz. The primary frequency suggests the water-column thickness in the source region to be 44 m, which agrees with the reported value.


Recent results obtained with MEMS phase shifters demonstrate that their performance is much better than GaAs phase shifters using either standard (switched-line, reflect-line) or distributed designs. The reliability of MEMS phase shifters is worse than of single switches since they employ 8-16 MEMS switches and do not tolerate a failure in any of the switches. On the other hand, a large phased array will still function properly, albeit with a slightly decreased efficiency and higher sidelobes if 3-4% of the phase shifters fail. Currently, the failure mechanisms of MEMS switches are being investigated and will greatly benefit the reliability of MEMS phase shifters. Also, the hermetic packaging of MEMS phase shifters is not straightforward, due to their relatively large size. It is for these reasons that the authors believe that MEMS phase shifters will be mostly used in satellite and defense applications in the next five years.


Recently, a team of physicians at the New York Downtown Hospital announced they had received approval from their institutional review board to attempt the first uterus transplant in the world from a cadaver donor. (1) Teams in the United Kingdom and Sweden have also publicly stated their interest in trying uterus transplantation in women. Transplantation always involves serious risks for recipients, stemming both from the solid organ transplant surgery itself and from the immunosuppressive drugs that transplant recipients will have to take for the rest of their lives. These risks, however, have been generally viewed as acceptable by surgeons, third-party payers, government regulators, and patients because the success rate is high and the benefit of receiving a heart, kidney, lung, or liver--continued life--is self-evident. The point of a uterus transplant would not be to save a life, however. Uterus transplants would be attempted only to improve the recipient's quality of life: they would allow her to give birth. This very different risk-benefit calculation raises many ethical questions that should be thoroughly aired and understood before the procedure is attempted. The Need Thousands of women in the United States cannot bear children. Disease, accidents, complications from earlier pregnancies, and congenital malformations can impair a woman's uterine function, and some women simply do not have a uterus at all. But not all women who cannot bear children are flatly barred from parenthood. In some states in the United States and in other nations, there has been for many years an active market in surrogate mothers--women who will "rent" their wombs for a fee to other women so they may bear children. Gestational surrogacy is not an option for all women who do not have a functioning uterus, however. It is illegal in some states and in some countries, and, even in states where it is legal, many ethical and legal uncertainties surround the practice. Some religions, including Islam, have specific prohibitions against surrogacy. It can also be very expensive, yet it may not even satisfy a woman's need to have her own baby. Many women wish to bear their children themselves as part of the parenting experience. Various cases of older women who have utilized donor embryos or donor sperm and egg to become pregnant, despite great risks to themselves and their potential children, show how strong this desire can be. (2) Women who want to experience pregnancy and those for whom gestational surrogacy is out of reach (whether for religious or financial reasons) form a group who are willing, even eager, to subject themselves to experimental uterine surgery. Their eagerness puts these women--and those seeking to recruit them--at risk of the "therapeutic misconception": they need to be frequently and emphatically reminded that the women who first receive uterus transplants are subjects in a research study, not patients getting a new treatment. It is unlikely that they will benefit by delivering a baby. Their motivation for participating ought to be that they will shed light on the safety and practicality of uterus transplants. The Experience So Far Only one known uterus transplant using a living donor has been attempted in humans. Physicians at the King Fahd Hospital in Saudi Arabia performed the operation in 2002. The donor was a forty-six-year-old woman, and the recipient was a twenty-six-year-old who had undergone a hysterectomy. Doctors had to remove the transplanted uterus after three months due to circulatory problems. (3) A number of attempts have also been made with different kinds of animals. The team of transplant researchers at New York Downtown Hospital has been experimenting with uterus transplants in pigs and rats for five years. The transplanted uteri reportedly survived and functioned for several months in the pigs, producing normal menstrual cycles. …


Abstract : The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) estimates that without a servicing mission to replace key components, the Hubble Space Telescope will cease scientific operations in 2008 instead of 2010. In January 2004, then-NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced that the space shuttle would no longer be used to service Hubble. He indicated that this decision was based primarily on safety concerns in the wake of the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003. Many critics, however, saw it as the result of the new Vision for Space Exploration, announced by President Bush in January 2004, which focuses NASA's priorities on human and robotic exploration of the solar system. Hubble supporters hope to reverse the decision and proceed with a shuttle servicing mission. Dr. Michael Griffin, who became NASA Administrator in April 2005, has stated that he will reassess whether to use the shuttle to service Hubble after there have been two successful post-Columbia shuttle flights. Problems during the first flight in July 2005 led to postponement of the second, which is now planned for July 2006. This report will be updated.


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Endoribonuclease E, 3'-5' exoribonuclease polynucleotide phosphorylase, RhlB RNA helicase and enolase form a multienzyme complex (the "degradosome") playing an important role in RNA processing and decay in Escherichia coli. Although a number of proteins that occasionally co-purify with the E. coli degradosome in non-stoichiometric amounts were initially viewed as insignificant constituents of this complex, recent studies suggest that, in fact, some of these copurifying proteins are involved in modulation of degradosome composition, activity or specificity during bacterial adaptation to changing environments. Here we briefly review these findings and discuss their implications for understanding the multifaceted mechanisms controlling degradosome functions in vivo.


Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis occur in immunocompetent persons, and as opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals. The causative organisms of giardiasis (Giardia lamblia) and cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium parvum) have markedly different life cycles, but currently available evidence suggests that intestinal antibody plays a major part in host protection against both parasites. In the case of G. lamblia, the evidence points to a role for intestinal antitrophozoite antibody in blocking adherence of trophozoites to intestinal epithelium, with consequent removal of trophozoites from the intestine by peristalsis. Similarly, recent work supports the view that C. parvum infection can be prevented or interrupted by antibody that binds to Cryptosporidium life cycle stages present in the intestinal lumen (sporozoites and merozoites). Molecular characterization of G. lamblia and C. parvum immunodominant antigens would facilitate future studies aimed at determining whether vaccination against giardiasis or cryptosporidiosis is feasible.


Thermal management is increasingly becoming a bottleneck for a variety of high power density applications such as integrated circuits, solar cells, microprocessors, and energy conversion devices. The performance and reliability of these devices are usually limited by the rate at which heat can be removed from the device footprint, which averages well above 100 W/cm2 (locally this heat flux can exceed 1000 W/cm2). State-of-the-art air cooling strategies which utilize the sensible heat are insufficient at these large heat fluxes. As a result, novel thermal management solutions such as via thin-film evaporation that utilize the latent heat of vaporization of a fluid are needed. The high latent heat of vaporization associated with typical liquid-vapor phase change phenomena allows significant heat transfer with small temperature rise.In this work, we demonstrate a promising thermal management approach where square arrays of cylindrical micropillar arrays are used for thin-film evaporation. The microstructures control the liquid film thickness and the associated thermal resistance in addition to maintaining a continuous liquid supply via the capillary pumping mechanism. When the capillary-induced liquid supply mechanism cannot deliver sufficient liquid for phase change heat transfer, the critical heat flux is reached and dryout occurs. This capillary limitation on thin-film evaporation was experimentally investigated by fabricating well-defined silicon micropillar arrays using standard contact photolithography and deep reactive ion etching. A thin film resistive heater and thermal sensors were integrated on the back side of the test sample using e-beam evaporation and acetone lift-off. The experiments were carried out in a controlled environmental chamber maintained at the water saturation pressure of ≈3.5 kPa and ≈25 °C. We demonstrated significantly higher heat dissipation capability in excess of 100 W/cm2. These preliminary results suggest the potential of thin-film evaporation from microstructured surfaces for advanced thermal management applications.© 2013 ASME


Indigenous people are over-represented as professional players in many sporting codes, and recently a trend has developed whereby Indigenous athletes are choosing to play internationally for their heritage nations as opposed to the top-tier countries they reside in. With regard to rugby league and rugby union, many of these athletes are Pasifika who have had minimal exposure to their heritage nations, being born and raised in, for example, Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia or the United States. Nevertheless, this cohort is increasingly choosing to play for their heritage nations, despite the substantial cut in pay and available resources this decision entails. Throughout this commentary, these athletes are not viewed as mere individuals. Instead, we acknowledge their relationality—that is, the fact that they are intertwined in collective networks of family and nationhood. As researchers from the Pasifika community, we explore the factors which contribute to Pasifika athletes choosing to play for their heritage nations. By analysing the rise of Mate Ma'a Tonga, Tonga's national rugby league team, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural pride—the connection to family and heritage nation—that drives these athletes to play for this team, and the subsequent implications for wellbeing and performance.


Joint femtosecond fluorescence upconversion experiments and theoretical calculations provide a hitherto unattained degree of characterization and understanding of the mutagenic etheno adduct 3,N4-etheno-2′-deoxycytidine (εdC) excited state relaxation. This endogenously formed lesion is attracting great interest because of its ubiquity in human tissues and its highly mutagenic properties. The εdC fluorescence is modified with respect to that of the canonical base dC, with a 3-fold increased lifetime and quantum yield at neutral pH. This behavior is amplified upon protonation of the etheno ring (εdCH+). Quantum mechanical calculations show that the lowest energy state ππ*1 is responsible for the fluorescence and that the main nonradiative decay pathway to the ground state goes through an ethene-like conical intersection, involving the out-of-plane motion of the C5 and C6 substituents. This conical intersection is lower in energy than the ππ* state (ππ*1) minimum, but a sizable energy barrier explains the increase of εdC and εdCH+ fluorescence lifetimes with respect to that of dC.


It is sometimes difficult to install air conditioning systems to control room temperature. One good example is during historic building restoration, where national or local laws may forbid installing air ducts or even just water pipes and heat exchangers. In such situation airconditioning based on thermoelectricity may play an important role despite of a lower cooling performance compared with gas compression cycles. The proposal is to install window glasses with embedded thermoelectric elements that will transfer heat through the glass in order to heat or to cool the room. After some previous experiences with small (20x20cm) prototypes, our team has developed and tested a full-size prototype of active thermal window (ATW) that is presented in this paper. The new prototype has been installed in a window frame (100x100cm) and would be able to generate up to 150W of cooling power while glass transparency is decreased in less than 20%. The system includes automatic control in order to adjust voltage and current according to the measured room temperature, hence reducing electrical power consumption during normal use. Installation of the proposed air-conditioning system is as simple as replacing the current windows by the active version, in which just a pair of electric wires is required to run it in cooling or heating mode. This project has been partially supported by the Spanish government through project no. BIA2004-06001.


Increasing studies suggest that gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pre-gestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) may be associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations (MCM) in the offspring. To determine whether GDM or PGDM is associated with an increased risk of congenital malformations, we performed a meta-analysis of cohort studies. We systematically searched the PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library (from January, 1990 to October, 2014) and reviewed the reference lists of included papers to search for additional studies. Meta-analysis tools were used to summarize results. Summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with random-effects models or fixed-effects models. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. A total of 21 cohort studies were included in the meta-analysis. Analysis of all studies showed that both PGDM and GDM were associated with an increased risk of MCM (RR=2.44, 95% CI=1.92-3.10, I2=78.3%, p=0.342; RR=1.11, 95% CI=1.11-1.27, I2=9.9%, p<0.001, respectively). There is a slightly higher risk of major congenital malformations in women with GDM than in the reference group. However, this risk is much lower than in women with PGDM. Further large-scale prospective cohort studies are needed to test the effect of PGDM and GDM on specific congenital malformations risk.


In this paper, the proportional synchronization between drive system and response system is achieved by using the concept of generalized synchronization. The phase space of all variables in response system can be expanded and compressed flexibly. Meanwhile, the 6-D hyperchaotic chua's circuit is considered as an illustrative example to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Furthermore, focusing on the shortcoming of the long transient behavior during the process of synchronization, a feedback method is adopted to shorten the transitional time of synchronization, which will provide an effective way for speeding up the transmitting velocity of code in chaotic multiple access communication.


HISTORY
A 17-year-old boy with chronic myelogenous leukemia received a bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from an unrelated donor. 22 days before BMT he had been HBs antigen and anti-HBc negative. 68 days after BMT he was tested again and showed a "seroconversion" for hepatitis B (anti-HBc positive, anti-HBs 59 IU/l), raising the suspicion of a posttransfusion hepatitis. The patient had not received any blood transfusion in the 6 months before BMT. From day 0 to day + 68 he received four red blood cell concentrates and 18 platelet concentrates. The bone marrow donor had been HBs ag and anti-HBc negative.

INVESTIGATIONS
A stored serum sample of the recipient obtained on day -8 was available and proved to be negative for HBsAg and Anti-HBc IgM, but positive for anti-HBc and anti-HBs. A serum sample from day -22 was negative for all these parameters.

DIAGNOSIS
These results can be explained by the administration of 17.5 g of a polyvalent immunoglobulin (Ig) concentrate for CMV prophylaxis on day -9: anti-HBc and anti-HBs (1814 IU/l) were found in the lot that the patient had received. Nine further doses of immunoglobulin concentrates were given up to day + 68.

COURSE
Four months after the last administration of Ig concentrates, the patient was negative for HBs ag, anti-HBc and anti-HBs.

CONCLUSION
Ig concentrates contain not only those antibodies, which are given to a patient for treatment, but also all other antibodies contained in the donor plasma pool. Thus administration of Ig concentrates can cause a "false-positive" hepatitis B serology by passive transfer of these antibodies. Such an artificial seroconversion may also lead to a false suspicion of a transfusion transmitted hepatitis B infection.


BACKGROUND
Extensor pollicis longus (EPL) tendon injury following the dorsal approach to elastic stable intramedullary nailing (ESIN) of the radius has been reported in a growing number of cases in the literature. This study includes 5 new cases from our institution as well as a comprehensive review of previously reported cases from the literature.

METHODS
We conducted a retrospective chart review of all patients undergoing ESIN between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2013 at our institution. Those patients with an EPL injury or rupture were identified and clinical data collected included operative technique, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes data. In addition, we performed a systematic review of the literature using Pubmed MEDLINE database, the Chochrane database, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. A total of 28 cases of EPL injury following ESIN of the radius were identified in the literature and the relevant data were extracted from those studies.

RESULTS
All 33 pediatric cases of EPL tendon injury occurred after entry to the radial canal was obtained by the dorsal approach to ESIN. EPL injury was diagnosed an average of 10 weeks following the index procedure. Extensor indicis pollicis to EPL transfer was performed in 13 patients, tendon release/lysis of adhesions in 5, EPL repair in 2, EPL graft reconstruction from palmaris longus tendon in 1, 3 patients refused further intervention, and treatment was unreported in 7 cases. By 12-month follow-up, all operatively treated patients had a good functional outcome with near anatomic extension at the thumb interphalangeal joint, no pain, and no further complication.

CONCLUSIONS
EPL tendon injury was found to be a complication unique to the dorsal entry approach for ESIN of the radius. The lateral approach appears to offer a safer alternative with regard to the EPL tendon. We suggest that physicians consider the risk of EPL tendon injury when planning for ESIN of the radius, and make an effort to avoid direct injury when using a dorsal approach.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level III-therapeutic.


While sleep research has focused primarily on aspects of the immediate physical environment and behavioral factors, a growing body of evidence suggests that broader social determinants may play an important role in sleep insufficiency. Yet public health education efforts for sleep largely address "sleep hygiene", with an emphasis on information for getting a good night's rest. The Flint Sleep Project employed community-based-participatory research methods to try to understand more about the sleep experiences of residents of an urban community reporting sleep insufficiency. The academic and community partner developed recruitment materials with community residents. The focus group protocol also utilized community input. Seven focus groups, with a total of 70 participants, were conducted. When asked about their view of causes for poor sleep, participants identified a range of stressors reflective of social determinants. Economic, safety, and future insecurity were the dominant themes emerging across all seven discussions. Participants also expressed feeling a lack of control over important aspects of their lives. Interventions to improve sleep are more likely to be effective if they include the perspectives of the community. A community-based approach offers opportunities for community empowerment and engagement that can improve efforts at sleep health promotion.


The previous security system was PCI way which has many difficulties for PC novices to use. Moreover the security programs in use are mostly unverified ones as they are using cracks, and are exposed to attacks such as hackers and viruses. Therefore this thesis describes to design the security system of Twofish cryptographic algorithm using USB, which it can be used in general-purpose computers and users can handle it with ease. Users can easily use the security system by using this USB and it is applicable to various security systems that Twofish cryptographic algorithm used in the security system by having variable key length. Also the efficiency of the system can be enhanced as it can perform both encryption and decryption and it has a benefit of downsizing hardware.


Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a quick, minimally invasive procedure for evaluation of breast tumors. The Scarff-Bloom-Richardson (SBR) grade on histological sections is a well-established tool to guide selection of adjuvant systemic therapy. Grade evaluation is possible on cytology smears to avoid and minimize the morbidity associated with overtreatment of lower grade tumors. Aim: The aim was to test the hypothesis whether breast FNA from the peripheral portion of the lesion is representative of Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grade on histopathology as compared to FNA from the central portion. Materials and Methods: Fine-needle aspirates and subsequent tissue specimens from 45 women with ductal carcinoma (not otherwise specified) were studied. FNAs were performed under ultrasound guidance from the central as well as the peripheral third of the lesion for each case avoiding areas of necrosis/calcification. The SBR grading was compared on alcohol fixed aspirates and tissue sections for each case. Results: Comparative analysis of SBR grade on aspirates from the peripheral portion and histopathology by the Pearson chi-square test (χ2 =78.00) showed that it was statistically significant (P<0.001) with 93% concordance. Lower mitotic score on aspirates from the peripheral portion was observed in only 4 out of 45 (9%) cases. The results of the Pearson chi-square test (χ2 = 75.824) with statistically significant (P=0.000). Conclusion: This prospective study shows that FNA smears from the peripheral portion of the lesion are representative of the grading performed on the corresponding histopathological sections. It is possible to score and grade by SBR system on FNA smears.


In this article, we present a patient diagnosed synchronously with metastatic male breast cancer and prostate cancer. This is a 63-year-old male and recent immigrant from Nigeria, who sought medical attention for progressively worsening of shortness of breath and acute progression of a chronic right breast mass. An invasive breast carcinoma was diagnosed by the core biopsy of the right breast mass. Within 2 months of his breast cancer diagnosis, the patient also was diagnosed with prostate adenocarcinoma after being worked up for urinary retention. By presenting this patient with a synchronous diagnosis with metastatic male breast cancer and prostate cancer, history of chronic right breast mass, and gynecomastia, we speculate on possible cancer etiologies and risk factors.