From the conception of the smart grid, a lot of attention has been paid to intelligent monitoring of the smart grid and monitoring of the power system. Condition monitoring of equipment such as transformer health has also been treated as priority together with distribution insulator monitoring, monitoring the applications for the smart grid technology, for example, locating the fault in the smart grid, monitoring of commercial electronic devices and monitoring for wide-area were under scrutiny. Monitoring in power system monitoring is associated with state estimation, seams between state estimates and instrument transformer calibration for all-PMU estimators. Next is the protection of the power system which involves the security and the capacity to be independent, monitoring the attributes of apparent impedances of relays, back-up zone supervision, loss-of-field adaption, load shedding using intelligent systems, islanding using intelligent systems and incorporation of schemes for system integrity protection. Two-way communication systems' deployment is one of the distinctive mark of the smart grid. The smart can gather and transfer monitored data from the power system elements to operators of the system using the smart grid monitoring system and form a two-way communication system via the grid power plant and the end user of electricity. The smart grid implementation is a gradual process to substitute the conventional power systems' elements built on the basis of existing systems and building brand new systems which would be very costly. Smart grid planning involves not only the consideration of these creative technologies but also respecting the interest of all the stakeholders involved. Decision making requires to be executed to analyze each smart grid component and its cost before investment and consequently deploying into the real grid. Considering the above mentioned issues, this project surveys an overall monitoring and communication structure. Information optimization is one the key strategies to obtain the benefits of the smart grid.


A nationwide advocacy for improving health-care quality--including the dimensions of efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction--is rapidly growing. This initiative is evolving in an environment of total quality management (TQM) and continuous quality improvement (CQI). Quality assessment and improvement (QI) is a quality management program through which laboratories ensure the quality of their health-care services by continually monitoring, evaluating, and resolving opportunities for improvement. Using a systematic, FOCUS-PDCA approach, the Mohs histology laboratory implemented improvement of the quality management of frozen-section slide production and turnaround time (TAT). The Mohs laboratory achieved improved technical process performance, faster TAT time, more efficacious patient care support, and increased customer satisfaction. Using a comprehensive quality assessment and improvement process can overwhelm quality management assets if it is not approached in a systematic, prioritized manner. However, when judiciously used, the process can become a key instrument for ensuring and improving high-quality laboratory services in an efficient manner.


This volume considers the impact that changing family norms have had on the responsibilities that the law allocates to people in family relationships. Contributions are drawn from a wide variety of jurisdictions in which scholars, lawyers, judges and policy-makers have been trying to discern what the appropriate correlation should be between the responsibilities that people undertake in family settings and the law that regulates family responsibilities. Part I looks at the changes that have occurred in adult relationships and what they have done for our sense of the family responsibilities that adults take for one another. Part II reflects on the changing nature of the parental relationship in order to reconsider the way in which changing family structures affect the responsibilities we think people raising children should have. The third part brings the rights discourse that has dominated jurisprudence for much of the last fifty years into the discussion of family transformation and the responsibilities to which it gives rise. In the final section the authors reflect on the difficulties of trying to resolve the meaning of responsibility in a world of changing families. The collection brings together some of the most eminent and imaginative scholars and judges working in this area. It will be a valuable resource for all those interested in the legal regulation of the transforming family.


Objective To identify trends in management and analyse outcomes of patients undergoing interventions for infected pancreatic necrosis with specific reference to factors predictive of mortality. Method A cross sectional study of patients undergoing intervention for IPN between 2009-2018 were performed at two of the largest hepatopancreatobiliary centres in Malaysia. Final outcome measure of complete resolution was compared against mortality (D). Head to head comparison of percutaneous catheter drainage alone versus Videoscopic Assisted Retroperitoneal Debridement was performed based on final predictive factor on mortality. Results A total number of 65 patients with IPN were identified. Data from 59/65 patients were analysed for final outcome of death (D) versus complete resolution. 6 patients were omitted due to incomplete data precluding proper analysis. Overall mortality rate was 25% (15/59 patients). 8 patients had no interventions performed but were included in the analysis. Percutaneous catheter drainage alone and Videoscopic Assisted Retroperitoneal Debridement were the 2 commonest interventions performed (34/55). Multivariable analysis predictive of mortality included persistent organ failure requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission (OR= 336.425, CI 95% =3.722-999.999 p value= 0.0113) and when PCD alone was employed compared to VARD (OR = 48.923, CI 95% = 1.888-999.999, p-value = 0.019). Conclusion Our present study shows that both persistent organ failure requiring ICU admission and Percutaneous Catheter Drainage alone when compared to a minimally invasive step up approach (in the form of Video assisted Retroperitoneal Debridement) are predictive factors of mortality in patients undergoing intervention for IPN. A step up approach is necessary to prevent mortality in patients with infected pancreatic necrosis requiring intervention while PCD without debridement results in significant mortality. Received December 10th, 2020 Accepted January 28th, 2020


Force-feedback information is usful for micro-assembly system to enhence its contact sensing capability. On the basis of this view, a 3D force-feedback assembly method is proposed in this paper. It uses coordinate conversion to combine ideal pose data with pose error vector for assembly control. A kind of simple recurrent neural network (SRNN), whose weights is modified by using Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm, is applied to establish the mapping relationship between pose error vector and 6-DOF contact force/toque feedback form sensor. Experiments are carried out on backlash slider and base parts assembly to verify the performance of this method. It is proved that SRNN based on LM algorithm has good convergence ability and good fitting effects. Also,pose error can be accurately estimated and assembly searching times can be greatly reduced.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the status of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and other measures of immunity and inflammation in chronic heart failure (CHF) in the elderly.

DESIGN
Comparative survey study of subjects with heart failure and age-matched controls.

SETTINGS
University affiliated tertiary care VA Medical Center, Heart Failure Clinic.

PATIENTS
Twenty men with New York Class II and III heart failure and 17 age-matched controls.

INTERVENTIONS
None.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Levels of lymphocyte mitogenesis, TNF, natural killer (NK) cell activity, elastase-alpha 1-antitrypsin (E/alpha) and cross-linked fibrin D-dimers (XDP).

RESULTS
TNF levels (p = 0.27), NK activity (p = 0.56), and lymphocyte mitogenesis (p = 0.67) were similar in patients and controls. E/alpha levels were somewhat lower in CHF patients (p = 0.05) and XDP were similar (p = 0.59). However, TNF levels were significantly related to NK activity and to E/alpha activity in elderly men with heart failure but not controls. XDP were positively related to NK in heart failure patients but not controls.

CONCLUSION
TNF and other measures of immune function and inflammation do not appear to be significantly elevated in elderly patients with heart failure of moderate severity. However, significant relationships exist between TNF, NK activity, XDP and E/alpha in the heart failure patients only, suggesting that immune activation and subclinical inflammation does exist in these patients.


Predation risk can alter female mating decisions because the costs of mate searching and selecting attractive mates increase when predators are present. In response to predators, females have been found to plastically adjust mate preference within species, but little is known about how predators alter sexual isolation and hybridization among species. We tested the effects of predator exposure on sexual isolation between benthic and limnetic threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spp.). Female discrimination against heterospecific mates was measured before and after females experienced a simulated attack by a trout predator or a control exposure to a harmless object. In the absence of predators, females showed increased aversion to heterospecifics over time. We found that predator exposure made females less discriminating and precluded this learned aversion to heterospecifics. Benthic and limnetic males differ in coloration, and predator exposure also affected sexual isolation by weakening female preferences for colourful males. Predator effects on sexual selection were also tested but predators had few effects on female choosiness among conspecific mates. Our results suggest that predation risk may disrupt the cognitive processes associated with mate choice and lead to fluctuations in the strength of sexual isolation between species.


Southern California's dry climate and fire-prone vegetation make the area vulnerable to extreme wildfire conditions. These conditions are exacerbated by Santa Ana weather patterns, which are characterized by very low humidity and gusty winds blowing in from the deserts. We present an approach using unsupervised learning to model and detect Santa Ana conditions based on sensor measurements from weather stations. Our approach uses cluster analysis to capture weather patterns specific to the region surrounding each weather station. A method is provided to automatically determine the Santa Ana cluster for each cluster model using dynamic, data-driven criteria. The resulting cluster models are applied to real-time sensor measurements to provide location-specific and time-specific detection of Santa Ana conditions. The Spark distributed platform is leveraged to scale the system to large datasets from multiple weather stations, and the Kepler workflow system is used to provide a GUI-based, easy-to-use interface to the underlying system. Results of testing our approach on an existing network of weather stations are presented. Our scalability experiment shows that the approach can process up to one million live sensor measurements in less than one minute on one machine. The proposed system can be used to aid in wildfire management and prevention by focusing firefighting efforts on regions with increased wildfire risks.


Background: Most post-mortem studies on prostate gland are limited to malignant prostatic tumours. The possibilities of finding other histological types of prostatic diseases were worth exploring bearing in mind that Nodular hyperplasia and cancer are of epidemiological importance. Aim: This study aims to determine the pattern of prostatic diseases at post-mortem among individuals not previously diagnosed with prostate disease and who died from other causes. Materials and Methods: Prostate glands at post-mortem were obtained from individuals who died from non-prostate related causes, weighed, fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, processed and histologically analysed. Biodata and clinical diagnoses were obtained using clinical case notes and post-mortem register. Results: The population under study were 86 adult males whose ages ranged from 30 to 85 years with a mean age of 52.71 ± 13.10 years. Ninety-three percent (93% / 80 cases) of the study Original Research Article Dele and Akhator; JAMMR, 25(11): 1-13, 2018; Article no.JAMMR.40271 2 population were afflicted with prostatic diseases at post-mortem. The most common lesion was nodular hyperplasia. Latent or occult adenocarcinoma followed this, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and Schistosomiasis in decreasing order of frequency. The frequency of occult adenocarcinoma, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and nodular hyperplasia increased significantly with age (P ≤ 0.05). The peak age for the development of occult adenocarcinoma, PIN and nodular hyperplasia was in the 6, 8 and 6 decades respectively. Conclusion: Clinically concealed prostatic diseases are common findings at post-mortem. There is a significant increase (P ≤ 0.05) in the frequency of covert prostatic diseases (nodular hyperplasia, PIN and adenocarcinoma) with advancing age. Convert prostatic diseases especially nodular hyperplasia and prostatic carcinoma have the potentials of contributing significantly to the burden of health care and the cost of receiving treatment if the life expectancy improves in our environment in particular and Nigeria in general.


The Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) is a network localized mobility management protocol that is independent of global mobility management protocols. In a single mobility domain (LMD), the mobile node (MN) is not involved in any IP mobility-related signaling and uses only its PMIPv6 home address for all its communication. Subsequently, when the MN moves into another LMD, the MN must change its PMIPv6 home address. In such a circumstance, host-based mobility signaling is activated. Thus, the nature of the network-based mobility of the PMIPv6 cannot be retained. Additionally, if the MN does not support global mobility, it cannot maintain communication with its correspondent node (CN). In this paper, we propose a solution for global mobility support in PMIPv6 networks, called G-PMIPv6 that allows current communication sessions of a MN without mobility protocol stacks to be maintained, even when the MN moves into another LMD. Thus, G-PMIPv6 retains the advantages of the PMIPv6 for global mobility support. We then evaluate and compare network performance between our proposed solution and PMIPv6.


Vascular calcification (VC) is prevalent in patients suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD). High phosphate levels promote VC by inducing abnormalities in mineral and bone metabolism. Previously, we demonstrated that magnesium (Mg2+) prevents inorganic phosphate- (Pi-) induced VC in human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (HAVSMC). As microRNAs (miR) modulate gene expression, we investigated the role of miR-29b, -30b, -125b, -133a, -143, and -204 in the protective effect of Mg2+ on VC. HAVSMC were cultured in the presence of 3 mM Pi with or without 2 mM Mg2+ chloride. Total RNA was extracted after 4 h, 24 h, day 3, day 7, and day 10. miR-30b, -133a, and -143 were downregulated during the time course of Pi-induced VC, whereas the addition of Mg2+ restored (miR-30b) or improved (miR-133a, miR-143) their expression. The expression of specific targets Smad1 and Osterix was significantly increased in the presence of Pi and restored by coincubation with Mg2+. As miR-30b, miR-133a, and miR-143 are negatively regulated by Pi and restored by Mg2+ with a congruent modulation of their known targets Runx2, Smad1, and Osterix, our results provide a potential mechanistic explanation of the observed upregulation of these master switches of osteogenesis during the course of VC.


Disturbances of higher nervous activity (experimental neurosis) are attended with morphological changes of blood circulation in the sensorimotor area of the cerebral cortex, corresponding to distonic vascular disorders, as well as with hypoxic and neuroglial changes. Observed changes in the nervous tissue also reflect adaptive and defensive mechanisms of the brain (in rabbits).


We investigate the gas content and baryonic Tully-Fisher relationship for extremely low luminosity dwarf galaxies in the absolute magnitude range -13.5 > Mr - 5 log h70 > -16. The sample is selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and consists of 101 galaxies for which we have obtained follow-up H I observations using the Arecibo Observatory and Green Bank Telescope. This represents the largest homogeneous sample of dwarf galaxies at low luminosities with well-measured H I and optical properties. The sample spans a range of environments, from dense groups to truly isolated galaxies. The average neutral gas fraction is ⟨fgas⟩ = 0.6, significantly exceeding that of typical gas-rich galaxies at higher luminosities. Dwarf galaxies are therefore less efficient at turning gas into stars over their lifetimes. The strong environmental dependence of the gas fraction distribution demonstrates that while internal processes can reduce the gas fractions to roughly fgas = 0.4, external processes are required to fully remove gas from a dwarf galaxy. The average rotational velocity of our sample is ⟨vrot⟩ = ⟨W20i,t/2⟩ = 50 km s-1, based on H I line widths. In this luminosity range, the optical Tully-Fisher relationship has significantly more scatter compared to the baryonic relationship. By including more massive galaxies from the literature, we fit a baryonic Tully-Fisher slope of Mbary ∝ v. This slope compares well with CDM models that assume an equal baryon-to-dark matter ratio at all masses. While gas stripping or other processes may modify the baryon-to-dark matter ratio for dwarfs in the densest environments, the majority of dwarf galaxies in our sample have not preferentially lost significant baryonic mass relative to more massive galaxies.


The continuous advancement in information and communication technologies transforms the media and its audiences. The new media environment has provided the audiences with a great control power over the media consumption process. Interaction and participation are the connatural features of new media, therefore this environment offers brand new opportunities to the audience regarding content creation and distribution. This environment also reshaped the interaction between consumers and brands, and enabled active participation of consumers. Therefore, consumer-brand relationships have become more complex and interactive than ever before. The phenomenon of consumer generated ads (CGA), which is the main focus of this study, is one of the most remarkable examples of high level consumer participation to brand-related content creation. This phenomenon has attracted more and more attention from scholars in recent years. As of the second half of 2000s, the academy directed its attention to CGA and a limited number of studies have been covered since then. Most of those previous studies' findings have shown that disclosing consumer source may lead to less favorable ad evaluations. This study is conducted in Turkey and employed both experimental design and semi-structured interviews. Unlike the previous studies, this study has shown that disclosing consumer source leads to more favorable ad evaluations. Besides, another significant finding of this study shows that consumer generated ad (CGA) is perceived to be "creative work of an amateur" rather than being a "persuasion attempt" and "communication of the brand".


Antidepressants that inhibit the reuptake of serotonin (5-HT) are particularly effective in the treatment of panic disorder. Evidence suggests that increased 5-HT availability is important for the anti-panic effect of serotonergic drugs and in maintaining the response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Tianeptine is an antidepressant with 5-HT reuptake enhancing properties (i.e. the opposite pharmacological profile to that of SSRIs). Therefore, no effect would be expected in panic disorder. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of tianeptine with that of paroxetine, a selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor with demonstrated efficacy in panic disorder, on the vulnerability to a laboratory panic challenge in panic disorder patients. Twenty panic disorder patients were treated with either tianeptine or paroxetine for a period of 6 weeks, in a randomized, double-blind, separate group design. The reaction to a 35% CO2 panic challenge was assessed at baseline and after treatment. Improvement on several clinical scales was also monitored. Tianeptine, as well as paroxetine, showed a significant reduction in vulnerability to the 35% CO2 panic challenge. In spite of their opposite influence on 5-HT uptake, both tianeptine and paroxetine appeared to reduce the reaction to the panic challenge. These results raise questions about the necessity of 5-HT uptake for the therapeutic efficacy of anti-panic drugs.


Following the events of September 11th 2001, understanding the performance of multistorey buildings during large-scale fires has assumed greater importance. These events have highlighted the possibility of large uncontrolled fires lasting for several hours (WTC-7). Owners of high-rise buildings are seeking assurance that integrity can be maintained during similar elevated temperature situations. This work is part of a much larger study to evaluate the performance of high-rise steel-framed structures in the event of large uncontrolled fires, using primarily a computational approach. Given a building and its operating conditions, different fire scenarios are established. The choice of scenarios is established on the basis of probability of occurrence and also as a function of damage potential. Computational fluid dynamics models are used to predict critical conditions within pre-determined areas of the building. Emphasis is given to establish a proper thermal boundary condition for the structural elements. A three dimensional numerical model of the structure provides the basis for a structural finite element analysis to be carried out under combined static and thermal loading. Full investigation of the temperatures and stresses generated on structural members due to the design fire chosen are considered. Particular attention to detail is given to those members that are thought likely to contribute to total collapse through localised failure. This is done by combining CFD codes with finite element models. This paper will present a selection of results from the aforementioned investigation, with particular emphasis on the conditions that cause total collapse for the chosen case study.


BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Cavernous malformations (CMs) account for approximately 5% to 10% of all CNS vascular malformations, and intraventricular CMs (IVCMs) are a rare subtype, accounting for 2.5% to 10.8% of all intracranial CMs. IVCMs can expand rapidly, leading to compression of adjacent structures, intraventricular hemorrhage, and obstructive hydrocephalus. Diagnosis is challenging because it can mimic a variety of other lesions. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 71-year-old man presented after a fall because of imbalance. MRI of the head showed a homogenously enhancing 2-cm mass in the posterior aspect of the right lateral ventricle, with blood layering in the right occipital horn and adjacent parietal edema and leptomeningeal enhancement, as well as a pituitary lesion. DISCUSSION: The patient underwent a right parietal craniotomy for resection of the mass. The ventricle was accessed through a transsulcal approach through the intraparietal sulcus using a tubular retractor system. The mass was arising from the choroid plexus and dissected free in a piecemeal fashion. Postoperative imaging confirmed gross total resection, and the patient had an uneventful recovery. CONCLUSION: Here, we present the first case of a choroid plexus IVCM removed using a tubular retractor system. We demonstrate that this is a safe and effective approach for this rare lesion given the minimal traction on brain parenchyma and enhanced visualization of a deep-seated cavernoma in the lateral ventricle.


BACKGROUND
The legalization of cannabis is expanding across the USA, and its use has increased significantly, including among Veterans. Although the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) abides by the classification of cannabis as a Schedule I substance, it recently recommended that clinicians discuss cannabis with their patients. Little is known about VHA clinicians' perspectives on and knowledge of cannabis.

OBJECTIVE
We sought to better understand clinicians' attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and communication with patients regarding cannabis.

METHODS
We conducted semi-structured phone interviews with 14 VHA clinicians. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using qualitative thematic analysis.

RESULTS
VA clinicians described ambivalence towards cannabis for therapeutic purposes and identified several factors that inhibit conversations about cannabis use with their patients including discomfort with the lack of product standardization; lack of research examining the effectiveness and risks of cannabis use; unfamiliarity with pharmacology, formulations, and dosing of cannabis; and uncertainty regarding VHA policy. Clinicians had differing views on cannabis in the context of the opioid crisis.

CONCLUSIONS
VA clinicians face challenges in navigating the topic of medical cannabis. Educational materials about cannabis products, dose and harms would be helpful to clinicians.


Although deep learning have revolutionized abdominal multi-organ segmentation, models often struggle with generalization due to training on small, specific datasets. With the recent emergence of large-scale datasets, some important questions arise: \textbf{Can models trained on these datasets generalize well on different ones? If yes/no, how to further improve their generalizability?} To address these questions, we introduce A-Eval, a benchmark for the cross-dataset Evaluation ('Eval') of Abdominal ('A') multi-organ segmentation. We employ training sets from four large-scale public datasets: FLARE22, AMOS, WORD, and TotalSegmentator, each providing extensive labels for abdominal multi-organ segmentation. For evaluation, we incorporate the validation sets from these datasets along with the training set from the BTCV dataset, forming a robust benchmark comprising five distinct datasets. We evaluate the generalizability of various models using the A-Eval benchmark, with a focus on diverse data usage scenarios: training on individual datasets independently, utilizing unlabeled data via pseudo-labeling, mixing different modalities, and joint training across all available datasets. Additionally, we explore the impact of model sizes on cross-dataset generalizability. Through these analyses, we underline the importance of effective data usage in enhancing models' generalization capabilities, offering valuable insights for assembling large-scale datasets and improving training strategies. The code and pre-trained models are available at \href{https://github.com/uni-medical/A-Eval}{https://github.com/uni-medical/A-Eval}.


We analyze the incentives to disclose intermediate research results during the course of a patent contest. Despite knowledge spillovers, the leading innovator sometimes discloses to signal commitment to the project, and so potentially inducing a rival's exit. Surprisingly, when development costs are low the leading innovator does not need to disclose to induce the same strategic deterrence effect as that which arises from disclosure. Taking into account wasteful duplication of R&D effort, a patent office can increase welfare by choosing the probability of granting a contested patent and so altering the proportion of rivals that the leading innovator deters.


OBJECTIVES
Sexual and gender minoritized people (SGM) of color experience stigma unique to their intersection of identities, such as racism from SGM and heterosexism from people of color (POC) in their same racial/ethnic group. SGM POC who experience enacted stigma, like microaggressions, have been found to have poorer mental health outcomes. SGM identity authenticity and connections to the SGM community have been associated with better mental health. We sought to test if intersectional enacted stigma, identity authenticity, community connectedness, and the interactions between enacted stigma and authenticity and community were associated with mental health in assigned female at birth (AFAB) SGM young adults of color.

METHOD
Data come from 341 racial/ethnic minoritized SGM-AFAB (Mage = 21.23, SD = 3.80). Multivariate linear regressions tested main effects of intersectional enacted stigma (heterosexism from POC and racism from SGM) and authenticity and community on mental health, as well as interaction effects on mental health.

RESULTS
SGM-AFAB POC who experienced more heterosexism from POC reported more anxiety and depression symptoms. Greater connection to the SGM community was associated with fewer anxiety and depression symptoms. Heterosexism from POC and community connection interacted such that SGM-AFAB who experienced less heterosexism from POC reported fewer mental health symptoms if they were more connected to the SGM community, but SGM-AFAB who experienced more heterosexism did not benefit from stronger community connection.

CONCLUSIONS
Heterosexism from other POC may put SGM POC at higher exposure for negative mental health outcomes and reduce the mental health benefits of a stronger connection to the SGM community. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


Nature-inspired, bridged polycyclic molecules share low similarity with currently available drugs, containing preferentially planar and/or achiral moieties. This "Escape from Flatland" scenario, aimed at exploring pharmacological properties of atypical molecular scaffolds, finds interest in synthetic routes leading to tridimensional-shaped molecules. Herein we report on the synthesis of N-bridged cyclopenta[a]indene derivatives, achieved through microwave-assisted thermal rearrangement of allene 3-benzazecines with high diastereoselectivity. The biological evaluation disclosed selective inhibition of human acetylcholinesterase or butyrylcholinesterase, depending on the substitution around the molecular core, which was rationalized by means of docking simulations. The most potent BChE inhibitor 31 was effective in neuroprotection from glutamatergic excitotoxicity and displayed low intrinsic cytotoxicity and good brain penetration. Overall, compound 31 and its close congeners 34 and 35 acted as multitarget agents addressing different biological events involved in neurodegeneration, particularly in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.


Monkeypox virus is divided into Congo Basin and West African strains. The virulence and pathophysiology of two strains, Zr-599 (a Congo Basin monkeypox virus) and Liberia (a West African monkeypox virus), were evaluated in non-human primates. Four monkeys were infected by the subcutaneous (SC) and two by the intranasal (IN) inoculation routes for Zr-599 and Liberia at a dose of 10(6) p.f.u. One monkey in the Liberia/SC group was demonstrated to be co-infected with Gram-positive cocci and was excluded from analyses. Infections in three of the four Zr-599/SC monkeys and in one of the three Liberia/SC monkeys were fatal. Virus genome levels in blood in the Zr-599/SC monkeys were approximately 10 times higher than those in the Liberia/SC monkeys. Zr-599 affected respiratory, genito-urinary and gastrointestinal tract organs more severely than Liberia. Zr-599 was more virulent than Liberia and one of the factors might be the difference in organ tropism.


Several simple spreading laws have been proposed to allow estimates of underwater sound levels to be made without the complication of numerical modelling. Underwater acoustic propagation depends in an involved way on a number of geometric and environmental parameters, including source, receiver and water depth, and water column and seabed acoustic properties. As a result, there are many scenarios in which the use of these formulae lead to large errors. However, there would be a place for a formula that could provide an upper limit on received sound levels in a particular situation as this would enable sound sources that had a very low probability of posing an environmental hazard to be quickly eliminated from further consideration. Such a formula is proposed in this paper and its bounds of applicability are explored by comparison with numerical model results for several scenarios.


SUMMARY Studies of immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and human growth hormone (HGH) secretion were undertaken in a subject with chronic hypoglycemia associated with hepatoma. Fasting IRI concentrations were below 3 μU./ml. at glucose concentrations of 30 mg./100 ml. IRI secretion was not stimulated by acutely administered glucose, tolbutamide, glucagon or arginine. IRI concentrations rose after tolbutamide when plasma glucose was raised to 100 mg./100 ml. by sustained glucose infusion. Fasting ILA (muscle, adipose) levels were not elevated. Fasting HGH concentrations were below 5 mμg./ml.; secretion was stimulated by arginine despite hypoglycemia. During glucose administration, HGH concentrations rose to 45 mμg./ml. as FFA levels fell from 2,250 to 233 μEq./L. Estimated total glucose utilization rate was high (7.5 mg./kg./hr. at a plasma glucose concentration of 100 mg./100 ml.). Conclusions (1) Glucose, or some metabolic product is required for human insulin secretion; (2) HGH secretion after arginine is not inhibited at low glucose concentrations; (3) FFA may exert an inhibitory role in HGH regulation; (4) Hypoglycemia in our subject with hepatoma was associated with increased glucose utilization, not with hyper-insulinism.


Solar photovoltaic based power and energy systems are gaining recognition due to the availability and high solar insolation in most parts of India and the inherent advantage of direct conversion to power unlike a solar thermal system. Solar photovoltaic technology, its application in remote areas, its advantage as a stand alone system, environmentally friendly and inexhaustible source are some of the positive features of this wonderful source of nature. However, the limitations of day and night cycles and high costs in comparison to other sources of energy hinder its ready acceptance. More and more research is called for in the area of solar photovoltaics along with the discovery of alternative materials with higher efficiency of conversion, reduced panel areas per kW and effective, economic and durable storage systems for sustained production of power. This source alone, if costs can be reduced substantially, can meet the entire requirement of the country. Solar photovoltaics can also be utilised for bulk power for grid interconnected applications. It has a good scope for utilisation on the hybrid system, for pumping of drinking water and remote area power systems. This paper discusses all the features of the solar photovoltaic system, its cost comparison with other sources, its merits and demerits as of now, Government policy support, R&D efforts in India and strategies for commercialisation.


Cholecystokinin (CCK)‐induced pancreatic growth in mice involves parallel increases in DNA and protein. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway regulates mRNA translation and its activation is implicated in growth of various tissues. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether mTOR activation is required for pancreatic growth in a mouse model of increased endogenous CCK release. In mice fed chow containing the synthetic protease inhibitor camostat, protein synthetic rates and phosphorylation of two downstream targets of mTOR, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (4E‐BP1) and the ribosomal protein S6 (S6), increased in comparison with fasted controls. The camostat‐induced increases in protein synthesis and 4E‐BP1 and S6 phosphorylation were almost totally abolished by administration of the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin 1 h prior to camostat feeding. In contrast, the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and JNK and the expression of the early response genes c‐jun, c‐fos, ATF3 and egr‐1 induced by camostat feeding were not affected by rapamycin. In mice fed camostat for 7 days, the ratio of pancreatic to body weight increased by 143%, but when rapamycin was administered daily this was reduced to a 22% increase. Changes in pancreatic mass were paralleled by protein and DNA content following camostat feeding and rapamycin administration. Moreover, while BrdU incorporation, an indicator of DNA synthesis, was increased to 448% of control values after 2 days of camostat feeding, rapamycin administration completely inhibited this increase. We conclude that the mTOR signalling pathway is required for CCK‐induced cell division and pancreatic growth.


The Iron Lion Design Challenge is a design-build-test event held annualy at the Penn State University Park campus. In addition to providing hands-on experiences for students, it is an opportunity for faculty to pilot new strategies for teaching design practice to students. Over the last six years two important lessons have emerged: 1) prototyping very early in the process improves subjective outcomes as does 2) evolving these prototypes through iteration. This was observed across skill-level, time available to participants, background, and the nature of the project.


Introduction Parenteral Nutrition (PN) is lifesaving therapy for children with intestinal failure (IF). Long-term home PN patients depend on commercially prepared intravenous multivitamin and trace element (TE) formulations. Patients should have regular assessment of micronutrient and vitamin status to avoid deficiencies. Our aim is to analyse micronutrient levels in our home PN cohort. Method We performed a retrospective review including children with IF who had been on home PN for at least 1 year. Demographic and clinical data were collected, including serum concentration of copper, selenium, iron, zinc, vitamin A, E, D, B12, folate and ferritin. Patients were categorised as deficient or normal, based on the mean value assessed in the last 6 months. Deficiencies were defined according to our laboratory reference range. The most commonly used TE, fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins supplementation formulations were Peditrace®, Vitalipid® and Solivito®, prescribed according to ESPGHAN1guidelines, with adjustments as needed depending on each patient's requirement. Micronutrient enteral supplementation was also recorded. Results 30 patients (16 male), median age 7.65 years (2.18–16.71), were included. The indications for home PN were gastrointestinal motility disorders (11 patients), short bowel syndrome (SBS, 8 cases), congenital enteropathies (6 cases), eosinophilic enteropathies (3 cases) and protein-losing enteropathy (2 cases). Median time on home PN was 3.85 years (0.67–12.08), ranging from 2 to 7 days a week, ussually infused over 12 h overnight. Twenty-two patients (73.3%) had at least one TE deficiency, 43.3% (13 patients) had at least one vitamin deficiency, and 26.7% (8 patients) had multiple micronutrient dificiencies. The most common micronutrient deficiencies identified were copper (46.7%), vitamin A (43.3%), selenium (20%), ferritin (20%) and zinc (10%). The higher rates of TE deficiencies were found among patientes with diagnosis of congenital enteropathies (83.3%) and SBS (75%). No morbidity associated with these deficiencies was observed. Vitamin E, D, B12 and folate levels were all normal. Eight patients were receiving enteral vitamin supplementation in addition to PN vitamins. Conclusion Although laboratory results outside the normal range were common in children with IF on home PN, there were no significant clinical abnormalities. The most frequent findings were suboptimal copper, vitamin A, selenium and ferritin levels. Our results emphasise the critical importance of routine surveillance of TE and vitamin levels and the need to prescribe home PN according to individual requirements. Disclosure of interest None Declared. Reference Koletzko B, et al. Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2005;41


INTRODUCTION The formation of Acute Care Surgery services leads to decreased time to treatment and improved outcomes for emergency general surgery (EGS) patients. However, minimal work has focused on the ideal care delivery system and team structure. We hypothesize that the implementation of a dedicated EGS team (separate from trauma and surgical critical care), with EGS-specific protocols and dedicated operating room (OR) time, will increase productivity and improve mortality. METHODS This is a retrospective review of financial and EGS registry data from fiscal year (FY) 12 to FY15. Data are from an academic, university-based EGS team composed of two acute care surgery attending surgeons, advanced practitioners (APs), residents, and a fellow. In FY12, processes were implemented to standardize paging of consults, patient sign-out with attending surgeons' and APs' participation, clinical/billing protocols, OR availability, and quality improvement. Outcomes included relative value units (RVUs), surgical case volume, charges/payments, and number of patient encounters. The secondary outcome was mortality. The &khgr;2 test was used to compare mortality, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS Total patient encounters increased from 6,723 in FY 12 to 9,238 in FY 15 (+37%). Relative value units increased from 18,422 in FY 12 to 25,314 in FY 15 (+37%). Charges increased by 76% and payments increased by 60% from FY 12 to FY 15. Charges per encounter increased from $461 in FY 12 to $591 in FY 15 (+28%) Additionally, both inpatient and surgical case loads increased. Mortality remained stable throughout the study period (FY 12, 4.5%; FY 13, 5.2%; FY 14, 5.3%; FY 15, 3.2%: p = 0.177). CONCLUSIONS Implementation of dedicated OR time, defined EGS team structure, practice protocols, and active attending surgeons'/APs' participation was temporally related to increased case volume, patients seen, and revenue, while mortality remained unchanged. Further study is necessary to establish the translatability of these data to other systems. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Economic/decision, level III.


BACKGROUND: Hyperreninemia after cardiac surgery is associated with cardiovascular instability. Angiotensin II (AT-II) could potentially attenuate hyperreninemia while maintaining target blood pressure. This study assesses the association between AT-II usage and renin levels in cardiac surgery patients with postoperative hyperreninemia and vasoplegia. METHODS: Between September 2020 and March 2021, we retrospectively identified 40 cardiac surgery patients with high Δ-renin levels (4 hours after cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB] minus preoperative levels) (defined as higher than 3.7 µU/mL) and vasopressor use who received a vasopressor therapy with either AT-II or continued norepinephrine alone. The primary outcome was the renin plasma level at 12 hours after surgery, adjusted by the renin plasma level at 4 hours after surgery. RESULTS: Overall, the median renin plasma concentration increased from a baseline with median of 44.3 µU/mL (Q1–Q3, 14.6–155.5) to 188.6 µU/mL (Q1–Q3, 29.8–379.0) 4 hours after CPB. High Δ-renin (difference between postoperation and preoperation) patients (higher than 3.7 µU/mL) were then treated with norepinephrine alone (median dose of 3.25 mg [Q1–Q3, 1.00–4.75]) or with additional AT-II (norepinephrine dose: 1.33 mg [Q1–Q3, 0.78–2.04]; AT-II dose: 0.34 mg [Q1–Q3, 0.29–0.78]). At 12 hours after surgery, AT-II patients had lower renin levels than standard of care patients (71.7 µU/mL [Q1–Q3, 21.9–211.4] vs 130.6 µU/mL [Q1–Q3, 62.9–317.0]; P = .034 adjusting for the renin plasma level at 4 hours after surgery). CONCLUSIONS: In cardiac surgery patients with hypotonia and postoperative high Δ-renin levels, AT-II was associated with reduced renin plasma levels for at 12 hours and significantly decreased norepinephrine use, while norepinephrine alone was associated with increased renin levels. Further studies of AT-II in cardiac surgery appear justified.


Research on conflict resolution suggests that the significant risk of conflict recurrence in intrastate conflicts is much reduced by political settlements that 'resolve the issues at stake' between parties to the conflict, and that in conflicts involving grievances about distribution of natural resource revenues, such settlements should include natural resource wealth-sharing arrangements. This article shows that the Bougainville conflict origins involved far more complexity than natural resource revenue distribution grievances, and that the conflict itself then generated new sources of division and conflict, the same being true of both the peace process and the process to implement the Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA). As a result, the BPA addresses many more issues than natural resource-related grievances. Such considerations make it difficult to attribute lack of conflict recurrence to particular factors in the BPA. While the BPA provisions on wealth-sharing address relations between the Papua New Guinea National Government and Bougainville, moves by the Autonomous Bougainville Government to explore possible resumption of large-scale mining has generated a new political economy in Bougainville, contributing to new tensions amongst Bougainvilleans.


The purpose of this research is to analyze the issue of marital rape provided in the law on the elimination of family violence - Law No. 23 of 2004th- and the draft of book of Indonesian criminal law, compared to Islamic jurisprudence through the views of scholars in the case. The research found the following results: there is difference in meaning of term of rape between Islamic jurisprudence and Indonesian Law. The term of rape in Islamic Jurisprudence formed from two elements: forbidden intercourse and coercion. While the rape in Indonesian Law is based on the absence of choice in intercourse, and its applicable to married and unmarried persons. Although the Islamic Juriprudence and Indonesian Law have same views in prohibition any actions of violence againts women, however the difference between two laws in the concept of the rape has implications in type of punishmen toward this crime.


X-parameters are developed as an extension of S-parameters capable of modelling non-linear devices driven by large signals. They are suitable for devices having only radio frequency (RF) and DC ports. In a polar power amplifier (PA), phase and envelope of the input modulated signal are applied at separate ports and the envelope port is neither an RF nor a DC port. As a result, X-parameters may fail to characterise the effect of the envelope port excitation and consequently the polar PA. This study introduces a solution to the problem for a commercial polar PA. In this solution, the RF-phase path is modelled by X-parameters and the envelope path of the polar PA is simulated by a low-pass filter. The solution can be applied to a group of polar PAs who have the similar topology and design as the one in this work. Modulated signals with different channel bandwidths were applied to the model of the polar PA for simulations. The simulated error vector magnitude (EVM) and adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) were compared with the measured data to validate the model. The maximum differences between the simulated and measured EVM and ACPR are less than 2% point and 3 dB, respectively.


Education is more than the acquisition of knowledge. There are people in society who have acquired expertise but lack the character and skills to impact their community effectively. This situation has distorted national unity and lowered economic growth. "African graduates, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, are victims of frequent ethnic conflicts, corruption, nepotism and industries dependent on outdated technology with low returns and low productivity" (Kigotho 2019). Many students graduate from higher ed institutions to cause unrest in their country because of a lack of skills and morals.  To revolutionize the education sector in Sub-Saharan Africa requires an integration of biblical principles in the teaching and learning process to build skills and character for national advancement. The approach used in this paper is library research through critical analysis of empirical studies and library resources, both primary and secondary sources, to describe the phenomenon under study


: Normal human monocytes, based on appearance after Romanowsky-type staining, have been considered to be a homogenous class of mononuclear leukocytes. Cytochemical studies, however, indicate that these cells are markedly heterogenous with respect to certain hydrolytic and oxidative lysosomal enzymes and to a lesser extent show variability in cytoplasmic carbohydrate and ribonucleic acid content. Individual monocytes were found to vary most widely in non-specific esterase activity and least in acid phosphatase activity. Variation in monocyte peroxidase activity was intermediate between these extremes. Using a cytochemical "scoring" technic, younger adults were found to have higher mean monocyte non-specific esterase scores than older adults. No significant age or sex differences were found for peroxidase or acid phosphatase activity. Furthermore, the overall activities of these monocyte enzymes in healthy adults, as estimated by intensity of staining, were unrelated to one another. Using consecutive double staining technics, individual monocytes were also found to vary in their content of these biochemical consituents. A statistically inverse relationship was found in individual monocytes between their nonspecific esterase and acid phosphatase activities (r = -0.68). Analysis of other combinations studied showed only random distribution with no significant correlations. These findings emphasize the biochemical individuality of circulating monocytes and the variations noted probably reflect differences in number and composition of lysosomes.


The simultaneous flooding scheduling is popular for Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) Belief Propagation (BP) decoding. Non-simultaneous sequential scheduling is superior to the flooding scheduling, and asynchronous dynamic scheduling has better FER performance than the sequential scheduling. However, all strategies encounter the trouble of locating the error variable node. This paper proposes an informed dynamic scheduling strategy, which utilizes the instability of the variable node and the residual of the variable-to-check message to locate the message to be updated first. The informed dynamic scheduling overcomes the trapping sets effectively. This paper also designs an informed dynamic scheduling strategy with adaptivity to pass more messages in parallel, which effectively postpones the influence of cycles in the Tanner graph. In some sense, the strategy lengthens cycles. Simulation results show that the two informed dynamic scheduling strategies outperform other algorithms.


So far, historians working on the two sides of what used to be a divided Europe have had considerable contacts but they have operated – at least in the realm of international history and the history of European integration – with largely separate agendas and networks. The authors of this special-issue introduction have both come to work on the increasing interaction between East and West in the framework of détente, and feel that the time is ripe for a scholarly analysis of the concepts, strategies and approaches of the Socialist regimes to pan-European co-operation in the long 1970s. Through a collaborative research effort, specialists on specific Socialist countries and historians of Western Europe (and particularly of its integrative experience) are brought together in this special issue of the European Review of History to bridge the existing gap between two parallel strands of scholarship. Their close collaboration is the key to the conceptual development of a broader view of pan-European co-operation against the background of global economic trends.


Purpose: To accumulate actually delivered dose based on daily CTs to evaluate patient repositioning techniques and adaptive strategies for head and neck cancerradiotherapy.Methods: Daily CTs acquired for 28 Head and Neck cancer patients using a CT‐on‐Rails (CTVision, Siemens) were analyzed. These patients were treated with IMRT plans, designed with a 5 mm CTV to PTV margin with prescription in the range of 60–70Gy. Daily plans were reconstructed using a planning system (XiO, CMS) based on daily CTs with iso‐center shifted according to three clinically used alignment techniques: skin markers (BB), soft‐tissue and bone. The daily dose distributions were then deformed using an in‐house deformable registration tool and mapped on to the planning CTs. The cumulative delivered dose distributions with three alignment techniques were compared with planning doses.Results: Although patient repositioning shifts are different between three alignment methods, the accumulated doses for GTV and PTV are comparable. The differences in PTV mean doses between the delivered (accumulative) and the planned values are within 2% for all three alignment methods. However, the accumulated mean doses for parotid glands and salivary glands are different by as much as 20% from their planned values. The soft‐tissue alignment leads to smaller differences. Conclusion: The actual delivered doses for head and neck radiotherapy are calculated by deforming daily CTs to the planning CT for three clinically used patient alignment techniques. While the delivered accumulative doses in targets are similar to the planned doses, the delivered doses to critical structures are different and these differences depend on the alignment rection.


Galaxy-scale strong gravitational lensing is not only a valuable probe of the dark matter distribution of massive galaxies, but can also provide valuable cosmological constraints, either by studying the population of strong lenses or by measuring time delays in lensed quasars. Due to the rarity of galaxy-scale strongly lensed systems, fast and reliable automated lens finding methods will be essential in the era of large surveys such as LSST, Euclid, and WFIRST. To tackle this challenge, we introduce CMU DeepLens, a new fully automated galaxy-galaxy lens finding method based on Deep Learning. This supervised machine learning approach does not require any tuning after the training step which only requires realistic image simulations of strongly lensed systems. We train and validate our model on a set of 20,000 LSST-like mock observations including a range of lensed systems of various sizes and signal-to-noise ratios (S/N). We find on our simulated data set that for a rejection rate of non-lenses of 99%, a completeness of 90% can be achieved for lenses with Einstein radii larger than 1.4" and S/N larger than 20 on individual $g$-band LSST exposures. Finally, we emphasize the importance of realistically complex simulations for training such machine learning methods by demonstrating that the performance of models of significantly different complexities cannot be distinguished on simpler simulations. We make our code publicly available at this https URL .


Objectives: The aim of this work was to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the health technology assessment (HTA) concept in the scientific literature through a scientometric approach. Methods: A literature search was conducted, by selecting publications, as well as news from the media, containing "health technology assessment" in their title, abstracts, or keywords. We then undertook a bibliometric and network analysis on the corpus of 2,865 publications thus obtained. Results: Since a first publication in 1978, interest in HTA remained marginal until a turning point in the late 1980s, when growth of the number of publications took off alongside the creation of the U.K.'s NICE agency. Since then, publications have spread across several journals. The ranking of the organizations that publish such articles does not reflect any hegemonic position. However, HTA-related scientific production is strongly concentrated in Commonwealth and Nordic countries. Despite its transnational aspects, research on HTA has been framed within a small number of scientific networks and by a few opinion leaders. Conclusions: The "career" of the HTA concept may be seen as a scientific-knowledge based institutionalization of a public policy. To succeed in a country, HTA first needs scientific prerequisites, such as an organized scientific community working on the health sector and health services. Then, it appears that the recognition of this research by decision makers plays a key role in the development of the field.


Involvement of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and nitric oxide (NO) in neurally induced relaxation was examined in smooth muscle from rat colon. Relaxation induced by field stimulation or radial stretch (i.e., descending relaxation phase of the peristaltic reflex) was accompanied by VIP release and NO production. NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA) abolished NO production in both preparations but only partly inhibited VIP release (45 +/- 8% at 8 Hz and 59 +/- 10% at 10 g stretch) and relaxation (62 +/- 5% and 35 +/- 6%); the effect of L-NNA was reversed by L-arginine but not D-arginine. The pattern implied that NO production normally acts to enhance VIP release. In addition, VIP induced relaxation and stimulated NO production in muscle strips and isolated colonic muscle cells: L-NNA abolished NO production but only partly inhibited relaxation (58 +/- 6%); oxyhemoglobin had no effect. The effect of L-NNA on relaxation was reversed by L-arginine but not by D-arginine. The protein kinase A inhibitor (R)-p-adenosine 3',5'-cyclic phosphorothioate [(R)-p-cAMPS] and the protein kinase G inhibitor KT5823 inhibited VIP-induced relaxation by 76 +/- 5 and 35 +/- 4%, respectively; a combination of the two inhibitors abolished relaxation. (R)-p-cAMPS blocked the direct relaxant effect of VIP, whereas KT5823 blocked the indirect effect of VIP mediated by NO.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


:  According to Wright's minimalism, a notion of truth neutral with respect to realism and antirealism can be built out of the notion of warranted assertibility and a set of a priori platitudes among which the Equivalence Schema has a prominent role. Wright believes that the debate about realism and antirealism will be properly and fruitfully developed if both parties accept the conceptual framework of minimalism. In this paper, I show that this conceptual framework commits the minimalist to the realist thesis that there are mind-independent propositions; with the consequence that minimalism is not neutral to realism and antirealism. I suggest that Wright could avert this conclusion if he rejected the customary interpretation of the Equivalence Schema according to which this Schema applies to propositions. This would however render minimalism unpalatable to philosophers who welcome the traditional reading of the Equivalence Schema and believe that propositions are bearers of truth.


: An HLA-B7 antiserum showed cross-reactivity with HLA-B8, Bw41, a split of B40 (Bw60) and possibly Bw22 and B27, thus detecting one or more determinants on these antigens similar to an antigenic site on HLA-B7 usually not detected by other B7-antisera. The cross-reactions were demonstrable by adsorption of antibodies on lymphocytes followed by release at 37 degrees C, which enabled the detection of weak and otherwise hardly detectable reactivity. Released antibody molecules were detected in two different assays: (1) Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) with HLA-B7 positive target cells (fluorochromasia micro ADCC). (2) Inhibition of MLC reactions with B7 positive stimulator cells. The B7-antibody, as detected in both assays, was released in decreasing activity from Bw41 greater than B8 greater than Bw60 much greater than B7 greater than (B27 = Bw22) positive cells. The order of sensitivity in which the various antigens were detected in ADCC assays in which the antiserum activity was measured directly on various target cells was different, viz. HLA-B7 greater than Bw60 = B27 greater than Bw41 greater than B8. Bw22 was not detected. Absorption studies demonstrated that HLA-B7 positive cells bound more B7 antibody activity than B8 positive cells. However, antibody molecules bound to B7 positive cells were mainly released as immune complexes, which could be dissociated by treatment with acid. In contrast, B7 antibody molecules bound to B8 positive cells were released as free antibody molecules. This marked difference in shedding properties further explained the previously described B7 specific unresponsiveness in MLC of HLA-B8 (and also Bw41) positive responder cells after sensitization with the B7 antiserum (de Rooij et al. 1980).


The Hopfield network has been applied to solve optimization problems over decades. However, it still has many limitations in accomplishing this task. Most of them are inherited from the optimization algorithms it implements. The computation of a Hopfield network, defined by a set of difference equations, can easily be trapped into one local optimum or another, sensitive to initial conditions, perturbations, and neuron update orders. It doesn't know how long it would take to converge, as well as if the final solution is a global optimum, or not. In this paper, we present a Hopfield network with a new set of difference equations to fix those problems. The difference equations directly implement a new powerful optimization algorithm.


Most of the mass of everyday objects resides in atomic nuclei/ the total of the electrons' mass adds up to less than one part in a thousand. The nuclei are composed of nucleons---protons and neutrons---whose nuclear binding energy, though tremendous on a human scale, is small compared to their rest energy. The nucleons are, in turn, composites of massless gluons and nearly massless quarks. It is the energy of these confined objects, via $M=E/c^2$, that is responsible for everyday mass. This article discusses the physics of this mechanism and the role of lattice gauge theory in establishing its connection to quantum chromodynamics.


Three sensitive, accurate and validated spectrophotometric methods has been developed for estimation of ezetimibe (EZT)in pure and dosage forms. The proposed methods is based on oxidation reaction of EZT with a known excess potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as an oxidimetric reagent in acid medium followed by determination of unreacted oxidant by adding a fixed amount of amaranth (AM), orange G (OG) andmethylene blue (MB) dyes followed by measuring the absorbance at 520, 480and664 nm, respectively.The experimental conditions affecting the reaction were studied and optimized. The beer's law was obeyed in the concentration ranges of 2.0-15, 2.0-10, and 2.0-12 μg mL-1 using AM, OG and MB dye, respectively with a correlation coefficient ≥ 0.9992. The calculated molar absorptivity values are 1.7012 × 104, 3.0117 × 104and 1.5321 × 104L mol-1 cm-1 using AM, MB and OG dyes, respectively. The limits of detection and quantification were reported. Intra-day and inter-day accuracy and precision of the methods have been evaluated. No interference was observed from the additives and the applicability of the method was tested by analyzing the pharmaceutical preparations containing the investigated drug. The proposed methods were successfully applied to the assay of EZT in tablet preparations and the results were statistically compared with those of the reported method by applying Student's t-test and F-test. The reliability of the methods was further ascertained by performing recovery studies using the standard addition method.


Like many fire-adapted ecosystems, decades of fire exclusion policy in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills natural regions of southern Alberta, Canada are raising concern over the loss of ecological integrity. Departure from historical conditions is evaluated using median fire return intervals (MdFRI) based on fire history data from the Subalpine (SUB), Montane (MT) and Upper Foothills (UF) natural subregions. Fire severity, seasonality and cause are also documented. Pre-1948 MdFRI ranged between 65 and 85 years in SUB, between 26 and 35 years in MT and was 39 years in UF. The fire exclusion era resulted in a critical departure of 197–223% in MT (MdFRI = 84–104 years). The departure in UF was 170% (MdFRI = 104 years), while regions of continuous fuels in SUB were departed by 129% (MdFRI = 149 years). The most rugged region of SUB is within its historical range of variation with a departure of 42% (MdFRI = 121 years). More mixed-severity burning took place in MT and UF. SUB and MT are in a lightning shadow pointing to a predominance of anthropogenic burning. A summer fire season prevails in SUB, but occurs from spring to fall elsewhere. These findings will assist in developing fire and forest management policies and adaptive strategies in the future.


Few-shot text classification has recently been promoted by the meta-learning paradigm which aims to identify target classes with knowledge transferred from source classes with sets of small tasks named episodes. Despite their success, existing works building their meta-learner based on Prototypical Networks are unsatisfactory in learning discriminative text representations between similar classes, which may lead to contradictions during label prediction. In addition, the task-level and instance-level overfitting problems in few-shot text classification caused by a few training examples are not sufficiently tackled. In this work, we propose a contrastive learning framework named ContrastNet to tackle both discriminative representation and overfitting problems in few-shot text classification. ContrastNet learns to pull closer text representations belonging to the same class and push away text representations belonging to different classes, while simultaneously introducing unsupervised contrastive regularization at both task-level and instance-level to prevent overfitting. Experiments on 8 few-shot text classification datasets show that ContrastNet outperforms the current state-of-the-art models.


In this paper, we propose a general approach for stabilizing the single layer potential for the Helmholtz boundary integral equation and prove its stability. We consider Galerkin boundary element discretizations and analyze their convergence. Furthermore, we derive quantitative error bounds for the Galerkin discretization which are explicit with respect to the mesh width and the wave number for the special case that the surface is the unit sphere in $% \mathbb{R}^3$. We perform then a qualitative analysis which allows us to choose the stabilization such that the (negative) influence of the wave number in the stability and convergence estimates attains its minumum.


Aims: Is to evaluate the difference between the level of serum cholesterol and triglyceride in septic and non-septic patients and to find a correlation between the level of cholesterol and triglyceride and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Score and quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score.
Materials and Methods: 95 patients admitted to the SICU, septic patients (group S, n=50) or non-septic patients (NS, n=45). Main outcome measures: length of ICU stay, 28-day mortality, days on mechanical ventilation, (APACHE II) scores, (qSOFA) scores, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride on days 0 and on 1st, 3rd, 7th,10th and 14th day.
Result:
Cholesterol level (mg/dL)
Day 0: It was statistically significant lower in septic group (S) compared to the non-septic group (NS); it was 119.4 ± 29.33 versus 131.2 ± 35.37 (p value=0.037).
Day 1: It was statistically significantly lower in the septic group (S): 103.6 ± 29.19 than the non-septic group (NS):123.56 ± 36.50 (p value E'0.001).
Day 3: It was statistically significantly lower in the septic group (S) 80.7 ± 26.87 than in the non-septic group (NS) 124.84 ± 32.4 (p value <0.001).
Triglyceride level (mg/dL):
Day 1: Was statistically significantly higher in the septic group (S): 151.5 ± 54.79, than the non-septic group (NS): 112.14 ± 33.02, (p value <0.001).
Day 3: It was statistically significant higher in the septic group (S):185.1 ± 43.1 than the non-septic group (NS): 113.5 ± 39.56), (p value <0.001).
Conclusion: Cholesterol levels decreased markedly and triglyceride levels increased in patients with sepsis compared to non-septic patients, in the septic patients there was increasing in length of ICU stay, higher qSOFA, and APACHE II scores.


BACKGROUND
Mother's milk is the recommended source of nutrition for all newborns. Preterm infants may be further compromised by maternal factors that impede successful lactation and alter milk composition.

PURPOSE
To review and summarize the state of the science regarding implications of maternal overweight and obesity on successful lactation and associated alterations in preterm mother's milk composition.

METHODS/SEARCH STRATEGY
PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science searches were performed using relevant key words to identify references addressing maternal overweight or obesity, prematurity, human milk, and lactation.

FINDINGS/RESULTS
In the United States, more than half of women enter pregnancy with an overweight or obese body mass index. These women have increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and obstetric complications that can undermine successful initiation and continuation of lactation, including preterm birth. Maternal overweight and obesity are also associated with alterations in mother's milk composition.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Mother-preterm infant dyads affected by maternal overweight and obesity are at risk for barriers to initiation and continuation of lactation. Support for early initiation of milk expression is needed. Continued support, especially during the first weeks of lactation, can facilitate sustained milk production.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH
Considerable knowledge gaps remain in this area of human milk science. Future research is needed to facilitate more comprehensive understanding of differences in milk composition associated with maternal overweight and obesity and their impact on clinical outcomes in the preterm infant.


Micromagnetic processes in the soft underlayer (SUL) of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium are studied by dynamic simulation of the Landau-Lifshitz-Langevin equations in order to obtain estimates of the write field as a function of thickness, magnetization, and anisotropy of the SUL. In this way, the SUL thickness requirements are examined from the point of view of supporting a given input magnetic flux. It is shown that insufficient SUL thickness is characterized by large surface charges at the bottom of the SUL, leading to significant external flux leakage. For thicker SULs, the magnetic flux is conducted interior to the SUL and can involve spin-wave excitations with three-dimensional vortices. The wavelength of the spin waves is related to the vortex size and, therefore, to the exchange length of the SUL. The calculations also demonstrate the importance of proper scaling of the solid angle subtended by the write pole as seen by the data layer and SUL when the track density is increased.


This study aims to reveal to what extent the strategic development objectives of Romania (accession to the
EU and NATO) have determined changes in the security policy of Romania between 2000 and
2007.The paper will demonstrate how the security measures adopted by Romania (including in the fight
against terrorism) have influenced the economic development of the country. There are numerous debates in
the literature that discuss the links between economic development and security (political, economic or
military). This study adds to the literature an empirical analysis of a country considered not under a direct
threat to security in the region.The research follows a descriptive analysis of the measures in the legislative,
institutional and operational areas taken by the Romanian government in the period 2000-2007 in order
to reach the start-up objectives (of accession to the EU and NATO). The paper intends to show that
these measures taken by Romania did not represent only military and security objectives, but they
constituted a platform for the economic development and had economic consequences.


Abstract. Transparent conductive materials (TCMs) with high p-type conductivity and broadband transparency have remained elusive for years. Despite decades of research, no p-type material has yet been found to match the performance of n-type TCMs. If developed, the high-performance p-type TCMs would lead to significant advances in a wide range of technologies, including thin-film transistors, transparent electronics, flat screen displays, and photovoltaics. Recent insights from high-throughput computational screening have defined design principles for identifying candidate materials with low hole effective mass, also known as disperse valence band materials. Particularly, materials with mixed-anion chemistry and nonoxide materials have received attention as being promising next-generation p-type TCMs. However, experimental demonstrations of these compounds are scarce compared to the computational output. One reason for this gap is the experimental difficulty of safely and controllably sourcing elements, such as sulfur, phosphorous, and iodine for depositing these materials in thin-film form. Another important obstacle to experimental realization is air stability or stability with respect to formation of the competing oxide phases. We summarize experimental demonstrations of disperse valence band materials, including synthesis strategies and common experimental challenges. We end by outlining recommendations for synthesizing p-type TCMs still absent from the literature and highlight remaining experimental barriers to be overcome.


An impure crude uranium concentrate is produced at Gattar pilot plant in which the ore material is processed by acid heap leaching followed by ionexchange resin. Before proper refining of such a concentrate by the well developed solvent extraction techniques, it was found necessary to apply a prior upgrading procedure to diminish the associated impurities.Ammonium carbonate is used for this purpose and the two relevant factors that would minimize the latter are studied, namely the (NH4)2CO3 concentration and the required time for effective settling of the precipitated impurities.Accordingly, it has been possible to increase the uraniumassay in the working concentrate from about 36 up to 68% while that of Fe and V for example have been decreased from1.22 and 1.53%down to only 0.01and 0.029%respectively. In refining of the upgraded product by solvent extraction, such impurities and the other remaining elements would be easily decreased to the permissible limits.


Oil palm smallholders on peatlands have contributed significantly to economic development in rural areas by augmenting income and reducing poverty, among other developments that increase economic growth. However, they also cause adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, haze and peat fires, deforestation, water supply disruption, and biodiversity loss. The objective of the study was to determine the economic gains and losses of developing sustainable smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands in Siak District Riau Province, Indonesia. A cost-benefit analysis was used to determine the economic impacts of the smallholder oil palm plantations. Results revealed that development of 94,726 ha oil palm smallholder plantation on peatlands has generated an estimated 37,326 jobs and increased the average total income of smallholder households to USD 4,556 per year. Total benefit from smallholder oil palm plantations was computed at USD 604,360,885 per year. However, smallholders have not implemented sustainable oil palm cultivation on peatlands, which has led to negative effects on the environment. It was estimated that USD 1,115,694,242 is lost per year due to the adverse environmental impacts such as carbon emission, deforestation, water supply disruption and biodiversity loss, among others. Economic analysis showed that the total economic value is USD -511,333,357. It indicated that the current situation of smallholder oil plantations on peatland in Siak leads to be greater social cost than social benefit. Proposed policies should encourage sustainable oil palm plantations characterized by a synergistic relationship among legal, social and financial aspect in order to provide optimal economic impacts to communities and minimize adverse effects on the environment. Total economic value of implementation of sustainable smallholder oil palm plantations on peatlands was computed at USD 636,629,211. This indicates that the development of sustainable smallholder oil palm plantations can provide a positive impact on the economy and the environment.


In this study, we created an imperative corpus with speech conversations from dialogues in The Big Bang Theory and with the written comments in Wikipedia's Articles for Deletion discussions. For the TV show data, 59 episodes containing 25,076 statements are used. We manually annotated imperatives based on the annotation guideline adapted from Condoravdi and Lauer's study (2012) and used the retrieved data to assess the performance of syntax-based classification rules. For the Wikipedia AfD comments data, we first developed and leveraged a syntax-based classifier to extract 10,624 statements that may be imperative, and we manually examined the statements and then identified true positives. With this corpus, we also examined the performance of the rule-based imperative detection tool. Our result shows different outcomes for speech (dialogue) and written data. The rule-based classification performs better in the written data in precision (0.80) compared to the speech data (0.44). Also, the rule-based classification has a low-performance overall for speech data with the precision of 0.44, recall of 0.41, and f-1 measure of 0.42. This finding implies the syntax-based model may need to be adjusted for a speech dataset because imperatives in oral communication have greater syntactic varieties and are highly context-dependent.


Why is Christina Rossetti, probably the major woman poet of Victorian Britain, so invisible today? This is the central question addressed in this biography. Rossetti, author of "Goblin Market", "My Heart Is Like a Singing Bird" and "In the Deep Midwinter" has often been overshadowed by her brother Dante Gabriel. Drawing on many sources, this study enables the reader to piece together a more complete picture of this woman whose nature was passionate and contradictory.


Ertapenem is a carbapenem antibiotic with activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Dose simulations in a hollow-fiber infection model showed that 2,000 mg once daily is an appropriate dose to be tested in clinical studies. Before using this dose in a phase II study, the aim of this prospective pharmacokinetic study was to confirm the pharmacokinetics of 2,000 mg once daily in tuberculosis (TB) patients. Twelve TB patients received a single intravenous dose of 2,000 mg ertapenem as a 30-min infusion. Blood samples were collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h postadministration. Drug concentrations were measured using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay. A large interindividual variation in the pharmacokinetics of ertapenem was observed. The median (interquartile range) area under the plasma concentration-time curve to infinity (AUC0 –∞) was 2,032 (1,751 to 2,346) mg · h/liter, the intercompartmental clearance (CL12) was 1.941 (0.979 to 2.817) liters/h, and the volume of distribution in the central compartment (V1) was 1.514 (1.064 to 2.210) liters. A more than doseproportional increase in AUC was observed compared to results reported for 1,000 mg ertapenem in multidrug-resistant TB patients. Based on a MIC of 1.0 mg/liter, 11 out of 12 patients would have reached the target value of unbound drug exceeding the MIC over 40% of the time (f40% T MIC). In conclusion, this study shows that 2,000 mg ertapenem once daily in TB patients reached the expected f40% T MIC for most of the patients, and exploration in a phase 2 study can be advocated.


We present a class of partitioning scheme that we have called frontier sets. Frontier sets build on the notion of a potentially visible set (PVS). In a PVS, a world is subdivided into cells and for each cell all the other cells that can be seen are computed. In contrast, a frontier set considers pairs of cells, A and B. For each pair, it lists two sets of cells (two frontiers), FAB and FBA. By definition, from no cell in FAB is any cell in FBA visible and vice versa. Our initial use of frontier sets has been to enable scalability in distributed networking. This is possible because, for example, if at time t0 Player1 is in cell A and Player2 is in cell B, as long as they stay in their respective frontiers, they do not need to send update information to each other. In this paper we describe two strategies for building frontier sets. Both strategies are dynamic and compute frontiers only as necessary at runtime. The first is distance-based frontiers. This strategy requires precomputation of an enhanced potentially visible set. The second is greedy frontiers. This strategy is more expensive to compute at runtime, however it leads to larger and thus more efficient frontiers. Network simulations using code based on the Quake II engine show that frontiers have significant promise and may allow a new class of scalable peer-to-peer game infrastructures to emerge.


Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is used to evaluate subjects' behaviors and moods in their natural environments, yet collecting real-time and self-report data with EMA is challenging due to user burden. Integrating voice into EMA data collection platforms through today's intelligent virtual assistants (IVAs) is promising due to hands-free and eye-free nature. However, efficiently managing conversations and EMAs is non-trivial and time consuming due to the ambiguity of the voice input. We approach this problem by rethinking the data modeling of EMA questions and what is needed to deploy them on voice-first user interfaces. We propose a unified metadata schema that models EMA questions and the necessary attributes to effectively and efficiently integrate voice as a new EMA modality. Our schema allows user experience researchers to write simple rules that can be rendered at run-time, instead of having to edit the source code. We showcase an example EMA survey implemented with our schema, which can run on multiple voice-only and voice-first devices. We believe that our work will accelerate the iterative prototyping and design process of real-world voice-based EMA data collection platforms.


This study aims to develop digital book based on sigil on the material of European history in growing the values of Pancasila democracy. This book is aimed to give an alternative of learning material by using ICT to reach the aims of learning. The book should follow the standardized test to ensure the digital book could be used in teaching and learning process at History Department, State University of Malang. This study tended to used research and development approach. We used eight Sadiman's model of (1) identification of needs; (2) composing aims; (3) material development; (4) development of evaluation tool; (5) writing a draft; (6) validation; (7) revision; (8) production. Based on data analysis, this study found that the book could be used without any major revision. The percentage of questionnaire result from media expert was 90.48 % and from material expert was at 96.75 %. To short, the digital book has filled the requirement of book standardization. Therefore, the digital book based on sigil could be used as learning source for the module of European History.


Background: Follow-up visits of patients recovering from anorexia nervosa (AN) have shown that some patients do not resume menstrual cycles despite returning to the normal weight for their age and height. Aim: To verify whether leptin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) or another hormonal marker could be a good predictor of the return of menses. Patients and Methods: This prospective study included female adolescents diagnosed with AN or eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS) and who were being treated in an ambulatory care unit during nutritional recovery. Body mass index and leptin, luteinizing hormone, estradiol and IGF-1 levels of these patients were evaluated. Blood samples were collected in the 1st (T1), 5th (T2), 10th (T3), 15th (T4) and 20th (T5) weeks of treatment. The hormone levels during nutritional recovery and at the time of the resumption of menses were analyzed. Results: The hormonal profiles improved after nutritional recovery, with IGF-1 correlating the most with the resumption of menses and nutritional recovery (p = 0.0001). At the resumption of menstruation, the patients showed IGF-1 levels >342.8 ng/ml. Conclusion: IGF-1 was the best predictor of the return of menses in female adolescents with AN or EDNOS.


Femtocell technology has gradually evolved in the field of wireless technology. Femtocell base stations (FBS) are installed mainly indoor to improve the signal coverage for the user held equipment. Interference management is of prime concern in FBS installation. The work is carried on understanding the Dynamic Assignment of Transmit Power for interference avoidance in co-tier femtocell networks. The drawback of dropping Femtocell User Equipment (FUE) has been identified. Solution to the problem is achieved by introducing handoff mechanism. Several handoff strategies have been categorized under survey. The work proposes handoff strategy, appended with existing Dynamic Assignment of Transmit Power system. The formulation to Dynamic Assignment of Transmit Power-Handoff (DATP-H) improves the throughput of existing system.


The authors summarize the experience with the treatment of 38 patients with disseminated laryngeal tumours (stages III and IV). All the patients underwent comprehensive medical examination using a variety of methods. Their advantages and drawbacks are analysed with reference to diagnostic value, potential for the detection of metastases, and possibility to use for the choice of extent of surgical intervention. Criteria for multispiral X-ray computed tomography have been developed to be applied to the identification of tumour spread outside the larynx and invasion of its cartilaginous structures.


Introduction Many studies have demonstrated the importance of the fluid phase during regional metamorphism of impure marble, yet uncertainty still exists as to the scale of fluid exchange and the composition of metamorphic fluids. This is due largely to difficulties in evaluation of the effects of solid solution, the importance of fluid components other than H 2 O and CO 2 and the possibility that no fluid phase existed during metamorphism with fluid activities buffered by solid phases. It would clearly be desirable to be able to generalize about fluid compositions as has been done in the past. Turner (1967) and Winkler (1976) stated that metamorphism of marbles occurs with P F ≈ P CO 2 . Such CO 2 -rich fluids might be expected if marbles were closed systems relative to externally derived fluids, controlling their own fluid compositions, because many devolatilization reactions involve the breakdown of large amounts of calcite or dolomite and generate X CO 2 > 0.75. It is well known from deformation studies (Griggs and others, 1960) and textures in thin section that calcite readily recrystallizes during high-grade metamorphism, and thus it is often proposed that calcite marbles are impervious to fluid flow, form a closed system, and buffer their own fluid composition (Turner, 1967). Turner also predicts that a dolomite marble is less likely to form a closed system than a calcite marble because it is less ductile. If these generalizations are universally true, then the many isobaric, univariant assemblages that are fourid in regional metamorphic terranes are controlled only by P + T and should be mappable as isograds. Unfortunately, the results of field studies do not support uniformly high X CO 2 or constant fluid compositions in marble, casting doubt upon such simplifying generalizations. This was dramatically demonstrated in the Whetstone Lake area, southern Ontario, by Carmichael (1970), who showed that the isograd biotite + calcite + quartz = Ca-amphibole + K-teldspar + CO 2 + H 2 O in marbles crossed other dehydration and solid-solid isograds in metapelites because of variations in S H 2 O in marbles compared to pelites. He suggested that this was due to dilution by H 2 O derived from nearby pelites or granite. Ferry (1976a, 1976b) has also reported regional and local variations in X H 2 O in calc-pelites approaching quartz-monzonite and granodiorite plutons in the Waterville-Vassalboro area of Maine. Sobol and Essene (1973) investigated reactions in Grenville marble of the upper amphibolite facies from the Hastings-Haliburton region northeast of Whetstone Lake, and also inferred high X H 2 O. They mapped seven isograds which were compared with isotherms contoured from calcite-dolomite thermometry and found to be subparallel. They concluded that fluids do not greatly change in composition across the 3,000 km 2 area, and that water migrated into the marble from underlying rock units such as a dehydrating pelite. Sobol intentionally avoided contacts with meta-igneous rocks in his area which had been previously mapped as contact aureoles. Allen (1976) showed that for one of these, the Tudor Gabbro, 13 silicate-carbonate isograds can be mapped in calcareous rocks without detectable change in temperature due to increasing X H 2 O toward the gabbro contact. Thus Sobol9s success in locating approximately isothermal isograds was at least partly due to avoiding localized H 2 O-rich fluid anomalies in an amphibolite facies terrane.


This guide provides information about library research and library resources on the topics of social justice, human rights, and religious conflict.


Douglas-fir (DF) (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is one of the largest and most economically important coniferous species in western North America. Its productivity is greatly affected by the root rot fungus Phellinus sulphurascens Pilát. Evidence of resistance by DF to fungal root pathogens such as P. sulphurascens has been reported but mechanisms of resistance in this compatible pathosystem are not yet known. To better understand the DF-P. sulphurascens interaction, especially at the molecular level, we selected 12 diverse plant genes already identified as defense-related from a cDNA library constructed using root tissues from P. sulphurascens-infected DF seedlings. Using quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on infected DF root samples collected at five different time points after inoculation, we found that P. sulphurascens infection significantly elevated expression of the 12 selected genes. In most cases the highest expression level was recorded within 2 to 3 days after inoculation. The constructed cDNA library, which is enriched with defense-related host genes and a number of fungal genes, will continue to serve as a useful resource for future larger-scale gene discovery and functional research on the P. sulphurascens and DF pathosystem.


International Refugee Law mainly comprises of international instruments that define basic standards for treatment of refugee. The numbers of Refugees all over the world are increasing considerably day by day as a result international and non international armed conflict, civil war, and numerous prosecution in various part of the world are continues. There are 32,000 registered refugees in two official camps (Nayapara and Kutupalong) in the district of Cox's Bazar, beside 200,000 to 500,000, undocumented Myanmar Rohingya, who don't have any legal status at all. Though Bangladesh has not yet acceded to the two major International Refugee instruments on refugee law, it has international obligation towards the refugee residing within its territory under the other international instruments and its constitutional framework. Under the principle of non refoulment in Article 33 of 1951 Refugee Convention as a peremptory norm and customary international law, Bangladesh is obliged to give the shelter and protection to the refugees of other states and in no way it can avert the responsibility but there is a problem itself regarding the status of refugee.  International community now a day's much more concern about the severe impacts of that large refugee populations on the host developing countries. There are many more impacts like long-term economic, social, political and environmental. Bangladesh is over populated country not only in South Asia but in a whole world. It should be borne in mind that over refugee issues has a negative impact on socio-economic as well as the security of the nations. The paper examines the refugee problems in Bangladesh and tries to bring out ultimate solution for those issues.


In order to comprehend the impact of knowledge governance upon knowledge transfers and the capacity of amphibious innovation, this paper presents a framework based on emerging Chinese strategic industries. This study has been based on a sample of 323 research staffs and middle-top managers from 107 emerging strategic firms. Structural equation modeling and the hierarchical regression method were used to test our hypothesis. The results show that inter-firm knowledge governance has a significant positive effect on knowledge transfers, and network structures have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between social mechanisms and knowledge transfers; exploitative innovation and explorative innovation have a significant positive effect on market performance and technical performance, and exploitative innovation and explorative innovations have a negative moderating effect on the relationship between knowledge transfers and market performance. The results provide a theoretical and methodological contribution to the study of knowledge governance and can thus improve managerial practice in an area of knowledge-based companies.


Disability, mad and d/Deaf arts are motivated to transform the arts sector and beyond in ways that foreground differing embodiments. But how do we know if such arts-based interventions are actually disrupting conventional ways of experiencing and consuming art? This article presents three themes from a critical literature review relevant to curating and creating artwork meant to spur social change related to non-normative bodies. We highlight examples that push beyond standard survey measurement techniques, such as talk-back walls and guided tours by people with lived experiences. We also explore the myriad affective outcomes of art and how we might measure emotional reactions, recognizing that disability itself is imbricated in structures of feeling. We argue that such efforts must integrate concepts of access from the field of critical disability studies. Ultimately, tools for measuring audience response to politicized art must contribute to challenging and transforming these structures.


In this paper, real time holographic Interferometry (RTHI) technique was used to monitor the thermal stress on the piston rings. The piston rings holograms were recorded and the holographic plate replaced on the holder after development. The piston ring was subjected to thermal stress as it was illuminated by Laser beam acting as the object beam. This process led to generation of interferograms which were captured by a CCD camera at different temperatures. The captured interferograms were analyzed using atmosfringe version 3.3 software. From the analysis, the peak to valley (P-V) aberrations measured for each of the piston ring varied for the same temperature value. The P-V aberrations ranging from 0.0128λ to 1.2989λ were obtained. From this result, it was evident that the three rings on the piston had different unique structural characteristics due to their function.


This study describes the nondeterministic effect of homogeneous atmospheric turbulence on sonic boom propagation. The Sears-Haack body was calculated in three dimensions by computational fluid dynamics in inviscid flow (Euler) mode to create the near-field pressure wave. The homogeneous atmospheric turbulence field was represented by the finite sum of discrete Fourier modes based on the von Karman and Pao energy spectrum. The sonic boom signature was then calculated by the modified waveform parameter method, considering a random velocity of homogeneous atmospheric turbulence. The results of this study indicated that atmospheric turbulence has a marked influence on sonic boom overpressure during its propagation to the ground. In comparison to the no-turbulence condition, we found that the sonic boom decreased in 59 % of the cases and increased in 41 % of the cases. Thus, homogeneous atmospheric turbulence seems to favor a decrease, rather than an increase, in boom overpressure. In addition, we found that turbulence has a small effect on the propagation path from the flight altitude to the ground. Nonetheless, this small change in the propagation path may result in a variability, of the point at which the sonic boom reaches the ground, of up to 1820 ft in the north-south direction (flight direction) and 115 ft in the east-west direction.