An important factor in the robustness of the interdomain routing system is whether the routers in autonomous systems (ASes) filter routes for "bogon" address space---i.e., private address space and address space that has not been allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). This paper presents an empirical study of bogon route announcements, as observed at eight vantage points on the Internet. On average, we observe several bogon routes leaked every few days; a small number of ASes also temporarily leak hundreds of bogon routes. About 40% of these bogon routes are not withdrawn for at least a day. We observed 110 different ASes originating routes for bogon prefixes and a few ASes that were responsible for advertising a disproportionate number of these routes. We also find that some ASes that do filter unallocated prefixes continue to filter them for as long as five months after they have been allocated, mistakenly filtering valid routes. Both of these types of delinquencies have serious implications: the failure to filter valid prefixes can could make nefarious activities such as denial of service attacks difficult to trace; failure to update filters when new prefixes are allocated prevents legitimate routes from being globally visible.


The synchronous brain activity measured via mangentoencephalography (MEG) arises from current dipoles located throughout the cortex. Estimating the number, location, timecourse, and orientation of these dipoles, called sources, remains a challenging task, one that is significantly compounded by the effects of source correlations and interference from spontaneous brain activity and sensor noise. Likewise, assessing the interactions between the individual sources, known as functional connectivity, is also confounded by noise and correlations in the sensor recordings. Computational complexity has been an obstacle to computing functional connectivity. This paper demonstrates the application of an empirical Bayesian method to perform source localization with MEG data in order to estimate measures of functional connectivity. We demonstrate that brain source activity inferred from this algorithm is better suited to uncover the interactions between brain areas as compared to other commonly used source localization algorithms.


approach by encouraging the recognition and shared care of such patients. seizure duration (OSD), and bifrontal single channel EEG tracings are fraught with interpretive difficulties (Brumback, 1983). However, when the comparatively simple cuff technique was used during administration of ECT then OSD did correlate with EEG activity, although with shorter recorded seizure times (Fink & Johnson, 1982). At this centre, OSD is routinely recorded using the cuff technique to assist with the evaluation of individ ual treatment progress. There is a need for formal recording within ECT departments to facilitate both within-unit and between-unit review. A brief study of inter-rater reliability of OSD is beingconducted here, with a view to establishing the usefulness of its contri bution in this area. Cuu. S. LrrrwoHNs MICHAEL FARRELL SHARON DAWE J0IN STRANG BethlemRoyalHospital Monks Orchard Road Beckenham Kent BR3 3BX


This investigation comprises a study of venous pulse, carotid, cardiographic, and heart sound records from twenty-one men with normal hearts. The heart sounds were recorded by the method of Einthoven. When correction is made for transmission, the first heart sound begins, on an average, 0.131 of a second before the c-wave of the venous pulse, and has an average duration of 0.128 of a second. The second heart sound begins a few hundredths of a second before the v-wave and has a duration of 0.091 of a second. The third heart sound occurs shortly before or is coincident with the beginning of the h-wave. It has an average duration of about 0.03 of a second. Considerable variation from the average positions are noted in individual cases. This is especially true in the relation between the second heart sound and the v-wave. Measurements of the venous pulse and heart sound intervals show that the a-c, c-v, and v-h venous pulse intervals, the first to second and the second to third heart sound intervals, and systole tend to remain fairly constant in length when cardiac cycles of different length are considered. The v-a, h-a, and x-a venous pulse intervals, the third to first heart sound interval, and diastole tend to vary in length with variations in total length of the cycle. Records of the venous pulse and heart sound obtained from dogs show a similar relation to that found in man. The main difference observed was an earlier occurrence of the first heart sound before the c-wave of the venous pulse.


The variability of topography, geology, climate, vegetation, and land use in the Pacific Northwest creates considerable spatial and temporal variability of fluvial processes and reach-scale channel type. Here we identify process domains of typical Pacific Northwest watersheds and examine local physiographic and geologic controls on channel processes and response potential in the Puget Sound region. We also review the influence of different channel types on opportunities and limitations for channel restoration. Finally, we develop regime diagrams that identify typical combinations of channel characteristics associated with different alluvial channel types. These diagrams can be used to set target values for creating or maintaining desired channel types and associated habitats or to assess the stable channel morphology for imposed watershed conditions. Regime diagrams that are based on explicit physical models also can be used to predict likely trends and magnitudes of channel response to natural or anthropogenic disturbances (such as restoration activities). Moreover, spatial linkages of processes and the potential for distal disturbances to propagate through channel networks means that local restoration efforts that do not address larger scale watershed processes and disturbances may be ineffective or costly to maintain.


The Frechet distance is a popular and widespread distance measure for point sequences and for curves. About two years ago, Agarwal et al. [SIAM J. Comput. 2014] presented a new (mildly) subquadratic algorithm for the discrete version of the problem. This spawned a flurry of activity that has led to several new algorithms and lower bounds. In this paper, we study the approximability of the discrete Frechet distance. Building on a recent result by Bringmann [FOCS 2014], we present a new conditional lower bound showing that strongly subquadratic algorithms for the discrete Frechet distance are unlikely to exist, even in the one-dimensional case and even if the solution may be approximated up to a factor of 1.399. This raises the question of how well we can approximate the Frechet distance (of two given $d$-dimensional point sequences of length $n$) in strongly subquadratic time. Previously, no general results were known. We present the first such algorithm by analysing the approximation ratio of a simple, linear-time greedy algorithm to be $2^{\Theta(n)}$. Moreover, we design an $\alpha$-approximation algorithm that runs in time $O(n\log n + n^2/\alpha)$, for any $\alpha\in [1, n]$. Hence, an $n^\varepsilon$-approximation of the Frechet distance can be computed in strongly subquadratic time, for any $\varepsilon > 0$.


Editor—Crotty et al show that transitional, or intermediate, care facilities can be used to divert older people safely from hospital to a care home setting.1 Our randomised controlled trial had similar findings,2 but we could not exclude the possibility that such transitional care increases long term institutionalisation over a longer period of follow-up (12 months, compared with four months in the study by Crotty et al). Young et al's whole system study in Leeds showed that intermediate care services increased admissions to hospital.3 So, intermediate care can sometimes reduce hospital admission and sometimes it does not. It is not guaranteed to lead to outcomes that are equivalent to those of the services being replaced.

This inconsistency of the evidence base raises the question of whether findings obtained in controlled research studies of services can be generalised to other times and settings. If not, the fears previously raised about the quality of care for older people in intermediate care services4-5 cannot be put to rest simply because some demonstration projects have shown acceptable findings.

We need high quality randomised controlled trials, such as that reported by Crotty et al, to show what is possible, but we also need to establish the conditions that are necessary for success—those conditions that when not met lead to ineffective or unsafe care.

This is likely to require a wide range of descriptive research methods such as systems analyses and case studies undertaken alongside controlled studies. Once these conditions for success have been established, we need a systematic quality assurance exercise to ensure that they are being met.

If we do not do this then we may find ourselves so blinded by policy pressure to keep older people out of hospital that we fail to do our jobs as clinicians as we collude with the provision of substandard care.


The authors explain optimized portfolios' poor out-of-sample performance (to minimize tracking error relative to a given benchmark, while achieving a specified expected excess return) in the presence of estimation error in the underlying asset means and covariances. The theoretical bias adjustments for this estimation risk developed by the authors involves taking mathematical expectations of asymptotically expanded future returns of portfolios formed with estimated weights. They provide closed-form adjustments for estimates of the expectation and standard deviation of the portfolio's excess returns. The adjustments significantly reduce bias in global equity portfolios, reduce the costs of rebalancing portfolios, and are robust to sample size and non-normality. By using these approximation methods before investing, it may be possible to assess the effect of statistical estimation error on tracking-error-optimized portfolio performance.


Circumplanetary disks (CPDs) control the growth of planets, supply material for satellites to form, and provide observational signatures of young forming planets. We have carried out two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations with radiative cooling to study CPDs and suggested a new mechanism to drive the disk accretion. Two spiral shocks are present in CPDs, excited by the central star. We find that spiral shocks can at least contribute to, if not dominate, the angular momentum transport and energy dissipation in CPDs. Meanwhile, dissipation and heating by spiral shocks have a positive feedback on shock-driven accretion itself. As the disk is heated up by spiral shocks, the shocks become more open, leading to more efficient angular momentum transport. This shock-driven accretion is, on the other hand, unsteady due to production and destruction of vortices in disks. After being averaged over time, a quasi-steady accretion is reached from the planet's Hill radius all the way to the planet surface, and the disk α coefficient characterizing angular momentum transport is ∼0.001–0.02. The disk surface density ranges from 10 to 1000 g cm−2 in our simulations, which is at least three orders of magnitude smaller than the "minimum-mass subnebula" model used to study satellite formation; instead it is more consistent with the "gas-starved" satellite formation model. Finally, we calculate the millimeter flux emitted by CPDs at ALMA and EVLA wavelength bands and predict the flux for several recently discovered CPD candidates, which suggests that ALMA is capable of discovering these accreting CPDs.


Pulse-position modulators are used for remote sensing of analog signals in a high-voltage constant-current dc power supply for a wideband submarine cable system. The pulse-position modulators translate the sensed analog signals into the time domain in the form of time delayed pulses. The transfer characteristics of the modulators are linearized and made insensitive to clock frequency and other sources of timing errors by use of a demodulator feedback circuit. The modulators are operated synchronously by a common clock. The clock also establishes a precisely quantized time frame which is useful in processing the modulator output signals. A variety of closed- and open-loop control functions, level monitoring functions, and both analog and digital metering functions are realized. Pulse transformers are used for dc isolation and common mode noise rejection.


5.1 Introduction In Chapter 3, we discussed the basic concepts involved in the polarization of light waves. In various applications of polarized light, one often needs to know how the polarization of the incident wave changes when it is passed through an optical component such as a polarizer or a birefringent medium. This can be described by three formalisms - namely, Jones calculus, Mueller calculus, and the Poincare sphere. In this chapter, we will discuss the Jones calculus approach, which is simpler than the Mueller calculus. It represents a given SOP by only a two-component vector known as a Jones vector and uses simple 2 × 2 matrices to calculate the effect of a polarizer or a birefringent medium on a given SOP. 5.2 Jones Vectors As discussed in Chapter 3, the electric field vector of an arbitrarily polarized light wave can be described in terms of two orthogonal and linearly polarized components as (5.1) According to the Jones vector representation, the preceding SOP is represented in terms of a 2 × 1 matrix (column vector) as follows: (5.2) Using the complex variable notations, the preceding can also be written as (5.3)


A structural sequence of Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic argillaceous and cherty rocks in the northwestern Brooks Range, herein named the Kagvik sequence, is a key to the tectonic history of Arctic Alaska. The Kagvik sequence lies structurally below thrust-faulted sheets of coeval carbonate rocks, including the Lisburne Group, and structurally above quartz mica schist and greenstone of the southern Brooks Range. Sedimentary features of the shelly fossil-rich carbonate strata of the Lisburne in the upper thrust sheets indicate deposition in a shallow-water shelf environment. The underlying shale and chert of the Kagvik is an attenuated section about 500 m thick repeated by imbricate thrusts. Ubiquitous pelagic fossils (radiolaria and Nereites trace-fossil assemblages) and volcanic material locally forming andesitic tuff and flows point to an oceanic environment of deposition. The presence of some limestone turbidites interbedded with the ocean-floor sediments of the Kagvik suggests that a carbonate shelf was nearby and that a south-facing continental margin existed during late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic time near the present-day southern Brooks Range. Collapse of this long-standing continental margin appears to be related to collision and accretion of Paleozoic island arcs and microcontinental blocks now represented by the metamorphic terrane along the south flank of the Brooks Range. The structurally higher thrust slices of mafic and ultramafic rocks emplaced on top of the collapsed continental margin represent ophiolitic basement of the Yukon-Koyukuk basin.


The Government of Pakistan prepared the second Perspective
 Plan in 1987- 88 for the next ftfteen years to set the long-term social
 and economic policy framework. The Plan identifted that the long-term
 objectives could only be achieved if the education, skills, nutrition
 and health of the people were improved. These objectives have recently
 been operationalised in the donor supported Social Action Programme
 (SAP). However, there is general recognition of the resource constraint
 within which these objectives are to be achieved, especially given the
 low priority that has been attached traditionally to allocations to the
 social sectors. Therefore, the p{ogramme envisages the expansion of
 primary infrastructure through an accelerated school construction
 programme using cost -effective approaches to delivery including
 need-based criteria for school location and changes in the pattern of
 allocation of funds among sector inputs.


This essay, which is part of a symposium edition of the Akron Law Review, explores the practice of metadata mining (i.e., the surreptitious examination of an electronic document's hidden data). The essay reviews the legal ethics opinions that have addressed the practice and contends that metadata mining is simply a variation of the oft-examined problem of inadvertently disclosed documents. The essay concludes that flat bans on metadata mining are misguided and that the issue should be treated in the same manner as inadvertent disclosures more generally. Under this approach, if a state permits lawyers to review inadvertently disclosed privileged documents, the jurisdiction should also permit lawyers to review the metadata contained in electronic documents. In contrast, if a jurisdiction prohibits the review of misdirected privileged documents, the state should ban metadata mining, but only when recipients have reason to believe that the metadata contains protected information.


Liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus infection is associated to significant morbidity and mortality among patient with end stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Therapy in these patients consists of Interferon, preferably pegylated Interferon (pIFN), thus Ribavirin (RBV) is not recommended for patients with impaired renal function, outside its use in controlled trials. We report a case of 35 years young woman on HD treatment, renal transplantation candidate with chronic hepatitis C virus infection, HCV RNA positive (by PCR), genotype 3a, moderate viral load, light increase of aminotransferases. Pegylated Interferon alfa-2a (135 mcg/weekly/SC) was initiated. She achieved HVC RNA negative within 12 weeks, following with pINF as monotherapy to complete 24 weeks (6 months). Sustained virologic response persisted to 24 and 48 weeks. Most important side effects were light detriment of anemia, moderate neutropenia and thombocytopenia, transitory elevation of transaminases and "flu-like" syndrome. Adverse events were well tolerated with total compliance with pIFN dose, no requiring reduce or stop the treatment. These findings confirm that hemodialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C respond well to pegylated IFN monotherapy and a long-term sustained virologic response is achieved, appears to be better tolerated with less side effects, so combination therapy with pINF plus ribavirin is not necessary in all cases.


Large language models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable performance across a wide array of NLP tasks. However, their efficacy is undermined by undesired and inconsistent behaviors, including hallucination, unfaithful reasoning, and toxic content. A promising approach to rectify these flaws is self-correction, where the LLM itself is prompted or guided to fix problems in its own output. Techniques leveraging automated feedback -- either produced by the LLM itself or some external system -- are of particular interest as they are a promising way to make LLM-based solutions more practical and deployable with minimal human feedback. This paper presents a comprehensive review of this emerging class of techniques. We analyze and taxonomize a wide array of recent work utilizing these strategies, including training-time, generation-time, and post-hoc correction. We also summarize the major applications of this strategy and conclude by discussing future directions and challenges.


Nationalism and multiculturalism are often perceived as polar opposites with the former viewed as the disease and the latter the cure. Contrary to this view, this article argues that a strong national identity, albeit of a particular kind, is prerequisite to a stable and functioning multicultural society. The article seeks to identify both the causes and the implications of the absence of an overarching, civic national identity in Britain, further to the goal of seeking a meaningful solution. It is our contention that the problem lies in the difficulty involved in reconciling current pressures on British identity with a coherent narrative of British history, especially its imperial past.


Highlights some popular magazines and newspapers available at Swarthmore, and explains how to read your favorites from your computer or mobile device


ABSTRACT The Rufous-backed Robin (Turdus rufopalliatus) is a bird endemic to the Pacific slope of Mexico and the Balsas Basin, and is currently expanding its distribution range to the Mexican Central Highlands, occupying urban areas. Its breeding biology is poorly known in its original distribution range and unknown in the newly colonized areas. We present a description of its breeding biology in one of the newly colonized areas, including nest site selection, nest composition, clutch size, eggs and incubation period, hatching and nestling success, and observations on behavior of adults and nestlings. The study was conducted in 2013 in an urban area of central Mexico, specifically at the main campus of Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, in Pachuca, Hidalgo. Nests were built on trees at a mean height of 5.66 ± 0.51 m. The nest was generally a shallow cup made of vegetable material reinforced with mud. Mean clutch size was 2.75 ± 0.16. Eggs were light to medium blue with reddish-brown markings. Incubation period lasted around 13 days. Hatching success was on average 1.88 ± 0.35. Nestlings remained 14 days in the nest before they fledged. The nests, eggs, and behavior have some characteristics similar to those of other thrushes, including individuals of the same species in their original distribution range. We discuss the implications of including anthropogenic materials in nest construction and present the first case of fledgling entanglement with synthetic materials at the nest for T. rufopalliatus.


Distal lung epithelial cells (DLECs) play an active role in fluid clearance from the alveolus by virtue of their ability to actively transport Na+ from the alveolus to the interstitial space. The present study evaluated the ability of activated macrophages to modulate the bioelectric properties of DLECs. Low numbers of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated macrophages were able to significantly reduce amiloride-sensitive short-circuit current (Isc) without affecting total Isc or monolayer resistance. This was associated with a rise in the flufenamic acid-sensitive component of the Isc. The effect was reversed by the addition of N-monomethyl-L-arginine to the medium, implying a role for nitric oxide. We hypothesized that macrophages exerted their effect by expressing inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in DLECs. The products of LPS-treated macrophages increased the levels of iNOS protein and mRNA transcripts in DLECs as well as causing a rise in iNOS activity. Immunofluorescence microscopy of LPS-stimulated macrophage-DLEC cocultures with anti-nitrotyrosine antibodies provided evidence for the generation of peroxynitrite in macrophages but not in DLECs. These data indicate that activated macrophages in the lung may contribute to impaired resolution of acute respiratory distress syndrome and suggest a novel mechanism whereby nitric oxide might alter cell function by altering its ion-transporting phenotype.


Abstract Operating parameters of powerful UV and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) excilamps with different discharge geometry excited by capacitive discharge, barrier discharge, glow discharge, and UV-preionized discharge were investigated. Intense radiation of Ar2*, Kr2*, Xe2*, ArF*, KrBr*, KrCl*, KrF*, XeI*, Cl2, XeBr*, XeCl*, XeF* molecules and I* atoms was obtained in rare gas or in rare gasF2 (Br2, CH3Br, Cl2, Br2, HCl, I2, NF3) mixtures.


Background: Endodontic leakage research focus mainly on the quality of the apical seal of the root canal system and the newly introduced resilon/epiphany system claim to be superior to Gutta-percha in respect to obturation procedure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the root canal obturation completed by resilon/epiphany system. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 teeth were selected and were divided into four groups. Two experimental groups consisted of 15 teeth each and positive control group consisted of eight teeth and negative control group consisted of four teeth. In the experimental groups, Group 1 was obturated with resilon/epiphany system and Group 2 was obturated with Gutta-percha and endofil sealer by lateral condensation technique. The teeth were then immersed in Methelene blue solution and were split longitudinally to access the amount of dye penetrated in the canal. The specimens were viewed under scanning electron microscope to evaluate the adhesion of the obturating material to the root canal walls. Data was subjected to statistical analysis by Analysis of Variance and Bonferroni multiple comparison test at 1% level of significance. Results: The resilon/epiphany system showed better adaptation to the root canal walls, but the difference in dye penetration was not statistically significant when compared to specimens obturated with Gutta-percha and endofil sealer. Conclusion: Although, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups, but resilon/epiphany system showed better adaptation to the root canal walls.


A series of materials used for oil absorption based on cellulose fiber grafted with butyl acrylate (BuAc) have been prepared by radical polymerization under ultrasonic waves processing. Effects of ultrasonic dose for the maximum graft yield were considered. The dependency of optimum conditions for oil absorption rate on parameters such as ultrasonic processing time and ultrasonic power were also determined. Fourier infrared (FT-IR) analysis was used to confirm the chemical reaction taking place between cellulose and butyl acrylate. The thermogravimetric behavior of the graft copolymer was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis was used to determine the surface structure of the grafted material. With the increase of the ultrasonic treatment dose, the surface of the ultrasonic processed material became more regular, and the material was transformed into a homogeneous network polymer having a good structure and good adsorbing ability.


Recognition of hand vein is becoming a research focus in biological recognition field, due to its particular advantage of uniqueness and livingness. The acquisition of clear vein image is an important premise for recognition. A quantitative assessment method of image quality is proposed based on two spatial indicators. It is shows that the relationship between the quantitative score of vein image and the drive current of near-infrared light source obeys the cubic polynomial relationship. When the driven current equals 0.524A, the image quality is optimal, and the corresponding score is 90.4. The quantitative self-consistent method developed in this work also can be applied to other digital image in more general applications.


The expression of heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) as a chaperone protein, is increased in response to various stress stimuli such as anticancer chemotherapy. This phenomenon can lead to survive of the cells and causes drug resistance. In this study, a series of methanesulfonamide derivatives as dual Hsp27 and tubulin inhibitors in the treatment of cancer were applied to quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) analysis. A collection of chemometrics methods such as MLR, FA-MLR, PCR, and GA-PLS was applied to make relations between structural characteristics and anti-proliferative activity of them against SKBR-3 breast cancer cell line. The best multiple linear regression equation was obtained from GA-PLS. Concerning this model, new potent lead compounds were designed based on new structural patterns using in silico-screening study. To obtain their binding mode, binding site and types of their interactions to both tubulin and HSP27, molecular docking studies were also conducted on these compounds. The validity of docking protocol was also explored. The results obtained from this docking study indicate that the important amino acids inside the active site cavity that are in charge of essential interactions with HSP27 are Arg140, Thr139, Phe138, Cys137, Arg136, Phe104, His103, Val101, and Asp100. And this important amino acids in essential interactions with tubulin are Asn258, Val238, Cys241, Asn350, Leu255, Met259, Val315, Thr353, Arg221, Thr179 and Ser178.


ZnO microsphere with aperture were synthesized using pure Zn powder as templates via thermal evaporation methods. X-ray diffraction pattern shows the change of crystal structures from Zn to ZnO. SEM and TEM images show that the samples prepared at low gas pressure have hollow ZnO microsphere with aperture. Compared with the morphologies of samples synthesized at high gas pressure, the growth mechanism of hollow ZnO microsphere with aperture is presumed in detail. The experimental results indicate that the evaporation of Zn inside the ZnO microsphere shell prompts the formation of hollow microsphere, and that the high pressure induces the breakage of weak locations to form the apertures, which eventually results in the appearance of ZnO microsphere with small pores and big apertures.


GNSS community has developed a series of GPS-based techniques for clock measurements and comparisons including time dissemination with the standard GPS point positioning method, clock synchronization using the codebased differential GPS positioning technique and using precise point positioning (PPP) for clock comparison. In the mean time, significant advances have been made towards real time kinematic (RTK) positioning which enables three dimensional (3D) positioning at centimeter accuracy, but without clock solutions. This paper presents a four dimensional real time kinematic (4D-RTK) method, which provides RTK timing solutions for applications such as clock synchronization and remote clocks steering in addition to 3D RTK position solutions as usual. The proposed 4D RTK model is based on n single differenced (SD) measurements between receivers for a baseline with (n-1) double differenced (DD) integer constraints. The existing 3D RTK model use (n-1) DD code and phase measurements can only enable position estimation, eliminating the receiver clock errors. In the 4D RTK, the user 3D position states are determined as usual with the DD phase measurements whose integer ambiguities are searched and fixed using the existing integer least squares (ILS) procedure. Estimation of the relative clock bias and SD phase biases is based on the SD code and phase observational equations. The constant nature of the SD phase ambiguity biases is used to improve the SD phase bias from epoch to epoch, and thus the relative clock solutions. The 4D RTK can be simplified to a RTK timing problem if the user baselines are given. Experimental analysis has been performed with a GPS data set collected over a 21 km baseline at 15 second interval for a total of 85 minutes. The results show that within the first few minutes of observations, the SD phase biases fall within the range of 0.3 cycles, thus resulting in the clock uncertainty of 0.1 to 0.2 ns. Beyond 150 epochs (about 40 minutes), the SD phase biases are stabilized within the range of 0.1 cycle, thus the clock biases can be estimated to the precision and accuracy of better than 0.1 ns, including the effect of the errors in the SD phase measurements. In general RTK timing has a significant potential for high precision real time clock synchronizations over very long distances.


In this paper, we extend the uniqueness theorem for meromorphic mappings to the case where the family of hyperplanes depends on the meromorphic mapping and where the meromorphic mappings may be degenerate.


In a longitudinal cohort study our aim was to evaluate the cytokine pattern of children affected by Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP) and to correlate this pattern to vascular endothelium damage and to nephropathy. The following parameters were monitored at the onset of the disease (T0) and after 6 months of follow-up (T1): clinical scores, serum levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 2 (IL-2), soluble IL-2 receptor (IL-2sRalpha), fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor antigen (vWf:Ag) and soluble thrombomodulin (TMD) levels. A total of 24 children (9 M, 15 F), affected by HSP, aged between 3-14 years (median 6 years), were enrolled into the study. IL-2 serum levels were significantly increased at the onset of the disease compared to control group and T1. The same pattern was observed for IL-2sRalpha and TNF-alpha. Fibrinogen and vWf:Ag concentrations were significantly higher at the onset of disease than t1 and in control group. TMD levels resulted constantly within the normal range. Concerning the analyzed parameters, no significant difference resulted to be in subjects with and without renal involvement (hematuria and/or proteinuria). Finally, raised serum TNF-alpha concentration, related to vascular endothelium damage as shown by increased vWf:Ag levels, occurred invariably in children affected by HSP both with and without renal involvement.


Research on ultrasonic extrusion under different process parameters for 45 steel shaft based on orthogonal test is carried out. The influences of various process parameters on shaft surface roughness and micro hardness are analyzed. The experimental results show that the influences of tool radius, pre-pressure, feed rate and rotating speed in the ultrasonic extrusion on surface roughness and micro hardness are different, but there are optimal values in the given experimental conditions. Compared with conventional extrusion, it can reduce the part surface roughness and improve surface micro hardness significantly in the process of ultrasonic extrusion.


We present a novel technique for the investigation of local variations of the critical current density in large bulk superconductors. In contrast to the usual Hall probe scanning technique, the sample is not magnetized as a whole before the scan, but locally by a small permanent magnet, which is fixed near the Hall probe, during the scanning process. The resulting signal can be interpreted as a qualitative measure of the local shielding currents flowing at the surface.


Abstract Climate change has caused substantial shifts in the phenology for many species across a broad array of life-history events. Ectotherms are no exception; recent studies have discovered strong climate associations with nesting phenology for many turtle species. We studied phenology for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)-endangered Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) across 16 yr in Wisconsin, USA to assess the potential for climate-associated shifts in this species. We hypothesized that, as with other freshwater turtles, Blanding's Turtle nesting phenology should be a function of climate. Furthermore, phenological shifts should be relatively consistent among nest sites within our study area given the scale of climate effects. Although nesting phenology did not advance significantly through time, nesting phenology was linked to March temperatures and was earlier in warmer years. Effects of March temperatures on nesting phenology were similar among nesting sites. Although no temporal trends in nesting phenology were evident, the strength and spatial uniformity of climate associations with nesting behavior documented by our study indicate that phenological shifts are likely, highlighting an additional form of climate vulnerability not previously recognized for this species.


More than 50% of patients who have erectile dysfunction (ED) fit a standard medical and demographic profile: They are at least 50 years old, usually married or in a long-term, monogamous relationship, and they have been troubled by progressive erectile impairment for at least a year. Clinical evaluation of such patients is relatively straightforward: a 3-part history, physical examination, and basic laboratory tests. This article outlines a practical approach to such an evaluation, offers guidelines for evaluating patients who do not fit this profile, and delineates situations in which referral to a specialist may be indicated.


Abstract : Despite its ubiquity in the systems engineering literature, flexibility remains an ambiguous concept. There exist a multitude of definitions, which vary not only by domain, but within domains as well. Despite the confusion, flexibility is an oft purported means for dealing with the well-chronicled cost and time overruns that plague the DoD systems engineering projects. This report provides findings from research conducted under the RT-18a: Valuing Flexibility project. The primary goal of this research project is to identify, develop, and validate sound quantitative methods, processes, and tools (MPTs) that will enable DoD leadership and program managers to make a convincing case for investments in system flexibility when acquisition decisions are made. The research conducted during the first phase of this project (summarized in the Mid-Term Report) focused on identifying current quantitative MPTs for valuing flexibility in DoD contexts, critically evaluated the theoretical underpinnings of these MPTs, and delivered initial capabilities to value investments in flexibility to handle unforeseen sources of change. The current phase of the project focused in three areas: developing a taxonomy for evaluating MPTs for valuing flexibility in DoD contexts (including an overview of a software implementation), extending existing methods by developing new tools for valuing flexibility through life cycle costs, and using real and illustrative scenarios as examples for applying methods to value flexibility, including a detailed case study of flexibility in Ship Maintenance.


Spores produced by a mutant of Bacillus subtilis germinate slowly and are sensitive to lysozyme. The spore coat of the mutant appears to lack a single polypeptide (mol. wt 36000) which normally is deposited in the outer layers of the spore during stage V of sporulation. The mutation maps between leuA and argA on the B. subtilis chromosome and is genotypically and phenotypically distinct from another mutation ger-36 which maps in the same region: consequently it has been assigned a new locus spoVIA. The phenotype of the mutant confirms a previous suggestion that lysozyme resistance is conferred by the outermost layers of the spore coat.


Interlocking hollow block (IHB) system is a new building technology which eliminates the mortar layer and instead provides a key connection (protrusions and grooves) to interconnect the blocks. With respect to the mortarless feature of the system, it will shorten the construction period, reduce labour and cost, and is environmental friendly. This study covers the modelling and the analysis of Putra Block which is an interlocking hollow block system developed by the Housing Research Centre at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) under axial compression load using Finite Element Method (FEM). The block units comprise of a stretcher block, a corner block and a half block. The aims of this research were to develop the Putra Block prism model using ABAQUS software and to study the structural behaviour of these prisms under axial load using finite element analysis. The Putra Block prism consists of three layers of blocks where the top and bottom layer are made of stretcher block where the middle layer are made of two half blocks placed side by side. Before proceeding with the simulation study, validation of the Putra Block prisms was conducted by using results from previous experimental research work. It was found that the ultimate load between experimental and simulation results had slight differences with an error of 2.56%. The small variations justify the ability of ABAQUS to predict the structural behaviour of elements under axial compression load with good accuracy level. Based on the FEA study, higher compressive stress value was observed on the face-shell of the block whilst higher tensile stress occurred at the webs. The failure of the prisms was mainly due to extensive tensile cracks induced at the web-shell interaction and middle of the block. Further parametric study reveals that by increasing the height of the individual blocks lead to the reduction of its ultimate load. Consequently, the use of higher concrete grade block indicated an improvement in the prism strength and stability under axial load.


The East African Revival is one of the movements which displayed gender equality in the Church. This is mainly because the message of the revival was founded on the message of Pentecost. When people joined the revival, they got inspired by the Holy Spirit which brought complete transformation. The transformation resulted in breaking down all barriers, including barriers between men and women. This article highlights gender equality and empowerment of women in the East African Revival Movement (EARM). Women became both preachers and leaders in the EARM. The revival also resulted in mutuality and partnership in marriage. Walking in the light was a major characteristic of the revival which led to openness and democratic ethos. Testimonies and public confession gave women empowerment. The women challenged cultural practices which had previously disempowered them. The women were persecuted and became martyrs of faith. Key words: Gender, Equality, East Africa, Revival, Movement


In the framework of factorization, we study direct CP violation in the decays of B(s) → J/ψP(V) (P(V) refer to the pseudoscalar (vector) meson). The CP violation depends strongly on Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix elements and the effective parameter, Nc. The recent experimental data for the branching ratios of B(s) → J/ψP(V) are accurate enough and we can give a strong constraint on the range of Nc. We find that the CP violating asymmetry is consistent with the available experiment values for the b → d transition, and a little smaller than the b → s transition. We also predict the CP violation of other decay channels for B(s) → J/ψP(V). We expect our results can give valuable guidance for experiments.


This essay explores why some groups of women in nineteenth-century Colombia were able to engage in public, political action but others were not. Elite conservative women (mostly white) and popular liberal women (mostly black and mulatta) found ways to participate publicly in republican politics, but elite liberal women (mostly white) and some popular conservative women (mostly Indian) were largely absent from the public sphere. I argue that colonial gender roles, elite and popular visions of citizenship, the contest between the Liberal and Conservative Parties, the structure of indigenous communities, and popular liberal women's access to independent economic resources all helped shape women's abilities to publicly practice republican politics. Instead of asserting that the rise of republicanism in nineteenth-century Latin America reduced women's political space, I propose that race, class, and partisan ideologies acted in complex and locally determined ways to both create male political subjects and open or close possibilities for women to forge political discourses and practices for themselves.


Left ventricular injection of meglumine diatrizoate caused an initial (1-10 minute) decrease in renal vascular resistance followed by a late (30-minute) increase in renal vascular resistance. The late renal vasoconstrictor response was not blocked by bilateral cervical vagotomy, by renal adrenergic blockade or by renal alpha adrenergic receptor blockade; it was blocked by prior extracellular fluid volume expansion and blockade of the response of the kidney to angiotensin II. There was no effect on intrarenal distribution of blood flow. In the kidney perfused at constant flow, injections of meglumine diatrizoate into the kidney resulted in early renal vasodilation (1-5 minutes) with a return to control renal vascular resistance by 7 minutes; no vasoconstriction was observed. The renal vasodilatation was not abolished by prior treatment with atropine. Vasodilator responses identical to those observed with meglumine diatrizoate were obtained with 4.5% NaCl (equiosmolar to meglumine diatrizoate); no response was obtained with 0.9% NaCl. When given into either the left ventricle or the renal artery, meglumine diatrizoate caused an early reversible depression in renal extraction of para-aminohippurate; both 0.9 and 4.5% NaCl were without effect. The renal vasodilation produced by meglumine diatrizoate initially appears to be caused by its hyperosmotic properties; the late renal vasoconstrictor response appears to be mediated via an activation of the renin-angiotensin system. The depressive effect of meglumine diatrizoate on the renal extraction of para-aminohippurate is not related to its osmotic properties but rather to an effect of the organic iodinated molecule on cellular transport of para-aminohippurate.


Abstract. Intravascular optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical imaging modality commonly used in the assessment of coronary artery diseases during percutaneous coronary intervention. Manual segmentation to assess luminal stenosis from OCT pullback scans is challenging and time consuming. We propose a linear-regression convolutional neural network to automatically perform vessel lumen segmentation, parameterized in terms of radial distances from the catheter centroid in polar space. Benchmarked against gold-standard manual segmentation, our proposed algorithm achieves average locational accuracy of the vessel wall of 22 microns, and 0.985 and 0.970 in Dice coefficient and Jaccard similarity index, respectively. The average absolute error of luminal area estimation is 1.38%. The processing rate is 40.6 ms per image, suggesting the potential to be incorporated into a clinical workflow and to provide quantitative assessment of vessel lumen in an intraoperative time frame.


This paper incorporates publication uncertainty in a game between researchers and journal editors and examines its effects on quantity and quality of published research. A stylized differential Stackelberg game between journal editors and academic authors is considered, where authors seek to maximize satisfaction from publications, while journal editors try to enhance reputations of their journals. Publication probability depends on the number of academic journals. Results show that greater journal competition, generally leading to reduced publication uncertainty, would increase author payoffs by increasing citations and publications. However, it is not clear whether the quality of published research is enhanced. Thus, changes in competition in publishing markets have the potential to exacerbate the quantity-quantity trade offs in research markets.


Abstract:In The Fisher King, Paule Marshall depicts urban spatial and social relations that resonate with the psychic and social ruptures of the African Diaspora. The novel's central characters comprise a blended family with Southern African American and Caribbean roots. They reckon with problems of social marginalization, alienation, and fragmentation, engendered by their various experiences of dislocation. While mindful of the diverse histories, values, and worldviews within black America's heterogeneous collectivity, Marshall ultimately privileges black women's perspectives on the limits and possibilities of traversing geographic and social spaces. Hattie Carmichael, the "City child" who occupies the moral center of the novel, embodies practices of cultural improvisation, self-determination, and intersubjective reciprocity; practices that make it possible for diasporic subjects to claim and assign meaning to the places and spaces that they inhabit.


Clients of storage-as-a-service systems such as Amazon's S3 want to be sure that the files they have entrusted to the cloud are available now and will be available in the future.
 Using protocols from previous work on proofs of retriev-ability and on provable data possession, clients can verify that their files are available now. But these protocols do not guarantee that the files are replicated onto multiple drives or multiple datacenters. Such tests are crucial if cloud storage is to provide resilience to natural disasters and power outages as well as improving the network latency to different parts of the world.
 In this paper, we study the problem of verifying that a cloud storage provider replicates the data in diverse geolocations. We provide a theoretical framework for verifying this property. Our model accurately determines which Amazon CloudFront location serves content for Planetlab nodes across the continental US.
 Our work is complementary to the recent paper of Bowers et al., which uses different techniques to verify that files are replicated across multiple drives in a single datacenter.


The assignment of papers to reviewers is a crucial part of the peer review processes of large publication venues, where organizers (e.g., conference program chairs) rely on algorithms to perform automated paper assignment. As such, a major challenge for the organizers of these processes is to specify paper assignment algorithms that find appropriate assignments with respect to various desiderata. Although the main objective when choosing a good paper assignment is to maximize the expertise of each reviewer for their assigned papers, several other considerations make introducing randomization into the paper assignment desirable: robustness to malicious behavior, the ability to evaluate alternative paper assignments, reviewer diversity, and reviewer anonymity. However, it is unclear in what way one should randomize the paper assignment in order to best satisfy all of these considerations simultaneously. In this work, we present a practical, one-size-fits-all method for randomized paper assignment intended to perform well across different motivations for randomness. We show theoretically and experimentally that our method outperforms currently-deployed methods for randomized paper assignment on several intuitive randomness metrics, demonstrating that the randomized assignments produced by our method are general-purpose.


Acoustic-reflex recovery time was measured as a function of activator intensity level and duration for broad-band noise and a 500-Hz tone in 10 normal-hearing subjects. The activating signals were presented at 5 and 10 dB above individual acoustic reflex thresholds for durations ranging from 0.25 to 100 sec. Reflex-recovery times were similar across both activators and across activator intensity levels. Recovery time was relatively constant for activators of 2 sec or less and increased for longer activator durations. Portions of the results from temporary threshold shift experiments are explained on the basis of acoustic reflex recovery characteristics.


There is an increasing amount of structure on the Web as a result of modern Web languages, user tagging and annotation, emerging robust NLP tools, and an ever growing volume of linked data. These meaningful, semantic, annotations hold the promise to significantly enhance information access, by enhancing the depth of analysis of today's systems. Currently, we have only started exploring the possibilities and only begin to understand how these valuable semantic cues can be put to fruitful use. To complicate matters, standard text search excels at shallow information needs expressed by short keyword queries, and here semantic annotation contributes very little, if anything. The main questions for the workshop are how to leverage the rich context currently available, especially in a mobile search scenario, giving powerful new handles to exploit semantic annotations. And how can we fruitfully combine information retrieval and semantic web approaches, and for the first time work actively toward a unified view on exploiting semantic annotations.


Architecture provides the platform for the inherent connections between people and their city to flourish. The urban realm naturally invites diverse people to inhabit and interact together, giving city life its vibrancy. Urban spaces encourage spontaneous interactions between people and with architecture, to produce creative acts of play and liberating moments of leisure. It has been suggested that these events encapsulate the everyday performance of the city and are the antithesis to everyday life. It is argued this performance is often ignored in modern urban design. It has been noted that Wellington's waterfront offers areas where momentary and impotent engagement can be developed into meaningful experiences.  Simultaneously, the importance and potency of sound within urban spaces may be undervalued. It is often argued that modern cities assault our senses with sounds leading to discomfort and distracted inhabitation, contributing to a lack of engagement. Urban sounds are commonly dampened in public spaces to combat this assault, but with more thoughtful design these sounds can be reinterpreted to augment the innate everyday performances. This thesis proposes that controlling how people experience urban sounds through architecture can create a deep sensory performance that increases engagement, awareness and interaction.  This research explores ways to harness the latent sounds of the city to form meaningful connections between people and their city while providing moments of play and leisure. Once isolated and harnessed, the urban sounds' unique and intrinsic power can aid the development of urban spaces, thus producing greater significance within the urban fabric. There will be focus on the connection between the senses, performance and the urban context. The opportunity to enable the acceptance of the environment and reflection on their city marks an important role within the urban fabric.  Concurrently, this research explores how an intuitive drawing-led process can integrate and challenge the boundaries of both interior and the exterior urban realm. Other interior architectural strategies, together with soundscape design and urban interior principles aid this interdisciplinary exploration.


This Article addresses the increasingly important role of administrative guidance in interpreting the United States' international treaty obligations. The relationship between administrative guidance and treaties raises important issues at the intersection of international law, constitutional law, and administrative law.These issues are explored in the context of the United States' extensive tax treaty network. Tax treaties play an important role in a global economy, attempting to reconcile the complex and ever-changing internal tax laws of different countries. The Treasury Department is considering the increased use of administrative guidance to interpret the meaning and application of tax treaties, particularly in response to the increasingly sophisticated business structures and cross-border transactions utilized by multinational corporations. This Article considers the weight that courts should give to unilateral administrative guidance when interpreting tax treaties. The Article concludes that Treasury's traditional ad hoc approach based on informal technical explanations is entitled to little, if any, deference in interpreting previously negotiated bilateral agreements between sovereign nations. However, the Article identifies certain limited circumstances where formal Treasury regulations might enable the Treasury Department to influence the application of previously negotiated tax treaties without violating the United States' obligations under these treaties.


Ventricular dyssynchrony as induced by epicardial ventricular pacing has been the subject of investigations for many years. It has been shown that dyssynchrony is characterized by regions of wall thinning and hypertrophy and is detrimental to left ventricular (LV) function. The mechanisms that trigger these changes are unknown. Therefore, I hypothesize that dyskinesis, secondary to LV pacing, triggers local inflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation. To gain further mechanistic insight, I wish to determine two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional changes in myocardial function and inflammation induced by myocardial dyskinesis. I also want to determine if inflammatory responses induced by dyskinesis are mediated by a vascular event via cellular adhesion molecules (CAM). A canine model was used to determine regional and transmural differences in LV contractile function and inflammatory responses associated with local early contraction. Results investigating regional differences in LV contractile function demonstrate that local dyskinesis creates regions of early shortening at the pace site, as well as in areas immediately surrounding the pace site. Evaluation of inflammatory responses showed increases in neutrophil infiltration and in MMP-9 in regions undergoing early shortening. Results investigating the transmural differences in LV function indicate that 4 h of LV pacing results in a 30% local loss of endocardial wall thickening (p<0.01). Transmural assessment of neutrophil infiltration showed a significant 5 fold increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in the epicardium vs midwall/endocardium. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP- 9) activity increased 2 fold in the epicardium and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation 2.5 fold. In a mouse model, results showed a significant 3 fold increase in MPO, 2 fold increase in ROS, and 3 fold increase in MMP-9 activity in dyskinetic hearts vs controls. In canine subjects anesthetized with propofol, a known cardioprotectant, and ICAM-1 or p-selectin null mice, dyskinesis failed to increase neutrophil infiltration or MMP-9 activity in early activated dyskinetic LV. Early activated dyskinetic regions demonstrate depressed endocardial contractile function, and epicardial inflammation. The upregulation of CAM appears necessary to trigger these inflammatory responses, thus suggesting inflammation is induced by vascular events. Over the long-term, these events may contribute to adverse changes in LV structure/function.


The antioxidant capability and phenolic contents of ethanol extracts (free phenolics) and ethyl acetate extracts (bound phenolics) of three Quercus species were estimated in this work. The antioxidant activities were examined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) free radical, reducing power and b-carotene bleaching methods. HPLC was employed to detect major phenolic acids. The leaf extract of Q. salicina contained maximum total phenolics while the highest total flavonoid content was found in the leaf extract of Q. serrata. The antioxidant activities varied among three species. Bark extract of Q. salicina was the most potential and it was closed to levels of the standard antioxidative dibutyl hydroxytoluene (BHT). The bark extract of Q. serrata also showed promising antioxidant activities despite their eminence was negligibly lower than Q. salicina. Stronger antioxidant activities of free phenolics than those of the bound phenolics may be attributed to higher quantities of free phenolics in the barks of Quercus species, however total flavonoids may not contribute a critical role. By HPLC analysis, thirteen phenolic acids were detected in the leaf and bark extracts. Of them, Q. salicina showed maximum in number (ten compounds) and quantities of detected phenolic acids. Ellagic, chlorogenic and benzoic acids were dominant in Quercus species. Findings of this study revealed that leaves and barks of three Quercus species are rich source of antioxidants, and Q.salicina is the most promising and should be elaborated to exploit its pharmaceutical properties.


A mass in the neck represents a diverse number of possible pathologic conditions. The importance of obtaining a thorough history and ensuring that a complete head and neck examination is performed has been emphasized. The physician should then be able to determine if the mass is insignificant and warrants observation or significant and warrants action. Physicians must determine, to the best of their abilities, that appropriate evaluation and treatment are done for the patient. Common errors should be avoided.


INTRODUCTION The development of naïve cells towards a terminally differentiated fate often proceeds through a number of distinct steps. Complex transcriptional and post-transcriptional hierarchies regulate transitions between these stages so that differentiation occurs in a linear and tissue-specific manner. Drosophila ovarian germline cyst development has served as a useful platform for studying how diverse mechanisms coordinate to establish specific cell fates, particularly with regards to stem cells and their differentiating progeny. Ovarian cyst development begins in the germarium with the asymmetric division of a germline stem cell (GSC) (for a review, see Wong et al., 2005). This division results in one of the daughters being displaced away from the cap cell niche. This cell, called the cystoblast, proceeds through four incomplete mitotic divisions to form an interconnected 16-cell cyst. Within this cyst, one cell becomes the oocyte, whereas the remaining cells become supportive nurse cells. Once encapsulated by follicle cells, the cyst buds off of the germarium to become an egg chamber. Several molecular and morphological markers highlight changes within differentiating germline cysts. One widely used marker has been the fusome, a germline-specific organelle that has many properties of the endoplasmic reticulum (Lighthouse et al., 2008; Snapp et al., 2004). The fusome plays roles in regulating the mitotic cell cycle within germline cysts and in oocyte specification (Lin and


Classic Kawasaki disease is characterized by acute onset of fever (more than 5 days), red eyes, red lips, red tongue, a rash, perianal erythema there can be swelling and redness of the hands and feet and there can also be swelling of the cervical lymph nodes Coronary involvement is the ghost of KD, atypical presentations and incomplete KD are challenging Recently, World Health Organization (WHO) put out a scientific brief describing "clusters of children and adolescents requiring admission to intensive care units with a multisystem inflammatory condition with some features similar to those of KD and toxic shock syndrome The symptoms reported often fulfil criteria for classic KD In countries with large outbreaks of coronavirus, there have been more reported cases of pediatric shock and KD-like symptoms Some of these children have tested positive for COVID-19 or coronavirus antibodies High index of suspicion is needed for early diagnosis and wise management, this would help to minimize the risk of development of serious complications


Acylethanolamides are endogenous compounds with lipid structure including anandamide (AEA), palmitoilethanolamide, oleylamide and oleylethanolamide (OEA). AEA binds to the cannabinoid receptor CB1, located at the central nervous system, while OEA is an endogenous ligand for the alpha subtype of peroxisome-proliferator activating receptor (PPARα). Since AEA acts on the same receptor which binds marihuana active derivatives, this group of compounds were called endocannabinoids. Besides typical central effects of cannabinoids, CB1 receptor activation leads to hyperphagia, whereas its pharmacological blockade is followed by changes in energy metabolism favouring substrate oxidation. OEA has inhibitory effects on food intake by acting on PPARα receptors which modulate the autonomous nervous system. Both acylethanolamides, AEA and OEA, have opposite effects suggesting that they form part of a satiety sensor system. Whereas fasting triggers AEA release and inhibits OEA synthesis, eating has the reverse effect. Additionally OEA is also produced by adipocytes ad has some effects on lipid metabolism. All these data suggest a role for acylethanolamides and the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis.


Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) has meanwhile been established as a paradigm for analyzing remotely sensed image data. Although the degree of automation for OBIA methods has increased for several applications, especially in the domain of remote sensing, robust and transferable object-based solutions for automated image analysis of sets of images or even large image archives are still rare. One of the reasons for this lack of robustness and transferability is the high complexity of remote sensing image contents: Especially in Very High Resolution (VHR) remote sensing data, under varying imaging conditions or sensor characteristics, the objects' properties can vary unpredictably. Although earlier work has demonstrated that OBIA rule sets bear a high potential of transferability these rule sets need to be adapted manually in order to receive acceptable results, or the classification results need to be adjusted manually in a post-processing step. In order to automate these adaptation and adjustment procedures we investigate the coupling, extension and integration of OBIA with the agent-based paradigm, which is exhaustively investigated in software engineering and robotics. The aims of such integration are a) rule sets which can be adapted autonomously according to varying imaging data, and b) image objects which can adapt and adjust themselves in order to best possibly represent the objects of interest in an image. This paper briefly introduces a framework for Agent Based Image Analysis (ABIA) and presents our first research results.


Author(s): Bun, Linh | Advisor(s): Singh, Nirvikar; Aizenman, Joshua | Abstract: Chapter 1 (Part I): Financial Development and Growth: Multi-dimensional View analyze the effects of "financial development" on economic growth using a multi-dimensional view. Existing literature uses a single dimension, financial depth, as measure of financial development. Our approach is to consider a multi-dimensional view of financial development and to take in to account other dimensions of financial development. We categorize financial development (financial institutions and markets) along three dimension: financial depth, access and efficiency. We find that for the country sample analyzed, financial institutions depth and efficiency are compliment.Chapter 2 (Part I): Heterogeneous Patterns of Financial Development: Implications for Asian Financial Integration studies detailed differences in patterns of financial development across the major Asian economies, including three of the region's largest economies (China, Japan and South Korea), to understand how these differences might affect possibilities for greater regional financial integration. In particular, the paper argues that heterogeneous patterns of financial development, and not just differences in levels of financial development, may present an economic challenge to regional financial integration efforts, aside from possible political challenges. The paper provides background on the case for financial openness, Asian experiences with financial integration, and regional economic responses to external shocks. It also discusses policy options, including regulatory reform and coordination, and possible risk management policies and institutions, in the context of heterogeneous patterns of financial development.Chapter 3 (Part II): Structural Changes and Labor Market Frictions analyzes a calibrated three-sector (agriculture, manufacturing and services) endogenous growth model with learning-by-doing to study the process of structural transformation in emerging and developing economies. We introduced a calibrated three-sector endogenous growth model with sectoral labor adjustment costs. The model generates a hump-shaped in manufacturing employment share. We introduce a key feature of leaning-by-doing in manufacturing sector to a standard three-sector structural transformation model with labor market friction, which is new to the literature. Labor market friction plays an important role in generating a novel feature of structural changes, humped-shaped in manufacturing employment. In our model, opening to trade can accelerate or decrease structural transformation (labor movement into the manufacturing sector) depending on comparative advantage, whether the economy specializes in agriculture or non-agriculture goods after opening to trade. The calibrated model with labor market friction generated the hump-shaped labor share in manufacturing for South Korea.


Abstract : Axiomatic thermomechanics of a continuum and the introduction of supplementary postulates are used to construct a nonlinear theory of thermoelasticity, one postulate of which is a nonlinear equation of thermal conductivity of comparatively general form. From this equation of thermal conductivity and as a result of appropriate simplifications, certain versions of the linear and nonlinear equations of thermal conductivity are derived. Based on this nonlinear theory of thermoelasticity concrete mathematical models are constructed (closed systems of equations), which assume the first derivative of displacements in Lagrange coordinates and the relative temperature change to be small (in comparison with unity). The theory of elasticity is considered as a particular case of the theory of thermoelasticity. It is shown that in the case of typical structural materials the geometric and physical nonlinearity cause nonlinear effects of identical order.


Purpose: Compliance in kidney transplant recipients is critical for a positive prognosis. Especially compliance with medications after kidney transplantation is a major health care issue with implications for graft rejection and graft loss. But the definition of compliance in transplantation varies among centers. The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of compliance in kidney transplant recipients.
Methods: A literature search was conducted using RISS, MEDLINE, CINAHL. The concept analysis was guided by the methodology posited by Walker and Avant.
Results: In this study, we found the attributes of the concept: 'compliance with immunosuppressive medication', 'compliance with follow-up', 'compliance with early detection of graft rejection and complication', and 'compliance with prevention of complication'. The antecedents of 'compliance in kidney transplant recipients' included 'having a kidney transplant surgery' and 'normal function of transplanted kidney'. The consequences of 'compliance in kidney transplant recipients' included
'affecting the function of the transplanted kidney' and 'affecting the health of kidney transplant recipients. Conclusion: This study may contribute to the development of tools for measuring compliance in kidney transplant recipients, as well as benefit nursing interventions research to increase compliance in kidney transplant recipients.


The use of multimedia courseware in conducting classroom teaching in our tertiary institutions is imperative. Using a powerful combination of audio, full-motion video, text and colorful graphics, courses from the Interactive compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) makes students take more proactive role in acquiring; analyzing and synthesizing information. This mode of learning will bring about better students' performance. This paper discusses multimedia courseware on compact disk read-only memory as one of the most convenient and cost-effective courseware reengineering methodology of our age. A brief summary of the steps required to produce a multimedia courseware is also provided. Also discussed are the reasons for converting classroom courses to e-learning format. The general advantages and disadvantages of this approach to learning is also discussed. Students will have the liberty to go through the same lecture as many times as they wish and also at their individual pace. Lecturers on their own will have more time to attend to student problems.


Stream fusion [3] is a powerful technique for automatically transforming high-level sequence-processing functions into efficient implementations. It has been used to great effect in Haskell libraries for manipulating byte arrays, Unicode text, and unboxed vectors. However, some operations, like vector append, still do not perform well within the standard stream fusion framework. Others, like SIMD computation using the SSE and AVX instructions available on modern x86 chips, do not seem to fit in the framework at all. In this paper we introduce generalized stream fusion, which solves these issues. The key insight is to bundle together multiple stream representations, each tuned for a particular class of stream consumer. We also describe a stream representation suited for efficient computation with SSE instructions. Our ideas are implemented in modified versions of the GHC compiler and vector library. Benchmarks show that high-level Haskell code written using our compiler and libraries can produce code that is competitive with hand-tuned assembly.


In this paper, we formulate the fourth order Sturm-Liouville problem (FSLP) as a Lie group matrix differential equation. By solving this ma- trix differential equation by Lie group Magnus expansion, we compute the eigenvalues of the FSLP. The Magnus expansion is an infinite series of multiple integrals of Lie brackets. The approximation is, in fact, the truncation of Magnus expansion and a Gaussian quadrature are used to evaluate the integrals. Finally, some numerical examples are given.


We have synthesized internally quenched peptides spanning the Met379-Lys380 or Arg389-Ser390 bonds of human kininogen (hkng) that flank lysyl-bradykinin and have studied the kinetics of their hydrolysis by human tissue kallikrein. The kinetic data for the hydrolysis of the Met-Lys bond in substrates with an N-terminal extension showed that interactions up to position residue P10 contribute to the efficiency of cleavage. In contrast, there were no significant variations in the kinetic data for the hydrolysis of substrates with C-terminal extensions at sites P'4 to P'11. A similar pattern was observed for the cleavage of substrates containing an Arg-Ser bond because substrates extended up to residue P6 were hydrolysed with the highest kcat/Km values in the series, whereas those extended to P'11 on the C-terminal side had a lower susceptibility to hydrolysis. Time-course studies of hydrolysis by human and porcine tissue kallikreins of a Leu373 to Ile393 human kininogen fragment containing omicron-aminobenzoic acid (Abz) at the N-terminus and an amidated C-terminal carboxyl group Abz-Leu-Gly-Met-Ile-Ser-Leu-Met-Lys-Arg- Pro-Pro-Gly-Phe-Ser-Pro-Phe-Arg-Ser-Ser-Arg-Ile-NH2 (Abz-[Leu373-Ile393]-hkng-NH2) indicated that the cleavage of Met-Lys and Arg-Ser bonds in the same molecule occurs via the formation of independent enzyme-substrate complexes. The hydrolysis of Abz-F-R-S-S-R-Q-EDDnp [where EDDnp is N-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)ethylenediamine] and Abz-M-I-S-L-M-K-R-P-Q-EDDnp by human tissue kallikrein had maximal kcat/Km values at pH 9-9.5 for both substrates. The pH-dependent variations in this kinetic parameter were almost exclusively due to variations in kcat. A significant decrease in kcat/Km values was observed for the hydrolysis of Arg-Ser and Met-Lys bonds in the presence of 0.1 M NaCl. Because this effect was closely related to an increase in Km, it is likely that sodium competes with the positive charges of the substrate side chains for the same enzyme subsites.


Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were carried out to determine the diet composition and trophic position of the invasive species Carassius gibelio to help understand the potential impact of this species on the native fish fauna in the Karamenderes River, northwest Turkey. Filamentous algae were the most important diet component according to stable isotope mixing models. Filamentous algae and detritus formed also considerable part of the gut contents. The trophic position of C. gibelio was 2.43±0.5, 2.04±0.4 and 3.35±0.5 estimated by three different methods. The trophic niche width of this invasive species was larger than those of the native species. Our results indicate that the high dietary plasticity of C. gibelio and its lower trophic position than the other fish community members, can contribute to its success as an invasive species.


We present Hypersequent Classical Processes (HCP), a revised interpretation of the "Proofs as Processes" correspondence between linear logic and the π-calculus initially proposed by Abramsky [1994], and later developed by Bellin and Scott [1994], Caires and Pfenning [2010], and Wadler [2014], among others. HCP mends the discrepancies between linear logic and the syntax and observable semantics of parallel composition in the π-calculus, by conservatively extending linear logic to hyperenvironments (collections of environments, inspired by the hypersequents by Avron [1991]). Separation of environments in hyperenvironments is internalised by ⊗ and corresponds to parallel process behaviour. Thanks to this property, for the first time we are able to extract a labelled transition system (lts) semantics from proof rewritings. Leveraging the information on parallelism at the level of types, we obtain a logical reconstruction of the delayed actions that Merro and Sangiorgi [2004] formulated to model non-blocking I/O in the π-calculus. We define a denotational semantics for processes based on Brzozowski derivatives, and uncover that non-interference in HCP corresponds to Fubini's theorem of double antiderivation. Having an lts allows us to validate HCP using the standard toolbox of behavioural theory. We instantiate bisimilarity and barbed congruence for HCP, and obtain a full abstraction result: bisimilarity, denotational equivalence, and barbed congruence coincide.


A flexible sheet subject to a normal impinging air jet can oscillate. We present a simple experiment that shows that added damping generated by the jet is responsible for this aeroelastic instability. The cases of planar jet and circular jet are studied. A model is presented to describe this instability and the results agree well with the experimental observations. The nozzle geometry is found to be a dominant parameter that drives the critical distance between the jet and the sheet, under which the instability develops.


Urban expansion and the scarcity of water supplies in arid and semiarid regions have increased the importance of urban runoff to localized water resources. However, urban catchment responses to precipitation are poorly understood in semiarid regions where intense rainfall often results in large runoff events during the short summer monsoon season. To evaluate how urban runoff quantity and quality respond to rainfall magnitude and timing, we collected stream stage data and runoff samples throughout the 2007 and 2008 summer monsoons from four ephemeral drainages in Tucson, Arizona. Antecedent rainfall explained 20% to 30% of discharge (mm) and runoff ratio in the least impervious (22%) catchment but was not statistically related to hydrologic responses at more impervious sites. Regression models indicated that rainfall depth, imperviousness and their combined effect control discharge and runoff ratios (p < 0.01, r2 = 0.91 and 0.75, respectively). In contrast, runoff quality did not vary with imperviousness or catchment size. Rainfall depth and duration, time since antecedent rainfall and event and cumulative discharge controlled runoff hydrochemistry and resulted in five specific solute response patterns: (i) strong event and seasonal solute mobilization (solute flush), (ii) event chemostasis and strong seasonal flush, (iii) event chemostasis and weak seasonal flush, (iv) event and seasonal chemostasis and (v) late seasonal flush. Our results indicate that hydrologic responses of semiarid catchments are controlled by rainfall partitioning at the event scale, whereas wetting magnitude, frequency and timing alter solute stores readily available for transport and control temporal runoff quality. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Currently the most widely used machine for precision seeding of cotton and maize seed is vacuum type. The capture of seeds by vacuum plate and the release of seeds from the vacuum plate should be performed precisely without missing or doubling. The physical phenomena should be clarified theoretically to understand how the precision seeding mechanism works. To solve these problems, an attempt was made to develop a nomogram using equations describing the technical characteristics of the seeder used in this study and to describe the seed capture mechanism relying on basic principles of fluid mechanics and aerodynamic properties of seeds. Seed spacing accuracy tests were performed to test the theory on a sticky belt in the laboratory. Quality of feed index, miss and multiple indices, and precision have been taken as a set of criteria for seed spacing accuracy. The regression models developed using the data obtained via sticky band tests showed that 16 seeds s-1 was the upper limit of seed release frequency (SRF) for cotton and maize seeds. The upper limit of vacuum plate peripheral speed was found to be 0.34 m s-1. The use of 72 holes instead of 26 holes in the vacuum plate at 6.3 kPa created a vacuum band in the width of 10 mm around holes and this increased the multiple index and caused a reduction in seeding performance. For this reason, the use of vacuum plates with 60 or 52 holes is recommended for cotton seed. The forward speed of either 1.0 or 1.5 m s-1 was found to be acceptable for the seed spacing of 0.05 and 0.10 m, respectively. Aerodynamic calculations verified that widely used vacuum plates with 26 holes were the appropriate ones for seeding maize seeds. The performance indices, namely the quality of feed, and miss and multiple indices, reduced significantly for cotton and maize seeding when the precision metering unit was run at 20% (11°) slope to the right as compared to the no slope condition.


Tuberculosis transmission in free-ranging bison of northern Canada is of significant concern to wildlife managers because of its effects on condition and mortality in bison herds and the potential for transmission to local hunters and neighbouring cattle populations. The chronic nature of tuberculosis combined with the gregarious behaviours of bison permit its persistence in free-ranging herds even at low densities, which makes disease eradication difficult without whole herd depopulation. The protection of remaining non-infected free-ranging bison populations is thus of paramount importance to the conservation of specific disease-free wild bison in northern Canada and to the economic stability of cattle farms. Detection of movements and removal of dispersing animals between spatially separated free-ranging populations reduces the potential for contact between bison populations and minimizes the probability of tuberculosis transmission. In this thesis, a conceptual model was developed to assess the potential for tuberculosis transmission between two infected bison herds (Nyarling River and Garden River) in Wood Buffalo National Park and the spatially separated, Mackenzie Bison herd in the Northwest Territories. This conceptual model identifies gaps in knowledge and highlights areas where research is required to ensure accurate evaluation of tuberculosis transmission risk in freeranging bison. The main finding was that the bison cohort representing the highest risk for tuberculosis transmission between spatially separated free-ranging herds is mature males. The propensity of mature males to make long-distance movements is also not fully understood and research to predict these movements would make a significant contribution to risk assessment and management planning to reduce the probability of contact between infected and non-infected


Copper anode sludge was a byproduct produced during the refinery of copper. The sludge contained amount of noble metals and rare metals, and also was an important resources for recovering noble metals. In this paper, ammonium thiocyante was used as leaching reagent for extracting gold from arsenic-free anode sludge (secondary sludge). Under the optical conditions, the leaching efficiency was up to 85.1%, while the dynamic behavior of gold leaching was studied, the activation energy of the system Eα=20.093kJ•mol-1, and reaction velocity constant k=4.084e-20093/RT. The treatment of copper sludge could greatly reduce the potential contamination to the environment.


textabstractDuring the Korean war between 1951-1953, an epidemic occurred among United
Nations sanctioned military troops, characterized by fever, haemorrhages, shock and
renal failure with a case fatality rate of up to 15%. This disease became known as
Korean haemorrhagic fever [Smadel, 1951; Earle, 1954]. Despite extensive investigations
at that time no etiologic agent could be identified. In the far east the oldest
suggestive description of a similar disease had been made as early as 1000 years ago
in a Chinese medicine book [Lee, 1982a]. During the American Civil War between
1862-1866 epidemics of "general dropsy" with renal involvement were noted among
northern army troops. This disease was later called "Bright's disease" [Brown, 1916].
In Europe the first descriptions of the disease appeared in the early 1900's, after
outbreaks in Russia and Scandinavia [Mayer, 1952; Myhrman, 1934; Zetterholm,
1934]. The Russians called the disease haemorrhagic nephroso-nephritis and the
Scandinavians named it nephropathia epidemica (NE). During the trench-warfare of
World War I in Europe, several epidemics of NE-like disease occurred among
British, French and German troops. In the army medical records of the respective
countries this "newly" described disease became known as "trench-nephritis",
"nephrite de guerre" and "Kriegsnephritis" [Brown, 1916; Ameuille, 1916; Ullman,
1916]. In World War II several thousands of cases of "Kriegsnephritis" occurred
among German troops in northern Finland [Stuhlfauth, 1943; Hortling, 1946].
Gajdusek postulated already in 1962 that all the above mentioned diseases were
caused by a single agent or a closely related group of agents [Gajdusek, 1962]. In
1978, more than 25 years after the end of the Korean war, Lee and co-workers
isolated the etiologic agent of Korean haemorrhagic fever, - Hantaan virus - from the
lungs of Korean striped field mice (Apodemlls agrarills) [Lee et aI., 1978]. Outside
Scandinavia and east Asia the first serologically confrrmed human cases of Hantaanlike
virus infection were described in Belgium in 1983 [Desmyter et aI., 1983].
Subsequently, it has indeed become clear that all the above mentioned diseases are
caused by closely related viruses [Gajdusek, 1982; Lee, 1989] which have now been
included in the genus Hantavirus of the Bunyaviridae family. In 1983, the rodentborne
viruses serologically related to Hantaan virus, all causing similar clinical
symptoms, were labelled under the generic term haemorrhagic fever with renal
syndrome (HFRS) [WHO, 1983].


Current anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody screening immunoassays are routinely based on an indirect format. Although their use for anti-HCV antibody detection has achieved a very high specificity and sensitivity, false-positive results are still a problem especially among populations with a low prevalence of HCV infection. One strategy to obviate this problem is to adapt the assay from an indirect format to a double-antigen sandwich one to further improve its specificity. In this study, a double-antigen sandwich time-resolved immunofluorometric assay (DAS-TRIFMA) has been developed to detect total anti-HCV antibodies based on biotin-streptavidin interaction. For comparison, 1025 samples were analysed by the DAS-TRIFMA and three indirect anti-HCV antibody detection methods. For samples with discordant results, PCR-ELISA and Inno-LIA were employed as supplementary assays to analyse the presence of HCV antibodies. With regard to the 1025 clinical samples, the overall concordance between the DAS-TRIFMA and the three indirect methods was 99.41, 98.93 and 98.93 % for Ortho ELISA 3.0, WAT ELISA and I-TRIFMA, respectively. The specificity/sensitivity of the DAS-TRIFMA, Ortho HCV ELISA 3.0, WAT HCV ELISA and I-TRIFMA were 100/99.09, 99.34/98.18, 99.23/97.27 and 99.01 %/98.18 %, respectively. The DAS-TRIFMA was able to detect HCV antibodies at a concentration about 1/10 of that detectable by indirect methods. From the obtained results and their comparison, it is concluded that the DAS-TRIFMA is a more specific and reliable method for screening anti-HCV antibodies, and weakly positive S/Co values by the DAS-TRIFMA were more predictive of HCV infection than those by indirect methods.


The objective of the study was to estimate the prevalence of smoking among Elazig Police School students. In this study 324 of 328 students who were enrolled in April 2000, were reached. Questionnaires were filled by students after offer obtaining informed consents. Average of age was 25.19. All of them were male and 13.6% of them were married. 48.5 of their fathers and 4.9% of their mothers were current smokers. Of the 324 students, 62.3% were daily smoker and 4.3% were occasional smokers. A total of 66.6% of the students were current smokers. Average Fagerstrom Nicotine Dependency score of smoker students was 2.1±1.97. 26.9% of the smokers considered fairly much and 47.7% of them had given very little consideration to the thought. 98.2% of total study population agreed on the hazardous health effects of smoking. This study shows that the prevalence of smoking was high among Zulfu Agar Police school students. For this reason, relationship of cigarette and health should be in the education programs. Also in quitting smoking cigarette campaigns can give some help in regression of the cigarette epidemic and the struggle with cigarette.


Purpose In early breast cancer (BC), five conventional biomarkers—estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), Ki67, and Nottingham histologic grade (NHG)—are used to determine prognosis and treatment. We aimed to develop classifiers for these biomarkers that were based on tumor mRNA sequencing (RNA-seq), compare classification performance, and test whether such predictors could add value for risk stratification. Methods In total, 3,678 patients with BC were studied. For 405 tumors, a comprehensive multi-rater histopathologic evaluation was performed. Using RNA-seq data, single-gene classifiers and multigene classifiers (MGCs) were trained on consensus histopathology labels. Trained classifiers were tested on a prospective population-based series of 3,273 BCs that included a median follow-up of 52 months (Sweden Cancerome Analysis Network—Breast [SCAN-B], ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02306096), and results were evaluated by agreement statistics and Kaplan-Meier and Cox survival analyses. Results Pathologist concordance was high for ER, PgR, and HER2 (average κ, 0.920, 0.891, and 0.899, respectively) but moderate for Ki67 and NHG (average κ, 0.734 and 0.581). Concordance between RNA-seq classifiers and histopathology for the independent cohort of 3,273 was similar to interpathologist concordance. Patients with discordant classifications, predicted as hormone responsive by histopathology but non–hormone responsive by MGC, had significantly inferior overall survival compared with patients who had concordant results. This extended to patients who received no adjuvant therapy (hazard ratio [HR], 3.19; 95% CI, 1.19 to 8.57), or endocrine therapy alone (HR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.55 to 4.51). For cases identified as hormone responsive by histopathology and who received endocrine therapy alone, the MGC hormone-responsive classifier remained significant after multivariable adjustment (HR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.39 to 4.34). Conclusion Classification error rates for RNA-seq–based classifiers for the five key BC biomarkers generally were equivalent to conventional histopathology. However, RNA-seq classifiers provided added clinical value in particular for tumors determined by histopathology to be hormone responsive but by RNA-seq to be hormone insensitive.


We define a premium principle under the continuous cumulative prospect theory which extends the equivalent utility principle. In prospect theory risk attitude and loss aversion are shaped via a value function, whereas a transformation of objective probabilities, which is commonly referred as probability weighting, models probabilistic risk perception. In cumulative prospect theory, probabilities of individual outcomes are replaced by decision weights, which are differences in transformed, through the weighting function, counter-cumulative probabilities of gains and cumulative probabilities of losses, with outcomes ordered from worst to best. Empirical evidence suggests a typical inverse-S shaped function: decision makers tend to overweight small probabilities, and underweight medium and high probabilities; moreover, the probability weighting function is initially concave and then convex. We study some properties of the behavioral premium principle. We also assume an alternative framing of the outcomes; then we discuss several applications to the pricing of insurance contracts.


Background
Leukoerythroblastosis, a non-specific and often short-lasting response of the bone marrow to different diseases such as malignancies or infections, is characterized by the presence in the peripheral blood of immature red and white cells.

Methods
We present a case of leukoerythoblastosis occurring in a 24 months old Mozambican girl, in the context of a severe malaria episode and an associated urinary tract infection. Peripheral blood smear was used for diagnosis of malaria and leukoerythroblastosis. Enterobacter cloacae isolation and antibiotic susceptibility testing were performed by conventional microbiology.

Results
Peripheral blood smear was positive for Plasmodium falciparum and showed a leukoerythroblastosis with red cell anisopoikilocytosis and left shifted neutrophils. Urine culture confirmed the presence of a multi-resistant E. cloacae. Treatment of underlying conditions resolved the leukoerythroblastic reaction.

Conclusions
Leukoerythroblastosis may be related to different infectious diseases and may also appear in the context of severe malaria. Bacterial superinfection needs to be investigated.


An attempt was made to electrocardiographically assess the likely mechanisms responsible for the occurrence of arrhythmias. The frequency of ventricular ectopic complexes was compared with fluctuations of coupling interval duration. An examination of 36 patients provided evidence for preliminary considerations concerning the causation between the frequency of ventricular ectopic complexes and the duration of coupling interval. The findings are promising from clinical and predictive points of view.


Abstract Must the Internet promote political fragmentation? Although this is a possible outcome of personalized online news, we argue that other futures are possible and that thoughtful design could promote more socially desirable behavior. Research has shown that individuals crave opinion reinforcement more than they avoid exposure to diverse viewpoints and that, in many situations, hearing the other side is desirable. We suggest that, equipped with this knowledge, software designers ought to create tools that encourage and facilitate consumption of diverse news streams, making users, and society, better off. We propose several techniques to help achieve this goal. One approach focuses on making useful or intriguing opinion-challenges more accessible. The other centers on nudging people toward diversity by creating environments that accentuate its benefits. Advancing research in this area is critical in the face of increasingly partisan news media, and we believe these strategies can help.


Activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is one of the most frequently observed molecular alterations in many human malignancies, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). A growing body of evidence demonstrates the prime importance of the PI3K pathway at each stage of tumorigenesis, that is, tumor initiation, progression, recurrence, and metastasis. Expectedly, targeting the PI3K pathway yields some promising results in both preclinical studies and clinical trials for certain cancer patients. However, there are still many questions that need to be answered, given the complexity of this pathway and the existence of its multiple feedback loops and interactions with other signaling pathways. In this paper, we will summarize recent advances in the understanding of the PI3K pathway role in human malignancies, with an emphasis on HNSCC, and discuss the clinical applications and future direction of this field.