In this paper, we show that the aggregate network throughput of a cognitive radio network can be significantly increased by using primary transmitter location sensing in addition to conventional spectrum sensing . To achieve this, we propose a novel multi-channel, cross-layer PHY-MAC protocol for CR ad hoc networks, which infers concurrent transmission opportunities from location sensing information. We identify four main problems and provide solutions which enable our location aware MAC. First, secondary nodes achieve location information without any interaction with primary nodes by combining RSSI and direction of arrival information (estimated from an antenna array). The location sensing capability can be integrated into the sensing module which also performs conventional channel sensing. Second, a distributed collaborative sensing algorithm is developed based on sensing module information which broadens nodes' knowledge of locations and spectrum occupancy. Third, a simple condition is proposed to control interference on primary network. Fourth, a decentralized scheduling scheme is presented to solve the MAC problem for location aware cognitive radio networks, in which channels are allocated to nodes based on their locations. Simulations show that the proposed approach significantly increases the performance of the CR network. The influence of protocol parameters on network performance is also investigated.


The tax treatment of commercial banks as investors in municipal securities changed dramatically with the loss of interest expense deductibility for municipal carrying costs under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Competing theories of relative yield determination suggest that the lost deductions and recent reductions in corporate and personal tax rates should have different effects on the ratio of municipal to taxable yields. This study examines the empirical implications of these tax changes using time series for the period 1966-1992. Results suggest that the yield ratio varied inversely with relative bank purchases of municipals through mid-year 1986. After 1986, however, increased bank municipal purchases no longer directly lowered relative municipal yields. The yield ratio also varied inversely with changes in personal tax rates throughout the sample period, and increased after 1986 when banks lost 100 percent of their interest deduction for municipal carrying costs. Changes in corporate tax rates apparently play little role in shaping relative yields. Copyright 1995 by Ohio State University Press.


BACKGROUND
Feeding behavior is deeply affected by serotonergic neurotransmission. This regulatory activity is mediated mainly by specific 5-HT1/2 receptors, and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) plays a key role in this phenomena. In order to reveal the involvement of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) on serotonin-induced hypophagia, we examined the effects of intra-PVN injections of serotonin in WAY 100635 or SB 216641-pretreated rats on the structure of feeding behavior.

MATERIAL/METHODS
Male Wistar rats were kept at 21+/-1 degrees C with a 12 h light /dark cycle on a self-selection feeding paradigm, provided with freely available and separate sources of protein, carbohydrate, fat and water. Blockade of 5-HT1A or 5-HT1B receptors in the paraventricular nucleus was effected by WAY 100635 (2 microg) or SB-216641 (2 microg) pretreatment; ten minutes later, 5-HT (2 microg) was applied into the same nucleus, then food intake and meal patterns were measured in a 30-minute period. The behavioral test was conducted at the beginning of the dark phase.

RESULTS
The suppressive effect of 5-HT on carbohydrate intake was blocked by both WAY 100635 and SB 216641 at the beginning of the active (dark) feeding period.

CONCLUSIONS
The hypophagic effect induced by 5-HT requires activation of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B receptors, and the specific contribution of these subtype receptors is different, since the 5-HT1A subtype showed higher behavioral selectivity.


This research tries to answer the question "How does the Hofstede`s Model of societal cultural differences relate to the development of EU countries e-government and open government?". This question of interest in the research comes from the growing number of discussions about how the culture impacts the economic growth, but much more because of the literature GAP about the factors of relations among the Hofstede`s Model dimensions and the new governance models in the EU countries. Based on a literature overview and analyze we propose a thesis is that the analyzed EU countries can be clustered into three. The countries, which fall into the same cluster entitled Cluster of Changers, possess cultural similarities and this relates to the progressive development of the open and e-government. This is such because these countries possess the same characteristics defined by the Hofstede`s model. The second cluster of countries, we entitled them Cluster of Observers, are characterized by similar characteristics according to Hofstede`s model, they have slow development in the open and e-government. And the third one, the cluster Cluster of Moderators falls neither into the cluster of Changers or Observers. We propose a matrix model, which explains the Hofstede`s model of cultural dimensions in regards to the e-government development and open government of the EU countries.


In the present work, experimental studies of the free-radical-initiated molecular weight degradation of polypropylene in a modular self-wiping corotating twin-screw extruder are investigated. The control of the molecular weight distribution of polypropylene resins by peroxide degradation is widely used in the polymer industry. It allows one to adjust the viscosity of these resins to the level required for processing applications. The purpose of this work was to characterize the influence of peroxide degradation on the rheological behavior of a polypropylene homopolymer and a block polypropylene/polyethylene copolymer, which includes an addition of a low percentage of polyethylene (around 7%). The homopolymer exhibits a classical behavior: When the peroxide amount is increased, we observe a decrease in the viscosity corresponding to a decreasing molecular weight and a pronounced shift toward more Newtonian behavior. The rheological behavior of the copolymer is influenced by the presence of the polyethylene phase which greatly modifies the viscoelastic properties and increases the viscosity when the polypropylene matrix is highly degraded.


For pragmatism, the meaning of a psychological concept or statement is found in its practical implications for human affairs. Absent is any assumption that the concept or statement represents the Truth about a metaphysical Reality that lies beyond human experience and behavior. Behavior analysts embrace pragmatism, and argue that an important consideration in psychology is the degree to which a psychological concept or statement contributes to effective action in the laboratory or in service delivery. The effective action commonly takes the form of prediction and control. Keywords: pragmatism, prediction and control, mentalism, levels of analysis, neuroscience


This part of a broad study that sought to investigate the psychological effects of the presence of street children in Harare Central Business District to business operators. This particular study focused on possible ways of improving the perception of Business Operators towards street children in Harare Central Business District. The study sought to identify ways that could be employed by society at large so that there is mutual coexistence between the street children and the Business Operators. The study used the qualitative approach to get business operators' experiences with street children. The research used questionnaires as research instruments. Forty (40) questionnaires were distributed to gather data from business operators in Harare Central Business District. Twenty seven (27) business operators responded to the questionnaires. Since street children are not found all over the Harare Central Business District (CBD) but specific areas dotted around the Central Business District (CBD), the study used convenience sampling. The study found out that street children were involved in stealing from both the operators and their customers. The street children also begged from the operators and their customers. Street children were also engaged in touting which disturbed customers and in urinating and defecating publicly which was a menace to customers. At times the street children smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol in the public. The study recommended that it is imperative for the government through the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare to put policies that cater for social welfare of disadvantaged children. The Government and NGOs should plan and implement public awareness campaigns on the importance of the public's contribution to assist street children have a better life. The corporate sectors should also be urged to contribute to the alleviation of the street children life style. This can be done through the promotion of corporate social responsibilities. The government should make effective legislation and ensure strict implementation of the laws for example execution of Child Protection and Adoption Act. The government should undertake measures to provide free primary level education to street children in Zimbabwe and to provide for the associated costs of education for such disadvantaged children.


Salt marsh vegetation density varies considerably on short spatial scales, complicating attempts to evaluate plant characteristics using airborne remote sensing approaches. In this study, we used a mast-mounted hyperspectral imaging system to obtain cm-scale imagery of a salt marsh chronosequence on Hog Island, VA, where the morphology and biomass of the dominant plant species, Spartina alterniflora, varies widely. The high-resolution hyperspectral imagery allowed the detailed delineation of variations in above-ground biomass, which we retrieved from the imagery using the PROSAIL radiative transfer model. The retrieved biomass estimates correlated well with contemporaneously collected in situ biomass ground truth data ( R 2 = 0.73 ). In this study, we also rescaled our hyperspectral imagery and retrieved PROSAIL salt marsh biomass to determine the applicability of the method across spatial scales. Histograms of retrieved biomass changed considerably in characteristic marsh regions as the spatial scale of the imagery was progressively degraded. This rescaling revealed a loss of spatial detail and a shift in the mean retrieved biomass. This shift is indicative of the loss of accuracy that may occur when scaling up through a simple averaging approach that does not account for the detail found in the landscape at the natural scale of variation of the salt marsh system. This illustrated the importance of developing methodologies to appropriately scale results from very fine scale resolution up to the more coarse-scale resolutions commonly obtained in airborne and satellite remote sensing.


Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) does not induce protective immunity, and re-exposure to HCV can reinfect the population engaging in high-risk behavior. An increasing incidence of acute hepatitis C infection in people living with HIV (PLWH) has been described in recent years. This retrospective cohort study was conducted in PLWH who completed HCV therapy between June 2009 and June 2020 at an HIV care hospital, to analyze their basic characteristics and risky behavior. Of 2419 patients, 639 were diagnosed with HCV infection and 516 completed the HCV therapy with a sustained virologic response. In total, 59 patients (11.4%) were reinfected with acute hepatitis C, and the median time to reinfection was 85.3 weeks (IQR: 57–150). The incidence of reinfection was 6.7 cases/100 person-years. The factors associated with reinfection were being male (AHR, 8.02; 95% CI 1.08–59.49), DAA (direct-acting antiviral) treatment (AHR, 2.23; 95% CI 1.04–4.79), liver cirrhosis (AHR, 3.94; 95% CI 1.09–14.22), heroin dependency (AHR: 7.41; 95% CI 3.37–14.3), and HIV viral loads <50 copies/mL at the follow-up (AHR: 0.47, 95% CI 0.24–0.93) in the subgroup of people who inject drugs (PWID). Amphetamine abuse (AHR: 20.17; 95% CI 2.36–172.52) was the dominant factor in the subgroup of men who have sex with men (MSM). Our study suggests that education and behavioral interventions are needed in this population to prevent reinfection.


Software development projects have increasingly been adopting new practices, such as continuous delivery and deployment to enable rapid delivery of new features to end users. Tools that are commonly utilized with these practices generate a vast amount of data concerning various development events. Analysis of the data provides a lightweight data driven view on the software process. We present an efficient way of visualizing software process data to provide a good overall view on the features and potential problems of the process. We use the visualization in a case project that has become more agile by applying continuous integration and delivery together with development and infrastructure automation. We compare data visualizations with information gathered from the development team and describe how the evolution can be understood through our visualizations. The case project is a good example of how a change from a traditional long cycle development to a rapid cycle DevOps culture can actually be made in a few years. However, the results show that the team has to focus on the process improvement continuously in order to maintain continuous delivery all the time. As the main contribution, we present a lightweight way to software process visualization. Moreover, we discuss how such a heuristic can be used to track the characteristics of the target process.


Summary The various types of diabetes can influence pregnancy to a different degree and, most importantly increase the risk for complications. In addition to the existing danger to develop diabetogenic fetopathy, a pre-existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes can lead to diabetogenic embryopathy, predominantly characterized by malformations. The ability of prenatal diagnostics to detect malformations should therefore be thoroughly exhausted. The insulin requirements of pregnant women with type 1 diabetes alter as early as the first and second trimester and should be adequately monitored in cooperation with a diabetologist. In Germany, gestational diabetes, the most common pregnancy-related illness, is only diagnosed in every tenth patient. This is due to the inadequacy of the urine screening test, of which the results are influenced by diverse factors. As screening is recommended in the national maternal health guidelines ("Mutterschaftsrichtlinien"), it should be offered to all pregnant women, if required. Screening has to be paid for by the patients themselves as a so-called "HIS" (= Individual Healthcare Services; in German "Individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen" = IGeL) or may be paid by private health insurances. This procedure certainly does not match the severe consequences of the illness. One-step diagnosis (direct use of the oGTT test) appears to be more effective than using the two-step diagnostic test. In Germany, the intense efforts that have been made to provide good prenatal care for pregnant women have resulted in one of the best developed medical care systems worldwide. This system should be pursued and updated according to the latest findings and measurement methods. In patients with PCO syndrome seeking treatment in order to conceive a child, oral diabetics should only be prescribed following appropriate patient counselling.


Context. According to the sequential accretion model (or core-nucleated accretion model), giant planet formation is based first on the formation of a solid core which, when massive enough, can gravitationally bind gas from the nebula to form the envelope. The most critical part of the model is the formation time of the core: to trigger the accretion of gas, the core has to grow up to several Earth masses before the gas component of the protoplanetary disc dissipates.
Aims: We calculate planetary formation models including a detailed description of the dynamics of the planetesimal disc, taking into account both gas drag and excitation of forming planets.
Methods: We computed the formation of planets, considering the oligarchic regime for the growth of the solid core. Embryos growing in the disc stir their neighbour planetesimals, exciting their relative velocities, which makes accretion more difficult. Here we introduce a more realistic treatment for the evolution of planetesimals' relative velocities, which directly impact on the formation timescale. For this, we computed the excitation state of planetesimals, as a result of stirring by forming planets, and gas-solid interactions.
Results: We find that the formation of giant planets is favoured by the accretion of small planetesimals, as their random velocities are more easily damped by the gas drag of the nebula. Moreover, the capture radius of a protoplanet with a (tiny) envelope is also larger for small planetesimals. However, planets migrate as a result of disc-planet angular momentum exchange, with important consequences for their survival: due to the slow growth of a protoplanet in the oligarchic regime, rapid inward type I migration has important implications on intermediate-mass planets that have not yet started their runaway accretion phase of gas. Most of these planets are lost in the central star. Surviving planets have masses either below 10 M⊕ or above several Jupiter masses.
Conclusions: To form giant planets before the dissipation of the disc, small planetesimals (~0.1 km) have to be the major contributors of the solid accretion process. However, the combination of oligarchic growth and fast inward migration leads to the absence of intermediate-mass planets. Other processes must therefore be at work to explain the population of extrasolar planets that are presently known.


This paper focuses on the evidence of past sea levels recognized in a specific tract of the Eastern Liguria coast, located immediately eastward the city of Genoa. From a geological point of view, the study area presents a good uniformity since only Antola Unit, consisting of marls, limestone, calcarenite, sandstone and shale, outcrops here. The geomorphological survey of the coast between Nervi and Camogli, provides well-defined markers of at least two high-stands, in the form of a staircase of marine terraces, within an altitude span ranging from present-day sea level to the 34 m contour line. Very often these terraces appear covered by continental sediments or altered from erosion processes, uplift and the strong human impact that affects the study area. Although no patches of the original marine deposit of these terraces have been found yet, they are currently undated and their age attribution is attempted in this paper by means of correlation with dated shorelines. Despite of the underlined difficulties, the altitude of the terraces inner margins were obtained on the base of field measurements and two orders of terraces were identified. The terraced landforms of the upper order (I), with inner margins ranging between 24 and 34 m, are developed with few interruptions along the studied stretch of coast and are also often overlain by continental deposits due to alluvial fan or landslide. The cluster value for the upper order is 27 +1/-6 that is the median value of the measured inner margins with the assumed error, related to the inaccuracy of the measurement instrument (±1 m) and the evaluation of the sediment thickness (+5 m). The second order of terraces are characterized by an elevation of the inner margin ranging between 3-5 m a.s.l. The marker of this order is represented by platform of marine abrasion cut in the rock, without sediments on the surface, often affected by weathering. The upper group of terraces could be attributed to the MIS 5.5 highstand for correlation with a dated shoreline 30 km eastward the study area; consequently the lower group are in this hypothesis attributed to MIS 5.3 or 5.1. Another hypothesis, based on the correlation with the Western Liguria data, attributes the lower order to the M.I.S. 5.5 and the upper order to a previous isotopic stage. Considering the available data, the authors don't draw any conclusion about the geodynamic behaviour of the study area. In fact a different uplift rate would derive from each of the two proposed hypotheses and consequently a different vertical displacement for the two tracts of coast.


Events have become increasingly popular as tourist attractions, contributing to the opportunity for resort regeneration (Law, 1993). The ability to increase civic pride, community spirit and collective self-image through the hosting of events and the associated urban regeneration has only recently begun to be considered within the UK. This paper will analyse the potential participation of the various stakeholders in planning for resort regeneration.

There needs to be three levels for successful tourism planning; national, regional strategic and local with all three levels being integrated to produce an adoptable strategic vision (Gunn, 1994). Feasibility studies should take a holistic approach, looking beyond the economic impacts and gather information regarding communities and special interest groups and if used effectively will develop good community relations, thereby overcoming objections (Getz, 1997). Furthermore, events should play a role in the destination tourism plan and that sound planning should accompany the pursuit of events rather than the irrationality often seen.

The significance of events to schemes of urban regeneration has been recognised by the UK Government as seen in the £55m given to Manchester in 1994 to support its unsuccessful Olympic Bid but utilised for the hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

This paper is based upon an MSc dissertation completed in 2004 for a Tourism and Planning Management Degree. The research was carried out in Weymouth and Portland, Dorset with the assistance of the Local Council, Chamber of Commerce, Sailing Authorities, Citizen's Panel and individual citizens via questionnaires and interviews.

The local council have drawn up comprehensive plans to ensure the potential hosting of the sailing element of the 2012 bid will have positive long-term legacies for the area. It is acknowledged that the area is in need of regeneration and a poll of residents had a 42% response rate. The local council recognise the significance of hosting festivals and events not only as generators of income but also as civic celebrations.


This thesis explores, develops and implements modelling strategies for studying relationships between childhood growth and later health, focusing primarily on the relationship between the development of body mass index (BMI) in childhood and later obesity. Existing growth models are explored, though found to be inflexible and potentially inadequate. Alternative approaches using parametric and nonparametric modelling are investigated. A distinction between balanced and unbalanced data structure is made because of the ways in which missing data can be addressed. A dataset of each type is used for illustration: the Stockholm Weight Development Study (SWEDES) and the Uppsala Family Study (UFS). The focus in each application is obesity, with the first examining how the adiposity rebound (AR), and the second how the adiposity peak (AP) in infancy, relate to later adiposity. In each case a two-stage approach is used. Subject-specific cubic smoothing splines are used in SWEDES to model childhood BMI and estimate the AR for each subject. As childhood BMI data are balanced, missingness can be dealt with via mUltiple imputation. The relationship between the AR and late-adolescent adiposity is then explored via linear and logistic regression, with both the age and BMI at AR found to be strongly and independently associated with late-adolescent adiposity. In the UFS, where childhood BMI data are unbalanced, penalised regression splines are used within a mixed model framework to model childhood BMI and estimate the AP for each subject. The data correlations induced by the family structure of the observations are addressed by fitting multilevel models in the second stage. Both age and BMI at AP are found to be positively associated with later adiposity. The two nonparametric modelling approaches are found to be effective and flexible. Whilst the thesis concentrates on BMI development in childhood and later adiposity, the techniques employed, both in terms the modelling of growth and the relating of the derived features to the outcomes, are far more widely applicable.


In the Netherlands, the Sustainable Safety vision is an important guide in improving road safety. In this vision, a central principle is 'predictability'. This principle builds on the idea that the road design should conform to the expectations of road users in order to prevent errors that could lead to road crashes. To study the effect of a predictable road design on driver behaviour, we examined speed and lateral position at rural roads that varied in their predictability. These behaviours were examined in light of general safety effects and a more specific hypothesis that underlies the predictability principle: does a predictable road design lead to more homogenous road user behaviour (and thus to more predictable and safer behaviour)? The results of this study showed that the more 'predictable' road designs induced more homogeneous lateral positions between vehicles, whereas speed distribution remained unchanged. The more 'predictable' roads also resulted in lower (and thus safer) mean speeds and lateral positions that were closer to the shoulder of the road and. Because of the potential safety effects of road design on behaviour, these effects should be examined as a whole, before implementation of the design. Keywords – behavior, prediction, road layout, safety


This paper proposes a new concept in computer arithmetic and delineates algorithms for addition, subtraction and multiplication. The proposed architecture is capable of performing additions in constant time and multiplication, in time less than in the best known architectures. The internal representation of numbers is called "a+b" and requires two memory words. The paper also discusses special coding multiplication and organization of the multiplier for VLSI implementation.<<ETX>>


This study seeks to understand what aid flows have been doing to the environment in eight countries in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa. Total aid to these countries' environmental sectors for the 2000s decade is about US$10.17 billion and bilateral aid has been on the rise. There seems to have been a structural change in some countries where donors have been increasing the number of small projects. Aid is perceived to play a significant role in enhancing environmental quality because of constant environmental mainstreaming. Therefore, a general increase in unmarked aid will improve environmental conditions as long as mainstreaming of either biodiversity or climate change or desertification or the environment takes place.


Quantifying RNAs in their spatial context is crucial to understanding gene expression and regulation in complex tissues. In situ transcriptomic methods generate spatially resolved RNA profiles in intact tissues. However, there is a lack of a unified computational framework for integrative analysis of in situ transcriptomic data. Here, we present an unsupervised and annotation-free framework, termed ClusterMap, which incorporates physical proximity and gene identity of RNAs, formulates the task as a point pattern analysis problem, and thus defines biologically meaningful structures and groups. Specifically, ClusterMap precisely clusters RNAs into subcellular structures, cell bodies, and tissue regions in both two- and three-dimensional space, and consistently performs on diverse tissue types, including mouse brain, placenta, gut, and human cardiac organoids. We demonstrate ClusterMap to be broadly applicable to various in situ transcriptomic measurements to uncover gene expression patterns, cell-cell interactions, and tissue organization principles from high-dimensional transcriptomic images.


Given a graph of the money transfers between accounts of a bank, how can we detect money laundering? Money laundering refers to criminals using the bank's services to move massive amounts of illegal money to untraceable destination accounts, in order to inject their illegal money into the legitimate financial system. Existing graph fraud detection approaches focus on dense subgraph detection, without considering the fact that money laundering involves high-volume flows of funds through chains of bank accounts, thereby decreasing their detection accuracy. Instead, we propose to model the transactions using a multipartite graph, and detect the complete flow of money from source to destination using a scalable algorithm, FlowScope. Theoretical analysis shows that FlowScope provides guarantees in terms of the amount of money that fraudsters can transfer without being detected. FlowScope outperforms state-of-the-art baselines in accurately detecting the accounts involved in money laundering, in both injected and real-world data settings.


Image segmentation is one of the fundamental problems in image processing and computer vision. Studies of high quality image segmentation methods have always gained a lot of attention in the field of image processing. However,so far the problem of image segmentation has not been well solved yet. Conventional methods cannot divide the images exactly because too much objectivity has been used. For complex objects, this paper proposed an efficient image segmentation algorithm based wavelet transform. This article presents the result of wavelet image segmentation and watershed algorithm image segmentation. The experimental result indicates that, the algorithm based on wavelet transform has fast convergence and good noise immunity.


In this paper, we study a firm's optimal lobby behavior and its effect on investment in pollution abatement capital. We develop a dynamic framework where a representative firm can invest in both abatement and lobby capital in response to a possible future increase in pollution tax. We show that when the firm lobbies against the scale of the tax increase at a predetermined date, it should act like an occasional lobbyer by investing a lump-sum (optimal) amount in the lobby capital only at that date. But, to delay the new tax, it should act like a habitual lobbyer by investing continuously and at increasing rates over an optimal time period. We show that lobby expenditure crowds out investment in abatement capital and that this effect is stronger the more efficient is the lobbying activity. Further, we show that while uncertainty about the magnitude of the tax reduces the firm's incentive to lobby, uncertainty about the timing of the new tax increases it.


User-cooperative techniques have recently gained tremendous interests in wireless communication society, for they are able to exploit the spatial diversity among distributed network nodes. In cooperative relay networks, data transmissions between sources and destinations can be assisted by relays which form a virtual antenna array. In this thesis, we investigate relay network beamforming using the filter-and-forward (FF) relaying scheme on frequency-selective channels. The thesis makes original contributions by introducing two classes of new techniques for relay network beamforming design. One class involves designing the beamformers to achieve a distortionless response. The other class uses an alternative optimization criterion by minimizing the output power at the destination. For the first class of technique for relay beamforming design, we consider a relay network on frequency-selective channels, in which the received signals are affected by the inter-symbol-interference (ISI), and the FF scheme is adopted to combat ISI. To adaptively select the optimal delay decision which crucially affects the performance, we formulate and solve the single-user relay beamforming problem using the frequencydomain approach. A new technique of distortionless design is introduced which aims at forcing the frequency response of equivalent channel from the source to the destination to be flat and linear phase. Hence the proposed approach eliminates the ISI completely, and it is shown to have lower computational complexity in selecting optimal decision delay according to channel realizations. viii As the second class of technique for relay beamforming design, we develop a new criterion which amounts to minimize the destination output power also subject to the distortionless constraint and is described in frequency domain. An adjustable scalar amplifier at the destination side is introduced and its range of value and effects on the system performance are discussed. With the scalar amplifier simultaneously optimized with the relay beamformer coefficients, we demonstrate that the proposed new technique is equivalent to the distortionless SINR maximization criterion in terms of output SINR performance. In addition, the output power minimization scheme is extended to a multiantenna destination scenario, where the destination also deploys a beamformer which is jointly designed with the relay beamformer. By adopting the new technique of output power minimization, we propose a relay beamforming design without the distortionless constraint. We demonstrate that the proposed approach attains the optimal output SINR that is given by the SINR maximization design scheme. Moreover, although the same output SINR performance is achieved, when the individual relay transmit power constraint is taken into account, the proposed approach requires lower computational complexity than the SINR maximization scheme. In addition, a time-domain version of the distortionless constraint is proposed, and with this constraint, the efficient selection of decision delay is also considered with a time-domain approach. Subsequently, we extend the output power minimization scheme to cater for multiple peer-to-peer FF relay beamforming. Two criteria are considered, in which one is to minimize the maximal output power among all destinations, and another is minimize the sum of the output power. The former one is proved to be equivalent to the worst SINR maximization scheme in terms of output SINR performance, and the latter one is shown to give the optimal average-output-SINR. Iterative algorithms based on second-order cone programming (SOCP) are proposed to solve these optimization problems. ix


The tendency for changes in the federal funds rate to be implemented gradually has been considered evidence of an interest-rate smoothing objective for the Federal Reserve. This paper investigates whether gradual movements in the federal funds rate can be explained by the dynamic structure of the economy and the uncertainty that the Fed faces regarding this structure, without recourse to including an ad-hoc interest rate smoothing argument in the objective function of the Fed. The analysis calculates the optimal funds rate policy given the structural form of the economy estimated in a VAR. In the absence of parameter uncertainty, the calculated policy responds more aggressively to changes in the economy than the observed policy, resulting in a substantially higher volatility of the funds rate than observed. Parameter uncertainty, however, limits the willingness of the Fed to deviate from the policy rule that has been previously implemented. Because the Fed has historically smoothed interest rates, the calculated policy under parameter uncertainty can account for a considerable portion of the gradualism observed in funds rate movements.


BACKGROUND
To evaluate stage at presentation and cancer specific mortality (CSM) according to variant histology (VH) relative to clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

METHODS
Within Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry (SEER, 2001-2016), we identified VH and ccRCC patients. Cumulative incidence-plots, multivariate Cox regression models matched for stage, grade and other patient characteristics addressed CSM. Subgroup analyses relied on inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) according to nephrectomy (NT) type.

RESULTS
Of all 69,785 RCC patients, 2495 harbored VH (3.6%). Of VH patients, 70.1% (1748) harboured sarcomatoid vs. 11.2% (280) collecting duct, vs. 7.6% (190) mesenchymal, vs. 3.8% (94) neuroendocrine, vs. 2.9% (72) renal medullary, vs. 2.5% (62) mucinous tubular and spindle cell (MTSCT) and 2.0% (49) rhabdoid tumors. All VH patients exhibited more advanced TNM-stage at diagnosis than ccRCC, except for MTSCT. After matching with G4 ccRCC, collecting duct (multivariate hazard ratio (HR):1.6, p<0.01), sarcomatoid (HR:1.8, p<0.01), renal medullary (HR:1.7, p=0.1) and rhabdoid VH (HR:1.5, p=0.1) showed higher CSM than ccRCC. No CSM differences were recorded for mesenchymal, neuroendocrine and MTSCT VH. In nephrectomy-subgroup, higher CSM was recorded after partial nephrectomy (PN) than radical nephrectomy in sarcomatoid VH after IPTW and multivariate adjustment (HR=1.2, p=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS
TNM-stage at diagnosis is universally more advanced in VH patients, except for MTSCT. CSM is higher in collecting duct, sarcomatoid, rhabdoid and renal medullary VH, but not in other VH. PN is associated with worse survival in sarcomatoid VH, but could not be assessed in other VH due to small sample size.


The implications of the presence of derivative instruments for price movements in underlying financial markets are tested by comparing the variances of price changes over different time horizons before and after the start of organised derivatives trading. It is found that ratios of the variances of multi-day and daily price movements decline for bond prices and stock indices in the United States and Germany, though no such effect is found for Japanese bonds. For the stock indices, the post-derivatives variance ratios are statistically indistinguishable from those that would be characteristic of a random walk, though this is not found to be the case for the bonds. This is interpreted to mean that derivatives accelerate the incorporation of new information into asset prices.


In this demonstration, we present an end-to-end web-aided data imputation prototype system named WebPut. WebPut consults the Web for imputing the missing values in a local database when the traditional inferring-based imputation method has difficulties in getting the right answers. Specifically, WebPut investigates the interaction between the local inferring-based imputation methods and the web-based retrieving methods and shows that retrieving a small number of selected missing values can greatly improve the imputation recall of the inferring-based methods. Besides, WebPut also incorporates a crowd intervention component that can get advice from humans in case that the web-based imputation methods may have difficulties in making the right decisions. We demonstrate, step by step, how WebPut fills an incomplete table with each of its components.


Adaptive test of integrated circuits (IC) promises to increase the quality and yield of products with reduced manufacturing test cost compared to traditional static test flows. Two mostly widely used techniques are Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Part Average Testing (PAT), whose capabilities to capture complex correlation between test measurements and the underlying IC's physical and electrical properties are, however, limited. Based on recent progress on machine learning, this paper proposes a novel deep learning based method for adaptive test. Compared to most machine learning techniques, deep learning has the distinctive advantage of being able to capture the underlying key features automatically from data without manual intervention. In this paper, we start from a trained deep neuron network (DNN) with a much higher accuracy than the conventional test flow for the pass and fail prediction. We further develop two novel applications by leveraging the features learned from DNN: one to enable partial testing, i.e., make decisions on pass and fail without finishing the entire test flow, and two to enable dynamic test ordering, i.e., changing the sequence of tests adaptively. Experiment results show significant improvement on the accuracy and effectiveness of our proposed method.


To examine the changes in birth cohort prevalence rates and severity of congenital heart disease, we studied children with congenital heart disease born to blacks, whites, and Mexican-Americans in Dallas County from 1971 through 1984. Diagnoses were made by pediatric cardiologists' clinical evaluations, echocardiography, catheterization, surgery, or autopsy. During this study period, 2,509 of 379,561 liveborn infants were diagnosed, a prevalence rate of 6.6/1000. The rates for whites was significantly higher than for blacks or Mexican-Americans--7.2/1,000, 5.6/1,000, and 5.9/1,000, respectively. The rate for severe cases requiring cardiac catheterization or surgery or undergoing autopsy was 3.1/1,000 and did not differ among the three groups. The time trend for rates of congenital heart disease suggested an apparent increase in prevalence rate during the 1970s; however, the prevalence rate of severe forms remained relatively stable. This indicates that the apparent rise in prevalence could be accounted for by an increase in detection of mild cases. These findings were interpreted as reflecting a greater tendency for pediatricians to refer asymptomatic children with significant heart murmurs to a pediatric cardiologist.


Mathematics and science knowledge/skills are most commonly associated with engineering's pre-requisite knowledge. Our goals in this paper are to argue for a more systematic inclusion of social science and humanities knowledge in the introduction of engineering to K-12 students. As part of this argument, we present a construct for framing the humanistic side of engineering with illustrative examples of what appealing to the humanistic side of engineering can look like in a classroom setting, and opportunities for research that examines the dynamics that the humanistic side of engineering introduces into engineering learning and teaching. The illustrative examples are drawn from interactions among student-teams from elementary classrooms engaged in engineering activities that appeal to the humanistic side of engineering. Referencing these examples as well as other established engineering education programs, we will discuss opportunities for research in the education of K-16 students. These opportunities span understanding how students' attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions shift, particularly among traditionally underrepresented populations, to how students' engineering knowledge and practices develop in the context of a humanistic approach to engineering.


Organ transplantation comprises of many phases, processes, and activities and involves multiple stakeholders. Effective management of such a complex and costly medical domain requires an efficient, multifaceted solution. Although, Information Technology (IT) can basically play an important role here, it is not clear how IT potentials have been deployed so far. We systematically reviewed MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, The Cochrane and IEEE databases and identified 27 publications describing IT application in organ transplantation. Although the IT coverage spans over waiting list management, donor-recipient matching, and inpatient and outpatient medication and lab monitoring practices, the coverage is still patchy and whole process IT support is missing in practice.


The early twentieth century saw a renewed critical interest in the expressive potential of dance, sparked by the overwhelming success of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Taking Camille Mauclair's 1912 review "Karsavina et Mallarmé" as a point of departure, this article explores contemporary attitudes toward the dancing woman, the sexual potential of her body, and the desire to transcend (or erase) her corporeality. For Mauclair, Mallarmé's writings provided an intellectual lens through which dance could be detached from the physicality of the danseuse and recast as a serious artistic and intellectual pursuit. This article argues that Mauclair and other critics who sought to abstract dance from the dancer collectively articulated a cohesive alternative to the supposed "physical imperative" of this period.


Students have agency to share and develop their own educational landscape, but academic guidance is crucial in formulating this learning pathway. Digital tools, know-how, and capabilities are at the forefront of cultural, educational shifts, and this paper ascertains how students can engage as digital producers in their own form of edutainment. A case study of the Digital Student Ambassador Group (DSAG) is presented and reflected upon from both 2015/16 and 2017/18. Findings indicated that students felt a sense of belonging to the group and enjoyed being in control of their own learning as well as delivering digital messages to the wider community. Despite the digital focus of this paper, it was the traditional skills of debating, researching, networking, presenting, and public speaking that were highly valued by students. This has implications for future careers, and students were optimistic about their involvement with DSAG in preparation for life beyond university. This paper encourages colleagues to utilise the DSAG model as a pedagogical platform to nurture student engagement, collaboration, and confidence.


Early detection of failures in equipment is one of the most important concerns to industry. Many techniques have been developed for early failure detection in induction motors. There is the necessity of low-cost instrumentation for online multichannel measurement and analysis of vibration in the frequency domain, and this could be fixed to the machine for continuous monitoring to provide a reliable continuous diagnosis without needing trained staff. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are distinguished by being very fast and highly reconfigurable devices, allowing the development of scalable parallel architectures for multichannel analysis without changing the internal hardware. The novelty of this work is the development of a low-cost FPGA based on a multichannel vibration analyzer; this is capable of providing an automatic diagnosis of the motor state carrying out online continuous monitoring. To test the functionality of the proposed vibration analyzer, three experiments on 746-W (1-hp) induction motors were carried out. Such experiments are intended to detect motor failures such as broken bars, unbalance, and looseness. The obtained results show the overall system performance.


Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, with their total population of more than 1,500 million, make up the subcontinent of South Asia. Despite massive diversity across the region, there are sufficient similarities to warrant a collective approach to chronic disease control, including development of cancer control programs. Cancer is already a major problem and there are general similarities in the prevalence patterns. In males, oral and lung cancer are either number one or two, depending on the registry, with the exceptions of Quetta in the far north, Larkana and Chennai. Moderately high numbers of pharyngeal and/or laryngeal cancer are also consistently observed, with prostate cancer now becoming visible in the more developed cities. Breast and cervical cancer share first and second place except in Muslim Pakistan, where oral cancer generally follows breast. The ovary is often included in the five most prevalent types. Markedly increasing rates for breast cancer and distribution shifts in other cancers suggest that, despite improvement in cervical and oral rates, the overall burden will only become heavier over time, especially with increasing obesity and aging of what are still youthful populations. Coordination of activities within South Asia is a high priority for cancer control in the region. Asian Pacific J Cancer Prev, 10, Asian Epidemiology Supplement, 49-67


Abstract An assessment of the groundwater potential of the River Rheidol catchment in west Wales is presented, a region where groundwater is an important source of water to Aberystwyth. An alternative approach to a conventional well inventory was undertaken based on the manipulation of data within a geographic information system (GIS). The GIS application revealed that, in the lower reaches of the catchment, 25% of the total recorded abstractions fall on the boundaries between different geological units and, of these, two-thirds relate to the contact between Quaternary deposits and bedrock. These abstractions are typically correlated with spring sources and represent small domestic supplies from shallow, brick-lined pits dug into the valley sides. Simple catchment water balance calculations showed that groundwater abstractions are minor in comparison to total combined surface and groundwater runoff. Compared with the weathered and fractured bedrock, the floodplain gravel aquifer is of greater significance and is further enhanced by an unquantified amount of induced recharge from the River Rheidol. However, the resource contained in the Quaternary gravels is vulnerable to mainly agricultural contaminants derived either from direct leaching through the thin unsaturated zone, especially on the floodplain, or from induced recharge from the River Rheidol.


The four classes or states of discrete systems—chaos, complexity, and two types of order—have been established by S. Wolfram in [1]. We describe how the ratio d/c of two parameters, differentiation and centrality, explains changes among these states. Both parameters were developed in the social sciences and have been used to explain changes of state in social systems, which are also discrete systems [2]. Differentiation is the variety within the structure of a discrete system. Centrality measures the variety of outside information presented to a discrete system. Although these ideas can be applied to cellular automata (CAs), the range of these two variables is very limited for a given CA. In this paper we use the idea of a global cellular automaton (GCA), as developed by Wolfram in [3], and a GCA network (GCAN), as developed by S. Chandler in [4], to show how changes in the state of abstract discrete systems are related to changes in the ratio d/c.


IMPORTANCE
Problem adaptation therapy (PATH) is a treatment for older adults with major depression, cognitive impairment (from mild cognitive deficits to moderate dementia), and disability. Antidepressants have limited efficacy in this population and psychosocial interventions are inadequately investigated.

OBJECTIVE
To test the efficacy of 12-week PATH vs supportive therapy for cognitively impaired patients (ST-CI) in reducing depression and disability in 74 older adults with major depression, cognitive impairment, and disability.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A randomized clinical trial at the Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry from April 1, 2006, to September 31, 2011. Interventions were administered at the participants' homes. Participants included 74 older individuals (age ≥ 65 years) with major depression and cognitive impairment to the level of moderate dementia. They were recruited through collaborating community agencies of Weill Cornell Institute of Geriatric Psychiatry and were randomly assigned to 12 weekly sessions of PATH or ST-CI (14.8% attrition rate).

INTERVENTIONS
Home-delivered PATH vs home-delivered ST-CI. Problem adaptation therapy integrates a problem-solving approach with compensatory strategies, environmental adaptations, and caregiver participation to improve patients' emotion regulation. Supportive therapy for cognitively impaired patients focuses on expression of affect, understanding, and empathy.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Mixed-effects models for longitudinal data compared the efficacy of PATH with that of ST-CI in reducing depression (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale) and disability (World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II) during 12 weeks of treatment.

RESULTS
Participants in PATH had significantly greater reduction in depression (Cohen d, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.13-1.06; treatment × time, F(1,179) = 8.03; P = .005) and disability (Cohen d, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.20-1.14; treatment × time, F(1,169) = 14.86; P = .001) than ST-CI participants during the 12-week period (primary outcomes). Furthermore, PATH participants had significantly greater depression remission rates than ST-CI participants (37.84% vs 13.51%; χ(2) = 5.74; P = .02; number needed to treat = 4.11) (secondary outcome).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Problem adaptation therapy was more efficacious than ST-CI in reducing depression and disability. Problem adaptation therapy may provide relief to a large group of depressed and cognitively impaired older adults who have few treatment options.

TRIALS REGISTRATION
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00368940.


Abstract Aqueous solutions of caffeine were treated with ozone and gamma irradiation. The amounts of remaining caffeine were determined after solid phase extraction as a function of absorbed dose and ozonation time. In addition to this, some important parameters such as inorganic ions, chemical oxygen demand (COD) dissolved oxygen and total acidity changes were followed. Caffeine (50 ppm) is found to be completely decomposed at 3.0 kGy and 1.2 kGy doses in the absence of H2O2 and in 1.20 mM H2O2 solutions, respectively. In the case of gamma irradiation after ozonation, 50 ppm caffeine was removed at 0.2 kGy when the solution was ozonized for 100 s at a rate of 10 g O3 h-1 in 400 mL 50 ppm paracetamol solution.


Vegetable oil supplementation has often been used in high performance horse feeding. The aim of the current study is to evaluate lipidic metabolism during the low intensity tests in fat-supplemented horses. Twelve untrained Arabian horses were divided into two groups, in which each group was supplemented with soybean oil or rice bran oil for a period of six weeks. Before and after this period they were submitted to low intensity test (TLD) on a high-speed treadmill, and blood samples were taken before, during and after exercise. In TLD there was an increase in serum free fat acids (AGL) levels and decrease in serum triacylglycerol levels in fat-supplemented horses in both groups (P<0,05). No significant difference was observed in HDL values in TLD after supplementation. There was an increase in energy availability during low intensity exercise by increasing AGL and the maintenance of the lactate levels in fat-supplemented horses. Changes in the lipidic metabolism provided by vegetable oil supplementation are favorable for performance during TLD.


The microstructure and wear behavior of Cu-TiC composite which prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and mechanical alloying (MA) were discussed in this paper. X-ray diffraction patterns and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) images indicate that TiC were formed during sintering process. The pin-on-disc wear test was carried. Confocal scanning laser microscope (CFSLM) images indicate that mechanical mixed layer appeared on the worn surface the mechanical mixed layer broken up when normal load reached 200N. The composites displayed excellent wear resistance with 2.38×10−5 mm3/Nm specific wear loss.


The aim of this article is to investigate the effect of two different fixation hardware materials on bone remodeling after a mandibular reconstruction surgery and to restore the mandible's function, healthy appearance, mastication, swallowing, breathing, and speech. The hypothesis is that using fixation hardware with stiffness close to that of the surrounding bone will result in a more successful healing process in the mandible bone. The finite element model includes the material properties and forces of the cancellous bone, cortical bone, ligaments, muscles, and teeth. The reconstruction surgery is modeled by including the fixation hardware and the grafted bone. In the sectioned mandible, to best mimic the geometry of the mandible, two single barrel grafts are placed at the top of each other to form a double barrel graft set. Two different materials were used as the mandibular fixation parts, stiff Ti-6Al-4V, and porous superelastic Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) alloys. A comparison of these two alloys demonstrates that using porous NiTi alloy as the fixation part results in a faster healing pace. Furthermore, the density distribution in the mandibular bone after the healing process is more similar to the normal mandible density distribution. The simulations results indicate that the porous superelastic NiTi fixation hardware transfers and distributes the existing forces on the mandible bone more favorably. The probability of stress shielding and/or stress concentration decrease. This type of fixation hardware, therefore, is more appropriate for mandible bone reconstruction surgery. These predictions are in agreement with the clinical observations.


Across-sectional questionnaire survey and focused group discussions were conducted to characterize camel production systems and to evaluate reproductive performances of camels at their natural pastoralist management systems of Somali region. A total of 100 households were included in the study during the period of October 2012 to March 2013. About 98% of Somali pastoralists preferred camels as their first choice over other livestock species and mainly kept in the society for milk and meat production. The camel management dominating in the study areas of Somali region is traditional nomadic. Camel is one of the most important livestock for Somali pastoralists' livelihood as a source of milk, meat and draught power. Mature female camels were dominant (54.87%) in the camel herd. The ratio of male to female camel was 1:13. Mean age at first calving and calving interval were 62.16±10.44 and 23.28±3.36 months respectively. Age at first calving and calving interval can be minimized to 57±5.52 and 21.84±4.8 months by proper husbandry and health care. The mean lactation length was 11.51±1.91 months. Diseases and predators were reported as the main causes of calf mortality. In the herd dynamic simulation calf mortality rate can be reduced at least to 7% only by preventing predators attack. Diseases (66%), lack of pasture (59%) and security (47%) were the main constraints in camel production of the study areas. For the better productivity of camels, the major constraints such as disease problems, lack of pasture and tribal conflicts should be mitigated. Proper husbandry and health services can play significant roles in the long term improvement of camel production and productivity of the region.


Diameter of nailfold capillaries and their blood flow speed in 90 patients with pain syndrome were measured accurately by using YJD clinical microcirculatory image analyser, and the data obtained were compared with that of 31 normal subjects. The results showed (1) Shortening of capillary loop and slow down of blood flow were revealed in patients no matter where the location of pain was; (2) The disturbance of microcirculation was more prominent in case of chronic pain patient, manifested chiefly as slow down of blood flow speed (0.19 +/- 0.09 mm/s in afferent branch) and increase of loop diameter (15.86 +/- 6.50 microns), as compared with those in normal subjects (0.35 +/- 0.13 mm/s and 14.01 +/- 3.31 microns respectively), the difference were significant, P < 0.01; (3) Typing according to Syndrome Differentiation of TCM, the afferent loop diameter of the Blood Stasis type were 9.23 +/- 1.65 microns, it was significantly different from that of other types; and the blood flow speed of this group was markedly slowing down (0.18 +/- 0.08 mm/s in afferent branch), the change was of significant difference in comparing with normal group, P < 0.01. Authors considered that the mechanism of changes in microcirculation was related to increase of blood viscosity and spasm or diastole of capillaries induced by neurohumoral regulation, and many humoral factors, as histamine, may take part in this procedure.


Introduction: In clinical settings, neuropsychological test performance is traditionally evaluated with total summary scores (TSS). However, recent studies demonstrated that indices of intraindividual variability (IIV) yielded unique information complementing TSS. This 18-month longitudinal study sought to determine whether IIV indices derived from a multitrial list-learning test (the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) provided incremental utility in predicting cognitive decline in older adults compared to TSS. Method: Ninety-nine cognitively intact older adults (aged 65 to 89 years) underwent neuropsychological testing (including the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) at baseline and 18-month follow-up. Participants were classified as cognitively stable (n = 65) or declining (n = 34) based on changes in their neuropsychological test performance. Logistic regression modeling tested the ability of baseline TSS indices (sum of Trials 1–5, immediate recall, and delayed recall) and IIV indices (lost access and gained access) to discriminate between stable and declining individuals. Results: Higher values of both lost access and gained access at baseline were associated with an increased risk for decline at 18-month follow-up. Further, the IIV indices provided predictive utility above and beyond the TSS indices. Conclusion: These results highlight the value of analyzing IIV in addition to TSS during neuropsychological evaluation in older adults. High levels of IIV may reflect impairment in anterograde memory systems and/or executive dysfunction that may serve as a prognostic indicator of cognitive decline.


This article examines the application of distributed objects to the construction of highly available distributed systems for mobile, ubiquitous computing. High availability for the end user entails the provision of ubiquitous access and flexible resource-sharing. The defining characteristics of mobile computing, such as the frequent movement of users and hosts, the scarcity of network and local computing resources available to the mobile host, and the possibility of disconnections, present difficult challenges in providing high availability for clients in a distributed object system. Meeting these challenges requires dynamic object management techniques in the distributed server architecture on the fixed wired network, as well as object replica management techniques to achieve connection transparency and disconnected operation in the mobile client architecture. Various issues and solutions in constructing a dynamic distributed object-oriented architecture capable of supporting mobile computing are presented.


The objective of this work is to show the effect of residual blood on the quality of chicken meat, work based on the hypothesis that increasing the concentration of residual blood would explain the observed quality degradation by several authors. Lots of chickens are killed with two different types of slaughter: Slaughter without stunning for a maximum flow of blood or bleeding perfect PS, shooting seals slight lead to keep almost all blood from the carcass or bleeding IS flawed. To prove the residual blood factors that are responsible for high pHu level and high values of (L* A* B*) in poultry, this study compares the pHu level and values of (L* A* B*) in poultry both perfectly and imperfectly bled. Samples from imperfectly bled carcasses show a high value average number of A* = 12.68 and B* = 16.85; and L* = 54.09 VS the average number of A* = 8.50 and B* = 14.43 and L* = 50.27. At 3℃ storage temperature, the average pHu of perfectly bled poultry was (5.7) which was significantly (P < 0.01) lower than the average pHu of imperfectly bled poultry (6.08). At 7℃ storage temperature, the average pHu of perfectly bled poultry was (6.07) which was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than the average pHu of imperfectly bled one (6.27). We found out the effect of season on the results of pHu measures, so we conducted aanalysis of pHu in summer and winter. Residual blood of the poultry is responsible for high values of (L* A* B*) and high values of pHu therefore the deterioration of the poultry Colour.


Injuries to the spine in a young athlete can be devastating. They can also be very challenging to diagnose due to the anatomical and radiologic differences between the adult and the pediatric spine. A thorough history and full physical examination is of the utmost importance for evaluating any spine injury. This allows an understanding of possible injuries prior to any advanced imaging. Most injuries will require at least a standard set of radiographs, but many injury patterns will require further imaging. MRI is the preferred imaging modality in the pediatric population over CT scan due to the lack of ionizing radiation. Injuries range in severity from a muscle strain to fractures to spinal cord neurapraxias. The primary goal for treatment of these injuries is to prevent any long-term complications in this young population. The secondary goal of treatment is to return the pediatric athlete to the sport of their choice. With prompt and proper treatment both goals are attained most of the time.


One fundamental guarantee that we cannot give our patients is that faults and errors in the healthcare system won't harm them. Of course, health care is by its nature risky. Not everyone undergoing surgery for an aortic aneurysm survives. Many interventions carry risks. But these risks are mostly small and usually quantifiable. Ideally, patients understand the possible risks and benefits before choosing to undergo a procedure. For some patients these are diYcult decisions. Although healthcare professionals may discuss risks of treatment, they do not speak about risks of harm from the system—or even about such harm when it occurs. Recent studies in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom and reports from the US Institute of Medicine and the UK Department of Health have drawn attention to the chronic "unsafeness" of health systems worldwide. This attention is not new. What is new is that preventable, iatrogenic injuries are being quantified and openly discussed. For example, adverse drug reactions have become a national issue in the United States—studies show that adverse drug events occurred in 6.5% of hospitalisations. These reports have highlighted the tensions between accountability and improvement, the needs of individual patients and benefit to society, and production goals and safety. Most causes—and solutions—lie in the systems of care and how we work. Healthcare professionals, however, focus energy on individual patients, tackling diYculties in the system as they appear—often as separate problems and not in parallel. Individual care is, of course, crucial but, unless attention is given to the system, our patients are at risk from a faulty service. For example, inadequate handovers can mean that vital information is lost between diVerent care givers and services. Is it that the word "system" is anathema to many healthcare professionals? Just getting health professionals to work harder or exhorting them to be safer will not help; the system of care must be redesigned. We must instil a chronic sense of unease—a constant awareness of risk in every action. Such attention to risk enables crews of aircraft carriers to launch and land several planes every day on decks the size of two football fields with virtually no adverse events. All hands know that one oversight can lead to disaster. Theories of quality improvement in complex systems have helped the understanding of safety in health care. Safety is the aim, and improving skills and techniques is the method to get there. Much is known about how to build safer systems and reduce risk, but little of this knowledge is embedded in health care and, until it is, the sustained changes in behaviour of individuals and organisations that are needed for safer care are unlikely. Punishment will not help. The knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for safe practice are not normally acquired, nor are they required, as part of pre-qualification experience. The disciplines in which risk management and quality improvement are important are wide ranging and cut across professional, clinical, and organisational boundaries. Some of these disciplines—cognitive psychology, ethics, bioengineering, mathematics, statistics, information science, ethics, and law—will be familiar. Others—such as change management, team work, organisational behaviour, systems theory, disaster analysis, and human factors—may not be. Not all these disciplines need be given their own space in the curriculum. The ethical imperative dictates that we should support the development of an understanding about safety from the first day of healthcare training. How long, though, should we wait before all medical schools and training programmes include a patient-centred safety curriculum? Doctors in particular have mostly avoided the question of how safety can become central to their work. Employing an expert will not reduce harm. A general call to embrace safety may influence a few people but will not change systems. Care will be safer when we learn to work as teams and understand the team as a microsystem—a small, focused, organised unit with a set of patients, technologies, and practitioners. Some important changes that health professionals can make may be very "low tech" and seem trivial. How would methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus survive if all doctors always washed their hands after examining a patient? Removing concentrated potassium chloride from wards would prevent fatal concentrated injections, while designing unique connectors might prevent fatal intrathecal neurotoxic vincristine injection mix-ups. We know these changes will make a diVerence. *This is a version of an editorial which appeared in the BMJ 2001; 323:585–6. Quality in Health Care 2001;10:199–203 199


The general public typically has a positive view of liberty, democracy, and a reliable legal system. For their part, analysts are likely to take the legal system for granted because they have a positive view of the rule of law and are able to construct airtight arguments explaining why a reliable legal environment is important for investors.However, simply stating that having the rule of law is always better than not having it may not be sufficient. Scholars rarely evaluate the magnitude of the positive effect of the rule of law. Certain studies may consider that legal risk increases costs at the operating level, such as the risk of suffering litigation expenses, but these studies have not analyzed how legal risk may cause investment loss.Additionally, scholars may attempt to show that the rule of law is not a foundational concern for investors by developing models based on the interaction between governments and investors; however, these studies may miss the mark when investors hesitate to enter the market because of the perception of an unfair legal environment or when the same model is applied to a variety of industries.In reality, it is not easy to calculate accurate figures of profit or loss resulting from the stability of the legal environment for an entire society, but a test estimating a rough ceiling of loss that might be caused by the improper application of the rule of law in a particular circumstance might be a valuable indicator for investors.Robert Hahn et al. suggest a cost-and-benefit approach to examine the enactment of regulations; they apply it to the question of whether legislators should prohibit drivers from using cellphones while driving in 2001 and 2007.Subject to assumptions and adjustments, such an approach might provide investors with a general idea about how much the application of the rule of law affects profitability by applying the analysis to judicial matters.


Within a single district health authority all the general practitioners and community registered general nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding awareness and perceptions of a domiciliary hospice service. Responses were received from 127 doctors (71%) and 58 nurses (80%). Awareness of resources offered by the domiciliary hospice service was high, especially among the 102 respondents with access to the service. Eighty per cent or more of general practitioners and community nurses were satisfied with the amount of information received concerning changes in the patient's condition and who was involved in the care process. However, 33% of nurses agreed that it was difficult to know who had overall responsibility for the patient's care and 28% of nurses felt that their own contribution was under-rated. These findings were reinforced by a number of written statements submitted by the nurses. There was a desire expressed by both general practitioners and community nurses for more educational input from the domiciliary service. Overall, assistance from the service was welcomed and its special skills acknowledged. In the future planning of a comprehensive hospice service the differing needs expressed by doctors and nurses should be taken into account.


Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by impaired insulin secretion and/or reduced response of target tissues to insulin. Good glycemic control delays the development and slows the progression of micro- and macrovascular complications. Although there are numerous glucose-lowering agents in clinical use, only approximately 50% of type 2 diabetic patients achieve glycemic control, and undesirable side effects often exist in the traditional treatment. There is a need for novel treatment options that can help overcome these difficulties. Sodium glucose cotransporter 2(SGLT2) inhibitors have recently been developed as a novel potential therapeutic option for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. These drugs could lower the plasma glucose concentration through inhibition of the glucose reuptake in kidney, independent of insulin secretion and insulin action, with a consequent lower risk of hypoglycemia. The data of clinical trials with monotherapy as well as combination therapy show that SGLT2 inhibitors have a blood glucose-lowering effect and also reduce body weight. A follow-up study shows long-term efficacy and durability of these effects. SGLT2 inhibitors have the potential to reverse glucose toxicity and to improve the insulin resistance, blood pressure, and lipid profile. The available data suggest a good tolerability profile. However, clinicians should carefully prescribe these drugs in light of already reported and/or unexpected side-effects. Further studies in larger numbers and longer-term clinical use data are required to apply these agents in standard treatment of type 2 diabetes.


If the genetic maps of two species are modelled as permutations of (homologous) genes, the number of chromosomal rearrangements in the form of deletions, block moves, inversions etc. to transform one such permutation to another can be used as a measure of their evolutionary distance. Motivated by such scenarios, we study problems of computing distances between permutations as well as matching permutations in sequences, and finding most similar permutation from a collection ("nearest neighbor").

We adopt a general approach: embed permutation distances of relevance into well-known vector spaces in an approximately distance-preserving manner, and solve the resulting problems on the well-known spaces. Our results are as follows:

We present the first known approximately distance preserving embeddings of these permutation distances into well-known spaces.

Using these embeddings, we obtain several results, including the first known efficient solution for approximately solving nearest neighbor problems with permutations and the first known algorithms for finding permutation distances in the "data stream" model.

We consider a novel class of problems called permutation matching problems which are similar to string matching problems, except that the pattern is a permutation (rather than a string) and present linear or near-linear time algorithms for approximately solving permutation matching problems; in contrast, the corresponding string problems take significantly longer.


We present simultaneous fast, in-situ measurements of formaldehyde and glyoxal from two rural campaigns, BEARPEX 2009 and BEACHON-ROCS, both located in Pinus Ponderosa forests with emissions dominated by biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Despite considerable variability in the formaldehyde and glyoxal concentrations, the ratio of glyoxal to formaldehyde, RGF, displayed a very regular diurnal cycle over nearly 2 weeks of measurements. The only deviations in RGF were toward higher values and were the result of a biomass burning event during BEARPEX 2009 and very fresh anthropogenic influence during BEACHON-ROCS. Other rapid changes in glyoxal and formaldehyde concentrations have hardly any affect on RGF and could reflect transitions between low and high NO regimes. The trend of increased RGF from both anthropogenic reactive VOC mixtures and biomass burning compared to biogenic reactive VOC mixtures is robust due to the short timescales over which the observed changes in RGF occurred. Satellite retrievals, which suggest higher RGF for biogenic areas, are in contrast to our observed trends. It remains important to address this discrepancy, especially in view of the importance of satellite retrievals and in situ measurements for model comparison. In addition, we propose that RGF represents a useful metric for biogenic or anthropogenic reactive VOC mixtures and, in combination with absolute concentrations of glyoxal and formaldehyde, furthermore represents a useful metric for the extent of anthropogenic influence on overall reactive VOC processing via NOx. In particular, RGF yields information about not simply the VOCs dominating reactivity in an airmass, but the VOC processing itself that is directly coupled to ozone and secondary organic aerosol production.


Introduction: Dupuytren?s disease (DD) is an ill-defined fibroproliferative disorder affecting the palms of the hands of certain patient groups. Whether changes in DD fibroblasts are due to genetic alterations alone or related to metabolic dysregulation has not yet been investigated.Hypotheses: 1. DD is a disease of several networks rather than of a single gene. 2. DD may be investigated more effectively by employing systems biology. 3. Strict definition of cell passage number is important for the revelation of any DD phenotype. 4. Some of the differences between DD and healthy tissues reside in a difference in their respiratory metabolism. 5. Any such differences are akin the Warburg effect noted for tumour cells in the literature.Methods: We induced hypoxia in healthy and disease cells to test whether the difference in disease cell types and healthy is the same as the difference in control fibroblasts cultured in normoxia and hypoxia. We investigated both at the metabolic level (intracellular and extracellular) and at the transcript level. This study also employed Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to permit profiling of cells: (1) DD cords and nodules against the unaffected transverse palmar fascia (internal control), (2) those (1) with carpal ligamentous fascia (external controls) (3) those in (1) against DD fat surrounding the nodule, and skin overlying the nodule. We then compared metabolic profiles of the above to determine the effect of serial passaging by assessment of reproducibility. Subsequently, a novel protocol was employed in carefully controlled culture conditions for the parallel extraction of the metabolome and transcriptome of DD-derived fibroblasts and control at normoxic and hypoxic conditions to investigate this hypothesis. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with microarrays was employed to identify metabolites and transcript characteristic for DD tissue phenotypes. The extracellular metabolome was also studied for a selected subset. The metabolic and transcriptional changes were then integrated employing a network approach.Results: Carefully controlled culture conditions combined with multivariate statistical analyses demonstrated metabolic differences in DD and unaffected transverse palmar fascia, in addition to the external control. Differences between profiles of the four DD tissue phenotypes were also demonstrated. In addition early passage (0-3) metabolic differences were observed where a clear separation pattern in clusters was observed. Subsequent passages (4-6) displayed asynchrony, losing distinction between diseased and non-diseased sample phenotypes. A substantial number of dysregulated metabolites involved in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and also metabolism of cofactors and vitamins including downregulated cysteine and aspartic acid have been identified from the integrative analyses. Metabolic and transcriptional differences were revealed between fibroblast cell samples (passage number 3) cultured in 1% and 21% oxygen. The hypothesis that the difference in disease and healthy cells maybe akin to the differences in healthy cells in normoxia and hypoxia was rejected as only a very small number of significant molecules from these studies coincided in perturbed fascia and disease samples. No lactic acid was observed and little difference in the pyruvate concentrations. Yet, upon perturbation several of these transcripts and metabolites involved in the afore-mentioned pathways were significantly dysregulated.Conclusion: Early, but not late, passage numbers of primary cells provide representative metabolic and transcript fingerprinting for investigating DD. A unique parallel analysis of transcript and metabolic profiles of DD fibroblasts and control, enabled a robust characterization of DD and correlation of parameters across the various levels of systemic description. The tools that should facilitate our understanding of these complex systems are immature, but the pleiotropy of the difference between healthy and DD tissue suggest the aetiology of a network-based disease.


Inductive noise in high-performance microprocessors is a reliability issue caused by variations in processor current (di/dt) which are converted to supply-voltage glitches by impedances in the power-supply network. Inductive noise has been addressed by using decoupling capacitors to maintain low impedance in the power supply over a wide range of frequencies. However, even well-designed power supplies exhibit (a few) peaks of high impedance at resonant frequencies caused by RLC resonant loops. Previous architectural proposals adjust current variations by controlling instruction fetch and issue, trading off performance and energy for noise reduction. However, the proposals do not consider some conceptual issues and have implementation challenges. The issues include requiring fast response, responding to variations that do not threaten the noise margins, or responding to variations only at the resonant frequency while the range of high impedance extends to a resonance band around the resonant frequency. While previous schemes reduce the magnitude of variations, our proposal, called resonance tuning, changes the frequency of current variations away from the resonance band to a non-resonant frequency to be absorbed by the power supply. Because inductive noise is a resonance problem, resonance tuning reacts only to repeated variations in the resonance band, and not to isolated variations. Reacting after a few repetitions allows more time for the response and reduces unnecessary responses, decreasing performance and energy loss.


In this paper, we model the geometric component in a charge pumping (CP) technique of polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFTs). This model is based on both remaining carrier types when the device transits from accumulation to inversion and vice versa. Therefore, it depends on gate length (L) and width (W) as well as on gate signal rise (tf) and fall time (tf). The proposed model shows good agreement with the experimental data. We have shown that the geometric component due to the remaining carriers, when poly-Si TFT transits from inversion to accumulation, is very small compared with that due to the transition from accumulation to inversion. Consequently, a new analytic CP model, depending on gate width, is developed for n-channel poly-Si TFT.


Author(s): Li, Mengping | Advisor(s): Kaner, Richard B. | Abstract: Supercapacitors are widely used in our everyday life. They can supply power for portable electronic devices and electric vehicles as well as be utilized for energy recovery systems to improve energy efficiency. It is reported that the global supercapacitor market will be $2.12 billion by 2020 with an annual growth rate of 20.7%. The popularity of supercapacitors is due to their high power density, long cycle life and ability to work at low temperatures. However, state-of-art supercapacitors suffer from relatively low energy density, which has prevented them from being used in more applications. Besides, commercial cells are assembled with organic electrolytes to enlarge their potential window, which are expensive and flammable, far away from meeting the standards of ideal energy storage devices. In order to enhance the performance of current devices, advanced electrode materials, electrolytes as well as novel separators are needed. In this thesis, a hybrid material composed of carbon and nanostructured metal oxides as electrode materials is investigated. With the synergetic effects between the two compositions, the charge storage capability of the hybrid material is enhanced. To further boost the energy density of devices, the performance of commercial activated carbon supercapacitors was enhanced by a combination of a laser scribing process and a redox electrolyte. In this way, the energy density obtained was nine times higher than the commercial device, while using a safer and less expensive aqueous electrolyte. Additionally, supercapacitors were integrated with energy harvesting devices to build self-powered systems. A self-charging power pack was fabricated based on a combination of a solar cell and a supercapacitor which is able to harvest 2.92% of the solar energy. Moreover, a self-charging supercapacitor was fabricated by using a piezoelectric separator. The device can harvest energy from the ambient environment and be charged to 0.2 V simply by pressing with one's palm.


A simple model is presented for the effect of size and geometry on fracture toughness when represented as J-R curves in the fully plastic region. The model, which is little more than dimensional analysis, refers to growthbeyond any J-controlled regime. It suggests that the abscissa of a J-based R-curve should be Aa/c, where c may be thickness, ligament, or material toughness (expressed as a plastic zone size) according to circumstance. The analysis is consistent with the well known picture in the LEFM regime where thickness is the only geometric term that affects toughness. Comparison is made with many published results, in most cases satisfactorily. The agreement is best for tests of various ligament widths with constant thickness. The reason for this is the limited understanding of how the shear lips develop before a steady-state pattern of growth is reached and the likelihood that the controlling factor may change when thickness is a variable. Since for the fully plastic state the increment of work from which toughness is derived involves only the limit load and dq/da, the relation between an increment of displacement and the corresponding crack growth, the latter seems to be the factor that contributes most to the differing trends of fully plastic J-R curves as initial geometry is varied. The near total lack of published data for dq/da needs urgent remedy if these geometric effects are to be understood.


This is the one-volume edition of a famous biography of Henry James, which includes new material. Born in America, Henry James was educated both there and in Europe before settling in London, where he was to spend most of his life, in 1876. His novels represent the culmination of the 19th-century realist tradition of Austen, George Eliot, Flauberty and Balzac, and a decisive step towards the experimental modernism of Woolf and T.S. Eliot. His works often focus upon an innocent American in Europe, and assess the qualities and dangers of both American and European culture at the time, as well as showing their vast differences.


Let us now revisit the patient MS. The clinician performed sharp debridement of the devitalized tissue with a scalpel. The remaining slough was removed using enzyme therapy--Santyl Collagenase, for example. The debridement revealed a stage III ulcer. The wound was irrigated daily with normal saline and lightly packed with a hydrogel-impregnated dressing (to provide moisture). The macerated skin surrounding the wound was protected from excessive moisture using a topical material, Skin Prep, for example. A nutritionist was consulted, who advised a multivitamin and a protein supplement. Wound closure was achieved in a timely fashion.


1Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Pain Medicine (Psychology Clinic), Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, Shenyang, 110042, People's Republic of China; 3Department of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Surgery, Cancer Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute, Shenyang, 110042, People's Republic of China; 4Central Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, People's Republic of China Objective: Phantom limb pain (PLP) was a common problem in malignant tumor amputees that can cause considerable suffering. The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence and factors associated with the occurrence of post-operation PLP, stump limb pain (SLP), and phantom limb sensations (PLS) in tumor amputees within the first month after surgery. Additionally, differences in phantom phenomena between upper and lower extremities were investigated. Methods: In total, 162 amputees participated in this retrospective study who underwent malignant limb amputation between 2012 and 2019. Clinical characteristics were collected from medical records and reconfirmed by telephone interviews. A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to quantitate phantom phenomena. We used analysis of variance and nonparametric statistics for categorical variables and ordinal variables separately. Results: In the first month after malignant amputation, the incidence of PLP was 54.3%, that of PLS was 65.4%, and that of SLP was 32.7%. The duration of preoperative pain and amputation level was significantly different for the incidence of acute PLP. Further subgroup analysis of amputation level showed that patients whose amputation level was below the wrist and ankle joints had a significantly reduced incidence of PLP (p<0.0083 in Bonferroni test). Binary logistics regression analysis determined that amputation level was the primary risk factor for the incidence of PLP. Factors related to the severity of postoperative PLP also included amputation level, preoperative pain, and amputation times. By comparing the differences between upper and lower limbs after amputation, we found that the incidence of PLS was higher after lower limb amputation, but there was no significant difference in the incidence of PLP and SLP. Preoperative experience of chemotherapy was not a risk factor for PLP. Conclusion: Proximal amputation and long-term preoperative pain seemed to count more for PLP incidence. Further research may be required to individually determine factors associated with the occurrence and chronicity of phantom phenomena.


Patent foramen ovale is considered as a potential risk factor for stroke owing to paradoxic embolism, leading to the question "to close or not to close the patent foramen ovale". We report a 26-year-old woman with chest pain, dyspnoea, sudden severe pain in both legs and paraplegia. Thoracic and abdominal computed tomography revealed massive pulmonary embolism and complete obstruction of the abdominal aorta. Interventional removal of the aortic thrombus was undertaken using the Fogarty catheter technique via the femoral arterial approach. As a result of worsening of cardiopulmonary function during the procedure, additional local thrombolysis, with a total of 50 mg recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, and fragmentation of the thrombus in the right pulmonary artery were performed via a femoral vein approach. Ultrasound studies revealed a patent foramen ovale of about 12 mm diameter with a significant right to left shunt. Under favourable conditions, a patent foramen ovale may allow the escape of a thrombus, sufficient to cause a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism, into the arterial system, where it can be removed by interventional manoeuvres.


A 26-year-old man, who had received a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt for obstructive hydrocephalus after possible encephalitis, complained of disturbance of upward gaze and difficulty in movement seven months after the shunt implantation. One month later, neurological examination revealed upward gaze paresis and rigidity of all four limbs, but the neuroimaging studies revealed no ventricular dilatation. His symptoms deteriorated, and tremor of the extremities appeared. He was admitted to our hospital 10 months after the shunt implantation. He developed akinetic mutism soon after admission. Cerebrospinal fluid protein was elevated (62 mg/dl). At that time, the shunt reservoir was found to be insufficiently filled, and neuroimaging showed dilatation of the lateral and third ventricles with no dilatation of the fourth ventricle. A neuroendoscopic third ventriculostomy with removal of the previous shunt system gradually resolved the parkinsonism within two months, and the patient became capable of walking. The dilatation of the ventricles improved on neuroimaging. The present report suggests that shunt malfunction should be suspected when parkinsonism occurs in patients who have undergone a shunt placement, even though hydrocephalus on neuroimaging is not observed.


Background: The assessment of the nutritional composition and phytochemical screening of banana pseudostem (PB) and flower (FB) advocate this nonconventional food source for routine consumption, considering its various health benefits. Objectives: The aim is to assess the proximate nutrient composition, fatty acids, minerals, amino acid profile, and global antioxidant response (GAR) of PB and FB. Methods: Standard analytical procedures were used to determine the nutritional quality and GAR of PB and FB. Results: The chemical analysis illustrated that functional profile (water holding capacity, oil holding capacity, swelling power, and solubility), and proximate (ash, moisture, protein, fat, dietary fiber, and carbohydrate) contents were substantially high in FB than PB. With a well-proportionate amino acid profile, PB (0.56) and FB (0.54) comprised of a high ratio of essential to nonessential amino acids than those of FAO/WHO requirement (0.38). The mineral analysis revealed that PB and FB were rich in macro and micro minerals in the order K > Ca > Mg > P > Na and K > Mg > Na > Ca > P, respectively. Linoleic acid was found to be the major component in PB and FB. Besides, total antioxidant activity conducted for PB and FB by GAR method, measuring both bio-accessible and insoluble fractions, revealed that the soluble fraction fared better than the chemical extracts. Conclusion: The results revealed high nutritional qualities of the byproducts of banana and the low cost of its production promotes their use as a prospective nonconventional food resource with high nutraceutical value.


At the time medical products are approved, we rarely know enough about their comparative safety and effectiveness vis-à-vis alternative therapies to advise patients and providers. Postmarket evidence generation to study rare adverse events following medical product exposure increasingly requires analysis of millions of longitudinal patient records that can provide complete capture of patient experiences. In the article by Pradhan et al. (Am J Epidemiol. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Risk of Anaphylactic Reaction Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Multisite Population-Based Cohort Study), the authors demonstrate how observational database studies are often the most practical approach, provided these databases are carefully chosen to be fit for purpose. Distributed data networks with common data models have proliferated in the last two decades in pharmacoepidemiology, allowing efficient capture of patient data in standardized and structured format across disparate real-world data sources. Use of common data models facilitates transparency by allowing standardized programming approaches that can be easily reproduced. The distributed data network architecture, combined with a common data approach, supports not only multi-site observational studies but also pragmatic clinical trials. It also helps bridge international boundaries and further increases sample size and diversity of study population.


Organic-inorganic photovoltaic systems which attempt to integrate benefits of both material types in terms of ease of fabrication, stability and efficiency are reviewed. Three broad categories; inorganic-small molecule systems, carbon naotube incorporated organic photovoltaics and nanostructured organic surfaces-based photovoltaics have been discussed with reference to recent literature. Nanocrystal-organic systems are designed to improve broadband photon collection possibilty, nanostructred organic surfaces-based systems attempt to enhance exciton dissociation at the increased area interface. Incorporation of carbon nanotubes in donor-acceptor type photovoltaic systems have been shown as a technique to mitigate drawbacks from short carrier diffusion lengths of organic materials. The concepts present new opportunities for complex photovoltaic systems, which need to be cheap, large area and efficient in order to arrive at an economically viable level for mass uptake.