Based on the features and disadvantages of the commonly used defuzzification techniques and on the elements involved in the structure of a fuzzy controller, a new and advantageous defuzzification technique is introduced and justified. This is done by integrating the defuzzification problem into the global structure of fuzzy controllers. Another related defuzzification strategy, which has been introduced elsewhere by the principle author of this study, is also given and commented upon. Further, case studies are considered and comparative conclusions are drawn.


In marine ecosystems, identifying what and where animals eat are inferred
through indirect methods. These methods are often inadequate and our ability to
measure and predict ecological interactions remains poor. The accuracy of diet
estimation in marine animals may be improved by the use of DNA based techniques,
a potentially valuable but largely untested approach. The predictive power of
ecological models may also be improved by synoptic integration of diet with
spatially explicit foraging activity. A further gain may be achieved by considering
individual variation in foraging behaviour, as reflected by differences in diet and
core foraging areas within a population.
The objective of this thesis was to investigate the utility of DNA based diet
analysis in foraging ecology, explored in the context of top marine generalist
predators, southern hemisphere fur seals (Arctocephalus spp.). The effectiveness of
DNA based diet analysis for identifying trophic relationships is assessed in a series
of captive and field based studies. The diet and foraging activity of individuals in a
free-living population are then matched both spatially and temporally, and
predator-habitat relationships are modelled with reference to specific predator-prey
combinations.
The accuracy of DNA based scat analysis for diet estimation was assessed in
Arctocephalus seals fed mixed prey diets integrated over several days. This approach
was compared with the most commonly used method, morphological scat analysis.
Both methods inferred recent diet (within 40 hours), but detection of robust prey
consumed was 1.4-5.8 times more likely using genetic analysis than morphological
analysis. Presence/absence data was an ineffective quantitative measure of diet
using either DNA or morphological methods.
Faecal samples from 54 wild lactating Arctocephalus gazella were analysed for
prey remains using both DNA and morphological techniques. Morphological
analysis implied that nearly all individuals (91%) consumed a monotypic diet, but
inclusion of molecular data showed that a large proportion (46%) of seals consumed
a more diverse diet DNA based diet analysis identified important predator-prey
relationships that were not revealed by morphological analysis.
Differences in diet between individuals were mirrored by foraging location
data, confirming individual differences in foraging behaviour. Persistent
environmental features were significant in describing and predicting core foraging
areas, irrespective of diet, suggesting that these areas are likely to be important
sources of prey in most years. Monotypic consumers may be more vulnerable in
years of poor prey availability. DNA based diet analysis provides a significant
contribution to our ability to understand foraging ecology.


Background and aims : Today, creating a safe environment for sporting activities is an important and vital issue. The present qualitative study with the aim of designing a safety model in sport was conducted using Glacerian Grounded theory which is data-based. Methods : To this end, on the basis of snowball technique, 25 experts in the fild of safety and sport management participated in this study. They participated in an unstructured in-depth interview. Data obtained from the interview were analyzed using a set of open coding, theoretical coding and selective coding simultaneously. Results : The findings showed that professional and committed management could be regarded as the main factor and positive safety culture, specialized qualifications, legal and ethical requirements (responsibility, abiding by ethics and law), safety instructions, complying with health principles, positive environmental approach, physical, mental and individual equipments, human factors (ergonomics), sporting sites and buildings, and standard sporting facilities, medical actions and emergency services and application of new technologies, were determined as other safety cateqories in sporting. Conclusion : According to the proposed model, it is recommended that we consider the role of different factors in safe sporting activities in order to prevent injuries. By paying enough attention to essentials and factors which promote the safety in sporting activities, we can achieve safety in sporting, hence preventing the sporting injuries.


NASA will announce on Friday, Aug. 3, the astronauts assigned to crew the first flight tests and missions of the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon, and begin a new era in American spaceflight. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine will preside over the event, which will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency's website.


The Northern Territory (NT) Centre for Disease Control (CDC) undertook contact tracing of all notified cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) within the Territory. There were 28 cases of COVID-19 notified in the NT between 1 March and 30 April 2020. In total 527 people were identified as close contacts over the same period; 493 were successfully contacted; 445 were located in the NT and were subsequently quarantined and monitored for disease symptoms daily for 14 days after contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case. Of these 445 close contacts, 4 tested positive for COVID-19 after developing symptoms; 2/46 contacts who were cruise ship passengers (4.3%, 95% CI 0.5-14.8%) and 2/51 household contacts (3.9%, 95% CI 0.5-13.5%). None of the 326 aircraft passengers or 4 healthcare workers who were being monitored in the NT as close contacts became cases.


Fringe projection is a commonly used method for 3D surface metrology. Numerous applications have demonstrated a measurement field from a few millimeters to several meters. To enable the measurement of micro systems with this method, a zoom stereo microscope from Leica was used as the basis for the implementation of a fringe projection microscope. A state of the art twisted nematic WUXGA LCD was used for flexible fringe generation. The high fill factor of this reflective LCoS in combination with a 500 Lumen LED and a 12 bit CCD camera delivers fringe patterns with high contrast. This allows us to measure objects with both a strong reflectivity variation and a low reflectivity. The second main objective was to increase the measurement field and the depth of field. Using the zoom system and exchangeable microscope objectives, the measurement fields could be changed quickly from 4 cm2 to less than 1 mm2. Depending on the measurement field, the depth of field was between 5.22 mm and 0.018 mm. However, this was often not sufficient to measure the complete depth of a 3D-object. The microscope system also features an integrated high precision motor stage, which is already used for system calibration. Based on this, we implemented a new z-stitching method where n measurements at different well determined z-positions of the motor stage were performed. The n resulting topography maps can be stitched together to get the complete depth map of the entire object. Thus the depth measurement range is only limited by the mechanics of the z-stage.


The analysis in the quoted paper is an attempt to calculate the induced polarization response of a two‐layer flat earth. The upper layer is a homogeneous overburden of thickness h with a resistivity ρ1 and a dielectric constant of e1. The lower (semi‐infinite) medium which is the "aquifer" has a resistivity ρ2 and dielectric constant e2. The value of the relaxation voltage as seen at the potential electrodes "immediately after" the current is shut off is designated Δϕ. The A's of the above paper present a method for calculating the ratio Δϕ/V where V is the steady voltage across the potential electrodes during the time of current flow.


The objective of this study is to compare the effects of climate change on crop yields across different regions. A Principal Component Regression (PCR) model is developed to estimate the historical relationships between weather and crop yields for corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts for several northern and southern U.S. states. Climate change projection data from three climate models are applied to the estimated PCR model to forecast crop yield response. Instead of directly using weather variables as predictor variables, the PCR model uses weather indices transformed from original weather variables by the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) approach. A climate change impact index (CCII) is developed to compare climate change effects across different regions. The key contribution of our study is in identifying a different climate change effects in crop yields in different U.S. states. Specifically, our results indicate that future warmer weather will have a negative impact for southern U.S. counties, while it has insignificant impact for northern U.S. counties in the next four decades.


In this paper, we evaluate the performance of biplane correlation imaging (BCI) using a set of off-angle projections acquired from an anthropomorphic chest phantom. BCI reduces the effect of anatomical noise, which would otherwise impact the detection subtle lesions in planar images. BCI also minimizes the number of false positives (FPs) when used in conjunction with computer aided diagnosis (CAD) applied to a set of coronal chest x-ray projections by eliminating non-correlated nodule candidates. In BCI, two digital images of the chest are acquired within a short time interval from two slightly different posterior projections. The image data are then incorporated into the CAD algorithm in which nodules are detected by examining the geometrical correlation of the detected signals in the two views, thus largely "canceling" the impact of anatomical noise. Seventy-one low exposure posterior projections were acquired of an anthropomorphic chest phantom containing tissue equivalent lesions with small angular separations (0.32 degree) over a range of 20 degrees, [-10°, +10°], along the vertical axis. The data were analyzed to determine the accuracy of the technique as a function of angular separation. The results indicated that the best performance was obtained when the angular separation of the projection pair was greater than 6 degrees. Within the range of optimum angular separation, the number of FPs per image, FPpI, was ~1.1 with average sensitivity around 75% (supported by a grant from the NIH R01CA109074).


Singers and actors frequently complain about dusty and dry theater environments, which they believe induce respiratory tract indispositions and decrements in vocal performance. In the literature to date, extremely few quantitative data exist about actual climatic conditions on stage. A previous study by our group in an unhumidified theater found that it had too high temperatures, too dry and too dusty air, based on German occupational guidelines for the generic workplace. In the present study, humidification units were installed in the same theater, and the environmental measures were repeated. The primary findings indicated that, following the activation of the humidification units, temperatures, humidities and fine dust concentrations were improved and generally within acceptable ranges for the generic workplace, although not always optimal. Where unacceptable performance environments exist, special care should be taken to counsel performers with regard to possible prophylactic measures such as individual steam inhalation and fluid intake.


Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been successfully applied to the design optimization of electromagnetic devices. Practical issues relating to the implementation of the technique are examined. The possibility of a premature convergence in some applications is studied. Recommendations and guidelines to take these practical implementation issues into consideration are explained through application examples.


Healthcare design is now emerging from the shadows to be recognised as a distinct design discipline in its own right. A new discipline with patient safety at its heart, a practice that requires systems thinking and collaboration to tackle complex challenges and a practice conducted within a stringent ethical framework. Healthcare design practice is an emerging territory sparsely populated with high quality design exemplars. This chapter seeks to demystify these practices by providing a textual roadmap to support and inspire the new agoras who wish to engage with 21st healthcare design. Conversely it is hoped its content will also serve as a catalyst for healthcare providers who wish to reap the rewards associated with embracing a design-led approach with design practitioners at the very core of their service innovation teams.


Lulu Sun is an associate professor in the Department of Freshman Engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where she has taught since 2006. She received her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Harbin Engineering University (China), in 1999, and her Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Riverside, in 2006. Before joining Embry-riddle, she worked in the consulting firm of Arup at Los Angeles office as a fire engineer. Her research interests include engineering education and its pedagogies. She is a professional member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineer, and a member of American Society of Engineering Education.


The Bar has addressed several issues in recent years that impact the legal profession's structure, including rules relating to multidisciplinary practice, multijurisdictional practice, and client solicitations. Unfortunately, theories of legal ethics have not focused on these rules, but have instead concentrated on regulations that govern how lawyers represent their clients, such as the duty of confidentiality or rules against the presentation of perjured testimony. This article contends that, by applying ethics theories to the structural rules, an additional justification emerges for more progressive regulations. Specifically, the article concludes that traditional theories can supplement existing calls for multidisciplinary practices, more liberal unauthorized practice rules, and more permissive regulations of client solicitation.


Although the inhibitory action that tactile stimuli can have on pain is well documented, the precise timing of the interaction between the painful and non‐painful stimuli in the central nervous system is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate this issue by measuring the timing of the amplitude modulation of laser evoked potentials (LEPs) due to conditioning non‐painful stimuli. LEPs were recorded from 31 scalp electrodes in 10 healthy subjects after painful stimulation of the right arm (C6–C7 dermatomes). Non‐painful electrical stimuli were applied by ring electrodes on the second and third finger of the right hand. Electrical stimuli were delivered at +50, +150, +200 and +250 ms interstimulus intervals (ISIs) after the laser pulses. LEPs obtained without any conditioning stimulation were used as a baseline. As compared to the baseline, non‐painful electrical stimulation reduced the amplitude of the vertex N2/P2 LEP component and the laser pain rating when electrical stimuli followed the laser pulses only at +150 and +200 ms ISIs. As at these ISIs the collision between the non‐painful and painful input is likely to take place at the cortical level, we can conclude that the late processing of painful (thermal) stimuli is partially inhibited by the processing of non‐painful (cutaneous) stimuli within the cerebral cortex. Moreover, our results do not provide evidence that non‐painful inputs can inhibit pain at a lower level, including the spinal cord.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by progressive degeneration of motoneurons. One potential mechanism is excitotoxicity. We studied the behaviors of spinal neurons using an in vitro preparation of the sacral cord from the G93A SOD1 mouse model of ALS. Measurements were conducted at presymptomatic [approximately postnatal day 50 (∼P50)], early (∼P90), and late (>P120) stages of the disease. Short-latency reflexes (SRs) in ventral roots, presumably monosynaptic, were evoked by electrical stimulation of a dorsal root. The fraction of motoneurons capable of responding to this activation was evaluated by measuring the compound action potential [total motor activity (TMA)] evoked by antidromic stimulation of the distal ventral root. In mutant SOD1 (mSOD1) mice, both the SR and the TMA decreased with age compared with nontransgenic littermates, ruling out the SR as a source of increasing excitotoxicity. Spinal interneuron activity was assessed using the synchronized ventral root bursts generated by both bath application of blockers of inhibitory neurotransmitters (glycine, GABAA) and agonists of glutamate receptors (especially NMDA receptors). After symptom onset, a higher percentage of preparations from mSOD1 mice exhibited bursting, and these bursts exhibited more sub-bursts and a more disorganized pattern. In mSOD1 mice with clear muscle tremor, the ventral roots exhibited spontaneous synchronized bursts, which were highly sensitive to the blockade of NMDA receptors. These data suggest that although short-latency sensory input does not increase as symptoms develop, interneuron activity does increase and may contribute to excitotoxicity.


Throughout the years, many studies have been carried out on engines with every effort to save fuel, reduce emissions and produce more power. Turbochargers have been developed and installed in the exhaust system of an engine to use exhaust emissions for boosting power within an internal combustion engine, which would otherwise be wasted. The turbocharger characteristics are essential to determine its performance. There are three stages in a turbocharger, namely being, the turbine stage where energy is extracted from the exhaust gases; bearing housing where energy is being transferred to the compressor stage; and the compressor stage where ambient air is drawn in and compressed to increase the fluids density and pressure prior to being delivered into the intake system. The compressor stage consists of four main components, namely being, the inducer, impeller, diffuser and volute.

The volute of a turbocharger compressor is the third most important component within the compressor stage and has therefore, not received the attention that is needed. However, manufacturers are continuously seeking to obtain a realistic design methodology where variables exposed in real conditions, such as frictional effects are accounted for to minimise losses during performance. For this reason, it is essential to develop a thorough understanding of the flow phenomena the turbocharger compressor stage experiences under steady and transient conditions from a macroscopic level to a microscopic level. This creates a solid foundation for conducting the presented research.

In this study, a realistic design methodology for a turbocharger compressor volute has been presented. Detailed qualitative and quantitative flow field analyses of the turbocharger compressor stage have been numerically carried out under steady and transient flow conditions using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based techniques. The numerical investigations carried out in this study allow a clear visualisation of the flow structure within the turbocharger compressor stage volute, which makes it a cost effective method to undertake this research study. Approximations have been presented to design the symmetric and asymmetric type volutes, which have been applied into practice and analysed under steady and transient conditions to validate the presented compressor volute design methodology for turbocharging applications.


Siddiqui AH, Hussain T. Enhanced AT1 receptor-mediated vasocontractile response to ANG II in endothelium-denuded aorta of obese Zucker rats. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 292: H1722–H1727, 2007. First published December 1, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00612.2006.—In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that ANG II causes a greater vasoconstriction in obese Zucker rats, a model of type 2 diabetes, with mild hypertension. Measurement of isometric tension in isolated aortic rings with intact endothelium revealed a modest but not significantly greater ANG II-induced contraction in obese than lean rats. Removal of endothelium or inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase by N-nitro-Larginine methyl ester (L-NAME) enhanced 1) ANG II-induced contraction in both lean and obese rats, being significantly greater in obese rats (Emax g/g tissue, denuded: lean 572 40 vs. obese 664 16; L-NAME: lean 535 14 vs. obese 818 23) and 2) ANG II sensitivity in obese compared with lean rats, as revealed by the pD2 values. Endothelin-1 and KCl elicited similar contractions in the aortic rings of lean and obese rats. ACh, a NO-dependent relaxing hormone, produced greater relaxation in the aortic rings of obese than lean rats, whereas sodium nitroprusside, an NO donor, elicited similar relaxations in both rat strains. The expression of the ANG type 1 (AT1) receptor protein and mRNA in the endothelium-intact aorta was significantly greater in obese than lean rats, whereas the endotheliumdenuded rings expressed modest but not significantly greater levels of AT1 receptors in obese than lean rats. The endothelial NO synthase protein and mRNA expression levels were higher in the aorta of obese than lean animals. We conclude that, although ANG II produces greater vasoconstriction in obese rat aortic rings, enhanced endothelial AT1 receptor-mediated NO production appears to counteract the increased ANG II-induced vasoconstriction, suggesting that arterial AT1 receptor may not be a contributing factor to hypertension in this model of obesity.


BACKGROUND:Remifentanil is an ultrashort-acting opioid with favorable pharmacokinetic properties that make it suitable as a labor analgesic. Although it crosses the placenta freely, it is eliminated quickly in the neonate by rapid metabolism and redistribution. We aimed to determine whether remifentanil compared with meperidine is effective in reducing pain scores in laboring parturients. Other effects on the mother, the labor process, and the neonate were also examined. METHODS:MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Maternity and Infant Care databases were searched without language restriction using multiple keywords for labor analgesia, remifentanil, and meperidine. Published abstracts from 5 key research meetings and references from retrieved articles were examined for additional studies. Randomized controlled trials in laboring parturients comparing remifentanil with meperidine were selected. Risk of bias was assessed using criteria outlined in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We assessed for adequacy of sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding, and completeness of follow-up. Data were extracted from each study using a standardized data collection form. The primary outcome was reduction in pain scores (visual analog scale [VAS], 0–100 mm). We also evaluated maternal side effects (sedation, oxygen desaturation, and bradypnea) and effects on the neonate (Apgar scores, umbilical cord pH, and Neurologic and Adaptive Capacity Scores). RESULTS:Seven studies (349 patients) were identified for inclusion; only 3 studies were suitable for quantitative synthesis in a meta-analysis (233 patients). We found that remifentanil reduces the mean VAS score at 1 hour by 25 mm more than meperidine (P < 0.001) (95% confidence interval = 19–31 mm). Limited conclusions can be made regarding the side-effect profile of remifentanil because of insufficient data. CONCLUSION:Compared with meperidine, remifentanil is superior in reducing mean VAS scores for labor pain after 1 hour.


This study is conducted to test the influence of Entertainment, Sociality, Challenge, Control and Interactivity on consumers' Loyalty toward online games based on the uses and gratificaations theory and the flow theory. The model and variables in this study used two theories perspectives, consists of Uses and Gratification Research, and Flow Research.
This type of research is causal research with quantitative approach. This study used purposive sampling approach, which the sample consists of respondents who have experience of playing Massive Multiplayer Online Games at game center in Surabaya Region. Respondents in this study amounted to 280 people. The analysis in this study used a model of SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) and processed using SPSS software version 23.0 for Windows and Amos 23 for testing Measurement and Structural Model.
The result indicates that the Entertainment, Challenge, Control and Interactivity have a positive and significant impact on Customer Loyalty. While the influence of Sociality towards Customer Loyalty is insignificant or can be said to have no meaning.


Availability, storage and transportation of engineered bone tissue fabricated in vitro are major practical problems associated with adequate use of bone replacement grafts for the treatment of bone diseases. The ability to maintain viable engineered bone tissue would facilitate future clinical applications. In the present study, we investigated time required for transportation of engineered bone removed from cool storage, from the culture room to the operating room; and examined effects of cool storage on survival of engineered bone tissue. Bone marrowcells were obtained from the iliac bone of a 60-year-old male affected with lumbar spondylosis, and then incubated in standard medium. After two weeks in primary culture, cultured cells were trypsinized, and a concentrated cell suspension was incubated with a porous beta-TCP block. After 3 weeks of subculture with the osteogenic medium containing dexamethasone etc., engineered bone tissue was collected, stored for 0, 6, 12, 24 hours at 4 °C, and was subcutaneously implanted into the back of nude mice. Six weeks after implantation, implants were harvested. Before and after implantation, significant activity could be detected in all animals. In in vitro and in vivo situations, osteogenic activity of engineered bone tissue could be maintained even after 24 hours. These results provided information on appropriate storage conditions for engineered bone tissue.


The announcement in August 2011 that BlueScope Steel were about to close one of its Port Kembla blast furnaces and cease steel exports quickly spurred public debate in Australia, not just about steel but about the very future of manufacturing in Australia. Australian Workers' Union national secretary Paul Howes thus suggested: 'The question the Australian community needs to ask itself is do we want to be a country that still makes things? Do we want to value-‐‐add to our natural resources, or do we want to become just one big sandpit for China and a tourism resort for North Asia?'


Recently, there has been a lot of effort in the scientific community to understand the role of the naturally occurring hormone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). In order to plan experiments optimally, it is critical first to characterize the diurnal rhythm in healthy individuals. We present an analysis of DHEA concentrations under the framework of linear mixed-effects model. The samples were collected over 23.5 hours on 49 healthy individuals (27 young: 15 men, 12 women; 22 elderly: 12 men, 10 women) under placebo and alprazolam (2 mg oral dose) treatments. The population profiles of diurnal variation of DHEA concentrations, specific to age, sex, and minority status, and the effect of alprazolam on DHEA concentrations are estimated.


Chemosensitivity of B lymphocytes, obtained from 65 patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), Rai stages 0 through IV, was determined using the MTT assay. The results were expressed by the drug concentration required for 50% inhibition of cell viability (IC50). The cytotoxicity of chlorambucil (CLB) was compared with that of fludarabine and the DNA topoisomerase I inhibitors, camptothecin, 9-aminocamptothecin, 10,11-methylenedioxy-20(S)-camptothecin (10,11-MDC) and 9-amino-10,11-methylenedioxy-20(S)-campthothecin (9-A-10,11-MDC), and topotecan. Considerable heterogeneity in sensitivity to CLB was observed, with a median IC50 of 40.5 mumol/L in untreated patients. B-CLL cells from patients treated with CLB had a significantly higher median IC50 of 86.0 mumol/L (P < .01). Untreated as well as CLB-treated patients were divided into two subsets. For the purpose of this study, B-CLL lymphocytes with an IC50 CLB of less than 61.0 mumol/L were designated as "sensitive" and those with an IC50 CLB of > or = 61.0 mumol/L were designated as "resistant." After baseline assays, 15 untreated patients received CLB; after treatment, the IC50 increased in B-CLL lymphocytes from 13 of 15 patients. The response to CLB treatment, determined by its effect on the absolute lymphocyte count and by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group clinical criteria, was significantly better in patients whose lymphocytes had an IC50 CLB of less than 61.0 mumol/L before therapy (P < .01). B-CLL lymphocytes also had a variable degree of sensitivity in vitro to each of the other drugs. There was significant cross-resistance between CLB and fludarabine (P < 0.01). Whereas only 29% of CLB-resistant B-lymphocyte specimens obtained from individual patients were sensitive to fludarabine in vitro, 52% and 67% of CLB-resistant lymphocyte samples were sensitive to 10,11-MDC and 9-A-10,11-MDC, respectively. We have previously reported that p53 gene mutations were associated with aggressive B-CLL and a poor prognosis. B lymphocytes from seven patients with these mutations were resistant to CLB, and five of six were resistant to fludarabine. Lymphocytes from four of seven were resistant to 10,11-MDC, and three of four were resistant to 9-A-10,11-MDC. This study implies that the MTT assay may be useful in identifying subsets of CLL patients resistant to conventional chemotherapy. However, definitive conclusions can not be drawn in view of the small number of patients studied prospectively. In addition, these results suggest the potential of camptothecin-based therapy for patients unresponsive to standard treatment.


The Bureau of Mines investigated a microprocessor-based real-time control and monitoring system for uranium mining applications. The system is capable of controlling and monitoring up to 768 stations within 3 km of the central processor on a common four-wire cable. It can be used in conjunction with detectors to continuously monitor and display radiation working levels at points throughout the mine. Surface alarms are sounded for critical situations such as rapid radiation buildup, loss of power to monitors or fans, and changes in air door position. Permanent records of all changes are automatically printed out with their time of occurrence. Printouts can also be obtained for shift reports or trend logs. The system can be used to remotely control fan startup and shutdown, and also can alert miners of underground conditions by blowing horns or turning on lights. Battery backup keeps the system operative for up to 4 h in case of a mine power outage. A special software feature permits automatic, time-delayed, sequential restart of fans.


SUMMARY Introduction: Autopsy studies of persons who died of cancer have shown the lungs to be the sole site of metastasis in about 20% of cases. The resection of pulmonary metastases is indicated for palliative purposes if they contain a large volume of necrotic tumor, infiltrate the thoracic wall to produce pain, or cause hemoptysis or retention pneumonia. Metastasectomy with curative intent may be indicated for carefully selected patients. Methods: This review is based on a selective search of the PubMed database for articles that were published from 2006 to 2011 and contained the keywords "pulmonary metastasectomy," "lung resection of metastasis," and "lung metas - tasectomy." Results: No prospective comparative trials have been performed to date that might provide evidence for prolongation of survival by pulmonary metastasec- tomy; nor have there been any randiomized, controlled trials yielding evidence that would assist in the decision whether to treat pulmonary metastases with surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy (or some combination of these). The indication for surgery is a function of the histology of the primary tumor, the number and location of metastases, the lung capacity that is expected to re- main after surgery, and the opportunity for an R0 resection. Favorable prog- nostic factors include a long disease-free interval between the treatment of the primary tumor and the discovery of pulmonary metastases, the absence of tho- racic lymph node metastases, and a small number of pulmonary metastases. The reported 5-year survival rates after pulmonary metastasectomy, depending on the primary tumor, are 35.5% to 47% for renal-cell carcinoma, 39.1% to 67.8% for colorectal cancer, 29% to 52% for soft-tissue sarcoma, 38% to 49.7% for osteosarcoma, and 79% to 94% for non-seminomatous germ-cell tumors. For the latter two types of tumor, chemotherapy is the most beneficial form of treatment for long-term survival. Conclusion: When there is no good clinical alternative, the resection of pulmon- ary metastases can give some patients long-lasting freedom from malignant disease. Patients should be carefully selected on the basis of clinical staging with defined prognostic indicators.


BACKGROUND
Many complaints of Gulf War veterans are compatible with a neurologic illness involving the basal ganglia.

METHODS
In 12 veterans with Haley Gulf War syndrome 2 and in 15 healthy control veterans of similar age, sex, and educational level, we assessed functioning neuronal mass in both basal ganglia by measuring the ratio of N-acetyl-aspartate to creatine with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Central dopamine activity was assessed by measuring the ratio of plasma homovanillic acid (HVA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenlyglycol (MHPG).

RESULTS
The logarithm of the age-standardized HVA/MHPG ratio was inversely associated with functioning neuronal mass in the left basal ganglia (R(2) = 0.56; F(1,27) = 33.82; P<.001) but not with that in the right (R(2) = 0. 04; F(1,26) = 1.09; P =.30). Controlling for age, renal clearances of creatinine and weak organic anions, handedness, and smoking did not substantially alter the associations.

CONCLUSIONS
The reduction in functioning neuronal mass in the left basal ganglia of these veterans with Gulf War syndrome seems to have altered central dopamine production in a lateralized pattern. This finding supports the theory that Gulf War syndrome is a neurologic illness, in part related to injury to dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia.


Abstract High-pressure crystal structures are reported for two synthetic wadsleyite crystals, β-Mg2SiO4 (Fe00) and P-(Mg0.75Fe0.25)2SiO4 (Fe25), at six pressures to 10.12 GPa. In both compositions, bulk compressibilities are equal to the average compressibility of divalent cation octahedra. Individual silicate tetrahedra, by contrast, are relatively rigid, though the Si-O-Si angle between tetrahedra in Si2O7 dimers decreases systematically with pressure. Wadsleyites display anisotropic compression, with the c axis approximately 40% more compressible than a or b. This behavior results from differential compression of (Mg, Fe)-O bonds; in each of the structure's three symmetrically independent octahedra, the longest and most compressible bonds are roughly parallel to the b axis. Although the linear compressibilities of FeOO and Fe25 are similar, details of structural changes with pressure differ. Iron-enriched M1 and M3 octahedral sites in Fe25 are significantly less compressible than analogous Mg sites in Fe00.


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to focus on the difference between perceptions of single and married international students. Four aspects are discussed to explain this issue: comfort level of international students in a host environment, their cultural representation, language competence/barrier and major challenges related to the host community. Then their attachment process was discussed.

Design/methodology/approach
The study deployed a qualitative research methodology with purposeful sampling to gain a closer insight into the trails, experiences, feelings and perceptions of international students.

Findings
The findings in this qualitative research underscore the importance of the individual's will to adjust to the host society, at the same time to preserve the valuable sense of ethnic and personal identity for each foreign student. The focus group interviews reveal that domestic students, are not necessarily hostile towards international students, but simply do not know how to approach them without intruding in and violating the privacy and cultural norms of international students.

Research limitations/implications
This qualitative study had only eight participants, which may hinder generalizability of findings. Future studies with survey methods to look into international students' perceptions can be supplementary to the authors' study.

Practical implications
Quantitative studies with a significant number of international students' perceptions rather than standardized scores or administrative records can provide an important layer in the literature body. This way, future research can unpack individual differences regarding social alienation with more nuances.

Social implications
The research does not generalize the students' experiences by classifying them into ethnic groups or representatives. However, it could be informative to look into same country population reflections, too.

Originality/value
This study is focused on the students' marital status seeking to understand a pattern that may differentiate the sociocultural acclamation or alienation processes, exploring their socializations within academic (e.g. classmates and professors) or nonacademic contexts (e.g. on or off-campus social/affinity groups), racial–ethnic sensitivity and perceived pressure and stereotypes among foreign students.


The performanceof the processor is highly dependent on the regular supply of correct instruction at the right time. Whenever a data miss is occurring in the cache memory the processor has to spend more cycles for the fetching operation. One of the methodsused to reduce instruction cache miss is the instruction prefetching,which in turn will increase instructions supply to the processor.The technology developments in these fields indicates that in future the gap between processing speeds of processor and data transfer speed of memory is likely to be increased. Branch Predictor play a critical role in achievingeffective performance in many modernpipelined microprocessor architecture. Prefetching canbe done either with software or hardware. In software prefetching the compiler will insert a prefetch code in the program. In this case as actual memory capacity is not known to the compiler and it will lead to some harmful prefetches. In hardware prefetching instead of inserting prefetch code it will make use of extra hardware and which is utilized during the execution. The most significant source of lost performance when the process waiting for the availability of the next instruction. Thetime that is wasted in case of branch misprediction is equal to the number of stages in the pipeline, starting from fetch stage to execute stage. All the prefetching methods are givenstress only to the fetching of the instruction for the execution, not to the overall performance of the processor. The most significant source of lost performanceis,when the process is waiting for the availability of the next instruction. The time that is wasted in case of branch misprediction is equal to the number of stages in the pipeline, starting from fetch stage to execution stage.This paper we made an attemptto study the branch handling in a uniprocessing environment, whenever branching is identified instead of invoking the branch prediction the proper cache memory management is enabled inside the memory management unit.


This article explores cross-country patterns in how conditions relating to family background, education, and the labor market are related to literacy and numeracy skills. It seeks to assess whether these patterns are in agreement with models of skills formation as identified in the political economy literature. The novelty of this article resides in a reexamination of the findings in the literature of skills formation and education and training system with new data on adults' skills. This research uses a two-step approach: first it applies Shapley decomposition variance on adult skills and then each country scores are clustered to search for common pattern and regularities in skills formation. This leads us to single out common regularities among groups of countries in the way skills are structured and distributed. We find three main typologies and different subgroups within them that are compatible with the literature on skills formation models.


Nietzsche versus Schmitt. Agonal versus political thinking

 This article concerns the reception of Friedrich Nietzsche by Carl Schmitt with regard to the concept of the agon. In the 1933 edition of Der Begriff des Politischen Schmitt states that there is a 'great metaphysical opposition' (große metaphysische Gegensatz) between his political thinking and agonal thinking, the latter of which is associated with Nietzscheans like Alfred Baeumler and Ernst Jünger. It is argued that this metaphysical opposition is best explained in light of Schmitt's intellectual development from decisionist to concrete order thinker. Moreover, it is argued that the reception of Nietzsche's concept of the agon by Schmitt took place through Baeumler. Nietzsche's concept of the agon is best described as a measured productive struggle between opponents who are approximately equal to each other. In the reception of Nietzsche's concept of the agon a shift of focus occurs from a struggle between individuals to a struggle between collectives. At the same time the social character of the agon is lost, which was expressed in the thought that the individual could only develop his talents in a struggle with others.


Abstract Objective: Abnormalities of the third branchial arch are less common than those of the second arch and usually present with left thyroid lobe inflammation. This paper describes 15 cases of pyriform sinus fistulae of third branchial arch origin usually presenting as recurrent thyroid abscess on the left side. Method: A retrospective review of 15 cases of third arch fistulae managed 2000 and 2008, diagnosed based on histopathology and radiological evidence of a fistulous tract, and treated with fistulectomy with left hemithyroidectomy. Results: All patients (six boys and nine girls, aged three to 15 years) presented with recurrent low neck inflammation. Pre-operative ultrasound, computed tomography fistulography and barium swallow demonstrated a third arch fistulous tract, left-sided in all cases. The fistula was detected intra-operatively and pathologically in all cases. Surgery (successful in all cases) emphasised complete recurrent laryngeal nerve and ipsilateral pyriform sinus exposure, to facilitate tract excision, with left hemithyroidectomy. There was no recurrence over three to five years' follow up. Conclusion: Paediatric recurrent low neck inflammatory episodes, due to thyroidal abscess, especially left-sided, should raise suspicion of pyriform sinus fistulae.


1. Introduction to Macromedia Flash for Embedded Devices. A Little Flash History. The Expanding Popularity of Flash. What You'll Find in Flash Enabled. I. GETTING STARTED WITH FLASH ON DEVICES. 2. Creating Content for the Pocket PC Using Flash. What Is the Flash Player for Pocket PC? Why Use Flash for the Pocket PC? On Which Pocket PCs Can the Flash Player for Pocket PC Run? What Isn't Supported in the Flash Player for Pocket PC? Content Creation Guidelines. Video in Flash for the Pocket PC. Memory and Memory Management with Flash for the Pocket PC. Loading Data into Flash for the Pocket PC. Security Model of Flash on the Pocket PC. Device Speed and Frames per Second. Detecting the Processor Speed on the Pocket PC with Flash. Screen Economy with Flash for the Pocket PC. Rotating Flash Content for the Pocket PC. Internet Explorer for Pocket PC. HTML and the Internet Explorer for Pocket PC. Using JavaScript with Flash for the Pocket PC. Sniffing for Internet Explorer for Pocket PC on the Server. Distributing Your Flash Content for the Pocket PC. Emulation of the Pocket PC for Testing. Test, Test, Test, and Test Some More! Advanced Topics. Summary...That's All, Folks! 3. Interface Design for Devices. Common Interface Issues. Special Considerations for Devices. Creating Standard Components for Devices. Optimizing Interfaces. Summary. 4. Typography in Flash for Devices. What Are Pixel Fonts? Type Considerations. Pixel Problems in Flash. The Solution to Pixel Problems. Usage Overview. Miniml Font Number System. Making Your Own Flash Pixel Font. Fonts in Application. Summary. 5. From Start to Finish: Understanding the Flash Application Development Workflow. Introducing the Event Guide Application. Planning Your Project. Creating the Flash Project. Summary. II. ADVANCED FLASH DEVELOPMENT FOR DEVICES. 6. Creating Motion Graphics and Character Animation for the Pocket PC Using Flash. Planning, Organizing, and Optimization. The Realities of Developing for Devices and Platforms. Keys to Motion Graphics. Keys to Character Animation. Summary. 7. Creating Interactive Games for Devices Using Flash. Constraints of the Game Platform. Game Categories-What Works on the Pocket PC, and What Doesn't? Making a Card Game. Summary. III. CREATING APPLICATIONS FOR DEVICES WITH FLASH. 8. Data Persistence with Flash, JScript, and HTTP Cookies. What Are HTTP Cookies? Data Flow Between Flash, JScript, and Cookies. Dissecting FlashTone. Summary. 9. Standalone Application Development Using Flash and Java. Developing with an N-Tiered Architecture. Platform Independence. Why Use Different Technologies for a Single Project? The TextTool Application We Are Building. Java on the Pocket PC. Flash on Pocket PC. Building the TextTool Back-End. Understanding the Flash User Interface. Summary. 10. Server-Side Dynamic Content for Flash-Enabled Devices. What Is Macromedia Generator? What Is JGenerator? Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Server-Side Tool for Dynamic Content for Devices. Creating Generator Templates: The Authoring Workflow. Two Techniques for Server-Side Dynamic Content Creation. Summary. IV. FLASH FOR TELEVISION. 11. Flash Content for Television. General Television Display Issues. Interlacing. Flash for Non-Broadcast TV: VHS, MiniDV, DVD. Flash for Broadcast Television. Flash for TV Browsers. Problems in Developing Animation for TV Browsers. Flash for Enhanced TV. Summary. 12. Developing Flash Content for the Sony PlayStation 2. The Three Versions of the Flash Player. Flash Design in Action: Our Experience with LucasArts. The Advantages of Using Flash for Sony PlayStation 2 Game Titles. User Interface Logic for Flash in a Game Title Development Environment. User Interface Design Issues for Sony PlayStation 2. The Future of Flash Development on Consoles. Summary. V. THE FUTURE OF FLASH AND EMBEDDED DEVICES. 13. Afterword: Looking Forward. The State of Devices Today. Devices in the Future. VI. APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Flash Player for the Nokia 9200 Communicator Series Authoring Guidelines. Supported Platforms. Languages. Developing Content. Using Bitmaps. Deploying Content. Dynamic Content. Trademarks. Appendix B. Flash Device Matrix. Appendix C. Flash Device Resources. General Flash Device Resources. Typography/Fonts. Server-Side Dynamic Flash. Flash and Java. Device Resources. Author Web Sites. Appendix D. Pocket PC Device Detection. Server-Side Detection. Client-Side Detection. Appendix E. Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer on Pocket PC 2002. Appendix F. Using Flash for Developing Touch-Screen Kiosks. Planning Deployment of Flash MX on a Touch-Screen Kiosk. General Touch-Screen Hardware Information. Alternative Touch-Screen Technology. Specific Touch-Screen Hardware Nuances and Technologies. General Tips for Working with Touch Screens. Tips for Developing Flash Applications on Touch Screens. Exploring the Possibilities. Appendix G. What's on the Web Site. Index.


The study was conducted to assess the pollution of five heavy metals, namely arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu). Their concentrations in water and sediments as well as in three fish species such as Labeo rohita (herbivorous), Wallago attu (carnivorous) and Heteropneustes fossilis (omnivorous) were recorded. During wet and dry seasons As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu concentrations in river water ranged from the 'below detection level (BDL)'- 0.0019, 0.3702 - 0.4163, 0.0285 - 0.0294, 1.204 - 1.36, 0.0315 - 0.0807 ppm and 0.0016 - 0.0180, 0.1305 - 0.1889, 0.0297 - 0.0309, BDL, 0.0381 - 0.0543 ppm, respectively. There was no significant seasonal variation in As and Cu conc. in river water but Cr and Pb conc. were significantly higher during the wet season and Cd conc. was significantly higher during dry season. During the wet and dry seasons As, Pb, Cd, Cr, Cu conc. in river sediments ranged from 3.67 - 7.13, 21.58 - 64.96, 1.36 - 1.72, 1126.66 - 1199.46, 45.91 - 115.57 ppm and 5.10 - 8.88, 19.27 - 30.75, 1.39 - 1.48, 99.67 - 446.72, 68.98 - 442.78 ppm, respectively. There were no significant seasonal variations in As, Pb, Cd and Cu concentrations of river sediment but Cr concentration was significantly higher during the wet season. Among muscle, gill and gut tissues of three selected fish species, Pb showed the highest level of accumulation in gill tissues while As showed the lowest level of accumulation in muscle tissues in all three species. Pb, Cd and Cr concentrations in the river water were above WHO Guideline values while As and Cu concentrations were below WHO Guideline values. As, Pb, Cd, Cr and Cu concentrations in the river sediment were above the environmental protection agency's threshold effect level. In all the three studied fish species, As conc. was below FAO guideline value. Pb, Cd and Cr conc. were higher than FAO guideline value in all three fish species and Cu conc. was above FAO guideline value in one species (H. fossilis). At least three heavy metal concentrations were above FAO guideline value in all three fish species. Therefore, all three fish species were not safe for human consumption.
Bangladesh J. Zool. 47(2): 263-272, 2019


High-temperature, short-time pasteurization of milk is ineffective against spore-forming bacteria such as Bacillus anthracis (BA), but is lethal to its vegetative cells. Crossflow microfiltration (MF) using ceramic membranes with a pore size of 1.4 μm has been shown to reject most microorganisms from skim milk; and, in combination with pasteurization, has been shown to extend its shelf life. The objectives of this study were to evaluate MF for its efficiency in removing spores of the attenuated Sterne strain of BA from milk; to evaluate the combined efficiency of MF using a 0.8-μm ceramic membrane, followed by pasteurization (72°C, 18.6s); and to monitor any residual BA in the permeates when stored at temperatures of 4, 10, and 25°C for up to 28 d. In each trial, 95 L of raw skim milk was inoculated with about 6.5 log(10) BA spores/mL of milk. It was then microfiltered in total recycle mode at 50°C using ceramic membranes with pore sizes of either 0.8 μm or 1.4 μm, at crossflow velocity of 6.2 m/s and transmembrane pressure of 127.6 kPa, conditions selected to exploit the selectivity of the membrane. Microfiltration using the 0.8-μm membrane removed 5.91±0.05 log(10) BA spores/mL of milk and the 1.4-μm membrane removed 4.50±0.35 log(10) BA spores/mL of milk. The 0.8-μm membrane showed efficient removal of the native microflora and both membranes showed near complete transmission of the casein proteins. Spore germination was evident in the permeates obtained at 10, 30, and 120 min of MF time (0.8-μm membrane) but when stored at 4 or 10°C, spore levels were decreased to below detection levels (≤0.3 log(10) spores/mL) by d 7 or 3 of storage, respectively. Permeates stored at 25°C showed coagulation and were not evaluated further. Pasteurization of the permeate samples immediately after MF resulted in additional spore germination that was related to the length of MF time. Pasteurized permeates obtained at 10 min of MF and stored at 4 or 10°C showed no growth of BA by d 7 and 3, respectively. Pasteurization of permeates obtained at 30 and 120 min of MF resulted in spore germination of up to 2.42 log(10) BA spores/mL. Spore levels decreased over the length of the storage period at 4 or 10°C for the samples obtained at 30 min of MF but not for the samples obtained at 120 min of MF. This study confirms that MF using a 0.8-μm membrane before high-temperature, short-time pasteurization may improve the safety and quality of the fluid milk supply; however, the duration of MF should be limited to prevent spore germination following pasteurization.


This article offers a systematic reading of the introduction to Augustin-Louis Cauchy's landmark 1821 mathematical textbook, the Cours d'analyse. Despite its emblematic status in the history of mathematical analysis and, indeed, of modern mathematics as a whole, Cauchy's introduction has been more a source for suggestive quotations than an object of study in its own right. Cauchy's short mathematical metatext offers a rich snapshot of a scholarly paradigm in transition. A close reading of Cauchy's writing reveals the complex modalities of the author's epistemic positioning, particularly with respect to the geometric study of quantities in space, as he struggles to refound the discipline on which he has staked his young career. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Reduced energy consumption is one of the most important design goals for embedded application domains like wireless, multimedia and biomedical. Instruction memory hierarchy has been proven to be one of the most power hungry parts of the system. This paper introduces an architectural enhancement for the instruction memory to reduce energy and improve performance. The proposed distributed instruction memory organization requires minimal hardware overhead and allows execution of multiple loops in parallel in a uni-processor system. This architecture enhancement can reduce the energy consumed in the instruction and data memory hierarchy by 70.01 % and improve the performance by 32.89% compared to enhanced SMT based architectures


A study of the resonant response of high-temperature superconducting YBCO split-ring resonators (SRRs) deposited on a single crystal MgO substrate is presented. Measurement of an array of seven SRRs inside a WR-90 waveguide at temperatures below the transition temperature of YBCO (Tc ≈ 90 K) shows a stop band centered at around 8 GHz with a 1.6-GHz bandwidth, which is also seen in the full wave simulation. An individual SRR element is measured to investigate the temperature dependence of the resonance frequency and quality factor. The single SRR measurements show a small gradual shift in the transmission resonance frequency as the temperature is lowered from 90.5 to 40 K, which can be attributed to the presence of kinetic inductance. The behavior of the measured resonance frequency versus temperature is fitted to a model to study the kinetic inductance and penetration depth. The quality factor is then calculated from the measurements in the same temperature range. Finally, the permittivity and permeability are extracted from the measured scattering parameters.


Introduction –The analyses (1) assessed the association between social status variables and aggression when controlling for volume of alcohol consumption and episodic heavy drinking (EHD), (2) tested whether social status moderates the association between volume or EHD and verbal as well as physical aggression, and (3) investigated whether EHD moderates the effect of volume on aggression. Methods Swedish Alcohol Monitoring Survey (2003 to 2011); N=104,316 current drinkers; response rate: 51 to 38%. Alcohol-related aggression was defined as involvement in a quarrel or physical fight while drinking. Social status was defined as the highest education, monthly income and marital status. Results The associations between social status variables and aggression showed mixed results. Verbal aggression was associated with education in males and with marital status in both genders. Physical aggression was associated with education in both genders. No associations with aggression were found for income. With few exceptions, these associations remained significant when controlling for drinking patterns; social status did not moderate the association between drinking and aggression; EHD moderated the effect of volume on physical aggression in males. Conclusions Groups of lower educated and non-married individuals experience verbal or physical aggression over and above different levels of consumption. Individual differences in aggression vulnerability rather than differences in aggression predisposition account for higher risks of aggression in these groups.


Arora and Jacobs recommend a tidy way of respecting the desire of certain communities to perpetuate the tradition of altering the genitals of girls and women while ensuring that those girls and women do not experience changes in genital function or morphology. They propose that a minimal procedure, resulting in no long-term medical complications, be legalised in order to prevent more extreme and damaging forms of alteration. Their definition of a minimal procedure is determined not by the details of the procedure itself, but by its effects. A 'minimal procedure' is one that 'does not have a lasting effect on morphology or function if performed properly' (pp.9–10) or one that results in minor morphological changes which do not adversely affect sexual satisfaction or reproduction. Permissible procedures therefore include: small incisions in the clitoral hood or in the labia, or minor surgical resection of the clitoral hood or of the labia.

Their compromise stems from a desire to respect two seemingly competing legitimate interests. First, they wish to avoid ethnocentrism in their assessment of female genital alteration (FGA)i by challenging the blanket criminalisation. They point out that male circumcision is widely practiced, with little or no critique. Second, they wish to challenge and limit the more extreme, dangerous and oppressive forms of FGA.

In this response I argue that (a) Arora and Jacobs should not rely on the legitimacy of male circumcision in order to devise a parallel procedure for FGA, and (b) assuming that the ritual, rather than functional, aspects of FGA are more determinative does not adequately capture the rationale for performing the procedure.

Arora and Jacobs assume that male circumcision (ie, excision of the foreskin) is an acceptable practice and take this as a premise in their argument, which proceeds to claim that any society which tolerates …


Due to the ease of accessibility to image and video processing software, it has become easier to tamper images and videos without leaving any traces. Such malicious tampering, which cannot be grasped by human eye may lead to undesirable social as well as legal problems. Tampered videos may be used to provide false proof in court or mislead the public about the truth in news reports. This paper aims to propose a novel method called Normalized Multi Scale One Level Subtraction (NMOLS) to detect forgery. In our proposed method video sequence is divided into frames and then pixel grey values of each frame computed, after this all these frames are go through proposed approach. Our system will detect insertion and deletion forgery and it will also detect which type of forgery is done on the video. The proposed method has been assessed utilizing a sizably voluminous dataset. Precision and recall rate of insertion forgery detection is 99% and for deletion forgery detection precision and recall rates are 93% and 96% respectively.


Pion-photoproduction data is examined to check for the nucleon-helicity conservation predicted by asymptotic QCD. The differential cross section shows agreement with constituent-counting rules, and polarization data is not in disagreement with conservation of nucleon helicity. However large uncertainties in the polarization measurements do not allow a conclusive statement. The helicity amplitudes from a partial-wave analysis are also examined for helicity conservation. While the amplitudes become small as s increases, the s dependence of the helicity-conserving amplitudes is similar to the dependence of the non-conserving amplitudes.


This study reports the effects of instruction to use interactive imagery on the memory performance of 8-9 year-old and 10-11 year-old children. Within each age group children were experimentally assessed for metamemory ability and teacher assessed for verbal competence. Comparisons of imagery use under conditions of no instruction, minimal instruction (hint), explicit instruction and transfer of instruction are reported, Statistical analyses revealed an overall benefit of instruction for both age groups of children. This was regardless of verbal competence and matameory ability, except for younger low metamemory ability and medium verbal competence children. Explicit instruction benefited all children except the younger children with low metamemory ability. Transfer of instruction was exhibited by the older group of children irrespective of metamemory ability and verbal competence. Transfer of instruction was only exhibited by younger children with high metamemory ability. It is concluded that metamemory, as assessed in the present study, is a viable predictor of memory performance.


An algorithm for designing spreading sequences for an overloaded multicellular synchronous DS-CDMA system on uplink is introduced. The criterion used to measure the optimality of the design is the total weighted square correlation (TWSC) assuming the channel state information known perfectly at both transmitter and receiver. By using this algorithm it is possible to obtain orthogonal generalized WBE sequences sets for any processing gain. The bandwidth of initial generalized WBE signals of each cell is preserved in the extended signal space associated to multicellular system. Mathematical formalism is illustrated by selected numerical examples.


Concerned about the risks of mammography screening in the adult population, we analyzed the ability of human mammary epithelial cells to cope with mammogram-induced DNA damage. Our study shows that an X-ray dose of 20 mGy, which is the standard dose received by the breast surface per two-view mammogram X-ray exploration, induces increased frequencies of DNA double-strand breaks to in vitro aged–but not to young–human mammary epithelial cells. We provide evidence that aged epithelial breast cells are more radiosensitive than younger ones. Our studies point to an inefficient damage response of aged cells to low-dose radiation, this being due to both delayed and incomplete mobilization of repair proteins to DNA strand breaks. This inefficient damage response is translated into an important delay in double-strand break disappearance and consequent accumulation of unrepaired DNA breaks. The result of this is a significant increase in micronuclei frequency in the in vitro aged mammary epithelial cells exposed to doses equivalent to a single mammogram X-ray exploration. Since our experiments were carried out in primary epithelial cell cultures in which cells age at the same time as they undergo replication-dependent telomere shortening, we needed to determine the contribution of these two factors to their phenotype. In this paper, we report that the exogenous expression of human telomerase retrotranscriptase in late population doubling epithelial cells does not rescue its delayed repair phenotype. Therefore, retarded DNA break repair is a direct consequence of cellular aging itself, rather than a consequence of the presence of dysfunctional telomeres. Our findings of long-lasting double strand breaks and incomplete DNA break repair in the in vitro aged epithelial cells are in line with the increased carcinogenic risks of radiation exposures at older ages revealed by epidemiologic studies.


The model of the heterogeneous reaction between the alloy and oxidant is shown. The alloy reacts with oxidant and forms oxide scale. The reaction rate is controlled by the interdiffusion in alloy and the chemical diffusion through the compact scale. In this work we extend the Wagner model by introducing i) the variable instantaneous rate constant, ii) the composition dependent diffusivities of the alloy components and iii) the finite geometry of the oxidized alloy. The model allows us to predict the life time of the alloy and the evolution of the components concentration. The comparison of Wagner's results and our extended analysis is shown.


Opportunities and restrictions of modeling of nonhydrostatic dynamics of straits of the World Ocean according to the offered classification are discussed. Straits can be subclassified on a standard basis of expediency account of the dynamic pressure in the whole area of the strait or a subdomain, guided both by common ideas, based on morphometric, hydrological and dynamic characteristics of the strait and simple criteria identifying nonhydrostatic. The boundary-value problem for the equations of momentum, continuity, turbulent closure and evolution of water constituents is formulated in an arbitrary 3D domain with two open boundaries. For solution, we use a transfer to the horizontal boundary-fitted coordinates and vertical σ-coordinate mapping the physical domain onto a computational parallelepiped with two opposite open sides.
Numerical realization uses geophysical modification of a two-step projective method of the solution of the Navier—Stokes equations. Results contain an assessment of influence of nonhydrostatic on the dynamic and hydrological regimes of three allocated standard straits: Messina, Gibraltar and Bab-el-Mandeb.


Objective. This study evaluated the prevalence of various indicators of psychiatric disorders in Brazilian outpatients with cancer and assessed possible associations with sociodemographic indicators. Materials and Methods. A total of 1,385 patients were evaluated using the following instruments: Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), and Fast Alcohol Screening Test (FAST). Results. The sample was composed of both genders with a slight predominance of women (55.8%), subjects with incomplete/completed elementary school (59%), married (67.4%), with children (94%), not active from a labor viewpoint (61.6%), and following some type of religion (79.5%). The prevalence of anxiety for the total sample varied between 21.5 and 27.4%. The prevalence of depression was 21.1%, tobacco abuse/dependence was 40.2%, and alcohol was 20.3%. Women had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression than men. Men had higher levels of substance abuse/dependence indicators than women. Conclusion. These results are consistent with the literature, which attests to the high prevalence of psychiatric disorder indicators in cancer patients, especially compared to the general population.


Between 1985 and 1950 Venice Biennale was very focused on advertising and posters. In those early years advertising was organized by Antonio Fradeletto, Romolo Bazzoni and Augusto Sezanne, the official graphic designer of the pre-war biennials, that created also the Biennale brand. Over the years, communication strategies of the Institution developed due to personalities such as Pica, Maraini and Pallucchini. Biennale posters were fundamental to give visibility to the institution in the world. An accurate graphic design and an allusion to Venice contributed to spread a truly significant image of the exhibition.


This article examines the role of intermediary agencies in the coordination of interdisciplinary research programmes, basing on the case of the UK Global Food Security programme. Interpreting food security as a 'wicked problem', it shows that coordination is not so much a question of monitoring the implementation of a predefined research programme, as one of creating and maintaining research groups whilst at the same time ensuring a coextensive redefinition of a programme's objectives. Management of the competition between and the prioritisation of approaches of a complex problem require programme coordinators to develop activities that make it possible to manage the abundance of both existing knowledge and the issues to be examined. Finally, such coordination has an external impact, as part of a process of bringing food security onto the agenda in competitive arenas for global public policies.


Gravure is one of the most widely used processes for printing on shrink films, the reason being its consistency for longer runs. However, such printing is accompanied by new challenges. The presence of gels, black specks and other contaminations in these films does not allow the surrounding area to print, thus resulting in print void. The occurrence of this defect in a considerable amount or size on the area of interest leads to the rejection of printed stock that involves wastage of inks, solvents and time. The research involves the investigation of the effect of gravure process variables on the minimization of print voids in Shrink PVC film. The gravure process variables viz. viscosity, pressure, speed and hardness were identified for the indirect laser cylinder. It was established that hardness had a significant impact on minimizing the voids, while viscosity-hardness interaction played another important role. The results showed the reduction in void area with lower viscosity, higher pressure, lower speed and higher hardness.


Agriculture occupies a key position in the Indian economy providing a source of livelihood for a majority of the population. Successes in agricultural front with high production levels, especially in food grains have indeed been achieved. But more energy in the form of mineral fertilizers, chemical pesticides and farm machinery are required every year to produce the same quantity of farm products. Historically, women have been the managers of natural resources as they are dependent on them for their livelihood and their family's needs. The consequences of over exploitation of these resources have rendered them scarce. The rural women collect over 28% of all energy consumed in India in the form of firewood. Most of the 140 million tonnes of firewood burnt annually come from forests. Poverty and unemployment in rural areas have resulted in large-scale migration to urban areas. Women are being forced to take up more drudgerous jobs as a source of livelihood as most of the migrants are absorbed into the construction sector. Women form the largest work force in agricultural sector. Caring for livestock comes naturally to women. The most drudgerous jobs in livestock production like cleaning of the cattle sheds, feeding the cattle, collection of fodder etc. always fall on the woman. Care for young animals and backyard livestock is also largely done by women. In caring for sick young animals women have evolved several ethno veterinary practices. Despite recent agricultural innovations there is no respite for rural women. While agricultural innovations leads to the reallocation of family labour and the assignment to men of complete control over output and income, without associated changes in the allocation of obligations, welfare and nutritional status of the family may actually decline


Based on the time-convolutionless master-equation approach, we investigate the squeezing dynamics of two atoms in dissipative cavities. We find that the atomic squeezing is related to initial atomic states, atom–cavity couplings, non-Markovian effects and resonant frequencies of an atom and its cavity. The results show that a collapse–revival phenomenon will occur in the atomic squeezing and this process is accompanied by the buildup and decay of entanglement between two atoms. Enhancing the atom–cavity coupling can increase the frequency of the collapse–revival of the atomic squeezing. The stronger the non-Markovian effect is, the more obvious the collapse–revival phenomenon is. In particular, if the atom–cavity coupling or the non-Markovian effect is very strong, the atomic squeezing will tend to a stably periodic oscillation in a long time. The oscillatory frequency of the atomic squeezing is dependent on the resonant frequency of the atom and its cavity.


A supercomputer using CMOS circuit technology operating at liquid-nitrogen temperatures is discussed. As many as 2000 packaged circuit chips of up to 20000 gates each operate at a temperature below 90 K (which approximately doubles the speed of the circuit chips). Extensive utilization of built-in self-test provides for device and interconnect testability from the wafer at the foundry to the central processor product immersed in nitrogen. The devices are packaged and interconnected with special attention to materials choices to assure reliability of the connection structures. Laboratory cryogenic cycling studies at the device and printed-circuit-board levels are reported. Heat-transfer experiments conducted to validate nucleate boiling peak heat-flux limits of approximately 12 W/cm/sup 2/ in liquid nitrogen are described. A vacuum-jacketed cryostat vessel provides the central processor chips with their liquid-nitrogen environment and allows several thousand signal wires to connect to them with minimal heat leak. A closed-loop cryogenic refrigeration system that recondenses the gaseous nitrogen generated from the boiling heat transfer in the cryostat is described. >


Disseminated intravascular coagulation has been found to occur in connexion with septic shock.4 Both thromboplastic material and fibrinolytic activators are most probably released as a oonsequence of endothelial damage to bacterial toxins.5 In most such cases therefore iboth the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems will be activated. In the present case the coagulation system was activated as shown by the decreased platelet count and the decreased levels of prothrombin, fibrinogen, antithrombin III, and a2-Macroglobulin. Soluble fibrin monomers were demonstrated and fibrin thrombi were found post mortem in the pulmonary and renal vessels. Extremely high levels cf AHF antigen have been found in conditions with severe tissue damage.6 A discrepancy between the antigen level and the AHF activity of the same degree as in the present case has been demonstrated in patients with signs of an activated coagulation system during pregnancy7 and has been proposed as an early sign of a pathologically activated coagulation system. The patient had, however, also signs of a markedly activa, ed filbrinolytic system with increased fibrinolysis, extremely high levels of fibrinogen degradation products of low molecular weight, indicating complete degradation of fibrinogen, and a very low facor V level. Alpha2-macroglobulin hinds both thrombin and plasmin, and very low levels are seen when both these proteolytic enzymes are present, as in this patient. Because the patient showed an activated fibrinolytic sys:em, no tranexamic acid was administered after the first dose. She was given dextran in order to prevent further platelet aggregation and fibrin deposition, and freshly frozen plasma and fresh blood were given to replace the coagulation factors. The vaginal flora in pregnant womnen sometimes contains hae.molytic streptocooci. These are usually commensals, but a few groups of streptococci are known to be able to cause malignant infections in puerperal and neonatal subjects. Group B streptococci are the most comnmonly encountered in the vagina, but the question whether pregnant carriers. should generally receive preventive penicillin treatment is not yet settled. On the other hand, during late pregnancy the presence in the birth canal of haemolytic streptococci of group A, which more consistentl'y occasion severe infections, is in our opinion of much graver significance. The finding of group A streptococci in women before parturition should be seriously considered as an invariable indication for proper preventive penicillin treatment.-We are, etc., G. GENNSER S. OHRLANDER Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology A. CEDERBERG Department of Bacteriology U. HEDNER Coagulation Laboratory, Allmainna Sjukhuset, Malrno, Sweden


A group of ERF transcription factors involved in plant defense has similar but divergent DNA-binding specificities, and amino acid residues in the DNA-binding domain are critical for such divergence. Transcription factors (TFs) recognize target DNA sequences with distinct DNA-binding domains (DBDs). The DBD of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR1 (AtERF1) uses three consecutive β-strands to recognize a GCC-containing sequence, but tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) ERF189 and periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) Octadecanoid-derivative Responsive Catharanthus AP2-domain protein3 (ORCA3) of the same TF subgroup appear to target similar but divergent DNA sequences. Here, we examined how DNA-binding specificities of these TFs have diverged in each plant lineage to regulate distinct defense metabolisms. Extensive mutational analyses of these DBDs suggest that two modes of protein-DNA interactions independently contribute to binding specificity and affinity. Substitution of a conserved arginine to lysine in the first β-strand of ERF189 relaxes its interaction with the second GC pair of the GCC DNA sequence. By contrast, an increased number of basic amino acids in the first two β-strands of ORCA3 allows this TF to recognize more than one GCC-related target, presumably via increased electrostatic interactions with the negatively charged phosphate backbone of DNA. Divergent DNA-binding specificities of the ERFs may have arisen through mutational changes of these amino acid residues.


This paper models the optimal provision of incentives to corporate scientists, within an environment where effort is multidimensional, firms compete on the product market, knowledge spills over across companies, and scientists have both monetary and non-monetary motivations. The simultaneous consideration of these aspects generates a number of novel results. First, knowledge spillovers lead firms to soften incentives in order not to bene.t competitors, but only when product market competition is high. By contrast, greater knowledge spillovers positively affect the provision of incentives when competition is low. Second, the relationship between the intensity of competition and the power of incentives is U-shaped, and the region where the relationship is positive is smaller the higher the knowledge spillovers. Finally, both the incentives for applied and basic research increase with non-pecuniary benefits scientists obtain from basic research, while a trade-o¤ between monetary pay and non-monetary rewards may occur at the level of the fixed salary. These results provide a novel interpretation of some observed R&D organizational choices by companies, offer insights for the management of scientific and other creative workers, and have implications for public policy.


TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION A. Overview of Hatch-Waxman 1. Pre-Hatch-Waxman 2. Hatch-Waxman Amendments 3. Summary of FDA Approval Process B. FTC Recommendations II. REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS A. FDA Regulations 1. One 30-Month Stay Per ANDA 2. Patent Listing Regulations a. Polymorphs b. Method-of-Use Patents B. FTC Enforcement 1. Bristol-Myers Squibb 2. Schering-Plough III. LEGISLATIVE DEVELOPMENTS A. Limits to 30-Month Stay B. Agreements By Generic Applicants C. Declaratory Judgment Actions D. Orange Book Listing Remedies IV. JUDICIAL DEVELOPMENTS A. [section] 271(e)(l) Safe Harbor B. [section] 271(e)(2) and Method-of-Use Patents C. Battle of the Generics--TorPharm and Purepac D. Antitrust Issues--In re Cardizem and Valley Drug V. CONCLUSION I. INTRODUCTION Enacted twenty years ago, the Hatch-Waxman Amendments (1) sought to balance the two competing policy interests of (1) inducing pioneering research and development of new drugs, and (2) enabling competitors to bring low-cost generic copies of those drugs to market. (2) The increasing costs of drug development and public concerns over consumer drug prices have resulted in a renewed focus on the desired balance between these competing policy objectives. A. Overview of Hatch-Waxman 1. Pre-Hatch-Waxman The regulatory framework of the drug approval process before the Hatch-Waxman Amendments created a number of obstacles, both for brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals. Notwithstanding the substantial time and expense of drug discovery and development, brand-name pharmaceutical companies often had the effective terms of their patents shortened due to issuance of the patents before FDA approval of the corresponding drugs and the time required for the FDA to ensure the safety and efficacy of the brand-name drug. (3) Generic pharmaceutical companies also faced hurdles, such as the requirement to perform their own safety and efficacy studies. (4) In addition, a generic company could not begin the required FDA approval process until after patents on the relevant brand-name product had expired, since to begin earlier would typically have infringed the patents of the brand-name company. (5) As a result, by 1984 there were approximately 150 brand-name drugs whose patents had expired but for which there was no generic equivalent. (6) 2. Hatch-Waxman Amendments The Hatch-Waxman Amendments provided brand-name pharmaceutical companies with the opportunity to extend the term of a patent in certain circumstances, thereby restoring patent protection as compensation for the time used to obtain FDA approval. (7) Generic drug companies were also provided substantial relief from the approval time delays in two ways. First, generic companies were allowed to rely on the innovators' safety and efficacy data and merely demonstrate that their generic drug was "bioequivalent" to the relevant brand-name product. (8) Second, the patent statute was amended to clarify that it was not an act of infringement to make, use, or sell a patented invention "solely for uses reasonably related to the development and submission of information" to the FDA. (9) 3. Summary of FDA Approval Process (10) A pharmaceutical company seeking to manufacture a new drug must file a New Drug Application ("NDA") for consideration by the FDA. (11) Preparing an NDA is a time-intensive and costly process since it must contain, among other things, detailed clinical studies of the drug's safety and efficacy, as well as a list of patents that claim the drug. (12) If the FDA approves the NDA, it publishes a listing of the drug and patents on the drug's approved aspects in Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, referred to as the "Orange Book." (13) A company seeking approval of a generic drug may file an Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA"). …


The use and study of compact representations of objects is widespread in computer science. AI planning can be viewed as the problem of finding a path in a graph that is implicitly described by a compact representation in a planning language. However, compact representations of the path itself (the plan) have not received much attention in the literature. Although both macro plans and reactive plans can be considered as such compact representations, little emphasis has been placed on this aspect in earlier work. There are also compact plan representations that are defined by their access properties, for instance, that they have efficient random access or efficient sequential access. We formally compare two such concepts with macro plans and reactive plans, viewed as compact representations, and provide a complete map of the relationships between them.


Aims and Background Locoregional lymph node status is one of the most important prognostic factors determining the need for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Many authors have reported that micrometastases were not detected by routine sectioning of lymph nodes but were identified by multiple sectioning and additional staining. Among lymph node-negative patients 15-20% had an unfavorable outcome at five years from primary surgery. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is an accurate technique for identifying axillary metastases because the pathologist utilizes hematoxylin-eosin (H-E) staining together with immunohistochemistry (IH) to examine all lymph node sections. Sentinel node micrometastasis has therefore become an important tumor-related prognostic factor. Methods and Study Design From November 1997 to October 2001 we examined in 210 patients the pathological features of primary breast lesions and SLN metastases and we correlated these with the tumor status of non-SLNs in the same axillary basin. We applied IH examination to both SLNs and non-SLNs of patients who were negative for metastasis by standard H-E examination. Results In this study lymph node staging was based on SLN findings, primary tumor size, and the presence of peritumoral lymphovascular invasion (LVI). We found 18 SLN micrometastases (9%) in 210 patients and one of these (5.5% of patients with SLN micrometastasis) also had one non-SLN metastasis: this patient had LVI and a larger primary tumor than patients with SLN micrometastasis without non-SLN metastasis. We also found 24 SLN macrometastases (11.5%) in 210 patients and 13 of these (54.2% of patients with SLN macrometastases) had one or more non-SLN metastases. Conclusions According to the results reported in the literature, tumor cells are unlikely to be found in non-SLNs when the primary lesion is small and SLN involvement micrometastatic (5.5% in our experience, 7% in Giuliano's). Our findings suggest that axillary lymph node dissection may not be necessary in patients with SLN micrometastasis from T1 lesions.


This study was undertaken to identify the demographic characteristics of patients aged 55 or older in a drug‐overdose group admitted to the Emergency Department of Arizona Health Sciences Center during the 3‐year period, August 1975‐July 1978. Of the 646 overdose patients observed, 60 (9.5 percent) were aged 55 or older; of these, 77 percent were women—a significantly higher proportion than in the rest of the overdose group. The majority of the overdose incidents were unintentional, and most patients required hospitalization. For the elderly, the drugs involved in the overdoses did not differ significantly from those ingested by others in the overdose group. Concurrent traumatic injury occurred more often in the older age group, necessitating a longer hospital stay and higher health care costs. Drug overdosage is a significant problem in the elderly population. Since many overdoses are unintentional, elderly persons in particular require the counsel of physicians and pharmacists in the medication process.


Le metafore in opera nelle pratiche mediche - This article presents the results of an interdisciplinary research based on the study of metaphors at work during the medical visits of 5 oncologists - 3 males, (respectively 41, 43, and 60 year old), 2 females (respectively 41 and 58 year old) - for a total of 61 clinical talks that have been videotaped at an hospital in Northern Italy. The choice to study metaphors at work in medical practice greatly depends on our research experience and the realization that both doctors and patients had recourse to them during clinic talks and the use of such metaphors played a complex role that could not merely be referred to the exemplification of clinic concepts and words. From the analysis of recorded conversations we have discovered that the use of metaphors favoured: a) the contextualization of clinic conversations within wider macro-social structures; b) the definition of behaviours, roles, and decisional processes linked to social representations; c) the creative solution for the often irreconcilable tension between the subjective and bodily aspects of what we can call illness, the objective and impersonal character of its clinic definition (disease), and its social dimension (sickness). Key-words: medicalization, metaphor, disease, illness, sickness, oncology. Parole chiave: medicalizzazione, metafora, disease, illness, sickness, oncologia.


To simulate Gaussian fields poses serious numerical problems: storage and computing time. The midpoint displacement method is often used for simulating the fractional Brownian fields because it is fast. We propose an effective and fast method, valid not only for fractional Brownian fields, but for any Gaussian fields. First, our method is compared with midpoint for fractional Brownian fields. Second, the performance of our method is illustrated by simulating several Gaussian fields. The software FieldSim is an R package developed in R and C and that implements the procedures on which this paper focuses.


Analysing the diagnosis and treatment of 100 patients with combined injuries of the organ of vision and orbital zone of the face provided clinical features of lesions in peace-time or battle accidents. Battle accidents were found to be prognostically worse for visual functions. The use of immunotherapy for inflammatory complications of a traumatic process is demonstrated to be advisable. A program of stepwise treatment of combined lesions of the eye and the orbit with the priority of preserving the function of the vision organ. At stage 1 it is necessary to take measures for restoration of visual functions to avoid their decline or loss. At stage 2 reconstructive interventions in the orbit and visceral cranium, directed to the provision of topographic and trophic conditions for further restoration of eye functions should be performed. One-stage surgical intervention may be used if there are no real danger of vision loss. The peculiarities of reconstructive treatment of multifractional fractures of the orbit in the battle accident and fragmental fractures of the orbit in peace-time accident are described. Patients with combined injuries of the vision organ and the orbit in specialized institutions should be cared.


OBJECTIVE
To develop and test a youth-report measure of collaborative parent involvement in type 1 diabetes management.

METHODS
Initial item development and testing were conducted with 81 youths; scale refinement and validation were conducted with 122 youths from four geographic regions. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, and factor analyses were conducted to select items comprising the scale. Correlations with parenting style and parent diabetes responsibility were examined. Multiple regression analyses examining associations with quality of life, adherence, and glycemic control were conducted to assess concurrent validity.

RESULTS
The measure demonstrated strong internal consistency. It was modestly associated with parenting style, but not with parent responsibility for diabetes management. A consistent pattern of associations with quality of life and adherence provide support for the measure's concurrent validity.

CONCLUSIONS
This brief youth-report measure of parent collaborative involvement assesses a unique dimension of parent involvement in diabetes management associated with important youth outcomes.


The use of a single switching state during the whole sampling period in the current regulation of six-phase voltage source converters (VSCs) inevitably generates undesired parasitic $\boldsymbol{x}-\boldsymbol{y}$ currents. Aiming to solve this problem, the creation of virtual/synthetic voltage vectors (VVs) has been recently proposed to ensure zero average $\boldsymbol{x}-\boldsymbol{y}$ voltage production. However, the off-line calculation of VVs makes them static and suboptimal. This paper introduces new approach where the virtual voltages are created on-line within a model predictive control (MPC) based current regulation strategy. Since the selection of the switching states and the dwell times varies each sampling period, the resulting vectors are termed dynamic voltage vectors (DVVs). This new concept allows an online optimization of the output voltage production depending on the operating point at the expense of a higher computational cost. Simulation results confirm that six-phase VSCs can be successfully regulated using DVVs in an MPC-based current control scheme.


PURPOSE
To simplify the recommended staging evaluation by correlating tumor and clinical features with patterns of distant metastasis in newly diagnosed patients with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) or alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS).

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Patient data from the Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group and the Children's Oncology Group over two periods were analyzed: 1991 to 1997 and 1999 to 2004. We used recursive partitioning analyses to identify factors (including histology, age, regional nodal and distant metastatic status, tumor size, local invasiveness, and primary site) that divided patients into subsets with the most different rates of metastatic disease.

RESULTS
Of the 1,687 patients analyzed, 5.7% had lung metastases, 4.8% had bone involvement, and 6% had bone marrow (BM) involvement. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) without local invasion (T1) had a low rate of metastasis for all distant sites, especially ERMS (0% bone, 0% BM). ARMS with local invasion (T2) had a higher rate of metastasis for all distant sites (13% lung, 18% bone, 23% BM). ERMS, T2 also had a higher rate of metastatic lung involvement (9%). The likelihood of bone or BM involvement increased in the presence of lung metastases (41% with, 6% without). Regional nodal metastases (N1) predicted a high rate of metastasis in all distant sites (14% lung, 14% bone, 18% BM). A staging algorithm was developed.

CONCLUSION
Staging studies in childhood RMS can be tailored to patients' presenting characteristics. Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy and bone scan are unnecessary in at least one third of patients with RMS.


An online diary study was performed to investigate deception across different media. One hundred and four individuals participated in the study, with 76 completing the diaries. Individuals were most likely to lie on the telephone. Planned lies, which participants also rated the most serious, were more likely told via SMS (short message service) text messaging. Most lies were told to people participants felt closest to. The featurebased model provides a better account of the deceptions reported by participants than do media richness theory or social distance theory. However, the authors propose a reworked feature-based model to explain deception across different media. They suggest that instant messaging should be treated as a near synchronous mode of communication. We suggest that the model needs to distinguish between spontaneous and planned lies.


Background Amid Zimbabwe's decline in overall HIV prevalence, the relative importance of key populations to ongoing transmission might be expected to change. We examine variation in the social organisation of sex work and assess the characteristics associated with HIV infection among sex workers (SW) in rural Zimbabwe. Methods We collected and analysed cross-sectional data on 545 women who reported sex for payment - including cash-per-act and informal credit-based arrangements - and were recruited using snowball and location-based methods in October-December 2010. We used successive logistic regression models to explore determinants of HIV infection among women reporting venue-based sex work (e.g. bars - includes women recruited onsite) and women reporting non-venue based sex work. Results HIV prevalence was significantly higher in venue SW compared to non-venue women (55.5% vs. 41.9%, p < 0.01). Numbers of clients reported were low, but more venue SW reported 2 or more clients in the last fortnight (38% vs. 7.6%, p < 0.01); consistent condom-use during commercial acts was similar (60% and 68%, p > 0.1). More venue SW reported ever travelling away from where they live to sell sex (27% vs. 12%, p < 0.01), initiated sex work earlier (age 25 vs. 28 years, p < 0.01), and sold sex for longer (6 vs. 5 years, p < 0.05). Factors associated with HIV infection were type of sex work (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3–3.8 vs. non-venue), and SW not requesting condom-use (aOR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.15–7.85), after controlling for basic demographic differences. Conclusion Venue SW were more likely to be HIV-positive than non-venue women, although in both groups HIV prevalence was substantial, and consistent condom use low. High risk of HIV among women not requesting condom use highlights the importance to renew prevention efforts in this population. The results emphasise the need to understand SW more broadly.