Cross-modal video-text retrieval, a challenging task in the field of vision and language, aims at retrieving corresponding instance giving sample from either modality. Existing approaches for this task all focus on how to design encoding model through a hard negative ranking loss, leaving two key problems unaddressed during this procedure. First, in the training stage, only a mini-batch of instance pairs is available in each iteration. Therefore, this kind of hard negatives is locally mined inside a mini-batch while ignoring the global negative samples among the dataset. Second, there are many text descriptions for one video and each text only describes certain local features of a video. Previous works for this task did not consider to fuse the multiply texts corresponding to a video during the training. In this paper, to solve the above two problems, we propose a novel memory enhanced embedding learning (MEEL) method for videotext retrieval. To be specific, we construct two kinds of memory banks respectively: cross-modal memory module and text center memory module. The cross-modal memory module is employed to record the instance embeddings of all the datasets for global negative mining. To avoid the fast evolving of the embedding in the memory bank during training, we utilize a momentum encoder to update the features by a moving-averaging strategy. The text center memory module is designed to record the center information of the multiple textual instances corresponding to a video, and aims at bridging these textual instances together. Extensive experimental results on two challenging benchmarks, i.e., MSR-VTT and VATEX, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Computer forensics is essential for the successful prosecution of criminals in computer (cyber) crime. Digital investigation process must be done in a lawful way, and some proposed steps must be followed in order for evidence to be accepted by the court of law. The digital forensic investigation process will be successful, if we follow simple rules. The aim of this paper is to compare different existing models and framework developed in recent years and propose a new framework based on "chain of digital evidence". This Framework will be modeled using a UML – Use Case and Activity diagrams. The authors also warns of certain shortcomings and suggests some recommendation for further research.


Frogs are among the most threatened species of wildlife in IUCN red list. Its utilisation in Ibadan, a major depot in western Nigeria was therefore conducted with the aim of assessing the forms and trend of use; and amongst others, reasons for frog meat consumption. Data for the study were collected through questionnaire, in-depth interviews and field observations. The questionnaire was administered randomly to 50 frog consumers from each of the two selected local government areas, while all traders (27) who sell frogs for medicinal purposes were also interviewed. Data collected were summarised using descriptive statistics. Results showed that only 35.0% of the respondents utilize frog for other purpose apart from consumption. Among these few respondents, 94.3% use it for medicinal purposes. Frog species used for medicinal purpose includes Amietophrynus regularis; Tomopterna cryptotis; and Ptychadena mascareniensis. All the respondents (100%) buy the frogs utilised, have knowledge of the sellers and were unaware of frog farms in Nigeria. All the respondents (100%) considered frog meat desirable and preferred it when dried. Almost all the respondents (98.0%) have consumed frog meat more than 10 times. Majority of the respondents (65.0%) consume frogs because of its nutritional value while few (35.0%) eat it due to economic reasons. Most respondents (77.0%) prefer the meat for its flavour, and consumed it whole (78.0%). Frog meat sold for N100 is most preferred by respondents (44.0%).Majority of the respondents (65.0%) buy frog meat once a week but utilize it twice a week (39.0%) or once a week (38.0%). However, 70.0% of the respondents would buy more frogs if they had more money. Majority of these respondents (84.0%) are unwilling to engage in frog farming. Keywords : Frogs, Utilization, Wildlife, Biodiversity Conservation


In this work, we propose a new QoS evaluation method for web services. The proposed method aims to keep track of web services in terms of QoS parameters and to generate QoS values automatically when necessary. It is realized as a part of a Web service discovery system that is a collection of domain specific service discovery nodes.


This guide provides links to e-books, study skills resources, and Step 1 resources from the School of Medicine Library and beyond.


Deliberate self harm (DSH) and suicide rates are recognised internationally, nationally and locally as an increasing trend. The financial and emotional cost to society highlights the need for providing services that aim to reduce the likelihood of further deliberate self harm. The emergency department (ED) is often the entry point for service provision to clients who deliberate self harm. A reduction in re-presentations for acts of DSH to the ED would greatly reduce the strain on this essential part of the public healthcare system. It is vital that the services developed to address DSH are evaluated to facilitate informed decisions regarding program sustainability or improvement. Study aim: This study aims to evaluate a 'brief intervention program' (BIP) designed to address the needs of clients who presented with or were at risk of engaging in act(s) of deliberate self harm. The intention of the program was to reduce repetitive acts of DSH and to assist the clients in developing better coping strategies. Study design: This study uses a pluralistic evaluation research design to conduct a program evaluation. The 'line of enquiry' is guided by the Impact Evaluation framework by Owen (2006).The seven steps of the framework were used to organise, categorise, analyse and discuss the program's outcomes in this study. The pluralistic or mixed design used pre-existing quantitative client file data and qualitative data collected from a staff questionnaire. A total number of 40 client files were examined for the data analysis. Six out of the ten staff members agreed to participate in a survey that sought information about the program's implementation. Findings: Results from the quantitative data analysis found that 82.1% of clients did not re-present to the ED with a repeated act of DSH for a period of six months following initial referral and treatment. The mean average of days to follow up was 5.54. Outcome measurements via pre and post PANSI scores found an improvement in the client's resiliency. Results from the repeated measures t-test: p< .05. Qualitative data analysis found that by expanding the referral base that stakeholders perceived it was more difficult for clients to be followed up within five days from their referral date. Other suggestions pertained to increasing the resources of the program for sustainability. Contribution: The use of program evaluation strategies compliments current trends in healthcare to employ pluralistic or mixed method designs. Broader lines of enquiry lead to more informed decisions regarding program sustainability or improvement.


ABSTRACT
 This qualitative research study explores the
cultural dissonance promoted in Indian tribal students by
participation in the mainstream Indian educational system and the
changes this has brought to their lives. Previous studies have
tried to analyze the problem from four theoretical perspectives:
biological interpretation, the socio-economic perspective,
inter-colonization theory, and the cultural reproduction
perspective. This study examines the applicability of these
perspectives in analyzing the participation of Indian tribal
students in the Indian education system. It attempts to identify
elements that are incompatible with tribal culture, examine the
difference in educational achievement between the tribal elites and
their downtrodden counterparts, assess the social standing of the
tribal graduates, and examine teachers' conception of tribal
students. The study used a non-experimental, cross-sectional
research design with the main tools of data collection being
observation and personal interviews. The study was conducted on the
Santal, Birhor, Kharia and Lodha tribes located in Bankura,
Birbhum, Puruliya, and Paschim Medinipur districts of the state of
West Bengal in India. Personal interviews were conducted with
tribal students, graduates, parents, teachers, and principals of
tribal schools. The research revealed that the modern education
system makes little attempt to address cultural specificities in
designing education policies for tribal students which results in
the development of a negative self-image. Moreover, although
claimed to be free by the Indian government, achieving success in
the education system involves subsidiary costs like private tution
which represents an obstacle for poverty stricken tribal families.
The problem is further complicated due to the unempathetic
attitudes and beliefs of teachers and the ill-conceived
developmental policies designed by educational planners that fail
to incorporate curricular elements compatible with tribal
culture.


The primary purpose of this study is to develop a foot pulse electrical circuit that can be integrated into a LIDAR system used for measuring track speed and curvature. LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) technology is used in a wide variety of applications because it is capable of reliably producing accurate and precise measurements. While application of LIDAR technology is vast, this particular study focuses on its ability to accurately measure velocity and track geometry of rail tracks. A research team at Virginia Tech (VT) has already developed, tested, and proven the capability of LIDAR technology to be used for railway applications [1,2]. Their analysis shows that a railcar-mounted LIDAR system can accurately measure track geometry, centerline velocity, car body dynamics, and several other useful parameters. While this system is reliable and multifunctional, the prototype used for testing is not easily upgraded to include additional features without augmenting the software currently used to analyze and record the LIDAR signal. However, the prototype LIDAR system lacks several capabilities that are desirable for integrating the system with typical commercial systems on trains. One signal that commercial train systems typically have, which the LIDAR prototype does not have, is a foot pulse. The foot pulse is usually generated by a tachometer on the wheel of the train and aims to send out a pulse every time the train has travelled a foot. This signal is used for multiple other systems on the train, so in order to simplify integration of the developed LIDAR prototype into commercial train systems, the prototype was upgraded to include additional features. Other than the foot pulse, the upgrade also included acceleration detection, direction indication, and laser-enable signals to have a more complete prototype. The upgrade was executed using an external microcontroller and accelerometer to provide proof of concept while leaving the current LIDAR prototype's software (and already proven capabilities) untouched. This paper focuses on using the information generated by the current LIDAR system to implement the additional features in an inexpensive, reliable, and easily retrofittable manner.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


The Upper Triassic flysch sequence of the Langjiexue Group in the Shannan area, southeastern Tibet, which was thrusted northwards over the Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone (YTSZ) by the Great Counter Thrust (GCT), was conventionally attributed to the typical Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS) and interpreted to be genetically related to the Indian origin. Recent results, mainly from analyses of detrital zircon age spectrums and Hf isotope signatures of the Triassic rocks in the southern Tibet, challenged this opinion and considered the Triassic sequences as a relatively independent tectonic unit from the THS. Our data, including detrital mode analysis, heavy mineral assemblage study, whole rock geochemistry and detrital zircon geochronology, provide new evidence to constrain the provenance of the Langjiexue Group. Domination of quartz grains and acid volcanic lithic fragments indicate recycled orogeny provenance. Stable heavy mineral assemblages with the majority of zircon and rutile reflect acid magmatic and continental metamorphic sources. Characteristic geochemical indicators (Al2O3/TiO2, Cr/V-Y/Ni, Co/Th-La/Sc, Eu/Eu-Th/Sc, LREE enrichment, Th-Sc-Zr/10, Th-Co-Zr/10) point to felsic igneous sources in the tectonic setting of continental island arc or active continental margin. Three major age clusters from the detrital zircons were identified: 1150-850 Ma, 750-480 Ma and 300-200 Ma, among which the Neoproterozoic to Late Cambrian signal is the most remarkable exhibiting the Gondwana affinity for the Langjiexue Group. The youngest age peak is inconsistent with sources from any surrounding terranes, including the South Qiangtang, Lhasa terrane, Tethyan Himalayan Sequence (THS), Higher Himalayan Sequence (HHS), NW-W Australia and Banda Arc. We propose the Tasmanides, including the New England Orogen (300-230 Ma), along the eastern Australian margin as the supplier of magmatic materials for the Langjiexue Group. The age peak of 300-200 Ma of the Langjiexue Group can be correlated well with the widespread magmatism in the age ranging between the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic from the Bird's Head (New Guinea) in the north to New Zealand in the south, which results from subduction of the Paleo-Pacific ocean beneath the eastern Australia. We conceive of such long-distance drainage system in the Late Triassic as similar to modern Yarlung-Tsangpo-Brahmaputra and Amazon rivers, which transport detritus from mountain chains to sedimentary basins for thousands of kilometers.


Calypso, widely regarded today (in 2015) as the national music of the two-island Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago, was born out of the struggle in the 18th century of enslaved Africans in Trinidad to maintain their cultural traditions. The music of the slaves was banned by the colonial authorities and after emancipation in the 19th century, their songs, many with biting satirical lyrics and political and social commentary, were subject to repressive censorship laws.
Although official censorship of calypso is no longer in effect in Trinidad and Tobago, this musical genre continues to face major challenges. As more aficionados of the art form turn to soca, the more popular "jump up" or party music which developed from calypso, unofficial censorship and self-censorship as well as other factors impact negatively on this genre, raising concerns for its survival as a vehicle for political commentary.


Polyneuropathy, Organomegaly, Endocrinopathy, M protein and Skin changes (POEMS) syndrome is rare plasma cell dyscrasia with multisystem involvement. The name comes from the five characteristic features: Polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein and skin changes. The presence of biclonal M band is a rare manifestation. Here, we are describing the cases of a 60-year-old lady, presented with bilateral pedal oedema and pericardial effusion and peripheral neuropathy. She also had hepatosplenomegaly, hyperpigmented rash and hypothyroidism and hyperparathyroidism. The serum protein electrophoresis and the immunofixation electrophoresis revealed two distinct monoclonal bands, immunoglobulin IgG kappa and IgA lambda. There was a mild increase in plasma cells and sclerotic bone lesion in pelvis. The POEMS syndrome is generally associated with lambda light chain restriction. The presence of biclonal gammopathy involving kappa and lambda is a rare manifestation. The pathogenic or prognostic role of different paraprotein is not known. Further studies are required to delineate such effect.


SUMMARY Zika virus was discovered ∼70 years ago in Uganda and maintained a low profile as a human disease agent in Africa and Asia. Only recently has it caused explosive outbreaks in previously unaffected regions, first in Oceania and then in the Americas since 2015. Of special concern is the newly identified link between congenital malformations (especially microcephaly) and Zika virus infections during pregnancy. At present, it is unclear whether Zika virus changed its pathogenicity or whether the huge number of infections allowed the recognition of a previously cryptic pathogenic property. The purpose of this review is to discuss recent data on the molecular antigenic structure of Zika virus in the context of antibody-mediated neutralization and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection, a phenomenon that has been implicated in the development of severe disease caused by the related dengue viruses. Emphasis is given to epitopes of antibodies that potently neutralize Zika virus and also to epitopes that provide antigenic links to other important human-pathogenic flaviviruses such as dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, Japanese encephalitis, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. The antigenic cross talk between Zika and dengue viruses appears to be of special importance, since they cocirculate in many regions of endemicity and sequential infections are likely to occur frequently. New insights into the molecular antigenic structure of Zika virus and flaviviruses in general have provided the foundation for great progress made in developing Zika virus vaccines and antibodies for passive immunization.


Cytohesin Arf-GEFs promote actin polymerization and protrusions of cultured cells, whereas the Drosophila cytohesin, Steppke, antagonizes actomyosin networks in several developmental contexts. To reconcile these findings, we analyzed epidermal leading edge actin networks during Drosophila embryo dorsal closure. Here, Steppke is required for F-actin of the actomyosin cable and for actin-based protrusions. steppke mutant defects in the leading edge actin networks are associated with improper sealing of the dorsal midline, but are distinguishable from effects of myosin mis-regulation. Steppke localizes to leading edge cell-cell junctions with accumulations of the F-actin regulator Enabled emanating from either side. Enabled requires Steppke for full leading edge recruitment, and genetic interaction shows the proteins cooperate for dorsal closure. Steppke over-expression induces ectopic, actin-rich, lamellar cell protrusions, an effect dependent on the Arf-GEF activity and PH domain of Steppke, but independent of Steppke recruitment to myosin-rich AJs via its coiled-coil domain. Thus, Steppke promotes actin polymerization and cell protrusions, effects that occur in conjunction with Steppke's previously reported regulation of myosin contractility during dorsal closure.


Human movement is a result of synergetic combinations of multiple muscle contractions. The summation of motor unit action potentials can be measured through Electromyography (EMG), thus the processed EMG can be regarded as the muscle activation to be employed to estimate joint movement or torque production. Such forward relationship for representing the joint torque can be established and identified through associated EMG/activations of extension and flexion muscle groups. On the other hand, muscle synergy always exists indicating how quantitatively central nervous system (CNS) drives correlated muscle groups to accomplish the joint torque generation. In this paper, we investigate the approaches of estimating the ankle joint torque from EMG/activatons of associated muscle groups. The approaches discussed fall into two main categories: i) full utilization of both of extension and flexion EMG/activations for estimating the joint torque; ii) exploitation of muscle synergy extraction of EMG/actvations and consequent usage of extracted components in reduced space for estimating the joint torque. Comparison is made between the two methods with experimental data of five able-bodied subjects. From the results we conclude that, method ii) with muscle synergy extraction may not degrade the performance of method i) but meanwhile show the the muscle synergic ratios for generating the joint torque, and involvement of joint position and velocity information can improve the estimation for both methods.


The fluidity, variety and high speed of change of the modern world breed uncertainty and ambiguity. This ambiguity is a consequence of freedom of choice, and the many alternatives with which a person grapples. ambiguity is both the condition and the subject matter of research activity. The aim of the present study was to clarify the associations of tolerance for ambiguity with the type of motivation (internal or external) for various types of academic activity carried out by doctoral students in a university. doctoral students (N = 227) from natural science departments at Kazan university (Russia) identified their level of ambiguity tolerance (high and low). Results showed a positive link between ambiguity tolerance and external motivation for various forms of universityrelated activity and an inverse link with internal motivation. doctoral students with a lower level of ambiguity tolerance showed a higher level of internal motivation for their scholarly activities, that is, avoidance of uncertainty served as a source of internal motivation for research-related activities. for those with high ambiguity tolerance, more external stimuli (reward, constraint) were needed to motivate the person for research. moreover, at high levels of ambiguity tolerance the direction of the associations changed and becomes a positive link between internal motivation and ambiguity tolerance. The results should be taken into account in the organization of higher education.


Current trends in veterinary medicine indicate the potential need for several new services within the VTH. Based on focus groups and practitioner surveys conducted in late 1998 and early 1999, potential new services could include oncology, overnight emergency, behavior medicine, dentistry, equine sports medicine and exotic animal medicine. Of these, an oncology service is currently being considered based on internal staff recommendations coupled with survey and focus group information supporting demand for the service. Different from past new services, the oncology service was also earmarked to undergo a formal market study to determine the full potential of the opportunity and to more clearly establish the goals and objectives within the service.


Angioplasty enlarges the lumen of atherosclerotic arteries, but also causes trauma and a response to injury in the form of fibrocellular intimal hyperplasia. Migration and growth of smooth muscle cells is a healing and repair process, filling the tissue gaps and molding a new lumen according to the local hemodynamic conditions. In addition to these reactive fibrocellular parts, tissue removed from restenosis sites also contains large amounts of old plaque components, as well as fresh thrombotic material, indicating that loose parts of the old vessel wall can contribute substantially to the restenosis by displacement as well as by their thrombogenicity. Excessive catheter trauma favors this reocclusion process by creating large dissections; however, insufficient dilatation does not leave enough space for the necessary fibrocellular healing. Current instrumentation cannot yet control the extent of the trauma well enough, and many proposed follow-up medical treatments aimed at preventing a variety of suspected restenosis mechanisms have not substantially improved the restenosis rate. So far, the most successful treatment of restenosis has been repeat angioplasty, often repeated several times, with excellent final results.


Chimerism is a widespread phenomenon across the tree of life. It is defined as a multicellular organism composed of cells from other genetically distinct entities. This ability to 'tolerate' non-self cells may be linked to susceptibility to diseases like cancer. Here we test whether chimerism is associated with cancers across obligately multicellular organisms in the tree of life. We classified 12 obligately multicellular taxa from lowest to highest chimerism levels based on the existing literature on the presence of chimerism in these species. We then tested for associations of chimerism with tumour invasiveness, neoplasia (benign or malignant) prevalence and malignancy prevalence in 11 terrestrial mammalian species. We found that taxa with higher levels of chimerism have higher tumour invasiveness, though there was no association between malignancy or neoplasia and chimerism among mammals. This suggests that there may be an important biological relationship between chimerism and susceptibility to tissue invasion by cancerous cells. Studying chimerism might help us identify mechanisms underlying invasive cancers and also could provide insights into the detection and management of emerging transmissible cancers.


Introduction Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In adults, high sodium intake is associated with elevated blood pressure. In children, experimental studies have shown that reducing sodium intake can reduce blood pressure. However, their external validity is limited, notably because the sodium reduction was substantial and not applicable in a real-life setting. Observational studies, on the other hand, allow assess the association between blood pressure and sodium intake across usual levels of consumption. There is also evidence that the association differs between subgroups of children according to age and body weight. Our objective is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental and observational studies on the association between sodium intake and blood pressure in children and adolescents and to assess whether the association differs according to age and body weight. Methods and analysis A systematic search of the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and CENTRAL databases will be conducted and supplemented by a manual search of bibliographies and unpublished studies. Experimental and observational studies involving children or adolescents between 0 and 18 years of age will be included. The exposure will be dietary sodium intake, estimated using different methods including urinary sodium excretion. The outcomes will be systolic and diastolic blood pressure, elevated blood pressure and hypertension. If appropriate, meta-analyses will be performed by pooling data across all studies together and separately for experimental and observational studies. Subgroup meta-analyses by age and body weight will be also conducted. Moreover, separate meta-analyses for different sodium intake levels will be conducted to investigate the dose–response relationship. Ethics and dissemination This systematic review and meta-analysis will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. A report will be prepared for national authorities and other stakeholders in the domains of nutrition, public health, and child health in Switzerland. Trial registration number CRD42016038245.


Following their initial discovery in the 1940s, polymyxin antibiotics fell into disfavor due to their potential clinical toxicity, especially nephrotoxicity. However, the dry antibiotic development pipeline, together with the rising global prevalence of infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria have both rejuvenated clinical interest in these polypeptide antibiotics. Parallel to the revival of their use, investigations into the mechanisms of action and resistance to polymyxins have intensified. With an initial known effect on biological membranes, research has uncovered the detailed molecular and chemical interactions that polymyxins have with Gram-negative outer membranes and lipopolysaccharide structure. In addition, genetic and epidemiological studies have revealed the basis of resistance to these agents. Nowadays, resistance to polymyxins in MDR Gram-negative pathogens is well elucidated, with chromosomal as well as plasmid-encoded, transferrable pathways. The aims of the current review are to highlight the important chemical, microbiological, and pharmacological properties of polymyxins, to discuss their mechanistic effects on bacterial membranes, and to revise the current knowledge about Gram-negative acquired resistance to these agents. Finally, recent research, directed towards new perspectives for improving these old agents utilized in the 21st century, to combat drug-resistant pathogens, is summarized.


Objective: To calculate prevalence of endometriosis in patients presenting with subfertility. Study Design: Descriptive study. Settings: Gynae Unit-III, Allied Hospital, FMU, Faisalabad Pakistan. Duration: 01-01-2016 to 31-12-2018. Methodology: 160 female patients presented in infertility clinic fulfilling the inclusion criteria were selected for study. There detailed history and abdomino pelvic examination was done to find any mass or cyst, tenderness in adnexa, uterine tenderness or morbility and nodularity in pouch of douglas. After basic investigations, TAS/TVS was done in all patients. Laparoscopy was done in all patients under general anesthesia. Disease was classified using R-AFS classification score. Laparoscopic cauterization of lesion, adhesiolysis or cystectomy was done whatever required. Choromtubation was done in all patients. Results: Among 160 patients who underwent laparoscopy, 44 (27.5%) patient had findings suggestive of endometriosis. Majority of the patients belongs to 20-30 years (70%) while (30%) were in 31-40 years of age. Type of subfertility was primary and secondary in 75% and 25% respectively. Stage of endometriosis according to R-AFS classification was 1-2 and 3-4 in 40% and 60% respectively. 27% patient had bilateral tubal blockage. No major complication took place in any patient, however, in 10 patients (22.7%) lapascopy was converted to laparotomy due to dense adhesion with bowel. Conclusion: The prevalence of endometriosis in patients with subfertility is quite high. So, a prompt attempt at natural or assisted conception is required after surgical treatment of endometriosis.


OBJECTIVE
The goal of this study was to test the efficacy of clinical risk algorithms and a quantitative immunoturbidimetric D-dimer assay in the evaluation of patients undergoing pulmonary CT angiography for suspected acute pulmonary embolism.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
From April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008, emergency department evaluations for clinically suspected pulmonary embolism were performed with the revised Geneva score, a quantitative D-dimer assay, and pulmonary CT angiography.

RESULTS
Evaluations for pulmonary embolism were performed for 745 consecutively registered patients, 627 of whom were included in the study. The other 118 patients were excluded because a d-dimer assay was not performed. According to the revised Geneva score, 281 patients had low clinical probability of having pulmonary embolism; 330, intermediate probability; and 16, high probability. CT angiography showed that 28 patients had pulmonary embolism (six in the low-probability group, 17 in the intermediate-probability group, and five in the high-probability group). The sensitivity, negative predictive value, and specificity of the D-dimer assay were 100%, 100%, and 25% (low-clinical-probability group); 100%, 100%, and 33% (intermediate-probability group); and 80%, 80%, and 37% (high-probability group).

CONCLUSION
The data appear to support the use of a quantitative D-dimer assay as a first-line test in evaluation for pulmonary embolism when the clinical probability of the presence of pulmonary embolism is low or intermediate. The sensitivity and negative predictive value were 100% for these cases. More than 26% of CT angiographic examinations might have been avoided if the D-dimer assay had been used as a first-line test in the care of patients at low or intermediate risk. Because of the small sample size, the D-dimer assay is not recommended as a first-line test in the evaluation of patients at high risk.


Previous studies demonstrated that ACh-induced liquid secretion by porcine bronchi is driven by active Cl- and H[Formula: see text] secretion. The present study was undertaken to determine whether this process was localized to submucosal glands and mediated by the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). When excised, cannulated, and treated with ACh, porcine bronchi secreted 15.6 ± 0.6 μl ⋅ cm-2 ⋅ h-1. Removal of the surface epithelium did not significantly affect the rate of secretion, indicating that the source of the liquid was the submucosal glands. Pretreatment with diphenylamine-2-carboxylate, a relatively nonselective Cl--channel blocker, significantly reduced liquid secretion by 86%, whereas pretreatment with DIDS, which inhibits a variety of Cl- channels but not CFTR, had no effect. When bronchi were pretreated with glibenclamide or 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoic acid (both inhibitors of CFTR), the rate of ACh-induced liquid secretion was significantly reduced by 39 and 91%, respectively, compared with controls. Agents that blocked liquid secretion also caused disproportionate reductions in H[Formula: see text] secretion. Polyclonal antibodies to the CFTR bound preferentially to submucosal gland ducts and the surface epithelium, suggesting that this channel was localized to these sites. These data suggest that ACh-induced gland liquid secretion by porcine bronchi is driven by active secretion of both Cl- and H[Formula: see text] and is mediated by the CFTR.


The studies on the peculiarities of hemostatic indices in calves (n=250) of Holstein- Friesian breed with diverse birth weights were conducted under the conditions of a dairy farm with the aid of generally accepted clinical, instrumental and laboratory methods. The research has demonstrated that in comparison with the adults the newborns weighing from 36.5 to 29 kg revealed a diversity of hemostatic indices but generally there was a functionally acceptable balance of its links without a tendency to coagulopathy or thrombosis. Fetal growth restriction in cattle with low birth weight has a significant effect on the hemostatic system. Insufficient weight of more than 7 % provokes hypercoagulability syndrome which is caused by increased levels of adrenalin, toxic products of impaired metabolism and destruction of erythrocyte membranes. The newborns with lower weight demonstrated signs of primary coagulopathy conditioned by functional inferiority of the organs in which the synthesis of coagulation factors occurred that led to the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation. The revealed dependence of the hemostatic disorders evidence on the severity of weight insufficiency indicates coagulopathy, emerging in epigenetics of the main pathology after primary damage and conditioning the severity of the newborns' state, as one of the main mechanisms of hypotrophy pathogenesis.


Based on two years of ethnographic research on the transformation of people's emotional lives in clinical and non-clinical settings, this dissertation examines the emerging sources, forms, and subjects of anxiety in post- reform Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since Vietnam's neoliberal reforms were initiated in 1986, many Ho Chi Minh City residents have benefited from a vastly increased standard of living yet reported worrying more now than ever before. This stands in marked contrast to a past when, according to many, extreme suffering stunted people's spirits as much as their bodies. Anxiety has become emblematic of neoliberalism's opportunities and risks in people's public and private lives, yet to worry is a key means through which individuals enact forms of personhood based on care, compassion, and filial obligation. Against claims that increased rates of anxiety and anxiety disorders are the products of modernization and the subsequent erosion of social institutions, I conceptualize worry as a cultural practice through which people can both transform themselves into neoliberal subjects and define themselves in terms of sentiment and emotional relatedness that are considered to be traditionally Vietnamese. I analyze how anxiety is articulated by cultural discourses, and vice versa, across a wide range of domains associated with the neoliberal era, including biomedical psychiatry, romance, and leisure. Recent scholarship on neoliberal modes of modernity has called attention to affective practices and relationships of sentiment as a medium linking structural transformations and subject formation. However, such studies rarely examine how the experience of these practices and relationships come to be understood as specifically emotional themselves, a process that is crucial to subject formation in Vietnam's transition to a market-oriented economy. Bringing together phenomenological and political theories of anxiety that frame it alternatively as an existential condition of humankind or the inevitable fallout of modernity's freedoms and choices, I examine the meanings and experiences of normative and pathological anxiety and the cultural forms that are marshaled to deal with potential threats--threats that may be more pressing than what has already transpired--in a society increasingly suffused with market imperatives


A new class of benzothiadiazole-oligo(3-hexylthiophene) flanked dicyanomethylenated quinacridone derivatives DCNQA-BT-Tn (n = 1–3) has been designed and synthesized in good yield by iterative bromination and Suzuki coupling reactions, followed by Knoevenagel condensation. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the compounds have been fully investigated. They showed intense and broad absorption at the visible and near-infrared regions, a suitable LUMO energy level at about −3.7 eV, and the appropriate film-formation properties. The bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices based on the blend film of P3HT/DCNQA-BT-T1 (P3HT = poly(3-hexylthiophene)) showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.73% under AM 1.5, 100 mW cm−2 irradiation. Compared with the traditional P3HT/PC61BM (PC61BM = [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) device, the P3HT/DCNQA-BT-T1 device displayed intense absorption in the near-infrared region (650–750 nm) and effectively contributed to the photocurrent. These results indicate that DCNQA derivatives are promising non-fullerenes acceptors for the BHJ polymer solar cells.


SUMMARY This paper addresses the problem of optimal mechanisms design, for the geometric structure and control parameters of mechanisms with complex kinematics, which is one of the most intricate problems in contemporary robot modeling. The problem is stated by means of task requirements and performance constraints, which are specified in terms of the end-effector's position and orientation to accomplish the task. Usually, this problem does not fulfill the characteristics needed to use gradient-based optimization algorithms. In order to circumvent this issue, we introduce case studies of optimization models using evolutionary algorithms (EAs), which deal with the concurrent optimization of both: structure and control parameters. We define and review several optimization models based on the workspace, task and dexterity requirements, such that they guarantee an adequate performance under a set of operating and joint constraints, for a Delta parallel manipulator. Then, we apply several methodologies that can approximate optimal designs. Additionally, we compare the EAs with a quasi-Newton method (the BFGS), in order to show that the last kind of methods is not capable of solving the problem if the initial point is not very close to a local optimum. The results provide directions about the best state-of-the-art EA for addressing different design problems.


Aim We examined whether glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is associated to carotid atherosclerosis in an elderly Korean population with normal fasting glucose. Methods Using data from the Korean Urban Rural Elderly study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1,133 participants (335 men and 798 women) with a mean age of 71.8 years. All participants had fasting blood glucose less than 100mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) and HbA1c level below 6.5% (48 mmol/mol). They were also free from a history of cardiovascular disease, known type 2 diabetes mellitus or use of anti-diabetes medications. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by intima-media thickness (IMT) using ultrasonography. The association between HbA1c and carotid IMT was investigated using multivariable linear regression analysis. Results HbA1c levels were independently and positively associated with carotid IMT (β = 0.020, p = 0.045) after adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, smoking and alcohol intake. However, fasting insulin and glucose levels were not associated with carotid IMT. Conclusion HbA1c levels were positively associated with carotid atherosclerosis, as assessed by carotid IMT, in an elderly population with normoglycemia. Our study suggested that higher HbA1c level is an effective and informative marker of carotid atherosclerosis in an elderly population.


Vernonia ferruginea Less. is a perennial shrub species, present in several regions of Brazil, especially in the savanna. It is popularly used as a phytotherapic. This fact justifies the need to anatomically characterize the plant for its accurate identification and to conduct histochemical studies with the aim of identifying the chemical nature of its cellular constituents. The species-specific data will contribute significantly to pharmaceutical quality control and also provide information about the sites of specific chemical compounds. Samples of V. ferruginea vegetative organs were collected and submitted to the usual plant anatomy and histochemical techniques. The leaves are anfihipoestomatica with anomocytic stomata; have tector and glandular trichomes that store essential oils. The stem has collateral-type vascular bundles arranged in a eustele structure; it also has glandular and tector trichomes. The root has brachysclereids, endoderm with various chemical compounds and vascular bundles having axial elements and rays. Few differences were found in the structure of vegetative organs in relation to other species of the genus, confirming the importance of the details shown. Key words : Plant anatomy, assapeixe-branco, essential oils.


Abstract The hypothesis that the Himalayan crystalline core originated by ductile channel flow of partially molten mid-crust from beneath the Tibetan Plateau is critically reviewed. The proposal that widespread shallow anatexis exists beneath southern Tibet today is inconsistent with numerous observations (e.g. 'bright spots' restricted to a single rift and evidence that they represent aqueous fluids rather than molten silicate; the seismogenic southern Tibetan Moho; 3He/4He data indicating the presence of mantle heat and mass in the rift valley; the likelihood that any melt present is due to late Neogene calc-alkaline magmatism; the lack of Tertiary migmatites in the crustal section exposed in the uplifted rift flank of the Yangbajain graben; the lack of Gangdese zircon xenocrysts in the Greater Himalayan Crystallines (GHC); and the broadly coherent stratigraphy in the GHC). Evidence advanced in support of this model is equally or better explained as resulting from localized Neogene calc-alkaline magmatism. A recently developed rapid denudation/channel flow model does explain key petrogenetic and thermochronological features of the Himalaya, but is inconsistent with several geological constraints, most notably the small portion of the collision front over which focused erosion has localized exposure of the GHC. It is concluded that no evidence has yet been documented that requires the existence of partially molten crust flowing in a channel from beneath the Tibetan Plateau to form the Himalaya.


The control problem associated with brushless DC motors (BLDCMs) for direct-drive robotic applications is considered. In order to guarantee the high-performance operation of BLDCMs in such applications, the effects of reluctance variations and magnetic saturation are accounted for in the model. Such a BLDCM model constitutes a highly coupled and nonlinear dynamic system. Using the transformation theory of nonlinear systems, a feedback control law, which is shown to compensate for the system nonlinearities, is derived. Conditions under which such a control law is possible are presented. The need for the derivation of explicit commutation strategies is eliminated, resulting in reduction of the computations involved. To guarantee the high-performance operation of the system under substantial uncertainties, a robust control law is derived and appended to the overall control structure. The inclusion of the robust controller results in good tracking performance when there are modeling and measurement errors and payload uncertainties. The efficacy of the overall control law is investigated by considering a single-link direct-drive arm actuated by a BLDCM. >


Focusing on a political-economic perspective, this article examines on the background and objectives of China's approach toward FTAs with East Asian nations. It appears that China's strategy to regional economic integration recently has transformed from a passive direction to active initiative, pushing forward its winning strategies - economic liberalization and its resolve to become a regional leader - while spearheading projects to create a regional free trade zone. China has a tendency to take a serious view on the significance of non-economic factors or international politics and security in regard to pursuing FTAs with neighboring countries. Behind China's ASEAN+1 plan, the implication of security is deeply rooted; and through its pursuit of economic integration within the region, China seems to be seeking change in the regional security order. China has also been bringing security discussions into the mechanism of regional economic cooperation among Korea, China and Japan. China also appears to have a few types of ideological mentality when pursuing FTAs. It seems that China's "great-power mentality" (daguo xintai) is somewhat robust. This mentality is prone to be extended to hegemonic contention within the region. If China combines the "great-power mentality" with nationalism in the process of pursuing FTAs with neighboring countries, then this might entail exclusive regionalism. Both Japan and China are basically in rivalry over regional hegemony, and competing for leadership in intra-regional FTA initiatives. In pursuing FTAs with South Korea, China and Japan seem to have quite a contradictory approach. Japan, which wants to control the rise of China, seems to be ruling out the China-Japan-Korea FTA plan and actively pursuing a Japan-Korea FTA. On the contrary, Beijing is expected to actively propose to pursue China-Korea FTA in order to hold back rapid progress in Japan-Korea FTA negotiations, which have already commenced. On the other hand, Korea has been pursuing a strategy called "Open Neo-Trading Nation." The vision of the Korean government, which is looking to build up a Northeast Asian economic community characterized by peace and prosperity, is basically not aiming for exclusive and discriminative regionalism but globally arranged open regionalism. Seen from the principle of aiming toward open East Asian regionalism, Korea should pursue achieving a balanced East Asian economic community with impartiality to either China or Japan, which are rivals for regional hegemony. The pursuit of "open East Asian regionalism,"also requires restraint from political and security factors when pursuing FTAs. Korea needs to pursue an economics-dominated FTA that is based on a precondition of hardly containing political and security factors.


Mutations in nucleotide excision repair (NER) genes in humans result in the UV-induced skin cancer-prone disease xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). Mouse models that mimic XP have provided an informative experimental system with which to study DNA repair, as well as the molecular pathology of UV radiation-induced skin cancer. We reported previously that mice defective in the Xpc gene (Xpc-/-) are highly predisposed to UVB radiation-induced skin cancer and that the appearance of skin cancer is more rapid in Xpc Trp53 double mutants. Extended studies now demonstrate an increased predisposition to UVB radiation-induced skin cancers in Xpc heterozygous mice compared with normal mice. We also show that Xpc Trp53 double heterozygous mutants are more predisposed to skin cancer than Trp53 single heterozygous mice. No mutations were detected in the cDNA of the remaining Xpc allele, suggesting that haploinsufficiency of the Xpc gene may be operating and is a risk factor for UVB radiation-induced skin cancer in mice. Skin tumors from Xpc-/- mice were exclusively well or moderately well-differentiated squamous cell carcinomas. In Xpc+/+ and Xpc+/- mice, many of the squamous cell carcinomas were less well differentiated. We also documented previously increased predisposition to UV radiation-induced skin cancers in Xpc-/- Apex+/- mice. Here we show the absence of mutations in the cDNA of the remaining Apex allele, a further suggestive indication of haploinsufficiency and its resulting predisposition to skin cancer. The Trp53 and Apex heterozygous conditions altered the skin tumor spectrum to more poorly differentiated forms in all Xpc genotypes.


Since its publication, the Radboud Faces Database (RaFD; Langner et al., 2010) has become one of the most widely used face databases. At the time of writing, it has been cited more than 1,400 times. The database includes validation data such as rated genuineness, clarity, and intensity of the displayed facial expression. Ratings of models' attractiveness based on their neutral, frontal gaze image is also available and age data for most models can be found at http://gijsbijlstra.nl/rafd-ratings/. These ratings are useful for researchers who want to (a) select models who score particularly low or high on a certain characteristic, (b) ensure that different image sets do not significantly differ on certain characteristics, or (c) control for these characteristics in statistical analyses. Here, additional trait ratings for all 39 models of the RaFD's Caucasian Adult Subset (neutral expression, frontal gaze) are presented. The models were rated on 19 trait dimensions: trustworthiness, dominance, attractiveness, competence, openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, aggressiveness, friendliness, health, intelligence, anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, surprise.


Sir, We are in agreement with Schwarz et al. (Archives, 1977 52, 870) when they state that the sweat test has some limitations in the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) and that the diagnosis is not iustified on the basis of an abnormal sweat test unless there is other supporting evidence of the disease. We also agree that there is a 'grey area' of sweat Na and Cl levels which we would class as between 50 and 70 mmol/l (50,70 mEq/l). However, there are some aspects of their paper which cause us concern. We feel the summary at the beginning of the paper is somewhat misleading, especially to those who do not carefully read beyond. From the text, one sees that the 30 patients referred to in the summary as giving equivocal sweat Na concentrations represent only 1 5% of patients tested in their laboratory, the total being some 2000. As the remaining 98 5 % of patients did not give rise to diagnostic difficulty, it is clear that the 'sweat test' is still highly discriminatory, probably to the degree of any such test. In our experience a much greater problem of sweat test accuracy occurs in hospitals where the test is carried out on a very much smaller number of patients and where the laboratory has a much lesser degree of experience than that of the authors. We have had a significant number of patients referred to our regional children's hospital who have had abnormal sweat electrolyte measurements elsewhere, but unequivocally normal measurements when repeated by a laboratory carrying out a large number of tests. Anderson and Goodchild (1976), in their recent monograph, stress the difficulties of carrying out an accurate test and describe some of the errors of technique which on inquiry we still find to be common practice, e.g. inexperienced house officers carrying out the collection of sweat rather than experienced laboratory or nursing personnel. We agree with the authors that factors other than technique may affect sweat electrolyte levels but feel that these are not significant when compared with the variation produced by errors in performance of the test. We have not needed to go to the extent of serial collections of sweat and of giving spironolactone as have the authors. If we obtain a test within the 'grey area' on repeated occasions, we carefully seek other evidence of the disease, particularly evidence ofpancreatic disease. This may be obvious from the presence of steatorrhoea of pancreatic type as described by Anderson and Goodchild (1976), but if steatorrhoea is not present (about 10-15% of cases) we should then carry out detailed pancreatic function studies with pancreozymin and secretin stimulation. Hadorn et al. (1968) and others have shown that, although enzyme secretion may be sufficient to prevent steatorrhoea in some patients, the volume of duodenal fluid and its bicarbonate content are always low and neither increases to a normal extent after injection of secretin. This investigation, together with a detailed and critical clinical appraisal, has invariably clarified the diagnosis in our patients with equivocal sweat Na and Cl levels. We do not see evidence that Schwarz et al. have investigated pancreatic function in such detail although they may have done in some of their 'equivocal' patients. We wonder whether in Cases 14 and 26 detailed studies might not show some abnormalities. Case 12, where sweat Na is repeatedly raised, is stated to have normal pancreatic function but no details of the method of assessing this are given. We also wonder why Cases 23, 24, and 25 are included in Table 2 as they seem to have good criteria for the diagnosis of CF at present and even when first seen.


BACKGROUND: Patients with syndrome X (exertional angina, positive exercise test, normal coronary arteriogram) have an altered perception of cardiac pain. This symptom may arise from increased sensitivity to adenosine. Previous studies suggest that intravenous aminophylline (an adenosine receptor blocker) improves exercise tolerance in patients with this disorder. OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of oral aminophylline in syndrome X. METHODS: 13 patients (11 women and two men, mean (SD) 54 (6) years) with syndrome X were studied. Patients were randomised in a double blind crossover study to receive either oral aminophylline or placebo for three weeks. All patients underwent symptom limited exercise testing and ambulatory electrocardiography at the end of each three week period. RESULTS: 10 patients completed the study. The time to angina during exercise testing in patients who were given aminophylline was longer than for the placebo group (mean (SD) 632 (202) seconds v 522 (264) seconds, P = 0.004). Peak exercise ST depression did not differ significantly between patients who received aminophylline and those administered placebo (mean (SD) -1.9 (0.7) mm v -1.5 (0.8) mm). Six patients taking aminophylline reported a reduction in the total number of episodes of chest pain during the three weeks, but the frequency and duration of ST segment depression during Holter monitoring was unchanged. CONCLUSION: Oral aminophylline has a favourable effect on exercise induced chest pain threshold in patients with syndrome X. The disparate effects on symptoms and ST segment changes are intriguing and further study is warranted.


Canada's Tsunami Debris Coordinating Committee is working with NOAA on shoreline monitoring and advises Canadians who would like to collect information to review the instructions below and download NOAA's smartphone application to record, visualize, and share data.


The effect of the combined action of hot work and heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of a Mg-2Gd-Nd-0.4Zn-0.3Zr (wt. %) (E21) alloy was investigated. Results showed that the solution treatment time of the ingot played a great effect on the mechanical properties of the extruded alloy. With solution treating time of the ingot increasing, the tensile strength of the extruded alloy decreased gradually, but the elongation increased greatly. The best combination of strength and ductility was achieved for the extruded alloy after the ingot solution treated at 520°C for 3 h, extrusion at 400°C and aging at 200°C for 16 h, namely ultimate tensile strength = 331MPa and elongation = 7.1%.


Adult growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is being increasingly recognized to cause premature mortality exacerbated by oxidative stress. A case-control observational study has been performed with the primary objective of evaluating new parameters of oxidative stress and macromolecular damage in adult GHD subjects: serum nitrotryptophan; Total Antioxidant Capacity expressed as LAG time; urinary hexanoil-lysine; urinary dityrosine and urinary 8-OH-deoxyguanosine. GHD was diagnosed using Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone 50μg iv+arginine 0,5 g/Kg test, with a peak GH response <9 μg /L when BMI was <30 kg/m2 or <4 μg/L when BMI was >30 kg/m2. Patients affected by adult GHD were divided into three groups, total GHD (n = 26), partial GHD (n = 25), and controls (n = 29). Total Antioxidant Capacity, metabolic and hormonal parameters have been determined in separate plasma samples; nitrotryptophan in serum samples; hexanoil-lysine, dityrosine, 8-OH-deoxyguanosine in urine samples. Assessment of hexanoil-lysine exhibited a trend to increase in comparing total GHD vs partial and controls, although not significant. Values of 8-OH-deoxyguanosine did not significantly differ among the three groups. Significant lower levels of dityrosine in partial GHD vs total and controls were found. No significant difference in nitrotriptophan serum levels was found, while significantly greater values of Total Antioxidant Capacity were showed in total and partial GHD vs controls. Thus, our result confirm that oxidative stress is increased both in partial and total adult GHD. The lack of compensation by antioxidants in total GHD may be connected to the complications associated to this rare disorder.


BACKGROUND
In expander-based breast reconstruction, providing adequate tissue coverage of the prosthesis is necessary to prevent complications. The authors have previously described the use of the serratus anterior fascia for this purpose-but when this fascia is unavailable or inadequate, the subpectoral fascia can be used. This study describes the anatomy of the subpectoral fascia, the surgical technique for harvesting it, and an algorithm for choosing between the serratus and subpectoral fascia flaps. Clinical and functional outcomes following use of the subpectoral fascia in expander-based breast reconstruction are reported.

METHODS
Thirteen patients (17 breasts) were included in the study. After approval by the institutional review board, retrospective case note analysis was performed for demographic and perioperative factors. Postoperative complications including capsular contracture, seroma, hematoma, wound dehiscence, and infection were recorded. Cadaver studies involving 10 hemichests were undertaken. The subpectoral fascia for each hemichest was dissected and measured for length and width.

RESULTS
At a mean follow-up of 589 days (range, 115 to 960 days), seroma occurred in one breast, wound infection occurred in one breast, and minor wound dehiscence occurred in one breast. There were no incidences of capsular contracture or hematoma. The mean +/- SD length of cadaver subpectoral fascia was 148 +/- 26.6 mm and the mean width was 83 +/- 32.1 mm.

CONCLUSIONS
The subpectoral fascia flap is a novel and safe option for providing vascularized lateral or inferior coverage of prosthesis in expander-based breast reconstruction. Its harvest and use are not associated with adverse clinical outcomes.


This memoir is an account of the dream my father had for me and the way I eventually came to embrace it after years of rebellion. My father was a Romanian immigrant who lived through the Holocaust, a facet of his life that I never questioned as a child. It was not until nearly twenty years after his death that I began a journey to discover more about my father's past and what it meant to me. As a child, I rejected my father's view of the role women should play in the world-the 1950s version of the housewife who stayed at home rearing children. I was determined to do something else with my life, and eventually I became a journalist. But after finally marryin g at the age of thirty-five, I found that my life seemed empty without a family. Fulfilling my father's dream, though, became impossible as infertility problems conspired against me. My desire to have a child finally led me back to my father's corner of the world-Eastern Europe-to adopt a seventeen-month-old orphan from Russia. The memoir is divided into two sections. ''The Proud American" chronicles my father's life in Romania, his escape from that country after the Communists took control in 1944, his emigration to Canada and then America, and my childhood in Florida. "Fulfilling the Dream" covers my career as a newspaper reporter, my struggle with infertility, and my tortuous path toward adopting a child from an orphanage in Moscow. With my return to Eastern Europe, the memoir traces how I finally completed the circle my father began when he left Romania as a young man with no money, education or family, but simply with the dream of a better life in America.


Oxidative damage has been proposed as one of the possible mechanisms involved in Pb toxicity. To investigate this hypothesis we estimated various blood antioxidants in 25 bat-tery workers. Lead was analysed by Anodic stripping voltametry (ASV), all other parame-ters by spectrophotometric methods. Lead level was significantly high in battery workers (p=0.000). Erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity significantly decreased (p=0.00), whereas reduced glutathione (GSH) significantly increased (p< 0.01) compared to controls. Other enzymes viz., ceruloplasmin (CPL), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) and catalase (CT) were in normal range. RBC lipid peroxidation and percentage hemoly-sis remained unaltered. There was a strong negative correlation between blood lead level and SOD activity in the study group. Therefore, the changes in the levels of some antioxi-dants may play an important role in abating hazards of lead poisoning.


These updated AST‐IDCOP guidelines review the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of emerging fungi after organ transplantation. Infections due to numerous generally innocuous fungi are increasingly recognized in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, comprising about 7%‐10% of fungal infections in this setting. Such infections are collectively referred to as emerging fungal infections and include Mucormycetes, Fusarium, Scedosporium, and dematiaceous fungi among others. The causative organisms are diverse in their pathophysiology, uncommon in the clinical setting, have evolving nomenclature, and are often resistant to multiple commonly used antifungal agents. In recent years significant advances have been made in understanding of the epidemiology of these emerging fungal infections, with improved diagnosis and expanded treatment options. Still, treatment guidelines are generally informed by and limited to experience from cohorts of patients with hematological malignancies and/or solid and stem cell transplants. While multicenter randomized controlled trials are not feasible for these uncommon infections in SOT recipients, collaborative prospective studies can be valuable in providing information on the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, treatment strategies, and outcomes associated with the more commonly encountered infections.


I investigated sublethal effects of commercial herbicides on monarch butterfly development and success. Macek et alOphryocystis elektroscirrha . My study currently examines monarchs exposed to atrazine (ATZ), or the known endocrine disruptor estradiol (ESD) from early instars through emerging adults. Laboratory reared caterpillars (Rose Franklin, State College PA) were maintained on freshly collected Asclepias spp . leaves which were stringently cleaned to reduce proliferation of OE until eclosion. Initially 1st-3rd instars were maintained individually (n=50 per treatment) and exposed either to spring water (CTRL), 50 ppb ATZ or 50 ppb ESD daily. Ages were evenly distributed across treatment groups. Larval mortality was 14-26% in treated larvae compared to 24% in controls, but well below the 30-50% evident in the previous study. Duration of larval period was ~ 30 days for all treatment groups, 5 days longer than for those measured in 2009. All emerged adults were sampled for the parasite Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) prior to tagging and release. OE infection rate was dramatically reduced to 9% compared to 90% in last year's study, with appreciably lower severity of parasite load. Surviving adults exhibited sex ratio skewed toward females in control and estradiol treatments, but surprising skewed toward males in atrazine treatments. While standard wing dimensions were comparable among treatments, animals were slightly more robust in biomass among treated monarchs (3.4% to 8.4%). We continue to examine data for ways in which incidence of OE infection is related to other measures of monarch success.


The proposed hand gesture recognition (HGR) system is designed to enhance human-computer interaction (HCI) and human- robot interaction (HRI), which are crucial areas of research aimed at improving the way humans interact with computer or robot systems. With the growing need for intelligent computers and robots in a range of applications, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education, both HCI and HRI have gained significant importance. In this context, the HGR system plays a vital role by enabling natural and intuitive communication between humans and technology through hand gestures. The presented system uses a single camera and efficient image processing techniques that enable real-time gesture detection. Unlike other methods, our approach employs a basic video camera, which is widely available on most computers, eliminating the need for expensive and specialized hardware.


PURPOSE To address the role of consolidation treatment for newly diagnosed, transplant eligible patients with multiple myeloma in a controlled clinical trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS The EMN02/HOVON95 trial compared consolidation treatment with two cycles of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRD) or no consolidation after induction and intensification therapy, followed by continuous lenalidomide maintenance. Primary study end point was progression-free survival (PFS). RESULTS Eight hundred seventy-eight eligible patients were randomly assigned to receive VRD consolidation (451 patients) or no consolidation (427 patients). At a median follow-up of 74.8 months, median PFS with adjustment for pretreatment was prolonged in patients randomly assigned to VRD consolidation (59.3 v 42.9 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.81; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.96; P = .016). The PFS benefit was observed across most predefined subgroups, including revised International Staging System (ISS) stage, cytogenetics, and prior treatment. Revised ISS3 stage (HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.86) and ampl1q (HR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.37 to 2.04) were significant adverse prognostic factors. The median duration of maintenance was 33 months (interquartile range 13-86 months). Response ≥ complete response (CR) after consolidation versus no consolidation before start of maintenance was 34% versus 18%, respectively (P < .001). Response ≥ CR on protocol including maintenance was 59% with consolidation and 46% without (P < .001). Minimal residual disease analysis by flow cytometry in a subgroup of 226 patients with CR or stringent complete response or very good partial response before start of maintenance demonstrated a 74% minimal residual disease–negativity rate in VRD-treated patients. Toxicity from VRD was acceptable and manageable. CONCLUSION Consolidation treatment with VRD followed by lenalidomide maintenance improves PFS and depth of response in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma as compared to maintenance alone.


We had previously shown that the cholesterol esterification activity of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is destroyed by oxidation, but still it retains the ability to hydrolyse water-soluble substrates. This suggested that the inactivation of the enzyme is not due to its catalytic function, but due to a loss of its hydrophobic binding. Since recent studies have shown that a tryptophan residue in the putative interfacial domain (Trp(61)) is critical for the activity, we determined the possible role of this residue in the oxidative susceptibility and substrate specificity of LCAT by site-directed mutagenesis. Deletion of Trp(61) resulted in a 56% loss of cholesterol esterification (LCAT) activity, but the phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) and the esterase activities of the enzyme were stimulated slightly. Replacing Trp(61) with another aromatic residue [Trp(61)-->Tyr (W61Y)] resulted in an increase in all activities (14-157%), whereas replacing it with an aliphatic residue [Trp(61)-->Gly (W61G)] caused a dramatic loss of LCAT (-90%) and PLA(2) (-82%) activities, but not the esterase activity (-5%). W61Y was the most sensitive to oxidation, whereas W61G was the most resistant, with respect to the LCAT and PLA(2) activities. However, the activities which do not involve interfacial binding, namely the esterase activity and the transesterification of short-chain phospholipids, were more resistant to oxidation in all LCATs, indicating a selective loss of the interfacial binding by oxidation. Furthermore, replacing the two cysteines (Cys(31) and Cys(184)) in the Trp(61) deletion mutant caused additional resistance of the enzyme to oxidizing agents, showing that both domains of the enzyme contribute independently to its oxidative susceptibility. Since the hydrolysis of truncated phospholipids, generated during the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, does not require the interfacial-binding domain, our results suggest that LCAT may take part in the detoxification of these compounds even after the loss of its cholesterol esterification function.


Temperature dependence of the photocurrent (PC) intensity has been experimentally investigated as a function of reverse bias in high quality In0.1Ga0.9As/A0.15Ga0.85As multiple quantum wells (MQW) in a p-i-n diode configuration. PC features show unusual behaviors at low temperatures, especially at 15 K, such as (1) the PC intensity increase with the electric field under low field conditions at 15 K and (2) a reduction up to 60 K and a rise above 60 K, while the PC intensity under high field conditions decreases with temperature. These unusual PC features under low field conditions at low temperatures are explained by considering exciton ionization, the thermal population and the tunneling probability.


In this chapter, we describe two projects to integrate mobile teaching and learning into K-12 schooling. First, we consider the rationale for increased use of mobile devices with today's students, and we describe a professional development program to deploy iPads to classroom teachers. Next, we discuss the growth of K12 online learning, and we describe a project for students enrolled in an online Advanced Placement course was delivered through a mobile learning content management system. Lastly, we discuss some of the lessons learned from these pilot projects and some of the promise and challenges of mobile teaching and learning.


Guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) are largely grouped into three classes: heterotrimeric G proteins, ras-like or small molecular weight GTP binding proteins, and others like G h. In the heart G proteins transduce signals from a variety of membrane receptors to generate diverse effects on contractility, heart rate, and myocyte growth. This central position of G proteins forming a switchboard between extracellular signals and intracellular effectors makes them candidates possibly involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and ar - rhythmia. This review focuses primarily on discoveries of heterotrimeric G protein alterations in heart diseases that help us to understand the pathogenesis and pathophysiology. We also discuss the underlying molecular mechanisms of heterotrimeric G protein signalling.


Importance The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitor evolocumab has been demonstrated to reduce the composite of myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death in patients with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, long-term cost-effectiveness of this therapy has not been evaluated using clinical trial efficacy data. Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of evolocumab in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease when added to standard background therapy. Design, Setting, and Participants A Markov cohort state-transition model was used, integrating US population-specific demographics, risk factors, background therapy, and event rates along with trial-based event risk reduction. Costs, including price of drug, utilities, and transitional probabilities, were included from published sources. Exposures Addition of evolocumab to standard background therapy including statins. Main Outcomes and Measures Cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke and cardiovascular death, quality-adjusted life-year (QALY), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), and net value-based price. Results In the base case, using US clinical practice patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels of at least 70 mg/dL (to convert to millimoles per liter, multiply by 0.0259) and an annual events rate of 6.4 per 100 patient-years, evolocumab was associated with increased cost and improved QALY: incremental cost, $105 398; incremental QALY, 0.39, with an ICER of $268 637 per QALY gained ($165 689 with discounted price of $10 311 based on mean rebate of 29% for branded pharmaceuticals). Sensitivity and scenario analyses demonstrated ICERs ranging from $100 193 to $488 642 per QALY, with ICER of $413 579 per QALY for trial patient characteristics and event rate of 4.2 per 100 patient-years ($270 192 with discounted price of $10 311) and $483 800 if no cardiovascular mortality reduction emerges. Evolocumab treatment exceeded $150 000 per QALY in most scenarios but would meet this threshold at an annual net price of $9669 ($6780 for the trial participants) or with the discounted net price of $10 311 in patients with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels of at least 80 mg/dL. Conclusions and Relevance At its current list price of $14 523, the addition of evolocumab to standard background therapy in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease exceeds generally accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds. To achieve an ICER of $150 000 per QALY, the annual net price would need to be substantially lower ($9669 for US clinical practice and $6780 for trial participants), or a higher-risk population would need to be treated.


Professors teach, and scholars theorize, something called 'the' criminal law. A new book by Lindsay Farmer is ostensibly about criminal laws in England over the past two centuries, but it shows that in that place and time there developed a concept of criminal law as a singular, cohesive, and enduring institution that can and should be theorized independently of any particular jurisdiction, statute, case, or code. The grip of this concept is powerful, this review essay argues. This way of thinking about criminal law now spans national borders – and it creates significant obstacles to penal reform in the United States and elsewhere. This review essay focuses on two implications of the modern understanding of 'the' criminal law: the claim that criminal law has some extra-legal nature, core, or essence and the conceptual divide between substance and procedure.


Abstract The occurrence of reinforcement is compared when premating isolation is caused by the spread of a gene causing females to prefer to mate with males carrying a population-specific trait (a "preference" model) and by a gene that causes females to prefer to mate with males that share their own trait phenotype (an "assortative mating" model). Both two-island models, which have symmetric gene flow, and continent-island models, which have one-way gene flow, are explored. Reinforcement is found to occur much more easily in a two-island assortative mating model than in any of the other three models. This is due primarily to the fact that in this model the assortative mating allele will automatically become genetically associated in each population with the trait allele that is favored by natural selection on that island. In contrast, natural selection on the trait both favors and opposes the evolution of premating isolation in the two-island preference model, depending on the particular population. These results imply that species recognition in the context of mating may evolve particularly easily when it targets cues that are favored by natural selection in each population. In the continent-island models, reinforcement is found to occur more often under the preference model than the assortative mating model, thus reversing the trend from the two-island models. Patterns of population subdivision may therefore play a role in determining what types of premating isolation may evolve. Corresponding Editor: H. A. Orr


ABSTRACT Shiga toxins (Stxs) induce apoptosis via activation of the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways in many cell types. Toxin-mediated activation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response was shown to be instrumental in initiating apoptosis in THP-1 myeloid leukemia cells. THP-1 cells responded to Shiga toxin type 1 (Stx1) in a cell maturation-dependent manner, undergoing rapid apoptosis in the undifferentiated state but reduced and delayed apoptosis in differentiated cells. The onset of apoptosis was associated with calpain activation and changes in expression of C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), Bcl-2 family members, and death receptor 5 (DR5). Ligation of DR5 by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) activates the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis. We show here that expression of TRAIL and DR5 is increased by Stx1 treatment. Addition of exogenous TRAIL enhances, and anti-TRAIL antibodies inhibit, Stx1-induced apoptosis of THP-1 cells. Silencing of CHOP or DR5 expression selectively prevented caspase activation, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, and Stx1-induced apoptosis of macrophage-like THP-1 cells. In contrast, the rapid kinetics of apoptosis induction in monocytic THP-1 cells correlated with rates of calpain cleavage. The results suggest that CHOP-DR5 signaling and calpain activation differentially contribute to cell maturation-dependent Stx1-induced apoptosis. Inhibition of these signaling pathways may protect cells from Stx cytotoxicity.


Objective We previously reported that non-insulindependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients with apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) are more susceptible to hypercholesterolemia. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether metabolic control or body weight is related to hypercholesterolemia in NIDDM patients with apoE4. Research Design and Methods Two hundred forty NIDDM patients with apoE4 or apoE3/3 who had either hypercholesterolemia or normolipidemia were studied. ApoE phenotypes were determined by isoelectric focusing method. Results The apoE4- carrying NIDDM patients with hypercholesterolemia (n = 39) showed significantly higher fasting plasma glucose (8.4 vs. 7.2 mM, P < 0.05), HbA, (9.3 vs. 8.1%, P < 0.05), and percentage of ideal body weight values (116 vs. 102%, P < 0.01) than the apoE4-carrying NIDDM patients with normolipidemia (n – 26), whereas there was no significant difference in their levels between the apoE3/3-carrying NIDDM patients with hypercholesterolemia (n = 47) and normolipidemia (n = 128). Conclusions In addition to our previous finding, this study indicates that hypercholesterolemia in apoE4-carrying NIDDM patients may be more closely related to poor metabolic control and increased percentage of ideal body weight.


The role of the network security administrator is continually morphing to keep pace with the ever-changing area of computer and network security. These changes are due in part to both the continual development of new security exploits by attackers as well as improvements in network security products available for use. One area which has garnered much research in the past decade is the use of visualization to ease the strain on network security administrators. Visualization mechanisms utilize the parallel processing power of the human visual system to allow for the identification of possible nefarious network activity. This research details the development and use of a visualization system for network security. The manuscript is composed of four papers which provide a progression of research pertaining to the system. The first paper utilizes research in the area of information visualization to develop a new framework for designing visualization systems for network security. Next, a visualization system is developed in the second paper which has been utilized during multiple cyber defense competitions to aid in competition performance. The last two papers deal with evaluating the developed system. First, an exploratory analysis provides an initial assessment using participant interviews during one cyber defense competition. Second, a quasi field experiment explores the intention of subjects to use the system based on the type of visualization being viewed.


Purpose: This study aimed to examine and analyze the consequences of psychological distress on performance achievement of managers and employees in Islamic micro-finance institutions in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted in this study, involving 194 managers and employees in Islamic microfinance institutions in Indonesia.Findings: This study confirmed that the aspects of formal justice and social justice had a significant effect on psychological distress and performance achievement. Another finding showed that psychological distress had a significant effect on performance achievement and served as a mediating variable for the effect of social justice on performance achievement.Research limitations/implications: This study only focused on the effect of psychological distress on the performance achievement of human resources in the context of Islamic microfinance institutions. Besides, in explaining the model, this study only focused on one point of view of the grand theory, i.e., social exchange theory.Originality/value: This study provided information on alternative strategies in managing and minimizing the risks of psychological distress to improve performance achievement in Islamic microfinance institutions.


A MANET is an infrastructure-less type network, which consists of number of mobile nodes with wireless network interfaces. In MANET nodes can directly communicate to all other nodes within the radio communication range. If a node could not have direct communication then they can use intermediate nodes to communicate with other nodes. Though each node in MANET will act as host as well as router, the security is a major issue and the chances of having the vulnerabilities are also more In this paper we discuss various types of vulnerabilities in MANET. Different types of attacker attempts different approaches to decrease the network performance, throughput. In this paper the principal focus is on routing and security issues associated with mobile ad hoc networks which are required in order to provide secure communication.


The rapid evolution of high-speed sea transportation has led to the development of large,
fast, lightweight vessels. The structural design optimisation of such vessels requires knowledge
of the effect of sea loads on their structure. Of particular importance for high-speed catamarans
are severe wet-deck slam events, which can impart a large global load onto a vessel's structure
and as a consequence cause significant structural damage. The dynamic whipping response of
the structure may also be important by making a significant contribution to fatigue damage.
Extensive full-scale hull stress, motion and wave measurements were conducted on two
Incat high-speed catamaran ferries. A definition of a slam event, for these vessels, was proposed
and used to identify slam events from the data records. The character and effects of these
slamming events are investigated with respect to a number of factors. Slam events were found
to produce bending moments up to 700% of the largest underlying global wave loads.
The data from the full-scale slam events, including an extreme slam event that caused
extensive structural damage, was used in conjunction with finite element modelling to develop
a realistic quasi-static slam loading scenario for structural design purposes. This slam load
case gives a maximum bending moment approximately 16% greater than that stipulated by
classification society Det Norske Veritas, with a greater bias towards the bow of the vessel. A
method for scaling the design load case for use with new designs is also proposed.
A technique for predicting the mode shape and frequency of the whipping behaviour utilising
finite element analysis including the fluid-structure interaction is presented. The hydrodynamic
added mass of the surrounding fluid was calculated using a two-dimensional panel
method for a range of speeds. The calculated whipping modes are then compared favourably
with those found through the full-scale measurements and exciter experiments. The exciter experiments
were conducted on two vessels with the anchors being dropped and instantaneously
arrested to excite the vessels' first longitudinal mode of vibration. The level of damping of
the whipping behaviour is investigated through the full-scale results and exciter experiments.
Methods for evaluating the various hydrodynamic components which constitute the damping
are also presented including wavemaking damping, viscous damping and acoustic damping. It
is concluded that structural damping is the dominant damping component.
Fatigue life estimates, utilising full-scale slam data and derived whipping behaviour information,
were conducted which found that slamming and whipping behaviour have a large
influence on fatigue life.
Finally, knowledge of the dynamic slamming response was utilised to develop a dynamic
extreme slam design load case. This dynamic load case more realistically simulates the dynamic
structural response of the vessel to a slam. It is the core component of a new practical
methodology for the structural design of large high-speed catamarans for slamming.


Abstract Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter used by many neurons of the mammalian retina. To identify the synaptic targets of these cells, we undertook an immunohistochemical study with a monoclonal antibody that recognizes the GABAA receptors (62−3G1, generously donated by A. de Blas). This antibody labels the somata of at least one group of amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer. It also labels two groups of somata in the ganglion cell layer: one small and the other much larger. The small cells are likely to be displaced amacrine cells based on their size, although some could be gamma ganglion cells. The much larger receptor-positive cells are clearly ganglion cells, based both on their size and the antibody labeling of the initial portion of their axon. In the peripheral retina, the size of these large somata suggests that many are beta ganglion cells. However, at any point across the retina the density of these cells never exceeded 50% of the density of beta cells as a whole. The antibody also labels a dense plexus of processes that extends throughout the inner plexiform layer (IPL), with a marked concentration in the inner third of the layer. This is the portion of the IPL in which the rod bipolar cells terminate. It is difficult to recognize processes of individual cells in the IPL, so retinae were dissociated. The rod bipolar cells were identified by protein kinase C immunoreactivity (Negishi et al., 1988; Karschin & Wässle, 1990). They were not labeled by the GABAA receptor antibody. This is surprising in light of tight-seal, whole cell voltage-clamp recordings that have shown that the rod bipolars express functional GABAA receptors. One possible explanation is that the antibody recognizes only a subset of the GABAA receptors.


Studying the evolutive and adaptative mechanisms of prokaryotes is a complicated task. As these mechanisms cannot be easily studied ``in vivo'', it is necessary to consider other methods.
We have therefore developed the RAevol model, a model designed to study the evolution of
bacteria and their adaptation to the environment.
 Our model simulates the evolution of a population
of artificial bacteria in a changing environment, providing us with an
insight into the strategies that digital organisms develop to adapt to
new conditions.

In this paper we describe the principles and architecture of the
model, focusing on the mechanisms of the regulatory networks of artificial organisms.
Experiments were conducted on populations of artificial bacteria under
conditions of stress. We study the ways in which organisms adapt to
environmental changes and examine the strategies they adopt. An
analysis of these adaptation strategies is presented and a brief
overview was proposed concerning the patterns and topological
characteristics of the evolved regulatory networks.


For capacity, energy and environmental reasons, intermodal transportation is widely regarded as the preferable option for inland freight distribution. But because of the relatively high embedded costs, intermodal rail is currently only an attractive option for containerized goods carried over long distances. Transfers that in theory should entail only a few operations at a terminal in reality require multiple operations. This paper argues that by incorporating new terminal designs and an automated transfer management system (ATMS) at terminals and distribution centers, the resulting efficiency advances and productivity gains could significantly improve the economics for both long and short haul intermodal movements, including port shuttle trains. This system not only could significantly lower fixed costs and make intermodal more price competitive, but improve time and reliability to make intermodal more service competitive as well.


Smart phones are very common in Pakistan since last 5 years. Smart phone is a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touch screen interface, internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps. (Woyke,2014) states that the first true smart phone actually made its debut earlier in 1992. Smart phone has now captured the human life at a very large extent. Smart phone has become a part of daily, professional, social and academic life. Students are dependent on smart phones for their academic and social activities. It could be used for dictionary, for browsing and searching a piece of information or interacting with others for social needs. Visually impaired refers to the condition in which a person is partially or completely blind. The VI students have equal information and social needs as sighted people. VI students are a part of society and play an equal role in the social development of a society. Smart phones are helpful in routine academic tasks and social activities of the students. It is difficult task to satisfy their immediate information and social needs using an android Smartphone. The focus of this study is to show the academic use of smart phone for the social development of visually impaired students of faculty of social science and faculty of Education of University of Karachi. There are 24 departments in these faculties and more than 20 VI students are getting education from these departments. This study aims to discuss the Applications of android Smartphone used for academic purpose and their social development. VI students of faculty of social science and education, university of Karachi identify some specific apps during data collection. These applications will be helpful to increase the accessibility of Smartphone among VI students. The study identified that smart phone is very useful for academic and social activities.


Objective: Value of ultrasonography in assessment of pathological changes in ovaries of premenopausal women in comparison with histological diagnosis after surgery. Method: Study group consisted of 46 patients age 16 to 45 with ovarian cyst diagnosed by transvaginal (44 patients) or abdominal and transperineal ultrasonography. Results: Histological diagnoses were in close correlation with ultrasound examination results. All the patients with endometrial, serous and follicular cysts were correctly diagnosed with ultrasound. Teratoma tumors were diagnosed with great accuracy (91.7%). Lower accuracy was noted with reference to paraovarian and corpus luteum cysts (50.0% and 66.7%). Hydropyosalpinx was correctly diagnosed in 75.0% cases. Conclusions: Ultrasonography performed by experienced ultrasonologist is a great diagnostic method which allow to make correct diagnosis before histopathological confirmation.


Effects of various additives to Ni anode on SOFC using La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3 based oxide were investigated in this study. Among the examined additives, it was found that the addition of small amount of Fe is highly effective for increasing the anodic activity. When 5 wt% Fe was added to Ni anode, the anodic overpotential was as small as 34 mV at 873 K, 0.1A/cm2, which is almost half of pure Ni anode. Since the estimated activation energy for anodic reaction decreased, addition of Fe to Ni seems to be effective for increasing the activity of Ni for anodic reaction. XRD measurement after power generating property suggests that added Fe was formed alloy with Ni. SEM observation shows the high dispersion of Ni metal was sustained by addition of small amount of Fe. Consequently, this study reveals that Ni-Fe bimetal is highly active for anodic reaction of SOFCs at decreased temperature.


A network is given whose edges need to be constructed (or restored after a disaster). The lengths of edges represent the required construction/restoration times given available resources, and one unit of length of the network can be constructed per unit of time. All points of the network are accessible for construction at any time. For each pair of vertices, a due date is given. It is required to find a construction schedule that minimizes the maximum lateness of all pairs of vertices, where the lateness of a pair is the difference between the time when the pair becomes connected by an already constructed path and the pair's due date. We introduce the problem and analyze its structural properties, present a mixed-integer linear programming formulation, develop a number of lower bounds that are integrated in a branch-and-bound algorithm, and discuss results of computational experiments both for instances based on randomly generated networks and for instances based on 2010 Chilean earthquake data. The onlin...


Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to specifically evaluate the effectiveness and safety of real-time ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in a case series of pleural effusion. Patients and methods: An observational prospective study was conducted. From February 2018 to December 2019, a total of 361 consecutive real-time transthoracic ultrasound (TUS)-guided thoracentesis were performed in the Unit of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound of the Research Hospital "Fondazione Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" of San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy. The primary indication for thoracentesis was therapeutic in all the cases (i.e., evacuation of persistent small/moderate pleural effusions to avoid super-infection; drainage of symptomatic moderate/massive effusions). For completeness, further diagnostic investigations (including chemical, microbiological, and cytological analysis) were conducted. All the procedures were performed by two internists with more than 30 years of experience in interventional ultrasound using a multifrequency convex probe (3–8 MHz). For pleural effusions with a depth of 2–3 cm measured at the level of the costo-phrenic sinus was employed a dedicated holed convex-array probe (5 MHz). Results: In all the cases, the attempts at thoracentesis were successful, allowing the achievement of the therapeutic purpose of the procedure (i.e., the complete drying of the pleural space or the withdrawal of fluid till a "safe" quantity [a mean of 1.5 L, max 2 L] producing relief from symptoms) regardless of the initial extent of the pleural effusion. There were only 3 cases of pneumothorax, for a prevalence rate of complications in this population of 0.83%. No statistical difference was recorded in the rate of pneumothorax according to the initial amount of pleural fluid in the effusion (p = 0.12). All the pleural effusions classified as transudates showed an anechoic TUS appearance. Only the exudative effusions showed a complex nonseptated or a hyperechoic TUS appearance. However, an anechoic TUS pattern was not unequivocally associated with transudates. Some chronic transudates have been classified as exudates by Light's criteria, showing also a complex nonseptated TUS appearance. The cytological examination of the drained fluid allowed the detection of neoplastic cells in 15.89% cases. On the other hand, the microbiological examination of effusions yielded negative results in all the cases. Conclusions: Real-time TUS-guided thoracentesis is a therapeutically effective and safe procedure, despite the diagnostic yield of the cytological or microbiological examinations on the collected liquid being very low. Future blinded randomized studies are required to definitely clarify the actual benefit of the real-time TUS-guided procedure over percussion-guided and other ultrasound-based procedures.