The aim of this study is to asses the default probabilities of public companies and to explore the extent to which these probabilities explain bond prices in the market. These questions are examined under the framework that was proposed by Merton to price corporate debt, applied on a large number of public companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in the period 2005-2010. The data is cross-checked with a list of companies that underwent debt repayment difficulties during that period, which includes the 2008 financial crisis. The results show that the model is able to identify problematic firms some time in advance, though with significant errors in identification. The results also show that default risk can explain only a small part of the corporate bond spreads, while other market risks along with the introduction of bankruptcy cost assumptions can contribute considerably to the explanatory power of the model.


Several methods are presented for the modeling and analysis of uncertain beams and other structural elements/systems. By representing each uncertain parameter as an interval number, the vibration problem associated with any uncertain system can be expressed in the form of a system of nonlinear interval equations. The resulting equations can be solved using the exact or a truncation-based interval analysis method. An universal grey number-based approach and an interval-discretization method are proposed to obtain more efficient and/or more accurate solutions. Specifically, the problem of the coupled bending-torsional vibration of a beam involving uncertainties is considered. It is found that the range of the solution (response) increases with increasing levels of uncertainty in all the methods. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the computational aspects of the methods presented and also to indicate the high accuracy of the interval-discretization approach in finding the solution of practical uncertain systems. The results given by the different interval analysis methods (including the universal grey number-based analysis) are compared with those given by the Monte Carlo method (probabilistic approach) and the results are found to be in good agreement with those given by the interval analysis-based methods for similar data.


Considering the simple multi-product scheduling problem that there is no-wait constraint between operations, an algorithm is presented which combines the ACPM (allied critical path method) and BFSM (best fit scheduling method) scheduling algorithm. In this algorithm the operations with no-wait constraint and finish-to-start constraint can be converted into a virtual operation. So the scheduling problem with no-wait constraint can be converted into the scheduling problem without no-wait constraint operations but with virtual operations. Then the movement and adjustment algorithm is adopted to sequence the operations which are converted into virtual operation on corresponding machines. So the problem with no-wait constraint between operations can be resolved. Example shows that the method with virtual operations and the movement and adjustment algorithm presented by this paper can be easy to realize, and favorable results can be obtained.


Service user and carer involvement is increasing in health and social care educationas a result of UK policy directives and Professional Statutory and Regulatory Body requirements. The study aimed to elicit the accounts of service user and carer educators' experiences in practice-based healthcare education in the UK. The overall aim was to illustrate the impact this has had on their health and well-being. A narrative inquiry approach was adopted in order to give a clearer and stronger voice to service users and carers by making their experience the primary focus of enquiry. Narratives were collected from five service users and carers who had extensive experience of involvement in healthcare education. The individual narrative material obtained was distilled into key points following a naturalistic perspective, ensuring that the findings and final story were a re-presentation of the narrator's experience. Participating in the research enabled the service users and carers to articulate specifically how involvement had positively affected their health and well-being. An additional outcome included the personal artefacts that can be utilised in teaching and learning in order to bring the service user and carer voice to life. This study contributes to the emerging knowledge and understanding that service user and carer involvement in health education can be a truly collaborative, enriching experience, producing profound personal change, with improvements in health and well-being. Effective involvement is dependent upon appropriate support networks whereby service users and carers develop connections with staff and other service users and carers that result in a sense of belonging.


For the first time, the comparative investigations of structure and sorption efficiency of nano- and microsized magnetic-operated particles in respect to both the antigen and virus hepatitis B and also to the substance-markers (low-, middle- and highmolecular substances) were carried out. The sorption efficiency of magnetic particles: magnetite (Fe3O4), cobalt-ferrite (CoFe2O4), composite ferro-carbon (FeC) to the substances of different molecular weight was evaluated in vitro experiments. The high absorptive capacity to low- and highmolecular substance-markers has been observed for microsized composites of FeC. Absorptive capacity of the nanosized Fe3O4 and CoFe2O4 particles to the substance-markers was low. But the nanosized Fe3O4 and CoFe2O4 particles had a good absorptive capacity to virus of hepatitis B and its antigen (HBsAg). The sorption efficiency results of nano- and microsized magnetic particles correlate with the structure of their surface.


This paper presents the differences and similarities of Δ Σ -PWM as a hysteresis-based PWM scheme with direct torque control (DTC) using simulation models. The variable switching frequency caused by the hysteresis element is examined with regard to its instantaneous values. The comparison is based on an equal maximum switching frequency as a design criterion. With this first assumption, the variation of the instantaneous switching frequency is higher when using DTC because of the temporary prioritization of one inverter leg. Besides the lower variation, Δ Σ -PWM shows a higher average switching frequency. Because the switching frequency is related to the torque ripple, the usage of Δ Σ -PWM results in a smaller torque ripple. Due to the dependence of torque ripple on switching frequency, a second comparison is carried out based on the same average switching frequency. In this comparison the Δ Σ -PWM shows higher torque ripple than DTC.


Large-scale, weakly-supervised speech recognition models, such as Whisper, have demonstrated impressive results on speech recognition across domains and languages. However, their application to long audio transcription via buffered or sliding window approaches is prone to drifting, hallucination&repetition; and prohibits batched transcription due to their sequential nature. Further, timestamps corresponding each utterance are prone to inaccuracies and word-level timestamps are not available out-of-the-box. To overcome these challenges, we present WhisperX, a time-accurate speech recognition system with word-level timestamps utilising voice activity detection and forced phoneme alignment. In doing so, we demonstrate state-of-the-art performance on long-form transcription and word segmentation benchmarks. Additionally, we show that pre-segmenting audio with our proposed VAD Cut&Merge strategy improves transcription quality and enables a twelve-fold transcription speedup via batched inference.


Multiagent Systems (MASs) involve different characteristics, such as autonomy, asynchronous and social features, which make these systems more difficult to understand. Thus, there is a lack of procedures guaranteeing that multiagent systems would behave as desired. Further complicating the situation is the fact that current agent-based approaches may also involve non-deterministic characteristics, such as learning, self-adaptation and self-organization (SASO). Nonetheless, there is a gap in the literature regarding the testing of systems with these features. This paper presents a publish-subscribe-based approach to develop test applications that facilitate the process of failure diagnosis in a self-organizing MAS. These tests are able to detect failures at the global behavior of the system or at the local properties of its parts. To illustrate the use of this approach, we developed a self-organizing MAS system based on the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), which simulates a set of smart street lights, and we performed functional ad-hoc tests. The street lights need to interact with each other in order to achieve the global goals of reducing the energy consumption and maintaining the maximum visual comfort in illuminated areas. To achieve these global behaviors, the street lights develop local behaviors automatically through a self-organizing process based on machine learning algorithms.


"A great resource for students and scholars. Chock-full of up-to-date, reliable information, this book has practically everything you need to know about contemporary Colombia all in one package." --Herbert Braun, author of Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia The South American nation of Colombia has seen more than forty years of unrest, conflict, and civil war. It is a country in which social violence and warfare are intricately intertwined. Colombia is also notorious for its drug trade, being one of the leading producers of cocaine in the world, and for its central role as a staging ground for the U.S. "war on drugs." Since 9/11 the Bush administration has sought to draw political links between the Colombian drug trade, guerrilla organizations, and terrorism. Inside Colombia offers a valuable introduction and quick reference guide to this complex nation. With chapters devoted to history, human rights issues, the economy, drugs, the controversial antidrug intervention known as Plan Colombia, and relations with the United States, the book offers an easily accessible and comprehensive overview. Readers will learn about the major players in the conflicts, significant political figures, how Colombia's economy has fared in the twentieth century, how the country's geography influences its politics and economy, and how U.S. intervention shapes Colombia's political scene. Grace Livingstone is a journalist who regularly contributes to a range of publications on Latin American current affairs and has reported for the BBC World Service. She is currently based in Venezuela where she is a correspondent for The Guardian. Jenny Pearce is the coauthor of Civil Society and Development: A Critical Exploration.


Ninety-seven enterobacterial isolates from patients were identified parallel by Enterotest and MMT E1, a new test system developed in Russia. Enterotest helped identify 97% of enterobacterial strains, MMT E1 86.6%. The results coincided in 83.5% of cases. Enterotest system often failed to demonstrate reaction to phenylalanine, this impeding Proteus identification. Some tests failed in MMT E1 as well. Elimination of these shortcomings will improve the reliability of the test systems and permit their wider use at practical clinical microbiology laboratories.


This paper presents a visual program navigation system using our proposals for MPEG-7, these are adopted as MPEG-7 XM. MPEG-7 supports two levels of description, a low-level and a high-level. The former is designed to capture signal processing based features, and the latter is intended to represent semantic features. We show an implementation example of a personalized digital recorder (PDR) application, which uses both levels. It uses a color layout descriptor for image retrieval. The image retrieval efficiency is quite high in spite of its high-speed retrieval with low cost description. A content personalization interface is also implemented using a set of meta information and provides a variety of content visualization functions.


Sodium or potassium benzylpenicillin in a dose of 200000 units 6 times a day and streptomycin sulfate in a dose of 0.5 g twice a day were used intramuscularly during the postoperative period for prevention of purulent inflammatory complications in 172 out of 187 patients with myopic disease subjected to scleroplastic operations performed according to the methods of Shevelev-Kertin, N. N. Pivovarov and V. I. Savinykh. The antibiotic use decreased the period of the inpatient treatment from 28+/-2 to 14+/-2 days and lowered the levels of tenonitis and edema of the eye mucosa. No purulent dissolution of the orbital tissues was observed in the patients.


In this study we present an integrative modeling framework aimed at assessing the balance between water demand and availability and its spatial and temporal variability over long time periods. The model was developed and tested over the period 1971–2009 in the Herault (2500 km 2 , France) and the Ebro (85 000 km 2 , Spain) catchments. Natural streamflow was simulated using a conceptual hydrological model. The regulation of river flow was accounted for through a widely applicable demand-driven reservoir management model applied to the largest dam in the Herault Basin and to 11 major dams in the Ebro Basin. Urban water demand was estimated from population and monthly unit water demand data. Water demand for irrigation was computed from irrigated area, crop and soil data, and climatic forcing. Water shortage was assessed at a 10-day time step by comparing water demand and availability through indicators calculated at strategic resource and demand nodes. The outcome of this study is twofold. First, we were able to correctly simulate variations in influenced streamflow, reservoir levels and water shortage between 1971 and 2009 in both basins, taking into account climatic and anthropogenic pressures and changes in water management strategies over time. Second, we provided information not available through simple data analysis on the influence of withdrawals and consumptive use on streamflow and on the drivers of imbalance between demand and availability. Observed past variations in discharge were explained by separating anthropogenic and climatic pressures in our simulations: 3% (20%) of the decrease in the Herault (Ebro) discharge were linked to anthropogenic changes. Although key areas of the Herault Basin were shown to be highly sensitive to hydro-climatic variability, the balance between water demand and availability in the Ebro Basin appears to be more critical, owing to high agricultural pressure on water resources. The modeling framework developed and tested in this study will be used to assess water balance under climatic and socioeconomic prospective scenarios and to investigate the effectiveness of adaptation policies aimed at maintaining the balance between water demand and availability.


Recent trends in automation are characterised by geographical distribution and functional integration. On the technical level, the goal is to easily connect devices and software components from different vendors. Functionally, there is a need for interoperability of control functions on different hierarchical levels ranging from field equipment to process control, operations management and various Internet-based service applications. This research report discusses current technological trends and outlines a new, component-based control system platform that supports the reuse of both system and application software. The working hypothesis is that next generation control systems will be a combination of new information technology and the domain-specific concepts found in process automation. The application area is industrial automation, including both process industries (continuous and batch) and discrete manufacturing. In addition, similar applications in other areas, such as environmental monitoring or distributed energy production, have been kept in mind. As this report is an outcome of a research project, the focus lies on concepts and system architectures rather than on hardware issues. To make it more useful however, also selected new implementation technologies have been described. The discussion starts from business and technological trends and their implied requirements for future control systems. Then we introduce the conceptual model of a component-based control platform. Only general ideas of their implementation are given. Based on these concepts, the application needs and middleware architectures related to local-area distribution are analysed. Also a review of a few Ethernet-based communication standards is included. Next, the domain is extended to geographically distributed applications. This emphasises the role of remote monitoring, dataacquisition, and business-level services. In terms of implementation technology, service-oriented architectures and communication over public networks become more important. This report also describes a prototype implementation that was developed to clarify the suggested concepts and to evaluate some technical solutions. The final section sums up the key findings and lists areas that would need further research.


To the Editor.— Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is an inflammatory disease of unknown origin that may be associated with ulcerative colitis and polyarthritis. 1-3 Ocular involvement, however, has not been reported to our knowledge. We observed a patient with PG of the left temporal region and ipsilateral ulcerative scleritis. Report of a Case.— A 64-year-old man had had seronegative asymmetrical arthritis of the distal finger joints, the knees, and the sacroiliacal joints for many years. There was no evidence of rheumatic nodules, bowel disease, or a hematological disorder. In 1971, several inflammatory papules appeared on his left temple. Ulceration of these lesions resulted in a 6 × 10-cm defect with a highly inflamed margin (Fig 1). Simultaneously, severe scleral conjunctivitis of the left eye occurred and was followed by a scleral ulcer, anterior uveitis, and corneal opacity (Fig 2). Histological examination of biopsy specimens from both ocular and cutaneous lesions revealed


Carnap famously argued that metaphysics unavoidably involves a confusion between science and poetry. Unlike the lyric poet, who does not attempt to make an argument, the metaphysician attempts to make an argument while simultaneously lacking in musical talent. Carnap's objection that metaphysics unavoidably involves a blend of philosophy and poetry is not a 20th century insight. Plato, in his beautifully crafted Phaedo, presents us with the imprisoned Socrates, who having been condemned to death for practicing philosophy in the Apology, has a dream in which he realizes that he ought to make music. In this dialogue, however, Plato indicates no hint of the scorn that Carnap has for metaphysics—rather Socrates' friends find him setting Aesop's fables to verse. In the modern era, Nietzsche re-introduced the 'music making Socrates' in his Birth of Tragedy. But Nietzsche is not the first to revive the concept in modern philosophy. Before Nietzsche's call for a new music-making Socrates, the early German Romantics, in particular Schlegel, explicitly called for the identification of poetry and science in the concept of Poesie. As Schlegel writes: 'Alle Kunst soll Wissenschaft werden, und alle Wissenschaft Kunst werden; Poesie und Philosophie sollen vereinigt sein.' On the one hand, in Ion Socrates is not wrong to critique Ion for not knowing the significance of his own work. On the other hand, Socrates himself recognizes in Phaedo that he is guilty of failing to heed the call to make music. Long misunderstood, the Romantic concept of Poesie is not mere irrationalism, for it offers an aesthetic metaphysics of the Absolute. Romanticism is indeed a philosophy of the Absolute, but one which cannot conceive of any solution to the profound impasses that confront philosophical knowing except by learning to make music.


Based on swath bathymetry, two-dimensional, high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, and Ocean Drilling Program/Deep Sea Drilling Project (ODP/DSDP) data, we describe a seafloor honeycomb pattern and propose a model for its formation in Pliocene–Miocene carbonate deposited on the uneven oceanic basement of the Carnegie Ridge (offshore Ecuador). Hydrothermal fluids derived from the basement aquifer fractured and dissolved carbonate sediment, creating seafloor pits above basements highs. Fluids expelled along polygonal faults may have assisted the nucleation of seafloor depressions. At the Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary, strong bottom currents scoured previously damaged sediments, enlarging the initial depressions and producing the seafloor honeycomb pattern. This regional erosive episode was contemporaneous with the final closing of the Isthmus of Panama and the clogging of the Ecuador Trench by the subduction of the Carnegie Ridge, so that the honeycomb pattern may be viewed as a regional marker of these two geodynamic events.


In this classic tale, a young man comes of age at a northern boarding school amidst the backdrop of World War II. Knowles' protagonist looks back at the time he spent at the academy, a transitional period between childhood and adulthood when he struggled to define himself as well as to establish and assert his place in the world. This study guide to "A Separate Peace" is complemented by an introduction from literary scholar Harold Bloom, an annotated bibliography, and interpretive essays about the work.


Clinical governance in protecting the health-care worker (HCW) refers to measures taken by the organization in providing a safe environment for the HCW while maintaining excellence in the quality of care for the patients. In the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic, the key regulatory measures are taken by the infection control authority of the hospital. The Donabedian model suggests that this process is considered as structure, process, and outcome review measures. Structural changes include surveillance, screening measures, creation of outpatient clinics for COVID-suspected patients, and separate isolated bay for collection of the nasopharyngeal swab. Structural processes also include the creation of separate intensive care units (ICUs) and theaters for infected patients, negative pressure gradient in the operating room (OR), and sites where aerosol generation could occur. Creation of operational pathways such as intubation in the ICU and in the OR should be included in this. The process involves training of HCWs at various levels on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Provision of adequate numbers of PPE and cleaning solutions and establishing the diagnostic pathways such as the antigen test, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, or nucleic acid amplification test are part of the processes set up by any organization. Outcome analysis involves rates of HCW infection from COVID care wards and ICU, patients testing positive at screening, and patients who may test positive after they undergo treatment at the facility. Long-term outcome measure may include mortality and length of hospital stay.


Many patients with presumptive Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other dementias may show minimal impairment on the Boston Naming Test (BNT), a visual confrontation naming measure. We sought to determine whether a semantic naming test, the Auditory Naming Test (ANT), would improve accuracy for identifying naming deficits in patients diagnosed with dementia (N = 458) at an outpatient memory disorders clinic. Factor analysis revealed that both tests measured the same broad construct. Frequency of naming impairment with the ANT was significantly greater than with the BNT for patients with AD, regardless of dementia severity or levels of education (p < .01). Effect size was moderate (φ = 0.45). BNT but not ANT performance declined with age in patients with AD. Sex differences were found for the BNT, but not the ANT, in the AD population. Accuracy rate of naming impairment diagnosis with the ANT in patients with AD was good (72%). Specificity (81%) and positive predictive value (PPV) (89%) with the ANT in AD were excellent, whereas sensitivity (69%) and negative predictive value (NPV) (58%) were modest. Receiver operating characteristic with area under the curve (ROC AUC) was excellent (0.958). A similar pattern was seen in patients with vascular dementia (VaD) or mixed AD/VaD. There was no significant effect in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). It is concluded that the ANT substantially improves the ability to diagnose naming impairment in patients with AD, VaD, and mixed AD/VaD dementia, and should be included in a neuropsychological battery administered to elderly patients with suspected dementia.


The authors consider classes of signals that have a finite number of degrees of freedom per unit of time and call this number the rate of innovation. Examples of signals with a finite rate of innovation include streams of Diracs (e.g., the Poisson process), nonuniform splines, and piecewise polynomials. Even though these signals are not bandlimited, we show that they can be sampled uniformly at (or above) the rate of innovation using an appropriate kernel and then be perfectly reconstructed. Thus, we prove sampling theorems for classes of signals and kernels that generalize the classic "bandlimited and sinc kernel" case. In particular, we show how to sample and reconstruct periodic and finite-length streams of Diracs, nonuniform splines, and piecewise polynomials using sinc and Gaussian kernels. For infinite-length signals with finite local rate of innovation, we show local sampling and reconstruction based on spline kernels. The key in all constructions is to identify the innovative part of a signal (e.g., time instants and weights of Diracs) using an annihilating or locator filter: a device well known in spectral analysis and error-correction coding. This leads to standard computational procedures for solving the sampling problem, which we show through experimental results. Applications of these new sampling results can be found in signal processing, communications systems, and biological systems.


The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Urban History synthesizes three generations of urban historical scholarship, providing a thematic and chronological overview of American urban history from the pre-Columbian era until the beginning decades of the twenty-first century. The 92 articles collected here describe and analyze the transformation of the United States from a simple agrarian and small-town society to a complex urban and suburban nation. Each essay has been authored, peer-reviewed, and edited by scholars expert in the field, offering a reliable, historiographically informed examination of a specific subject in American urban history. The encyclopedia differs from previous publications by providing semi-structured, synoptic articles ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 words or more. The articles are divided into three parts: 1. an accessible narrative overview of an important issue in American urban history; 2. a brief historiographical summary of significant writers and publications on the subject; and 3. a short introduction to essential primary sources. This tri-part format allows each article to serve multiple audiences: those who simply want an informed an intelligent introduction to a given topic; those interested in identifying the leading publications on a specific subject; and those interested in performing detailed research on the topic at hand.


This text involves the concept of intersubjectivity in Buber, Husserl, and Waldenfels. For these authors, the other has an important place in the constitution of ourselves. Buber presents an innateness of the You, whereby it fosters in us a longing for relation, bringing the directness of love, which implies acts of responsibility toward the other. Husserl affirms that the transcendental subjectivity is a transcendental intersubjectivity implicit in the intentional constitution of the Ego. Waldenfels precludes an idea of the innateness and of the implication in order to explore the event of what happens between us in its integrity. Therefore, Waldenfels conceives the opening of the personality as a latent process. The event of what happens can divert the course of our determination, bringing new possibilities to the personality itself. Now, the meaning is shared, and not endowed by the transcendental Ego (Husserl) as the only thing responsible for meaning. We share meaning because we originally have the experience of the other, of the world, and of ourselves. In Waldenfels, we respond to the others' and the world's demands, which occur as original events, instead of responding to them as innate demands, coming from us.


The paucity of underrepresented minorities (URMs) earning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees remains an issue in revitalizing the U.S. biomedical workforce. Due to reductions in federal funding, maintaining the integrity of programs that focus on URM retention and recruitment is crucial. We present data on the mechanisms used to recruit URM students to our program (e.g., email, events, referrals, website), which individually were equally effective in attracting applicants to the program. Recruitment mechanisms were grouped and further classified relative to their cost to implement as lower and higher cost. Our results indicate that lower cost mechanisms, statistically, were as effective as higher cost mechanisms in recruiting students who persisted to PhD programs. Using a binary logistic regression model to predict PhD matriculation, higher cost mechanisms were not significant predictors of PhD matriculation. Collectively, these data demonstrate for the first time that lower cost mechanisms can be as successful in recruiting URM students to summer programs who pursue PhDs in STEM fields.


Objectives Sacrospinous ligament fixation (SSLF), uterosacral ligament suspension (USLS), and minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy (MISC) are common routes for vaginal apical suspension. Comparative data analyzing perioperative adverse events among these 3 routes are sparse. Perioperative morbidity was compared among these 3 approaches. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried for patients older than 18 years undergoing these surgical procedures from 2012 to 2018. Baseline characteristics, postoperative complications, and rates and timing of readmission/reoperation with identification of causes for either were extracted. Logistic regression was used to compare the odds of readmission or reoperation, adjusting for concurrent hysterectomy and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score. Results There were 1,881 SSLFs, 975 USLSs, and 4,559 MISCs that were performed from 2012 to 2018. Vaginal approaches were more common in older, non-White women; women with comorbidities; and women with higher ASA scores and performed more often by gynecologists (vs urologists). More concomitant hysterectomies were performed with USLS and MISC than with SSLF (22% and 26% vs 5%). Increased postoperative blood transfusions, urinary tract infections, and overall complications were noted in the vaginal approaches (7% and 7% vs 5%). Minimally invasive sacrocolpopexy had longer operative times. More same-day discharges were observed in USLS and SSLF. Readmission (2%–3%) and reoperation (1%–2%) rates were similar across all routes when adjusted for concomitant hysterectomy and ASA class. The most common indications for readmission were related to bleeding, infection, or bowel issues (MISC). Hemorrhage/hematoma followed by intestinal obstruction was the most common indication for reoperation. Conclusions Overall perioperative safety is comparable in 3 common vaginal apical suspension routes. Readmission and reoperation remain rare after operative colpopexy regardless of route.


The increasing need of energy is one of the main energy security issues in Indonesia. Hence, alternative energy is needed. Levulinic acid (LA) is among chemical platform used in the synthesis for avariety of high-value materials, such as fuels and commodity chemicals. It is predicted that global LA market demand to reach 3.1 tons in 2016. This study examines industrial processdesign and economic analysis for LA production in Indonesia.Sorghum bicolor was used as feed because of its high cellulose, low lignin contents and availability in Indonesia. The conventional economic problem from biomass based production was diminished sincethe valuable waste from pretreatment processwas sold to otherindustry.This plant was recommended to be built in an industrial estate area in Jawa Timur (East Java) province. Results from simulation using SuperPro Designer 9.0 was used for the techno-economic assessment.The plant assessment showed that the minimum production capacity was 7.7 ton per day to achieve an internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period (PBP) values of 19.61% and 3.93 years, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that product selling price was the most predominant factor for IRR, NPV, PBP and ROI. Raw material and water had low effects on those economic parameters. These values indicated that LA plant was feasible to be built in Indonesia.


Objective: To evaluate the effect of combining ultrasound-guided Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy with physical therapy for rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Design: We present a case report of rotator cuff tendinopathy treated with ultrasound-guided Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) injections followed by physical therapy.
Methods: After undergoing conventional treatment modalities, a patient underwent a course of ultrasound guided PRP injection followed by physical therapy (core strengthening) for 10 weeks. The patient outcome was measured using the numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Oxford Scoring System (OSS), and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis (WOMAC) Index. Radiological examination using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was also performed before and after PRP treatment.
Results: Following treatment, the patient reported pain relief within a week. As the patient continued core strengthening exercise for 10 weeks, he showed drastic improvement in function with no pain and discomfort as determined by NPRS, OSS, and WOMAC index respectively. At the same time, there were no significant complications. Even the repeat MRI performed after 18 m showed no supraspinatus tendinopathy tear.
Conclusion: In this case report, PRP injections in combination with physical therapy for the treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy demonstrated improvement in all outcome measures. This highlights the need for conducting more controlled trials to determine the effect of this combinational treatment.


Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC) have been widely used in the power generation industry to protect turbine blades from damage in hostile operating environment. This allows either a high Turbine Entry temperature (TET) to be employed or a low percentage of cooling air to be used, both of which will improve the performance and efficiency of gas turbine engines. However, with continuous increases in turbine entry temperature aimed at improving the performance and efficiency of gas turbines, TBCs have become more susceptible to oxidation. Such oxidation has been largely responsible for the premature failure of most TBCs. Nevertheless, existing creep life prediction models that give adequate considerations to the effects of TBC oxidation on creep life are rare. The implication is that the creep life of gas turbines may be estimated more accurately if TBC oxidation is considered. In this paper, a performance-based integrated creep life model has been introduced with the capability of assessing the impact of TBC oxidation on the creep life and performance of gas turbines. The model comprises of a thermal, stress, oxidation, performance, and life estimation models. High Pressure Turbine (HPT) blades are selected as the life limiting component of the gas turbine. Therefore the integrated model was employed to investigate the effect of several operating conditions on the HPT blades of a model gas turbine engine using a Creep Factor approach. The results show that different operating conditions can significantly affect the oxidation rates of TBCs which in turn affect the creep life of HPT blades. For instance, TBC oxidation can speed up the overall life usage of a gas turbine engine from 4.22% to 6.35% within one year operation. It is the objective of this research that the developed method may assist gas turbine users in selecting the best mission profile that will minimize maintenance and operating costs while giving the best engine availability.Copyright © 2015 by ASME


Defect properties of quaternary GaNAsP/GaP epilayers grown by vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) are studied by photoluminescence and optically detected magnetic resonance techniques. Incorporation of more than 0.6% of nitrogen is found to facilitate formation of several paramagnetic defects which act as competing carrier recombination centers. One of the defects (labeled as Gai-D) is identified as a complex defect that has a Ga interstitial (Gai) atom residing inside a Ga tetrahedron as its core. A comparison of Gai-D with other Gai-related defects known in ternary GaNP and GaNAs alloys suggests that this defect configuration is specific to VPE-grown dilute nitrides.


Wireless sensor networks, like other computing platforms, require software updates from time to time due to software bugs, new functionality, better understanding of the surrounding environment or new applications. Physically connecting to and reprogramming each node is usually not feasible and often impossible. A number of wireless code distribution and reprogramming techniques have been presented. In this paper we present a novel technique to efficiently update any nodes that were lost during programming periods. Our experiments demonstrate a 57% decrease of bytes sent over the air when updating nodes that previously missed updates.


A study on the iron-loss reduction of 110kW-class Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (IPMSM) for Light Railway Transit (LRT) is conducted in this paper. In general, the iron loss of IPMSM is a value that depends on the characteristics of core material and non-oriented electrical steel is used as core material of IPMSM. In order to reduce the iron-loss of IPMSM, both non-oriented electrical steel and grain oriented electrical steel are applied as core material in this study. The iron-loss of 110kW-class IPMSM can be reduced approximately 40% comparing to the existing IPMSM by applying grain oriented electrical steel to the stator teeth.


PURPOSE
Canonical Wnt signaling has emerged as a critical regulator of aqueous outflow facility and intraocular pressure (IOP). In this study, we examine the role of canonical Wnt signaling on extracellular matrix (ECM) expression in the trabecular meshwork (TM) and explore the molecular mechanisms involved.

METHODS
β-catenin localization in human TM tissue was examined using immunofluorescent staining. Primary human TM cells were incubated with lithium chloride (LiCl) and the effect on active β-catenin expression was assessed by immunoblot. Adenovirus expressing a dominant-negative TCF4 mutant that lacks a β-catenin binding domain was used. Changes in the levels of the microRNA-29 (miR-29) family and ECM proteins were determined by real-time quantitative PCR and immunoblot analysis, respectively.

RESULTS
β-catenin was expressed throughout the TM, with localization primarily to the plasma membrane. Incubation of TM cells with lithium chloride increased the expression of active β-catenin. Lithium chloride treatment upregulated miR-29b expression, and suppressed the levels of various ECM proteins under both basal and TGF-β2 stimulatory conditions. Infection of TM cells with a dominant-negative TCF4 mutant induced ECM levels without a significant change in the expression of the miR-29 family.

CONCLUSIONS
Collectively, our data identify the canonical Wnt signaling pathway as an important modulator of ECM expression in the TM and provide a mechanistic framework for its regulation of outflow facility and IOP.


This paper introduced security threaten and familiar vulnerability in Ad Hoc networks, described security requirements for Ad Hoc routing, and for the most important, it improved an authenticated routing protocol. In this protocol, its routing messages were signed by node's private key, thus then successfully defeated many kinds of attacks. However, there are some limitations. This paper provides a matter to improve it with higher transmission ratio and better security.


Experimental results are presented along the lines of the early work of Moore (1948) where a hard smooth roller is pressed into a softer rough surface to study the resulting real to apparent areas of contact and their associated local contact pressures. Results are presented for a hard steel roller deforming mild-steel and aluminum-alloy rough surface specimens. An analysis of the local contact mechanics is performed before and after indentation using a recently developed numerical elastic contact simulation method which allows local asperity contact pressures and areas to be studied in detail. The method is shown to reveal the level and distribution of pressures and asperity contact areas prevalent during the indentation process, and therefore allows the contribution of elastic and plastic load support to be quantified. The persistence of asperities during such indentation tests is discussed in terms of the pressures the asperities can support in relation to reported mechanisms of persistence. Results of subsequent sub-surface stresses are also presented and discussed in terms of how the method might be used to create an elastic-plastic deformation model that can account for asperity persistence in future numerical contact simulation models.


Columbia University's Salivary Gland Center (SGC) has examined more than 6,000 patients with a variety of concerns stemming from salivary gland disease and/or salivary secretory dysfunction. Not unexpectedly, the most common patient complaint centers around symptoms associated with dry mouth. Such patients are usually first seen by the dental practitioner. Because Sjögren's syndrome (SS) causes dry mouth, and because it is a relatively common entity--encountered in about three million Americans--and because the dental profession has become aware of its classic manifestation of xerostomia, patients experiencing SS are referred in increasing numbers to the SGC for evaluation. Therefore, the authors wish to call attention to the methodology used in accurately diagnosing SS and to illustrate its signs and symptoms with a case report.


To assess the quality of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) for variety of preparations made from Glycyrrhizin Acid (GA), an ingredient found in Chinese herb Glycyrrhiza that is widely used in the treatment of hepatitis in clinical practice in China. From electronic searches of PubMed, CNKI, TCMDS, CBMdisc and Chongqing VIP database, we identified 93 reported RCTs between 1991 and 2007 that GA was the subject of the trial. The quality of each trial was assessed using the number of Consolidated Standards for Reporting of Trials (CONSORT) checklist items included, the frequency of allocation concealment and a 5-point quality assessment instrument (Jadad scale). 72.22% (26/36) of the CONSORT checklist items was included in the RCTs. Only 3 (3.22%) of 93 RCTs reported allocation concealment by sealed envelopes. 59 (63.44%) trials described baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of each group, but only 7 (7.52%) reported statistical results of baseline data. Although 77 (82.79%) trials described the number of participants in each group included in each analysis, none of the trials adopted intention-to-treat analysis. Information regarding adverse events was reported in 36 (38.70%) of the RCTs. The quantity of RCTs increased from 1 in 1993 to 15 in 2007, but the average points assessed by CONSORT in each year didn't elevate. At the same time, the overall quality of the trials was low as assessed by the Jadad scale. Although the quantity of RCTs related to GA mainly against hepatitis increased in recent years, the methodological quality of these reports was low. Therefore, the efficacy and safety of GA being used in clinical practice need to be further confirmed by carefully designed clinical research.


A second series of amendments to the Bretton Woods charter has recently been approved by the IMF Board of Directors. This article provides a commentary on the negotiations leading up to this reform and attaches particular importance to those aspects which concern the Third World. The article analyzes the nature of the IMF and the role that it has played within the international community, before examining the reform proposals and the failure to satisfy the limited aspirations of the Third World countries. The principal topics considered include: the link between development finance and international monetary reform, the propositions studied by the Committee of Twenty, and the decisions taken by the Interim Committee at Jamaica in 1976.


Increasing popularity of bird watching and unplanned tourism activities in ecologically important wetland habitats in Sri Lanka can potentially cause detrimental impacts on wetland birds. Yet scientific evidences to assess the extent of these impacts are limited in literature in the tropics. This study investigated the impacts of recreational disturbances on the behavior of six selected water-bird species along highly visited nature trails in an internationally important Bundala Ramsar wetland, Sri Lanka, from July to December 2017. Bird behaviors were observed in five wetland locations where water-birds are known to occupy regularly. Bird behaviors were observed and ethograms were prepared using Ad-libitum sampling. Detailed behavioral information was gathered using focal sampling and scan sampling techniques. For the purpose of this study, only the disturbance caused by moving vehicles were considered, and the intensity of disturbance was defined in terms of the speed of passing vehicles. Accordingly, four intensities of disturbance were considered, i.e. vehicles moving at 10, 20, 30 and 40 km/h speeds. The behavioral changes when subjected to disturbance was statistically compared. Of the studied species, the foraging behavior of Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) and Lesser Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna javanica) was negatively affected by recreational disturbances. Overall, the studied birds showed significant negative correlations between the response and the distance to the source of the disturbance except the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). The highest sensitivity to moving vehicles was shown by the Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus seebohmi) (rs=-0.882, p=0.001), followed by the Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) (rs=-0.834, p=0.001) i.e. birds are more disturbed as the distance to the source of disturbance decreases. Spearman's correlations suggest that the Painted Stork is more sensitive to fast moving vehicles. Eurasian Spoonbill showed no consistent behavioral responses for disturbances indicating possible habituation. The Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans) showed a consistent pattern of flushing or avoidance behavior for passing vehicles close by irrespective of the speed. The study findings call for sound visitor management strategies in highly visited coastal wetlands to minimise the disturbances to water birds. Maintaining a minimum distance to areas of the wetland that are highly utilised by water birds for foraging, resting and breeding, and strictly imposing speed limits for vehicles inside the wetlands may be particularly useful in minimising the disturbances to coastal water birds. Keywords: Coastal birds, Recreation ecology, Motorized disturbances, Flushing, Habituation


This study aims to analyze the influence of the firm size, ROA (Return on Assets), DER (Debt To Equity Ratio), and Total Asset Turnover for income smoothing, either partially or simultaneously. Variabels used in the study as independent variabels are firm size, ROA (Return on Assets), DER (Debt To Equity Ratio), and Total Asset Turnover. While the dependent variabel is income smoothing. The population in this study are all companies manufacturing food and beverage field are listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange year of 2008-2011, as many as 14 companies, with a total sample of 8 companies that passed the stage purposive sampling. Analysis techniques that will be used this research is logistic regression to obtain an overall picture of the relationship between one variabel with another variabel. Processing is done by using logistic regression with SPSS version 19. Independent variabels used in this study are firm size, ROA (Return on Assets), DER (Debt To Equity Ratio), and Total Asset Turnover and income smoothing as the dependent variabel. The data analysis used in this study were descriptive statistics, assessing model fit,-2loglikehood, Cox's and Snell's R square nagekerke's R square, Hosmer and Lemeshow's goodness-of-fit test, and 2 x 2 classification tables. The test results in this study show that the simultaneous testing and retesting or separate company size (X1) significantly influence income smoothing (Y), while ROA (Return on Assets) (X2), DER (Debt To Equity Ratio) (X3) , and Total Asset Turnover (X4) does not have a significant impact on income smoothing (Y) as the dependent variabel.


The susceptibility of trophoblast to cytolysis by human complement was investigated using cells purified to over 90% from first trimester placentae. Two assay systems were employed to measure the killing of trophoblasts, an antibody-dependent complement-mediated cytolysis and the reactive lysis. The antibody obtained from a patient with Addison's disease reacted specifically with syncytiotrophoblasts and induced a dose-dependent killing of the cells not exceeding 50% even in the presence of excess antibody and complement. The percentage of cells killed by the terminal complement complex in the reactive lysis system was somewhat higher, reaching values of 60%. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed the presence of CD46 and CD59 on all syncytiotrophoblasts, whereas CD55 was only detected on approximately 30% of the cells. Inhibition of CD46 and CD59 resulted in increased susceptibility of syncytiotrophoblasts to complement lysis. The protective function of CD55 could not be evaluated because of its reduced expression on isolated trophoblasts. These results suggest that syncytiotrophoblasts may be killed by complement and that membrane regulators to some extent protect these cells from complement damage.


The flipped classroom format involves swapping activities traditionally performed inside and outside the classroom. The expected effects from this swap include increased student engagement and peer-to-peer interaction in the classroom, as well as more flexible access to learning materials. Key criteria for successful outcomes from these effects include improved test scores and enhanced student satisfaction. Unfortunately, while many researchers have reported positive outcomes from the approach, some instructors can still encounter difficulties in reproducing this success. In this paper we report our experiences with flipping a first course on Cyber-Physical Systems at Halmstad University. The course is required for a Masters level program and is available as an elective for undergraduates. The focus of this report is on three separate editions of the course taught over three years. In the first year, lectures were recorded. In the second, the same instructor taught the course using the flipped format. In the third, new instructors taught it using the flipped classroom format. Our experience suggests that flipping a classroom can lead to improved student performance and satisfaction from the first edition. It can also enable new instructors to take over the course and perform at a level comparable to an experienced instructor. On the other hand, it also suggests that the format may require more effort to prepare for, and to teach, than the traditional format, and that a higher level of attention to detail is needed to execute it with positive outcomes. Thus, the format can be demanding for instructors. It is also the case that not all students preferred this format.


Many methods of fire detection in video have been carried out on PC. Generally it needs long cables to transmit images and processes videos on computers. That system is too dependent on computers, and costs a lot using cables to transmission. We would rather use a portable device to detect fire, which will bring us much more convenience. This paper designed a portable system to detect fire using DSP. The system integrates video acquisition, image processing and fire alarm together in a circuit board. Then we develop algorithms to recognize fire, and transplant them into DSP. Finally put it into use after commissioning test. This portable system can work independently. Users can put into their requirements through user-interface, and system will output the fire pictures and alarm by wireless communication or internet. This system is applicable to various places, such as indoor and outdoor, large and open spaces, forest, etc.


BACKGROUND
Psychological distress is potentially linked to the risk of dementia through neurologic and cardiovascular mechanisms. Vital exhaustion (VE) is a mental state of psychological distress, which could be a risk factor for dementia.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate whether VE is a risk factor for dementia in later life.

METHODS
We used data from 6,807 participants attending the third survey of the Copenhagen City Heart Study in 1991-1994. VE was assessed by 17 symptoms (score: 0-17) from the Maastricht Questionnaire. Information on dementia was obtained from national registers. Risk time for dementia was counted from five years after VE assessment for participants > 55 years at the time of VE assessment. For younger participants, risk time for dementia was counted from the year they turned 60 years and onwards. Participants were followed until 2016. We used Poisson regression to calculate incidence rate ratios (IRR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS
During an average follow-up of 10 years, 872 participants were registered with dementia. We found a dose-response relation between the number of VE symptoms and the incidence of dementia. For every additional VE symptom, the dementia incidence increased by 2% (IRR = 1.024; 95% CI: 1.004-1.043). Adjustment for socio-demographic and health-related factors did not change the results substantially. Neither did stratification by age, sex, educational level, and marital status.

CONCLUSION
We found evidence that VE is a risk factor for dementia. Our sensitivity analyses supported that this association was not only due to VE being a potential prodromal sign of dementia.


Ethylene glycol (EG) and its derivatives were proposed as internal coagulants to spin hollow fiber membranes of the commercial polymer poly(ether imide) (PEI) and compared with water. The thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of the polymer–solvent–nonsolvent systems were analyzed. The morphology and ultrafiltration performance of the resultant membranes were investigated. Water leads to a fast precipitation rate while a slow process is obtained for EG derivatives because of their high viscosity, large molecular size, and weak nonsolvent capability. The hollow fibers prepared with EG derivatives as bore fluids have thinner walls, which promote less resistance to the permeant transport. High rejections of bovine serum albumin (66 kg/mol), ovalbumin (45 kg/mol), and α-lactalbumin (14 kg/mol) were detected. The good performance combined with the nontoxicity of the EG derivatives makes them promising coagulants for membrane fabrication.


BACKGROUND
High protein diets are believed to cause kidney stone formation and bone loss, but the mechanisms mediating these changes are unknown. The purpose of this study was to create an animal model of animal protein excess and to evaluate the response of kidney and bone to the dietary protein load.

METHODS
Rats (12 per group) were pair-fed with a high (48%) and low (12%) casein diets that were otherwise identical in their content of sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

RESULTS
Compared with the low casein group, the high casein group delivered a substantial acid load during 59 days of study, since it significantly decreased urinary pH, and increased urinary ammonium, titratable acidity, and net acid excretion. Animals on high casein diet also had higher urinary volumes. On the high casein diet, urinary calcium excretion was significantly higher and urinary citrate excretion and concentration was significantly lower. On the high casein diet, urinary saturation of calcium phosphate was higher. Serum calcitriol concentration did not significantly differ between the two groups. Histomorphometric analysis of femur procured after 59 days on the diet showed marked increase in bone resorption in the high casein group. Hypocitraturia was associated with increased activity of sodium-citrate cotransporter in renal cortical brush-border membranes (BBM) in the high casein group.

CONCLUSION
Both the kidney and bone contribute to the pathogenesis of hypercalciuria during high casein diet in rats. Hypocitraturia is probably renal in origin. This rat model will be useful in elucidating the mechanisms by which high protein intake increases the risk of nephrolithiasis and bone loss in human beings.


The mechanism of the effect that zircon additive had on the properties of 95-alumina ceramic was studied and compared with that of zirconia additive. The results show that zircon additive can decrease the sintering temperature of 95-alumina ceramic, the suitable content of zircon additive is 3% and the suitable sintering temperature is1630°C; under these conditions, the 95-alumina composite ceramic can obtain satisfactory sintering and mechanical properties. Compared with zirconia additive, besides the stress-induced-phase-transformation of ZrO2 and micro-cracks, the toughened mechanism of 95-alumina ceramic with zircon additive also includes zirconia secondary crystallization in the liquid phase.


Protein synthesis was studied in the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena pyriformis GL after actinomycin D was added to the culture medium. When the temperature rose above that optimum for growth, there were significant reductions in protein synthesis. Lipid biosynthesis under the same conditions was slightly stimulated, an indication that the eflect was not due to an underlying reduction in energy sources. The phenomenon appears to be unique to the protein synthesizing system. Correlation with previous data suggests that it is due to nontranslational destruction of template RNA.


RETIREMENT AS IT IS KNOWN TODAY is a relatively recent phenomenon. In 1900 life expectancy at birth was 46 years for males and 48 for females. While most women did not work outside the home once they married, two-thirds of all men over 65 were still in the work force. Many men retired only because of poor health or company rules, and retirement usually consisted of a few years of declining health. Often the elderly relied on their children for housing and financial support. Since 1900 the fraction of elderly men with jobs has declined dramatically, while the life expectancy of the elderly (65 and older) has improved substantially. Now, a man who is approaching the end of his working career can expect to spend about 15 years in retirement, a retirement that is often shared by a spouse who also makes a transition from worker to retiree. Because life expectancy has increased more for women than for men in the 20th century, the retirement years have become especially important for women. These are years that women are likely to face alone; two-thirds of women over 75 are widows. Elderly widows rarely remarry and on average they live 16 years beyond their husbands. Higher divorce rates have added to the number of elderly women living alone, so that today only two-fifths of all elderly women live with their husbands. Resources to support these new retirement patterns rarely come directly from the families of retirees. The elderly receive less than 1 percent of their income from their children, and the fraction of elderly people living with their children has declined sharply. These new patterns are signs of the financial and physical ability of the elderly to live independently; they do not indicate isolation or abandonment. Only about 5 percent of the elderly live in nursing homes and most of the elderly who are not in nursing homes, even most of those over 85, report that they need no help with daily activities. Although independent, the elderly have strong family ties. A national survey found that four-fifths of the elderly have at least one child and that only 11 percent of the elderly with children had not seen one of their children in the past month. The families of the elderly usually include grandchildren as well as children, and four-


Merging nature and death, two favorite themes in Horacio Quiroga's work, this article demonstrates his singularity as an author who rethinks the fatal confrontation between man and nature that has long marked Latin American letters. Quiroga's answer to such a pervasive Latin American subject emerges in the short stories that take place in the jungle of Misiones. I propose to narrow down this comprehensive canon to focus on five short stories that share a similar plotline: "La miel silvestre" (1911), "A la deriva" (1912), "El hombre muerto" (1920), "Los desterrados" (1925) and "Las moscas" (1933). Using Eugenio Trias' concept of "limit," I explore death's liminal dimension in Quiroga's narrative, which poses an alternative to the appeal of sublimity in Latin American literature and positions his work in an interstitial space within this tradition.


Foot is an uncommon site for chondrosarcoma and involvement of phalanges is extremely rare. Here, a case of low-grade chondrosarcoma of the distal phalanx of the right great toe in a 37-year-old male patient is being reported. The patient complained of gradual swelling of the right great toe and pain for last 2 years. X-ray showed a lytic lesion destroying the distal phalanx with soft tissue extension. Amputation of the great toe was done and specimen was sent for histopathological examination. Microscopical examination revealed grade 1 chodrosarcoma infiltrating the surrounding soft tissue and muscle. The patient is on 1-year follow-up which is uneventful.


Since both score meaning and the value implications of scores as a basis for action are central issues in test validation, a unified view of validity is required that comprehends both the scientific and the ethical underpinnings of test interpretation and use. This unified concept of validity integrates considerations of content, criteria, and consequences into a construct framework for testing rational hypotheses about theoretically relevant relationships, including those of an applied as well as of a scientific nature. The essence of unified validity is that the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of score-based inferences are inseparable and that the unifying force behind this integration is the trustworthiness of empirically grounded score interpretation, that is, construct validity.


Coronary artery aneurysms (CAAs) have been reported to associate with an increased risk for thrombosis. Distinct to the brain aneurysm, which can cause a rupture, CAA's threat is more about its potential to induce thrombosis, leading to myocardial infarction. Case reports suggest that thrombosis risk varied with the different CAA diameters and hemodynamics effects (usually wall shear stress (WSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI), and relative residence time (RRT)) may relate to the thrombosis risk. However, currently, due to the rareness of the disease, there is limited knowledge of the hemodynamics effects of CAA. The aim of the study was to estimate the relationship between hemodynamic effects and different diameters of CAAs. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides a noninvasive means of hemodynamic research. Four three-dimensional models were constructed, representing coronary arteries with a normal diameter (1x) and CAAs with diameters two (2x), three (3x), and five times (5x) that of the normal diameter. A lumped parameter model (LPM) which can capture the feature of coronary blood flow supplied the boundary conditions. WSS in the aneurysm decreased 97.7% apparently from 3.51 Pa (1x) to 0.08 Pa (5x). OSI and RRT in the aneurysm were increased apparently by two orders of magnitude from 0.01 (1x) to 0.30 (5x), and from 0.38 Pa−1 (1x) to 51.59 Pa−1 (5x), separately. Changes in the local volume of the CAA resulted in dramatic changes in local hemodynamic parameters. The findings demonstrated that thrombosis risk increased with increasing diameter and was strongly exacerbated at larger diameters of CAA. The 2x model exhibited the lowest thrombosis risk among the models, suggesting the low-damage (medication) treatment may work. High-damage (surgery) treatment may need to be considered when CAA diameter is 3 times or higher. This diameter classification method may be a good example for constructing a more complex hemodynamic-based risk stratification method and could support clinical decision-making in the assessment of CAA.


Video-based person re-identification (re-ID) aims at matching the same person across video clips. Efficiently exploiting multi-scale fine-grained features while building the structural interaction among them is pivotal for its success. In this paper, we propose a hybrid framework, Dense Interaction Learning (DenseIL), that takes the principal advantages of both CNN-based and Attention-based architectures to tackle video-based person re-ID difficulties. DenseIL contains a CNN encoder and a Dense Interaction (DI) decoder. The CNN encoder is responsible for efficiently extracting discriminative spatial features while the DI decoder is designed to densely model spatial-temporal inherent interaction across frames. Different from previous works, we additionally let the DI decoder densely attends to intermediate fine-grained CNN features and that naturally yields multi-grained spatial-temporal representation for each video clip. Moreover, we introduce Spatio-TEmporal Positional Embedding (STEP-Emb) into the DI decoder to investigate the positional relation among the spatial-temporal inputs. Our experiments consistently and significantly outperform all the state-of-the-art methods on multiple standard video-based person re-ID datasets.


We propose a new non-parametric measure of herding, beta herding, by incorporating the interaction between sentiment and herding in standard linear factor models. Contrary to common belief that herding is significant when the market is under stress, we demonstrate that beta herding arises when investors are confident regarding the outlook for the market, whether it is rising or falling, rather than when the market is in crisis. In fact our study suggests that crises appear to lead investors to seek a the fundamenal risk-return relationship rather than herd. Our empirical results for the US equity market show that beta herding activity increases with market-wide sentiment. We also find that high beta stocks are priced following adverse herding when high (low) betas are biased higher (lower), although as in Fama and French (1992) beta does not unconditionally explain cross-sectional asset returns.


Technology and die design are very important in the development of forging products due to its great influence on the quality, cost and manufacturing efficiency of the final products as well as the life of the forging die. In the environment of the severe competition, how to improve the quality of forging technology and die design, to reduce the product cost and ultimately to enhance competitiveness of the forging factory are the problems that forging technology and die designer have to solve. In order to improve the quality of forging technology and die design, a design optimization method based on approximate model (response surface model) and FEM technique for hot forging process is proposed in this paper. During design optimization process, finite element analysis is incorporated to calculate the objective function and check the design alternatives. Design of experiment (DOE) method is used to collect sample points and calculate the polynomial coefficients of response surface model, and approximate model is used to calculate the optimum search direction. Finally, a case study is conducted for a gear workpiece hot forging process. The objective function is the degree of uniformity of equivalent-strain, which can be defined as mean square deviation of the equivalent-strain in each element and the average equivalent-strain of all elements, and the design parameters are the initial H0/D0 ratio of billet and the key dimensions of the die. Then the design optimization mathematical model is established. The result shows that the objective function value is dropped from 0.7914 and converges at 0.4843 within 17 iterations, the optimal design parameters are obtained.


Based on neuronetwork computer technologies expert neuronetwork complex Axon was developed providing individual prognosis of ulcer disease and recommendations. The base of this expert system is information data base consisting of two blocks. The first block consists of detailed information about 634 patients with gastric ulcers (GU), the second block - about 417 patients with duodenal ulcers (DU). Control evaluation of the system demonstrated that the coefficient of sensitivity in patients with GU was 0,706 - 0,724, coefficient of specificity - 0,701-0,790. Coefficient of sensitivity in patients with DU was 0,765-0,817, coefficient of specificity - 1,000-0,877. The best neuronetwork evaluation was carried out in 57 new hospitalized patients. In 7 of 10 operated patients indications for surgery were based on combination of prognostic and clinical data. Only 2 (4,3%) of 47 patients demonstrated disagreement of prognostic and clinical data. In comparison of results of complications prognosis with real clinical results in surgical group 7 (70,0%) of 10 patients demonstrated agreement of these data. In 32 (74,4%) of 43 patients treated conservatively prognosis of complications corresponded to real clinical data.


We provide a tractable model to study monetary policy under discretion. We restrict our analysis to Markov equilibria. We find that for all parametrizations with an equilibrium inflation rate of about 2 percent, there is a second equilibrium with an inflation rate just above 10 percent. Thus, the model can simultaneously account for the low and high inflation episodes in the United States. We carefully characterize the set of Markov equilibria along the parameter space and find our results to be robust, suggesting that expectation traps are more than just a theoretical curiosity.


The uptake of tyrosine and leucine by brain of control and diabetic rats was examined using the Oldendorf intracarotid injection technique. The brain uptake indexes (BUI) for tyrosine and leucine were identical in diabetic and control rats when the injectate consisted of labeled amino acids in Krebs saline. When the injectate consisted of radioactive amino acids added to plasma from either normal or diabetic rats, there was a decreased BUI for tyrosine from diabetic plasma compared with that from normal plasma. This was evident in both control and diabetic rats. Fractional uptake of leucine was unchanged in all situations. Because leucine level is elevated in plasma of diabetic rats there is an absolute increase in leucine uptake in diabetes. Branched-chain amino acids, added to normal plasma in the concentrations at which they occur in diabetic plasma, inhibited the uptake of tyrosine to the same extent as diabetic plasma did. We conclude that the decreased brain uptake and decreased brain level of tyrosine in diabetes is due to the high circulating levels of branched-chain amino acids and cannot be attributed to intrinsic changes in the blood-brain transporter for large neutral amino acids or to changes in other constituents of plasma.


Genetic studies in families with X linked mental retardation have suggested the location of several MR genes in the human q21 region. Since the establishment of cloned resources is an essential step towards the cloning of genes involved in inherited diseases, we built a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) contig and an STS map of this part of the X chromosome. The contig, which extends from PGK1 in Xq13.3 to DXS1002 in Xq21.2, consists of 30 YACs mapped with 21 markers and spans about 6 Mb. The YAC contig was used as a framework to localise several previously known genes and CEPH/Genethon polymorphic markers, as well as to construct a physical map of the region surrounding one of these genes. We recently localised a presumed MR locus to the region flanked by DXS233 (proximal) and CHM (distal). In the present work, the zinc finger gene, ZNF6, has been shown to lie within this region and to be highly expressed in brain, making it a good candidate MR gene. Similarly the VDAC1 gene has been mapped between DXS986 and DXS72 and its candidate gene status for the Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome is discussed.


In an intensely competitive business world, it is of great importance that the firms must perform efficiently for long-term sustainability. The present study made a modest effort to shed some light on the efficiency of the select 47 construction and engineering firms and the different microeconomic and macroeconomic factors affecting such efficiency during the period 1999-2000 to 2018-2019. For the purpose of this study, Stochastic Frontier Analysis was used primarily to determine the firm-level efficiency scores. Subsequently, the determinants of such firm-level efficiency were looked into using Panel Censored Tobit Regression Model. The results of the study showed that leverage, size, age, openness, exchange rate and price factor were the important determinants of the efficiency of the construction and engineering firms during the period of study.


These theory files (Mathematica Notebooks) are a complement to the Thesis of M. Geissbuehler. The derivation is too lengthy to be included in this form in the thesis. For further explenations of the derivation please refer to the thesis of M. Geissbuehler "Novel Concepts for Functional High Resolution Microscopy" Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), 2011. http://library.epfl.ch/theses/ The authors keep full copyright of this derivation.


The dielectric and piezoelectric response of ferroelectric thin films and ceramics was investigated as a function of the driving field amplitude. Detailed analysis of the amplitude and phase angle of the third harmonic of the dielectric displacement and piezoelectrically induced charge shows that the usual phenomenological approach is inadequate to describe experimentally observed field dependence of the dielectric and piezoelectric response. Qualitatively better agreement with experimental data is obtained using Rayleigh relations, suggesting that the observed field dependence of the polarization and piezoelectric charge may be associated with domain-wall displacement in a medium with a random distribution of pinning centers. The results indicate that the mechanism which controls the electromechanical response is very complex, and that it depends on history of samples, preparation conditions, material microstructure and on driving field amplitude.


This research was a 15-year follow-up study of the relationships of age, physical measurements, diet group (non-vegetarian, NV; vegetarian, V), use of estrogen, dietary intakes of energy, calcium, and bone density in 60 healthy postmenopausal NV (n=31) and V (n=29) women, (age range 53-92). The V group was comprised of 29 lacto ovo-vegetarian women, the remaining 31 subjects were NV. All subjects had been participants in an earlier (1976-1979) bone density study conducted in these laboratories. Measurements of height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness (TSF), and bone density of the radius and ulna were made (single photon absorptiometry); 7-day dietary records, and 24-hr urine samples, were obtained on each subject. Mean intakes of energy and nutrients were calculated from the dietary records. The urine samples were analyzed for calcium, creatinine, and hydroxyproline (HOP). Physical parameters for the groups were similar in 1991 except for the NV showing a trend toward greater weight and body mass index (BMI) than the V group. NV had higher intakes of protein, saturated fat, cholesterol and caffeine than V. Conversely, it was the V which demonstrated higher intakes of carbohydrate and fiber than the NV. Of the 8 vitamin intakes studied, NV had the higher intake of vitamin B 12 and V had the higher intake of vitamin B6• Mineral intakes were similar between NV and V except for V having the greater intake of iron. Decrements were seen in height and TSF in both NV and V over the 15-yr period. The increase in BMI for V was significant. Both NV and V exhibited decrements in intakes of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. NV caffeine intake also showed a decrement. A nonsignificant increase in fiber intake was seen in both NV and V. No changes were noted for vitamin intakes, except for decrements in vitamin B12 of both groups. Intakes of sodium and iron showed decrements from 1976 to 1991. Both groups met RDA's except for those of calcium and zinc. 111 Age, energy intake, body weight, dietary calcium, diet group (NV or V), protein intake, and use of estrogen were considered as predictors of bone density of the radius and the ulna; all were significant except energy and protein. Supplemental calcium was not found to contribute to bone density. At age 50 and 80 yr, predicted bone densities of the radius and ulna were greater in the NV than the V group. Use of estrogen by both diet groups increased bone density of the radius and ulna. Urinary calcium was higher in NV than V. HOP excretion did not significantly differ between NV and V. Urinary excretion of HOP and calcium were not found to be correlated current bone density or to bone loss, but creatinine excretion was negatively correlated to loss of bone density in both the NV and V groups. Creatinine excretion was greater in NV than V. It can be concluded that age, body weight, dietary calcium intake, choice of diet group, and use of estrogen are all predictors of bone density in these


Multiple intercostals nerve neuromas are surgically implanted in the lesioned spinal cord by bridging transaction lesions at T6 or T8 by removing one centimeter of spinal cord. In these experiments one to four intercostals nerves with origin proximal to the transection and the distal stumps, the neuroma was implanted distal to the transection. These procedures plus rehabilitation resulted in enhancing of regeneration of axons in the spinal cord lesion and dogs developed standing, stepping and reflex walking locomotion. Surgical resection of the implanted nerve resulted in paraplegia. Multiple nerve implants bridging the transaction of 34 mature female dogs. A pattern of neurological deficits developed when a sequence of resection of the implanted nerves were performed. If four nerves were implanted and one nerve resected usually no deficits were observed. When the second nerve was resected certain deficits were observed. When three nerves were resected some dogs became paraplegic, and some dogs showed increased sign of paraplegia but were not completely paralyzed and showed hind limb movements but no weight bearing. When four nerves were resected full paraplegia was observed.


A comprehensive study on essential oils extracted from different Calamintha nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. glandulosa (Req.) Ball samples from Tarquinia (Italy) is reported. In this study, the 24-h steam distillation procedure for essential oil preparation, in terms of different harvesting and extraction times, was applied. The Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis showed that C. nepeta (L.) Savi subsp. glandulosa (Req.) Ball essential oils from Tarquinia belong to the pulegone-rich chemotype. The analysis of 44 samples revealed that along with pulegone, some other chemicals may participate in exerting the related antifungal activity. The results indicated that for higher activity, the essential oils should be produced with at least a 6-h steam distillation process. Even though it is not so dependent on the period of harvesting, it could be recommended not to harvest the plant in the fruiting stage, since no significant antifungal effect was shown. The maximum essential oil yield was obtained in August, with the highest pulegone percentage. To obtain the oil with a higher content of menthone, September and October should be considered as the optimal periods. Regarding the extraction duration, vegetative stage material gives the oil in the first 3 h, while material from the reproductive phase should be extracted at least at 6 or even 12 h.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate pediatric residents' efforts to assess understanding in discussions about positive newborn screening test results. Newborn screening saves lives, but confusion about false-positive and carrier results often leads to psychosocial problems.

DESIGN
Explicit-criteria abstraction of transcripts of encounters with standardized parents of a fictitious infant found to carry cystic fibrosis or sickle cell hemoglobinopathy.

SETTING
Simulated doctor-patient encounter.

PARTICIPANTS
Pediatric residents participating in an educational workshop on how to inform parents about positive newborn screening test results.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Abstraction used an explicit-criteria data dictionary with definitions for 5 different ways to assess understanding. A "partial" designation was used for leading syntax or no pause for response.

RESULTS
Interabstractor reliability over 59 transcripts (2 per resident) was kappa = 0.93. Only 26 of 59 transcripts (44.1%) met definite criteria for at least 1 assessment of understanding. Most assessments were the less effective close-ended (37.3% of transcripts) and "OK?" question types (32.2% of transcripts). Only 3 transcripts met definite criteria for an open-ended assessment and no transcripts included a request for a teach-back, the type thought to be most effective. Four transcripts (6.8%) included an advance request for questions. With partial-criteria assessments included, an additional 31 transcripts (52%) were identified.

CONCLUSIONS
The small number of assessments of understanding and the high fraction of less effective assessments do not bode well for parental understanding, especially for parents with limited health literacy. Training programs should address assessments of understanding, but quality improvement activities using these types of assessment methods may also be needed.


Feature Issue on Next-Generation WDM Network Design and Routing (WDMN). The increasing demand for bandwidth that has resulted from the emergence of various bandwidth-thirsty applications has increased the need for employing WDM as a dominant technology for the next-generation optical internet. As these networks carry gigantic amounts of information, survivability has become a primary and basic need for them. Although the available proactive protection schemes provide a 100% restoration guarantee, they require huge redundancy and usually result in a very high blocking probability. We propose a novel active restoration scheme that restores a failed primary lightpath based on multiple predefined but nonreserved backup paths along the primary path. Extensive simulation results based on three typical test networks indicate that with a small increase in restoration time, our new restoration scheme can reduce the blocking probability and the capacity requirement significantly while guaranteeing a very high restoration probability.


Patient-centric digital infrastructure can potentially enhance the efficiency of the healthcare systems. Even in developed nations evidence suggests low adoption rates for such infrastructure. The Indian government, piggybacking off biometric identity, is setting up digital infrastructure to enable the provision of universal healthcare. Invoking an information ecology perspective, we investigate the physician's perception to this initiative. We find that, equipped with a unique patient identifier and stakeholders' registry, this initiative is perceived to be a game changer and could significantly impact the power dynamics in the healthcare sector. Physicians, who are the key stakeholders in this initiative, are skeptical about the change in the locus of the power, with power residing in 'data' rather than 'professional expertise'. The changes are expected to manifest through monitoring, controlling and managing the data rather than the provision of knowledge-based services. We present recommendations for the design and implementation of this large-scale patient-centric digital infrastructure.


The perfectly matched layer (PML) concept introduced by Berenger (1994) is implemented for nodal-based finite-element frequency-domain methods. Starting from a scalar/vector potential framework, anisotropic media-equivalent gauge conditions are developed for both coupled and uncoupled (i.e., direct field) scalar/vector field formulations. The resulting discrete system of equations are shown to be identical for both the anisotropic and stretched coordinate viewpoints of PML mesh termination on node-based finite elements. Reaching this equivalency requires that special attention be paid to the basis/weighting functions used within the PML region, specifically, a material dependency is found to be essential. The alternative but identical stretched coordinate approach provides the perspective needed to realize a scheme for generalizing the PML to non-Cartesian mesh terminations which are more natural in the finite element context. Several benchmark problems and associated numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the PML on node-based finite elements.


Abstract: Day and nighttime melatonin production in the pineal gland was compared in normal and cardiomyopathic (polydystrophic) adult male Syrian hamsters. These strains of hamsters were selected for comparison because the cardiomyopathetic hamster displays a deficient transmembrane Ca2+‐pump in a number of tissues, and intracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) play a central role in the nocturnal increase in pineal melatonin synthesis. Daytime levels of all constituents measured, i.e., pineal N‐acetyltransferase (NAT) activity, pineal and serum melatonin levels, and pineal 5‐hydroxytryptophan (5‐HTP), serotonin, and 5‐hydroxyindole acetic acid (5‐HIAA) contents, were comparable in control and dystrophic hamsters. In contrast, the nighttime rises in pineal NAT activity and pineal and serum melatonin levels were significantly attenuated in the dystrophic hamsters. By comparison, the pineal contents of 5‐HTP, serotonin, and 5‐HIAA were essentially the same in both groups of hamsters with both pineal serotonin and 5‐HIAA values exhibiting the usual nighttime drop. It is presumed that the alterations in nocturnal melatonin production in the pineal gland of the cardiomyopathic hamster may relate to a generalized deficiency in the Ca2+‐pump in pinealocyte plasma membranes, which leads to unusually high [Ca2+]i, causing a depression of NAT activity; this leads to the commensurate decline in pineal and serum melatonin levels. Harderian gland NAT activity and melatonin levels were essentially similar in the two groups of animals, although NAT activity was slightly depressed in the dystrophic hamsters killed during the day. The reduced amounts of intrascapular brown fat in the cardiomyopathic hamster is speculated to be a result of the diminished amount of melatonin produced in these animals.


This paper reports on a research project into workplace influences on the gambling behaviour of gaming venue employees. Using a qualitative design, researchers visited venues in five regions of Queensland to interview 92 employees from hotels, licensed clubs and casinos. Of all types of workplace influences discussed, shift work was perceived by most employees as the main factor encouraging gambling by venue staff. A thematic analysis revealed key reasons for this as: lack of alternative social and recreational opportunities, only gambling venues are open after some shifts, staff tend to socialise with other hospitality workers who often gamble, they can suffer from social isolation and pursue solitary leisure activities, they gamble to fill in time between shifts and while waiting for colleagues to finish work, and because shift work makes it easier to hide heavy gambling. However, some interviewees felt shift work discouraged them from gambling, because most gambling venues are closed if they finish work early in the morning and because shift work means they go to out less overall. Other employees considered that shift work had no influence on staff gambling, because they find other activities in their time off/or they just want to go home after a shift. Identifying these risk and protective factors is important in developing appropriate interventions to discourage risky gambling behaviour. Providing more regular shifts, encouraging hospitality career development, and promoting family and alternative social and recreational activities for staff are measures venues could implement to help counter these effects.


It is well known that between all processes with independent increments, essentially only the Brownian motion and the Poisson process possess the chaotic decomposition property (CRP). Thus, a natural question appears: What is an appropriate analog of the CRP in the case of a general Lévy process. At least three approaches are possible here. The first one is due to Itô. It uses the CRP of the Brownian motion and the Poisson process, as well as the representation of a Lévy process through those processes. The second approach is due to Nualart and Schoutens and consists in representing any square-integrable random variable as a sum of multiple stochastic integrals constructed with respect to a family of orthogonalized centered power jumps processes. Finally, the third approach uses the idea of orthogonalization of polynomials with respect to a probability measure defined on the dual of a nuclear space. The main aims of the present paper are to develop the three approaches in the case of a general (R-valued) Lévy process on a Riemannian manifold and (what is more important) to understand a relationship between these approaches. We apply the obtained results to the processes of Meixner's type—the gamma, Pascal, and Meixner processes. In this case, the analysis related to the orthogonalized polynomials becomes essentially simpler and reacher than in the general case. 2000 AMS Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary: 60G51, 60G57. Secondary: 60H40.


Research on the American presidency reveals that all presidential advisory systems follow a similar pattern of change over time from standard, formal interagency structures to informal structures in which decisions are made outside the traditional interagency processes. We employ a longitudinal comparative case design to analyze the dynamics of the Trump administration's foreign policy-making to explain how Trump's management of foreign policy decision-making evolved over his tenure in office. By using a focused-structured comparison to analyze five foreign policy case studies, we argue that Trump confirms the main tenets of the evolution model of presidential policy-making which claims that, over time, presidents increasingly rely on informal and ad hoc decision-making structures and processes. However, rather than adopt structures and processes that assured a broad deliberation of options, Trump increasingly sought information and policy options that confirmed his pre-existing beliefs or preferences, replacing individuals in his administration who challenged his views and consolidating the decades-long trend of the personalization of foreign policy decision-making in the hands of the president.


We propose a membership protocol for group communications in mobile Internet. The protocol is called RGB, which is the acronym of "a ring-based hierarchy of access proxies, access gateways, and border routers". RGB runs in a parallel and distributed way in the sense that each network entity in the ring-based hierarchy maintains local information about its possible leader, previous, next, parent and child neighbors, and that each network entity independently collects/generates membership change information, which is propagated by the one-round membership algorithm concurrently running in all the logical rings. We prove that the proposed protocol is scalable in the sense that the scalability of a ring-based hierarchy is as good as that of a tree-based hierarchy. We also prove that the proposed protocol is reliable, in the sense that, with high probability of 99.500%, a ring-based hierarchy with up to 1000 access proxies attached by a large number of mobile hosts will not partition when node faulty probability is bounded by 0.1%; if at most 3 partitions are allowed, then the function-well probability of the hierarchy is 99.999% accordingly.


Sir, the relationship between thyroid hormone level and trace element has been proposed for years. Of several trace elements, manganese is an interesting one. It is reported that manganese (Mn) level is high in the patients with multinodular goiter (1). It is also proposed that "manganese may directly or indirectly affect thyroid function (2)." It is found that "the erythrocyte manganese content correlated well with thyroxine and triiodothyronine levels (3)." In experimental study, the direct relationship between thyroxine (T4) and Mn levels in blood can be seen (4). Low blood Mn is presented as an important finding in hypothyroidism (3). However, not all cases with hypothyroidism have to have hypomanganesemia. Here, the authors experienced a middle age Thai female case with persistent hypothyroidism (free T4 14 mcg/L) (other laboratory results including sex hormone and adrenal hormone are within normal limit, under standard laboratory investigation). The case was firstly determined by routine laboratory screening program of the hospital. No clinical signs of hypothyroidism or hypermanganesemia can be demonstrated in this case. On following up for 3 months, this abnormal co-presentation can still be seen. The exact cause of this spurious relationship is still unknown. In fact, there are many possible causes of the determined relationship. First, it might be due to the exact concurrent laboratory abnormalities without any actual clinical correlation. Second, there might be some unidentified clinical linkage.


Macrophages become activated by their environment and develop polarized functions: classically activated (M1) macrophages eliminate pathogens but can cause tissue injury, whereas alternatively activated (M2) macrophages promote healing and repair. Mechanisms directing polarized activation, especially in vivo, are not understood completely, and here, we examined the role of SOCS proteins. M2 macrophages activated in vitro or elicited by implanting mice i.p. with the parasitic nematode Brugia malayi display a selective and IL‐4‐dependent up‐regulation of SOCS1 but not SOCS3. Using siRNA‐targeted knockdown in BMDM, we reveal that the enhanced SOCS1 is crucial for IL‐4‐induced M2 characteristics, including a high arginase I:iNOS activity ratio, suppression of T cell proliferation, attenuated responses to IFN‐γ/LPS, and curtailed SOCS3 expression. Importantly, SOCS1 was essential in sustaining the enhanced PI3K activity that drives M2 activation, defining a new regulatory mechanism by which SOCS1 controls M2 polarization. By contrast, for M1 macrophages, SOCS1 was not only an important regulator of proinflammatory mediators (IL‐6, IL‐12, MHC class II, NO), but critically, for M1, we show that SOCS1 also restricted IL‐10 secretion and arginase I activity, which otherwise would limit the efficiency of M1 macrophage proinflammatory responses. Together, our results uncover SOCS1, not only as a feedback inhibitor of inflammation but also as a critical molecular switch that tunes key signaling pathways to effectively program different sides of the macrophage balance.


This study was undertaken to determine whether intravenous lignocaine could mitigate or prevent the ocular reactions and especially the acute increase in intraocular pressure associated with laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation. Two groups of children undergoing minor eye surgery under nitrous oxide-oxygen-halothane anaesthesia were examined. The experimental group (n = 17) received 2 mg/kg lignocaine and the controls (n = 18) an equivalent volume of saline. The incidence of local laryngeal and ocular reflexes was much lower in the lignocaine group. Pulse acceleration was significantly lower in the lignocaine group (p less than 0.025), and the maximal mean intraocular pressure was significantly less than in the control group (p less than 0.005). Other ocular reactions were recorded, and all were attenuated after lignocaine administration. The beneficial effects of lignocaine, a suppressant of autonomic reflexes, suggest that intraocular pressure, like the heart rate, rises after intubation as a result of autonomic stimulation. The use of intravenous lignocaine is thus recommended for children at risk, such as those needing an urgent operation because of lacerated eye injury under rapid sequence induction of anaesthesia.