Purpose: The prostate displacement under the mechanical pressure of abdominal ultrasound probe may compromise the accuracy of ultrasound‐guided prostate IMRT treatment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of ultrasound probe depression on the prostate displacement by finite element method(FEM).Method and Materials: An ultrasound system (Restitu™, Resonant Medical System, Montreal, Canada) integrated with a CT‐Sim was used to acquire a full set of 3‐D ultrasound (US)‐CT images for a typical prostate cancer patient. The patient's structures, such as body, bone, bladder, and prostate, were contoured on the CTimages. These structures were utilized to generate a 3D finite element model. The mechanical properties of the patient's tissues and ultrasound probe, including elastic module (E) and Poisson's ratio (v), were set as: body (E=55kPa, v=0.45), bone (E=10GPa, v=0.45), bladder (E=10kPa, v=0.45), prostate (E=100kPa, v=0.45), and probe (E=3GPa, v=0.35), respectively. The corresponding displacement of prostate centroid during ultrasound localization was calculated by a FEM software (Ansys). Results: When the depression of ultrasound probe increased from 10mm to 50mm with an increment of 10mm on the patient's abdomen at an angle of 45 degree to horizontal plane, the displacement of prostate centroid was increased from 0.5mm to 4.9mm in the inferior direction and 0.4mm to 3.6mm in the posterior direction. There was no significant left‐right displacement of the prostate. The 3D vector displacement of prostate centroid is increased from 0.6mm to 6.1mm based on FEM calculation. Conclusion: The displacement of prostate was non‐negligible when the depression of ultrasound probe was more than 20mm on the patient's abdomen. This displacement should be considered in the 3‐D US—CT image‐registration and US‐guided radiation therapy.


The mechanism of long-chain fatty acid activation catalysed by highly purified microsomal palmitoyl-CoA synthetase was investigated. The kinetics of the overall reaction were found to conform to the Bi Uni Uni Bi Ping Pong mechanism. (18)O was transferred from [(18)O]palmitate to AMP and palmitoyl-CoA exclusively. The enzyme intermediate formed appeared to consist of enzyme-bound palmitate; this formation occurred only in the presence of ATP. However, the involvement of palmitoyl-AMP in the reaction catalysed by the purified enzyme has proved difficult to establish.


Goal: This research was aimed; to know implementation of cooperative learning strategy in
improving the cognitive skill of students at the islamic senior high schools in Purwokerto city.
Aplication of cooperative learning method will be created the situation of learning that challange
the students to be active, thorough group discussion in breaking a solution. Cooperative learning
method is a learning strategy which stressing an activity of students of learning in the small group
togetherly. The other hand, to reach a goal by using various of learning activity is to increase a
student competence in understading a subject matter and to solve problems collectively. By
coopertaive learning motivated the students to manage a mind in porducing the new ide and
developing skill of creative thinking. The main role of teacher is to develop an attitude and
competence of student that able to help in facing the problems creatively and inovatively.
Method:In this research used qualitative method, techniques of data collecting thorough
observation, interviewing, and document study. And technique of data analysis used an interactive
analysis of Miles and Huberman. Analysis themselves were thorough such as data collection, data
reduction, data display and conclusion;verifying/drawing.
Research Findings: Result of research have showed that were cooperative learning was able to
increas competence of a thinking skill of students because of cooperative learning could motivate
the cognitive thinking skill, developing a solidarity and helping to solve a problem


The aim of this paper is to analyze the Mexican implementation strategy of trade policy openness due to the globalization trend, urging the country to create a series of trade agreements and treaties on free movement of goods and regional integration, becoming the country with the network of the world's largest trade agreements, increasing its presence and Mexican companies in international markets. Similarly, a spatial analysis of the last five governmental periods, comprising 26 years of foreign trade policy and its impact on foreign investors, foreign trade and main multinationals in Mexico, forcing them to centering in competitive productive processes and  improving their internal organization, innovation and development. Keywords: Globalization, internationalization, trade policy, multilateralism, regionalism. JEL: F62, F21, F13, F23, F15


A large number of cosmetic formulations have been developed based on herbs. Indian women have been using herbs such as sandalwood, aloe for skincare protection, since ages. In India, the rich cultural heritage is behind the materials used in cosmetics from the earliest period of medical and cosmetic art.Continuous application of synthetic compounds on the skin causes many adverse effects such as skin irritation, allergy, discoloration, rashes along with skin cancer. The aim of this review article is to explore herbs for different skincare needs.A literature search was done on various herbs used for skin nourishment, cleansing, sun-screens, bleach, anti-ageing, moisturization and other skin requirements.There are various herbs present in nature. They improve and clarify skin gently in an utmost manner.These herbs are full of phytoconstituents, having natural goodness to fulfill the different demands of skin.


Among the factors that block e-business' development, quality of e-business is a critical problem to be resolved. Scientific quality modeling of e-business is important to improvement of e-business. Compared with traditional business, the shift of business interaction manner is the essential character of e-business. Constructing interaction model of e-business transaction process and then making quality analysis is a good way to improve the quality of e-business. In this paper we develop a framework to deriving customer perceived quality model of e-business, which is based on the dynamic interaction process of e-business transaction.


Abstract The global diffusion of Internet involves economic, political and demographic factors that can predict in real time. In this article, we demonstrate that according to data provided by EUROSTAT, the number of people looking for a job in Romania it is correlated with specific query terms using Google Trends. Search engine data is used to "predict the present" values of different economic indicators. The obtained results are compared with the classical method of developing the economic indicators, with official EUROSTAT employment data. In this paper, we demonstrate that the new methods to extract the economic indicators from web technologies are accurate.


Since the 1990s, many education researchers and policy makers worldwide have reviewed education research to attempt to provide strategies to improve the quality of such research in their countries. Taiwan's government has launched policies and funded support to set the benchmark for Taiwan's leading universities in international academic competition. The external environment of global competition based on research policy influences the ecosystem of social science research production. To assure the quality of education policy, peer review from within the education community is one approach to supplementing the government's governance, including the establishment of research institutes, promotion, rewards, and research value. This study tracked the mode of academic research and provides an overview of the status of academic education research in Taiwan. Because education research is part of the humanities and social sciences fields, this study identified the challenges in educational research by examining the trend of social science research and by analyzing research organizations, policy, and the evaluation of research performance. Due to the environment of education research in Taiwan is not friendly to education researcher to accumulate papers in SSCI or international journal, additional concerns entail how education research communities can develop and agree on its quality.


In this work, a simulation tool is developed to analyse the growth of rail corrugation consisting of several models connected in a feedback loop in order to account for both the short-term dynamic vehicle–track interaction and the long-term damage. The time-domain vehicle–track interaction model comprises a flexible rotating wheel set model, a cyclic track model based on a substructuring technique and a non-Hertzian and non-steady-state three-dimensional wheel–rail contact model, based on the variational theory by Kalker. Wear calculation is performed with Archard's wear model by using the contact parameters obtained with the non-Hertzian and non-steady-state three-dimensional contact model. The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of the excitation of two coinciding resonances of the flexible rotating wheel set on the rail corrugation growth in the frequency range from 20 to 1500 Hz, when contact conditions similar to those that can arise while a wheel set is negotiating a gentle curve are simulated. Numerical results show that rail corrugation grows only on the low rail for two cases in which two different modes of the rotating wheel set coincide in frequency. In the first case, identified by using the Campbell diagram, the excitation of both the backward wheel mode and the forward third bending mode of the wheel set model (B-F modes) promotes the growth of rail corrugation with a wavelength of 110 mm for a vehicle velocity of 142 km/h. In the second case, the excitation of both the backward wheel mode and the backward third bending mode (B-B modes) gives rise to rail corrugation growth at a wavelength of 156 mm when the vehicle velocity is 198 km/h.


OBJECTIVE
To measure the prevalence in frail elderly people, their consequences and associated demographic factors.

METHODS
This was an epidemiological and cross-sectional study with a probabilistic sample composed of 240 elderly people (≥ 60 years) living in Ribeirão Preto, Sao Paulo state. Data were collected between November 2010 and February 2011, through a questionnaire that included socio-demographic data, fall assessment and the Edmonton Frailty Scale. Uni-variate and bivariate analyses were carried out.

RESULTS
The mean age was 73.5 (± 8.4), with higher ages among women; 25% of the interviewees were aged 80 or older; 11.3% presented moderate frailty and 9.6% severe frailty. The prevalence of falls in frail elderly participants corresponded to 38.6%; higher levels were found among women and younger subjects (60 to 79 years old); 26.8% were victims of 1 to 2 falls, 27.1% of which occurred in the bedroom, 84.7% fell from their own height, 55.9% lost their balance, 54.2% suffered scratches and 78% were afraid of suffering a new fall. Higher fall prevalence levels were found in frail elderly 1,973 (1,094-3,556) compared to non-frail.

CONCLUSIONS
We highlight the importance of addressing the health of frail elderly people, especially regarding the risk of falls, as well as of increasing investment in prevention strategies of these syndromes and in the formation of train like a virgin ed human resources to better care for this population.


Abstract : This paper builds on a technical report written by Carl Hewitt and Henry Baker called 'Actors and Continuous Functionals'. What is called a 'goal-oriented activity' in that paper will be referred to in this paper as a 'transaction'. The word 'transaction' brings to mind an object closer in function to what we wish to present than does the word 'activity'. This memo, therefore, presents the definitions of a reply and a transaction as given in Hewitt and Baker's paper and points out some discrepancies in their definitions. That is, that the properties of transactions and replies as they were defined did not correspond with our intuitions, and thus the definitions should be changed. The issues of what should constitute a transaction are discussed, and a new definition is presented which eliminates the discrepancies caused by the original definitions. Some properties of the newly defined transactions are discussed, and it is shown that the results of Hewitt and Baker's paper still hold given the new definitions.


A novel analysis of the hub and shroud wall boundary layer growth through the diffusing system of a centrifugal compressor is proposed to model the physical processes. It is shown that the diffuser throat blockage and total pressure loss characteristics can be accurately predicted for a 6:1 PR stage. The static pressure effectiveness and stalling limit are successfully predicted qualitatively, but are underestimated and overestimated by 14 and 12 percent respectively. It is argued that diffuser performance is largely controlled by the combined effect of the boundary layer conditions on the hub and shroud walls at impeller exit and the diffusion required to the diffuser throat. For this reason, it is contended that, for best performance at high pressure ratio (≃ 12:1), impeller exit Mach number must be minimized by employing zero to negative prewhirl at impeller entry which in turn maximizes impeller entry shroud relative Mach number. Performance maps are presented for a single-stage centrifugal compressor based on this premise with specific speed = 90. At 15, 12 and 101 PR, 72, 75 and 76.8 percent efficiency, respectively, were attached at 2.6 lb/sec.Copyright © 1972 by ASME


Pulmonary hypertension is a group of diseases, including pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease (APAH-CHD), characterized by progressive deterioration in pulmonary hemodynamics associated with substantial morbidity and mortality risk. THALES is a national multicenter, prospective observational registry, providing data on patients with APAH-CHD. The study comprised APAH-CHD patients (>3 months of age) with confirmed diagnosis of right heart catheterization or echocardiographic findings. Initial and follow-up data were collected via regular hospital visits. Descriptive statistics are used for definitive purposes. Overall, 1034 patients aged 3 months–79 years (median 11.2 [Q1–Q3: 2.2–24.3] years) with APAH-CHD were enrolled at 61 centers, 50.3% being retrospectively enrolled. Most had either Eisenmenger's syndrome (49.2%) or systemic-to-pulmonary shunts (42.7%). Patients were mostly in functional class I–II at the time of diagnosis (46.6%). Mean 6-min walk distance (6MWD) was 369 ± 120 m. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure was 54.7 ± 22.2 mmHg for the whole group, and was highest in patients with Eisenmenger's syndrome. Targeted therapies were noted in 398 (38.5%) patients (monotherapy in 80.4%). Follow-up data were available in 506 patients. Survival at 140 months was 79% and was associated with baseline 6MWD >440 m (p = 0.009), brain natriuretic peptide level < 300 ng/L (p < 0.001). Follow-up 6MWD >165 m (p < 0.0001), brain natriuretic peptide level <300 ng/L (p = 0.031), and targeted therapies (p = 0.004) were also predictive of survival. THALES is the largest registry dedicated to APAH-CHD to date and provides important contributions on demographics, clinical characteristics, and gaps in disease management.


A new type of pneumatic rubber actuators is proposed in this paper. The proposed actuator has a hexahedron structure which is suitable for making a rotational joint of a robot. We reveal the static characteristics of the actuator. It is experimentally demonstrated that a position feedback control law realize fast motions without oscillation. Moreover, we propose an adaptive gain method for the actuator to improve control performance. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed through an experiment.


Canine leptospirosis is a zoonosis of epidemiological importance. Dogs are recognized as primary reservoirs of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Canicola and a source of infection to the environment through urine. This study aimed to determine the presence of antibodies against Leptospira in canines from 49 municipalities in the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. We performed a cross-sectional study of dogs included in a neutering control program. We collected 1335 sera samples, assayed by a microagglutination test (MAT), and performed PCR detection in 21 urine samples. We also surveyed 903 dog owners. We found a seroreactivity of 11.2% (150/1335) in Antioquia with titers ≥1:50. Municipalities with the highest number of cases were Belmira (46.1%), Turbo (34.5%), and Concepción (31.0%). L. santarosai was identified by phylogenetic analysis in one urine sample from the municipality of Granada. The most important factor associated with a positive result was the lack of vaccination against leptospirosis (PR 3.3, p ≤ 0.014). Environmental factors such as water presence and bare soil around the household were also associated with Leptospira seroreactivity in the Department of Antioquia. We reviewed a national epidemiological surveillance database for human cases in those municipalities. We found a correlation between the high number of cases in canines and humans, especially in the Uraba. Serological and molecular results showed the circulation of Leptospira. Future public health efforts in the municipalities with the highest numbers of seroreactivity should be directed towards vaccination to prevent animal disease and decrease the probability of transmission of Leptospira. Dogs actively participate in the Leptospira cycle in Antioquia and encourage the implementation of vaccination protocols and coverage.


A Comparative Study of the Asynchronous E-learning Systems in the Romanian and German Academic System - didactic and methodological aspects

Beginning from a comparative study of the asynchronous E-learning platforms used in the Paderborn, Fachhohschule der Wirtschaft Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany and the Romanian-American University in Bucharest, Romania, we would like to develop a limited empirical research, followed by a questionnaire, targeted at the Bachelor and Master students enrolled at our two universities, which could provide the background of the comparability mode of our E-learning systems. The purpose of the study is to understand the behavior of the Romanian and German Business School students using the E-learning platforms, how the E-learning systems affect their learning behavior in general, as well as draw comparisons on the didactical and methodological aspects applied in our universities. Considering the importance of the educational processes which can be enhanced with the help of e-learning systems of education, we would like to develop a comparative cultural study of the most relevant information used by our two universities on their e-learning platforms. The deeper purpose of the study is to explore the relationships between the national cultures, given the visible differences between the Germanic and Latin people, and the usability of the e-learning system in our countries. We will make appeal to Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions, and J. Nielsen's usability attributes, in order to draw a conclusion on the importance of individual cultural backgrounds, which play an important role in shaping the usability of online learning systems.


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Encountering Pygmy peoples, the forest dwellers, has been identified as a challenge to mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this country, mission encounters efforts target more cities and villages than forest areas where indigenous Pygmies live. Such a selective and exclusive way of mission is probably the result of the non-Pygmies' attitude of superiority, prejudice and stigmatization towards indigenous Pygmy communities. To remedy the challenge identified in order to implement the mission in a holistic and comprehensive perspective, this article suggests the missionary encounter as a way forward to address Pygmy peoples and, by extension, all other groups living alike. Therefore, missionary encounter should be implemented through a humble conversion of non-Pygmy peoples. Conversion is thus a necessary starting point for missionary encounter as it involves a two-fold liberation that consists of breaking both the prejudices of non-Pygmies towards Pygmy peoples, and the suspicions of Pygmy peoples towards non-Pygmies.


The debate about the nation being still a valuable framework for histories of art and design depends on which area and period are taken into account. A national perspective would seem relevant when discussing Latin American countries in the nineteenth century. Although Latin America tends to be seen as a unit, and there are merits for this approach, there are also significant differences between the North, the South and the Caribbean, and between countries, in terms of geography, climate, language and history. In spite of global forces, a national approach would appear unavoidable if we wanted to examine the impact that these differences had on the material culture and the arts, at the time of the emergence of republican nations with their new political boundaries and their struggle to implement free commerce and Liberalism. A national approach would consider and question the political, social, cultural, and linguistic homogeneity of the region.

One of the difficulties researchers face in Latin America is the absence of the design historical discipline within its universities and academia. There are though a handful of pioneering scholars and publications which have contributed to the study of industrial and graphic design in the contemporary period. This paper will make reference to these studies and will also address the methodological issues and challenges I have encountered in carrying out research on the design and decorative arts in Colombia and Latin America for the period 1830 to 1910. It will examine the complexity of design historical research in a postcolonial society, and will ponder whether it is useful or appropriate to discuss the design history of a whole continent taking into account the virtual absence of national or Latin-American design historical discourses.


Recent advances in the design and construction of synthetic multicelled systems in E. coli and S. cerevisiae suggest that it may be possible to implement sophisticated distributed algorithms with these relatively simple organisms. However, existing design frameworks for synthetic biology do not account for the unique morphologies of growing microcolonies, the interaction of gene circuits with the spatial diffusion of molecular signals, or the relationship between multicelled systems and parallel algorithms. Here, we introduce a framework for the specification and simulation of multicelled behaviors that combines a simple simulation of microcolony growth and molecular signaling with a new specification language called gro. The framework allows the researcher to explore the collective behaviors induced by high level descriptions of individual cell behaviors. We describe example specifications of previously published systems and introduce two novel specifications: microcolony edge detection and programmed microcolony morphogenesis. Finally, we illustrate through example how specifications written in gro can be refined to include increasing levels of detail about their bimolecular implementations.


Hybrid car sales in Ecuador in the last 10 years are very promising. The presence of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in the country generates an increase in nickel metal hydride batteries used (NiHm), these batteries do not follow an adequate recycling and disposal process. Several studies show that these batteries have energy levels and that they can be reused in other applications outside of the car as a power supply. This option of using recovered batteries is known as the second life of the battery (SLB). The reuse of batteries generates options to supply power on a large scale and with this reduce the pollution that these batteries can generate, especially in our country that does not have an optimal recycling process. This chapter presents the design of a methodology for the implementation of second life in Ecuador considering the use of NiHm batteries in HEV. For the design of the methodology, two possible scenarios for its implementation are analyzed. Scenario 1 is the use of NiHm batteries to supply energy to laboratories of a University in the city of Cuenca and scenario 2 shows the use of NiHm batteries as an additional energy source at the Airport of Santa Cruz present in the Galapagos Islands.


The incorporation of trimethoprim into existing selective media using either saponin-lysed blood agar or chocolate agar as the base is suggested for the routine isolation of the gonococcus. The principal advantage over other selective media is the inhibition of Proteus mirabilis and other commensal organisms as a consequence of which multiple swabs can be plated out onto a single selective plate irrespective of source, while the recovery rate of the gonococcus from these specimens is increased. The relative merits of both basic media are briefly discussed.


INTRODUCTION
Chronic inflammation promotes aortic valve calcification. It is known that epicardial fat is a source of inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between epicardial fat thickness, cardiac conduction disorders and outcomes in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

METHODS
During a three-year period, 45 patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVI were recruited to the study. Data were collected retrospectively. Epicardial fat was defined as the adipose tissue between the epicardium and the visceral pericardium. Mean epicardial fat thickness was determined by multi-slice computed tomography, which was performed before the procedure.

RESULTS
The average thickness of epicardial fat was 13.06 ± 3.29 mm. This study failed to reveal a significant correlation between epicardial fat thickness and post-procedural left bundle branch block, right bundle branch block, paravalvular aortic regurgitation and pacemaker implantation rates (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study failed to show a significant relationship between epicardial fat thickness, cardiac conduction disorders and outcomes, however further studies with larger sample numbers are required to explore the relationship.


This article summarizes some of the key findings regarding the structure and performance of Arizona's court-connected arbitration system. Most cases eligible for arbitration concluded before a hearing was held, and those cases that had a hearing seemed more likely to have been diverted from settlement than from trial. Consequently, the arbitration program was likely to affect the court's workload in a relatively small proportion of cases, was more likely to reduce the use of court pretrial rather than trial resources, and was unlikely to substantially reduce litigants' costs. Many cases did not meet arbitration deadlines and court case processing time standards. These findings, which were consistent with studies in other jurisdictions, suggest that court-connected arbitration does not have negative consequences, but also does not consistently or substantially improve the effectiveness and efficiency of dispute resolution.


The paper established U75V 100-meter rail 3-D transient non-liner finite element analysis model about U75V 100-meter rail by using the large-scale non-liner finite element analysis software ABAQUS. By analyzing the different positions in the section of the temperature variation, the changes of bending degree and the residual stress variation after the bending deformation have changed. Based on the 100-meter straight rail in natural cooling under the cooling process, simulation results showed that in the cooling process, deflection change with time mainly divided into four stages; In consideration of the friction effect, the flat rail cold curve for its deformation among roughly flat, the curve about either ends, the scope for bending is 18 meters, the maximal displacement is 1.88 meters while the flat rail occured end colding.


Backgrounds: The signing of the peace accords in Colombia created challenges that are inherent to post-conflict transitions. One of those is the process of reintegrating ex-combatants into society, in which ensuring their rights to health is a particularly significant challenge in rural areas affected by armed conflict. These areas, known as Territorial Spaces for Training and Reintegration (ETCR, in Spanish), are geographically dispersed throughout 24 municipalities and 13 departments in Colombia. This study aimed to describe how ex-combatants in ETCR regions perceived access to health services one year after the signing of the peace accords. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed between September and October 2018. It included 591 adults and their families, from 23 ETCRs. The study was designed, culturally validated, and piloted. Interviewers were trained and a structured survey was administered containing five dimensions that characterized the perception of effective access to health services. Results: The majority of interviewees were women, heads of household, young adults, ex-combatants, and residents in an ETCR. In total of 96.4% were enrolled in Colombia's subsidized health system, and 20.8% indicated that a member of their household required emergency health services. The regional health center provided the majority of the services. Most of those surveyed (96.0%) reported that they did not have to pay for the services, and that they received respectful (91.6%) and good quality (66.6%) care. There were few referrals to disease prevention and health promotion activities, and only 19.0% of households reported having been visited by extramural health care teams, whose activities were highly valued (80%). Lastly, there was little knowledge about community health activities. Conclusions: While residents of ETCR regions have a favorable perception of their access to health services, they need to be made aware of extramural and public health activities.


Background Social care provision is vital for ensuring the health of ageing and vulnerable populations. The UK relies on informal care for 50% of care provision, meaning that social care policies have significant implications for health services sustainability in this context. We present an agent-based simulation of UK informal care provision, demonstrating how this framework captures troubling trends and inequalities in social care. Methods We constructed an agent-based model in Python that simulates individual human agents in a virtual UK from the year 1860 to 2022. Population dynamics are driven by UK birth rates and mortality rates. Agents can form partnerships, reproduce, migrate domestically for work or other purposes, change jobs, and provide social care. Care decisions are taken based on employment status, salary, age, health status, geographical location, and their relationship to those in need of care. Simulated agents participate in a detailed economy, and are members of different socioeconomic status groups depending on their income. Output files track agents' socioeconomic status, social mobility, informal care provision, and payment for formal care services. Simulation output includes individual-level agent statistics and population-level analyses of care provision by age, sex, socioeconomic status, and employment status. Simulation results were calibrated against 2011 UK Census data for key population dynamics measures. Results Simulation results in the year 2022 show significant inequalities in social care need and provision by gender and SES group. Agents in the lowest SES quintile (Group I) show a mean unmet care need of 19 hours/week, as compared to 12.5/week in in the highest (Group V). Carers in Group I supply an average 8.6 hours/week of care, compared to 3.6 hours/week in Group V. Thus, agents in Group I not only make a lower wage, they also lose more hours of work to care provision, and need more care themselves. In addition, female agents provide 1.9 times more informal care than males, while receiving lower average wages. Finally, the simulation shows a trend of growth in unmet care need from 1.17 hours per capita in 1976 to 2.38 by 2022. Conclusion This work demonstrates that a well-constructed agent-based simulation can provide a platform for investigating the influence of economic and social factors on social care provision. This framework thus provides a means to develop and test new social care policies which better account for the complexities and challenges facing informal carers across the country, and in turn better protect health services sustainability.


In line with a current global trend, junior secondary science education in Bangladesh aims to provide science education for all students to enable them to use their science learning in everyday life. This aim is consistent with the call for scientific literacy, which argues for engaging students with science in everyday life. The study for this thesis explores how scientific literacy is promoted through junior secondary science education in Bangladesh. It looks at four areas: teachers' perspectives of scientific literacy; the translation of their perspectives into teaching practices; the values they consider in science teaching in relation to scientific literacy, and the issues they perceive as challenging in their teaching for promoting scientific literacy. To explore these four areas, this research followed a mixed methods design where qualitative approaches, including interviews with teachers, lesson observations and focus group interviews with students, dominated the overall research process.
This study reveals that whilst participating teachers held a range of perspectives of scientific literacy, including some naive perspectives, in practice they demonstrated limited capacity to translate their perspectives into their classroom teaching practices. Many of their teaching practices promoted a culture of academic science that resulted in students' difficulty in finding connections between the science they study in school and their everyday lives. This study also reveals that teachers found difficulties in conceptualising many of the curriculum-identified values and consequently, found it difficult to find, develop and implement suitable teaching approaches to promote the values. The difficulties also included teachers encountering tension between their religious values and science values while they were teaching science in a culture with a religious tradition. These results may contribute to understanding how teaching for scientific literacy is challenged by an academically oriented curriculum, large class size, limited resources, traditional examination-oriented education and limited teacher development programmes.


We characterize solutions for two-sided matching, both in the transferable-and in the nontransferable-utility frameworks, using a cardinal formulation. Our approach makes the comparison of the matching models with and without transfers particularly transparent. We introduce the concept of a no-trade matching to study the role of transfers in matching. A no-trade matching is one in which the availability of transfers do not affect the outcome. Ordinal and cardinal solution concepts for two-sided matching *


We examine the thermodynamic state and cooling of the low-z circumgalactic medium (CGM) in five FIRE-2 galaxy formation simulations of Milky Way-mass galaxies. We find that the CGM in these simulations is generally multiphase and dynamic, with a wide spectrum of largely non-linear density perturbations sourced by the accretion of gas from the intergalactic medium (IGM) and outflows from both the central and satellite galaxies. We investigate the origin of the multiphase structure of the CGM with a particle-tracking analysis and find that most of the low-entropy gas has cooled from the hot halo as a result of thermal instability triggered by these perturbations. The ratio of cooling to free-fall time-scales tcool/tff in the hot component of the CGM spans a wide range of ∼1−100 at a given radius but exhibits approximately constant median values of ∼5−20 at all radii 0.1Rvir < r < Rvir. These are similar to the ≈10−20 value typically adopted as the thermal instability threshold in 'precipitation' models of the ICM. Consequently, a one-dimensional model based on the assumption of a constant tcool/tff and hydrostatic equilibrium approximately reproduces the number density and entropy profiles of each simulation but only if it assumes the metallicity profile and temperature boundary condition taken directly from the simulation. We explicitly show that the tcool/tff value of a gas parcel in the hot component of the CGM does not predict its probability of subsequently accreting on to the central galaxy. This suggests that the value of tcool/tff is a poor predictor of thermal stability in gaseous haloes in which large-amplitude density perturbations are prevalent.


Background Predicting the prognosis of patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is very important in determining further management and resource allocation. The prognostication of critically ill children can be challenging; hence, accurate methods for predicting outcomes are needed. Purpose To evaluate the role of microalbuminuria at admission as a prognostic marker in comparison to standard Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) and Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD) mortality scores in children admitted to the PICU. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2015 to October 2016. Eighty-four patients aged 1 month to 18 years admitted to the PICU of teaching hospitals for more than 24 hours were enrolled by convenience sampling method. Microalbuminuria was estimated by spot urinary albumin-creatinine ratio. PRISM and PELOD scores were calculated using an online calculator. Outcome measures were PICU length of stay, inotrope usage, multiorgan dysfunction, and survival. ACR was compared with mortality scores for predicting survival. Results Microalbuminuria was present in 79.8% with a median value of 85 mg/g (interquartile range, 41.5–254 mg/g). A positive correlation was found between albumin-creatinine ratio and PICU length of stay (P=0.013, r=0.271). Albumin-creatinine ratio was significantly associated with organ dysfunction (P=0.004) and need for inotropes (P=0.006). Eight deaths were observed in the PICU. The area under the curve for mortality for albumin-creatinine ratio (0.822) was comparable to that for PRISM (0.928) and PELOD (0.877). Albumin-creatinine ratio >109 mg/g predicted mortality with a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 63.2%. Conclusion Microalbuminuria is a good predictor of PICU outcomes comparable with mortality scores.


Trade liberalisation is increasingly promoted and regulated through regional, bilateral or unilateral trade arrangements. In recent years some of these arrangements have provided for sanctions in the case of non-compliance with the labour standards included in the agreement. This link between trade rights and labour standards is controversial. Those who argue in favour of the inclusion of labour standards in trade agreements do so on either economic or normative grounds: the economic argument is that a trading partner that does not adequately protect labour standards affords that country an unfair advantage over a country that does protect labour standards; while the normative argument is that it is morally offensive to trade in goods that have been produced by exploited labour. Those who argue against the inclusion of labour standards in trade agreements also advance economic and normative grounds: from an economic perspective, exclusionists argue that the comparative advantage of developing countries is their ability to produce low-wage goods and are concerned that a link between trade and labour standards may be exploited for protectionist purposes. Normatively motivated exclusionists argue that labour standards are a human rights concern that should not be linked to trade and should be promoted through other means.
This contribution assesses the arguments for and against the inclusion of labour standards in trade arrangements against the backdrop of a case study involving a recent complaint against Guatemala for failure to enforce its labour standards in terms of the Dominican Republic - Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).


Using the hamster cheek pouch preparation and intravital microscopy and fluorometry methods, we quantitated the dose-response effects of topically applied platelet-activating factor (PAF) on microvascular permeability, vessel diameter and leukocyte adhesion and investigated the biochemical pathways of this compound. Permeability alterations were assessed by the clearance of macromolecules. PAF increased macromolecular clearance in a dose-dependent manner with the maximum effect being obtained at 10(-7) M. Maximal vasoconstriction was induced by 10(-5) M PAF. Interestingly, PAF at 10(-9) M induced extensive adhesion of leukocytes to postcapillary endothelium, but did not produce changes in either vessel diameter or permeability. To elucidate the biochemical pathways of PAF activity, several inhibitors of the arachiodonic acid cascade and receptor blockers were employed. Dexamethasone and kadsurenone attenuated the clearance response to PAF, while indometacin, OKY-046 (a thromboxane A2 synthase inhibitor), and chlorpheniramine did not. Indometacin and OKY-046 prevented vessel diameter changes. Our results demonstrate that (1) PAF produces a dose-related extravasation of macromolecules, (2) leukotrienes may be responsible for the increased clearance of macromolecules caused by PAF, (3) PAF-induced vasoconstriction is mediated by thromboxane, (4) PAF stimulates leukocyte adhesion in an inverse dose relationship, and (5) responses to PAF are at least partially mediated by receptor interactions.


This paper reviews recent literature on the economics of social computing, and discusses research issues connected with the application of social computing to practice. The media sector is identified as a context in which popular accounts of emerging production and innovation models has led to hype, and an uncritical alignment of the interests of the different actors involved in social computing. Consequently, the need for research to raise questions concerning the motivation of participants, the diverging concepts of value in social computing practice, and the problems of transferring findings from non-profit to commercial contexts, is addressed.


With a rising food import bill in the region, many CARICOM countries are faced with the challenge of increasing domestic production to achieve some level of food security to be able to compete on the local and international markets. Price is no longer the only important parameter in the marketing of food. Consumers are becoming more aware of food safety issues and are so inclined towards purchasing foods that are safe, wholesome and competitively priced. Regional food producers, manufacturers and suppliers are faced with the daunting task of supplying food of an international standard while operating in an environment where the necessary policy, regulation and support mechanisms are not implemented and in some cases not in place. This scenario effectively creates an opportunity for extra regional food to enter the region and displace local production. This paper presents a case study of the food safety programme implemented by NAMDEVCO in managing the trade protocol between Trinidad and Barbados over the past five years and looks at the critical issues to be addressed at the regional level and the way forward.


Over a 10-mo period, a computerized admission discharge system was scrutinized to identify all persons with diabetes mellitus admitted to a general hospital in Christchurch, North Canterbury (population 342,000), New Zealand. The 274 admissions by 197 diabetic persons (42% were insulin treated, 14% were newly diagnosed, 44% were non-insulin-dependent) contributed to 3.6% of the total hospital admissions, with duration of stay being longer than for nondiabetic persons (13.6 versus 11.3 days, P = 0.05). Patients admitted were aged 11–91 yr (mean 59 yr); those over 50 yr of age were numerically the largest admission group. Although cardiovascular illnesses were the most frequent events precipi-tating admission (34%), potentially preventable admissions for reasons of infection, poor glycemic control, or hypoglycemia were found in all age groups. Just under half of the 902 registered insulin-treated diabetic patients living in this health region had at some stage participated in diabetes education programs at the time this admission survey was undertaken. Of these, only nine were admitted. The other 70 insulin-treated patients admitted who lived in this region had never had diabetes education. Overall, only 11.7% of patients admitted had received diabetes education. These data show that, for insulin-treated diabetic individuals at least, admission rates were substantially lower among those who were sufficiently motivated to attend diabetes education programs.


We report a fast Staudinger reaction between perfluoroaryl azides (PFAAs) and aryl phosphines, which occurs readily under ambient conditions. A rate constant as high as 18 m-1  s-1 was obtained between methyl 4-azido-2,3,5,6-tetrafluorobenzoate and methyl 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)benzoate in CD3 CN/D2 O. Furthermore, the iminophosphorane product was stable toward hydrolysis and aza-phosphonium ylide reactions. This PFAA Staudinger reaction proved to be an excellent bioothorgonal reaction. PFAA-derivatized mannosamine and galactosamine were successfully transformed into cell-surface glycans and efficiently labeled with phosphine-derivatized fluorophore-conjugated bovine serum albumin.


The present paper reports, for the first time, the occurrence of an omphacite‐bearing mafic schist from the Asemi‐gawa region of the Sanbagawa belt (southwest Japan). The mafic schist occurs as thin layers within pelitic schist of the albite–biotite zone. Omphacite in the mafic schist only occurs as inclusions in garnet, and albite is the major Na phase in the matrix, suggesting that the mafic schist represents highly retrogressed eclogite. Garnet grains in the sample show prograde‐type compositional zoning with no textural or compositional break, and contain mineral inclusions of omphacite, quartz, glaucophane, barroisite/hornblende, epidote and titanite. In addition to the petrographic observations, Raman spectroscopy and focused ion beam system–transmission electron microscope analyses were used for identification of omphacite in the sample. The omphacite in the sample shows a strong Raman peak at 678 cm−1, and concomitant Raman peaks are all consistent with those of the reference omphacite Raman spectrum. The selected area electron diffraction pattern of the omphacite is compatible with the common P2/n omphacite structure. Quartz inclusions in the mafic schist preserve high residual pressure values of Δω1 > 8.5 cm−1, corresponding to the eclogite facies conditions. The combination of Raman geothermobarometries and garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometry gives peak pressure–temperature (P–T) conditions of 1.7–2.0 GPa and 440–540 °C for the mafic schist. The peak P–T values are comparable to those of the schistose eclogitic rocks in other Sanbagawa eclogite units of Shikoku. These findings along with previous age constraints suggest that most of the Sanbagawa schistose eclogites and associated metasedimentary rocks share similar simple P–T histories along the Late Cretaceous subduction zone.


Aims: To describe a cohort of boys with genital injuries in whom child abuse was suspected. Methods: Boys with genital injury (penile and/or scrotal) and referred to paediatricians in Leeds, population 750 000, with concerns regarding possible abuse from 1983 to 2003 were identified from medical reports. Results: 86 boys (average age 62.7 months, median age 48 months) were referred between 1983 and 2003. The injury was judged inflicted in 63, unexplained, suspicious or inconsistent with the history given in 17 and accidental in six. The number of discrete injuries ranged from one in 57, two in 15, three in 12, to more than three in two cases. Genital injuries included burns in seven boys, bruises in 27, incised wounds, lacerations or scars in 39, and other traumatic lesions in 27. Non-genital findings included anal findings in 28, >10 bruises in 17, fractures in three, burns in 12, mouth injuries in four, brain and retinal haemorrhages in one, and poor nourishment or underweight in 14. The categories of abuse were physical (eight), sexual (19), both physical and sexual (eight), physical and neglect (four), and physical, sexual and neglect (one). The category of abuse was unspecified in 39 children. Conclusions: Genital injury in boys may be the result of abuse which may be physical or sexual in nature.


Lanthanum chromite (LaCrO3) is one of the most adequate materials for use as interconnector in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications, due to its intrinsic properties, namely its good electrical conductivity and resistance to environment conditions in fuel cell operations. Due to difficulties in sintering, additives are usually added to help in the densification process. In this work, the influence of added cobalt and strontium, in the sintering of LaCrO3 obtained by combustion synthesis was studied. The starting materials were respectively nitrates of chromium, lanthanum, cobalt and strontium, and urea was used as fuel. The results show that by increasing the strontium and cobalt concentrations it is possible to reduce the temperature of sintering. Using both additives, the sintering processes took place in lesser times than normally used for this material, as well as greater values of density were attained.


Singh et al. reported an experimental study highlighting the oral motor and motor speech deficits present in individuals with Friedreich ataxia (FA). In the abstract and discussion sections of their article, they suggest that this information provides evidence for the use of their assessment protocol for monitoring change in patient functioning. We believe that the conclusion cannot be supported on the basis of the analytical techniques presented. Importantly, the assessment tools used in the study are either not designed for use in repeated assessment protocols and/or their stability and reproducibility has not been evaluated in an empirical context. Diadochokinetic tasks (or PATA examinations) are notoriously variant in nature, difficult to assess, and their stability over different test–retest intervals is unknown. The ''oral motor examination" derived from the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination is unsuitable for objectively monitoring change in oral motor function as it suffers from several psychometric limitations. No measures of test–retest reliability are provided; it is designed for diagnostic decision making and for making an estimate of severity of impairment; thus, its validity as a marker of change is questionable; it has limited intra/inter-rater reliability; and grading of performance is difficult to quantify as it is based on a finite rating scale that relies on clinical expertise and subjective judgment. Perhaps, these reasons account for the authors not conducting reliability investigations on this aspect of their assessment protocol. The Assessment of Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech (ASSIDS) also provides a useful index of the severity of dysarthric speech by quantifying both single-word and sentence intelligibility, however, perhaps incorporating the other metrics typically used within the ASSIDS [e.g., speaking rate (words per min) and rate of intelligible speech (number of intelligible words per min)] may have yielded more tangible quantitative findings. Finally, it is not surprising that findings from the picture description task (cookie theft) were poorly correlated with measures of disease severity. The gross measure of quantity (i.e., total number of intelligible words) is intrinsically linked to the number of words produced in a sample. Given that the number of words produced by participants is dependent on their expressive language skill and descriptive vocabulary and that no set word limit was applied, monitoring change in patient function using this method may be inappropriate. Sophisticated methods exist for the application of standardized speech and oral motor assessments where the data generated in response to various challenges are compared to established normative data. Similarly, patterns of strengths and weaknesses on performance measures can be interpreted and aid the process of differential diagnosis by skilled clinicians. Data provided by Singh et al. fulfill this purpose; however, there is not the same sophistication for assessment of speech in monitoring change in patient function. In related fields (e.g., cognitive testing), it is argued that the assessment of behavior for supporting classifications of CNS impairment has a different practical, methodological, and statistical framework for the assessment of behavior to guide decisions about change in the CNS. Singh et al. acknowledge the need for testing that can be ''reproduced without excessive technical expertise,'' yet they fail to recognize that several other criteria need to be met before an assessment protocol is appropriate for monitoring change. Tasks designed to monitor change should be brief, easy to complete, suitably motivating, and preferably have alternate forms (all of which are designed to limit the impact of practice/familiarity). In addition, monitoring intrasubject variation requires a different statistical framework that examines change from baseline rather than differences from controls or normative data. This requires that assessments satisfy assumptions of normality or can be corrected to normal and that they utilize continuous variables that are not restricted by range, floor, or ceiling effects. Singh et al. rightly state that ''long examination times are not ideal for use in FA because of the highly fatigable nature of the patient population'' and that some of their assessments are limited by the use of discrete rather than continuous variables. Given the potential implications of conclusions based on assessments that fail to acknowledge the different methodological requirements for monitoring change in patient functioning, it is important that appropriately conservative analyses are undertaken in studies addressing this issue.


The chordality of a graph with at least one cycle is the length of the longest induced cycle in it. The odd (even) chordality is defined to be the length of the longest induced odd (even) cycle in it. Chordal graphs have chordality at most 3. We show that co-circular-arc graphs and co-circle graphs have even chordality at most 4. We also identify few other classes of graphs having bounded (by a constant) chordality values.


This paper discusses and illustrates the qvf command for fitting generalized linear models. The differences between this new command and Stata's glm command are highlighted. One of the most notable features of the qvf command is its ability to include instrumental variables. This functionality was added specifically to address measurement error but may be utilized by the user for other purposes. The qvf command was developed in the C-language using Stata's new plugin features and executes much faster than the glm ado-file.


Background & Aim: Insertion of chest tubes is a necessary measurement in chest trauma. The trauma patients need specific skills for self-care. This study aimed to determine the effect of using supportive-educative system on self-care skills in trauma patients with chest drainage system. Methods & Materials: In this quasi-experimental study, 62 trauma patients with chest-tube were selected from three surgery wards of Besat hospital in Hamadan from December 2012 to May 2013. Two wards were randomly allocated into the experiment group (n=31) and one ward was allocated into the control group (n=31). Participants were selected using convenience sampling. The supportive-educative system was designed based on the patients' needs and was implemented to the experimental group in three consecutive days. The study instruments included self-care needs assessment form and self-care skills checklist. Measurements were completed once the patients were admitted to the wards and three days later by an external observer. Data were analyzed using t-test, Chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests with a 95 confidence level in the SPSS-16. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in the study variables at baseline (P>0.05). Although self-care skills in both control (P<0.01) and experiment (P<0.001) groups were improved, using educative-supportive system led to better self-care skills in the intervention group in compare to the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: In general, self-care skills of patients with chest drainage system could be improved by supportive-educative system. The improvement in the control group can be attributed to self-care trainings conducted routinely by doctors and nurses.


The power consumption in buildings represent a 30–40% of the final energy usage, which is caused by: HVAC (Heating, ventilation and air conditioning), lighting and appliances with any connection to the power grid. The major challenge is to minimize the power consumption by optimizing the operation of several loads without impact in the customer's comfort. For this purpose, the design of an Energy-Efficiency Management Model using Intelligent Systems is presented in this paper. Furthermore a comparative analysis is carried out to evaluate the power consumption performance of some Demand Side Management (DSM) techniques. In this case Direct Load Control, Load Priority and Scheduled Programming techniques using Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are compared with the proposed approach. Experimental testing is performed with the consumption data base. The testing results show that energy savings can be achieved through control of the states of various loads.


This document summarizes the contents of the Clinical Guidelines for the Endoscopic Mucosal Resection of Non-Pedunculated Colorectal Lesions that was developed by the working group of the Spanish Society of Digestive Endoscopy (GSEED of Endoscopic Resection). This document presents recommendations for the endoscopic management of superficial colorectal neoplastic lesions.


Anatomy/Physiology Courses ANPS 019. Ugr Hum Anatomy & Physiology. 4 Credits. Two-semester lecture course with credit given upon completion of each semester. Structure and function of human body will be presented in a three lecture/week format with an additional online lab component. Completion of additional self-study units will be required. Required of all PRNU DIET, NFS, PE, ME, RADT, NMT, MLS, AT, EXMS and BSCI students; others with Instructor permission.


BACKGROUND
There is interest in whether a short course of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) at the time of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroconversion could induce long-term immunologic control after its interruption. We aimed to determine the time of virologic rebound after interruption of treatment initiated close to HIV seroconversion and to identify potential cases of posttreatment controllers (PTCs) in the CASCADE (Concerted Action on Seroconversion to AIDS and Death in Europe) Collaboration.

METHODS
Prospective cohort study nested within the CASCADE database of routinely collected data about patients with HIV with well-estimated date of HIV seroconversion from Europe, Canada, and Australia in the post-cART era. Participants were individuals who interrupted successful cART initiated within 3 months of HIV seroconversion. The main outcome was loss of PTC status, defined as the earlier date of virologic rebound (first of 2 consecutive measurements showing HIV RNA levels >50 copies/mL) or reinitiation of any ART after cART interruption.

RESULTS
Median time to loss of PTC status in 259 eligible individuals was 1.7 months. Eleven patients did not experience virologic rebound by 24 months after treatment interruption.

CONCLUSION
Most patients experience virologic rebound soon after cART interruption; however, although PTCs are rare, the results of this study confirm their existence.


A general method for the identification of the independent subsets in loops with constant dependence vectors is presented. It is shown that the dependence relation remains invariant under a unimodular transformation. Then a unimodular transformation is used to bring the dependence matrix into a form where the independent subsets are obtained by a direct and inexpensive partitioning algorithm. This leads to a procedure for the automatic conversion of a serial loop into a nest of parallel DO-ALL loops. Another unimodular transformation results in an algorithm to label the dependent iterations of an n-fold nested loop in O(n/sup 2/) time. This provides a multithreaded dynamic scheduling scheme requiring only one fork and one join primitive. >


Color video images have become a very important media in communication. This has increased the necessity of displaying and handling color video images on various types of computers. In computerized color image processing, most color images are represented by 24 bits per pixel. Such images usually contain a lot of redundancy and require a large amount of space to be stored. Furthermore, they require expensive full color display devices, so that many general-purpose computers which have only colormap display devices are not capable of displaying them. In order to lower the display and the storage cost, color image quantization algorithms are needed to reduce the number of colors in original images. The authors propose a color quantization method for video images which efficiently generates color quantized video images with stable color allocations.<<ETX>>


This paper presents a new methodology for the analysis and control of internal forces and center-of-mass (CoM) behavior, which are produced during multicontact interactions between humanoid robots and the environment. The approach leverages the virtual-linkage model that provides a physical representation of the internal and CoM resultant forces with respect to reaction forces on the supporting surfaces. A grasp/contact matrix describing the complex interactions between contact forces and CoM behavior is developed. Based on this model, a new torque-based approach for the control of internal forces is suggested and illustrated on the Asimo humanoid robot. The new controller is integrated into the framework for whole-body-prioritized multitasking, thus enabling the unified control of CoM maneuvers, operational tasks, and internal-force behavior. The grasp/contact matrix is also proposed to analyze and plan internal force and CoM control policies that comply with frictional properties of the links in contact.


In this article, energy, exergy, and environmental (3E) analysis of a 400 MW thermal power plant is investigated. First, the components of the power plant are examined in terms of energy consumption, and subsequently the energy losses, exergy destruction, and exergetic efficiency are obtained. It is shown that the highest energy losses are in the closed feedwater heaters Nos. 1 and 5 and the boiler with amounts of 7.6 × 10 J/s and 6.5 × 107 J/s, respectively. The highest exergy destruction occurs in the boiler and amounts to 4.13 × 108 J/s. The highest exergetic efficiency is 0.98 and is associated with the closed feedwater heaters Nos. 4 and 8. It is observed that the exergetic efficiency and exergy destruction in the boiler are the primarily affected by changes in the environmental temperature. Furthermore, by increasing the main pressure in the turbine, the load on the power plant is increased, and increasing the condenser pressure reduces the load on the power plant. In an environmental analysis, the production of pollutants such as SO2 production and CO2 emission has been investigated.


A woofer–tweeter adaptive optical structured illumination microscope (AOSIM) is presented. By combining a low-spatial-frequency large-stroke deformable mirror (woofer) with a high-spatial-frequency low-stroke deformable mirror (tweeter), we are able to remove both large-amplitude and high-order aberrations. In addition, using the structured illumination method, as compared to widefield microscopy, the AOSIM can accomplish high-resolution imaging and possesses better sectioning capability. The AOSIM was tested by correcting a large aberration from a trial lens in the conjugate plane of the microscope objective aperture. The experimental results show that the AOSIM has a point spread function with an FWHM that is 140 nm wide (using a water immersion objective lens with NA=1.1) after correcting a large aberration (5.9 μm peak-to-valley wavefront error with 2.05 μm RMS aberration). After structured light illumination is applied, the results show that we are able to resolve two beads that are separated by 145 nm, 1.62× below the diffraction limit of 235 nm. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application of the AOSIM in the field of bioimaging. The sample under investigation was a green-fluorescent-protein-labeled Drosophila embryo. The aberrations from the refractive index mismatch between the microscope objective, the immersion fluid, the cover slip, and the sample itself are well corrected. Using AOSIM we were able to increase the SNR for our Drosophila embryo sample by 5×.


Food high in carbohydrate causes a rise in glycemic index in diabetes type II patients. Glycemic index in pre diabetic and diabetic individuals can be managed by modulating alpha amylase inhibitors. Alpha-amylase is an enzyme that hydrolyses alpha-bonds of large alpha-linked polysaccharides such as starch and glycogen yielding glucose and maltose. By inhibiting alpha amalyse activity the polysaccharides hydrolysis process will be inhibited or delayed therefore alpha amalyse inhibitors help to maintain postprandial glycemic index. Water extract of Rhodamnia cinerea leaves, a commonly found tree in secondary forests of Malaysia was tested for alpha amylase inhibition. The in-vitro inhibitory activity demonstrated that water extract of Rhodamnia cinerea leaves as a potent alpha amalyse inhibitor. The water extract inhibited alpha amalyse activity by 12.6 %, 32.8%, 93.1% and 97.1% at concentrations of 0.78 µg/mL,3.13 µg/mL, 12.5 µg/mL and 50 µg/mL respectively. The same extract was tested for Acute Starch Tolerance Test (STT), an in vivo model using rats for evaluation of the effect of alpha amylase inhibitors on glycemia. The water extract of Rhodamnia cinerea leaves reduced glycemic response to starch by 17.9% and 38.5% at the dose of 50 mg/kg (area under the curve 0-120; p<0.001) and the dose of 200 mg/kg of body weight (area under the curve 0-120; p<0.001) respectively. With regards to time-points, this effect was statistically significant for doses of 50 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg body weight at 15, 30 and 60 min and remained statistically significant at 90 min at the dose of 200 mg/kg body weight.


Digital image watermarking is the process of encoding information into a digital image without deteriorating the visual quality of the image. Digital watermarking techniques are designed to withstand various attacks such as standard image processing operations, compression and geometric transformations. In this report we focus on watermarking of printed images and argue that this application requires specialized methods. Previous work relating to hardcopy watermarking applied standard digital watermarking schemes or suggested techniques that exploit the specific printing (i.e. halftoning) process. This work proposes a novel transform domain hardcopy watermarking technique that is independent of the halftoning process and is rather based on a noise model for the printing and scanning operations. The proposed scheme allows for blind watermark decoding, i.e. the encoder does not know the original image. It is image adaptable, to enhance the visual quality, and is tuneable on the trade-off between information embedding, rate, and visual quality.


PURPOSE
Depletion of trabecular meshwork cell numbers is a feature of the outflow system in aging and in primary open-angle glaucoma. It is possible that migration stimulated by factors present in aqueous humor may contribute to the cell loss. This investigation assessed the chemoattractant potential of glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous human aqueous humor and fibronectin, one of its constituents, on a range of cultured trabecular meshwork cell lines.

METHODS
Migration was assessed in 48-well modified Boyden chambers. The potential migratory stimulants were soluble fibronectin and glaucomatous and nonglaucomatous aqueous humor. The glaucomatous aqueous samples were collected from patients undergoing trabeculotomy for primary open-angle glaucoma and the normal aqueous from normal bovine eyes and patients undergoing cataract surgery. The target cell types were normal human and bovine meshwork cells grown from explants and two human transformed meshwork cell lines from a normal (HTM-5) and a glaucomatous (HTM-3) source.

RESULTS
Soluble fibronectin stimulated all the target cells to migrate with an optimal concentration ranging from 1 to 30 microg/ml, and Zigmond Hirsch checkerboard analysis indicated that both chemotaxis and chemokinesis took place. All the aqueous humor samples stimulated migration of the meshwork cell lines at an optimal concentration of 200 microl/ml. Glaucomatous aqueous humor stimulated a greater migratory response than nonglaucomatous aqueous for two of the four target cell types (P < or = 0.03). Neutralization of the fibronectin content of nonglaucomatous and glaucomatous aqueous by addition of excess anti-fibronectin antibody indicated that fibronectin could account for 35% to 80% of the migratory activity of the aqueous.

CONCLUSIONS
Aqueous humor contains potentially powerful chemoattractants for trabecular meshwork cells. The activity of one of these constituents, fibronectin, has been accounted for by this study. Glaucomatous aqueous appears to be as good and in some cases a better migratory stimulant than nonglaucomatous aqueous in vitro. The migratory evidence points to a trend that may help to explain cell loss in the aging meshwork and possibly some of the extra loss in primary open-angle glaucoma.


ABSTRACT Two isoforms of the peroxisomal targeting signal type 1 (PTS1) receptor, termed Pex5pS and (37-amino-acid-longer) Pex5pL, are expressed in mammals. Pex5pL transports PTS1 proteins and Pex7p-PTS2 cargo complexes to the initial Pex5p-docking site, Pex14p, on peroxisome membranes, while Pex5pS translocates only PTS1 cargoes. Here we report functional Pex5p domains responsible for interaction with peroxins Pex7p, Pex13p, and Pex14p. An N-terminal half, such as Pex5pL(1-243), comprising amino acid residues 1 to 243, bound to Pex7p, Pex13p, and Pex14p and was sufficient for restoring the impaired PTS2 import of pex5 cell mutants, while the C-terminal tetratricopeptide repeat motifs were required for PTS1 binding. N-terminal Pex5p possessed multiple Pex14p-binding sites. Alanine-scanning analysis of the highly conserved seven (six in Pex5pS) pentapeptide WXXXF/Y motifs residing at the N-terminal region indicated that these motifs were essential for the interaction of Pex5p with Pex14p and Pex13p. Moreover, mutation of several WXXXF/Y motifs did not affect the PTS import-restoring activity of Pex5p, implying that the binding of Pex14p to all of the WXXXF/Y sites was not a prerequisite for the translocation of Pex5p-cargo complexes. Pex5p bound to Pex13p at the N-terminal part, not to the C-terminal SH3 region, via WXXXF/Y motifs 2 to 4. PTS1 and PTS2 import required the interaction of Pex5p with Pex14p but not with Pex13p, while Pex5p binding to Pex13p was essential for import of catalase with PTS1-like signal KANL. Pex5p recruited PTS1 proteins to Pex14p but not to Pex13p. Pex14p and Pex13p formed a complex with PTS1-loaded Pex5p but dissociated in the presence of cargo-unloaded Pex5p, implying that PTS cargoes are released from Pex5p at a step downstream of Pex14p and upstream of Pex13p. Thus, Pex14p and Pex13p very likely form mutually and temporally distinct subcomplexes involved in peroxisomal matrix protein import.


Pro-poor growth is often advocated but seldom defined. Some proposed definitions and associated measures are reviewed in this paper. Much of this literature stresses the importance of reducing economic inequality. A basic source of confusion is whether inequality reduction is desired as a means for reducing poverty or as an end in itself. This paper argues that if it is the former, as is usually said, the pro-poor growth literature tends to overstate the importance of reducing inequality, or avoiding an increase. Growth that is most effective at reducing poverty does not necessarily coincide with growth that reduces inequality. This literature is overly pre-occupied with statistical evaluation of the outcomes of economic events, based on changes in the distribution of household incomes or expenditures. What is most needed is solidly based empirical research on the manner and extent to which alternative growth strategies influence the rate of poverty reduction.


Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that the number of people diagnosed with Diabetes is 347 million worldwide. Diabetic macular edema (DME) and Diabetic Retinopathy are the main causes of vision loss in Diabetes mellitus.
Objective: To compare altered ocular blood flow by Doppler evaluation in middle aged type 2 diabetic patients with and without diabetic macular edema.
Materials and Methods: An analytical cross–sectional study was conducted in the out-patient and in-patient department of ophthalmology and the department of radiodiagnosis in a tertiary care hospital including 36 patients in each group (A-with DME & B-without DME). Color doppler was done to evaluate ocular blood flow velocities in internal carotid, ophthalmic and central retinal arteries and central retinal vein.
Results: The majority of diabetes patients in developing countries are middle aged (45–64 years of age). Vascular changes and subsequent ocular hemodynamic changes are critical events in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. Mean Resistivity Index (RI) and Mean Pulsatility Index (PI) in the ophthalmic artery were found to be significantly high in the DME group. Mean end diastolic velocity (EDV) in the common carotid artery was found to be significantly high in the NO DME group than the DME group. In our study, the mean values of Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) (mg/dl) , Total cholesterol (mg/dl) , Serum urea (mg/dl), Serum creatinine (mg/dl) was found to be higher (Statistically significant) in the DME group as compared to NO DME group.
Conclusion: Our findings may indicate disturbances of retinal and choroidal circulation in patients with DME. Further studies with larger groups of patients are needed to understand better the role of retrobulbar hemodynamics in the pathogenesis of Diabetic macular edema.

Keywords: Diabetic macular edema, Doppler evaluation, Ocular blood flow


Periodontal disease (PD) is a complex and infectious illness that begins with a disruption of bacterial homeostasis. This disease induces a host inflammatory response, leading to damage of the soft and connective tooth-supporting tissues. Moreover, in advanced cases, it can contribute to tooth loss. The aetiological factors of PDs have been widely researched, but the pathogenesis of PD has still not been totally clarified. There are a number of factors that have an effect on the aetiology and pathogenesis of PD. It is purported that microbiological, genetic susceptibility and lifestyle can determine the development and severity of the disease. The human body's defence response to the accumulation of plaque and its enzymes is known to be a major factor for PD. The oral cavity is colonised by a characteristic and complex microbiota that grows as diverse biofilms on all mucosal and dental surfaces. The aim of this review was to provide the latest updates in the literature regarding still-existing problems with PD and to highlight the role of the oral microbiome in periodontal health and disease. Better awareness and knowledge of the causes of dysbiosis, environmental risk factors and periodontal therapy can reduce the growing worldwide prevalence of PDs. The promotion of good oral hygiene, limiting smoking, alcohol consumption and exposure to stress and comprehensive treatment to decrease the pathogenicity of oral biofilm can help reduce PD as well as other diseases. Evidence linking disorders of the oral microbiome to various systemic diseases has increased the understanding of the importance of the oral microbiome in regulating many processes in the human body and, thus, its impact on the development of many diseases.


Basic income advocates propose a model that they believe will dramatically improve on current welfare programmes by alleviating poverty, reducing involuntary unemployment and social exclusion, redistributing care work, achieving a better work–life balance, and so on. Whether these expected social effects materialise in practice critically depends on how the model is implemented, but on this topic the basic income debate remains largely silent. Few advocates explicitly consider questions of implementation, and those that do are typically dismissive of the administrative challenges of implementing a basic income and critical (even overtly hostile) towards bureaucracy. In this contribution we briefly examine (and rebut) several reasons that have led basic income advocates to ignore administration. The main peril of such neglect, we argue, is that it misleads basic income advocates into a form of Panglossian optimism that risks causing basic income advocacy to become self-defeating.


225,000/c.mm. Over the next two weeks the reticulocyte count rose from 0.1% to 14%. The marrow showed cells of greater maturity than before. Cells of the erythroid series and megakaryocytes, absent in the marrow sample taken on admission, were now numerous. Clearly a remission had occurred either due to or coincident with a course of virus injections. (Severe staphylococcal and other infections have been reported to cause remissions in leukaemia in certain cases.2 3 The bacteraemia in this patient lasted only a day, and its significance is therefore debatable.) After three months in clinical remission, when the haemoglobin was 14 g./100 ml., platelets and leucocytes in peripheral blood normal, he was readmitted for a further course of virus injections, because the marrow at this stage still contained 98% leukaemic blast cells. Eight intravenous injections, each of 1 ml., of live Newcastle disease virus suspension with a haemagglutinating titre of 1: 2,560 for 1% chick cells were given over a period of eight days. He had spikes of temperature and profuse sweating during the first two days of treatment. Unfortunately, this course did not alter the marrow picture, and he was subsequently discharged home. His remission continued from March to July, when his haemoglobin fell to 10 g./ 100 ml. and the peripheral white cell count was 10,000/ c.mm. The platelet count was normal. He was admitted as an emergency on 27 July, the white cell count having fallen to 100/c.mm. with virtually no polymorphs present. At this time he complained of sore throat, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Two pints of blood were given and a third course of virus injections started. This time fowl plague virus was used ; high antibody levels to parainfluenza 1 were present. He developed a rigor 20 minutes after the first injection, which subsided in 45 minutes. The white blood cell count continued to fall despite further injections, and the haemoglobin fell rapidly. His subsequent downhill course was rapid, and despite 6-mercaptopurine therapy as a last resort he died. The second and third course of virus injections had no apparent effect on the course of the disease process, and whether the first course had any influence in causing the remission is so far in doubt. We have given similar injections of parainfluenza 1 virus to three other patients, who differed in that they had overt acute leukaemia with a high peripheral leucocyte count, in the last stages of the disease. No significant effect was produced, and the patients died shortly afterwards.


Masanobu Fukuoka's book about growing food has been changing the lives of readers since it was first published in 1978. It is a call to arms, a manifesto, and a radical rethinking of the global systems we rely on to feed us all. It is also the memoir of a man whose spiritual beliefs underpin and inform every aspect of his innovative farming system. Equal parts farmer and philosopher, Fukuoka is recognized as one of the founding thinkers of the permaculture movement. Fukuoka perfected his so-called "do-nothing" technique, a way of farming that seeks to work with nature rather than make it over through increasingly elaborate-and often harmful -methods. His farm became a gathering place for people from all over the world who wished to adapt his ways to their own local cultures.


Henrikson, Carl V. (University of South Dakota, Vermillion), and Paul F. Smith. Conversion of mevalonic acid to γ,γ-dimethylallyl pyrophosphate by Mycoplasma. J. Bacteriol. 92:701–706. 1966.—Three representative strains of Mycoplasma, M. laidlawii strain B, Mycoplasma sp. avian strain J, and M. hominis type 2 strain O7, were examined for the presence or absence of enzymes associated with the biosynthetic pathway from mevalonic acid to γ,γ-dimethylallyl pyrophosphate. M. laidlawii served as a control organism, since it is capable of de novo biosynthesis of carotenoids. All four enzymes, namely, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-mevalonate 5-phosphotransferase (EC 220.127.116.11), ATP-5-phosphomevalonate phosphotransferase (EC 18.104.22.168), ATP-5-pyrophosphomevalonate carboxy-lyase (EC 184.108.40.206), and isopentenylpyrophosphate Δ3,Δ2-isomerase (EC 18.104.22.168), were demonstrated in this organism. Mycoplasma sp. avian strain J, which contains all enzymes necessary for the biosynthesis of mevalonic acid, lacks the first three of the above enzymes but contains isopentenyl pyrophosphate Δ3,Δ2-isomerase. M. hominis, which lacks the enzymes necessary for the biosynthesis of mevalonic acid, also is deficient in the enzymes involved in its conversion to γ,γ-dimethylallyl pyrophosphate.


This article historically will review some cases for lynch culture which is again blacks in America. And will examine the term 'Afro-American'. Cases like 'Michael Brown', 'Eric Garner' and 'Antonio Martin' are proof of violence is still going on again black society. Lynching is a part of America's dark sides. Behind lynching, it lays a brutal history of domestic violence. For years, maybe for centuries, American people have lynched Black people because of various accusations. These lynching were, in general, racially motivated. Anti-Black violence roughly began in 1880s. Between 1880s and 1950s, there were lynching and anti-lynching riots. Rayford W. Logan, who was an African American historian and Pan-African activist, called this era as American Dark Ages. (Yale.edu) by changing its form, lynching is still going on. It is the act of killing people for any alleged crime, without trial, jury, judge, appeal. It began after Civil War. During Reconstruction, freedmen tried to use their newly-given rights. Abraham Lincoln abolished the slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to Blacks in 1868. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination in voting rights in 1870. However, white people applied several ways to deter black men from voting and living freely. Disenfranchisement, Jim Crow Laws and Lynching came out and lasted for years. It is true. Lynching based on racial segregation and prejudice continues in a different form. Unfortunately, it has a long history. Jesse Washington, Emmett Till, Laura and L.D Nelson, Michael Brown, Eric Garner were killed as a result of almost same perspective, same prejudice and brutality. First of all, it is crucial to know black history. As a result, the lynching problem does not depend on the state. In every state, people have lynched, hanged, killed or shot. American society has been prone to brutality toward black people as it is understood from the examples. If precautions are not taken or the widespread view is not changed, these cases are going to destroy the 'freedom and democracy'. Note: The term 'The American Dark Ages' was coined by historian Rayford W. Logan. Keywords: African Americans, Human Rights, USA, America, Racism, Lynch Culture


Starting from sociological perspectives on complexity, we show how the social capital of boards and owners networks affects the implied cost of capital of companies listed on Brazilian stock exchange. We specifically show arguments and evidence that the effect of the relational resources found in the direct, indirect, and heterogeneous board's ties reduces the cost of capital while relational resources embedded in shareholder networks increase the cost of capital. Our results show that while the increase in the relational resources of the board reduces the implied cost of capital, an increase in these shared resources in the ownership relationships of the firm increases the cost of financial capital.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the inside-out tension-free vaginal tape transobturator approach or TVT-Obturator system (TVT-ABBREVO) in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This is a prospective single arm study of women with SUI who underwent a TVT-ABBREVO procedure. The inclusion criterion was a diagnosis of SUI urodynamically proven without detrusor over activity. SUI was defined as involuntary urine leakage with stress in the absence of detrusor over activity with or without intrinsic sphincter deficiency. Before, and 12 months after surgery women received urodynamic test, pelvic examination, and a personal interview using the Urogenital Distress Inventory (UDI) and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ). The primary outcome was the incidence of incontinency through cough stress test during the urodynamic exam. A total of 90 women were included in the analysis. Our analysis showed that the incidence of incontinence through cough stress test during the urodynamic exam was significantly less 12 months after the intervention (100% vs 3%; P-value =0.001). Moreover, we found a significantly improvement of the quality of life measured by UDI score (13±4.5 vs 7.3±2.2 points; P-value 0.01) and IIQ score (14±5.7 vs 8.1 vs 3.1 points; P-value 0.02). No intraoperative complications were noticed. TVT-ABBREVO significantly reduced the incidence of stress urinary incontinence. In the authors' experience, this technique resulted technically simple and provided high objective and subjective long-term efficacy, a clinically meaningful improvement in patient quality of life, and an excellent safety profile.


An objective technique for obtaining features associated with the shape and dynamics of cloud structures embedded in tropical cyclones from satellite infrared images is described. As the tropical cyclone develops from an unstructured cloud cluster and intensifies, the cloud structures become more axisymmetric about an identified reference point. Using variables derived from remotely sensed data, the technique calculates the gradient of the brightness temperatures to measure the level of symmetry of each structure, which characterizes the degree of cloud organization of the tropical cyclone. The results presented show that the technique provides an objective measure of both the structure and the intensity of the tropical cyclone from early stages, through intensification, maturity, and dissipation.


ABSTRACT Research Findings: Parental responsiveness and social mastery motivation are important correlates of children's social-emotional development, but little research has examined the relationships among these factors. The present study investigated the direct and indirect relationships among paternal and maternal responsiveness, social mastery motivation, and social-emotional competence of Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 188 children (105 boys; mean age 3.82) and their parents recruited through local kindergartens' parent groups. Parents reported their parental responsiveness, and children's social mastery motivation as well as social-emotional competence. In addition, children's receptive and expressive vocabulary were individually assessed as control variables. Results from the path analytic model revealed that social mastery motivation partially mediated the association between maternal responsiveness and children's social-emotional competence, but that paternal responsiveness did not significantly predict children's social mastery motivation or social-emotional competence. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the differential associations of paternal and maternal responsiveness with children's social-emotional competence. The results also suggest the desirability of encouraging children's social mastery motivation to promote their social-emotional competence.


Current Strehl ratio models for actively compensated free-space optical communications terminals do not accurately predict system performance under strong turbulence conditions as they are based on weak turbulence theory. For evaluation of compensated systems, we present an approach for simulating the Strehl ratio with both low-order (tip/tilt) and higher-order (adaptive optics) correction. Our simulation results are then compared to the published models and their range of turbulence validity is assessed. Finally, we propose a new Strehl ratio model and antenna gain equation that are valid for general turbulence conditions independent of the degree of compensation.


Arrojadite occurs in pegmatites in the gneisses of Serra Branca, near Pedra Lavrada, Picui, Paraiba do Norte. A sample of the analyzed material presents in cleavable massive forms of deep green colour and natural faces were not found in the studied samples. Hardness over 5. It often encloses minute crystals of hematite and quartz. Inclusions of euhedral crystals of cassiterite are fairly common. It also shows abundant inclusions surrounded by pleochroic haloes. The following analysis of a sample with little amount of inclusions shows the relation between Arrojadite and inclusions: Cassiterite 0,61 per cent Hematite 1,29 Arrojadite 98,10 100,00 per cent Arrojadite alters to a dark red mineral which probably is monoclinic. Its index of refraction and birefringence are higher than that of Arrojadite. The alteration sets in from the exterior of the crystal and from the cleavage craks. This is a common alteration and the product of it is a biaxial mineral, optically positive (+ ), vellow, and grayish when in thin sections. 2V r = 16° The indexes of refraction are moderately high: Y = 1,724 p = 1,703 ( ± 0,001), a = 1,703 ( ± 0,001) Birefringence o Y-a = 0,021, Y-p = 0,0205, fl-a = 0,0004 In thin sections it is yellow with m a rk e d pleochroism Z = d a rk red, Y = orange yellow, X = brilliant yellow The maximum extinction angle in sections parallel to the cleavage planes is about 2° 15' The crystallographic characters of arrojadite are: monoclinic, cleavage parallel to (110) is generally highly developped, and the plane of the optic axes is parallel to the cleavage planes. The relations between cleavage planes and crystallographic axes are shown in fig. 1. Optically, A rrojadite is negative (— ) Axial plane parallel to (110); 2 Vr = 82° The index of refraction is moderately high y = 1,657. Double refraction low: Y-« = 0,0079, Y - P — 0,0034, P - a = 0,0045. In thin section colourless, or faintly pleochroic: Z = pale green Y = incolour X = incolour Regarding chemical composition Arrojadite seems to be the same kind from Black Hills, South Dakota, which was described by W.P Headden in the American Journal of Science (1). This mineral and Arrojadite show the same megascopic features. The analyses shown at the pag. 8 give us an idea about the resemblance of these two minerals. The presence of F e 20 3 in the I and 11 analyses is due the that the samples analyzed h ad 2 to 3 per cent of hematite. The higher percentage of H20 is due to the alteration of the Arrojadite. Beside, the author gives a detailed discussion on the question of the priority of the name Arrojadite based, chiefly, on B. Masons works published in the Geologiska Forenniges I Stockholm Forhandlinger, of March-April 1941. This latter author ends by giving the priority to the name Arrojadite over the name Headdenita of Quensel. The author proposed the name Arrojadite to the inoxidized m ineral, which represents, when pure, the Headden's phosphate from Black Hills, South Dakota, U.S.A


In this thesis the possibility of actively balancing the spin drum in a washing machine is examined. Due to the fact that the unbalance in washing machines is highly variable, e.g. by water leaving the laundry during spin drying, active balancing is required where the balancing system continuously is changing according to how much unbalance there is to counterbalance. The idea is to use a concept which with the help of an eccentric mechanism displaces the spin drum during spin drying, thus counteract the unbalance which arises when the laundry has been unevenly distributed before spin drying.

In the thesis a preliminary study in rotor dynamics has been done to examine what kind of different techniques there are for active balancing whereupon a development of other concepts to be compared to the eccentric mechanism was done. Primarily to find out if the concept already exists but also to examine if there are other concepts that could be comparable to or even better than the eccentric mechanism. The eccentric mechanism was considered to be the most potential concept.

A design including the mechanical parts of the eccentric mechanism has been dimensioned to be able to use in a physical prototype and to make it possible to execute a spin drying speed of 2000 rpm without excessive vibrations. The eccentric mechanism was modelled in Pro/ENGINEER and its behaviour has been studied in a computerised model of ASKO Cylinda washing machine in ADAMS/View. Through analysis in the virtual model it was found that the model is comparable to a physical machine and the vibrations caused by the unbalance can be strongly reduced by the use of the eccentric mechanism.


Aims: The aim was to examine experiences of bullying among Swedish adolescents and whether victims and perpetrators were also exposed to violence in the home, with particular focus on how abuse severity affected the risk of exposure to bullying. Methods: A nationally representative sample of pupils aged 14–15 responded to a questionnaire exploring exposure to corporal punishment and other types of violence. Results were analysed using Pearson's chi-square and multiple logistic regression, adjusting for factors regarding the child, the parents and the families' socioeconomic status. Results: Among the 3197 respondents, a significant proportion reported at least one incident of either bullying victimisation (girls 36%, boys 26%) or bullying perpetration (girls 24%, boys 36%). Physical and emotional violence in the home, including witnessed intimate partner violence, were significantly associated with both bullying victimisation and bullying perpetration. Odds ratios for exposure to bullying rose with increasing frequency and severity of abuse. Adjusted odds ratios ranged from 1.6 for any event of abuse vs. single episodes of bullying to 20.3 for multiple types of abuse vs. many episodes of bullying. The child's gender and the presence of a chronic health condition were consistently associated with nearly all levels of abuse and bullying. Conclusions: Bullying experiences are common among youth and are clearly associated with abuse. Frequent bullying, whether as victim or perpetrator, warrants particular vigilance, as it appears to be an indicator of severe violence in the home.


Exploiting loop parallelism is an important way to enhance system performance. For loop-carried dependence, the original DO loop is converted into a DOACROSS loop to function concurrently. In general, synchronisation operations are inserted to maintain order dependence during parallel execution. For each processor in a shared memory multiprocessor, if the executing sequence is the same as the original source program, the action of synchronisation operation is correct; however, if each processor is used out of order, such as in the superscalar machine, the action of synchronisation operation may be incorrect. The synchronisation marker insertion method proposed resolves this problem in two steps: (i) proper synchronisation markers are appended into the array element of dependences, and (ii) synchronisation markers are generated during intermediate code generation. Finally, algorithms are proposed to prevent error during instruction scheduling.