STUDY QUESTION
Are there associations between early time-lapse parameters, expression of candidate embryo viability genes in cumulus cells and embryo quality on Day 5?

SUMMARY ANSWER
Early time-lapse parameters correlate to the expression levels of candidate embryo viability genes in cumulus cells but a combined analysis including both time-lapse and candidate gene expression did not identify significant predictors of embryo quality on Day 5.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Recent evidence suggests that early time-lapse parameters are predictive of blastocyst development. Similarly, a number of candidate genes in cumulus cells have been identified as potential markers of embryo viability. Relationships between time-lapse parameters and candidate gene expression in cumulus cells have not been investigated, and a combined analysis of these markers has not been attempted in relation to embryo quality.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
A total of 78 embryos obtained by ICSI from 22 patients were studied by time-lapse and measurement of cumulus cell gene expression of known markers of embryo viability. Time-lapse and cumulus cell gene expression data were assessed in relation to embryo quality on Day 5.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
All women, aged 32-40 years, underwent ICSI treatment for male infertility. Embryos with annotatable time to pronuclear breakdown (tPNB), division to two cells (t2C), three cells (t3C), four cells (t4C) and five cells (t5C) were included in the study. Expression levels of 27 candidate genes for embryo viability were measured in 78 associated cumulus cell masses using quantitative real-time PCR.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Cumulus cell expression of 11 candidate genes involved in energy metabolism (ATPase, H+ transporting, lysosomal 70 kDa, V1 subunit A (ATP6V1A), NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) 1 alpha subcomplex, 1, 7.5 kDa (NDUFA1), lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), phosphofructokinase platelet (PFKP) and solute carrier family 2 member 4 (SLC2A4), mitochondrial biogenesis (DNA directed RNA polymerase, mitochondrial (POLRMT) and transcription factor A, mitochondrial (TFAM), signalling (prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2), steroidogenesis (cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (CYP11A1) and cell stress (heat shock 70 kDa protein 5 (HSPA5) and peroxiredoxin 3 (PRDX3)) correlated to time-lapse parameters of the developing embryo, largely for t3C onwards (all P < 0.05). Expression of ATP synthase, H+ transporting, mitochondrial Fo complex, subunit E (ATP51), HSPA5, PFKP, PRDX3 and versican (VCAN) and the parameter t4C were also related to embryo quality on Day 5 (all P < 0.05). Ordinal logistic regression, where gene expression and time-lapse parameters were combined, did not identify any significant predictors of embryo quality on Day 5.

LIMITATIONS AND REASON FOR CAUTION
Data are from a preliminary study, limited by a small sample size and using more than one ovarian stimulation protocol. A possible limitation is that each follicle was treated as an independent observation, although a considerable fraction of embryos were from the same patient.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Results presented in this study suggest that some of the variation of time-lapse parameters may be related to cumulus cell gene expression and thus the ovarian microenvironment in which the oocyte developed. Although the current study did not identify significant predictors of embryo quality on Day 5, investigation in a larger cohort may determine whether cumulus cell gene expression and time-lapse parameters can be combined to predict embryo quality.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS
Funding was provided by Fertility Associates Ltd, the Auckland Medical Research Foundation and the University of Auckland. J.C.P. has a 0.5% shareholding in Fertility Associates. All other authors of this manuscript have nothing to declare and no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.


Injury in low income countries The burden of injuries as a major health problem has been recognised in two reports released recently by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Bank. The Global Burden ofDisease edited by CJL Murray and AD Lopez and published jointly by WHO, the World Bank, and Harvard School of Public Health estimates that 10.7% of all deaths in the developing countries were due to injuries in 1990 as compared with 7.6% in the developed countries.' The estimates for years of life lost due to injuries as a per cent of the total are reported to be 16% in established market economies, 20% in China, 11% in India, and 14% in other Asian countries. An ad hoc committee on health research relating to future intervention options established under the auspices of the WHO has published a report Investing in Health Research and Development.2 One of the conclusions of the report is that 'the burden due to injuries could equal that due to communicable diseases worldwide by 2020. In several developing regions including China, and Latin America and the Caribbean, injuries are expected to exceed communicable diseases'. The committee recommends that a special programme or initiative for research, training, and capacity building on injuries should be set up to focus on issues in low income countries. National governments of most Asian countries have not initiated any major injury control programmes. It is possible that the publication of these reports and associated changes in policies of international organisations would help researchers and health professionals in Asian countries to put pressure on their respective governments to give more importance to injuries as a health problem. However, it will not be very easy to come up with ready made solutions and countermeasures. Road traffic, work practices , and housing patterns in low income countries are different from those prevalent in high income countries. The situation in many low income countries is much more complex than that in those with a high income because of high income differentials and uses of modern technologies along with traditional ones. For example, London has never experienced the traffic patterns prevalent in Beijing today. Therefore, it is very necessary for professionals in low income countries to do a great deal of original work to come up with countermeasures that are feasible and suit these new conditions. International collaboration to share ideas and experiences would …


Fiber optic sensors (FOS) have significantly evolved and have reached their market maturity during the last decade. Their widely recognized advantages are high precision, long-term stability, and durability. But in addition to these advantageous performances, FOS technologies allow for affordable instrumentation of large areas of structure enabling global large-scale monitoring based on long-gauge sensors and integrity monitoring based on distributed sensors. These two approaches are particularly suitable for damage detection and characterization, i.e., damage localization and to certain extent quantification and propagation, as illustrated by two applications presented in detail in this paper: post-tensioned concrete bridge and segmented concrete pipeline. Early age cracking was detected, localized and quantified in the concrete deck of a pedestrian bridge using embedded long-gauge FOS. Post-tensioning of deck closed the cracks; however, permanent weakening in a bridge joint occurred due to cracking and it was identified and quantified. The damage was confirmed using embedded distributed FOS and a separate load test of the bridge. Real-size concrete pipeline specimens and surrounding soil were equipped with distributed FOS and exposed to permanent ground displacement in a large-scale testing facility. Two tests were performed on different pipeline specimens. The sensors bonded on the pipeline specimens successfully detected and localized rupture of pipeline joints, while the sensors embedded in the soil were able to detect and localize the failure plane. Comparison with strain-gauges installed on the pipeline and visual inspection after the test confirmed accurate damage detection and characterization.


Background Under the Australian Constitution, each state/territory of Australia has responsibility for developing its own health law. Over the last 25 years, Advance Care Planning legislation in Australia has developed at a different rate, and with different emphasis, in each state/territory, resulting in different legislation, documentation and terminology in each state/territory. While there is some support for more national consistency, it is important to understand the current legislative provisions and the often unintended barriers to some aspects of ACP created by the law in various jurisdictions. Aim The aim of this project was to compare legislation across each state/territory, to support two national information seminar series across Australia in 2011 and 2012. Methods ACP legislation was examined and compared for each state/territory. As part of the seminar series, stakeholders in each state/territory were asked to alert the presenter if their understanding of their legislation was different to what was presented. When this happened, the presenter subsequently clarified the issue. Results Issues were identified in most states/territories that could be disincentives to effective ACP. Discussion Problems identified included incorrect assumptions in NSW and Tasmania that Advance Directives were not legally binding; confusion in NSW about the authority of the Person Responsible to refuse life-sustaining treatment; and inherent problems in South Australia resulting from there being no order of authority for substitute decision-makers. Conclusion Ensuring individual wishes/directions for future health care/medical treatment are respected requires that problems with state/territory legislation be addressed as a matter of urgency.


Abstract. The Alqueva reservoir (southeast of Portugal) is the largest artificial lake in western Europe and a strategic freshwater supply in the region. The reservoir is of scientific interest in terms of monitoring and maintaining the quality and quantity of water and its impact on the regional climate. To support these tasks, we conducted numerical studies of the thermal and gas regimes in the lake over the period from May 2017 to March 2019, supplemented by the data observed at the weather stations and floating platforms during the field campaign of the ALentejo Observation and Prediction (ALOP) system project. The 1D model, LAKE 2.0, was used for the numerical studies. Since it is highly versatile and can be adjusted to the specific features of the reservoir, this model is capable of simulating its thermodynamic and biogeochemical characteristics. Profiles and time series of water temperature, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and concentrations of CO2 and O2 reproduced by the LAKE 2.0 model were validated against the observed data and were compared to the thermodynamic simulation results obtained with the freshwater lake (FLake) model. The results demonstrated that both models captured the seasonal variations in water surface temperature and the internal thermal structure of the Alqueva reservoir well. The LAKE 2.0 model showed slightly better results and satisfactorily captured the seasonal gas regime.


Abstract
Stakeholders often engage in actions aimed at either benefitting or punishing firms for their behaviour. Such behaviours can have very serious implications for various types of firm performance, including financial performance. Though one might expect that the investigation of possible precursors of such "stakeholder action" would be a priority of researchers in stakeholder theory, to date research within the stakeholder literature directed towards understanding stakeholder behaviour has been somewhat scarce. In this chapter, I present common themes and assumptions that prevail in the existing research on stakeholder action, identify certain important questions concerning such assumptions and suggest avenues for future research on stakeholder behaviour.


Realizing multiple beam shaping functionalities in a single plasmonic device is crucial for photonic integration. Both plasmonic Bessel-like beams and bottle beams have potential applications in nanophotonics, particularly in plasmonic based circuits, near field optical trapping, and micro manipulation. Thus, it is very interesting to find new approaches for simultaneous generation of surface plasmon polariton Bessel-like beams and bottle beams in a single photonic device. Two types of polarization-dependent devices, which consist of arrays of spatially distributed sub-wavelength rectangular slits, are designed. The array of slits are specially arranged to construct an X-shaped or an IXI-shaped array, namely X-shaped device and IXI-shaped devices, respectively. Under illumination of circularly polarized light, plasmonic zero-order and first-order Bessel-like beams can be simultaneously generated on both sides of X-shaped devices. Plasmonic Bessel-like beam and bottle beam can be simultaneously generated on both sides of IXI-shaped devices. By changing the handedness of circularly polarized light, for both X-shaped and IXI-shaped devices, the positions of the generated plasmonic beams on either side of device can be dynamically interchanged.


The country [Palestine] was mostly an empty desert, with only a few islands of Arab settlement; and Israel's cultivable land today was indeed redeemed from swamp and wilderness. Shimon Peres. (a former Israeli Minister of Information)1 It was only after the Zionists "made the desert bloom" that "they [the Palestinians] became interested in taking it from us." Levi Eshkol (a former Prime Minister of Israel)2


3,4 Abstract: Electrocardiogram is an important tool in diagnosing the condition of the heart. Extracting the information from the Electrocardiograph is an important task in determining the variations of the electrical activity of the heart. ECG feature extraction plays a major significant role in diagnosing the most of the cardiac diseases. One among the major cardiac diseases is arrhythmia which is abrupt and abnormal heart beat. In case of arrhythmia heart doesn't pump sufficient blood required for the human body and sudden cardiac death may happen and this can even damage vital organs such as brain, heart, etc. of the body positions. So it is very much needed to determine conditions of arrhythmia and should take necessary measure before the patient reaches some serious condition. Hence in order to find out arrhythmia ECG signal should be analyzed. Analyzing the ECG signal manually is a tedious process so number of researches has been done recently for analyzing the ECG signal based on fuzzy logic method, artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms and support vector machines and using other analysis techniques. This proposed paper discusses different ECG analysis techniques and provides comparative study of various methods of such techniques proposed by researchers in the previous articles. as both an instruction set and as a template into which you can type your own text.


This paper discusses the situation of people in the current modern nation state in terms of their relation to their own nation and state. They are situated between patriotic and economic interests, between individual rights and national interest, between empirical needs and abstract requirements. These tensions, described more elaborately in a previous article, are illustrated by the research of focus groups on the attitudes of Lithuanian school students. A majority of students was found to prefer economic and personal motivation over patriotic. Historical education based on comics was tested as a way to implement more patriotic attitudes.


Contagious agalactia (C.A) is an infectious syndrome of sheep that is characterized by mastitis and subsequent failure of milk production, arthritis, abortion and keratoconjunctivitis. Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. agalactiae) is the main cause of the disease in sheep. The aim of this study was isolation and identification of M. agalactiae with culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay from sheep of Qom province in Iran. A total of 102 samples were collected from milk secretion, eye, ear and joint exudates of sheep. All samples were cultured in PPLO broth supplemented for M. agalaciae isolation. The bacteria DNAs were extracted by phenol/chloroform method and the PCR assay was applied for detecting of Mycoplasma genus in 163bp fragment of 16S rRNA gene and M. agalactiae in 375bp fragment of lipoprotein gene from culture as same as in clinical samples. Out of the 102 samples, 19(18.63%) cultures were shown positive and typical Mycoplasma colonies in PPLO agar culture diagnostic method and 59(57.8%) were scored positive by Mycoplasma genus PCR, 19(18.62%) of the samples were scored positive by using M. agalactiae PCR as diagnostic method. Out of the 102 samples, 19 samples were shown both positive in the culture and PCR, 42 samples were shown both negative in the culture and PCR. 40 samples were negative in the culture and positive in PCR whereas only one sample was positive in culture and negative in PCR. The results showed that the more isolations of M. agalactiae were taken from milk and less in joint samples. M. agalactiae was one of the main factors of contagious agalactia that was detected for the first time from sheep in Qom province.


Due to its low attenuation, fiber has become that medium of choice for point-to-point links. Using Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM), many channels can be created in the same fiber. A network node equipped with a tunable optical transmitter can select any of these channels for sending data. An optical interconnection combines the signal from the various receivers in the network, and makes it available to the optical receivers, which may also be tunable. By properly tuning transmitters and/or receivers, point-to-point links can be dynamically created and destroyed. Therefore, in a WDM network, the routing algorithm has an additional degree of freedom compared to traditional networks: it can modify the network topology to create the routes. In this report, we consider the problem of routing audio/video streams in WDM networks. We present a general linear integer programming formulation for the problem. However, since this is a complex solution, we propose simpler heuristic algorithms, both for the unicast case and for the multicast case. The performance of these heuristics is evaluated in a number of scenarios, with a realistic traffic model, and from the evaluation we derive guidelines for usage of the heuristic algorithms.


Metallic corrosion and semiconductor corrosion are both subject to the local cell model, in which the energy levels of electrons and holes are determinant in the corrosion. In metals available electrons and holes locate at the same level of electrode potential: whereas, in semiconductors they locate at their respective levels different from the electrode potential. Electron-associated corrosion and hole-associated one are indistinguishable with metals but take place in different ways with semiconductors depending on whether of p-type or n-type. Photo-effects on corrosion are negligible with metals but are significant with semiconductors. The corrosion of metals may be inhibited in contact with n-type semiconductors, while it may be accelerated with p-type semiconductors.


Multilocus isoenzyme electrophoresis was used to screen 47 field isolates of Yersinia ruckeri for electrophoretic variation at 15 enzyme loci. Only four electrophoretic types were observed, thus indicating that the genetic structure of Y. ruckeri is clonal. Forty-two isolates were of one electrophoretic type, a reflection of the low amount of genetic diversity extant in this species. Although sorbitol fermentation has been considered to be indicative of a second biotype, no significant gene frequency differences were found between the group of 20 isolates that readily used sorbitol as the sole carbon source and the group of 27 that did not.


Academic supports offered by Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) meet the needs of individuals who achieve standards such as high grade point averages and high standardized test scores, and who can negotiate traditional college institutions. Evidence indicates that retention and graduation rates for underrepresented minority students may be lower in comparison to White peers at the same institutions. Observations indicated that academic supports offered by a Midwestern PWI, may not provide the services preferred by African American students who struggle academically in two colleges, the College of Education and the College of Nursing. A mixed-methods design was used to determine what academic supports were known and being used by academically struggling African American students at a PWI. Survey questions and interviews focused on gaining understandings of student preferences for academic supports in a population of academically struggling African American students. These results may be used to design academic supports for struggling African American students and may be generalized to PWIs of similar demographics and sociocultural settings. Application of the results to academic support design may improve retention and graduation rates for this student group. Students requested increased interaction with faculty, late night or 24-hour tutoring services, assistance with time management, more social media to assist with reminders about assignments and class projects, and assistance with technology and online classes. Some differences were noted between what was recorded in the literature and the results of this study in the areas of study groups, same ethnicity faculty, group membership and mentoring.


Large downstream movements of transition observed when the leading edge of a hollow cylinder or a flat plate is slightly blunted are explained in terms of the reduction in Reynolds number at the outer edge of the boundary layer due to the detached shock wave. The magnitude of this reduction is computed for cones and wedges for Mach numbers to 20. Concurrent changes in outer-edge Mach number and temperature occur in the direction that would increase the stability of the laminar boundary layer. The hypothesis is made that transition Reynolds number is substantially unchanged when a sharp leading edge or tip is blunted. This hypothesis leads to the conclusion that the downstream movement of transition is inversely proportional to the ratio of surface Reynolds number with blunted tip or leading edge to surface Reynolds number with sharp tip or leading edge. The conclusion is in good agreement with the hollow-cylinder result at Mach 3.1.


Enhanced oil recovery methods are appealing to increase oil recovery from reservoirs due to market pressures in times of lower oil price. Chemical enhanced oil recovery (cEOR) methods such as ASP involve the use of alkali, surfactant, and polymer, to create an ultralow interfacial tension (IFT) between microemulsion and oil phases. These chemicals have the potential to interact with asphaltenes in crude oil and may cause either a decrease or an increase in asphaltene deposition. This paper presents an investigation into the effects of ASP chemicals on asphaltene precipitation.
 Crude oil, from a cEOR-nominated Kuwaiti reservoir, was analyzed with an ASP formulation that was determined through microemulsion phase behavior experiments. Crude oil, chemical components, and incompatible solvent were added together, and light transmission was measured over a 15-minute period to determine asphaltene precipitation over time.
 A blank graph of the crude in incompatible solvent showed a light transmission increase of 36.2% over the test duration indicating asphaltene precipitation. If asphaltenes remain suspended in oil, light transmission remains low and stable from the beginning to the end of the test. Addition of asphaltene inhibitor (AI) to the crude oil prevented asphaltene flocculation which was evidenced by a maximum light transmission of 3.0%, an efficiency of 91.7% dispersability relative to the blank sample. With addition of the ASP formulation, light transmission increased which indicates interaction between (1) chemical species of the ASP formulation with asphaltenes or (2) the alkali in the chemical package altering the pH and causing more asphaltene precipitation from suspension in the crude. Maximum light transmission of oil dosed with the chemical additives is 41.3% which is a decrease in asphaltene inhibition efficiency of 14.1% relative to the blank. With the addition of AI to the crude containing the chemical additives, the maximum light transmission is 6.5% indicating an efficiency of 82% asphaltene dispersability. Results indicate a clear relationship between addition of ASP chemicals and asphaltene precipitation. Conditions will differ for other crude oils and cEOR formulations, but asphaltene scaling issues should be considered for cEOR projects.


The next generation wireless access networks (NGWN) should be capable of interoperable with other communication technologies and should coordinate with them to offer best connectivity to the users. It is being a challenging task in heterogeneous wireless access networks for supporting seamless handover from one technology to another with minimal packet loss and low latency. The 3G/UMTS-WLAN interworking allows the mobile station to choose between 3G or WLAN radio access technologies for satisfying requirements of mobile users. Since mobile users moving between 3G/UMTS and WLAN, it has to be authenticated every time it moves to another access technology. The existing authentication protocol like full authentication protocol and fast re-authentication protocol has high computation load on HLR/HSS and RADIUS server and unacceptable packet loss due to high authentication delay. Fast iterative localized re-authentication with minor changes to EAP-AKA protocol reduces the authentication delay, but it fails to satisfy the security on authentication vectors in the access point. The proposed work enhances the security on fast iterative localized re-authentication protocol with minimal authentication delay and minimum signaling cost. The security significance of the proposed protocol is verified with AVISPA (Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications) security analyzer.


Abstract. Becker et al. (2013) argue that an afforestation of 0.73 × 109 ha with Jatropha curcas plants would generate an additional terrestrial carbon sink of 4.3 PgC yr−1, enough to stabilise the atmospheric mixing ratio of carbon dioxide (CO2) at current levels. However, this is not consistent with the dynamics of the global carbon cycle. Using a well-established global carbon cycle model, the effect of adding such a hypothetical sink leads to a reduction of atmospheric CO2 levels in the year 2030 by 25 ppm compared to a reference scenario. However, the stabilisation of the atmospheric CO2 concentration requires a much larger additional sink or corresponding reduction of anthropogenic emissions.


The line-start permanent magnet synchronous motor has a high efficiency and an advantage in constant speed operation regardless of the effect of load variation. However in, is difficult to predict the performance of characteristics accurately, because of the unbalanced starting torque with the initial starting position of the rotor and the generation of a break torque. In this paper the dynamic characteristics of the line-start permanent magnet synchronous motor are described and compared with those of the squirrel-cage induction motor through the simulation to find the characteristics of the permanent magnets and the rotor bars in the line-start permanent magnet synchronous motor.


The region between the infrared and microwave region in the electromagnetic spectrum, the Terahertz (THz) gap, provides an exciting opportunity for future wireless communications as this band has been underutilized. This doctoral work takes a two-pronged approach into closing the THz gap with lowdimensional materials. The first attempt addresses the need for a compact THz source that can operate at room temperature. The second approach addresses the need to build optical elements such as filters and modulators in the THz spectrum. Terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) are one of the most compact, powerful sources of coherent radiation that bridge the terahertz gap. However, their cryogenic requirements for operation limit the scope of the applications. This is because of the electron-electron scattering and heating of the 2-dimensional free electron gas which leads to significant optical phonon scattering of the hot electrons. Theoretical studies in laterally confined QCL structures have predicted enhanced lifetime of the upper state through suppression of the non-radiative intersubband relaxation, which leads to lower threshold, and higher temperature performance. Lithographically defined vertical nanopillar arrays with electrostatic radius less than tens of nm offer a possible route to achieve lateral confinement, which can be integrated into QCL structures. A typical gain medium in a QCL consists of at least 100 repeat periods, with a thickness of 6-14 μm. For practical implementation of the topdown approach, restrictions are imposed by aspect ratios that can be achieved in present dry-etching systems. Typically, for sub-200 nm radius pillars, the thickness ranges from 1-3.5 μm. It is therefore necessary to work with THz QCLs based on 3-4 quantum well active regions, so as to maximize the number of repeat periods (hence gain) within a ≤ 3.5 μm thin active region. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 presents a theoretical treatise on the realistic electrostatic potential in a lithographically defined nanopillar by scaling from a single quantum well (resonant tunneling diode) to a THz QCL. Chapter 2 also discusses, the effect of lateral confinement on the intersubband states and the plasmonic mode in a THz QCL. One of the key experimental challenges in scaling down from QCLs to quantum-dot cascade lasers is the electrical injection into the nanopillars. This involves insulation and planarization of the high aspect-ratio nanopillar arrays. Furthermore, the choice of the planarizing layer is critical since it determines the loss of any optical mode. This experimental challenge is solved in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents the electro-optic performance of low-repeat period QCLs with an active region thickness ≤ 3.5 μm. Another topic of recent interest in the THz optics community is plasmonics in graphene. This is because the bound electromagnetic modes (plasmons) are tightly confined to the surface and can also be tuned with carrier concentration. Plasmonic resonance at terahertz (THz) frequencies can be achieved by gating graphene grown via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to a high carrier concentration. THz time domain spectroscopy of such gated monolayer graphene shows resonance features around 1.6 THz superimposed on the Drude-like frequency response of graphene which may be related to the inherent polycrystallinity of CVD graphene. Chapter 5 discusses these results, as an understanding of these features is necessary for the development of future THz optical elements based on CVD graphene. Chapter 5 finally describes how the gate tunability of THz transmission through graphene can be exploited to indirectly modulate a THz QCL. Chapter 6 presents ideas from this doctoral work, which can be developed in future to address the issues of enhanced temperature performance of Thz QCLs and to realize realistic THz devices based on graphene.


A numerical process chain for the acoustic design optimization of aircraft engine nozzles is presented here. This is done by using a parameterized nozzle model and a statistic acoustic cost function. Through the analysis of the influence of nozzle geometry on the emission properties of the nozzle flow, an acoustic and aerodynamic cost-benefit analysis is performed. The process chain is fully closed, and by varying the geometry function a vast number of different nozzle designs can be calculated in order to realize an acoustically optimal nozzle geometry. The parametric CAD (computer aided design) model of the nozzle is used as boundary condition of a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation. Then follows a rapid estimation of the the acoustic emissions from the spectrum of the resulting nozzle flow in respect to the design parameters. This is realized with the data of a steady RANS (Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes) calculation, combined with the SST (Shear Stress Transport) turbulence model and an integral CAA (Computational Aeroacoustics) method. The noise-optimized geometry parameters are finally presented in relation to the acoustic cost function for different geometry types. In the current version of the process chain, the acoustic cost function is valid for emission angle of 90° (sideline) and cold jets. The characteristics of the process chain are documented and validated here. Finally, it is shown how the process chain is applied to characterize and optimize nozzle geometries in terms of acoustic properties. Furthermore, physical aspects which cause a reduction of jet noise by adjusting the nozzle geometry, are discussed. The Nozzle design is crucial for the properties of the turbulent jet flow and jet noise. Jet noise is a key component of aircraft noise. The process chain can help to reduce jet noise if its used for predesign of noise efficient nozzles.


The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the adaptive and resilience processes in adolescents from different marginalizing communities. The theoretical and empirical foundations of the ecological-transactional perspective of adolescent development as a framework for understanding the adaptive processes and resilience in contextual adversity is reviewed, with the recognition of risk and protective factors at multiple levels and ecological settings. Under this perspective, the authors provide data supporting the predictive role of stressful life events, coping, and family functioning in adaptive and nonadaptive outcomes in adolescents living in diverse contexts of high-risk communities in Mexico City. These findings may contribute to early intervention programs based on empirical evidence with adolescents and families living in disadvantages communities in schools and in clinical settings.


The complex clinical and laboratory researches conducted in groups of the pregnant women with mild case of gestosis, middle serious preeclampsia and with heavy severity of gestosis. Anticoagulatyc, antiaggregatic and fibrinolytic activity of a wall of vessels on a background of creation of a short-lived ischemia were examined. Disturbance of a coagulative potential of a blood are actuated development endothelial dysfunction in groups of the pregnant women with middle serious preeclampsia and with heavy severity of gestosis.


This book examines when, how, and why internationalisation affects national economic institutions. It confronts questions at the heart of debates in political economy and comparative politics: What does internationalisation of markets mean? Who are its carriers in domestic arenas? Through which mechanisms does it affect decisions about national institutional reform? What are the patterns of institutional outcomes in the face of internationalisation? To respond to its questions, the book looks at developments in five strategic sectors: securities trading, telecommunications, electricity, airlines, and postal services. It compares four countries, each representing a different 'variety of capitalism', namely Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, over the period between 1965 and 2005. Thus it combines cross-national, historical, and cross-sectoral comparisons. The author distinguishes technological and economic forms of internationalisation from policy forms, namely regulatory change in powerful overseas nations and by the EU. He shows that, contrary to expectations, the first made little impact, whereas regulatory reforms by the US, Britain, and the EU, undermined long-standing national institutions. They did so by aiding governments to build and lead reform coalitions, through increasing fears of regulatory competition, offering occasions for reconsideration of existing institutions and providing legitimation for new ones. Whilst the impacts of policy forms of internationalisation varied across nations, giving rise to diverse reform paths, the overall institutional outcomes were that all four countries adopted increasingly similar reforms of economic institutions. This book rejects the view that technological and economic forms of internationalisation drive institutional change in and of themselves. Instead it shows that policy forms of internationalisation are influential because they become part of domestic decision making and thereby spur reform, even of deeply-entrenched national institutions.


OBJECTIVES
Australopithecus sediba is characterized further by providing formerly unpublished and refined mesiodistal and buccolingual crown measurements in the MH1 and MH2 specimens. After size correction, these data were compared with those in other fossil and recent samples to facilitate additional insight into diachronic hominin affinities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Six comparative samples consist of fossil species: A. africanus, A. afarensis, Homo habilis, Paranthropus robustus, P. boisei, and H. erectus. Others comprise H. sapiens and Pan troglodytes. Re-estimates of "actual" dimensions in damaged A. sediba teeth were effected through repeated measurements by independent observers. X-ray synchrotron microtomography allowed measurement of crowns obscured by matrix and noneruption. Tooth size apportionment analysis, an established technique for intraspecific comparisons, was then applied at this interspecific level to assess phenetic affinities using both within- and among-group data.

RESULTS
Comparison of these highly heritable dimensions identified a general trend for smaller posterior relative to larger anterior teeth (not including canines), contra Paranthropus, that allies A. sediba with other australopiths and Homo; however, specific reductions and/or shape variation in the species' canines, third premolars, and anterior molars relative to the other teeth mirror the patterning characteristic of Homo.

DISCUSSSION
Of all samples, including east African australopiths, A. sediba appears most like H. habilis, H. erectus and H. sapiens regarding how crown size is apportioned along the tooth rows. These findings parallel those in prior studies of dental and other skeletal data, including several that suggest A. sediba is a close relative of, if not ancestral to, Homo.


Corticosteroids, which are potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator agents used in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases including allergic diseases, can in some cases produce immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reactions. We report a case of a delayed allergic reaction manifested through generalized hives and bad state induced by intravenous methylprednisolone (for therapeutic purpose), subsequent by oral administration (for diagnostic purposes) after 12 hours. Corticotherapy in this case is essential for the patient, being newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. There are undisputed cases of cross-reaction in literature between agents of different groups according to ABCD classification by Coopman. We performed skin test and provocation test in accordance with EAACI guidelines for evaluating and diagnosing patients with suspicion of allergic reaction to drugs without immediate or delayed allergic reactions.


For the development of new drugs for hitherto untreatable epilepsy, it is necessary to clarify the basic pathophysiology involved in such epileptic seizures and find the target site. This review focused on molecular events related to the expression and expansion of the epileptic focus which are the target of novel antiepileptics. Immediate early genes such as c-fos followed by expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been evidenced as initial important phenomena in the cascade of molecular systems that develop and complement the transient neuronal excitation to long-term neuronal plasticity. Non-receptor type tyrosine kinase Fyn in the Src family has been suggested to promote kindling development via tyrosine phosphorylation of the NMDA-receptor subunit, NR2B. The cause of abnormality in the inhibitory system is induced by lowering of glutamate-dependent GABA release in the epileptic focus within the hippocampus in human temporal epilepsy. This is probably attributed to a decrease in GABA transporters. Regarding abnormality of the excitatory system, there is an increase in glutamate release prior to convulsive seizures, an enhancement of NMDA receptor responsiveness and high levels of AMPA receptors related to convulsion after completion of kindling. In gene analysis of human familiar epilepsy, abnormalities and point mutations have recently been found in the following genes: KCNQ 2 and KCNQ3, coding for K+ channels; CHRNA4 of the nicotinic receptor subunit alpha 4; and the cystatin B gene. In epilepsy model mice, EL mice with several gene mutations known to be involved in the seizures, the El-1 gene contains an abnormality of the ceruloplasmin gene. SER (spontaneously epileptic rat: zi/zi, tm/tm), a double mutant, manifests a deletion of the region containing the aspartoacylase gene related to the tm gene. Since an increase in N-acetyl-L-aspartate (NAA) is observed in the SER brain, NAA may serve to evoke seizures.


Major environmental indicators require data at a spatial resolution below administrative units as found in economic models. The CAPRI-Dynaspat project added spatial results for EU27 to the CAPRI model allowing for linkage to bio-physical models and calculation of novel indicators. The layer consists of clusters of 1x1 km cells exhausting the agricultural area, uniform in soil parameters, slope class, land cover and administrative unit. Crop and irrigation shares, stocking densities and yields are estimated per cluster along with intermediate input demand including crop specific fertilizer application rates. Those estimates drive statistically estimated meta-models from the bio-physical crop growth model DNDC to derive the nitrogen and water cycle. Indicator calculators allow estimating further impacts as e.g. different gaseous emissions or economic performance of agriculture. The results are available for the base year, for projection or scenario results, thus allowing analyzing environmental impacts in a spatial context.


Composites are produced with different structures depending upon their components and production techniques. During the manufacturing of composite materials using the mold casting method, air bubbles formed in the inner structure need to be removed by vibration. Ultimately, the structure must be homogeneous and void-free. Within the scope of this study, composites produced using materials such as resins and aggregates were designed and analyzed, as well as a vibrating table that can be put to various uses. The vibrating table was manufactured following the successful design and analysis of results, and tested according to actual working conditions. It has been determined that the vibrating table can be easily used for its intended purpose when loaded under real working conditions. Keywords : Vibrating table, Design, Analysis, Manufacturing. DOI : 10.7176/JSTR/5-4-05


To develop real-time vision applications for use in highly dynamic environments, such as automotive traffic, researchers must gather large amounts of data from different sensors and systems at different rates. Software capable of real-time data acquisition, synchronization, logging, and - ultimately - data processing and visualization is fundamentally important to improving researcher efficiency. The general obstacle and lane detection framework supports different devices and makes it easy to add new system functionalities. GOLD can easily become the engine for many automotive applications, and it could work in other application domains as well.


Traumatic spinal cord injury results in severe neurological deficits, mostly irreversible. The cell therapy represents a strategy for treatment particularly with the use of stem cells with satisfactory results in several experimental models. The aim of the study was to compare the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI) with and without mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), to investigate whether MSCs migrate and/or remain at the site of injury, and to analyze the effects of MSCs on inflammation, astrocytic reactivity and activation of endogenous stem cells. Three hours after SCI, animals received bone marrow-derived MSCs (1×107 in 1mL PBS, IV). Animals were euthanized 24 hours, 7 and 21 days post-injury. The MSC were not present in the site of the lesion and the immunofluorescent evaluation showed significant attenuation of inflammatory response with reduction in macrophages labeled with anti-CD68 antibody (ED1), decreased immunoreactivity of astrocytes (GFAP+) and greater activation of endogenous stem cells (nestin+) in the treated groups. Therefore, cell transplantation have a positive effect on recovery from traumatic spinal cord injury possibly due to the potential of MSCs to attenuate the immune response.


This article revolves around an analysis of the relationship between Isolezwe newspaper, a South African mass-market tabloid, and its consumers who are mainly Zulu-speaking black readers. In view of the decline in  newspaper readership in general, the phenomenal growth of Isolezwe in particular and the absence of scholarship that examines the relationship between Isolezwe and its consumers, the authors set out to explore why the newspaper has become and continues to be highly popular. To answer the question about the reason for its popularity, focus group interviews with readers were conducted to identify why readers chose to read the newspaper. The authors conclude that the comparative preference of Isolezwe over other newspapers in the market is influenced, in part, by mutually reinforcing factors such as social/cultural identity and cultural capital, semantic noise avoidance, language use, gratification of cognitive needs and the audiencecentred definition of news.


Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common complication in patients with critical condition. Studies of pathophysiological changes in the lung in this condition give rise to new methods of respiratory therapy, one of which is alveolar mobilization maneuver (recruitment). This procedure considerably improves oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but at the same time, there is a risk of developing various complications (barotraumas, lowered cardiac output). Further studies of the efficiency of this method and development of well-defined clinical guidelines that will be able to answer the most important questions: "who", "when", and "how" the alveolar recruiting maneuver should perform are currently under way.


Recently, tile-based viewport adaptation is a popular method for 360 video streaming. Our demonstration adopts a rate-mixed transmission approach utilizing a VR adaptation agent at the server end for viewport-based streaming, which is client-compatible and can be scalable to different users. The FOV prediction is applied to improve the viewing experience. The feasibility of our system to head-mounted displays is verified, which can reduce bandwidth consumption by up to 36%.


Vigorous and prolonged physical exercise and mechanical involvement of the perineal region might influence prostatic function and measurement of both total (PSA) and free prostate specific antigen (fPSA), decreasing the diagnostic efficiency of the laboratory screening for either benign or neoplastic prostate disorders in athletes. To investigate the effects of regular and strenuous physical exercise with or without bicycle riding on integrity and biochemical function of prostatic tissue, we measured serum PSA and fPSA in 69 elite and professional cyclists, 31 members of the Italian national cross-country ski team, and in 43 sedentary healthy controls. The concentration of both PSA and fPSA did not differ significantly between sedentary individuals and physically active cross-country skiers (PSA 0.43 +/- 0.30 vs. 0.36+/-0.25, ns; fPSA 0.16+/-0.12 vs. 0.12+/-0.12, ns) or cyclists (PSA 0.43 +/- 0.30 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.23, ns; fPSA 0.16 +/- 0.12 vs. 0.13 +/- 0.08, ns), and the relative distribution of values appeared almost overlapping. We hypothesize that neither a heavy and regular physical exercise nor the extensive and prolonged mechanical involvement of the prostate region by the bicycle riding have significant influence on release of both PSA and fPSA.


Future wireless communications systems are expected to be extremely dynamic, smart and capable to interact with the surrounding radio environment. To implement such advanced devices, cognitive radio (CR) is a promising paradigm, focusing on strategies for acquiring information and learning. The first task of a cognitive systems is spectrum sensing, that has been mainly studied in the context of opportunistic spectrum access, in which cognitive nodes must implement signal detection techniques to identify unused bands for transmission.
In the present work, we study different spectrum sensing algorithms, focusing on their statistical description and evaluation of the detection performance. Moving from traditional sensing approaches we consider the presence of practical impairments, and analyze algorithm design. Far from the ambition of cover the broad spectrum of spectrum sensing, we aim at providing contributions to the main classes of sensing techniques. In particular, in the context of energy detection we studied the practical design of the test, considering the case in which the noise power is estimated at the receiver. This analysis allows to deepen the phenomenon of the SNR wall, providing the conditions for its existence and showing that presence of the SNR wall is determined by the accuracy of the noise power estimation process. In the context of the eigenvalue based detectors, that can be adopted by multiple sensors systems, we studied the practical situation in presence of unbalances in the noise power at the receivers. Then, we shift the focus from single band detectors to wideband sensing, proposing a new approach based on information theoretic criteria. This technique is blind and, requiring no threshold setting, can be adopted even if the statistical distribution of the observed data in not known exactly. In the last part of the thesis we analyze some simple cooperative localization techniques based on weighted centroid strategies.


Cadmium iron selenide (Cd-Fe-Se) thin films were deposited onto tin oxide (SnO2) coated conducting glass substrates from an aqueous electrolytic bath containing CdSO4, FeSO4 and SeO2 by potentiostatic electrodeposition. The deposition potentials of Cadmium (Cd), Iron (Fe), Selenium (Se) and Cadmium-Iron-Selenide (Cd-Fe-Se) were determined from linear cathodic polarization curves. The deposited films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive analysis by x-rays (EDX) and optical absorption techniques, respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns shows that the deposited films are found to be hexagonal structure with preferential orientation along (100) plane. The effect of FeSO4 concentration on structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of the films are studied and discussed in detail.


Delivering a reliable software product is a fairly complex process, which involves proper coordination from the various teams in planning, execution, and testing for delivering software. Most of the development time and the software budget's cost is getting spent finding and fixing bugs. Rework and side effect costs are mostly not visible in the planned estimates, caused by inherent bugs in the modified code, which impact the software delivery timeline and increase the cost. Artificial intelligence advancements can predict the probable defects with classification based on the software code changes, helping the software development team make rational decisions. Optimizing the software cost and improving the software quality is the topmost priority of the industry to remain profitable in the competitive market. Hence, there is a great urge to improve software delivery quality by minimizing defects and having reasonable control over predicted defects. This paper presents the bibliometric study for "Reliable Software Delivery using Predictive analysis" by selecting 450 documents from the Scopus database, choosing keywords like software defect prediction, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. The study is conducted for a year starting from 2010 to 2021. As per the survey, it is observed that Software defect prediction achieved an excellent focus among the researchers. There are great possibilities to predict and improve overall software product quality using artificial intelligence techniques.


We explain the number of bank relationships a firm maintains by the number of industries it operates in, analyzing 13,570 listed firms in 18 Eastern European countries. We estimate a variety of stylized models including OLS, Tobit and negative binomial that directly accounts at once for the number of bank relationships. Controlling for many firm characteristics and accounting for all observed and unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity across firms, we find that the number of industries the firm operates in corresponds to a higher number of bank relationships, possibly because banks specialize in certain industries.


Pickling is a means of preserving a variety of foods, including meat products. Cooked sausages have traditionally been pickled using a heated solution of vinegar, salt, and spices in a process known as hot filling. However, hot fill pickling can result in quality defects. Alternatively, room temperature brine does not cause the various quality defects resulting from heated brine. To date, no study has determined the efficacy of a cold fill pickling process to inhibit the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeasts, and molds associated with acidified meat products. Therefore, the efficacy of cold fill pickling of cooked sausages, using a brine solution (5% acetic acid and 5% salt at 22–23oC and pH ~2.70), was validated for the reduction of spoilage microorganisms by inoculating sausages with select LAB (6.98 log10 CFU/g), yeasts (4.49 log10 CFU/g), and molds (4.29 log10 CFU/g) over 28 days of pickling. The results revealed reductions of 5.51 log10 CFU/g in 24 h for LAB counts, 3.89 log10 CFU/g in 48 h for yeast counts, and 4.09 log10 CFU/g in 24 h for mold counts. To our knowledge, this experiment is the first to demonstrate that cold fill pickling effectively reduces and inhibits spoilage microorganisms.


Lentinus edodes mycelia lowers cholesterol levels and acts as an immunomodulator and tumor-inhibitor in animal models. Lentinus edodes mycelia contains eritadenine (C(9)H(11)O(4)N(5)) and glucans among other biological compounds. However, whether or not Lentinus edodes mycelia is anti-atherogenic remains unknown. We examined the effect of Lentinus edodes mycelia (L.E.M) on atherosclerosis in a rabbit model. Thirty-two Japanese white male rabbits were fed with 1.0% cholesterol for 8 weeks, then divided into groups and given 1) 1.0% cholesterol for over 8 weeks (control), 2) 1.0% cholesterol and 1.0% L.E.M for over 8 weeks, 3) 1.0% cholesterol and 2.0% L.E.M for over 8 weeks, and 4) 1.0% cholesterol and 4.0% L.E.M for over 8 weeks (n=8 each group). Total cholesterol (TC) was measured periodically throughout the experiment. After the experimental periods, the aortas were removed and atherosclerotic lesions were examined histologically, immunohistochemically and morphometrically to determine surface involvement (SI) and an atherosclerotic index (AI). Body weight and TC did not significantly differ among the four groups. Decreases in SI were significant in the 1% L.E.M (26.2+/-10.8%) and 2% L.E.M (29.3+/-15.7%) groups compared with the control (48.7+/-15.3%; p < 0.05). The AI was significantly decreased in the 1% L.E.M (6.62+/-4.31) and 2% L.E.M (7.49+/-3.49) groups compared with the control (16.96+/-9.21; p < 0.05). Foam cells aggregated in thickened intima of dietary-induced atherosclerotic lesions in the rabbit aorta. In contrast, the numbers of foam cells in the intima decreased in the experimental group. No-cholesterol-lowering action or dose-dependant effects of L.E.M were determined in this study, but atherosclerotic development was significantly inhibited, indicating that L.E.M had anti-atherogenic properties. L.E.M may inhibit atherosclerotic development in rabbit aorta and be beneficial as a nutritional supplement.


Five commercial test kits for the serodiagnosis of coccidioidomycosis and histoplasmosis based upon immunodiffusion were evaluated. The correlation of results with the test kits in the Clinical Laboratory varied from 71 to 100% for coccidioidomycosis. The correlation for coccidioidomycosis immunodiffusion testing varied from 57 to 83% when results from the test kits and the Mycology Research Laboratory were compared. Only 81% correlation was noted between the two laboratories when the same reference system was used. Results with the test kits for Histoplasma serodiagnosis and results from the Mycology Research Laboratory showed a correlation of 52 to 75%. There were no false-positive results with any system. All of the commercial kits were 100% specific for the diagnosis of both coccidioidomycosis and histoplasmosis, but the sensitivity of the immunodiffusion tests varied with the system used.


Following the work of Cano and Díaz, we consider a continuous analog of lattice path enumeration. This process allows us to define a continuous version of many discrete objects that count certain types of lattice paths. As an example of this process, we define continuous versions of binomial and multinomial coefficients, and describe some identities and partial differential equations that they satisfy. Finally, as an important byproduct of these continuous analogs, we illustrate a general method to recover discrete combinatorial quantities from their continuous analogs, via an application of the Khovanski-Puklikov discretizing Todd operators.


ABSTRACT Objective evidence indicates that despite public fears and the claims of those who would make English the official language of the United States, it is not English, but minority tongues that are threatened in this country today. In the last 5 years, educators have noticed a sharp decline ir native language skills among Native American children. Despite the end of punitive English-only policies and the advent of bilingual education, the shift to English is accelerating in many Indian communities. Seven hypotheses related to this shift are presented, drawing on historical research into U.S. language policy and anecdotal observations in Native American communities. First, language shift is very difficult to impose from without. Second, language shift is determined primarily by internal changes from within language communities themselves. Language choices are influenced, consciously and unconsciously, by social changes that disrupt community. These dislocations include demographic factors, economic forces, mass media, and identifiers of social status. Third, language shift reflects changes in social and cultural values, including the encroachment of individualism, pragmatism, and materialism. Examples of factors in language shift are offered for Navajo, Hualapai, Pasqua Yaqui, and Mississippi Choctaw. Fourth, efforts to reverse language shift must also involve a change in values. Fifth, language shift cannot be reversed by outsiders but depends upon community action. Sixth, successful strategies for reversing language shift demand an understanding of the current stage of language loss. Finally, at this stage, the key task is to develop indigenous leadership. (SV)


The influence of the surface notch size, the SiC particle distribution and the solidification microstructure of the matrix on the fatigue characteristics were investigated, and the parameter governing fatigue was evaluated for SiC particlereinforced JIS AC4B alloy composites. 10 to 30 vol 11 mm SiC particles were relatively homogeneously dispersed in an Al6.79 mass Si 2.93 mass Cu0.17 mass Mg0.59 mass Fe matrix alloy through a combination of pressure infiltration and melt stirring casting technique. The matrix microstructure consists of a dendritic alpha phase and eutectic structure. A few intermetallic Fe compounds were observed in the dendritic alpha phase. Furthermore, all composite specimens contained SiC particle clusters. Vickers hardness of composites increased due to the dispersion of SiC particles and age hardening effect, and the hardening ability increased with an increase in the volume fraction of SiC particles. Rotating bending fatigue tests were carried out on both notchfree and notched specimens that were aged to reach their peak hardness. When the stress concentration factor was low, cracks generated from cast defects in the matrix alloy specimen. On the contrary, they generated in boundaries between the SiC particles and the matrix in the composite specimens. Furthermore, the fatigue strength decreased with an increase in the SiC volume fraction. For the notched matrix specimen, in which the stress concentration factor is high, the notch size governed the fatigue strength. However, the cracks generated from the boundaries near SiC particles instead of the notch base in the notched composite specimen. Moreover, it was found that the fatigue limit stress is unchanged in the composite specimen even when the notch is introduced, although the critical stress for crack generation is reduced. Microstructural observations revealed that the cracks are spread and diverted in and around clusters of SiC particles. This suggests that crack propagation resistance is improved by the SiC particles in the notched composite specimen.


The decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore,' when read superficially, promises a renaissance for progressive constitutional thinking. The per curiam opinion in that case, on the basis of an exceptionally generous reading of the Fourteenth Amendment, insisted that the principle of "one person, one vote" required that all ballots in a statewide recount be judged under a uniform state standard.2 Eschewing paeans to local diversity and the Tenth Amendment right of states to determine their electoral practices, as well as any references to the original intentions of the persons responsible for the relevant constitutional provisions or any case previously decided by the Rehnquist Court, the per curiam opinion in Bush relied primarily on Warren Court decisions that had given conservatives apoplexy when decided thirty years previously. Citing both Harper v. Virginia Board of Election? and Reynolds v. Sims,4 the Justices solemnly declared that the state court-ordered recount had to be suspended because "the State may not, by... arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person's vote over that of another."5 Chief Justice Rehnquist's concurring opinion suggested that Justice Scalia, Justice Thomas, and he were far more sympathetic to the living Constitution than heretofore suspected. The Chief Justice made no reference to any person responsible for the framing or ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment and cited no Rehnquist Court precedent on federalism. He distinguished a Burger Court precedent obligating the Justices to "defer to state courts on the interpretation of state law", on the authority of NAACP v. Alabama ex rel Patterson and Bouie v. City of Columbia. 8 These two Warren Court decisions substantially broadened previous constitutional understandings of Fourteenth


This study aims to evaluate the possibility to formulate low-sodium bicarbonate-marinated turkey breast meat. In total, 60 meat cuts (100 × 50 × 30mm) were divided into four treatments: B1 (0.5% sodium bicarbonate and 0% sodium chloride replacement), B2 (0.5% sodium bicarbonate and 15% sodium chloride replacement), B3 (0.5% sodium bicarbonate and 30% sodium chloride replacement), and B4 (0.5% sodium bicarbonate and 45% sodium chloride replacement). The results showed that sodium replacement up to 45% had no impact on texture (as represented by Allo-Kramer shear values) and water activity. After cooking, Group B1 exhibited the highest L* value (72.1) and the lowest b* (6.6) when compared to other groups. In conclusion, replacing sodium chloride with potassium chloride up to 45% in the presence of sodium bicarbonate did not affect negatively several quality traits (sensory traits, composition, and texture, etc.).


Peritoneal carcinomatosis is a sign of advanced disease of ovarian cancer. The prognosis of ovarian cancer is significantly improved after cytoreductive surgery with complete tumor debulking followed by platin based chemotherapy. If cytoreductive surgery results in a tumor free situation with remaining tumor less than 0.25 cm, HIPEC may further improve prognosis. Materials and methods: The results of the Krefeld study are presented and the literature is reviewed according to overall survival and progression free survival with or without HIPEC. In the Krefeld study, patients with ovarian cancer and peritoneal carcinomatosis underwent cytoreductive surgery. In patients with optimal tumor debulking, HIPEC was performed. The periand postoperative course was observed. Adverse events were recorded after the Clavien-Dindo classification. Results: 43 patients were treated with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. In all patients an optimal cytoreductive situation with remaining tumor less than 0.25 cm was achieved. HIPEC was performed with a cisplatin solution (50 mg/m2) at 41°C. The median age of the patients was 56 years (range: 32–74 years), the median peritoneal cancer index (PCI) was 13 (range: 4–21), the median operation time was 356 minutes (range: 192–507 minutes). The median time to postoperative systemic treatment with chemotherapy was 29 days (range 21–70). There was no postoperative surgically associated death. No adverse events were recorded in 16 (37.2%) of 43 patients, no grade III or IV adverse events were reported for 33 (76.7%) patients, and no grade IV adverse events were reported for 41 (95.3%) patients. Grade III adverse events occured in 19 (44.2%) of the 43 patients; a total of 29 grade III adverse events were reported in these 19 patients. Grade IV adverse events occured in 3 (7.0%) of the 43 patients; a total of 3 grade IV adverse events were reported. Two of them resulted in return to the operating room. This was a fistula of the distal small bowel caused by drainage and a revision of wound infection. Conclusion: In ovarian cancer multiple surgical procedures may be necessary in order to have macroscopically eradicated tumor tissue. Combined with HIPEC, this seems to have positive effects on the survival of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Since we have no marked additional adverse events caused by HIPEC in our case series, HIPEC seems to be an additional treatment option of peritoneal carcinomatosis in ovarian cancer. This statement is strengthened by the literature review in that metaanalysis show significant improved OAS and PFS.


OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the first case series in which an exclusive endoscopic transcanal transpromontorial approach (EETTA) was used to treat small vestibular schwannomas (VSs) and meningiomas of the internal auditory canal (IAC). METHODS The authors performed a retrospective review of patients who had undergone surgery using an EETTA to the IAC at 2 university tertiary care referral centers during the period from November 2011 to January 2015. RESULTS Ten patients underwent surgery via an EETTA for the treatment of VS in the IAC at the University Hospital of Modena or the University Hospital of Verona. The patients had Koos Grade I or II tumors and American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Class D hearing status preoperatively. Gross-total resection was achieved in all patients. No major complications such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage or hemorrhage were reported. In 7 of 10 (70%) patients, facial nerve function was normal immediately after surgery (Rough Grading System [RGS] Grade I). Two patients presented with a transitory facial palsy immediately after surgery (RGS Grade II-III) but experienced complete recovery during the follow-up period. The mean follow-up was 10 months. CONCLUSIONS The EETTA proved to be successful for the removal of VS or meningioma involving the cochlea, fundus, and IAC, with possible lower complication rates and less invasive procedures than those for traditional microscopic approaches. The potential for the extensive and routine use of this approach in lateral and posterior skull base surgery will depend on the development of technology and surgical refinements and on the diffusion of skull base endoscopic skills among the otolaryngological and neurosurgical communities.


Sally Dalton-Brown. Voices from the Void: -The Genres of Liudmila Petrushevskaia. Studies in Slavic Literatures, Culture and Society. Volume 7. General Editor: Thomas Epstein. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000. 214 pp. Bibliography. Index. $35.00, cloth. The subject of this book is an analysis of Liudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaia's manipulation of genres. Dalton-Brown demonstrates that through her use of hybrid genres, Petrushevskaia is able to "generate textual absence, and readerly disappointment as the basis for her themes of absence, death and loss" (p. viii). Dalton-Brown's insightful analysis centers upon the themes of broken communication and the narrators' struggle to find their own voices. She writes, "Petrushevskaia's characters are all storytellers, modern-day bards, prosaic Homeric writers of their own lives; her texts focus on the voice of direct experience, in which the craftsmanship lies in creating a sense of its own absence, as if these are ordinary tales told by those without writerly skills" (p. vii). The introduction, "Petrushevskaia and Contemporary Literary Trends," provides the reader with a brief personal and literary biography of the author and a quick survey of Russian and Western criticism on her works. Specific emphasis is placed on Petrushevskaia's unique place within the contemporary Russian cultural scene as well as Petrushevskaia's contribution to the development of new literary trends. DaltonBrown argues that although the main focus of Petrushevskaia's works seems to center on the idea of "finding a voice," Petrushevskaia offers "no easy answers-no answers at all to the question of how one communicates" (p. 13). Dalton-Brown continues, "What she focuses on repeatedly is the problem of being heard..." (p. 13). The main focus of Dalton-Brown's work is Petrushevskaia's unique use of hybrid genres to render her "songs silent, her monologues multivoiced, her tales of the fantastic grimly real, her dramas farcically bathetic, her romantic histories small tales of loneliness, her poetry prosaic, and many of her skazki grimly realistic" (p. 15). The book is divided into six large chapters: "Contemporary 'histories"'; "Monologues and Requiems"; "Songs, Sluchai, Tales of the Fantastic/Dystopias, Prose Poetry"; "Skazki"; "Drama"; and "Style." Petrushevskaia's two main genres, as Dalton-Brown asserts, are those of prose and drama. Within the first, Dalton-Brown identifies seven others: contemporary histories, monologues, requiems, songs, sluchai, tales of the fantastic and prose poetry. At first glance the division into chapters that focus on each of the nine genres that Petrushevskaia employs seems logical. However, one can not help but question whether or not this undermines the stated aim of the study, to re-examine Petrushevskia's work "on how genre conventions can be transcended in an ever more inward-looking, even 'Dostoevskiian' search for the voices which come from out of the void within which her characters are so often placed" (p. …


Driven by the advent of sophisticated and ubiqui- tous applications, and the ever-growing need for information, wireless networks are without a doubt steadily evolving into profoundly more complex and dynamic systems. The user de- mands are progressively rampant, while application require- ments continue to expand in both range and diversity. Future wireless networks, therefore, must be equipped with the ability to handle numerous, albeit challenging, requirements. Network reconfiguration, considered as a prominent network paradigm, is envisioned to play a key role in leveraging future network performance and considerably advancing current user experi- ences. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of reconfigurable wireless networks and an in-depth analysis of reconfiguration at all layers of the protocol stack. Such net- works characteristically possess the ability to reconfigure and adapt their hardware and software components and architec- tures, thus enabling flexible delivery of broad services, as well as sustaining robust operation under highly dynamic condi- tions. The paper offers a unifying framework for research in reconfigurable wireless networks. This should provide the reader with a holistic view of concepts, methods, and strategies in reconfigurable wireless networks. Focus is given to reconfi- gurable systems in relatively new and emerging research areas such as cognitive radio networks, cross-layer reconfiguration, and software-defined networks. In addition, modern networks have to be intelligent and capable of self-organization. Thus, this paper discusses the concept of network intelligence as a means to enable reconfiguration in highly complex and dyna- mic networks. Key processes in network intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, and context awareness, are presented to illustrate how these methods can take reconfiguration to a new level. Finally, the paper is supported with several examples and case studies showing the tremendous impact of reconfigura- tion on wireless networks.


AIMS
To investigate clinical, radiographic and microbiological outcome over 12 months following open flap debridement of peri-implantitis with or without antibiotics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Peri-implantitis was surgically treated with or without Zithromax® in 19 control and 20 test individuals. Probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival inflammation (BOP), intra-oral radiographs and microbial samples were studied. Per protocol and intent-to-treat analyses were performed.

RESULTS
The mean difference (reduction) in PPD values between baseline and month 12 in the test and control groups was 1.7 mm (SD ± 1.1, 95% CI: 1.1, 2.3, p < .001) and 1.6 mm (SD ± 1.5, 95% CI: 0.8, 2,4, p < .001), respectively. Data analysis failed to show study group differences for BOP, PPD, radiographic bone level and microbial load. Successful treatment (per protocol: PPD ≤ 5 mm, no BOP, no suppuration and no bone loss ≥0.5 mm) at 12 months in test and control groups was 7/15 (46.7%) and 4/16 (25.0%). Bacterial load reduction was similar in study groups with a temporary reduction following treatment.

CONCLUSIONS
Surgical treatment of peri-implantitis with adjunctive systemic azithromycin did not provide 1-year clinical benefits in comparison with those only receiving open flap debridement.


A prospective study was carried out on 200 consecutive subjects seen for counselling (consultands) for serious genetic disorders. Educational and social background of consultands and their knowledge and understanding of their particular problem were assessed before counselling, and their response was determined immediately afterwards and three months and two years later by an independent observer not concerned in the genetic counselling. The husband's educational background was particularly important in influencing a couple's comprehension of counselling. X-linked recessive and chromosomal disorders presented the most difficulties in comprehension. The counsellors' assessment of comprehension was a good guide to the consultands' comprehension as assessed at subsequent follow-up. The proportion deterred from having children increased with time and over a third had been sterilised within two years of counselling. It is suggested that follow-up after counselling should be routine, especially when the counsellor suspects that comprehension has not been good, in X-linked recessive and chromosomal disorders, and when the risks of having an affected child are considered to be high.


The fatty acid composition of total cell lipids of V. albensis typing strains, serovars 01-012, isolated from patients and environmental objects, as well as V. eltor and NAG vibrios, has been studied. Fatty acids contain 14-18 carbon atoms and are mainly represented by unsaturated monoacids. Palmitoleic and oleic acids constitute the greater part of unsaturated acids (their total content is 55.2-71.0%). The level of saturated fatty acids in considerably lower (27.0-43.1%), and these acids are mainly represented by palmitic acid, its maximum level being 28.4%. The similarity of the fatty acid profiles of the lipids common to the strains under study may indicate that these strains are phylogenetically related.


Studies of the corrosion products of metallic iron formed in the absence of air oxidation in solutions of hydrogen sulfide have revealed the existence of a new phase, cubic FeS, associated with tetragonal iron sulfide, Fe1 + xS. This new phase is metastable and has a sphalerite-like structure.


1 The general term 'nanoparticle' (NP) is used to define any particle less than 100 nm in at least one dimension and NPs are generally classified as natural, anthropogenic or engineered in origin. Anthropogenic, also referred to as 'ultrafine' particles (UFPs), are predominately combustion derived and are characterized by having an equivalent spherical diameter less than 100 nm. 2 These particles, considered to be 'combustion‐derived nanoparticles' (CDNPs), are of toxicological interest given their nanosized dimensions, with properties not displayed by their macroscopic counterparts. 3 The pulmonary deposition efficiency of inhaled UFPs, along with their large surface areas and bound transition metals, is considered important in driving the emerging health effects linked to respiratory toxicity. 4 The toxicology of CDNPs is currently used to predict the health outcomes in humans following exposure to manufactured NPs. Their similar physicochemistry would suggest similar adverse health effects (i.e. pulmonary (and perhaps cardiac) toxicity). As such, it is essential to fully understand CDNP nanotoxicology in order to minimize occupational and environmental exposure.


Two HeLa variants defective in the mismatch repair protein hPMS2 were isolated by selection for methylation tolerance. Neither variant expressed detectable hPMS2 protein as determined by western blotting. Cell extracts were defective in correcting a single base mispair and were unable to perform mismatch repair-dependent processing of a methylated DNA substrate. Correction of the repair defect and restoration of sensitivity to a methylating agent was achieved by introducing a wild-type copy of chromosome 7 on which the hPMS2 gene is located. Loss of hPMS2 function in the HeLa variants was associated with a 5-fold increase in mutation frequency in the supF gene of the pZ189 shuttle vector. Wild-type levels of mutagenesis were restored by the transferred chromosome 7. Comparisons of mutational spectra identified multiple base substitutions, frameshifts and, to a lesser extent, single base pair changes as the types of mutation which are selectively increased in a hPMS2-defective background. The location of multiple mutations and frameshifts indicates that misalignment-mediated mutagenesis could underlie most of these events. Thus the mutator phenotype associated with loss of hPMS2 most likely arises because of the failure to correct replication slippage errors. Our data also suggest that a considerable fraction of mutagenic intermediates are recognized by the hMutSbeta complex and processed via the hMLH1/hPMS2 heterodimer.


Hutan Tanaman Rakyat (HTR) is a plantation forest in production forest built by community groups to improve the potency and quality of production by applying silvicultural systems to ensure sustainability of forest resources. Since the issuance of this policy in 2007, the development of policy implementation is not showing progress according to plan. Forest area in 2014 is targeted to reach 5.4 million ha, but until mid-2013 the Ministry of Forestry Indonesia HTR new reserve areas covering 679 400 ha and the new can assign permits covering 174 111 ha. Based on this background, it should be conducted policy research aimed to know and analyze the process of policy implementation HTR in Muna District. This research applies qualitative research methods. The method used to facilitate researchers when facing a new reality in the field. The type of data used are primary data and secondary data. Qualitative data collection was done by using a gradual-depth interviews and participatory observation. The results showed Communications, Resource, Disposition, and Structure of Bureaucracy is the deciding factor the successful implementation of the policy has not run with the maximum, so that policy implementation HTR in Muna District inhibited. The conclusion of this study, such as: 1) Understanding the policy implementers and policy subjects (Society) related HTR in Muna District is still low; 2) The resources involved for successful policy implementation HTR in Muna District both the number and qualifications are inadequate; 3) The lack of response to the policy implementers HTR in Muna District (Regent, the staff of Department of Forestry, Forestry Extension and Community policies that are the subject HTR).Key words: HTR, Communication, Resources, Disposition, Bureaucratic Structure


p53 overexpression has been found to be a fairly common feature in high grade lymphomas in the majority of tumoral cells. The results vary from series to series, from 25% to 33% of cases. To assess whether immunohistochemical positivity for p53 correlated with the presence of structural gene abnormalities, DNA from 16 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with high and low p53 values was amplified and sequenced to determine the existence of point mutations in the highly conserved regions of the p53 gene. In the group of 8 cases containing high levels of protein, 3 cases showed missense point mutations at the codons mapping between exons 5 through 8. Of the 8 cases of tumors containing undetectable or low levels of p53 protein, 1 case presented a nonsense point mutation giving a stop codon. No missense mutations were detected in this group. The finding of p53 mutations in 4 of 16 cases confirms the presence of p53 gene mutations in high grade lymphomas distributed over different histologic groups. These include Burkitt's lymphoma, together with centroblastic, immunoblastic, and large cell lymphoma of mucosa origin. Nevertheless, the absence of mutations in 5 of the 8 cases that overexpressed p53 suggests that the nuclear or cytoplasmic stabilization of p53 protein could also depend on other factors. The absence of detectable levels of p53 protein cannot discount the existence of p53 mutations, as is shown by a case of Burkitt's lymphoma in which a nonsense mutation was detected. The impact of this range of p53 alterations on clinical course and treatment response of the patients deserves to be explored, in an attempt to differentiate the specific consequences of each one.


Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze how public debt is used in Kosovo and to find out if there is a direct link between public debt and public investment that has positive impact on economic growth. Since acquiring independence, Kosovo engaged in public investment on a large scale, mainly in developing road infrastructure. With the cash balance depleted, a growing budget deficit and facing liquidity difficulties due to ongoing large public investments and increasing wage & salary bill and social transfers, the Government of Kosovo had to start borrowing both abroad and domestically. However, public debt had continued to increase even though public investment had experienced a sharp decrease. Since the budget financial statements do not show any deficit composition, we have recalculated a special-purpose deficit, the so-called "regular" budget deficit, considering only regular receipts and outlays. By disaggregating the total public debt based on lenders and by tying the loans to specific capital projects, we came to the conclusion that only a small part of the public debt is directly tied with public investment, while the bulk of it is used to finance the budget deficit that was caused by a high increase in wage & salary bill and social transfers. The analysis confirms that the public debt is being used for unproductive purposes and therefore does not contribute to economic growth. All this was supported by a lack of legal infrastructure or fiscal rules for several years. There is extensive literature on both public debt and public investments as well as their impact on economic growth. The literature review method was adopted for this study, and our research was refined by including the selected papers that contained empirical and theoretical studies on these issues. This is a case study for Kosovo, and the research has been carried out using secondary research data drawn from Kosovo budget annual financial reports and annual bulletins on public debt. The implications of this paper may be of high importance for policymakers as well as for academics, as this happens to be one of the pioneering articles in this field in terms of studies conducted about Kosovo. Herein is presented a unique approach to the issues of public debt and public investment.


The Alpa 12 Metric, a medium‐format digital camera system, is presented along with an accuracy assessment in accordance with VDI/VDE 2634 (2002). The camera combines the advantages of a modular medium‐format camera system with high accuracy in object space. Camera calibration revealed a maximum length measurement error of 0·043 mm for a lens with mechanically fixed focusing distance and 0·063 mm for a lens where the focusing ring was taped during image acquisition. Only in the latter case did the maximum length measuring error improve, yielding 0·050 mm when calibrated with image‐variant parameters of interior orientation. A bias towards positive length measurement errors indicated that the set‐up for calibration could be improved and that even better accuracy in object space may be accomplished. The Alpa 12 camera system provides several unique features including lenses with fixed displacement of the principal point for terrestrial and other special applications, rigid tilt adaptors for Scheimpflug correction, shim kits for the fine adjustment of flange focal distance as well as the possibility of mounting a monochrome digital medium‐format back, sensitive to visible and near infrared light. The camera is well suited for terrestrial applications requiring high accuracy and/or large pixel counts.


Increasing use of carbonaceous nanomaterials (CNMs) in many industrial and commercial applications has raised concern over their potential environmental impacts. However, little is known about how the released CNMs could interact with other contaminants in aquatic environments. In this study, the effects of sediment particle size (<1 μm, 1–2 μm, 2–5 μm, 5–10 μm, and 10–63 μm) and organic matter (OM) on adsorption of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) to carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) were investigated using batch adsorption experiments in combination with microscopic, spectroscopic, and computational techniques. The adsorption of E2 and EE2 to CNMs was much stronger than that to the sediments, resulting from π–π interactions and hydrogen bonding, as confirmed with density functional theory calculations. Nonetheless, the presence of sediments inhibited E2/EE2 adsorption to CNTs or GO, and the inhibition effect increased with decreasing sediment particle size. This inhibition effect resulted from the attachment of CNMs to the sediment surface and subsequent blockage of the adsorption sites on CNMs. The removal of OM in the sediments enhanced the inhibition effect, likely due to stronger attachment of CNMs on OM-free sediments. These observations were corroborated by microscopic visualization and DLVO calculations. Our results provided new insights into the effect of sediments on contaminant adsorption by CNMs, as modulated by sediment particle size and OM.


BACKGROUND
Von Hippel-Lindau disease is characterized by the variable presence of cerebellar and retinal haemangioblastomas, phaeocromocytomas and hypernephromas, beginning at early stages of life. Von Hippel-Lindau gene has been located in the short arm of chromosome 3 (3p25.5) and has been involved in the regulation of DNA transcription acting as a suppressor gene. More than 500 different mutations have been described.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
We describe a new family with the type IIB Von Hippel-Lindau disease in which, apart from clinical studies, we performed a genetic screening trying to identify germinal mutations.

RESULTS
So far, we have point out 6 patients with the G-->A transversion at codon 167 (R167Q). Two of them with overt clinical disease (phaeocromocytoma in case II.1 and haemangioblastoma in the II.2) at the beginning of the study and one with a non-suspected clinical presentation (phaeocromocytoma and renal carcinoma in case I.1) out of 8 family members studied in three generations.

CONCLUSIONS
The genetic screening in this family permitted us to identify three subjects before their clinical onset. The absence of the mutation in two of the younger patients will simplify the clinical follow-up of this family. Genetic screening must be generalized in the follow-up of Von Hippel-Lindau disease families, because of economic advantages and clinical efficacy.


The spatial dimension of supply and demand factors is a very important feature of healthcare systems. Differences in health and behavior across individuals are due not only to personal characteristics but also to external forces, such as contextual factors, social interaction processes, and global health shocks. These factors are responsible for various forms of spatial patterns and correlation often observed in the data, which are desirable to include in health econometrics models.
 This article describes a set of exploratory techniques and econometric methods to visualize, summarize, test, and model spatial patterns of health economics phenomena, showing their scientific and policy power when addressing health economics issues characterized by a strong spatial dimension. Exploring and modeling the spatial dimension of the two-sided healthcare provision may help reduce inequalities in access to healthcare services and support policymakers in the design of financially sustainable healthcare systems.


In the subtropical fruit tree longan (Dimocarpus longan), flower induction naturally depends on low temperature, but interestingly and exclusively in longan flowering can be induced artificially by potassium chlorate application. This practice is frequently and successfully used for off-season fruit production. However, until today research on flower induction and bud development in longan has mainly focused on plant hormone regulation and knowledge on the genetic pathway is scarce. It is known from other plants that FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) and APETALA1 (AP1) play key roles in flowering and recently orthologous genes from longan (DlFT1, DlFT2, DlFT1t, DlAP1-1, DlAP1-2) were isolated. Sequence and bioinformatic analyses suggest conserved functions within the flowering pathway, however, it was found that DlFT1 acts as a flowering time promoter, while DlFT2 and a truncated DlFT1t delay flowering time in transgenic arabidopsis. To investigate the expression pattern of the flowering genes in longan, time course experiments with chemically induced trees were performed. Reference genes were evaluated and expression of flowering genes in longan was investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. The data indicates that DlFT1 is up-regulated in leaves during the presumed time period of flower induction in agreement with changes of the cytokinin/auxin ratio, which might promote flower development and activate DlAP1 gene transcription in the bud.


Cutaneous melanoma can metastasize to any organ, including brain and spinal cord. A 27-year-old lady, four months after conception presented with generalized seizures and was diagnosed to have subarachnoid hemorrhage. Further investigation did not reveal aneurysm. She underwent right ventriculo-peritoneal shunt for hydrocephalus and MTP for unprotected radiation from CT scan. Six weeks later she came to our institution with symptoms of dorsal compression. Imaging showed multiple intradural extramedullary spinal lesions at D3-D4, D8 and D10-D11. Surgical excision of the lesions was done and histopathology was consistent with metastatic deposits from malignant melanoma which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry studies also. Her conscious level deteriorated on the second postoperative day and CT scan showed multiple small tumor emboli with evidence of right temporal bleed and diffuse cerebral edema. In spite of aggressive treatment she could not be saved. This reported case concludes that pregnancy aggravates the clinical course of metastatic melanoma.


The glycosaminoglycan (GAG) molecules are a group of high molecular weight, negatively charged polysaccharides present abundantly in the mammalian organism. By their virtue of ion and water binding capacity, they may affect the redistribution of body fluids and ultimately the blood pressure. Data from the literature suggests that the mitogens Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-A and VEGF-C are able to regulate the amount and charge density of GAGs and their detachment from the cell surface. Based on these findings we investigated the relationship between the level of dietary sodium intake, the expression levels of VEGF-A and VEGF-C, and the amount of the skin GAGs hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate in an in vivo rat model. Significant correlation between dietary sodium intake, skin sodium levels and GAG content was found. We confirmed the GAG synthesizing role of VEGF-C but failed to prove that GAGs are degraded by VEGF-A. No significant difference in blood pressure was registered between the different dietary groups. A quotient calculated form the ion and water content of the skin tissue samples suggests that - in contrast to previous findings - the osmotically inactive ions and bound water fractions are proportional.


This 48-year-old hypertensive man, a cigarette smoker, awoke in the recovery room with visual loss in the right eye after uncomplicated lumbar spine surgery. His intraoperative blood pressure had been maintained at relatively low levels to reduce bleeding; a loss of 1500 cc of blood was reported. Postoperative hemoglobin was 4.2 g/dl less than the preoperative hemoglobin; however, the patient did not receive a blood transfusion. A postoperative ophthalmological examination revealed decreased visual acuity, color vision, and visual field in the right eye. The right optic nerve and retina were initially normal but the patient eventually developed optic nerve atrophy consistent with the clinical diagnosis of ischemic optic neuropathy. Neurosurgeons should be aware that this condition may follow uncomplicated lumbar spine surgery and should obtain prompt ophthalmological consultation when patients develop postoperative visual loss. Aggressive and rapid correction of blood pressure and hematocrit may be helpful in individuals who develop ischemic optic neuropathy after lumbar spine surgery.


Specific developmental and operational characteristics of machine learning (ML) components, as well as their inherent uncertainty, demand robust engineering principles are used to ensure their quality. We aim to determine how software systems can be (re-) architected to enable robust integration of ML components. Towards this goal, we conducted a mixed-methods empirical study consisting of (i) a systematic literature review to identify the challenges and their solutions in software architecture for ML, (ii) semi-structured interviews with practitioners to qualitatively complement the initial findings, and (iii) a survey to quantitatively validate the challenges and their solutions. In total, we compiled and validated twenty challenges and solutions for (re-) architecting systems with ML components. Our results indicate, for example, that traditional software architecture challenges (e.g., component coupling) also play an important role when using ML components; along new ML specific challenges (e.g., the need for continuous retraining). Moreover, the results indicate that ML heightened decision drivers, such as privacy, play a marginal role compared to traditional decision drivers, such as scalability or interoperability. Using the survey, we were able to establish a link between architectural solutions and software quality attributes; which enabled us to provide twenty architectural tactics used for satisfying individual quality requirements of systems with ML components. Altogether, the results can be interpreted as an empirical framework that supports the process of (re-) architecting software systems with ML components.


▪ Abstract This review presents a critique of the academic and welfare literature on street children in developing countries, with supporting evidence from studies of homelessness in industrialized nations. The turn of the twenty-first century has seen a sea change of perspective in studies concerning street youth. This review examines five stark criticisms of the category "street child" and of research that focuses on the identifying characteristics of a street lifestyle rather than on the children themselves and the depth or diversity of their actual experiences. Second, it relates the change of approach to a powerful human rights discourse—the legal and conceptual framework provided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child—which emphasizes children's rights as citizens and recognizes their capabilities to enact change in their own lives. Finally, this article examines literature focusing specifically on the risks to health associated with street or homeless lifestyles. Risk assessmen...