Background Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is associated with high rates of local recurrence (LR) up to 75%. Second line treatment should be applied tailored to relapse pattern. We aimed to establish a new score for LR pattern with prognostic impact in this observational study of retrospective nature. Methods MPM patients with LR after surgery, verified by serial imaging during follow-up visits or biopsy were included in a retrospective analysis using a new local recurrence score (LRS). We divided the thoracic cavity into six sections and calculated the LRS according to the tumor burden. We assessed the impact on survival after recurrence using cox regression model. Results From 2001 until 2017, 128 consecutive MPM patients with LR who underwent macroscopic complete resection (MCR) by extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP, n=61) or by (extended) pleurectomy/decortication [(E)PD, n=67], were included in the present analysis; 104 patients received second line therapy. Patients with chest wall (CW) recurrence had the shortest survival after recurrence (9 vs. 16 months, P=0.05) as well as patients with affected lymph nodes (LN) (9 vs. 17 months, P=0.02). In subgroup analysis, the (E)PD group had a significantly higher LRS (P≤0.001) despite a longer survival time after recurrence of 12.4 months (IQR, 6.45–20.32) compared to 9.3 months (IQR, 2.93–17.40, EPP group) (P=0.04). Patients with LRS ≤4 had a longer survival undergoing radiotherapy or local surgery for second line treatment whereas patients with LRS >4 only if they underwent chemotherapy. Conclusions LRS might be a useful prognostic tool in MPM patients with LR after multimodality therapy to guide second line treatment allocation.


Ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) systems suffer from issues that limit their widespread deployment and limit the number of applications where they can be used. These limitations are: lack of a well defined read zone, interference, and environment sensitivity. To overcome these limitations a novel receiver device is introduced into the system. The use of such device or devices mitigates the issues by enabling more "anchor points" in the system. Two such devices exist in industry and academia: the Astraion Sensatag and the Gen2 Listener. The drawbacks of the Sensatag is that it offers poor performance in capturing tag signals. The Gen2 Listener is based on the expensive software defined radio hardware. The purpose of the thesis was to develop a receiver that will enable several new RFID applications that are not available with current RFID systems. The receiver, named ARR (Augmented RFID Receiver), receives tag and reader signals, which are decoded by an FPGA and the results are reported through Ethernet. This device is central to the augmented RFID system. To show the suitability of such an approach, the performance of the implementation was compared to the other two outlined solutions. A comparison of the read rate and range of the implementations were the defining factors. The analysis showed that the ARR is capable of receiving tag signals with a read rate of 50% for passive and 66% for semi-passive tags at a one meter distance and is capable of receiving tag signals at a maximum of 3.25 meters for passive and 5.5 meters for semipassive tags, with the reader being within 8 meters of the ARR. Two applications were implemented to showcase the ARR: an RFID portal and protocol analyzer.


Study of biodiversity of freshwater fish and parasite communities from the River Arda, southern Bulgaria characterized by heavy metal pollution was carried out. Investigation of the actual state of the water pollution from an aspect of loading environment with heavy metals and their impact on fish, fish parasites and biodiversity of water organisms in general was accomplished. Assessment of fish parasites as potential bioindicators of water pollution was made. For examinations were used standard methods and techniques. The studies, belonging to 65 specimens of fishes representing 8 species during the three seasons were presented. The dominant structures of helminth communities are characterized. The model of fish species chosen for examination of the heavy metal content in this study were the European perch, Perca fluviatilis (L., 1758) and Macedonian vimba, Vimba melanops (Heckel, 1837) of the Arda River. The contents of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Mn and Cu) (mean concentration, bioconcentration factors) in the tissues and organs of fish species and fish parasites (Eustrongylides excisus (Jägerskiöld, 1909) and Caryophyllaeus sp.) were discussed. The studies carried out could be used in various monitoring systems for screening the pollution on the water environment and the organisms inhabiting the anthropogenous ecosystems.


The review provides an overview of the main conclusions and arguments given in the monograph by A. Ya. Ryzhenkov. The classification of the principles of family law and the mechanism of their implementation is highly appreciated. It is noted that the doctrinal principles of family law proposed by the author may be of interest to the legislator when expanding the list of principles – the main ideas of family law in the future.


The objective of this thesis is to study and research the development of Learning Management System Moodle for teaching subjects with digital comics, targeting educators of all disciplines. At first, the purpose and structure of the thesis are described. Afterwards, a research is carried out with the aim to identify the role of Information and Communications Ttechnology in education and also for the use of digital comics. Additionally, examples and references to the benefits found in the learning process are given. Subsequently, the design and the implementation of pilot e-course with nested activities for the creation of digital comic are executed. In the first place, reports on the development research and case study analysis are conducted and afterwards, two analytical tables and implementation of e-courses are carried out. Also, the existing teaching approach is validated. Finally, instructions for the addition of educational and interactive material are given through illustrations to the educators and the innovation of this online course is justified. Eventually, the heuristic evaluation is employed by educators, with the aim to evaluate this online course and export the relative conclusions. This thesis is concluded with suggestions for further research.


In this work we propose a machine learning (ML) method to aid in the diagnosis of schizophrenia using electroencephalograms (EEGs) as input data. The computational algorithm not only yields a proposal of diagnostic but, even more importantly, it provides additional information that admits clinical interpretation. It is based on an ML model called random forest that operates on connectivity metrics extracted from the EEG signals. Specifically, we use measures of generalized partial directed coherence (GPDC) and direct directed transfer function (dDTF) to construct the input features to the ML model. The latter allows the identification of the most performance-wise relevant features which, in turn, provide some insights about EEG signals and frequency bands that are associated with schizophrenia. Our preliminary results on real data show that signals associated with the occipital region seem to play a significant role in the diagnosis of the disease. Moreover, although every frequency band might yield useful information for the diagnosis, the beta and theta (frequency) bands provide features that are ultimately more relevant for the ML classifier that we have implemented.


Since its inception, the Communications Workers of America has played an important role in lobbying on telecommunication policies. Its positions, however, have typically put short-term goals of job creation ahead of a long-term vision for democratic communication. Since the AT&T divestiture brought an end to Fordism in the telecom industry, the CWA often has been in the conflicted position of seeking job security for members in a hostile political environment while attempting to develop a just communication system in the United States. Typically, the union has chosen the former over the latter at the ultimate expense of both. This article traces the history of the CWA's lobbying efforts from the 1984 divestiture through the wave of media consolidation in the late 1990s. Trends of technological and structural convergence mandate that CWA revise its lobbying strategies in order to further a vision of democratic communication that will benefit working people.


Polymer modified Quartz Tuning Fork sensor array with three sensors has been developed to classify 1,4-dimethoxy-2, 3-butanediol (BD), cyclohexanone (CH), ethanol, methanol and acetone with various concentrations. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Decision Tree (DT), and Random Forrest (RF) have been used and evaluated as the classifiers predicting the VOCs and their concentration. The classifiers were trained with three features: response time, recovery time, and shift in the resonant frequency of the sensors. The results have been compared and analyzed for the performance of each classifier for the present system. RF gives the best performance as a classifier with an accuracy of classification more than 95%. We present results of VOC classifier performance for the QTF sensor array.


We present a bivariate population balance-based formulation of the performance of well-mixed adiabatic combustors fed by ethanol (EtOH)-containing sprays of prescribed droplet size distribution (DSD) and composition. Our historically interesting example is the fuel-cooled V-2 chemical rocket—using 75 wt % EtOH + H2O solution, and oxidizer O2(L). Of special interest are the predicted combustion "intensity" (GW/m3) and efficiency (EtOH fraction vaporized) at each ratio of combustor mean residence time to feed-droplet characteristic vaporization time. Our formulation exploits a quasi-steady, gas-diffusion-controlled individual droplet evaporation rate law, and the method-of-characteristics to solve the associated first-order population balance partial differential equation governing the joint distribution function n(m1, m2) of the fuel spray exiting such a chamber, where m1 = EtOH mass/droplet, and m2 = H2O mass/droplet. Besides the combustor efficiency and intensity, this bivariate distribution function enables predictions of corresponding unconditional DSD, and the joint distribution function(diam., droplet temperature)—perhaps measurable. Our numerically exact formulation/results also provide valuable test cases for convenient approximate methods (bivariate moment and spectral/weighted residual) to predict these "correlated" bivariate distribution functions in more complex situations. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011


The ginseng berry contains a variety of biologically active compounds and has a higher ginsenoside content than its roots. This study focused on the hepatoprotective activity of ginseng berry extract prepared by enzyme treatment (EGB) compared to the non-enzyme-treated ginseng berry extract (GB) and quality control of EGB. The feeding effect of EGB on alcohol-induced liver damage (AILD) was investigated by measuring the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) compared with those of EtOH-fed mice. Furthermore, cytokine levels in the culture supernatants of EGB- or GB-treated RAW 264.7 cells were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The developed method was applied to the simultaneous quantification of four major ginsenosides in EGB using UPLC-QTOF/MS. Treatment with EGB at a dose of 0.5 or 1 mg/mouse significantly suppressed the AST and ALT levels in mice with AILD. Enzyme-treated ginseng berry was also found to suppress the production of inflammatory mediators like nitric oxide (NO), tumor-necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, showing higher activity than that of GB. The amount of ginsenoside Re, F5, F3, and Rd in the EGB obtained using UPLC-QTOF/MS was 45.9, 3.3, 4.0, and 6.2 mg/g, respectively. These results suggest that EGB has a potential effect on AILD, and its hepatoprotective effect provides beneficial insights into developing new candidates for the prevention and cure of AILD. Also, this study demonstrated the utility of UPLC-QTOF/MS-based major compounds for quality control (QC) of EGB.


Abstract 'Security' and 'status' complexities are critical impediments for any state's foreign policy; and India is no different. This article argues that as the China threat looms large, New Delhi will not be in complete repudiation of an 'Asian NATO' (or "Indo-Pacific NATO"), despite strategically refraining from being party to a definitive military alliance and an age-old non-alignment principle. However, India's support will be contingent on the future trajectory of its ties with Beijing. In this context, the article identifies two hypothetical 'extremities' – or scenarios – that may encourage New Delhi not only to endorse but also promote a militarized defence coalition in the Indo-Pacific: the outbreak of an India-China war 2.0, which cannot be entirely ruled out in the future, and China's forceful occupation of Taiwan, that forces India to revisit or rethink its acceptance of the 'One China' policy. The 'security' and 'status' challenges would embolden India to embrace alliance politics with more gusto, even though such a scenario remains a distant possibility.


A hand and foot contamination monitor is a health physics instrument to provide detection and measurement of beta-gamma contamination on the palm of each hand and on the bottom surface of both feet/shoes. There are four channels of detection for two hands and two feet. Four G-M detectors have been used in a single unit to cover the whole area of hand and feet. A regulated high voltage DC power supply (900 V) has been designed using the PIC12F675 microcontroller to operate the pancake Geiger-Muller detectors. The reading is displayed on a linearly scaled 0-100 Bq/cm 2 analog panel meter. The monitor detects beta–gamma radiation emitted by radioactive materials, and if the detected value exceeds a preset level, the monitor sounds an alarm and displays a reading in the respective panel meter. Indicator lamps are used to show the status of contamination. The performance of the system has been tested by using pulse generator and by flat surface radioactive calibration sources. Electronic linearity, detection efficiency, response to the contamination, calibration factor and percentage of error has been measured. Test results were satisfactory and the present system can be used instead of similar imported instruments. Received: 21 May 2014; Revised: 21 August 2014; Accepted: 22 August 2014


The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of intestinal Campylobacter in lactating dairy cows from various regions of the United States. Participating commercial dairy farms were chosen at random and were part of a national survey to determine E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella prevalence in dairy cows. Farms had no previous history of Campylobacter problems. Fecal samples were collected rectally from 720 cows on farms in the northeast (four farms), in the desert southwest (three farms), and in the Pacific west (two farms). A minimum of 60 fecal samples per visit were collected from each farm. Thirty isolates were analyzed using the RiboPrinter Microbial Characterization System to obtain ribosomal RNA patterns. Twenty isolates were tentatively identified as Campylobacter jejuni, two as Campylobacter coli, three as Campylobacter spp., and five as unknown. Individual single-visit farm prevalence ranged from 0 to 10%. The disk diffusion method, employing 11 antibiotics, was used to test the antibiotic sensitivities of 27 of the isolates. Eight isolates were resistant to two or more antibiotics, 13 isolates were resistant to one antibiotic, and 6 were totally susceptible. Under the conditions of this study, the authors conclude that Campylobacter prevalence in lactating dairy cows in the United States is low, there is no difference in prevalence on the basis of geographical location, the predominant species is C. jejuni, and that the majority of these isolates are sensitive to antibiotics.


This paper examines the tourist perceptions at Danish, Osu-Ghana within the dark tourism or slavery heritage contexts. Using Cohen's (1979) typology of tourist experience, we differentiate between tourist knowledge of a heritage site relative to socio-demographic indices. The results indicate that tourists' perception of Danish-Osu reflect their knowledge of the site in relation to its cultural heritage attributes. In addition, it was found that tourists have dual experiences of the site: those that relate to recreational pursuits of heritage sites and those that ascribe meanings based on their background. The contemporary nature and use of Transatlantic Slave Trade relics for tourism development makes the case of the Danish-Osu more delicate considering the ethical implications of interpreting the community's past to tourists as the borderlines are unclear. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This essay examines identity politics reflected in primary and secondary school art curricula before and after the reunification of Hong Kong with China in 1997. Strategies used by the previous British colonial government and the current Chinese government to control the local people and to maintain harmony among them are compared. As early as 1967, the British promoted the inclusion of Chinese art in the art curriculum, presumably to avoid conflict with China. After the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the local Hong Kong government emphasized the need to increase the Chinese content in the visual arts curriculum, though no noticeable effort was made to translate this value into action. From the colonial years to the present day, art from cultures other than the West and China has been limited, and local art has been consistently marginalized. This practice reveals that both colonial and the postcolonial governments in Hong Kong have used the same politics of control.


Three years of gravity wave observations from the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder instrument on NASA's Aura satellite are examined. We produce estimates of the global distribution of gravity wave momentum flux as a function of individual observed wave packets. The observed distribution at the 25 km altitude level is dominated by the small proportion of wave packets with momentum fluxes greater than ∼0.5 mPa. Depending on latitude and season, these wave packets only comprise ∼7–25% of observations, but are shown to be almost entirely responsible for the morphology of the observed global momentum flux distribution. Large‐amplitude wave packets are found to be more important over orographic regions than over flat ocean regions, and to be especially high in regions poleward of 40°S during austral winter. The momentum flux carried by the largest packets relative to the distribution mean is observed to decrease with height over orographic wave generation regions, but to increase with height at tropical latitudes; the mesospheric intermittency resulting is broadly equivalent in both cases. Consistent with previous studies, waves in the top 10% of the extratropical distribution are observed to carry momentum fluxes more than twice the mean and waves in the top 1% more than 10× the mean, and the Gini coefficient is found to characterize the observed distributions well. These results have significant implications for gravity wave modeling.


ABSTRACT Detrital plagioclase (An12-An28) in Triassic reservoir sandstones of the Lunde Formation in the Snorre Field, offshore Norway has been partially to completely albitized during burial diagenesis (depths of about 2,500-3,000 m; 75-100°C present temperature). Calcite (CaCO3 > 99 mole %) and kaolinite were formed as by-products of plagioclase albitization. Sodium-rich detrital plagioclase (An2-An11) are usually unalbitized. Detrital K-feldspar is fresh or, rarely, partly albitized. Differences in albitization behavior of detrital plagioclase and K-feldspar are shown to be related to the chemistry of formation waters, reactivity of kaolinite, and temperature. The diagenetically formed albite pseudomorphs are very pure (Ab > 9 ), well-ordered low-albite, dark-luminescent, vacuolized, mostly untwinned, and comprised of numerous euhedral albite crystals. Some of the microporosity within the albite pseudomorphs is caused by volume reduction during albitization of the detrital plagioclase. The amount of albite formed in the pseudomorphs is related to the molar proportion of albite component in the detrital unstable Ca-rich plagioclase. The microporosity formed during albitization is proportional to the anorthite component, which is believed to have dissolved and resulted primarily in the formation of calcite and kaolinite. The albitization of detrital plagioclase in the studied sandstones can thus be explained without assuming the consumption of significant amounts of Na+ from pore solutions.


Muscle injuries are challenging problems for surgeons. Muscle trauma is commonly treated conservatively with excellent outcome results while surgical repair is advocated for larger tears/lacerations, where the optimal goal is restore of function. Repair of muscle belly lacerations is technically demanding because the sutures pull out and the likelihood of clinical failure is high. Different suture techniques have been described but still the best suture is debated. We show a case of a pure vastus medialis muscle laceration surgically repaired at 6 years of follow-up.


Multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) methods are high-resolution volatile chemical separation techniques, and comprise classical heart-cutting MDGC and its more recent incarnation, comprehensive 2D GC. Although available for a long period, MDGC approaches are still not widely practiced in the field of bioanalysis, possibly reflecting the general preference for regular GC versus MDGC approaches. With the recent introduction of '-omic' techniques that emphasize global nontargeted profiling of metabolites within living systems, it is evident that MDGC is gaining momentum as a separation tool, since it offers very high resolution. By untangling metabolites within highly complex biological matrices, and expanding the metabolic coverage, MDGC plays a frontline role in '-omics' based studies. This review highlights state-of-the-art MDGC approaches, and summarizes the recent developments in bioanalytics.


A major limitation of the use of cellular therapies is the loss of donor-derived cells because of immune incompatibility. While induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells offer the potential for autologous transplant therapies, questions have been raised using a mouse model that specific antigens mediate the rejection of grafts after syngeneic transplants with iPS, but not embryonic stem (ES) cells. In this study, we examined whether the human homologs of these markers, HORMAD1, ZG16, and Cyp3A, are differentially expressed in human iPS versus ES cells, as well as undifferentiated and in vitro-differentiated cells. Both qRT-PCR and flow cytometric analyses demonstrated similar gene and protein expression profiles for iPS and ES cells regardless of differentiation state. Our data are consistent with a recent study in mice that showed no evidence of rejection of differentiated syngeneic iPS cells. Furthermore, our results suggest that expression of these gene products cannot predict differences in clinical outcomes between human iPS and ES-derived cells.


GABA(A) receptors composed of alpha1beta3 gamma2 and alpha1beta3 subunits were expressed in insect Sf9 cells and solubilized in 1% Triton X100. In sucrose density gradients, [3H]-Ro15-1788 binding activity, in the case of alpha1beta3 gamma2, and [3H]-muscimol binding activity, in the case of alpha1beta3 containing receptors sedimented as a single sharp peak suggesting the formation of receptors containing a defined number of subunits. When alpha1beta3gamma2 -containing receptors were incubated with an alpha-subunit specific antibody (bd24), a single class of antibody receptor complex was formed irrespective of the receptor-antibody ratio. This is consistent with two alpha subunits cross-linked within the receptor by the antibody. Similar results were obtained using a beta-subunit specific antibody (bd17). Several classes of antibody-receptor complex were formed when receptors were pre-incubated with a gamma specific antibody (anti gamma(2) 1-15 Cys). This profile is consistent with the presence of a single gamma subunit in each complex. Experiments with alpha1beta3 subunit containing receptors and antibody bd24 produced a profile similar to that seen with alpha1beta3 gamma2 receptors, consistent with two alpha subunits per receptor complex. In this case, the anti-beta subunit antibody, bd17, produced a unique and complex profile consistent with three beta subunits per receptor. This method permits the rapid determination of subunit stoichiometries of homogeneous receptor populations


Achondroplasia is the most common short-stature skeletal dysplasia, additionally marked by rhizomelia, macrocephaly, midface hypoplasia, and normal cognition. Potential medical complications associated with achondroplasia include lower extremity long bone bowing, middle-ear dysfunction, obstructive sleep apnea, and, more rarely, cervicomedullary compression, hydrocephalus, thoracolumbar kyphosis, and central sleep apnea. This is the second revision to the original 1995 health supervision guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics for caring for patients with achondroplasia. Although many of the previously published recommendations remain appropriate for contemporary medical care, this document highlights interval advancements in the clinical methods available to monitor for complications associated with achondroplasia. This document is intended to provide guidance for health care providers to help identify individual patients at high risk of developing serious sequelae and to enable intervention before complications develop.


The stability derivatives valid for a limited range of supersonic speeds are presented for a series of sweptback wings tapered to a point with sweptback or sweptforward trailing edges. These wings were derived by modifying the trailing edge of a basic triangular wing so that it coincided with lines drawn from the wing tips to the wing axis of symmetry. The stability derivatives were formulated by using the pressure distributions previously obtained for the basic triangular wing for angle of attack, constant vertical acceleration, sideslip, pitching, rolling, and yawing. Explicit expressions are given for the stability derivatives with respect to principal body axes, and conversion formulas are provided for the transformation to stability axes. The results are limited to Mach numbers for which the wing is contained within the Mach cones springing from the vertex and from the trailing edge of the center section of the wing.


This paper argues that renminbi (RMB) internationalization and China's strategic interests in ASEAN will combine to deepen economic integration and pave the way for creating a de facto RMB bloc consisting of the 10 ASEAN countries, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan—a grouping we call ASEAN+New3. Such a currency bloc is likely to weaken the initiatives of the existing ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and Korea) for regional monetary-financial cooperation because neither Japan nor can Korea join the new currency bloc for economic and political reasons. This paper also argues that RMB internationalization would delay the resolution of the trade imbalance between East Asia and the United States because China would be pressured by the other members of ASEAN+New3 to maintain stability of the RMB vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar.


1. This short presentation discussed the impact of the death penalty on deadly violence in Sweden, Finland, (Denmark, Norway), the US, and Eastern Europe during varying time periods. 2. The simple result is that the application as well as the abolition of the death penalty in these countries evidently exerted no impact on the level or developmentof deadly violence during the periods studied. 3. Thus, the use of the death penalty as an efficient deterrent is not proved as an empirical fact in these countries. 4. The use of the death penalty appears first and foremost as a question of values and political considerations. 5. The death penalty has been abolished in all the countries studied here – with the exception of the US. 6. Alcohol consumption and political instability appear as strong determinants of deadly violence.


Data for the presenting complaints, average age and sex distribution, average length of stay and the discharge diagnosis for 900 consecutive adolescents treated at the Adolescent Center of Houston International Hospital between 1974 and 1982 were reviewed. The number of cases remained fairly constant over the 9 years. As the males and females showed an increase in age, the increase in age for males (13.4 years to 15.2 years) was greater than that for females (14.4 years to 15.0 years). The average age for male admissions during 1974-1976 was significantly lower than 1980-1982 (p less than 0.03). The average length of stay for males during 1980-1982 was significantly greater than 1974-1976 (p less than 0.05). The most frequent presenting symptoms in decreasing order for 1974-1982 were depression, school problems, family problems, threatening behavior, runaway behavior, and suicidal ideation. Depression increased from 15.6% in 1974-1976 to 29.6% of presenting symptoms. Substance abuse increased from 4% (1974-1976) to 8.8% (1980-1982). Suicidal ideation increased three-fold over the same period (3.3% to 10.6%). A significantly greater number of males presented with 1) impulsivity, 2) aggressiveness, 3) withdrawal behavior, 4) stealing, and 5) disruptive behavior. A significantly greater number of females presented with 1) runaway behavior, and 2) suicidal ideation. The 10 most frequent discharge diagnoses are listed. Depression as a diagnosis increased almost four-fold between 1977-1979 and 1980-1982 (7.6% versus 27.5%).


The autosomal recessive inherited, metabolic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) – a key enzyme in the catabolism of phenylalanine. PKU patients present with noxiously increased concentrations of the amino acid phenylalanine in the plasma, leading to a so-called hyperphenylalaninemia. This disorder is treatable by avoiding uptake of phenylalanine. As this amino acid is naturally ubiquitously present in normal nutrition, patients have to follow a very strict and artificial diet in order to evade the grave consequences, such as severe mental retardation, they would have to expect otherwise.
In the 1970s it was realised that there exists another cause of hyperphenylalaninemia which led to the detection of tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency. The connecting link between these two disor-ders is tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), the natural cofactor of phenylalanine hydroxylase and other members of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases, enzymes pivotal for catecholamine and serotonin biosynthesis. BH4 serves also as an essential cofactor for other enzymes (nitric oxide synthase and glyceryl-ether monooxygenase) and has additional functions on a cellular level.
In recent years an other new variant of hyperphenylalaninemia/PKU was described (BH4-responsive HPA/PKU). Patients with this type of PKU are characterised by a marked reduction and normalisation of the increased phenylalanine concentration after oral loading with BH4. This finding opened a new perspective for a pharmacological treatment of so-called BH4-responsive HPA/PKU, as an alternative to the phenylalanine restricted diet which has notoriously a low compliance.
With BH4 tested in medication of BH4-responsive HPA/PKU patients and being already used to treat BH4-deficient patients, our interest in the effects of exogenous BH4 on the organism was aroused. We started a project to study the influence of BH4, its metabolism and regulation.
In the course of our study, we developed a new method for the measurement of different pterins (neopterin, biopterin, and pterin) in dried blood spots, which could be of use as an alternative in the screening for BH4 deficiencies. We identified new patients with GTP cyclohydrolase I deficiency, 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase deficiency, and dihydropteridine reductase deficiency using this method.
Extensive pharmacokinetic studies of BH4 have been performed in animal models but only few parameters are known from studies in humans. With the dried blood spots method we analysed the pharmacokinetics of orally administered BH4 in 71 patients with hyperphenylalaninemia and calculated a rapid absorption- (1.1 h) and distribution phase (2.5 h) and a slower elimination phase (46 h). Previous findings of others, that BH4-responsiveness was higher among patients with mild PAH mutations, could be confirmed.In a third part we looked at the molecular genetics of BH4 responsive HPA/PKU patients. By virtue of data mining in the BIOPKU database we identified 60 different mutations associated with BH4 responsiveness and analysed the frequency of potentially responsive genotypes and their dispersal in Europe. We estimated an average of 55% responsive amongst HPA/PKU patients in Europe.
We also studied the outcome and made a long-term follow-up of 36 patients with BH4 defi-ciency, 26 with a 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin deficiency and 10 with dihydropteridine reduc-tase deficiency, the two most common forms of BH4-deficiency. Our data suggested that diagnosis within the first month of life is essential for a good outcome and that low 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid and homovanillic acid values in cerebrospinal fluid could be an indicator for the ongoing developmental impairment, even in absence of neurological symptoms.
In a last part, we investigated in the effects of BH4 on the metabolism and regulation of en-zymes, either directly involved in the biosynthesis and regeneration of BH4 or otherwise associ-ated with BH4 metabolism. The experiments were performed employing various cell lines, which were treated by supplementation of BH4 and other agents with either stimulating or inhibiting effects. In most investigated cell lines, after supplementation with cytokines, a significant and strong up-regulation (~50-fold) of the gene expression of GCH1 was found, the gene encoding for GTP cyclohydrolase I, the first and rate limiting enzyme in BH4 de novo biosynthesis. Furthermore, the expression of AKR1B1, involved in alternative pathway, was found to be upregulated (~4-fold). A slight but significant reduction of the transcription of QDPR, coding for the enzyme dihydropteridine reductase, was observed after supplementation with sepiapterin, known to be taken up quickly by cell cultures and intracellularly converted to BH4.


In the age of writable web, new skills and new practices are appearing. In an environment that allows everyone to communicate information globally, internet referencing (or SEO) is a strategic discipline that aims to generate visibility, internet traffic and a maximum exploitation of sites publications. Often misperceived as a fraud, SEO has evolved to be a facilitating tool for anyone who wishes to reference their website with search engines. In this article we show that it is possible to achieve the first rank in search results of keywords that are very competitive. We show methods that are quick, sustainable and legal; while applying the principles of active SEO 2.0. This article also clarifies some working functions of search engines, some advanced referencing techniques (that are completely ethical and legal) and we lay the foundations for an in depth reflection on the qualities and advantages of these techniques.


This article examines the tracking performance of the leveraged and regular fixed-income exchange-traded funds (FIETFs) on four major indexes: medium-term Treasury, long-term Treasury, investment-grade corporate, and high-yield corporate bond indexes. All sample FIETFs display significant tracking errors, and these tracking errors are much larger for funds on the longer maturity bond index. In addition, funds tracking corporate bond indexes show greater tracking errors than those on Treasury bond indexes. Finally, tracking errors are larger for leveraged FIETFs than for regular FIETFs and increase as the magnitude of target leverage increases for bull/bear funds. Over multiple trading days such as a week, the return deviation of a leveraged FIETF can be driven by both the net asset value (NAV) deviation due to fund management tracking error and compounding effect due to the daily rebalancing nature of LETFs. While both return deviation components are significant on a weekly basis, the size of the NAV deviation dominates that of the compounding deviation, reflecting the difficulty for fund managers to track fixed-income indexes.


The constitutive model presented in this work is built on a conceptual approach for unsaturated expansive soils in which the fundamental characteristic is the explicit consideration of two pore levels. The distinction between the macro‐ and microstructure provides the opportunity to take into account the dominant phenomena that affect the behaviour of each structural level and the main interactions between them. The microstructure is associated with the active clay minerals, while the macrostructure accounts for the larger‐scale structure of the material. The model has been formulated considering concepts of classical and generalized plasticity theories. The generalized stress–strain rate equations are derived within a framework of multidissipative materials, which provides a consistent and formal approach when there are several sources of energy dissipation. The model is formulated in the space of stresses, suction and temperature; and has been implemented in a finite element code. The approach has been applied to explaining and reproducing the behaviour of expansive soils in a variety of problems for which experimental data are available. Three application cases are presented in this paper. Of particular interest is the modelling of an accidental overheating, that took place in a large‐scale heating test. This test allows the capabilities of the model to be checked when a complex thermo‐hydro‐mechanical (THM) path is followed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


While statistics indicate the nation is producing more physicians than it needs, administrators of rural or inner city hospitals still may have difficulty recruiting the physicians they need. Suggestions are given for assessing a hospital's medical staff needs, organizing a search committee, locating physician resources, evaluating candidates, and conducting recruitment visits.


Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children. Pulmonary metastasis is the major cause of mortality in OS patients with a 25-30 % 5-year survival rate. Therefore, development of novel targeted approaches like immunotherapy has been the interest of investigators. Previously, we have demonstrated that Liposomal muramyl tripeptipe phosphatidyl ethanolamine (L-MTP-PE) reduced the metastatic burden in animal models and caused an 8% improvement in the overall survival of patients with OS metastatic disease through macrophage activation. The adoptive transfer of mature natural killer (NK) cells activated ex vivo has exhibited anti-tumor efficacy in breast cancer and lymphoma models. It has been shown that NK cells exert cytotoxicity against OS cells in vitro. Aerosolized interleukin 2 (IL-2) administered to dogs with OS lung disease has demonstrated therapeutic benefit. Additionally, Guma S. R. et al. showed that aerosol IL-2 enhanced the efficacy of infused NK cells against OS lung metastasis in vivo. Aerosol IL-2 and NK cell combination therapy resulted in the regression of OS lung metastasis through enhanced tumor cell apoptosis. Moreover, the combination therapy significantly increased the overall survival of mice with OS lung metastases. However, the treatment is not curative as metastasis persists leading to relapse. Recent studies have demonstrated the immunosuppressive role of checkpoint inhibitors such as programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) and its ligand, programmed death ligand 1 (PDL-1). Inhibition of the PD-1/PDL-1 pathway has shown immunotherapeutic benefit in lung and renal tumors. Involvement of this pathway in OS lung metastases is unknown. Therefore, based on our previous studies of aerosol IL-2, we hypothesize that aerosol IL-2 causes upregulation of PDL-1 expression on OS tumor cells, which in turn interacts with PD-1 receptor on NK cells, restricting NK cells9 killing ability against OS. Our preliminary data demonstrates high PDL-1 expression in human OS cells and OS lung metastases from patients. Using a human OS mouse model, we further show that aerosol IL-2 enhances PDL-1 expression in OS lung metastases. PDL-1 expression on OS lung nodules was observed towards the tumor periphery. Hence, we propose that targeting the PD-1/ PDL-1 axis using anti-PD-1 antibody will enhance the efficacy of NK cell-directed therapy, in the presence or absence of IL-2, against OS lung metastasis and improve the overall survival. Citation Format: Pooja M. Dhupkar, Eugenie Kleinerman, Nancy Gordon. Immune modulation of natural killer cell adoptive transfer for the treatment of Osteosarcoma lung metastastasis: Targeting the PD-1/ PDL-1 signaling pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy: A New Chapter; December 1-4, 2014; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2015;3(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A65.


The constantly growing world population and depleting natural resources make promoting sustainable behavior of paramount importance. Household energy is a significant percent of global energy consumption. While there has been significant work in improving energy awareness, there remains opportunity in designing systems that help direct users toward more sustainable behavior. This is particularly true since user behavior, as influenced by attitudes, beliefs and preferences, is a main driver of the household energy consumption. In this paper, a method is presented to identify and categorize design for sustainable behavior opportunities as failure modes on unnecessary overconsumption. We do this by comparing actual behavior against the minimum necessary to complete the task. Any deviation from the energy minimum is a failure mode opportunity. We clarify when opportunities are suitable for design for sustainable behavior, and when opportunities require stronger intervention of product or process redesign. To do this, user behavior was analyzed in a living laboratory format. Subjects were asked to perform a simple daily cooking activity in two phases; first in their routine manner and subsequently by trying to reduce energy consumption. In addition to recorded data on energy consumed, the users were interviewed on each user activity to understand which activities people were aware of means to reduce energy and in which they were not. The overall results show that all participants were able to reduce their energy consumption significantly when asked to do so, but these energy reducing behaviors were often ignored and not part of their daily routine. Based on this analysis, we identify opportunities where improving energy awareness is the issue, and other opportunities where more difficult sustainable design of the product or the process is needed since users are already aware but choose not to bother with reducing consumption.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


The literature tells us that art can enhance the teaching of science. We have used some of these documented strategies in our teaching of microbiology in primary - and high school outreach and in our microbiology classes at university. We have blended art and science in a variety of ways (e.g. dancing and telling stories) to provide our students with richer, more memorable learning experiences. Primary school students were treated to a day of immersion in microbiology where songs, animations, peer learning, art and baking became integral to their learning. For high school outreach, we imagined time travel and invited university acting students to play scientists telling their stories from history to bring to life 'moments' in microbiology. At university, first-year students danced like bacteria to reinforce the types of movement and appendages that some bacteria have. Humour, poetry, songs and mnemonics were also used to not only enhance learning but to remind students that learning is fun and encompasses all aspects of life. We continue to explore a transdiciplinarity approach were the boundaries between disciplines are blurred and the artist becomes a scientist and vice versa on a creative holistic learning journey of discovery.


Glucose Galactose Malabsorption is a genetic disorder caused by a defect in glucose and galactose transport across the intestinal brush border. Normally, lactose in milk is broken down into glucose and galactose by lactase, an ectoenzyme on the brush border, and the hexoses are transported into the cell by the Na+-glucose cotransporter SGLT1. The mutations causing the defect in sugar transport have been identified in patients from 33 kindreds, and functional studies have established how these mutations cause the disease.


Serum GIP, insulin, and glucose concentrations were determined during a standard oral glucose tolerance test in 80 individuals, 45 of whom were normal and 35 of whom had adult-onset diabetes mellitus according to USPHS criteria. As a group, the diabetics had fasting hyperglycemia (219 ± 17 mg./dl.) and, in response to glucose, displayed a peak serum glucose of 373 ± 23 mg./dl. and sustained hyperglycemia (315 ± 24 mg./dl.) at 180 minutes. There were no statistically significant differences in absolute serum insulin levels between the two groups. However, insulin secretion was delayed, IRI increments were smaller, and the IRI concentrations were inappropriately low for the simultaneous serum glucose concentrations in the diabetics at every time interval tested. Mean fasting serum GIP was 335 ± 30 pg./ml. in the diabetics as against 262 ± 15 pg./ml. in normal individuals (p < 0.025). After the ingestion of glucose, diabetics had significantly higher (p < 0.001) mean serum GIP levels between five and 120 minutes. By 180 minutes, serum GIP levels remained above fasting in both groups, but the diabetics had higher than normal serum concentrations (p < 0.05). Peak serum GIP concentrations, which occurred at 30 minutes in both groups, were 1,376 ± 106 and 806 ± 75 pg./ml. in the diabetics and normals, respectively (p < 0.001). Total integrated serum GIP was also greater in diabetics than normals (140,852 ± 14,208 vs. 64,602 ± 8,719 pg.-min./ml.−1, p < 0.001). The higher serum GIP concentrations observed following glucose ingestion in diabetics could not be attributed to obesity or age. We conclude that both fasting and glucose-stimulated GIP concentrations are higher than normal in obese adult-onset diabetics. The significance of this observation is uncertain. However, since our current understanding suggests the GIP may be an important enteric signal for the release of insulin in man, and because GIP has been shown to stimulate the release of immunoreactive glucagon, GIP may play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus.


Background: As a massively polarizing practice, concealing or face covering has emerged in the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Given the increasing speculation regarding therapeutic control measures, nonpharmacological approaches offer promising successful mitigation in the battle against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) COVID-19. The evaluation of public capacity, prospects, and actions offers recommendations for public oversight of the implementation of prevention activities. Hence, this investigation was aimed to explore the discernment in practicing nonpharmacological modes of intervention in combating SARS COVID-19 among a group of people, dental patients. Materials and Methods: A pictorial questionnaire survey was done using convenience sampling, aimed at participants visiting the triage facility of the institution to capture their discernment in practicing nonpharmacological modes of intervention for 3 months. Results: A total of 6015 individuals with a mean age of 35.44 ± 14.20 years participated in the study. The majority of the participants were in the age group of 18–30 years (n = 2340, 38.9%) with female (n = 3105, 51.6%) and urban (n = 3745, 62.3%) predominance. Most of the study participants had purchased cloth masks (n = 2980, 49.5%) and had spent about 10–50 INR per mask (n = 4050, 80.6%). Patients have reported that the usage of a mask (n = 1330, 22.1%) was the most difficult measure to follow and also stated that sanitizing hands (n = 2505, 41.6%) was the easiest measure to follow during this pandemic. Crowding in the market (n = 2255, 37.5%) and placing masks around the neck (n = 735, 12.2%) were infringements served in their surroundings. Irrespective of educational qualification touching the outer area of the mask was the most common noncompliance reported by the participants which were statistically significant (P = 0.0001). Conclusion: The study participants have divulged that usage of masks and following social distance in public transport were the most difficult preventive measures of SARS COVID-19 to follow. Evaluating the attitudes of public in preventive procedures for COVID-19 can pave the way to make comprehensive guidelines.


Abstract: The actions of the tumor‐promoting phorbol ester phorbol dibutyrate were examined, under identical physiological conditions, on three distinct cellular processes in striatal neurons: the distribution of protein kinase C, the carbachol‐stimulated generation of [3H]inositol monophosphate, and the KCl‐evoked release of γ‐[3H]aminobutyric acid ([3H]GABA). Phorbol dibutyrate induced a rapid (complete in 5 min), dose‐dependent, entirely reversible (t0.5= 15 min) translocation of protein kinase C from cytosol to membrane. On longer exposure to phorbol dibutyrate, membrane‐associated protein kinase C returned toward the control level, and total cellular enzyme activity declined markedly. Phorbol dibutyrate also induced the dose‐dependent attenuation of carbachol‐stimulated [3H]inositol monophosphate production and potentiation of KCl‐evoked release of [3H]GABA. The translocation of protein kinase C and the potentiation of KCl‐evoked [3H]GABA release were both rapidly reversed following washout of phorbol dibutyrate. In addition, for both processes, the effect of a 1‐h exposure to phorbol dibutyrate was markedly less than that observed following a 5‐min exposure to the agent. In direct contrast, inhibition of carbachol‐stimulated [3H]inositol monophosphate production was not rapidly reversed following washout of phorbol dibutyrate and was actually more pronounced following a 1‐h exposure, compared with a 5‐min exposure. These findings indicate that some, but not all, of the actions of phorbol dibutyrate are closely associated with the translocation of protein kinase C in striatal neurons in primary culture.


Describing the numerous factors that constrain and promote particular aspects of linguistic behaviour in interaction is very difficult. The recent adoption of more advanced quantitative methods has enhanced this modelling, leading to a greater understanding of linguistic patterns. At the same time, the increase in availability of digital recordings and storage capacity for such recordings is leading to increasingly large corpora of complex linguistic data for such investigations. The Sounds of the City corpus is one such example and is the corpus we model throughout this thesis. The corpus is an electronic real-time corpus of Glaswegian vernacular, which consists of a searchable, multi layered database of 58 hours of recordings from 136 speakers, recorded between 1970 and 2010 with orthographic transcripts and automatically phonemically segmented waveforms, amenable to automatic acoustic analyses of durational and resonance characteristics of speech.

Vowel formant measurements provide a numeric representation of a spoken vowel and are a commonly used metric to measure linguistic variation and change, with each vowel having multiple formant measures, which correspond to the resonances of the vocal tract. The first three vowel formants are important perceptual cues for the successful recognition of vowel qualities. Current quantitative modelling methods consider each formant separately, inferring characteristics on each formant measurement assuming independence between each formant. This assumption for most vowels seems misplaced, as formant measures are often correlated with one another.

In this thesis, we extend upon current modelling techniques applied to sociolinguistic corpora by introducing a Bayesian hierarchical model which models the first three formant measures for each vowel simultaneously, taking into consideration the correlation present between such measures. We also implement reparameterisation methods to alleviate issues caused by highly correlated samples, which is often observed in MCMC output for models applied to datasets with nested structures, a common feature in sociolinguistic corpora. These models not only account for the complex nested structure of the data and uncover the underlying dynamics of language just like classical mixed effects models, but now additionally account for the correlation between formants, providing a more accurate representation of factors driving linguistic variation and change.

The output from the Bayesian hierarchical model is visualised as a graphical model. Graphical models provide a visual representation of the conditional dependence between variables, making them an attractive inference tool. We combine the hierarchical model and jointly infer the relationship between vowel formant measurements using the precision estimates from the hierarchical model as input to a Bayesian Gaussian graphical model. The resulting graph utilises a chain graph like structure which visually informs the user which factors have a significant effect on vowel variation, corresponding to each formant, and also the relationship present between the first three formants. This novel inference tool helps to aid the understanding of complex model output much like the ones fitted to the Sounds of the City corpus, though can easily be applied to numerous modelling problems.


A method to transplant healthy conjunctiva onto eyes with damaged ocular surface epithelium and superficial vascularization, as are often seen after chemical or thermal burns is described. Conjunctival resection and lamellar keratectomy were followed by grafting of healthy conjunctival patches. In three of five eyes with total corneal involvement, successful reepithelialization of the cornea from the conjunctiva was accompanied by improved vision and decreased vascularization. Results in two other eyes were less successful due to deep stromal vascularization.


In this article, an automatic Analog Modulation Classifier based on Empirical mode decomposition and Machine learning approaches (AMC-EM) is proposed. The AMC-EM operates without a priori information and can recognise typical analog modulation schemes: amplitude modulation, phase modulation, frequency modulation, and single sideband modulation. The AMC-EM uses Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) to evaluate the features of the signal for the successive classification by using Machine Learning (ML). In the design of the AMC-EM, the selection of the specific ML technique is performed by comparing, with numerical tests, the performance of the (i) Support Vector Machine (SVM), (ii) k-nearest neighbor classifier, and (iii) adaptive boosting, since they are commonly used in the field of signal classification. The tests have highlighted that the SVM, specifically the quadratic SVM, permits the best possible performance concerning classification accuracy, by considering different noise intensities superimposed on the signal. To assess the advantages of the proposal, a comparison with other classifiers available in the literature has been undertaken through numerical tests. Finally, the AMC-EM is experimentally evaluated, and the experimental results agree with those of the simulation.


The purpose of this study was to assess medical residents' knowledge of symptom criteria and subtypes of major depressive episode and their accuracy in diagnosing major depressive disorders and classifying episode severity and subtype according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Thirty-five third-year internal medicine residents completed a self-administered, written instrument containing 2 open-ended questions and 21 hypothetical scenarios. The sensitivity for recognizing major depressive disorder was 64%, and the specificity was 69%. The sensitivity for classifying severity was 86% for mild, 66% for moderate, 71% for severe, and 66% for severe with psychosis. Misclassification of severity was most commonly to a less severe class. For scenarios with a diagnosable subtype of a major depressive disorder, the sensitivity for classification was 34% for atypical, 51% for catatonic, 74% for melancholic, 100% for postpartum, and 94% for seasonal depression. When asked to enumerate the criteria symptoms for depression, 80% or more of the residents listed sad mood, loss of interest, weight change, and sleep disturbances; 14 to 21 (40%-60%) listed thoughts of death and worthlessness; other criteria were listed by 7 to 11 (20%-31%). When asked to list the episode subtypes, none was listed by more than 3 (9%) residents, although 13 (37%) residents volunteered psychotic as a subtype. Residents frequently failed to recognize the presence or absence of major depressive disorder and often misclassified episode severity and subtype on scenarios. Few could spontaneously list the episode subtypes. Methods must be developed to improve the recognition and classification of major depressive episodes to better direct treatment.


The article investigates the scientific literature regarding N2O emissions according to housing and manure management in poultry and pig buildings. The majority of the N2O is emitted from manure storages and housing space, with small amounts emitted from the surface of passages. Many factors must be considered in successful emission evaluation, including season of the year, amount and depth of the bedding, animal density, type and floor space, feeding and watering practices, ventilation, temperature, and relative humidity. The liquid manure from poultry housing systems produces greater emissions of N2O than natural and force-dried manure. The influencing factors appeared to be manure removal frequency and the dry matter content of the manure. There are more housing types in pig barns, which differ in bedding, floor, and manure deposition. The highest N2O emissions were found in the sawdust bedding, and N2O production in slatted floor housing is lowest. This paper reports on technical options for mitigating emissions from poultry and swine contributions. The actual rate of N2O emission is highly dependent on the management strategies implemented on a farm. Consequently, improvements in management practices will affect future N2O emissions. Finally, emission factors are listed in a table.


Objective In this study we prepared a novel formulation of liposomal doxorubicin (L- DOX). The drug dose was optimized by analyses of cellular uptake and cell viability of osteosarcoma (OS) cell lines upon exposure to nanoliposomes that contained varying DOX concentrations. We intended to reduce the cytotoxicity of DOX and improve characteristics of the nanosystems. Materials and Methods In this experimental study, we prepared liposomes by the pH gradient hydration method. Various characterization tests that included dynamic light scattering (DLS), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM) imaging, and UV- Vis spectrophotometry were employed to evaluate the quality of the nanocarriers. In addition, the CyQUANT® assay and fluorescence microscope imaging were used on various OS cell lines (MG-63, U2-OS, SaOS-2, SaOS-LM7) and Human primary osteoblasts cells, as novel methods to determine cell viability and in vitro transfection efficacy. Results We observed an entrapment efficiency of 84% for DOX within the optimized liposomal formulation (L-DOX) that had a liposomal diameter of 96 nm. Less than 37% of DOX released after 48 hours and L-DOX could be stored stably for 14 days. L-DOX increased DOX toxicity by 1.8-4.6 times for the OS cell lines and only 1.3 times for Human primary osteoblasts cells compared to free DOX, which confirmed a higher sensitivity of the OS cell lines versus Human primary osteoblasts cells for L-DOX. We deduced that L- DOX passed more freely through the cell membrane compared to free DOX. Conclusion We successfully synthesized a stealth L-DOX that contained natural phospholipid by the pH gradient method, which could encapsulate DOX with 84% efficiency. The resulting nanoparticles were round, with a suitable particle size, and stable for 14 days. These nanoparticles allowed for adequately controlled DOX release, increased cell permeability compared to free DOX, and increased tumor cell death. L-DOX provided a novel, more effective therapy for OS treatment.


A co-constructivist view of learning places a significant emphasis on classroom interaction and social learning. 'Students prefer an active to a passive role; they prefer transaction to transmission; and they want to learn through a range of activities' (Morgan and Morris, 1999). Technology and design has the potential to provide opportunities for students to be active in their learning: to discuss, to think, to plan, to make decisions, to reflect and apply. Consequently, teachers need to provide classroom learning environments that will promote learner empowerment through collaboration, interdependence and problem solving dialogue. The present study focuses on the use of dialogue as a tool for thinking and reasoning within collaborative problem solving. Two groups of students were involved: a PGCE group of student teachers (Case Study 1) and a group of eleven-year-old primary school pupils (Case Study 2). Each group was operating within the context of a normal classroom setting. Stories were used to provide a context or 'natural setting' for practical problem solving. In both case studies the role of the tutor was to encourage learner centred dialogue, experimentation and active engagement with the problem(s). PGCE students were asked to complete two questionnaires, one prior to the activity and one upon completion. Primary school children completed only one evaluative questionnaire at the end of their activity. Video and audio recordings of both groups were used to provide transcripts that enabled a more detailed conversation analysis to be undertaken. This analysis showed the importance of interaction in learning and the kind of talk and collaboration that is needed to facilitate such learning. The extent to which the PGCE student teachers were able to identify and use the range of higher order thinking skills embedded within technology and design, problem solving activity was also investigated. Analysis of the data revealed significant changes in PGCE student perceptions of the contribution of technology and design to the development of children's thinking. The post-task questionnaire indicated heightened awareness of the qualitative nature of the task, especially the value of collaborative learning and dialogue within problem solving. The primary school pupils identified fully with the story context, and it was this that fuelled their high levels of interaction and collaboration. Through a careful use of language, at critical incidents in the problem solving process, the teacher was able to scaffold pupil learning and provide the kind of assistance that enabled the pupils to achieve at much higher levels than they would have done unaided. The importance of learning through active engagement, using a problem solving dialogue, was highlighted in both case studies.


This report is concerned with several aspects of the process of iron mineralization of the radula teeth of chitons (Polyplacophora. In Part I, the cusp cells of the radula sac, which are responsible for the deposition of iron into the major lateral teeth, are studied with the electron microscope. In Mopalia muscosa and Lepidochitona (Cyanoplax) hartwegi, it is found that these cells extend from a dorsal blood sinus to the surface of the teeth. The basal ends of the cusp cells, near the dorsal sinus, contain numerous rhopheocytotic vesicles filled with ferritin. Near the apical ends of the cells, there is a high concentration of iron-containing membrane-bound granules. Some granules contain ferritin, others are filled with ferruginous particles of electron-dense material, and others contain ferritin cores with an outer layer of ferruginous particles. In each cusp cell, the granule region is separated from the tooth surface by a bundle of microvilli that arises from a layer of mitochondria-rich cytoplasm and terminates on the tooth surface. No electron-dense material is found in the microvilli. Double-membrane structures are observed in regions where iron-containing granules occur near the microvilli. A model of the pathway of iron through the cusp cells is deduced from the observations on their ultrastructure. In Part II, it is shown that at least 90% of the iron contained in the blood of Mopalia muscosa (40 to 110 μg Fe per ml) occurs in the form of the protein-iron complex, ferritin. The blood ferritin is purified and compared with ferritin isolated from the superior epithelial cells and with vertebrate ferritins. In Part III, it is determined, by Fe59-labeling experiments, that the radula replacement rate of Mopalia muscosa is approximately 0.6 rows per day. The amount of iron contained in the major lateral teeth of Mopalia muscosa radulas is measured.


ABSTRACT In this study we investigate whether and to what extent social capital may affect regional innovation by focusing on private firms in the United States. We document that regional social capital is positively associated with the quantity, quality and novelty of county-level innovation by private firms. In addition, we find that the positive relation between social capital and regional innovation is more prominent in counties with a lower supply of financial capital. We also report that social capital is complementary to investments in research and development to produce inventive outcomes in local areas. Using a spatial Durbin model, we provide evidence that regional social capital has significant spillover effects in boosting the innovation activities of neighbouring counties.


These maps, based on research by the San Francisco Estuary Institute's Center for Resilient Landscapes, reconstruct California ecosystems as they were in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries, and compare them to present-day landscapes. They are designed to provide an understanding of the complexity and diversity of California ecosystems, to help explain how landscapes worked, to track persistence and change, and to identify potential future scenarios. The changes made evident when the maps are compared remind us of the enormous power we have to shape the landscapes we inhabit, and of the wide range of potential options available—options to create diverse, functional, and beautiful landscapes, inspired by the past and grounded in local potential—as we imagine and then create the future.


Today, people all over the world want to exchange information, but they are concern about security aspects while sharing the information or an image. In this paper, present a hybrid technique of image encryption using the Arnold Transformation and RSA Algorithm. In this proposed method first, scramble the digital image using Arnold's transformation after that encrypted that digital image using an asymmetric RSA algorithm. The proposed method is safer and the result of the resulting encrypted image is improve and safer as shown in this


【Lycorine was removed when lycorise was submerged and aciditied and lycorine was removed completely when the yellow spirit added after lycorise was submerged. A sweet tasts was increased when the wheat gluten has been made with the mixture of lycorise and the yellow spirit, and the viscosity was increased. The color of caramel was fixed completely when the yellow spirit and lycorise were used, simultaneously. The decolorization was not good when only the yellow spirit was used and the quantity of heat and time were saved, and the good color was obtained in the wheat gluten than lavamelization. The caramel obtained from the yellow spirit and lycorise was excellent than sugar.】


Sniper, whose active ingredient is dichlorvos, is one of the leading causes of pesticide poisoning and death. Sniper induced death is suggested to be increasing in Nigeria without a scientific basis for discriminating ante-mortem from postmortem intoxication. The study is aimed at using vitreous biochemical parameters such as proteins, lipids, electrolytes and renal function markers in corroborating sniper induced death. A total of twenty one rabbits were used for the study. The animals were divided into three groups of seven each. The control death (CD), post-mortem sniper contamination death (PSCD) and truly sniper induced death (TSID) groups. The TSID group undertook ante-mortem ingestion of 10 ml of sniper, whereas, PSCD post-mortem ingestion. The CD was sacrificed mechanically without sniper ingestion. Thereafter vitreous humour was collected. Samples were centrifuged, separated and supernatant analyzed for the studied parameters using WHO approved methods. The result showed a significant decrease (p<0.05) in vitreous chloride and glucose concentrations in both PSCD and TSID when compared to the CD. On the contrary, the vitreous proteins and sodium concentrations increased significantly (p<0.05) in the TSID when compared to the CD. In conclusion, it is suggested that the decrease in vitreous chloride concentration and increase in vitreous sodium, total protein, albumin and globulin concentrations could serve as an indicators of sniper poisoning.


Diabetes is understood to be an ailment where the human being system's blood sugar amounts tend to be unusually higher. It's acknowledged all over the globe among the long-term problems. Diabetes prevents your body's capability to help to make insulin, leading to extreme blood sugar levels as well as gluconeogenesis abnormalities. A lot of women are influenced by gestational diabetes, the industry type of diabetes occurring throughout being pregnant. Ladies tend to be more likely compared to guys to build up diabetes-related difficulties, as well as women that are pregnant may create gestational diabetes throughout their pregnancy. The recent advancement of Machine learning (ML) provides a significant part in illness detection and prediction upon many phenomena. This makes ML great techniques to predict diabetic disease prediction. This research chose the well-known Logistic Regression (LgR), k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forests (RF), XGBoost, and LightGBM, for diabetes prediction. A comparative study of the algorithmic performances is performed to identify the best valuable algorithm in the clinical decisions system. In the experiment, the LightGBM classifier gives the highest accuracy (88.5%) for the diabetes detection. Furthermore, this article has also compared the proposed work with existing state-of-art works. Results found that the proposed model gives better results than existing work.


The new generation has grown driven by the digital technologies. Nowadays, the access to information has extended to the mobile technologies, like cell phones and tablets, increasing the technological resources for use in education. Educational institutions are opening more and more space to technologies, which have a new teaching, and learning methodology. The internet is an inexhaustible source of knowledge. With so much available material, the student finds difficulties in choosing the best source to study. Develop a cell phone app that works as a biochemistry study guide, providing materials from safe source and easy access. The app was developed at the website "Factory of apps", for free, and available for all the operational systems (Android, IOS, windows), enabling the download in any device. Were inserted in it materials like: summaries of the main subjects dealt in the discipline with clear and objective language, scientific articles to complementary reading, video-classes and exercises. Offering fast and practical access to the material, facilitating the process of studying and learning. The student does not have to let his mobile phone in preference of studying and does not find difficulties to filter available information in the internet. After the app's use, was applied a questionnaire to the participating students for this tool's assessment, such as layout, quality of the available material, access facilities. All the participants have approved the listed aspects and have said that the use of the tool can help at the biochemistry study, by the reliable material and by being available in a mobile device providing quick and immediate access, at any time in the palm of the hand. The use of this tool can be applied in the classroom to help the professor in getting materials and to help the students by its practicality. Acknowledgements: CnpQ, Unipampa. Keywords: App, BiochemistryGuide, Biochemistry


We are addressing two aspects of vision based system development that are not fully exploited in current frameworks: abstraction over low-level details and high-level module reusability. Through an evaluation of existing frameworks, we relate these shortcomings to the lack of systematic classification of sub-tasks in vision based system development. Our approach for addressing these two issues is to classify vision into decoupled sub-tasks, hence defining a clear scope for a vision based system development framework and its subcomponents. Firstly, we decompose the task of vision system development into data management and processing. We then proceed to further decompose data management into three components: data access, conversion and transportation. To verify our approach for vision system development we present two frameworks: the Vision Utility (VU) framework for providing abstraction over the data management component; and the Hive framework for providing the data transportation and high-level code reuse. VU provides the data management functionality for developers while hiding the low-level system details through a simple yet flexible Application Programming Interface (API). VU mediates the communication between the developer's application, vision processing modules, and data sources by utilizing different frameworks for data access, conversion and transportation (Hive). We demonstrate VU's ability for providing abstraction over low-level system details through the examination of a vision system developed using the framework. Hive is a standalone event based framework for developing distributed vision based systems. Hive provides simple high-level methods for managing communication, control and configuration of reusable components. We verify the requirements of Hive (reusability and abstraction over inter-module data transportation) by presenting a number of different systems developed on the framework using a set of reusable modules. Through this work we aim to demonstrate that this novel approach for vision system development could fundamentally change vision based system development by addressing the necessary abstraction, and promoting highlevel code reuse.


This paper addresses scheduling of quantized power levels (including part load operation and startup/shutdown periods) for a propane powered solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) hybridized with a lithium-ion battery for a tracked mobile robot. The military requires silent operation and long duration missions, which cannot be met by batteries alone due to low energy density or with combustion engines due to noise. To meet this need we consider an SOFC operated at a few discrete power levels where maximum system efficiency can be achieved. The fuel efficiency decreases during transients and resulting thermal gradients lead to stress and degradation of the stack; therefore switching power levels should be minimized. Excess generated energy is used to charge the battery, but when it's fully charged the SOFC should be turned off to conserve fuel. However, startup and shutdown phases consume both battery and fuel energy and induce stack degradation, and therefore should be scheduled as infrequently as possible. Simple models of the battery and SOFC are used to evaluate the optimal scheduling strategy using Dynamic Programming. Representative cycles are generated from random sampling of measured power data for specific tasks. Finally a rule-based control strategy is developed and compared with the optimal one, considering battery degradation, fuel efficiency as well as design robustness. The application to military tracked robots for surveillance is considered as an example using power profiles from an instrumented PackBot; however the methodology can be applied broadly to hybrid power systems for transportation which have large turn on/off penalties. CITATION: Wang, Y., Siegel, J., and Stefanopoulou, A., "Control Strategies for Power Quantized Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Hybrid Powertrains: In Mobile Robot Applications," SAE Int. J. Alt. Power. 5(1):2016, doi:10.4271/2016-01-0317. 2016-01-0317 Published 04/05/2016 Copyright © 2016 SAE International doi:10.4271/2016-01-0317 saealtpow.saejournals.org 58 Downloaded from SAE International by University of Michigan, Wednesday, November 08, 2017


Mosasaurs were common predators on the ammonites that inhabited the upper water column of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior epicontinental seaway of North America. Mosasaurs developed predictable behaviour patterns for feeding on ammonite prey. There are no previous reports of mosasaur predation on the much less common Cretaceous nautiloids, possibly because of the prey's predominantly deep, epibenthic habitat, as deduced from modern Nautilus life habits. A single specimen of the highly inflated nautiloid, Eutrephoceras dekayi (Conrad), prey to a small adult mosasaur, likely Platycarpus, Prognathodon or Mosasaurus, is reported herein from the Pierre Shale of Colorado in the Early Maastrichtian biozone of Baculitesgrandis transitional to the biozone of B. clinolobatus. The nautiloid was killed in the same manner as described previously for discoid ammonites (Placenticeras, Sphenodiscus) from coeval strata in the USA and Canada.


The term 'blended learning' has gained considerable interest in recent years as a description of particular forms of teaching combined with technology. This project reports in some detail the experiences of a small group of undergraduate learners as they progress through their Bachelor course at University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) in the UAE. In particular, this study looks at a discussion forum approach as a blended learning initiative and what that entails to the learners in terms of making the subject more interactive and enhances students analytical and research skills. From the findings, conclusion has been drawn regarding the role of blackboard tool in learning by helping students to obtain a deep sense of understanding of how to operate in a virtual team despite the challenges.


Abstract : This thesis presents a business process analysis of the Army's ICT procurement system. The research identified several inefficiencies and proposes several potential solutions. the contributions of this research include a unified taxonomy, a method to prioritize requests, and system architecture products for development of an automated and sustainable collaboration interface for the CIO/G6 to streamline their IT acquisition process. Development of a centralized system would reduce waste in the request process from submission to formal accounting, hasten the movement of requests between stakeholders, maintain a digital signature authorization for each approval authority, provide a reporting database to recognize reprogramming thresholds, and deliver relevant metrics and analysis to help inform the Army's IT resourcing decisions.


: First brought to the attention of the medical education community in 1977, the "one-and-two" program was designed to improve the relevance of residency training by using both a university teaching hospital and a smaller community hospital as training centers. This paper reviews the progress of implementing this format over the past ten years, and cites some of the advantages and disadvantages encountered from doing so.


The orientation of the emissive dipole moment of seven iridium-based phosphorescent emitter molecules commonly used in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) is investigated. The orientation of Ir(ppy)3, Ir(ppy)2(acac), Ir(chpy)3, Ir(dhfpy)2(acac), Ir(BT)2(acac), Ir(MDQ)2(acac), and Ir(piq)3 is determined by measuring the angle dependent spectral radiant intensity of the transverse magnetic polarized emission from p–i–n OLEDs comprising these emitters. The experimental data are compared to the intensity calculated by a multilayer simulation method that includes the anisotropy factor describing the average dipole orientation. Surprisingly, among these molecules, Ir(ppy)3 is the only emitter showing an isotropically distributed transition dipole moment. In order to correlate our results with basic molecular properties, the permanent dipole moment and the size of the molecules are calculated by density functional theory (DFT). The dipole–dipole potential obtained for Ir(ppy)3 is more than 2.5 times larger than those for all other emitter molecules investigated here, indicating that this parameter is correlated with the transition dipole moment orientation.


In engineering geophysics, the use of shear-wave seismic methods for earthquake hazards analysis has primarily been limited to site-specific downhole, crosshole, and refraction studies for velocities to model site response to earthquake shaking and/or liquefaction potential. This paper demonstrates the utility of S-wave reflection methods in earthquake hazards studies, focusing on areas where collection of high-quality compressional-wave reflection data is problematic. Specific examples will show how S-wave reflection data help interpret the age, style, and extent of near-surface deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone of the central United States, and in mapping the Holocene-Pleistocene surface beneath the Fraser River delta in southwestern British Columbia (Canada).


Since the demand for more sustainable products is growing, the pressure on material developers to improve the sustainability performance of the products that they are developing is increasing. As a consequence, the need to move away from a narrow understanding of "product" and "environment" is becoming more apparent. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach has been used to find rough estimates of how much process energy, raw materials etc. are used in the process of transforming a biomass feedstock into a new material. A reference product with a fossil based material intended to be replaced is used as a benchmark for the new product. The new product must perform at least as well as this benchmark and preferably better. We illustrate this LCA based methodology using the example of replacing petroleum-based polymeric material with wood-based material in a disposable consumer product.


Bruchid species like Acanthoscelides obtectus (Coleoptera) and Zabrotes subfasciatus (Coleoptera) cause significant storage losses for African common bean producers. The value of storage protection to a market-oriented farmer is a function of price seasonality, value loss prevention, and their respective opportunity costs of capital. Evidence suggests that hermetic technologies like Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags could be effective against key legume storage pests, but sustainable technology introduction requires that it be profitable for producers. While PICS bag effectiveness against these specific common bean bruchid species is still under investigation, this analysis references dry weight loss figures from life science articles and builds on previous value loss research to provide a model for potential competitiveness and technology adoption. PICS bag profitability with one and two years use are compared with estimated profitability of leading insecticide Actellic Super (permethrin (0.3%) + pirimiphosmethyl (1.6%)), weekly solar disinfestation and sieving, and the botanicals A.indica, T. minuta, C. lusitanica, and C. ambrosiodes. The Tanzanian market regions of Mbeya, Songea, Arusha, and Kigoma are analyzed. Results show competitive profitability of PICS bags with conservative loss estimates for alternative storage technologies, with high potential for adoption in Mbeya, Songea, and Kigoma.


The results of Komlós, Major and Tusnády give optimal Wiener approximation of partial sums of i.i.d. random variables and provide an extremely powerful tool in probability and statistical inference. Recently Wu [Ann. Probab. 35 (2007) 2294–2320] obtained Wiener approximation of a class of dependent stationary processes with finite pth moments, 2 < p ≤ 4, with error term o(n1/p(logn)γ ), γ > 0, and Liu and Lin [Stochastic Process. Appl. 119 (2009) 249–280] removed the logarithmic factor, reaching the Komlós– Major–Tusnády bound o(n1/p). No similar results exist for p > 4, and in fact, no existing method for dependent approximation yields an a.s. rate better than o(n1/4). In this paper we show that allowing a second Wiener component in the approximation, we can get rates near to o(n1/p) for arbitrary p > 2. This extends the scope of applications of the results essentially, as we illustrate it by proving new limit theorems for increments of stochastic processes and statistical tests for short term (epidemic) changes in stationary processes. Our method works under a general weak dependence condition covering wide classes of linear and nonlinear time series models and classical dynamical systems.


BACKGROUND
Humans detect motion and gravity via the labyrinthine system of the inner ear, which consists of the vestibule and the semicircular canals. The vestibular system provides three major functions for maintaining balance and orientation. First, it maximizes the effectiveness of the visual system. Second, it provides orientational information necessary for performing both skilled and reflexive motor activities. Third, in the absence of vision, the vestibular system provides a reasonably accurate perception of motion and position. Although these organs provide important cues for basic orientation on the ground, they often provide misleading information during flight. A superior semicircular canal dehiscence can cause an individual to experience disorientation and vertigo-like symptoms.

CASE REPORT
A 30-yr-old male student pilot experienced airsickness on his first several flights in the T-6A Texan II aircraft. Airsickness is common among student pilots in the early stages of flight training; however, the subject pilot's symptoms lasted well beyond the normal 24 h, and included vertiginous symptoms lasting days after his last flight. His persistent symptoms required he be held out of training for further evaluation. Comprehensive vestibular and audiological testing were normal; however, a CT scan of the temporal bones showed a left superior semicircular canal dehiscence, and he was diagnosed with left labyrinthine fistula as the cause of his vertigo. He was medically eliminated from pilot training and permanently disqualified from U.S. Air Force flying duties.

DISCUSSION
Spatial disorientation remains one of the deadliest factors related to aircraft mishaps every year. In this case, an abnormal presentation of airsickness that prompted further evaluation may have prevented a dangerous situation in the air. In standard airsickness, the goal is to keep the pilot flying to expedite adaptation, so this case highlights the importance of distinguishing between normal airsickness and a spatially disorienting medical condition.Dreibelbis JA, Organ BE. Semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome and vestibular dysfunction disqualify a military student pilot. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2018; 89(10):923-926.


GREAT things had been expected of the American National Air Races this year, with many new racing machines to the fore. The Hughes high‐wing monoplane, equipped with a 1,000 h.p. twin‐row Wasp engine and built at a cost of $120,000 in Los Angeles, California, was expected, from wind tunnel tests, to achieve a speed of 367 miles per hour, but, unfortunately, was completed too late for participation in the races. Actually, the competing aeroplanes and the pilots were in the end the same that had gained prominence in former years. The records established by J. Doolittle in 1932—a landplane speed record of 294·38 miles per hour and an average of 252·686 miles per hour in the closed circuit Thompson Trophy race, secured in a Gee Bee Sportster—were not even approached, as can be seen from Table I. The difficulty in aeroplane racing in the United States lies in the fact that the well‐established manufacturers do not regard it as worth their while to participate. Racing machines are built by small adventurous groups of pilots and individualistic constructors, and these groups in the lean depression years have generally found it difficult to secure financial backers.


This paper presents a data-loading technique that jointly considers the effect of channel estimation and the property of encoded multimedia data in Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems. We observe that OFDM subchannels experience different average bit error rate (BER) due to channel estimation inaccuracy. The leakage effect in the fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based channel estimation method or the model mismatch in the polynomial-based channel estimation method results in a variation on the decoded BER across different OFDM subchannels. Thus, we are motivated to design the Priority Transmission (PT) scheme, which utilizes this BER variation across different OFDM subchannels and provides unequal error protection (UEP) for multimedia transmission. In addition, since OFDM has been adopted in many multimedia transmission standards, we compare the different channel estimation techniques, which were compared only for generic data transmission before, in the context of multimedia transmission with the PT scheme. In particular, we extend the polynomial-based channel estimation that was previously designed for a decision-directed scenario to a pilot-symbol-assisted (PSA) channel estimation scenario. Then, we investigate the channel estimation mean square error (MSE) and BER performance of individual OFDM subchannels for both the FFT-based and the polynomial-based channel estimation. Furthermore, we design the PT scheme that achieves significant gain in peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) of the reconstructed images for both channel estimation methods. Finally, we compare different OFDM channel estimation techniques for multimedia transmission. It is shown that for generic data transmission, the polynomial-based PSA channel estimation outperforms the FFT-based method in realistic channel conditions, and both types of channel estimation have similar performance when using the proposed PT scheme for multimedia transmission.


Taking a piecemeal tax reform approach to tax analysis in the spirit of Feldstein (1976), we establish a framework for assessing perturbations of the income tax schedule. It decomposes a reform into a change in tax level and a structural reform part. Focussing on the latter, the analysis singles out four effects: A social efficiency effect measured as the change in tax revenue due to behavioural changes, distributional impact due to mechanical effects, total distributional effects, and overall welfare effects conditional on inequality aversion. When applying our approach to changes in the piecewise linear income tax in Norway during 20162018, we identify the cut-off value for the inequality aversion for which the reform is just welfare preserving. For lower inequality aversion the decision makers have accepted a reform which enhances social efficiency at the expense of redistribution in favour of the better-off households.


BACKGROUND
Indications for the revascularization treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) generate much discussion, and practice varies significantly among hospitals. This study looked at patients with PAD admitted to all hospitals of the Catalan Health Service and analyzed patterns of revascularization techniques with subsequent amputation procedures.

METHODS
We used the clinical-administrative registry of admissions of all patients in the hospitals of Catalonia, north-east Spain, between 2009 and 2014. We analyzed the clinical course of patients admitted with PAD throughout their successive hospital admissions. Variability between hospitals was described for the revascularization techniques and amputations performed. Endovascular outcomes were compared with those from open surgery.

RESULTS
Annually, there were 9,828 admissions with PAD and 631 major amputations. Eight hospitals accounted for 52% of all admissions, and endovascular techniques occurred predominantly in high-tech, high-resolution or reference hospitals. The ratio of admissions involving endovascular techniques/open surgery varied from 0.02 to 3.73 according to the hospital, and had a correlation of -0.175 (P=0.447) with the percentage of performed major amputations and of 0.122 (P=0.598) ratio of minor / major amputations. At the end of the 6 studied years, endovascular revascularization resulted in lower patency and more minor amputations than open surgery, but had the same percentage of major amputations (10.3% vs. 10.7%, P=0.526) and lower in-hospital mortality (7.1% vs. 9.5%, P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
Interventions of PAD are centralized in complex hospitals and have an important variability depending on the treating hospital. Hospital variability in revascularization techniques seems to have no impact on leg salvage. Endovascular and surgical revascularization would result in similar percentages of major amputations.


(2011). Open educational resources and widening participation in higher education: innovations and lessons from open universities. This paper, which references a European Lifelong Learning project under the Erasmus Virtual Campus programme, briefly reviews the role of open educational resources, open and distance learning and widening participation within European higher education. It also examines and analyses policies and practices from various European open universities, practices undertaken to widen the audience for higher education knowledge, increase engagement with higher education materials and improve participation in formal access higher education courses and programmes. It presents a framework for understanding the role of open educational resources and open and distance learning in widening participation based on their availability, accessibility, and acceptability. The paper concludes that open educational resources are beginning to influence educational opportunities in Europe, but that new policies and practices are required at all levels in the higher education system to address issues of openness and open educational resources in higher education study and the role that they can play in increasing and widening engagement and participation. There needs to be better collaboration between the various stakeholders if OER are not to be seen as a way of simply widening the audience for higher education knowledge rather than widening participation in formal studies.


The multi-level adaptive networks (MLAN) technique is a cross-lingual adaptation framework where a bottleneck (BN) layer in a deep neural network (DNN) trained in a source language is used for producing BN features to be exploited in a second DNN in a target language. We investigate how the correlation (in the sense of phonetic similarity) of the source and target languages and the amount of data of the source language affect the efficiency of the MLAN schemes. We experiment with three different scenarios using, i) French, as a source language uncorrelated to the target language, ii) Ukrainian, as a source language correlated to the target one and finally iii) English as a source language uncorrelated to the target language using a relatively large amount of data in respect to the other two scenarios. In all cases Russian is used as target language. GLOBALPHONE data is used, except for English, where a mixture of LIBRISPEECH, TEDLIUM and AMIDA is available. The results have shown that both of these two factors are important for the MLAN schemes. Specifically, on the one hand, when a modest amount of data from the source language is used, the correlation of the source and target languages is very important. On the other hand, the correlation of the two languages seems to be less important when a relatively large amount of data, from the source language, is used. The best performance in word error rate (WER), was achieved when the English language was used as the source one in the multi-task MLAN scheme, achieving a relative improvement of 9.4% in respect to the baseline DNN model.