Several real-world applications require real-time prediction on resource-scarce devices such as an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor. Such applications demand prediction models with small storage and computational complexity that do not compromise significantly on accuracy. In this work, we propose ProtoNN, a novel algorithm that addresses the problem of real-time and accurate prediction on resource-scarce devices. Pro-toNN is inspired by k-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) but has several orders lower storage and prediction complexity. ProtoNN models can be deployed even on devices with puny storage and computational power (e.g. an Arduino UNO with 2kB RAM) to get excellent prediction accuracy. ProtoNN derives its strength from three key ideas: a) learning a small number of prototypes to represent the entire training set, b) sparse low dimensional projection of data, c) joint discriminative learning of the projection and prototypes with explicit model size constraint. We conduct systematic empirical evaluation of ProtoNN on a variety of supervised learning tasks (binary, multi-class, multi-label classification) and show that it gives nearly state-of-the-art prediction accuracy on resource-scarce devices while consuming several orders lower storage, and using minimal working memory.


The dopamine (DA2) receptor agonist 2,10,11-trihydroxy-N-n-propylnoraporphine (TNPA) was tested for effects on 1) intraocular pressure (IOP), 2) aqueous humor flow rate, 3) electrically induced contractions of the cat nictitating membrane, 4) 3H-NE release from isolated rabbit iris-ciliary bodies and 5) cAMP accumulation in the isolated rabbit iris-ciliary body. Unilateral, topical administration of TNPA lowered IOP bilaterally in a dose-related fashion and inhibited the bilateral rise in IOP caused by water gavage. Topical pretreatment with metoclopramide, a DA antagonist, inhibited the ocular hypotensive response to TNPA. Subsequently, TNPA was shown to decrease aqueous humor inflow and IOP in normal rabbit eyes but not in surgically sympathectomized rabbit eyes. TNPA caused dose-dependent suppression of contractions of the cat nictitans, which was inhibited competitively by domperidone, a relatively selective DA2 receptor antagonist. In a test of prejunctional activity, TNPA caused dose-related inhibition of 3H-NE release from isolated, field-stimulated rabbit iris-ciliary bodies, which was inhibited by pretreatment with sulpiride, a relatively selective DA2 receptor antagonist. In a test of postjunctional activity, isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP accumulation in the isolated rabbit ciliary body was not affected by TNPA pretreatment. These results indicate that TNPA's suppressive action on aqueous humor flow rate and IOP is exerted predominantly on prejunctional (DA2) receptors of peripheral sympathetic nerves.


Public computing is a type of grid computing architectures composed of autonomous volunteer workstations coordinated by a central server complex over the Internet. Exploiting these distributed resources comes at the price of unpredictable availability, fluctuating performance, and heterogeneous participant nodes. Central to addressing these problems is an efficient and accurate scheduling mechanism for the public computing architecture. In this talk, I will overview grid computing in general and a public computing platform called BOINC in particular. Several major issues and challenges in grid computing research will be identified. I will also report our new research results in this exciting area through introducing a scheduling system based on the ant colony algorithm. In addition, the bottleneck problem in the client-server architecture used in BOINC will be identified and a new peer-to-peer architecture for solving the problem will be presented. Several applications have been implemented on BOINC and our new architecture using our scheduling system. By testing these applications with totally different characteristics, we show that our scheduling system consistently provides a high performance, adaptive solution to all of them, and the system using our new peer-to-peer architecture indeed performs better than BOINC. Our work also manifests that public computing can solve the problems of large computing power requirement and huge memory demand in many scientific applications and potentially replace high-cost supercomputing systems for certain application domains.


Practical Applications In Green Bond Pricing: The Search for Greenium from the Summer 2020 issue of The Journal of Alternative Investments, authors Candace Partridge and Francesca Romana Medda (both of University College London) explore whether green bonds—those that support environmentally sustainable projects like clean-energy production—can fetch high prices and provide competitive returns. The authors ask whether there is a green premium—or "greenium"—in the pricing or performance of green municipal bonds and find that generally they fetch the same up-front price as nongreen bonds in the primary market but provide higher returns on the secondary market. Partridge and Medda say this difference exists because governments sell bonds primarily to a small number of institutional investors on the primary market, whereas a wider range of investors can buy on the secondary market. More competition for green bonds equals more demand, which raises prices and produces more visible greenium. In the primary market, the main benefit of green bonds may be to raise the profile among ESG investors of the issuing cities and states.


Drawing on the approach of narrative inquiry, this study looks into how a novice language teacher educator constructed and reconstructed his professional identities through his research and publishing practice in the higher education context in Hong Kong. The findings of the study show that the participant constantly tried to defend and develop his identity as a 'language teacher educator-researcher', which was subjected to various contextual obstacles including the institutional policy, the 'publish-or-perish' culture and the potential bias against practice-oriented research and peripheral research contexts. This study contributes to our understanding of the challenges and complexities involved in novice teacher educators' identity construction. The study also offers some practical implications for both language teacher education and higher education on how to help teacher educators construct a solid and strong researcher identity to support their professional practice and development.


Large eddy simulations (LESs) on the well-known 7-7-7 fan shaped cooling hole were carried out. Like using a trip strip to create turbulent boundary layer in practical experiments, trip strips with different configurations were placed upstream of the cooling hole to investigate incoming turbulent boundary layer effect on the film cooling flow behavior. Without the trip, horseshoe vortex generated by laminar boundary layer induced laterally discharging cooling flow in the lateral direction. Meanwhile, the induced cooling flow formed high film cooling effectiveness region around the film cooling hole. When the incoming boundary flow was turbulent, laterally discharged cooling flow was influenced by the turbulent boundary layer to dissipate to the main flow and resultant high effectiveness region disappeared. Depending on the trip configuration, quantitative characteristics of boundary layer such as turbulent intensity, momentum thickness, and shape factor were strongly affected. Some trip configurations resulted in fully developed turbulent boundary layer just before leading edge of the film cooling hole. In such cases, distribution of the film cooling effectiveness showed a reasonable agreement with available experimental data where the quantitative properties of the turbulent boundary layer were similar. However, when the trip was located too close to the film cooling hole, the separated and reattached flow did not develop into the stabilized turbulent boundary layer. Then strong turbulence intensity in the main flow boundary layer stimulated break down of the cooling flow vortex structure and early dissipation to the main flow. It resulted in restricted film cooling flow coverage.


Background and Context: In Cameroon, food poisoning has become a public health concern.
Objectives: This study aimed to provide information on food poisoning cases recorded in four (4) main public hospitals (Regional Hospital Bamenda, Bambui Health District, PMI Hospital and Ndop Health District) of the North-West Region, from 2010 to 2014.
Methods: The collection of data was based on extracting patient's information from daily record books of the hospitals using a form. Data analysis was performed using statistical software package SPSS 16.0.
Results: Among 323,169 persons consulted, 252 peoples were poisoned through food: 48% women and 52% men aged between 1 and 70 years with highest number raging between 5 and 35 years old (85%); the year 2011 recorded the highest number of food intoxicated patients (26%), most of the patients were farmers and students; Bamenda Regional Hospital scored the highest number (42%); Mile 4, Bambui and Akum were sectors presenting the highest number of residents (total of 27%); pesticides were the most frequent toxic, over the 252 people consulted, only 75% recovered; the most frequent symptoms were vomiting, diarrhea, stomachache and headache; foods consumed were indigenous (Achu, fufu corn, fresh cassava, plantains, sweet potatoes, beans, meat among others) and water; treatment given was indigenous (milk, red oil and charcoal) or adequate medicines once received in the hospital.
Conclusion: Education on good hygienic practices becomes necessary for the population and farmers should be trained on handling, manipulating and storing pesticides methods.


The ancient Egyptians at times employed a non-standard list of signs and phonetic values, and the resulting texts may be termed "cryptographic" or "enigmatic". Inscriptions based on these alternate sign lists, attested already during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, proliferate during the New Kingdom. By the Ptolemaic period, many of the formerly enigmatic signs and values had become part of standard hieroglyphic texts of the time. The exact principles behind Egyptian cryptography have remained obscure, and the debate, often vitriolic, has centered around the "normalized" cryptography of the Graeco-Roman temple inscriptions. Curiously, the earlier enigmatic texts, those which one might reasonably see as the progenitors of the later cryptography hieroglyphic system, have not entered significantly into the discussion. The present work demonstrates that the principle of acrophony, as understood by E. Drioton, played virtually no role in the derivation of cryptographic values in enigmatic texts of the New Kingdom.
Some of the most lengthy enigmatic inscriptions of the New Kingdom occur in the royal tombs. The three most extensive occurences of enigmatic writing appear on the Second Shrine of Tutankhamun, on the ceiling of Corridor G in the tomb of Ramesses VI, and on the "Enigmatic Wall" in the tomb of Ramesses IX. This study is the first detailed examination of the texts on the Tutankhamun shrine and in the tomb of Ramesses IX and contains the first treatment of much of the Ramesses VI Corridor G inscriptions. The present investigation has found these three enigmatic texts to be related common template, incorporating enigmatic texts, Book of the Dead extracts, and a figure of the giant unified Re-Osiris. Together they bay be called the Book of the Solar-Osirian Unity.
The treatises focus on the root of the eastern horizon, the place of the unification of Re and Osiris, the final triumph of the nocturnal sun and the lord of the dead, the place of the firey birth of the newborn sun and the final destruction of the damned. All of the enigmatic texts describe and complement the accompanying depictions and often deal with obscure religious concepts. Among these otherwise shadowy beliefs are the inverted entry of the blessed dead into the Netherworld and their subsequent righting; the headless form of the blessed dead – akephalios – whose head journeys with the bark of the sun until it is reattached to the mummy at the eastern end of the Netherworld; the physically giant form of Osiris and the blessed dead at the eastern horizon, linking and filling heaven and hell. The Ramesses VI version of the treatise depicts and describes the pharaonic ancestor of the Helleno-Egyptian magical being Abrasax/Abraxas, the giant, omnipresent personification of the blasting and avenging power of the sun.
When these treatises are compared with other examples of cryptography of New Kingdom date, one may say that New Kingdom cryptography has strong solar associations. The enigmatic texts of the New Kingdom are associated with the liminal area of the eastern horizon, and their cryptography may serve – like the flagmasts before the pylons of Egypt's temples – to warn the reader that the text he is reading deals in some way with the dangerous and awesome land which Osiris and Re, yesterday and tomorrow, become one at the time of the solar resurrection.


The mysterious 'fairy circles' are vegetation-free discs that cover vast areas along the pro-Namib Desert. Despite 30 yr of research their origin remains unknown. Here we adopt a novel approach that focuses on analysis of the spatial patterns of fairy circles obtained from representative 25-ha aerial images of north-west Namibia. We use spatial point pattern analysis to quantify different features of their spatial structures and then critically inspect existing hypotheses with respect to their ability to generate the observed circle patterns. Our working hypothesis is that fairy circles are a self-organized vegetation pattern. Finally, we test if an existing partial-differential-equation model, that was designed to describe vegetation pattern formation, is able to reproduce the characteristic features of the observed fairy circle patterns. The model is based on key-processes in arid areas such as plant competition for water and local resource-biomass feedbacks.

The fairy circles showed at all three study areas the same regular spatial distribution patterns, characterized by Voronoi cells with mostly six corners, negative correlations in their size up to a distance of 13 m, and remarkable homogeneity over large spatial scales. These results cast doubts on abiotic gas-leakage along geological lines or social insects as causal agents of their origin. However, our mathematical model was able to generate spatial patterns that agreed quantitatively in all of these features with the observed patterns. This supports the hypothesis that fairy circles are self-organized vegetation patterns that emerge from positive biomass-water feedbacks involving water transport by extended root systems and soil-water diffusion. Future research should search for mechanisms that explain how the different hypotheses can generate the patterns observed here and test the ability of self-organization to match the birth- and death dynamics of fairy circles and their regional patterns in the density and size with respect to environmental gradients.


: Despite recent advances in combined anti- retroviral therapy that have profoundly changed the prognosis of HIV infection, HIV-associated haematological complications remains frequent whatever the stage of the disease. Some types of lymphoma observed a dramatic reduction in their incidences but others such as diffuse B-cell lymphoma and Hodkin lymphoma remain as frequent as before the CART era. Treatments for lymphoma are nowadays not different for people living with HIV than for others. Other non- neoplastic diseases such as immune thrombo- penic purpura, thrombotic microangiopathies and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis are still associated with HIV infection and will be discussed.


The growing number of commercially-used chemicals that are under-evaluated for developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) combined with the difficulty in describing the etiology of exposure-related neurodevelopmental toxicity has created a reticent threat to human health. Current means of screening chemicals for DNT are limited to expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive traditional laboratory animal models. In this study, we hypothesize that exposed head regenerating planarian flatworms can effectively and efficiently categorize DNT in known developmental neurotoxins (ethanol and bisphenol A (BPA)). Planarian flatworms are an established alternative animal model for neurodevelopmental studies and have remarkable regenerative abilities allowing neurodevelopment to be induced via head resection. Here, we observed changes in photophobic behavior and central nervous system (CNS) morphology to evaluate the impact of exposure to low concentrations of ethanol, BPA, and BPA industry alternatives bisphenol F (BPF), and bisguaiacol (BG) on neurodevelopment. Our studies show that exposure to 1% v/v ethanol during regeneration induces a recoverable 48-hour delay in the development of proper CNS integrity, which aligns with behavioral assessments of cognitive ability. Exposure to BPA and its alternatives induced deviations to neurodevelopment in a range of severities, distinguished by suppressions, delays, or a combination of the two. These results suggest that quick and inexpensive behavioral assessments are a viable surrogate for tedious and costly immunostaining studies, equipping more utility and resolution to the planarian model for neurodevelopmental toxicity in the future of mass chemical screening. These studies demonstrate that behavioral phenotypes observed following chemical exposure are classifiable and also temporally correlated to the anatomical development of the central nervous system in planaria. This will facilitate and accelerate toxicological screening assays with this alternative animal model.


In 1937 I published a paper on the treatment of compound fractures. 1 That paper was based on the work done during the period from 1924 to 1934, whereas this paper covers the work done exclusively in the bone and joint service of the Boston City Hospital during the period from 1934 to 1939. Naturally, a considerable part of the earlier paper is incorporated in this one. During the five year period from July 1, 1934 to July 1, 1939, there were 12,230 patients with fracture admitted to the Boston City Hospital as requiring "house" care. This number does not include the many hundreds of patients with fractures of the "immediate ambulatory" type treated on the accident floor or in the outpatient department. Of the 12,230 hospitalized patients, the bone and joint service treated 4,491, of whom 398 had the "open," or compound, type of fracture. It is the management


We hypothesized that increased monoclonal free kappa or lambda immunoglobulin light chains in smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), as detected by the serum free light chain (FLC) assay, indicates an increased risk of progression to active myeloma. Baseline serum samples obtained within 30 days of diagnosis were available in 273 patients with SMM seen from 1970 to 1995. At a median follow-up of surviving patients of 12.4 years, transformation to active disease has occurred in 59%. The best breakpoint for predicting risk of progression was an FLC ratio of 0.125 or less, or 8 or more (hazard ratio, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.6-3.2). The extent of abnormality of FLC ratio was independent of SMM risk categories defined by number of bone marrow plasma cells (BMPCs) and size of serum M proteins (BMPC>or=10% and serum M protein>or=3 g/dL; BMPC>or=10% but serum M protein<3 g/dL; and serum M protein>or=3 g/dL but BMPC<10%). Incorporating the FLC ratio into the risk model, the 5-year progression rates in high-, intermediate-, and low-risk groups were 76%, 51%, and 25%, respectively. The serum immunoglobulin FLC ratio is an important additional determinant of clinical outcome in patients with SMM.


The issue of whether the optical orbital angular momentum of light can play any significant role in chiroptical interactions has seen a resurgence of interest in the past few years. Revising preliminary expectations, it has been shown both theoretically and experimentally that the topological charge can indeed play a decisive role in some chiroptical interactions, with the rates of these optical phenomena proving sensitive to the sign of the vortex charge ℓ. Using quantum electrodynamics, it is now revealed how the inclusion of molecular electric-quadrupole transition moments in both chiral and achiral anisotropic media produces such an effect. Specifically, for single-photon absorption it transpires that both the orbital and spin angular momentum must be engaged through a circularly polarized vortex beam. The chiroptical effect is identified as a manifestation spin-orbit interaction in light.


At the very least, tribal sovereignty entails an obligation to exercise available governmental power to protect a tribe's health, safety and natural resources to the greatest extent possible. As the Supreme Court said in Worcester v. Georgia, an Indian tribe "does not surrender its independence and right to self-government, by associating with a stronger [power]." An often overlooked and underutilized source of legal power available to tribes exists under federal law and common law to protect natural resources and to restore or receive compensation for damages caused to natural resources.It is a fundamental concept for most tribes that natural resources and resource services provide not only the substantive basis of all life, but also determine the quality of that life, both for humans and other species. It is important to act when discharges of hazardous substances and other pollutants result in injuries to these natural resources and natural resource services, impairing the important ecological and economic functions that they provide.Although environmental pollution has spawned a great deal of public and private litigation and related investigations, little of this work has focused on natural resources. Most of this work has dealt with site remediation efforts focusing on how to protect the public from immediate risks of harm. At the same time, we have seen relatively little contemporary litigation by governmental entities regarding the restoration of natural resource damages ("NRD"). This will likely change as greater attention turns to achieving a return to ecological baselines.Tribal governments will likely shape, if not lead, this effort nationally. First, tribes appreciate to a greater degree the interconnection between people and their environment. Second, unlike state governments, which can often be immobilized by special interest lobbying, tribal governments generally avoid this level of counterproductive lobbying.Below, I will discuss how tribal governments can exercise their important sovereignty rights by using federal claims for natural resource damages. In addition, most tribes may also employ rights under the common law Public Trust doctrine and other theories.


This study aimed to explore the projected images of major outbound destinations based on popular travel magazines in China. Travel articles on Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan from 2006 to 2008 were content analyzed. Japan was reported on most, and the projected images of the six destinations are dominated by leisure and recreation, and culture, history and art. Correspondence analysis was used to examine relationships between destinations and popular image attributes. The results showed that South Korea and Macau had distinct projected images, whereas Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam shared many similar image attributes. Practical implications for destination marketing organizations are provided.


This guide has been created for undergraduate students enrolled in the Global Business Honors Project and the Honors Thesis Seminar. Researchers who are not enrolled in those courses should use the general Business Research Guide.


Introduction: Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuronal messenger in intracranial sensory nerves and is considered to play a significant role in migraine pathophysiology. Materials and methods: We investigated the effect of the CGRP receptor antagonist, telcagepant, on CGRP-induced cranial vasodilatation in human isolated cerebral and middle meningeal arteries. We also studied the expression of the CGRP receptor components in cranial arteries with immunocytochemistry. Concentration response curves to αCGRP were performed in human isolated cerebral and middle meningeal arteries in the absence or presence of telcagepant. Arterial slices were stained for RAMP1, CLR and actin in a double immunofluorescence staining. Results: In both arteries, we found that: (i) telcagepant was devoid of any contractile or relaxant effects per se; (ii) pretreatment with telcagepant antagonised the αCGRP-induced relaxation in a competitive manner; and (iii) immunohistochemistry revealed expression and co-localisation of CLR and RAMP1 in the smooth muscle cells in the media layer of both arteries. Conclusions: Our findings provide morphological and functional data on the presence of CGRP receptors in cerebral and meningeal arteries, which illustrates a possible site of action of telcagepant in the treatment of migraine.


In steam generators of nuclear power plants, flow-induced vibration (FIV) can lead to tube damage by fretting-wear occurred due to impact and sliding movement between the tubes and their supports. There have been many studies and test results on wear damage of steam generator tubes but they were not reflected the mechanical and chemical conditions accurately. KEPRI nuclear power laboratory developed a wear test system, which is able to control the motion of impact and sliding simultaneously in the pressurized high temperature water-chemistry conditions. Some wear tests were performed to verify the stable operation for the wear test. This wear test system with new concepts was described briefly, and some data for verifying its performance have been shown in the cases of the selected some test results. In the test, Alloy 690 was used for tube materials and 409 stainless steel for support plates. A little data deviation was obtained and stability of system operation was investigated.


Background and objective: Iliopsoas stiffness and restricted hip extension ROM affect muscle balance and lumbopelvic alignment. The purpose of this research is study of iliopsoas tightness' effect on electromyographic activity of hip extensor synergists during gait. Methods: In this case-control study 15 adolescents with iliopsoas tightness as experimental group, and 15 healthy adolescents which matched based on age, height, weight, BMI, dominant leg, and sport experience participated voluntarily as control group. Surface electromyographic (sEMG) activity of the gluteus maximus, adductor magnus, and biceps femoris, were measured between groups during stance phase of gait. Results: Individuals with restricted hip flexor muscle length demonstrated more gluteus maximus activation during terminal stance (p=0.001), more biceps femoris activation during mid stance (p=0.002) and late stance (p=0.001) and more adductor magnus activation during mid stance (p=0.04) and late stance (p=0.001). Discussion and conclusion: Adolescent soccer athletes with hip flexor muscle tightness exhibit more biceps femoris and adductor magnus and gluteus maximus activation during stance phase of gait. Thus, individuals with hip flexor muscle tightness appear to utilize different neuromuscular strategies to control lower extremity motion.


This paper explores the ways in which ancient poetry and philosophy address the question of whether human reason can ground the good human life by considering the similarities and differences between Sophocles' Oedipus the King and Plato's Apology of Socrates. Sophocles' tragedy and Plato's dialogue are compared because both dramatize a process of self-discovery on the part of the protagonist that is grounded in human reason. Moreover, both Oedipus and Socrates are recognized by their fellow citizens for their superior human wisdom, and both are presented in a skeptical attitude toward the gods in their search for self-knowledge. Yet, for Sophocles it appears that the rational search for truth should be limited by a pious respect for the gods. Plato, on the other hand, preserves Socrates' belief that "the unexamined life is not worth living for a human being (Apology, 38a).1 I conclude by exploring four lines of inquiry into the causes of this divergence between poetry and philosophy concerning the life of rational examination: 1) Socrates' order of knowledge from particular to universal in contrast to Oedipus, 2) Oedipus' proneness to anger unlike Socrates, 3) Socrates' private life in contrast to Oedipus' public life and, 4) the differing status of the family.


OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the ability of routine biochemical markers of bone turnover to predict vitamin D insufficiency.

METHODS
Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the value of serum alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphate concentrations in the detection of hypovitaminosis D (< 20 nmol/l) in 467 patients between 1998 and 2000 (Cohort 1). The same analysis was repeated in a subsequent group of 719 patients between 2001 and 2003 (Cohort 2), in whom values of parathyroid hormone (PTH) were also available. Samples with elevated parathyroid levels from Cohort 2 were also analyzed to determine whether, in this subset, serum levels of calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase could reliably predict hypovitaminosis D. A subset of 50 patients from Cohort 1, with serum Vitamin D < 12 nmol/l, were reviewed by case note and telephone interview to determine demographic characteristics and the prevalence of risk factors for severe hypovitaminosis D.

RESULTS
The areas under the ROC curves for alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphate were all less than 0.7 (the criterion for a useful test) in both Cohorts 1 and 2. In the subset of Cohort 2 with elevated serum PTH levels (n = 337), the area under the ROC curve for calcium was 0.701 (95% confidence interval 0.643-0.758), and less than 0.7 for alkaline phosphatase and phosphate. In the 50 patients from Cohort 1 with severe hypovitaminosis D, risk factors were prevalent: 66% were vegetarian or vegan, clothing was partially or completely occlusive of sunlight (veiling) in 72%, and 60% of this cohort went outdoors less than 5 times per week. Symptoms were non-specific in the majority.

CONCLUSION
Routine measurements of calcium, phosphate, and alkaline phosphatase are not reliable predictors of hypovitaminosis D, even when vitamin D insufficiency has been sufficient to produce a PTH response. Clinical suspicion based upon history and an awareness of risk factors should remain the gold standard for requesting serum vitamin D measurements. Inadequate sunlight exposure (through veiling and poor outdoor exposure) and poor dietary intake are highly prevalent features of hypovitaminosis D in severely affected patients.


The Pseudo-SAWs (PSAW) have been extensively used since the 80's specially for high frequency SAW applications. The regular PSAW and the recently introduced High Velocity Pseudo-SAWs (HVPSAW), with phase velocities circa 40% (PSAW) and 100% (HVPSAW) higher than the phase velocities of the SAWs, permit the construction of higher frequency devices using the same photolithographic processes used for SAW devices. The resulting high frequency, high performance, and low loss devices have found immediate applications in communication equipment such as: cellular and mobile telephony, pagers, Local Area Networks (LANs), cordless phones, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), and security systems. Metallic layers are essential parts of all SAW devices, playing fundamental roles in the excitation, propagation, and reflection of the SAW signal. The careful analysis of the layered structure allows the understanding of the PSAW and HVPSAW relationship with higher order lossless SAW modes, also known as Generalized SAW modes (GSAW). This original analysis shows details of PSAWs' and HVPSAWs' transitions to GSAWs through some significant examples. The analysis includes original data regarding the different surface acoustic modes which coexist for a certain layer thickness and material, including the pseudo waves. The current study discuss how the field polarization, the estimated power flow angle (PFA), the power distribution with depth, and the electromechanical coupling coefficient behave with layer thickness and layer material for the referred modes. The results presented herein find immediate interest and application in the design of low loss, high performance, high frequency SAW devices for recent wireless applications (communication, remote sensing, security).


The creation of a national identity shared by the whole population becomes increasingly difficult in individualizing and globalizing national societies. The national population fragments into many lifestyle groups with very different social and cultural orientations. The enactment of these different lifestyle identities during leisure activities accentuates these differences. However, these different identities are sometimes performed on the same spatial stage. The main part of this article analyses the use of the dike along the river Linge, a part the Rhine estuary, which, lined with apple trees, cuts through an iconic Dutch river landscape with polders, old villages and meadows with quietly grazing cattle. Especially during the weekends, it is a stage crowded by walkers, cyclists, classic car drivers, and motorcyclists. The importance attached to this river dike is linked to a shared traditional form of Dutch collective national identity. The different uses of the river dike are based to the diverging values on which the different lifestyles are based. This results in conflicts over the use of and access to the dike. The role of the state in regulating these conflicts results in a more limited form of national identity.


Rape myths are stereotyped, false cultural values that serve to justify sexual assault against women. This study examined the perceptions of alcohol use on levels of rape myth acceptance among social work students. One hundred and ninety-five bachelor's and master's students were randomly assigned to read a vignette developed by researchers depicting a date rape with the victim, perpetrator, both, or neither consuming alcohol. Results of a descriptive analysis showed that students are willing to accept certain rape-supportive beliefs, but not others. Participant responses to rape myths differed based on the particular vignette the respondent was assigned to read. Further research is needed to examine the particular myths social work students endorse and the situational factors that influence those endorsements. Social work students must be educated about how endorsements of rape myths can affect their interaction with survivors and perpetrators.


The effect of interleukin-10 and of interleukin-12 on the anti-double stranded DNA antibody production by the blood lymphocytes of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune rheumatic disease, characterised by B-cell hyperactivity and the presence of various autoantibodies. Anti-double stranded DNA antibodies (anti-dsDNA antibodies) are thought to be important in SLE pathogenisis as their serum titre often correlates with disease activity and they have been shown to induce lupus-like organ damage in many experimental models. If anti-dsDNA antibodies in patients with SLE were pathogenic, then the immune signals responsible for their expansion could be responsible for inducing disease flare. The cytokines interleukin-10 (IL-10) and interleukin-12 (IL-12) regulate antibody production in other systems and the levels of both of these cytokines are related to disease activity in SLE. Serum levels of IL-10 correlate positively with disease activity and the in vitro production of IL-12 correlates negatively with disease activity, moreover this deficit in IL-12 production is due to IL-10 overproduction. This observation raises the possibility that the imbalance between these two cytokines might be involved in anti-dsDNA antibody production. Cultures of blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients with different disease activities were treated with IL-10 or IL-12 and the resulting supernatants tested for their antibody production by ELISA; both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies were carried out. The results showed that the effect of IL-10 on antibody production varied with disease activity. Further experiments using depleted cell populations revealed that T-cells, but not monocytes, played a role in determining the effects of IL-10. Parallel experiments utilising flow cytometry revealed that IL-10 may exert some of its T-cell dependent effects on antibody production through the induction of apoptosis. IL-12 both increased and decreased anti-dsDNA antibody production and a number of different factors, including disease activity and inter-patient variation might be responsible for this. These findings are consistent with the role of IL-10 in the regulatory suppression of immune responses. The effect of IL-12 requires further examination.


Landward-dipping seismic reflectors (LDRs) within the accretionary wedge at convergent plate margins have generally been interpreted as tilted-bedding or thrust-fault surfaces (e.g., Mexico, northern Japan). This interpretation accords with models in which trench-axis sediments are scraped off the descending plate to form a series of imbricate thrust sheets. However, intensely disturbed melanges with a regionally extensive landward-dipping foliation are found beneath slope sediments in many ancient and active subduction complexes. This observation, combined with the fact that large volumes of fluid are released during dewatering of subducting and previously accreted sediments, leads to the proposal that some of the seismic reflectors are porous, laterally extensive fractureways filled with dewatering fluids derived from deeper underthrust water-rich sediments. These fractureways trend subparallel to the regional foliation of the accreted melange wedge. The contrast in acoustic impedance between the high-porosity fluid-filled fractureways and the melange wall rocks is enhanced whenever methane and/or carbon dioxide exsolve from rising waters. Ancient LDRs may be recognized where mineralized veins trend subparallel to the regional foliation of melange belts generated during subduction accretion. 42 references, 2 figures.


Background Bacterial meningitis in infants <90 days of age remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Despite all the existing prevention and management strategies, recent UK study (2010–2011) showed that the incidence and case fatality rate has not changed over the last two decades. Data on the detailed early case management of bacterial meningitis in this age group is lacking. We therefore set out to assess in detail the healthcare delivery of the management of bacterial meningitis among this age group in order to formulate better management strategies to improve outcome. Methods We conducted a detailed review of the medical records of infants with bacterial meningitis whose parents consented to take part in England and Wales between September 2010 and June 2013. Parents completed a questionnaire with details of the timing of onset and progression of features. All stages of care, including pre-hospital management, initial hospital assessment and ongoing care, post admission follow up were assessed. Ethics approval was by Cambridgeshire 2 REC (Ref: 10/H0308/64). Results During the study period 103 parents consented and 97 were confirmed cases. 66 (68%) were admitted from home and 31 (32%) were already in hospital prior to the onset of the meningitis. The median age was14 days (IQR 3–25) and was higher in home admissions 17 days (11–34) compared to cases already in hospital 1 day (0–7), p = 0.0001. Most 52 (54%) were males and 73 (76%) were born at term. Amongst cases admitted from home, 38% encountered inappropriate pre-hospital management. The median time (IQR) from onset of symptoms to first help was 4.8 h (2–10), triage to first dose of antibiotics was 1.7 h (1.0–3.3) and 54% received empiric antibiotics that were not as per NICE bacterial meningitis guideline. For cases in hospital already, the median time from onset to first dose of antibiotics was 2.6 h (1.3–k8.5) whilst 54% received empiric antibiotics that were not as per NICE bacterial meningitis guideline. Discussion The quality of clinical care for bacterial meningitis in infants <90 days needs improvement. This study provides the first national data on the quality of care and provides rationale for developing targeted interventions to improve outcome.


Synthetic populations are necessary for agent-based travel models. However, conventional approaches based upon reweighting data from an available small sample suffer from low heterogeneity; simulation-based methods are promising, but have not so far taken into account hierarchies in the data. The aim of this thesis is to develop a simulation-based approach for population synthesis that allows to consider hierarchies, as in the case of persons and households, and to apply it in a case study. The current state of the art of hierarchical population generation is first reviewed, with a special attention to the theoretical foundation of each technique. An approach belonging to the family of Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods is chosen for implementation, offering several advantages compared to the popular Iterative Proportional Fitting. MCMC has only recently been applied for this purpose in transportation modelling, even though it has a long history in other fields. It is a two-step procedure based upon fitting conditionals and Gibbs sampling, which exploits these conditionals in a Markov chain to simulate new agents. In this thesis, MCMC is both generalised (iMCMC) and extended to handle hierarchies (hMCMC). A careful analysis of the results proves the validity of the developed approach. Besides, some advanced data visualisation and clustering techniques are implemented to study the available demographic sample. Firstly, Multiple Correspondence Analysis, the categorical version of the well-known Principal Component Analysis, which finds a new basis system highlighting the distribution of the data points, rather than simply using the original variables. Secondly, Self-Organising Map, to produce low-dimensional views of the considered high-dimensional data which allow to easily identify the present clusters. Thirdly, Chow-Liu Tree, which approximates the joint probability distribution underlying the data sample by finding the most evident interdependencies among its variables. These methods allow to distinguish the characteristics of the clusters into which the available data sample is divided. It is also illustrated how they can become further lines of research for the problem of population generation, by fitting a model for the joint probability distribution.


Abstract A Raman spectroscopic study was performed in a diamond-anvil cell to measure the optical vibrational modes of corundum as a function of pressure up to 20 GPa. The integrals concerning the optic continuum in Kieffer's model can be calculated as the weighted sum of each mode in the continuum. Thus, on the basis of Kieffer's model and the experimental results of this study, thermodynamic parameters such as heat capacity, entropy, thermal expansion coefrcient, and Gruneisen parameter for corundum at various pressures and temperatures were determined. The contribution to the heat capacity of corundum approaches the classic (Dulong-Petit) limit in the interior of the Earth beneath a depth of 50 km.


This paper considers the demineralization of mine water using a lab-scale electrodialysis unit EDR-Z/10-1.0. Experiment were carried out on real mine water from Jeremenko water pit complex (DIAMO s.p., ODRA Ostrava branch, Czech Republic). These mine water greatly affect surface water quality, especially high concentration of dissolved solids, sulfates and chlorides. Aim of research was to treatment of mine water to quality corresponding with legislative limits for surface water. Electrodialysis tests were conducted in the batch and feed-and-bleed modes. It was demonstrated that electordialysis is good way for mine water treatment.


Objective To estimate the size and characteristics of the UK population with single-ventricle physiology, and predict future population growth. Methods The surviving population with single-ventricle physiology in Northern England (resident population 2.9 million) was identified from our clinical database and the Northern Congenital Abnormality Survey (NorCAS). Conditions included double inlet ventricle, tricuspid atresia, mitral atresia, hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other unbalanced defects. Fetal diagnoses, terminations of pregnancy and surgical interventions were reviewed. Childhood and adult prevalence of single-ventricle physiology were calculated. Current and future National population figures were estimated using expected mortality derived from literature. Results 80 children and 48 adults with single-ventricle physiology were identified in the NorCAS region. The most frequent underlying condition in childhood was hypoplastic left heart, and among adults was double inlet ventricle. All children over 5 years of age had completed a Fontan repair (89%) or had a Glenn anastomosis. Seven adults had not undergone a Glenn shunt or Fontan procedure. Of those patients over 30 years of age (n=12), 50% were New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class 3, compared to 3% of those under 30 years (p=0.001). Regional childhood and adult prevalence of single-ventricle physiology was 16 and 2 per 100 000, respectively. Conclusions The current UK single-ventricle population is composed of around 1040 adults and 1700 children. Adult numbers will increase by over 60% in the next decade with the proportion in NHYA functional class 3 set to double.


In the present work high pressure torsion (HPT) was imposed on commercial purity (CP) tungsten at different temperatures of 450 °С and 490 °С to achieve different microstructures and grain boundary misorientation spectra (GBMS). After HPT at 450°С, ultrafine grained microstructure with an average grain size of ~150 nm was developed in the metal. HPT at 490 °С results in an elongated structures with average width of ~500nm. EBSD investigations showed that over 92% are HAGB type in microstructure HPT-processed at 450°С, and in contrast, over 50% of grain boundaries are LAGB in sample processed at 490°С. Annealing at 900°С for 1h, of the sample with homogeneous UFG structure resulted from HPT at 450°C, leads to only limited decrease (~20%) in microhardness.


This quick-reference handbook presents complaint-based triage protocols for assessing patients face to face in emergency and urgent care settings and assigning acuity levels within the 5-tier triage acuity system. The 5-tier triage acuity system is endorsed by the Emergency Nurses Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians and is rapidly becoming the international standard for emergency care clinical units. Organized alphabetically, the book covers 120 emergent and urgent complaints in all age groups, including environmental exposures and psychiatric presentations. Differential diagnosis charts are included to aid in rapid triage decisions. Nursing pearls are integrated throughout the book.


1. The free lutein and astacene in the muscles may contribute about half the carotenoid found in the ova of spawning female trout. The esterified forms of these pigments in the chromatophores of the skin are not, however, depleted. 2. Lutein and astacene are transferred without apparent loss from the yolk of the egg to the body of the embryo, principally during the later part of the larval period. The rate of pigment transfer appears to be related to the growth rate of the posterior end of the embryo, and corresponds cioseiy with the visible development of xanthophores and erythrophores. 3. Removal by operation of about 90% of the yolk carotenoids results in larvae which are slightly smaller than normal and with very few pale chromatophores, but with no other apparent defect. 4. Lutein and astacene in the yolk are the free hydroxy-carotenoids, but are esterified in the embryo. About two-thirds of the pigment of the embryo was found to be in the skin and fins at metamorphosis. 5. β-Carotene, which is present in freshly spawned ova, was not detected in the embryo at any stage of development.


This paper describes the need for the development of software for computer interpretation of Pulmonary Function Tests based on equations derived from Indian populations, and the development strategies adopted. The decision flowcharts are given. The present limitations and areas of ongoing refinement of the program are discussed.


Purpose: While protocols regarding how to treat status epilepticus (SE) has been universally accepted, management of refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is far from being evidence-based. Ketamine (KET), a NMDA-antagonist, may have a role in RSE when other conventional anesthetics fail due to its unique pharmacodynamic properties and good safety profile. Methods: Exhaustive search of available medical literature was performed using MEDLINE-Ovid, MEDLINE-PubMed, Psych INFO, Web of Science, and CINAHL for relevant articles from 2012-2017 using keywords "ketamine" and "status epilepticus." Additional criteria for consideration: articles applicable to the topic and published in the English language. Exclusion criteria includes all opinion articles, preclinical data, protocol articles, and case studies. Studies were then assessed for quality using GRADE criteria. Results: The 4 studies reviewed found a good response rate ranging from 64-80% when KET was used as the firstor second-line agent in RSE. Furthermore, all studies found a good safety profile of KET at high doses and long duration of infusion. Although initial response rate of RSE to early administration of KET is high, all 4 studies have severe limitations. Conclusion: Currently, RSE algorithms are inadequate and leave providers to choose the best course of action. Earlier introduction of KET after failure of firstand second-line agents shows promise to control RSE and avoid intubation and ventilation. This area of study needs larger, prospective, and randomized trials that clearly designate and follow a protocol to assess adequate efficacy of early administration of KET in RSE. Degree Type Capstone Project Degree Name Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies


Forest monitoring using satellite imagery has advanced tremendously over the past few decades, to the point that these datasets now inform international policy agreements, notably those associated with emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere from deforestation and other types of land-use change. However, satellite technological advances require time to move towards a state of operational readiness for monitoring and reporting; for example, in the case of forest cover and associated carbon stock (biomass) and their changes through time. In this article, we provide an overview of the current status of forest monitoring using satellites and we explore new technologies that are already revolutionizing the way that forest carbon is measured. In particular, we focus on the capabilities of light detection and ranging (LiDAR), noting the opportunities and also the challenges that arise in moving technologies from those flown on aircraft to earth orbiting satellites. We discuss these capabilities in the context of next-generation earth observation missions and international reporting requirements for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.


Direct numerical simulations of the Taylor–Couette (TC) problem, the flow between two coaxial and independently rotating cylinders, have been performed. The study focuses on TC flow with mild curvature (small gap) with a radius ratio of ${\it\eta}=r_{i}/r_{o}=0.909$ , an aspect ratio of ${\it\Gamma}=L/d=2{\rm\pi}/3$ , and a stationary outer cylinder. Three inner cylinder Reynolds numbers of $1\times 10^{5}$ , $2\times 10^{5}$ and $3\times 10^{5}$ were simulated, corresponding to frictional Reynolds numbers between $Re_{{\it\tau}}\approx 1400$ and $Re_{{\it\tau}}\approx 4000$ . An additional case with a large gap, ${\it\eta}=0.5$ and driving of $Re=2\times 10^{5}$ was also investigated. Small-gap TC was found to be dominated by spatially fixed large-scale structures, known as Taylor rolls (TRs). TRs are attached to the boundary layer, and are active, i.e. they transport angular velocity through Reynolds stresses. An additional simulation was also conducted with inner cylinder Reynolds number of $Re=1\times 10^{5}$ and fixed outer cylinder with an externally imposed axial flow of comparable strength to the wind of the TRs. The axial flow was found to convect the TRs without any weakening effect. For small-gap TC flow, evidence was found for the existence of logarithmic velocity fluctuations, and of an overlap layer, in which the velocity fluctuations collapse in outer units. Profiles consistent with a logarithmic dependence were also found for the angular velocity in large-gap TC flow, albeit in a very reduced range of scales. Finally, the behaviour of both small- and large-gap TC flow was compared to other canonical flows. Small-gap TC flow has similar behaviour in the near-wall region to other canonical flows, while large-gap TC flow displays very different behaviour.


Background: Increased childhood adiposity has been associated with decreased breast cancer risk, but the biologic mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. Pubertal growth is in part driven by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system and adult measures of IGF have been associated with breast cancer. We hypothesize that childhood adiposity is associated with the IGF-axis and that levels set in childhood affect later breast cancer risk. We prospectively examine associations between childhood adiposity, as measured by body mass index (BMI)-for-age percentile (BMIPCT), and serum IGF-axis biomarkers (IGF-I, IGF binding protein 1(IGFBP-1), and IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3)) among girls in the Dietary Intervention Study in Children (DISC). Methods: Data are from an ancillary hormone study of 268 of the 301 girls who participated in the DISC. Girls were 8-10 years old at baseline with a median follow-up of 7 years. Data from intervention and control groups were combined and intervention status was included in adjusted analyses. Fasting blood samples (n=563) collected at baseline, years 3, 5 and last visit were available for 219 premenarcheal and 201 postmenarcheal girls. Levels of IGF-I, IGFBP-1, and IGFBP-3 were determined using radioimmunoassays. Weight and height measurements were taken at baseline and subsequent visits by trained interviewers. BMI (weight/height2)–for-age percentiles were determined using the CDC growth chart. To mitigate skewness, biomarkers were log transformed. Adjusted geometric means of IGF biomarkers were calculated by quintiles of baseline BMIPCT. All adjusted analyses included age, age2, treatment group, baseline height, and physical activity. Associations of longitudinal BMIPCT with IGF biomarkers were estimated using multivariable linear mixed-effect models, accounting for repeated BMIPCT and IGF measurements within each girl across follow-up visits. Trend tests were performed on continuous BMIPCT using adjusted mixed-effect models to estimate percentage changes in IGF biomarkers during follow-up. Results: In adjusted analyses, premenarcheal girls in the lowest quintile of baseline BMIPCT had lower geometric mean IGF-I levels than all other quintiles (Q1= 236 ng/mL (95% confidence interval (CI): 211, 264) vs. Q5 mean=271 ng/ml (95% CI: 240, 307)). Girls in the lowest quintile of BMIPCT had higher IGFBP-1 levels that decreased linearly with BMIPCT quintile (Ptrend <0.0001). In continuous analyses, each 10 percentile increment in baseline BMIPCT was associated with a 2.4% increase (95% CI: 0.5%, 4.2%) in IGF-I (Ptrend=0.01) and a 7.2% decrease (95% CI: 4.9%, 9.6%) in IGFBP-1 (Ptrend<0.0001). There was no significant association between IGFBP-3 and BMIPCT. In post-menarcheal girls, each 10 percentile increment in baseline BMIPCT was associated with a 12.0% decrease (95% CI: 8.4 %,15.6%) in IGFBP-1 (Ptrend<0.0001), but no significant association with IGF-I or IGFBP-3. Conclusion: This study suggests that premenarcheal girls in the lowest quintile of BMI-for-age have lower IGF-I levels than in all other quintiles. Results also show increased adiposity, as measured by BMI-for-age, is significantly associated with decreased IGFBP-1 in both pre- and postmenarcheal girls. Further research is needed to confirm these findings, as well as to explore possible associations with breast development and potentially breast cancer risk. Citation Format: Ellen M. Velie, Zhenzhen Zhang, Jean M. Kerver, Joseph C. Gardiner, Clifford J. Rosen, Joanne F. Dorgan. Adiposity and the IGF-axis in girls during pubertal development. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B78.


Nowadays, all the more we witness to a rapid technological development and the entanglement of information technology in the formation and maintenance of human connections. As a consequence, the educational system must comply with the current flows. The use of information and communications technology in education exerts a crucial function in increasing the learning process and augmenting its efficiency. Taking into account these premises, we develop a novel approach for the study of a subject of textile metrology. Laboratory practices are fundamental in teaching and learning Metrology by enabling students to acquire practical skills through measurements which allows a more thorough comprehension of the delivered content.
Design of this laboratory represents a challenge from the perspective of learners and teachers as well, since it aims to address all learning styles and enhance student's motivation. The laboratory combines a face-to-face teaching and online learning in a blended learning framework, by combination of text based learning with audio-visual support. The virtual laboratory will provide an exhaustive content comprising a description of the dynamometer, measurements that can be accomplished, determined parameters for fabric tensile strength testing, sample preparation and procedures. In order to attract student's attention, the presentation is performed in Power Point. Furthermore, hyperlinks ensure the transition from unit to unit or to other significant issues within an unit. After measurements, follows the calculation and statistical - mathematical processing of the values, according to the applied standards. For the calculation of typical survey values like arithmetic average, dispersion, standard deviation, coefficients of variation, kurtosis and skewness, we use the Excel program. These obtained values will be imported into Power Point and will be compared with those provided by the device, knowing that the device has a touch screen console for control, adjustments and for displaying of measurement values.Thus, this approach can be used either to train students prior they conduct hands-on measurements or after to deep their knowledge.
By using this approach, the learning process can be supported independent of the student's location and available infrastructure. The connection occurs via phone, computer etc. from the official website by accessing the university platform on https://core.uav.ro/ .


s, 46 IPS, Mangalore, 15-18 Nov 2018 The Journal of Indian Prosthodontic Society | Volume 18 | Supplement 2 | November 2018 S55 antifungals and have a promising role in future oral health care.. DOI: 10.4103/0972-4052.246639 4. The effect of age and gender on the display of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth during rest, speech and smiling


According to Interaction Theory (IT) , neither Theory Theory (TT) nor Simulation Theory (ST) give an adequate account of how we understand others. Their shared defect, it is claimed, is that both focus on third-person observation of the other, and neglect the role of social interaction. While interaction theory is made to account for the latter, it has problems doing justice to explicit attributions of propositional attitudes, especially from an observational stance. The latter received a new explanation by the Narrative Practice Hypothesis (NPH) which focuses on story-based explanations and tends to underestimate the relevance of nonlinguistic intuitive understanding. In this paper, I first try to do justice to what is plausible about each of the four approaches by accepting that each account introduces one plausible epistemic strategy for understanding others, which leads us to a multiplicity view about the epistemic strategies for understanding others. But it will then be argued that an adequate theory of understanding others needs further adjustment and correction because we need to account for the fact that we usually understand others on the basis of specific background knowledge that becomes more enriched during our life; I thus propose Person Model Theory (PMT) as a fruitful alternative. On my account, understanding turns on developing " person models " of ourselves, of other individuals, and of groups. These person models are the basis on which we register and evaluate persons as having mental as well as physical properties. I argue that person models can be either implicitly represented or explicitly available. This is accounted for by describing two kinds of person model, corresponding to the two ways of understanding others; very early in life we develop implicit person schemata , where a person schema is an implicitly-represented unity of sensory-motor abilities and basic mental phenomena related to one human being (or a group of humans); and we also develop person images , where a person image is a unity of explicitly-registered mental and physical phenomena related to one human being (or a group). I argue that the person model theory has more explanatory power than the other candidates.


Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) for the treatment of migraine. Background: sTMS is an FDA-approved acute treatment for migraine with aura. Open label patient experience in the United Kingdom has suggested a possible preventive benefit in migraine. Design/Methods: The ESPOUSE Study was a multicenter, prospective, single-arm, open label, observational study to evaluate sTMS for the treatment of migraine. From December 2014 to March 2016, 263 patients with migraine were consented to complete a 1-month baseline headache diary followed by 3 months of treatment. The full analysis set (FAS) included patients who completed the baseline headache diary, met the inclusion criteria including 5–25 headache days/month, and used the device at least once. The treatment protocol consisted of both preventive treatment (4 pulses twice daily) and acute treatment (3 pulses at 15 minute intervals repeated up to 3-times for each attack). The primary effectiveness endpoint (PEE), mean reduction of headache days compared to baseline, was measured over the 28-day period ending at 12 weeks. The PEE was compared to the performance goal which is a statistically-derived, estimated placebo effect size of −0.6 day reduction of headache days from baseline. There was no simultaneous placebo control. Results: The PEE analysis was assessed in 132 subjects in the FAS population. The mean reduction of headache days from baseline compared to the performance goal was statistically significant. There was −2.8 ± 0.4 mean reduction of headache days from baseline (9.1 days) in the FAS (p Conclusions: This open label study suggests that sTMS may be an effective, well-tolerated treatment option for migraine prevention. Study Supported by: The ESPOUSE Study was supported by eNeura Inc. Disclosure: Dr. Starling has received personal compensation for activities with Amgen and eNeura as a consultant. Dr. Tepper has received personal compensation for activities with Acorda, Alder, Allergan, Amgen, ATI, Avanir, Dr. Reddy9s, eNeura, Pfizer, Scion Neurostim, Teva, Zosana, Depomed, Impax, Pernix, Teva, Amgen, and Merck. Dr. Tepper has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Headache Currents. Dr. Tepper holds stock and/or stock options in ATI. Dr. Tepper has received research support from Alder, Allergan, Amgen, ATI, Scion Neurostim, Teva, Zosano. Dr. Marmura has received personsal compensation for activities with Teva and Supernus as a consultant. Dr. Marmura has received research support for Teva and eNeura. Dr. Shamim has nothing to disclose. Dr. Robbins has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Current Pain and Headache Reports. Dr. Robbins has received research support from eNeura. Dr. Hindiyeh has nothing to disclose. Dr. Charles has received personal compensation for activities with Amgen as a consultant and with eNeura and Eli Lilly for serving on the Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Charles has received research support from Takeda. Dr. Goadsby has received personal compensation for activities with Allergan, eNeura, Autonomic Technologies Inc, Amgen, AlderBio, Pfizer, DrReddy, Zosano, Colucid, Eli Lilly, Avanir, Gore,Heptares, Nupathe, Teva, Cipla, Ajinomoto, Akita,Wells Fargo, Ethicon,Promius. Dr. Goadsby has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for JournalWatch Neurology and UptoDate. Dr. Goadsby has received research supporting from Amgen, eNeura, Allergan. Dr. Lipton has received personal compensation from Allergan, American Headache Society, Autonomic Technologies, Boston Scientific, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cognimed, Colucid, Eli Lilly, eNeura Therapeutics, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, TEVA, Vedanta. Dr. Silberstein has received research support from Allergan, Inc., Amgen, Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ElectroCore Medical, LLC., Labrys Biologics, Eli Lilly and Company, and Merz. Dr. Dodick has received personal compensation for activities with Allergan, Amgen, Alder, Dr Reddy's, Merck, eNeura, Eli Lilly & Company, INSYS therapeutics, Autonomic Technologies, Teva, Xenon, Tonix, Trigemina, Boston Scientific, GBS, Merck, Colucid, and Zosano. Dr. Dodick has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Healthlogix, UptoDate. Dr. Dodick has received royalty payments from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Web MD and UptoDate. Dr. Dodick holds stock and/or stock options in Epien Medical, Second Opinion, GBS, and Neuroassessment systems.


The present study aimed to compare the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3‑K), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and Beclin‑1 between the hippocampi of normal rats and intermittent ischemic rats following whole brain ischemia/reperfusion (I/R), and investigate the role of the PI3K‑mTOR autophagy pathway in rat nerve damage following intermittent hypoxia (IH)‑aggravated whole brain ischemia. A total of 80 male Wistar rats were divided by random number table into a sham operation group (SO group; 20 rats), pure cerebral ischemia/reperfusion group (I/R group; 20 rats), intermittent hypoxia for 7 days‑I/R group (IH7+I/R group; 20 rats) and intermittent hypoxia for 21 days‑IR group (IH21+I/R group; 20 rats). Prior to model establishment, the rats in the IH7+I/R group and IH21+I/R group underwent intermittent hypoxia for 7 and 21 days, respectively. The optimized Pulsinelli 4‑vessel occlusion method was used to prepare the I/R model. H&E staining and transmission electron microscopy were performed to observe the morphological changes of nerve cells in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemical and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) analyses were performed to detect the expression levels of PI3‑K, mTOR and Beclin‑1 in the hippocampal brain tissues of the rats. A Morris water maze test was used to assess rat learning and memory. The results showed that, compared with the SO group, the rats in the I/R group exhibited structural damage in neurons (shown by H&E staining), a reduced number of viable nerve cells, and decreased learning and memory ability at each time point. The results of the immunohistochemical analysis showed that the numbers of PI3‑K, mTOR and Beclin‑1 immunopositive cells were increased (P<0.05). The RT‑qPCR analysis showed increased expression levels of PI3‑K, mTOR and Beclin‑1 (P<0.05). Compared with the I/R group, the rats in the IH‑I/R groups exhibited aggravated structural damage in neurons, shown by H&E staining and electron microscopy. The number of viable nerve cells was decreased, and the rats exhibited decreased learning ability and memory. The immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the numbers of PI3‑K, mTOR and Beclin‑1 immunopositive cells were increased (P<0.05). The RT‑qPCR analysis showed increased expression levels of PI3‑K, mTOR and Beclin‑1 (P<0.05). The above changes were more marked in the IH21+I/R group (P<0.05). Taken together, IH was shown to aggravate nerve damage following whole brain I/R. The underlying mechanism was associated with activation of the PI3K‑mTOR‑autophagy pathway and increased loss of nerve cells.


Effective emotion regulation (ER) is expected to protect mental health in traumatic stress. We first analysed the protective (moderator) function of different ER strategies and the associations between ER and mental health. Second, we tested gender differences in the protective function of ER and the associations between ER strategies and mental health. Participants were 482 Palestinian children (girls 49.4%; 10-13 years, M = 11.29, SD = .68) whose ER was assessed by the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and mental health by post-traumatic stress (Children's Impact Event Scale), depressive, and psychological distress (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) symptoms, and by psychosocial well-being (Mental Health Continuum-Short Form). War trauma involved 42 events. Results showed, first, that none of the ER strategies could protect a child's mental health from negative impact of war trauma, but self-focused ER was associated with low depressive symptoms, and other-facilitated ER with high psychological well-being. However, controlling of emotions formed a comprehensive risk for children's mental health. Second, gender differences were found in the protective role of ER, as self-focused and distractive ER formed a vulnerability among boys. The results are discussed in the context of emotional and regulative demands of war and life-threat.


OBJECTIVE
Exposure to multiple traumatic events (polyvictimization) is a reliable predictor of deleterious health outcomes and risk behaviors in adolescence. The current study extends the literature on the prevalence and consequences of adolescent trauma exposure by (a) empirically identifying and characterizing trauma exposure profiles in a large, ethnically diverse, multi-site, clinical sample of adolescents, and (b) evaluating relations among identified profiles with demographic characteristics and clinical correlates.

METHOD
Data from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Data Set were used to identify and characterize victimization profiles using latent class analysis in a sample of 3,485 adolescents (ages 13-18, 63% female, 35.7% White, 23.2% Black/African American, 35.0% Hispanic/Latino). Multiple measures of psychological distress and risk behaviors were evaluated as covariates of trauma exposure classes.

RESULTS
Five trauma exposure classes, or profiles, were identified. Four classes-representing approximately half the sample-were characterized by polyvictimization. Polyvictimization classes were differentiated on number of trauma types, whether emotional abuse occurred, and whether emotional abuse occurred over single or multiple developmental epochs. Unique relations with demographic characteristics and mental health outcomes were observed.

DISCUSSION
Results suggest polyvictimization is not a unidimensional phenomenon but a diverse set of trauma exposure experiences with unique correlates among youth. Further research on prevention of polyvictimization and mechanisms linking chronic trauma exposure, gender, and ethnicity to negative outcomes is warranted.


The use of convex optimization for the recovery of sparse signals from incomplete or compressed data is now common practice. Motivated by the success of basis pursuit in recovering sparse vectors, new formulations have been proposed that take advantage of different types of sparsity. In this paper we propose an efficient algorithm for solving a general class of sparsifying formulations. For several common types of sparsity we provide applications, along with details on how to apply the algorithm, and experimental results.


Liver cirrhosis is an advanced stage of liver fibrosis causing liver failure, and may progress to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC remains as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is one of few cancer types to show increasing incidence and mortality rates (1). HCC incidence has doubled in low-risk countries such as USA, Canada, Australia, and some European countries since the 1970s (2) and mortality rates have increased in these regions, especially in 45+ age groups (3). This may be attributed to intravenous drug use in this cohort associated with high HCV infection rates between 1960–1980 (4). Additionally, an increasing amount of HCC cases are non-viral (5). Thus, the rise in HCC deaths in Westernized countries may be attributed to increased obesity and diabetes prevalence, both well-established risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis (NASH), and progression to HCC. Regardless of original cause, 85–90% of HCC cases arise from underlying cirrhosis and non-cirrhotic cases show varying stages of fibrosis. Unfortunately, progression of hepatic fibrosis to cirrhosis is often asymptomatic and most diagnoses are not made until clinical signs arise indicating end-stage liver disease (ESLD) or advanced HCC (6). Thus, a relevant strategy of reducing liver disease-related deaths are to take preventative measures and improve disease management.


On the basis of conducted analysis of scientific literature it is noted that the theorems and algorithms used in theories of graphs and automata can serve as a basis for the refinement and development of generally accepted theories and methods in the mechanics of beam systems.


SUMMARY We use a genetic algorithm to evolve neural models of path integration, with particular emphasis on reproducing the homing behaviour of Cataglyphis fortis ants. This is done within the context of a complete model system, including an explicit representation of the animal's movements within its environment. We show that it is possible to produce a neural network without imposing a priori any particular system for the internal representation of the animal's home vector. The best evolved network obtained is analysed in detail and is found to resemble the bicomponent model of Mittelstaedt. Because of the presence of leaky integration, the model can reproduce the systematic navigation errors found in desert ants. The model also naturally mimics the searching behaviour that ants perform once they have reached their estimate of the nest location. The results support possible roles for leaky integration and cosine-shaped compass response functions in path integration.


High throughput genetic sequencing arrays with thousands of measurements per sample and a great amount of related censored clinical data have increased demanding need for better measurement specific model selection. In this paper we establish strong oracle properties of non-concave penalized methods for non-polynomial (NP) dimensional data with censoring in the framework of Cox's proportional hazards model. A class of folded-concave penalties are employed and both LASSO and SCAD are discussed specifically. We unveil the question under which dimensionality and correlation restrictions can an oracle estimator be constructed and grasped. It is demonstrated that non-concave penalties lead to significant reduction of the "irrepresentable condition" needed for LASSO model selection consistency. The large deviation result for martingales, bearing interests of its own, is developed for characterizing the strong oracle property. Moreover, the non-concave regularized estimator, is shown to achieve asymptotically the information bound of the oracle estimator. A coordinate-wise algorithm is developed for finding the grid of solution paths for penalized hazard regression problems, and its performance is evaluated on simulated and gene association study examples.


Following a bivariate probit approach and using the 1996 survey conducted by the Italian Institute for the Studies of Agricultural Markets (ISMEA) in Italy, this study shows that the effective pollution of Italian farm-households depends on both the actual level of pollution, calculated using the OECD "Environmental Indicators for Agriculture" (1997, 1999, 2001a, b), as well as the level of environmental concern, measured using the survey information about the adoption of environmentally sensitivity technology and production techniques. Omission of the level of environmental concern from the estimation of effective pollution probability yields evidence of policy unfairness in the allocations of subsidies between farms. This evidence, however, disappears when the level of actual pollution and environmental concern are estimated jointly in a bivariate framework. In addition, the study shows that geographic location of the farm, the common market organizations and the farm types play a significant roles in the determination of the level of effective pollution.


The application of existing geostatistical theory to the context of stream networks provides a number of interesting and challenging problems. The most important of these is how to adapt existing theory to allow for stream, as opposed to Euclidean, distance to be used. Valid stream distance based models for the covariance structure have been denied in the literature, and this thesis explores the use of such models using data from the River Tweed.

The data span a period of twenty-one years, beginning in 1986. During this time period, up to eighty-three stations are monitored for a variety of chemical and biological determinands. This thesis will focus on nitrogen, a key nutrient in determining water quality, especially given the Nitrates Directive (adopted in 1991) and the Water Framework Directive(adopted in 2002). These are European Union legislations that have set legally enforcable guidelines for controlling pollution which national bodies must comply with.

The focus of analysis is on several choices that must be made in order to carry out spatial prediction on a river network. The role of spatial trend, whether it be
based on stream or Euclidean distance, is discussed and the impact of the bandwidth of the estimate of nonparametric trend is explored. The stream distance based "tail-up" covariance model structure of Ver Hoef and Peterson (2010) is assessed and combined with a standard Euclidean distance based structure to form a mixture model. This is then evaluated using crossvalidation studies in order to determine the optimum mixture of the two covariance models for the data. Finally, the covariance models used for each of the elements of the mixture model are explored to determine the impact they have on the lowest root mean
squared error, and the mixing proportion at which it is found.

Using the predicted values at unobserved locations on the River Tweed, the distribution of yearly averaged nitrate levels around the river network is predicted
and evaluated. Changes through the 21 years of data are noted and areas exceeding the limits set by the Nitrates Directive are highlighted. The differences
in fitted values caused by using stream or Euclidean distance are evident in these predictions. The data is then modelled through space and time using additive models. A novel smoothing function for the spatial trend is defined. It is adapted from the tail-up model in order to retain its core features of flow connectivity and flow
volume based weightings, in addition to being based on stream distance. This is then used to model all of the River Tweed data through space and time and identify temporal trends and seasonal patterns at different locations on the river.


OF THESIS ESTIMATING THE EFFECTS OF BLASTING VIBRATIONS ON THE HIGH-WALL STABILITY The stability of the high-walls is one of the major concerns for open pit mines. Among the various factors affecting the stability of high-walls, blast vibrations can be an important one. In general, worldwide the established respective government regulations and industry standards are used as guidance to determine the maximum recommended levels of the peak particle velocity and frequency from the blast to avoid any effects on the structures around the mining project. However, most of the regulations are meant for buildings or houses and do not concern high-walls. This thesis investigates the response of high-walls under the effects of vibrations from mine blasting. In this research, the relationship between the high-wall response, the geometry of the slope, the frequency and the amplitude, of the ground vibration produced by blasting, is explored using numerical models in 3DEC. The numerical models were calibrated initially with data collected using seismographs installed in a surface mine operation and recording vibrations produced by an underground mine drill and blast operation. Once the calibration was accomplished, a parametric study was developed to explore the relationships between various parameters under study and its impact on the stability of high-walls.


Up to now, in the literature of optical manipulation, optical force due to chirality usually coexists with the non-chiral force and the chiral force usually takes a very small portion of the total force. In this work, we investigate a case where the optical force exerted on an object is purely due to the chirality while there is zero force on non-chiral object. We find that a trapping force arises on chiral particles when it is placed in a field consisted of two orthogonally polarized counter-propagating plane waves. We have revealed the underlying physics of this force by modeling the particle as a chiral diploe and analytically study the optical force. We find besides chirality; the trapping force is also closely related to the dual electric-magnetic symmetry of field and dual asymmetry of material. We also demonstrate that the proposed idea is not restricted to dipolar chiral objects only. Chiral Mie objects can also be trapped based on the technique proposed in this article. Notably, such chiral trapping forces have been found robust by varying several parameters throughout the investigation. This trapping force may find applications in identifying object's chirality and the selective trapping of chiral objects.


The aim of this work is to better understand the build-up of thermal barrier coatings (TBC) on microtextured substrates, particularly the influence of geometry on the behavior of plasma jets in substrate boundary layers. Coatings produced by suspension plasma spraying served as an experimental reference for numerical analysis, which involved advanced turbulent flow and volumetric heat source modeling along with the use of commercial fluid flow software. Geometric and numerical models were used to simulate the generation of plasma inside the torch and the resulting plasma flow with its highly nonlinear thermophysical characteristics. This work opens the possibility of predicting feedstock particle movement and deposition, which is essential in understanding coating build-up mechanisms in general and the flow of fine particles on substrate surfaces in particular.


Minority languages die when they are competing with major languages. Major languages have a large speaker number covering a big geographical area where as minority languages are spoken by minority within a country. In Zambia, seven languages have been given official status as languages of wider Communication. These are Tonga, Nyanja, Bemba, Lozi, Luvale, Kaonde and Lunda. A research was conducted to investigate whether Tonga, the regional lingua franca and English, the nation's official language, were threatening Leya, being a minority language. The findings were that Leya language is not threatened with extinction because Leyas are proud of their language and desire to promote it. The research also showed that the Leyas preferred the use of Leya to English as a medium of instruction, do not support the use of other prestigious languages in public domains, have a positive attitude towards it so it is unlikely to die.


A key issue in arbitration, which resolves disputes among parties, involves the procedure for selecting an arbitrator. We take an implementation-theoretic approach and provide theoretical, empirical and experimental analyses of this problem. Our findings highlight the problems with current procedures and suggest that alternative procedures, which we propose, may be superior.


Background: Quetiapine fumarate is a dibenzothiazepine derivative and it is classified as a second-generation antipsychotic drug that has been established as an effective therapy for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These antipsychotics have a low incidence of extrapyramidal side effects and tardive dyskinesi as compared to older antipsychotics. The advantages of the therapeutic profile of quetiapine have led to increasing the use of the clinical practice encouraging the development of new pharmaceutical preparations. Objective: The goal of this work was to recognize the synthesis and analytical deference methods of quetiapine fumarate. Methods: Generally, A precise, specific, rapid and feasible reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC), UV spectrophotometric and reversed phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography (RP-UPLC) methods for the determination of an antipsychotic drug quetiapine fumarate in pharmaceuticals, spiked human urine and plasma sample have been developed and collected in this review. The methods also find applications in clinical, biological and pharmacokinetic studies of quetiapine fumarate.


The experiments presented here were designed to examine the contribution of the extracellular signal‐regulated mitogen‐activated protein kinases (ERKs) to the tyrosine phosphorylation of the focal adhesion proteins p125Fak, p130Cas , and paxillin induced by G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) and tyrosine kinase receptors in Swiss 3T3 cells. Stimulation of these cells with bombesin, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), endothelin, and platelet‐derived growth factor (PDGF) led to a marked increase in the tyrosine phosphorylation of these focal adhesion proteins and in ERK activation. Exposure of the cells to two structurally unrelated mitogen‐activated protein kinase or ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitors, PD98059 and U0126, completely abrogated ERK activation but did not prevent tyrosine phosphorylation of p125Fak, p130Cas, and paxillin. Furthermore, different dose‐response relationships were obtained for tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion proteins and for ERK activation in response to PDGF. Putative upstream events in the activation of focal adhesion proteins including actin cytoskeletal reorganization and myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation were also not prevented by inhibition of ERK activation. Thus, our results demonstrate that the activation of the ERK pathway is not necessary for the increase of the tyrosine phosphorylation of p125Fak, p130Cas, and paxillin induced by either GPCRs or tyrosine kinase receptors in Swiss 3T3 cells. J. Cell. Physiol. 183:208–220, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Besides being the main types of carbohydrate in food, sugars are a representative pro- tectant in biopharmaceutical formulations. To identify the protection mechanism, researchers have extensively investigated the bulk physicochemical properties of sugars. However, whereas the glass transition of sugar has been widely studied and debated, the physicochemical properties of sugar molecules in confined circumstances such as nano- meter thick films remain largely unknown. In this chapter, we introduce an experimental procedure for analyzing the glass transition of sugars in ultrathin films. The analysis is based on X-ray reflectivity (XRR) analysis, which has been often applied in glass transition studies of polymer films, but never in sugar media.


The international standard IEC 61499 for the design of distributed industrial control systems defines an abstract model of function blocks (FB) which allows many different semantic interpretations. As a consequence, in addition, so-called execution models were proposed to specify the execution order of FBs. The variety of models leads to the incompatibility of tools and hinders the portability of automation software. To achieve a degree of execution model independence, in this paper, design patterns are suggested that make FB systems-robust to changes of execution semantics. A semantic-robust pattern is defined for a particular source execution model. The patterns themselves are implemented by means of the FB apparatus and therefore are fairly universal. The patterns can be defined and implemented using the FB transformations expressed in terms of Attributed Graph Grammars.


The accurate real-time detection of turbulent airflow patterns near airports is important for safety and comfort in commercial aviation. In this paper, a method is developed to identify Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS) from horizontal lidar scans at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in China. LCS are distinguished frame-independent material structures that create localized attraction, repulsion, or high shear of nearby trajectoriesin the flow.As such,they are the fundamental structuresbehind airflow patterns such as updrafts, downdrafts, and wind shear. Based on a recently developed finite-domain‐finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FDFTLE) algorithm from Tang et al. and on new Lagrangian diagnostics presented in this paper that are pertinent to the extracted FDFTLE ridges, the authors differentiate LCS extracted from lidar data. It is found that these LCS derived from horizontal lidar scans compare well to convergence and divergence suggested by vertical slice scans. At HKIA, horizontal scans are predominant: they cover much bigger azimuthal ranges as compared with only two azimuthal angles from the vertical scans. LCS extracted from horizontal scans are thus advantageous in providing organizing turbulence structures over the entire observational domain as compared with a single line along the vertical scan direction. In Part II of this study, the authors will analyze the evolution of LCS and their impacts on landing aircraft based on recorded flight data.


Background Typically juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)-associated uveitis (further referred as 'JIA-uveitis') has its onset in childhood, but some patients suffer its, sometimes visual threatening, complications or ongoing disease activity in adulthood. The objective of this study was to analyze uveitis activity, complications and visual prognosis in adulthood. Methods In this multicenter study, 67 adult patients (129 affected eyes) with JIA-uveitis were retrospectively studied for best corrected visual acuity, visual fields, uveitis activity, topical/systemic treatments, ocular complications, and ocular surgeries during their 18th, 22nd and 30th year of life. Because treatment strategies changed after the year 1990, outcomes were stratified for onset of uveitis before and after 1990. Results Sixty-two of all 67 included patients (93%) had bilateral uveitis. During their 18th life year, 4/52 patients (8%) had complete remission, 28/52 (54%) had uveitis activity and 37/51 patients (73%) were on systemic immunomodulatory treatment. Bilateral visual impairment or legal blindness occurred in 2/51 patients (4%); unilateral visual impairment or legal blindness occurred in 17/51 patients (33%) aged 18 years. The visual prognosis appeared to be slightly better for patients with uveitis onset after the year 1990 (for uveitis onset before 1990 (n = 7) four patients (58%) and for uveitis onset after 1990 (n = 44) 13 patients (30%) were either visual impaired or blind). At least one ocular surgery was performed in 10/24 patients (42%) between their 18th and 22nd year of life. Conclusions Bilateral visual outcome in early adulthood in patients with JIA-uveitis appears to be fairly good, although one third of the patients developed one visually impaired or blind eye. However, a fair amount of the patients suffered from ongoing uveitis activity and needed ongoing treatment as well as surgical interventions. Awareness of these findings is important for ophthalmologists and rheumatologists treating patients with JIA-uveitis, as well as for the patients themselves.


Traumatic external iliac artery dissection after renal transplant is a rare complication, but it should be urgently managed due to its devastating effects on graft and lower limb circulation. External iliac artery dissection is seen more in recipients with diabetes mellitus and comorbid disease. Recipients with external iliac artery dissection should be treated immediately by percutaneus angioplasty or surgical reconstruction. In this study, we reported the management of 2 kidney transplant cases with external iliac artery dissection due to vascular clamping of the artery. External iliac artery dissection was diagnosed by ultrasonography in both cases. After failed percutaneous interventional angioplasty, we reconstructed the external iliac artery dissection surgically and replaced the external iliac artery with polytetra-fluoroethylene grafts in both patients. Both patients were discharged with normal functioning grafts showing 0.9 and 0.8 mg/dL serum creatinine levels at month 3 posttransplant. Close monitoring of recipients after transplant is mandatory for early diagnosis and early management of external iliac artery dissection to prevent graft loss and preserve lower limb circulation. Routine Doppler ultrasonography is an inexpensive and useful tool for early diagnosis in cases of sudden cessation or decrease in urine. In cases of failed percutaneous interventional angioplasty, reconstruction with synthetic vascular grafts can be safely applied in external iliac artery dissection.


In this paper, we address the problem of power-efficient resource management in Cloud Radio Access Networks (C-RANs). Specifically, we consider the case where Remote Radio Heads perform data transmission, and signal processing is executed in a virtually centralized Base-Band Units pool. Users request to transmit at different time instants; they demand minimum signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SINR) guarantees, and their requests must be accommodated within a given deadline. These constraints pose significant challenges to the management of C-RANs and, as we will show, considerably impact the allocation of processing and radio resources in the network. Accordingly, we analyze the power consumption of the C-RAN system, and we formulate the power consumption minimization problem as a weighted joint scheduling of processing and power allocation problem for C-RANs with minimum SINR and finite horizon constraints. The problem is a Mixed Integer Non-Linear Program, and we propose an optimal offline solution based on Dynamic Programming. We show that the optimal solution is of exponential complexity; thus, we propose a sub-optimal greedy online algorithm of polynomial complexity. We assess the performance of the two proposed solutions through extensive numerical results. Our solution aims to reach an appropriate tradeoff between minimizing the power consumption and maximizing the percentage of satisfied users. We show that it results in power consumption that is only marginally higher than the optimum, at significantly lower complexity.


We have determined the X-ray structure of Ir(pnbi)2(acac) (pnbi = 2-phenanthren-9-yl-1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole; acac = acetylacetonate), which exhibits a six-membered metallocycle around the Ir center. This result stands in sharp contrast to previously postulated structures of Ir(pnbi)2(acac), which assumed a five-membered metallocycle. In this paper, we focus on the relative stability of five- and six-membered Ir(C^N) ring structures. DFT calculations of the total energies of Ir-(C^N) complexes indicated that six-membered structures are more stable when bulky substituents are present in the benzimidazole unit. When the phenanthrene group of pnbi was replaced with a naphthalene moiety, DFT calculations predicted that five-membered cycles are more stable than six-membered rings, which was confirmed experimentally by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The steric bulk of the phenanthrene-containing polyaromatic ring ligand thus induces greater interligand repulsion between the two ligands, which plays an important role in determining the cyclometalation route. The Ir complexes examined in this study exhibit red emission (λem ≈ 660 nm) with relatively low quantum yields.


E-learning is a pattern of study applying an information technology to support selfeducation. A student can learn in endless time at any places. It also enhances teaching and learning in class in advance. The objective of this e-learning research is to enhance capabilities of students before and after class. The research is developed for a subject, namely Internet Technology for Daily Uses, of Faculty of Science and Technology. The content of each lesson covers an area of using internet for daily uses. The dataset of the research consist of 220 students from Faculty of Business Administration and Faculty of Science and Technology who register in this subject. The e-learning system is measured by satisfaction of students and experts in three areas that are 1) Website Design 2) Functions of System and 3) Data Services. The experimental result is shown that the average value of whole system is 4.69 that means excellent, and the standard deviation is 0.45 that means excellent as well. In addition, the most satisfied area in measurement is Functions of System while the lowest of satisfaction is Website Design.