Automated classification of renal masses detected at computed tomography (CT) examinations into benign cyst versus solid mass is clinically valuable. This distinction may be challenging at single-phase contrast-enhanced CE-CT examinations, where cysts may simulate solid masses and where renal masses are most commonly incidentally detected. This may lead to unnecessary and costly follow-up imaging for accurate characterization. In this paper, we describe a patch-based CNN method to differentiate benign cysts from solid renal masses using single-phase CECT images. The predictions of the network for patches extracted from a manually segmented lesion are combined through the majority voting system for final diagnosis. We used a dataset comprised of single-phase CECT images of 315 patients with 77 benign (oncocytomas, and fat poor renal angiomyolipoma) and 238 malignant (renal cell carcinoma including clear cell, papillary, and chromophobe subtypes) tumors. We trained our proposed network using patches extracted and artificially augmented from 40 CECT scans. The presented algorithm was evaluated using 275 unseen CECT test images consisting of 327 renal masses by comparing algorithm-generated labels to those labeled by experts and achieved mean accuracy, precision, and recall of 88.96%, 95.64%, and 91.64%. Our method yielded accuracy of 91.21% ± 25.88% as mean ± standard deviation at the patient level. The AUC was reported as 0.804. The results indicate that our algorithm may accurately characterize benign cysts from solid masses with a high degree of accuracy and may be clinically valuable to prevent unnecessary imaging follow-up for characterization in a proportion of patients.


One of the challenges in materials science has been to prepare crystalline inorganic compounds with mesopores. Although several design strategies have been developed to address the challenge, expansion of pore sizes in inorganic materials is more difficult compared to that for metal-organic frameworks. Herein, we designed a novel mesoporous germanate PKU-17 with 3D 48×16×16-ring channels by introducing two large building units (Ge10 and Ge7 clusters) into the same framework. The key for this design strategy is the selection of 2-propanolamine (MIPA), which serves as the terminal species to promote the crystallization of Ge7 clusters. Moreover, it is responsible for the coexistence of Ge10 and Ge7 clusters. To our knowledge, the discovery of PKU-17 sets a new record in pore sizes among germanates. It is also the first germanate that exhibits a good selectivity toward CO2 over N2 and CH4 .


Based on the distinctly higher number of species of Orbitolinidae in the Cretaceous compared to the Paleogene, the former have witnessed much more taxonomic analyses. Although, there has been a "lively" debate among specialists working on Cretaceous taxa, it is rather broad consensus that the presence/absence of horizontal partitions (= rafters; part of exoskeleton) in the marginal zone is a criterion of specific rank. Recently, however, another taxonomic concept has been used for Paleogene Orbitolinidae by giving this trait generic rank (Fallotella vs. Pseudofallotella). If applied to the Cretaceous, this approach would result in artificial groups and the creation of several new genera for currently used species that both include species with and without rafters (Coskinolinella, Heterocoskinolina, Montseciella, Paracoskinolina, Praedictyorbitolina, Simplorbitolina, Valserina). The present contribution is a plea for a uniform taxonomic approach, preferring the simpler, longer, wider and more natural usage of the "Cretaceous approach". Further difficulties on the taxonomical ranking of Orbitolinidae features are due to their fossil nature (extinct group), as no modern representatives are available for comparisons. This fact also speaks for the use of a pragmatic and uniform approach.


Infants, children and adults are capable of extracting recurring patterns from their environment through statistical learning (SL), an implicit learning mechanism that is considered to have an important role in language acquisition. Research over the past 20 years has shown that SL is present from very early infancy and found in a variety of tasks and across modalities (e.g., auditory, visual), raising questions on the domain generality of SL. However, while SL is well established for infants and adults, only little is known about its developmental trajectory during childhood, leaving two important questions unanswered: (1) Is SL an early-maturing capacity that is fully developed in infancy, or does it improve with age like other cognitive capacities (e.g., memory)? and (2) Will SL have similar developmental trajectories across modalities? Only few studies have looked at SL across development, with conflicting results: some find age-related improvements while others do not. Importantly, no study to date has examined auditory SL across childhood, nor compared it to visual SL to see if there are modality-based differences in the developmental trajectory of SL abilities. We addressed these issues by conducting a large-scale study of children's performance on matching auditory and visual SL tasks across a wide age range (5-12y). Results show modality-based differences in the development of SL abilities: while children's learning in the visual domain improved with age, learning in the auditory domain did not change in the tested age range. We examine these findings in light of previous studies and discuss their implications for modality-based differences in SL and for the role of auditory SL in language acquisition. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kg35hoF0pw.


A one step procedure towards the synthesis of 4-aryl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazoles, 4,7-diaryl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazoles and 4-aryl-2,1,3-benzoselenadiazoles using palladium-catalyzed regioselective C–H bond arylations of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole and 2,1,3-benzoselenadiazole was developed. A donor–acceptor compound was also synthesized via two successive C–H bond arylations at C4 and C7 positions of the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit. One of the major achivements of this methodology arises from the fine modulation of the fluorescence wavelength with emission colors covering blue to red regions of the visible spectrum by the simple introduction of the suitable aryl group on the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit.


The purpose of this study is to develop a wearable power assist device for hand grasping in the activity of daily living of aged or disable person. In a wearable device, a mechanism is required to have a human friendliness such as a safety, a lightweight to prevent an accident and to improve the wearable condition. In order to satisfy these requirements, extended curved and linear type pneumatic rubber artificial muscles are developed as actuators for this glove. By using the rubber muscles, the glove can assist various daily finger tasks owing to its flexibility and lightweight. In this paper, the structures of two types of rubber muscles and the power assist glove are described, and the characteristics of these devices are discussed. Finally, the effectiveness of the glove to decrease the muscular fatigue is experimentally evaluated.


Multicast re-keying protocol is the base of secure group communication. Based on one-way function key chain tree for different services, this paper propose a new multicast re-keying protocol. Firstly, the paper analyze the secure one-way function key chain. When the secure one-way function key chain is applied to key tree, we get OFKCT (one-way function key chain tree). Second, the paper connects the leaving probability of member with the service level the member is provided and create a Huffman one-way function key chain tree for different services (DS-HOFKCT) when a member joins and leaves communication group. Thirdly, the paper explains the re-keying in detail in DS-HOFKCT. A last, the paper discusses the performance and security of DS-HOFKCT. DS-HOFKCT is best excellent among all the multicast re-keying protocols based on one-way key chain tree.


A search for heavy resonances decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the q ¯ q ( (cid:2) ) b ¯ b final state is described. The search uses 36 . 1 fb − 1 of proton–proton collision data at √ s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in 2015 and 2016. The data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectations, with the largest excess found at a resonance mass of 3.0 TeV with a local (global) significance of 3.3 (2.1) σ . The results are presented in terms of constraints on a simplified model with a heavy vector triplet. Upper limits are set on the production cross-section times branching ratio for resonances decaying to a W ( Z ) boson and a Higgs boson, itself decaying to b ¯ b , in the mass range between 1.1 and 3.8 TeV at 95% confidence level; the limits range between 83 and 1.6 fb (77 and 1.1 fb) at 95% confidence level. © 2017 The Author.


We designed and fabricated Cu-sheathed MgB2 composites with Nb barriers for low AC loss property. The wires were produced with powder-in-tube method after mixing Mg and B powders. The wires have a diameter of 0.7 mm and six MgB2 filaments. Each filament has a thin Nb barrier to suppress reaction between Mg and Cu. The volume ratio of the filaments is 0.13. The averaged critical current of an about 1-m coiled specimen with a twist pitch of 10 mm is 55 A at 1 T and liquid helium temperature. The AC losses of the coiled specimen exposed to the applied magnetic field parallel to the coil axis were measured by a standard pickup-coil method in liquid helium. The ranges of the amplitude and the frequency were extended up to 1 T and 5 Hz, respectively. The AC loss property including the frequency dependence was also estimated for the multifilamentary structure with a usual theoretical expression of the coupling loss among the filaments. It is found that the experimental results observed cannot be explained by the theoretical prediction. We discuss the discrepancy from viewpoint of a coupling among the filament with the Nb barrier. The theoretical estimation shows that the six filaments surrounding the Nb barrier are equivalent to a cylindrical hollow superconductor.


Background: Globally, in resistant malaria endemic zones, even the latest lines of MDTs (multi drug therapes) are yielding chaotic results. These include unacceptable side effects/contraindications, with poor prognosis in juveniles/adolescents. Juvenile stage is intensely humoral and up-regulate infestation. MDTs are more unpredictable in the juveniles, and fail in the geriatric group. Pharmacies are also failing. Tropical-equatorial conditions necessitate frugal body cover cum bare foot life style. Typical geomorphology, orography, meteorology, flora and fauna provide year round conducive conditions for vector bionomics and for other types of infections. OMARIA (Orissa Malaria Research Indigenous Attempt) is a new anti-malaria phytotherapy that has been in mono station use (Koraput, India) since 1998 in drug resistant core endemic regions, also well known for tertian type. It transpired out of Koraput Model to Fight Malaria at Home with OMARIA. Materials and Methods: OMARIA is composed of the dry rind of the Indo-year round fruiting Punica granatum (Dalimba). Principal drug moieties are: (i) ellagic acid; (ii) Research Article British Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 3(1): 54-77, 2013 55 punicalagin (iii) punicalin and (iv) potassium (K). Are physiologically compatible and has never been used before. All the moieties being non alkaloids offer a paradigm shift among anti-malarials. Results: OMARIA kills and clears hemoprotozoas of all spp., at all stages (including gametocytes) in patients of all ages and chronicity. Is potently anti-inflammatory vis-a-vis WBCs; blocks transmission; prevents relapse and nonrecrudescence; and is very useful in severe/acute/complicated/refractory malaria and in sickle cell patients. No development of resistance. Potassium (K) probably acts as the drug's efficacy upregulator. Conclusion: OMARIA is prophylactic and therapeutic in target groups. Is useful in numerous forms of malaria, being active against key stages of the parasite (complicated or systemic status); and in patients having multiple infections. It has synergistic and possibly buffering roles. Koraput Model has been of much help to the afflicted communities and to the administrations.


Normal 0 false false false EN-MY X-NONE X-NONE The Nigerian government had initiated several youth empowerment programmes through TVET, but a lot of these programmes lack structure and their impact not felt by the nation's youths. This is evident in the substantial number of youth that still lack work skills-which often results to unemployment, insecurity, loss of lives and properties and chaos. The study therefore, sought to investigate, TVET empowerment skills required by youths as a means for enhancing national security. Descriptive survey research design was used and data was obtained using a structured questionnaire known as the Empowerment Skill Inventory Checklist (ESIC). Eighty five TVET lecturers in post-secondary vocational institutions took part in the study. Findings revealed that youths require vocational skills in areas such as horticulture, business, engineering and construction works. Also recommended techniques and strategies for career development that include specific skills such as business skills, financial management skills, basic computation skills, communication skills and adaptation skills.


AIM AND OBJECTIVES:
Siddha system is considered to be the most ancient therapeutic science in the world. Siddhars have identified four thousand four hundred and forty eight disease and Scientifically arranged eighty type of Vaatha diseases, forty types of Pitha diseases and twenty types of Kaba diseases and so on. Among all the forms of treatment Noi Naadal (or) Identification of disease and Noi muthal naadal (or) the determination of the aetiology of the disease are the most important aspects. Once the diagnosis is accurate the treatment may be easily fulfilled.
Super intellectual siddhars, devised and utilized a special cost effective technique for diagnosing a disease know as Envagai thervugal. They are Naadi, Sparisam, Naa, Niram, Mozhi, Vizhi, Malam and Moothiram.
The following specific objectives have been drawn to achieve the above aim,
1. To collect the ancient Siddha literatures about Kaasa disease in general and Pitha Kaasam in particularly.
2. To study the clinical course of the disease Pitha Kaasam with clean observation on the actiology, clinical fetures and diagnosis.
3. To evaluate the siddha basic physiology and Pathology.
4. To make a thorough physical examination of the patient.
5. To find out the changes that occur in Uyirthadukkal, Udalthadukkal and in Naadi.
6. To support the study of Pitha Kaasam by using envagai thervugal, mentioned in siddha literatures with modern parameters.
7. To discuss the clinical features and complications associated with pitha kaasam.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
The clinical study on Pitha Kaasam has been taken in the post graduate department of Noi Naadal. The clinical study was done in 30 cases, of them 21 cases were selected. In which I had selected 21 cases to evaluate typical picture by siddha parameters along with modern parameters.
The detailed history of the present and past illness and family history were observed.
EVALUATION OF CLINICAL PARAMETERS
1. The detailed history and clinical features of the patients were taken carefully.
2. The clinical history.
3. Detail history of present and past illness.
4. Personal and family history.
5. Diet habits.
6. Exposure to cold weather.
Clinical features for Pitha Kaasam are
1. Presistent Cough,
2. Sensation of sweet and salt taste in the tongue.
3. Vomiting,
4. Headache,
5. Body pain,
6. Burning sore throat,
7. Haemoptysis,
8. Dyspnoea,
9. Anorexia with sour taste regurgitation,
10. Horripillation,
11. Fever and
12. State of Confusion.
The disease is characterized by
• Cough with expectoration is due to irritation of respiratory tract result in stimulation of vagal nerve endings.
• Vomiting is due to mechanical stimulation of pharynx.
• Dyspnoea is due to pulmonary insufficiency (inadequately functioning alveolar tissue).
• Anorexia is due to acute fibrile illness.
• Headache and body pain is due to fever.
• Sore throat is due to infection of the larynx.
• Haemoptysis is due to erosion of capillaries in a lung.
• Fever is due to infection of lung parenchyma, Horripillation is due to chill.
• State of confusion is due to cerebral hypoxia, result from filling of alveoli with fluid.
All of these symptoms correlate with "Pitha Kaasam" explained by our great siddhar Yugimuni. \
CONCLUSION:
Identification of disease and its pathogenesis are pre requisite for medical practice. A detailed history taking, clinical examinations as per siddha guidelines is necessary to arrive at precise diagnosis. The study on Pitha Kaasam was carried out in the dissertation, giving importance to the characteristics of the disease like Persistent Cough, Sensation of sweet and salt taste in the tongue, Vomiting, Headache, Body pain, Burning sore throat, Haemoptysis, Dyspnoea, Anorexia with sour taste regurgitation, Horripillation, Fever and State of Confusion. Diagnosis can be carried out by detailed history taking, classical clinical examination of siddha system, Via, Envagaithervugal including Naadi and Neerkuri, and changes in seven physical constituents and three humours. Whether this disease is curable or not is carried out by examination of siddha system, via, Neikuri and Manikkadai nool. This study on Pitha Kaasam may be correlates with Pneumonia, which has given relevance to modern clinical entity.


In his book Capitalismo, mercato e democrazia (Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009) Michele Salvati maintains the following theses: a democracy cannot exist without a market; private property and the market imply capitalism; but capitalism is in conflict with democracy. With regard to the last thesis, Salvati says that in liberal democracies capitalists have more power than any other social group, in that they are able to influence political and judicial decisions, to control mass media, to prevent the transformation of the economic system. My comment is that if capitalists really have such a power to put a veto on majority's choices about the economic system, there are some reasons to doubt that our representative government is democratic and, moreover, to believe that its future is uncertain.


Previous research in mobile data management has been focused on scenarios where mobile clients replace fixed ones. However, not all potential application fields of mobile computing fit into this scenario. There exist scenarios where mobile clients will not replace but accompany fixed ones. In this paper, we introduce a real-world application scenario requiring the capability to process a transaction from alternating, potentially mobile client hosts. With this scenario in mind, we have developed three approaches for supporting multiple clients in combination with a so-called TXAgent (Transaction Processing Agent), which is an object in the fixed network which manages transactions on behalf of the client, and an approach to realise the client as a migrating object. Finally, we present a prototype implementation of the most promising approach.


China has experienced an extraordinary level of economic development since the 1990s, following excessive competition between different regions. This has resulted in many resource and environmental problems. Land resources, for example, are either abused or wasted in many regions. The strategy of development priority zoning (DPZ), proposed by the Chinese National 11th Five-Year Plan, provides an opportunity to solve these problems by coordinating regional development and protection. In line with the rational utilization of land, it is proposed that the DPZ strategy should be integrated with regional land use policy. As there has been little research to date on this issue, this paper introduces a system dynamic (SD) model for assessing land use change in China led by the DPZ strategy. Land use is characterized by the prioritization of land development, land utilization, land harness and land protection (D-U-H-P). By using the Delphi method, a corresponding suitable prioritization of D-U-H-P for the four types of DPZ, including optimized development zones (ODZ), key development zones (KDZ), restricted development zones (RDZ), and forbidden development zones (FDZ) are identified. Suichang County is used as a case study in which to conduct the simulation of land use change under the RDZ strategy. The findings enable a conceptualization to be made of DPZ-led land use change and the identification of further implications for land use planning generally. The SD model also provides a potential tool for local government to combine DPZ strategy at the national level with land use planning at the local level.


Single-carrier transmission with frequency-domain equalization (SC-FDE) offers a viable design alternative to the classic orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) technique. However, SC-FDE using a linear equalizer may suffer from serious performance deterioration for transmission over severely frequency-selective fading channels. An effective method of solving this problem is to introduce nonlinear decision feedback equalization (DFE) to SC-FDE. In this paper, a low-complexity iterative DFE operating in the frequency domain of single-carrier systems is proposed. Based on the minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) criterion, a simplified parameter estimation method is introduced to calculate the coefficients of the feedforward and feedback filters, which significantly reduces the implementation complexity of the equalizer. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed simplified design is similar to the traditional iterative block DFE under various multipath fading channels, but it imposes a much lower complexity than the latter.


6-Benzylaminopurine (6-BAP) (1 mg/ml) does not influence the growth of E. coli B cell cultures or the number of [8-14C] labeled N6-methyladenine (m6A) residues in the total DNA [(100.m6A/(A x m6A) = 1.7]. The growth of bacterial cells in the presence of adenine or cytokinins (6-BAP, kinetin, zeatin) (1 mg/ml) was unaccompanied by significant changes in the intracellular content of plasmid pBR 322. The mode of restriction by endonuclease Cfu I hydrolyzing the Gm6ATC site of plasmids pBR 322 from E. coli B cells grown in the presence of adenine or one of the above-mentioned cytokinins is identical. These plasmids also have identical restriction products Mbo I or Sau 3AI. Thus, the cytokinins under study do not markedly affect the methylation of adenine residues in total DNA of E. coli B cell cultures and the GATC sequence in plasmids pBR 322 isolated from these cells.


The standard technique for estimating the variance of a linear regression coefficient is unbiased when the random errors of the observational units are independent and identically distributed. When the unit variances are not all equal, however, as is often the case in practice, this method can be biased. An unbiased variance estimator given uncorrelated, but not necessarily homoscedastic, unit errors is introduced here and compared to the conventional technique using real data.


Purpose: Many studies have demonstrated the advantage of maintaining intraoperative deep neuromuscular block (NMB) with sugammadex. This trial is designed to evaluate the impact of muscle relaxation during laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy on the oncological benefits, particularly in obese patients with gastric cancer. Materials and methods: This is a double-blind, randomized controlled multicenter prospective trial. Patients with clinical stage I–II gastric cancer with a body mass index of 25 and over, who undergo laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy will be eligible for trial inclusion. The patients will be randomized into a deep NMB group or a moderate NMB group with a 1:1 ratio. A total of 196 patients (98 per group) are required. The primary endpoint is the number of harvested lymph nodes, which is a critical index of the quality of surgery in gastric cancer treatment. The secondary endpoints are surgeon's surgical condition score, patient's sedation score, and surgical outcomes including peak inspiratory pressure, operation time, postoperative pain, and morbidity. Discussion: This is the first study that compares deep NMB with moderate NMB during laparoscopic gastrectomy in obese patients with gastric cancer. We hope to show the oncologic benefits of deep NMB compared with moderate NMB during subtotal gastrectomy. Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03196791), date of registration: October 10, 2017.


Riparian buffer strips are widely employed to reduce fluxes of eroding soil and associated chemicals, from hillslopes into waterways. However, there are a number of inconsistencies in reported research and the associated recommendations for use of buffer strips. The strip efficiency is time-dependent and changes as sediment deposition builds up, adding to the complexity of the situation. Our research focuses on settling of sediment in front of stiff grass buffers due to the induced backwaters under subcritical flow conditions and a new model is introduced to predict water, sediment and nutrient profiles in front of buffers. Experiments to test the model were carried out in the Griffith University Tilting-Flume Simulated Rainfall facility. Replicate experiments were conducted at 5% slope using a dense vetiver strip inserted into the flume. Water profiles were recorded, then asediment comprising either a sandy soil (Podzol), a red clay (Ferrosol) or a black clay (Vertosol) was introduced into flow upstream of the buffer and sediment deposition and outflow characteristics were measured for each soil. Organic and inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) levels were determined in the sediment and outflow. The buffer caused a region of enhanced flow depth (backwater), upstream of the buffer. Deposition started at the beginning of the backwater but subsequent deposition varied with sediment type, moving downstream for the Vertosol, upstream for the Podzol, with the Ferrosol intermediate. Sediment loads in the outflow increased slightly with time for the Vertisol due to sediment movement into the buffer but were static for the other two soils. Buffering action reduced sediment in the outflow to 3.2, 6.0 and 11.3 % of the inflow concentration for the Podzol, Ferrosol and Vertosol respectively, with a significant difference (P<0.01) between the Podzol and Ferrosol. Sediments in the runoff were primarily in the 0.002 - 0.2 mm size range and the greatest enrichment of fines (silt size or smaller) occurred in the Ferralsol and Vertisol. Nitrate concentration in the runoff was increased by 40% compared to the inflow concentration for the Vertosol but inorganic N and P concentrations were similar to the inflow for the other 2 soils. Measured data from the flume experiments were compared to simulated data from the model. Water and sediment profiles were simulated reasonably well with low root mean square errors and coefficients of efficiency approaching 1. However, further work is required to assess the simulation of sediment concentration/particle sizes in the outflow from the model. Further work is also underway to test the model using field data from south-east Queensland.


The Ep locus severely affects the amount of peroxidase enzyme in soybean seed coats. Plants containing the dominant Ep allele accumulate large amounts of peroxidase in the hourglass cells of the sub-epidermis. Homozygous recessive epep genotypes do not accumulate peroxidase in the hourglass cells and are much reduced in total seed coat peroxidase activity. To isolate the gene encoding the seed coat peroxidase and to determine whether it corresponds to the Ep locus, a cDNA library was constructed from developing seed coats and an abundant 1.3 kb peroxidase transcript was cloned. The corresponding structural gene was also isolated from a genomic library. Sequence analysis shows that the seed coat peroxidase is translated as a 352 amino acid precursor protein of 38 kDa. Processing of a putative 26 amino acid signal sequence results in a mature protein of 326 residues with a calculated mass of 35 kDa and a pl of 4.4. Using probes derived from the cDNA, genomic DNA blot hybridization and polymerase chain reaction analysis detected polymorphisms that distinguished EpEp and epep genotypes. Co-segregation of the polymorphisms in an F2 population from a cross of EpEp and epep plants shows that the Ep locus encodes the seed coat peroxidase protein. Comparison of Ep and ep alleles indicates that the recessive gene lacks 87 bp of sequence encompassing the translation start codon. Analysis by RNA blot hybridization shows that epep plants have drastically reduced amounts of peroxidase transcript compared with EpEp plants. The peroxidase mRNA is abundant in seed coat tissues of EpEp plants during the late stages of seed maturation, and could also be detected in root tissues, but not in the flower, embryo, pod or leaf. The results indicate that the lack of peroxidase accumulation in seed coats of homozygous recessive epep plants is due to a mutation of the structural gene that reduces transcript abundance.


Diagnostic analyses of hydrological models intend to improve the understanding of how processes and their dynamics are represented in models. Temporal patterns of parameter dominance could be precisely characterized with a temporally resolved parameter sensitivity analysis. In this way, the discharge conditions are characterized, that lead to a parameter dominance in the model. To achieve this, the analysis of temporal dynamics in parameter sensitivity is enhanced by including additional information in a three‐tiered framework on different aggregation levels. Firstly, temporal dynamics of parameter sensitivity provide daily time series of their sensitivities to detect variations in the dominance of model parameters. Secondly, the daily sensitivities are related to the flow duration curve (FDC) to emphasize high sensitivities of model parameters in relation to specific discharge magnitudes. Thirdly, parameter sensitivities are monthly averaged separately for five segments of the FDC to detect typical patterns of parameter dominances for different discharge magnitudes. The three methodical steps are applied on two contrasting catchments (upland and lowland catchment) to demonstrate how the temporal patterns of parameter dynamics represent different hydrological regimes. The discharge dynamic in the lowland catchment is controlled by groundwater parameters for all discharge magnitudes. In contrast, different processes are relevant in the upland catchment, because the dominances of parameters from fast and slow runoff components in the upland catchment are changing over the year for the different discharge magnitudes. The joined interpretation of these three diagnostic steps provides deeper insights of how model parameters represent hydrological dynamics in models for different discharge magnitudes. Thus, this diagnostic framework leads to a better characterization of model parameters and their temporal dynamics and helps to understand the process behaviour in hydrological models. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


OBJECTIVE
To assess whether advanced age is an independent predictor of survival to hospital discharge in community-dwelling adult patients who sustained an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in a suburban county.

METHODS
A prospective cohort study was conducted in a suburban county emergency medical services system of community-dwelling adults who had an arrest from a presumed cardiac cause and who received out-of-hospital resuscitative efforts from July 1989 to December 1993. The cohorts were defined by grouping ages by decade: 19-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80 or more. The variables measured included age, gender, witnessed arrest, response intervals, location of arrest, documented bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and initial rhythms. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Results are reported using analysis of variance, chi square, and adjusted odds ratios from a logistic regression model. Age group 50-59 served as the reference group for the regression model.

RESULTS
Of the 2,608 total presumed cardiac arrests, the overall survival rate to hospital discharge was 7.25%. Patients in age groups 40-49 and 50-59 experienced the best rate of successful resuscitation (10%). Each subsequent decade had a steady decline in successful outcome: 8.1% for ages 60-69; 7.1% for ages 70-79; and 3.3% for age 80+. In a post-hoc analysis, further separation of the older age group revealed a successful outcome in 3.9% of patients ages 80-89 and 1% in patients 90 and older. Patients aged 80 years or more were more likely to arrest at home, were more likely to have an initial bradyasystolic rhythm, yet had a similar rate of resuscitation to hospital admission. In the regression model, age 80 or older was associated with a significantly worse survival to hospital discharge (OR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.20 to 0.82).

CONCLUSIONS
There was a twofold decrease in survival following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest to discharge in patients aged 80 or more when compared with the reference group in this suburban county setting. However, resuscitation for community-dwelling elders aged 65-89 is not futile. These data support that out-of-hospital resuscitation of elders up to age 90 years is not associated with a universal dismal outcome.


Summary 1. Process-based models, and spatially explicit models in particular, will play an important role in predicting the impacts of future environmental change. Enthusiasm for the rich potential of these models, however, is tempered by the realization that their parameterization is often challenging and time consuming. Moreover, these models are seldom validated; this makes their predictive value in applied contexts uncertain. 2. In this paper we describe the process of parameterizing and validating a spatial demographic model of a spreading alien plant population. The model, a spatially explicit individual-based simulation, has modest data requirements (for a spatial simulation model) in that it concentrates on simulating recruitment, dispersal, mortality and disturbance and ignores the environmental and biotic heterogeneity of the receiving environment. 3. We tested the model using the invasion of Acacia cyclops and Pinus pinaster into fynbos, the mediterranean shrublands of South Africa, as a case study. Dispersal, recruitment and mortality data were collected for each species at six different sites. Aerial photographs from six independent sites (two sites for A. cyclops and four sites for P. pinaster ) were used to reconstruct the invasion histories of the two species between 1938 and 1989. Demographic data were used to parameterize the model, and the 1938 distribution of alien plants, derived from aerial photography, was used to initialize the model. 4. The empirically estimated indices of rate and pattern of invasion fell within the range of model predictions made at all six sites studied. The indices of rate and pattern of invasion predicted by the model did not differ significantly from the empirically estimated indices for 76% of the model data comparisons made. These analyses suggested that the model predictions are good, given the variance in parameter estimates. 5. The proportion of grid locations where the model correctly predicted alien plant distribution was typically above 0·75 and always above 0·5 for both species. A permutation test showed that locations of invasive plants predicted by the model were significantly better than random for P. pinaster , but not always for A. cyclops ; this may be because A. cyclops is bird dispersed, and its dispersal may be biased towards perch sites, whereas P. pinaster is wind dispersed. 6. We conclude that, although spatial simulation models are often more difficult to parameterize and validate than statistical or analytical models, there are situations where such effort is warranted. In this case the validation process provides confidence to use the model as a tool for planning the control of invasive plants. In a more general sense we believe that the approach outlined here could be used for model parameterization and validation in situations where spatial simulation models seem appropriate.


Importance
The proportion of daily wearers of eyeglasses among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is small, and the association between daily wear of eyeglasses and COVID-19 susceptibility has not been reported.

Objective
To study the association between the daily wearing of eyeglasses and the susceptibility to COVID-19.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This cohort study enrolled all inpatients with COVID-19 in Suizhou Zengdu Hospital, Suizhou, China, a designated hospital for COVID-19 treatment in the area, from January 27 to March 13, 2020. COVID-19 was diagnosed according to the fifth edition of Chinese COVID-19 diagnostic guidelines. The proportion of persons with myopia who wore eyeglasses in Hubei province was based on data from a previous study.

Exposures
Daily wearing of eyeglasses for more than 8 hours.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The main outcomes were the proportions of daily wearers of eyeglasses among patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and among the local population. Data on exposure history, clinical symptoms, underlying diseases, duration of wearing glasses, and myopia status and the proportion of people with myopia who wore eyeglasses in Hubei province were collected. People who wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day were defined as long-term wearers.

Results
A total of 276 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. Of these, 155 (56.2%) were male, and the median age was 51 (interquartile range, 41-58) years. All those who wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day had myopia and included 16 of 276 patients (5.8%; 95% CI, 3.04%-8.55%). The proportion of people with myopia in Hubei province, based on a previous study, was 31.5%, which was much higher than the proportion of patients with COVID-19 who had myopia in this sample.

Conclusions and Relevance
In this cohort study of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Suizhou, China, the proportion of inpatients with COVID-19 who wore glasses for extended daily periods (>8 h/d) was smaller than that in the general population, suggesting that daily wearers of eyeglasses may be less susceptible to COVID-19.


In this paper we present an in-ground intrusion detection system for security applications. Here, an optical fibre pressure switch is directly connected to a standard digital input of a programmable logic controller (PLC). This is achieved using an intensiometric detection system, where a laser diode and Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) are optically mismatched, resulting in a static dc offset from the transmitted and reflected optical power signals. Pressure applied to the FBG, as the intruder stepped on it, induced a wavelength shift in the FBG. The wavelength shift was then converted into an intensity change as the wavelength of the FBG matched the wavelength of the laser. The change in intensity, measured by the optical detectors, resulted in a significant change in the DC offset, behaving as on optical switch. When connected to the PLC the optical pressure switch was used to drive a digital output, sounding an alarm in addition to displaying the intrusion event on the human machine interface.


PURPOSE
To characterize the first in-human intraoperative imaging using a custom prototype spectral-domain microscope-integrated optical coherence tomography (MIOCT) device during vitreoretinal surgery with instruments in the eye.

METHODS
Under institutional review board approval for a prospective intraoperative study, MIOCT images were obtained at surgical pauses with instruments held static in the vitreous cavity and then concurrently with surgical maneuvers. Postoperatively, MIOCT images obtained at surgical pauses were compared with images obtained with a high-resolution handheld spectral-domain OCT (HHOCT) system with objective endpoints, including acquisition of images acceptable for analysis and identification of predefined macular morphologic or pathologic features.

RESULTS
Human MIOCT images were successfully obtained before incision and during pauses in surgical maneuvers. MIOCT imaging confirmed preoperative diagnoses, such as epiretinal membrane, full-thickness macular hole, and vitreomacular traction and demonstrated successful achievement of surgical goals. MIOCT and HHOCT images obtained at surgical pauses in two cohorts of five patients were comparable with greater than or equal to 80% correlation in 80% of patients. Real-time video-imaging concurrent with surgical manipulations enabled, for the first time using this device, visualization of dynamic instrument-retina interaction with targeted OCT tracking.

CONCLUSION
MIOCT is successful for imaging at surgical pauses and for real-time image guidance with implementation of targeted OCT tracking. Even faster acquisition speeds are currently being developed with incorporation of a swept-source MIOCT engine. Further refinements and investigations will be directed toward continued integration for real-time volumetric imaging of surgical maneuvers.

TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE
Ongoing development of seamless MIOCT systems will likely transform surgical visualization, approaches, and decision-making.


Pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis of Chinese Datong coal was carried out at temperature from 350 to 650°C,under pressure of 2Mpa in a fix-bed reactor. The product distribution was determined, and gas evolution of coal pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis was also studied. The experimental results shows that coal conversion and water yield increase with temperature increasing during both pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis; tar yield increase during hydropyrolysis with temperature from 350 to 650°C, but the highest tar yield during pyrolysis is at temperature of 550°C. At high temperature area, CO、CH4 and C2+ has higher yield in hydropyroly than that in pyrolysis. The products distribution of pyrolysis and hydropyrolysis showed that the effect of H2 on coal thermal conversion only occurs at high temperature area.


Since the AIDS epidemic surfaced in 1980, some 75 million people have been infected with HIV and only one person has been cured, Timothy Ray Brown, aka the "Berlin patient." Now, a second infected person, who received a similar intervention to Brown, also appears to have cleared his infection. Both Brown and a man dubbed "the London patient" had blood cancers that required stem cell transplants. At the advice of their doctors, they received transplants from immunologically matched donors who also happened to have mutations in CCR5, a receptor on white blood cells that HIV uses to establish infections. The transplants may have also helped rid their bodies of HIV because they required "conditioning" regimens of toxic chemicals—and in the case of Brown, whole body irradiation, too—to kill off their tumor cells. What9s more, they both had graft-versus-host disease in which the donor immune cells attack the recipient9s tissues as foreign, which further could have killed residual HIV. As the London patient9s doctor explained at an AIDS conference in Seattle, Washington, this week and in a description of the case in Nature, the man (who wants to remain anonymous) has been off anti-HIV drugs for 18 months and has no detectable virus in his blood on the most sensitive assays. The researchers studying him are being cautious and saying he is in long-term remission, not cured—and indeed the virus has rebounded in others who looked cured but many months later had HIV resurface. The intensive intervention also will only make sense for HIV-infected people with blood cancers, a tiny fraction of the 37 million people living with the virus today. But there9s hope that if both men indeed are cured it will spur simpler interventions that genetically modify CCR5, some of which are being studied today.


. This article presents the scientific rationale for an ambitious ICDP drilling project to continuously sample Late Cretaceous to modern sediment in four different sedimentary basins that transect the equatorial Amazon of Brazil, from the Andean foreland to the Atlantic Ocean. The goals of this project are to document the evolution of plant biodiversity in the Amazon forests and to relate biotic diversification to changes in the physical environment, including climate, tectonism


Purpose: To review the literature regarding intraocular gas tamponade after vitrectomy for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Methods: The history and evolution of the use of gas is described. The theories explaining gas tamponade are discussed, and efficacy and safety studies in human and animal models are covered. Results: A total of 61 articles relating to gas tamponade were cited in this review. Conclusion: Gas tamponade is a frequently used procedure in vitreoretinal surgery. An understanding of its mechanism of action is crucial for its safe use when determining which gas is to be used and at what concentration.


Intravenous infusion of angiotensin II over the dose range 3-20 microgram/h for 15 min caused a dose-dependent reduction in parotid saliva secretion and increase in arterial blood pressure in conscious sheep. The blood levels of angiotensin II contrived by these infusions were probably within the physiological range for sheep. Infusion of angiotensin II (3 microgram/h) into the carotid artery ipsilateral to the parotid gland under study caused greater reduction in saliva secretion rate than an equivalent infusion of angiotensin II into the contralateral carotid artery. This result suggests a direct effect of angiotensin II at the parotid, possibly by a constrictor action on its vasculature or by altering water and electrolyte transport by the gland. In sodium-deplete sheep, intravenous infusion of the angiotensin antagonist saralasin (1 mg/h for 1 h) caused transient increase of saliva flow for 20-30 min. It is suggested that angiotensin II may have a physiological role in regulating parotid saliva secretion during sodium depletion.


As a result of public pressure and government legislation to reduce plastic waste there has been a sharp rise in the manufacture and use of alternatives to conventional plastics including compostable and biodegradable plastics. If these plastics are not collected separately, they can contaminate plastic recycling, organic waste streams, and the environment. To deal with this contamination requires effective identification and sorting of these different polymer types to ensure they are separated and composted at end of life. This review provides the comprehensive overview of the identification and sorting technologies that can be applied to sort compostable and biodegradable plastics including gravity-based sorting, flotation sorting, triboelectrostatic sorting, image-based sorting, spectral based sorting, hyperspectral imaging and tracer-based sorting. The advantages and limitations of each sorting approach are discussed within a circular economy framework.


Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) have attracted growing research interest as clean high-efficiency energy conversion devices, however the design and creation of high-performance anode catalysts for DAFCs is still extremely desirable. Herein, we report a wet-chemical method for making bimetallic aerogel networked Pt–Sn nanowires (NWs) with tunable compositions. All of the obtained networked Pt–Sn NWs exhibit better mass activities and specific activities in both the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) than commercial Pt/C due to their unique three-dimensional (3D) porosity with larger surface areas and the presence of structural defects, with the optimized networked Pt6Sn3 NWs displaying the best mass activities of up to 1.08 mA μgPt−1 for the EOR and 1.45 mA μgPt−1 for the MOR in acid media. The networked Pt6Sn3 NWs also exhibited enhanced stability toward both the EOR and MOR compared to Pt/C. The present work suggests that the networked NWs with high surface areas and rich defects are indeed a unique class of efficient electrocatalysts for alcohol electrooxidation.


Abstract. Vertical profiles of aerosols are inadequately observed and poorly
represented in climate models, contributing to the current large uncertainty
associated with aerosol–cloud interactions. The US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerosol and Cloud
Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) aircraft field campaign
near the Azores islands provided ample observations of vertical
distributions of aerosol and cloud properties. Here we utilize the in situ
aircraft measurements from the ACE-ENA and ground-based remote-sensing data
along with an aerosol-aware Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model to
characterize the aerosols due to long-range transport over a remote region
and to assess their possible influence on marine-boundary-layer (MBL)
clouds. The vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud properties measured via
aircraft during the ACE-ENA campaign provide detailed information revealing
the physical contact between transported aerosols and MBL clouds. The
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (ECMWF-CAMS) aerosol reanalysis data can reproduce the key features of aerosol
vertical profiles in the remote region. The cloud-resolving WRF sensitivity
experiments with distinctive aerosol profiles suggest that the transported
aerosols and MBL cloud interactions (ACIs) require not only aerosol plumes to get close to the marine-boundary-layer top but also large cloud top
height variations. Based on those criteria, the observations show that the
occurrence of ACIs involving the transport of aerosol over the eastern North
Atlantic (ENA) is about 62 % in summer. For the case with noticeable long-range-transport aerosol effects on MBL clouds, the susceptibilities of droplet
effective radius and liquid water content are − 0.11 and + 0.14,
respectively. When varying by a similar magnitude, aerosols originating
from the boundary layer exert larger microphysical influence on MBL clouds
than those entrained from the free troposphere.


Urban wetlands have been considered as an important tool in the life of most of the Indian cities. The wetlands are continuously depleting day by day due to rapid increase in urban population. The depletion of these wetlands are resulting in many problems in urban areas like flooding, water scarcity and water logging, there has been a conflicting attitude towards these wetlands during the recent decades. In this study, an attempt has been made to assess the quality of urban wetlands in Ranchi Municipal area. A total of 158 urban wetlands were identified, of which 65 samples were analysed. The physical, chemical and biological properties of the water of these urban wetlands were studies. It was found that only 28 samples were satisfying the normal standards made for drinking water.


Abstract Altered functional connectivity is related to severity of language impairment in poststroke aphasia. However, it is not clear whether this finding specifically reflects loss of functional coherence, or more generally, is related to decreased structural connectivity due to cortical necrosis. The aim of the current study was to investigate this issue by factoring out structural connectivity from functional connectivity measures and then relating the residual data to language performance poststroke. Ninety-seven participants with a history of stroke were assessed using language impairment measures (Auditory Verbal Comprehension and Spontaneous Speech scores from the Western Aphasia Battery–Revised) and MRI (structural, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting-state functional connectivity). We analyzed the association between functional connectivity and language and controlled for multiple potential neuroanatomical confounders, namely structural connectivity. We identified functional connections within the left hemisphere ventral stream where decreased functional connectivity, independent of structural connectivity, was associated with speech comprehension impairment. These connections exist in frontotemporal and temporoparietal regions. Our results suggest poor speech comprehension in aphasia is at least partially caused by loss of cortical synchrony in a left hemisphere ventral stream network and is not only reflective of localized necrosis or structural connectivity.


Following the first experimental results concerning the possibility to estimate the fatigue limit by semi-static tensile traction test, the authors are continuing the experimental thermo-analysis of the curve zone between the origin and the yield stress; that is rich of indication about the fatigue failure process. The tests carried out on the AISI 304 steel by thermal analysis, confirmed the good approximation between the values of the fatigue limit estimated by fatigue test and by the quasi-static test. The results shoed the importance of the thermo-analysis of the part of the stress-strain curve (distant from the yield point) where only in macroscopic terms the behavior is perfectly elastic.


Human lipoxygenases (LOXs) are the enzymes participating in the metabolism of the polyunsaturated fatty acids and catalyzing their oxidation to a variety of eicosanoids, which as the secondary signal transducers have a major impact on human homeostasis. They are involved in many diseases such as inflammatory responses, cancers, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic syndrome. This review summarizes recent developments concerning human 12S-LOX and rabbit 15-LOX projected upon available structural data of LOX and COX oxidoreductases, with conclusions that might apply to LOX family of enzymes in general. Namely: (i) Human lipoxygenases might act as oligomers consisting of active and apo monomers. (ii) Sequential homodimers might act as structural heterodimers with the dimeric interface formed by the interactions resembling the leucine zipper in the coiled-coil superstructure. (iii) Two commonly recognized domains are not sufficient to explain LOX flexibility. Molecular architecture should contain assignment of another regulatory domain of alpha-beta character, possibly important in molecular signaling, which might provide another avenue for targeted drug development. (iv) Allosteric mechanism might involve orchestrated conformational changes and flexibility of the coils connecting the structured elements and ligands binding in more than one monomer.


Solid heavy paste, a byproduct of crude palm oil processing, is found in an excessive amount in Central Kalimantan. It is estimated that 400 tons of this material were produced per day by crude palm oil (CPO) factories in this region. This material contains 12.63-17.41% crude protein, 9.98-25.79% crude fiber, 7.12-15.15% crude fat, 3217-3454 kcal/kg (gross energy) and 1.5% CPO. Considering its composition, this material can be used as an ingridient in broiler's diet. This study was conducted on broiler chickens of Hubbard strain in Kapuas district. The objectives of the experiment were to study the cholesterol, fatty acid and vitamin A retained in meat and liver of broilers as a result of feeding ration containing solid heavy paste. This experiment was arranged in a completely randomized design. The treatments were levels of solid in the diet, i.e., 0.0, 12.5, 25 and 37.5%. Four hundred broilers were divided into 4 treatmen groups with 5 replications, consisted of 20 chickens in each replication. Data was analyzed based on statistical and descriptive analyses. The results of this experiment indicated that 25% solid in the diet decreased the total fat and cholesterol in the meat and liver, but increased polyunsaturated fatty acid contained in meat. The highest contain of vitamin A in meat and liver was found in the group that received diet containing 12.5% solid. Key Words: Solid, Broiler Chickens, Cholesterol, Fatty Acid, Vitamin A


This chapter discusses the contribution of hymnology to nineteenth-century intellectual culture. It demonstrates how clergy and musicians engaged in scholarly writing and debate concerning the history, context, practice, and spirituality of congregational song. Using a diverse range of sources, including journal articles, lectures, sermons, and hymnals, it argues that hymnology was recognised as an important area of scholarship that drew on a range of musical and religious perspectives. Interest in it extended across denominational and national boundaries, and was characterized by professional and amateur participation. The key to understanding hymnology's centrality in intellectual culture lies in the pervasiveness of church music in nineteenth-century cultural practice and experience.


This study develops an alternative methodology for the risk analysis of information systems security (ISS), an evidential reasoning approach under the Dempster-Shafer theory of belief functions. The approach has the following important dimensions. First, the evidential reasoning approach provides a rigorous, structured manner to incorporate relevant ISS risk factors, related countermeasures, and their interrelationships when estimating ISS risk. Second, the methodology employs the belief function definition of risk--that is, ISS risk is the plausibility of ISS failures. The proposed approach has other appealing features, such as facilitating cost- benefit analyses to help promote efficient ISS risk management. The paper elaborates the theoretical concepts and provides operational guidance for implementing the method. The method is illustrated using a hypothetical example from the perspective of management and a real-world example from the perspective of external assurance providers. Sensitivity analyses are performed to evaluate the impact of important parameters on the model's results.


This study aimed to evaluate technical efficiency of US intensive care units and determine the effects of environmental factors on technical efficiency in providing quality of nursing care. Data were obtained from the 2014 National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Data envelopment analysis was used to estimate technical efficiency for each intensive care unit. Multilevel modeling was used to determine the effects of environmental factors on technical efficiency. Overall, Medicare Advantage penetration and hospital competition in a market did not create pressure for intensive care units to become more efficient by reducing their inputs. However, these 2 environmental factors showed positive influences on technical efficiency in intensive care units with certain levels of technical efficiency. The implications of the study results for management strategies and health policy may vary according to the levels of technical efficiency in intensive care units. Further studies are needed to examine why and how intensive care units with particular levels of technical efficiency are differently affected by certain environmental factors.


A series of alloys were designed and prepared using vacuum melting furnace. The as-cast microstructure and phase compositions of these alloys were characterized by optical microscope, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The hardness and mechanical properties of alloys at room temperature were measured as well. The results show that the addition of RE leads to the formation of intermetallic Al3La distributed within grain boundaries. The intermetallic compound with oriented structure impedes grain growth, and refines the grain. The strength and the hardness of the alloys increase with the increase of the RE content in the range of 0.2-0.8 wt %.


Software subsystems can often be designed and implemented in a clear, succinct, and aesthetically pleasing way using specialized linguistic formalisms. In cases where such a formalism is incompatible with the principal language of implementation, we have devised specialized lightweight languages. Such cases include the use of repeated program code or data, the specification of complex constants, the support of a complicated development process, the implementation of systems not directly supported by the development environment, multiparadigm programming, the encapsulation of system level design, and other complex programming situations. We describe applications and subsystems that were implemented using this approach in the areas of user interface specification, software development process support, text processing, and language implementation. Finally, we analyze a number of implementation techniques for lightweight languages based on the merciless exploitation of existing language processors and tools, and the careful choice of their syntax and semantics.


Most longitudinal surveys recontact households only if they are still living in the same dwelling, producing very high attrition rates, especially in developing countries where rural–urban migration is prevalent. In this paper, we discuss the implications of the various follow-up rules used in longitudinal surveys in the light of an original tracking survey from Madagascar. This survey attempted in 2005 to search and interview all individuals who were living in the village of Bepako in 1995, the baseline year of a yearly survey, the Rural Observatories. The tracking survey yielded an individual recontact rate of 78.8 percent, more than halving attrition compared to a standard dwelling-based follow-up rule. The tracking reveals a very high rate of out-migration (38.8 percent) and household break-ups, as three-quarters of recontacted households had divided between 1995 and 2005. The average income growth of the sample over the period increases by 28 percentage points when follow-up is extended to those who moved out of their household or village, suggesting that dwelling-based panels give a partial view of the welfare dynamics of the baseline sample. A higher baseline income per capita is associated with a higher probability of staying in Bepako and of being found in the tracking if one moved out. The hardest people to find are the poorest and most isolated. Special attention should be paid to collecting data that enable the identification and follow-up of individuals, without which attrition is likely to remain a source of bias even after a tracking procedure is carried out.


Summary.  Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has been considered to be a rare surgical complication in Japan. Aim: To investigate the incidence and risk factors of VTE in Japanese patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Methods: A prospective, multi‐center epidemiological study was conducted from December, 2001 to August 2002 in 39 medical institutes throughout Japan. A total of 173 patients with general (n = 128), gynecologic (n = 23), and urologic (n = 22) surgery were analyzed. For the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), bilateral venography was performed in all patients. Lung ventilation/perfusion scintigraphy was carried out in patients suspected of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE). Results: There were 36 patients with distal DVT (20.8%) and five patients with proximal DVT (2.9%). One patient was diagnosed as PTE. Overall, VTE was diagnosed in 42 patients (24.3%). By univariate analysis, only age (60 years or older) was identified as a significant risk factor in the whole study population. When analyzed by the stepwise multiple logistic regression model, female gender, operation site, age, and operation time were four risk factors found to be significant. The incidence of VTE was closely related to the number of risk factors that patients had. As many as 44% of patients with three or four risk factors developed VTE while those with one or two risk factors showed about a 17% incidence of VTE. Four patients lacking any risk factors did not develop VTE. Conclusions: Venous thromboembolism is common in Japanese patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis is considered essential, particularly in those patients with multiple, potential risk factors.


In this paper, a flexible middleware system for omni-directional video transmission for various teleconferencing applications is introduced. The omni-directional image has more advantages in that it provides a wider view than a single directional camera and able to flexible realize TV conferencing even between remotely separated small rooms. In this paper, we describe system architecture and functions of the middleware for high-definition omni-directional image control and effective video transmission system using DV and HDV (1080i format). The MidField system which we have developed so far is used for video stream transmission over IPv4/IPv6 networks. The prototype system of a TV conference is constructed to evaluate our suggested high-definition omni-directional middleware. Through the functional and performance evaluation of the prototyped system, we could verify the usefulness of our proposed system


This paper proposes a method to recognize human motion using DP matching based on position and force information. In this method, the position and force information is acquired by bilateral control system. Two kinds of motion information are recorded beforehand. These are called a reference pattern and an input pattern. The reference pattern is data of simple human motion, and the input pattern is data of a sequence of human motion. The input pattern is compared with the reference pattern. Then, it is recognized when the motion of the reference pattern is performed. DP matching is utilized in order to cope with nonlinear expansion and contraction of time. The validity of the proposed method is verified by experiments.


Kinematic, kinematic vorticity (Wm), and deformation temperature analyses were completed to test the hypothesis that midcrustal rocks exposed in the core of the Kangmar gneiss dome, southern Tibet record ductile deformation patterns of a "frozen" segment of a southward flowing midcrustal channel. Microscopic and mesoscopic kinematic indicators exhibit a downward transition from a subequal mix of top‐north and top‐south shear in garnet zone rocks to dominantly top‐north shear in staurolite/kyanite zone and deeper rocks. Kinematic vorticity values indicate an increase in pure shear component with depth from ∼48% pure shear in chloritoid zone rocks through ∼62% in garnet zone to staurolite/kyanite zone rocks to ∼68% pure shear in an orthogneiss, the deepest exposed rocks. Deformation temperatures inferred from grain‐scale microstructures and quartz lattice preferred orientations increase from ∼300°C–400°C in chloritoid zone rocks to ≥600°C in the deepest exposed rocks. These temperatures are equivalent to temperatures derived from garnet‐biotite thermobarometry, indicating that Wm was recorded during peak metamorphism. This ductile deformation zone was cut by the brittle southern Tibetan detachment system (STDS) that juxtaposed metasedimentary rocks upon the orthogneiss. On the basis of these relations, midcrustal rocks in the core of Kangmar Dome record: (1) general shear (vertical thinning and N–S horizontal extension) with a component of top‐north shear during peak metamorphism within a ductile shear zone corresponding to the northern and deeper portion of the STDS, (2) an increase in pure shear with structural depth, a consequence of an increase in lithostatic load, and (3) displacement of the high‐temperature shear zone by the brittle STDS. Our data are compatible with the deformation patterns predicted for the top part of a southward flowing midcrustal channel.


Abstract Tissue engineered biomaterials have biodegradable and biocompatible properties. In this study, we have fabricated sponges using duck's feet derived collagen (DC) and gellan gum (GG), and further studied its inflammatory responses. The as-prepared duck's feet DC/GG sponges showed the possibility of application as a tissue engineering material through in vitro and in vivo experiments. The physical and chemical properties of sponges were characterized by compression strength, porosity, and scanning electron microscopy, etc. In vitro cell viability were investigated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. An inflammatory response was studied after seeding RAW264.7 cells on as-fabricated sponges using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. In vivo studies were carried out by implanting in subcutaneous nude mouse followed by extraction, histological staining. Collectively, superior results were showed by DC/GG sponges than GG sponge in terms of physical property and cell proliferation and thus can be considered as a potential candidate for future tissue engineering applications.


A simple and cost effective technique of video gait analysis applicable within rehabilitation clinics and clinical gait laboratories has been developed. The purpose of this study was to determine intra- and inter- rater reliability of kinematic and temporo-spatial gait parameters measured using the commercially available ProTrainer system (Sports Motion Inc®, Cardiff, CA) software, a printed vinyl walk mat and a video camera. Twelve healthy adults, four stroke patients and three raters participated in the study. The experimental setup comprised the walk mat, paper 'bulls-eye' markers, four photoswitches mounted on tripods, a light indicator, video camera, and a computer with the software. Participants performed three gait trials each up and down the walk mat. Three raters evaluated the results using the ProTrainer system (Sports Motion Inc®, Cardiff, CA) software. Values were extracted for kinematic and temporo- spatial gait measurements. Data were analysed using Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for intra-rater reliability to calculate ICC values with 95% Confidence Intervals. Cronbach's coefficient alpha was used to quantify the intra-rater reliability. The ICC values for both intra and inter-rater reliability ranged between 0.731 and 1.000. The results suggest this gait measurement technique is simple, reliable, effective and easy to implement as a gait outcome measuring system.


An investigation of the transient behavior of a pressure tube reactor indicated a definite need for external control to handle even normal load perturbations. Three proportional controllers were developed which were effective in containing the transients of the system for changes in load. A comparison of the three controllers indicated little preference between them with regard to variations in reactor power, primary loop temperature or system pressure. The final selection of a controller was thus an economic consideration. The result of the parameter study of the pressurizer indicated that a pressurizer size of 30 cubic feet, 1/8 of the total volume of the primary coolant, was adequate for the containment of the pressure and volume surge transients.


Author(s): Sultana, Parvin; Jaeger, Michael M. | Abstract: The principal objective of this study was to determine when during the year the control of bandicoot rats would be most cost-effective under the agricultural conditions existing in Bangladesh. An annual cycle in the rise and fall of burrow density was found. This argues for a management strategy directed at reducing rat damage at a specific time period within the year as opposed to a strategy of continuous population reduction. A model predicting rat damage was developed based on monthly estimates of burrow densities in rice and wheat; and projected losses were compared among the four major cereal growing seasons (aman, boro, and aus rice, and wheat). The net benefit of control is predicted to be greatest during the aman rice season in both of the major agroecosystems occurring in Bangladesh.


Summary Being one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East, Assyrians have continued to live in various parts of Turkey for thousands of years. Today, the estimates related to the number of Assyrians living in Turkey vary between 4,000–25,000 while they cannot benefit from the rights put forward by the Lausanne Treaty among which schooling is the most important. Assyrian community can be said to be deteriorating in number. This decline in the number of Assyrians living in Turkey raises the question of whether they could maintain their ethnic identity while maintaining their language (Syriac). No studies so far have been carried out to find out the linguistic practices of Assyrian community living in Turkey, as well as their attitudes toward the languages they use. This study aims at shedding light on the present situation of Syriac used among the Assyrian community living in Turkey. The participants are limited to those living in Istanbul due to practical reasons. In this study, language attitudes and language use practices of Assyrian community living in Istanbul are found out through a language attitudes questionnaire. It is hoped that the results of the study will provide the current situation of the Syriac language in terms of its ethnolinguistic vitality as spoken among the community. It is also hoped that the results of the study will provide useful data for those who would like to help protect the ethnolinguistic identities of Assyrian minority in Turkey, as well as all those dispersed around the world, which seems to have become increasingly important for such a country at the gates of the European Union as Turkey.


Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not easy to define. To many medical students, it is probably seen as one of those rare, small print syndromes, which are quite unlikely to come up in exams. Some would associate it with the typical butterfly rash and may know that it involves the joints. Anyone who knows more than that as an undergraduate is either extremely keen, or, like me, personally affected.

It all started with the itching. It seemed to be all over and it just got worse. I had just got back from South Africa and it was not long before I had literally scratched off my tan. I would just lie in a cold bath until I went numb. But I left it a few days before I went to my GP. I thought that it would just get better.

When I finally sat myself before the GP I was in a state. I had got hold of some antihistamines which took the edge off the itching, but they made me drowsy. …


Abstract Today, in the digital age, the Internet usage is common among university students. The Internet is also an important platform for actively participating in democracy. This study explores physical education (PE) candidate teachers' attitudes toward the Internet and democracy. It also explores whether the Internet is an important predictor for democracy. In adopting the survey design, a total of 455 PE teacher candidates participated in the study. The study used the "Attitude Scale towards Internet Use" and the "Attitude Scale of Democracy" as data collection tools. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation (Pearson) techniques, and multiple regressions analyses. It was found that PE teacher candidates have positive attitudes towards the Internet and democracy. There was a significant positive correlation (p < .05) found between the Internet and democracy. The study also found that the Internet is an important predictor of negative views of democracy.


The Uganda language-in-education policy is silent about pre-primary schooling. This level of education is largely in the hands of private individuals who, because of wide-spread misconceptions about learning and acquiring English in Uganda (as in many other African countries), instruct pre-primary school learners in English. This article demonstrates how this omission in language-in-education policy is creating competition between rural government and private schools regarding the teaching of English and the development of initial literacy. The absence of an official language policy for pre-primary schooling has also dichotomised the implementation of mother tongue education in rural areas. The policy allows rural primary schools to use mother tongue as language of learning and teaching in the first three school grades. However, whereas private schools instruct through English only, government schools to a large extent adhere to the policy, albeit with undesirable consequences. The practical implications of lack of a language-in-education policy for and minimal government involvement in pre-primary schooling are discussed in this article.


A new technique is described which enables a selective tinctorial visualization of human blood basophils in autoradiographic preparations. Consecutive administration of 5-aminoacridine hydrochloride and aldehyde fuchsin rendered a sufficient preservation of basophils preventing leaching of their water soluble granules. Extensive control tests provided sufficient evidence to exclude chemographic artifacts produced by other histochemical procedures. The technique eliminates the obstacles to study the kinetics of human blood basophils and their relationship to atopic hypersensitivity reactions applying tritiated thymidine and radioiodine labeled IgE or corresponding antisera. (orig.)


The rhizobia are Gram-negative bacteria able to establish endosymbiotic relations with legumes. These bacteria form structures at the roots, called nodules in which the bacteria fix the atmospheric nitrogen and transform it into ammonium in exchange to plant photosynthates. The interaction between rhizobia and plant is specific, and one of the elements that mediate this specificity are proteins that the bacteria can translocate inside the vegetal cell. For extracellular protein translocation the bacteria have different systems of secretion. One of these systems is the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS). This study describes the regulation and function of the T6SS genes of Rhizobium etli Mim1 (ReMim1), an endosymbiont of common beans. The expression is modulated by two divergent promoters named PTssA and PHcp in according to its orientation to genes, that are induced differentially in different conditions. Both promoters are induced in free-living conditions and in symbiosis with beans. Activation is greater in rich media and at neutral pH and at exponential growth phase at OD600> 0.25. These promoters could be regulated by quorum sensing since their activity is reduced to one third in a Rhizobium strain with mutated quorum sensing regulatory genes. We have studied the function of six genes (re84-89) that are part of the T6SS gene cluster and are not conserved in other bacteria and that would not have a structural role and could participate in the interaction with other bacteria or in the symbiosis. A bioinformatic analysis suggested that protein Re86 could code for an antitoxin and Re87 for methyltransferase of unknown function. A deletion mutant for re84-89 was performed and no interbacterial competition was observed when the mutant was co-incubated with the wild-type strain. Finally, a different pattern appeared in the immunodetection of phosphorylated MAPKs when bean roots were exposed to a culture supernatant of ReMim1 in contrast to the one of a mutant defective in the formation of a T6SS, suggesting that the plant could recognize any T6SS structural elements or secreted effectors inducing a primary immune response.


BACKGROUND
In April 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus was detected in the US, and at the time of conducting this study, H1N1 infection had reached pandemic proportions. In Korea, rapid antigen tests and PCR assays have been developed to detect the H1N1 virus. We evaluated the efficacies of rapid antigen test, multiplex PCR, and real-time PCR for detecting the H1N1 virus.

METHODS
From August to September 2009, we tested 734 samples obtained from nasopharyngeal swab or nasal swab using rapid antigen test (SD Influenza Antigen, Standard Diagnostics, Inc., Korea) and multiplex PCR (Seeplex FluA ACE Subtyping, Seegene, Korea). We also tested 224 samples using the AdvanSure real-time PCR (LG Life Sciences, Korea) to compare the results obtained using real-time PCR with those obtained using multiplex PCR. Furthermore, 99 samples were tested using the AdvanSure real-time PCR and the AccuPower real-time PCR (Bioneer, Korea).

RESULTS
In comparison with the results of multiplex PCR, the sensitivity and specificity of the rapid antigen test were 48.0% and 99.8%, respectively. The concordance rate for multiplex PCR and the AdvanSure real-time PCR was 99.6% (kappa=0.991, P=0.000), and that for the AdvanSure real-time PCR and the AccuPower real-time PCR was 97.0% (kappa=0.936, P=0.000).

CONCLUSIONS
The rapid antigen test is significantly less sensitive than PCR assay; therefore, it is not useful for H1N1 detection; however multiplex PCR, the AdvanSure real-time PCR, and the Accu-Power real-time PCR can be useful for H1N1 detection.


Tiaprofenic acid (TA) is a potent non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drug having a short half-life of 3 to 6 hours.Administration ofTAconventional doses might prevail serious side effects, in addition to patient inconvenience. The study aim at preparing TAsolid dispersions in the matrices of Eudragit RS 100 and RL 100 by coevaporation technique. The prepared solid dispersions were characterized for their physicochemical properties, the in vitro drug release as well as the analgesic activity using tail-flick method. The results obtained showed that dispersion of the drug in RS polymericmatrix resulted in a retarding action on the drug release, while the dispersion in RL polymer type slightly retarded drug release in higher polymeric weight ratios, due to the greater number of quaternary ammoniumfunctions on RL surfaces. The IR and PXRD studies proved the homogeneous dispersion of TA in the polymer matrices. Moreover, The maximum analgesic activity of TA-Eud RS100 (1:3) coprecipitate was between 6.5 and 7 hours extended to 11 hours, while themaximumanalgesic activity of untreated drugwas between 1.5 and 2 h.


Urbanisation has altered the natural landscape, removing features that previously acted to retain, transform and process nitrogen and phosphorus within catchments. In Melbourne the past legacy of traditional urban design aimed at efficient drainage of stormwater has resulted in higher stormwater volumes with high pollutant concentrations. Excessive concentrations of such nutrients in urban runoff can have an adverse impact on the ecological health of receiving waters. The aims of this study are to identify the catchment characteristics and mechanisms that influence nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in dry and wet weather, and to recommend the most appropriate treatment technologies to remediate the situation. The study used existing data sourced from previous researchers on a number of Melbourne catchments. Standard statistical methods were used to gain insights into concentrations, compositions and relationships between catchment characteristics and nutrient concentrations. Catchment land use is found to have an impact on dry weather average nitrogen concentrations with residential concentrations (e. g. mean TN=3.2 mg/L, mean NOx=1.868 mg/L) significantly higher than in industrial catchments (mean TN=1.06 mg/L, mean NOx=0.296 mg/L). However, this disparity between land uses could not be evaluated for wet weather due to the lack of data. In dry weather, the catchment characteristics of catchment (human) population and area both positively influence most nutrients, since they are measures of nutrient loading. Some nitrogen species are affected by the hydraulic conductivity of the catchment's underlying soils, suggesting nitrogen leaching and subsurface flow pathways may be critical in supplying nitrogen oxides and other dissolved nutrient species during dry weather. Older catchments, compared among the urban catchments studied, discharge higher levels of phosphorus and dissolved nitrogen, most likely as a result of degraded and leaking wastewater infrastructure, whereas steeper catchments deliver higher concentrations of ammonia, suggesting retention times may limit the transformation of organic nitrogen and ammonia to nitrate and nitrite. Nitrogen loading is not only generated from current anthropogenic activities but appears to be complicated by past legacies of land use, where significant long-term leaching of oxidised forms of nitrogen occurred. Unfortunately, inadequate historical land use data were available to test this hypothesis. In wet weather, catchment population influences nitrogen and phosphorus species, especially the dissolved forms. Curiously, catchment area influences nitrogen oxides and dissolved nitrogen, with higher concentrations observed for larger catchments. The percentage of impervious surfaces influences dissolved nitrogen and total phosphorus. The hydraulic conductivity of soil and bedrock influences dissolved nitrogen, with more permeable soils producing higher concentrations, whereas surprisingly, the catchment slope negatively influences total nitrogen concentrations. A plausible reason is that slope affects water retention time. A steeper slope provides a quicker runoff of rainwater containing less total nitrogen, whereas a flatter slope, with longer retention time, provides more baseflow seepage from soils. A factor possibly explaining the higher nitrogen oxide concentrations seen in dry weather is that in the process of urbanization, when stormwater drainage networks are built, (especially for buildings and roads), the ground is effectively disturbed and drained. This results in the water table usually being lowered, hence producing a thicker aerobic soil zone that promotes the nitrification process. In wet weather, in contrast, nitrogen oxide concentrations are much lower. In wet weather, particulate nitrogen sourced from soil surface runoff and impervious surfaces is a significant component of stormwater. The average proportion of nitrogen oxides to total nitrogen found in Melbourne catchments in stormwater (in surface runoff) is similar to the national average for stormwater of urban catchments in the USA, probably due to similarities in urban development. Based on knowledge of nutrient concentrations and their composition, appropriate treatment technologies can be planned for their removal. The processes targeting removal of particulates and soluble nutrients involve physical and biological processes. It is recommended to apply methods to settle, detain, reduce and assimilate nutrients focussing on particulate removal in stormwater, and dissolved nitrogen, especially nitrogen oxides, in dry weather flows. The main processes for the removal of dissolved nutrients are anaerobic processes and biotic assimilation. The sources of nitrogen, both natural and anthropogenic, are varied and dispersed throughout the urban catchment. They include both surface sources (e.g. sediment and organic matter) and sub-surface sources (e.g. nitrogen inputs from previous land uses, and leaks from wastewater infrastructure). It is clear that the management of nutrients remains a critical challenge for stormwater managers. In order to address the problem, appropriate treatment technologies should focus particularly on the removal of particulate nitrogen during wet weather flows, given that it comprises 35% of total nitrogen in stormwater under these conditions. During dry weather, the focus should be on the treatment of nitrogen oxides, which make up 64% of total nitrogen in inter-event flows. Ideally, to treat wet weather flows from catchments (where space allows), it is recommended to construct wetlands which are capable of removing sediments, particulate organic matter, and dissolved nutrients. To treat dry weather flows from catchments, it is recommended to build in-line clastic filters or "filter barriers", which are capable of removing dissolved nutrients. These could be built with a range of substrates combined with woodchips, (incorporating reducing cells), and planted with an assortment of sedges and macrophytes. Thus there are methods for treating urban drainages throughout the year.


Between 1820 and 1940, more than 200,000 German-speaking Europeans emigrated to Brazil. One of the most famous German settlements to this day is Blumenau in the state of Santa Catarina. This thesis examines how and why the Germanness of the German Brazilians in Blumenau has been changing since the city's foundation in 1850. Methodologically, this is undertaken by combining the findings of preexisting historical science research with the analysis of primary sources from the Blumenau region, specifically of newspaper articles and theatre plays. Three examined factors are ethnic Germanness, the usage of the German language as well as events and practices perceived to be German. These are deconstructed in the context of Jan Blommaert's enoughness theory. Blommaert sees authenticity in an increasingly diverse world as a mere judgment based on a sum of alleged characteristics that can change in the course of time. The results of this research show that the Germanness of Blumenau has been challenged rather by the increasing heterogeneity of inhabitants with German descent themselves than by non-Germans who moved to the city in exceeding rates. Internal quarrels about German culture, with new German arrivals and National Socialism being major arguments, in addition to the opposed Brazilianization campaign of President Getúlio Vargas during the 1930's and 1940's, have decisively led to the attrition of the German language. Today, the Blumenau Germanness is mostly seen as the cause of the economic success of the city which has always been a major part of the city's self-perception. The contemporary Oktoberfest as a playful homage to the German roots of Blumenau is just another indicator of this.


ABSTRACT Theoretical approaches to international intelligence relations primarily rely on the inadequate concept of cooperation. I offer an alternative analytical framework based on the concept of knowledge circulation. Knowledge circulation highlights that intelligence agencies are not highly bounded, national actors, butconstituted by transnationally circulated knowledge. Knowledge circulation draws attention to an autonomous realm of transnational intelligence relations, and thus offers insights for scholars, policy makers and practitioners. The article references understudied examples of intelligence relations and closes with an example of how the story of US-WestGerman intelligence relations could be retold via a knowledge circulation framework.


This document describes a Network Service Header (NSH) imposed on
packets or frames to realize Service Function Paths (SFPs). The NSH
also provides a mechanism for metadata exchange along the instantiated
service paths. The NSH is the Service Function Chaining (SFC)
encapsulation required to support the SFC architecture (defined in RFC
7665).


The invention provides isolated nucleic acid molecules which encode novel fatty acid desaturases and elongases from the organism Emiliana huxleyi. The invention also provides recombinant expression vectors containing desaturase or elongase nucleic acid molecules, host cells into which the expression vectors have been introduced, and methods for large-scale production of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), e.g. arachidonic acid (ARA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).


Spitzer IRAC observations and stellar photometric catalogs are presented for the Massive Young Star-Forming Complex Study in the Infrared and X-ray (MYStIX). MYStIX is a multiwavelength census of young stellar members of 20 nearby (d < 4 kpc), Galactic, star-forming regions that contain at least one O star. All regions have data available from the Spitzer Space Telescope consisting of GLIMPSE or other published catalogs for 11 regions and results of our own photometric analysis of archival data for the remaining 9 regions. This paper seeks to construct deep and reliable catalogs of sources from the Spitzer images. Mid-infrared study of these regions faces challenges of crowding and high nebulosity. Our new catalogs typically contain fainter sources than existing Spitzer studies, which improves the match rate to Chandra X-ray sources that are likely to be young stars, but increases the possibility of spurious point-source detections, especially peaks in the nebulosity. IRAC color–color diagrams help distinguish spurious detections of nebular polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission from the infrared excess associated with dusty disks around young stars. The distributions of sources on the mid-infrared color–magnitude and color–color diagrams reflect differences between MYStIX regions, including astrophysical effects such as stellar ages and disk evolution.


Previous studies state that improper landfill or waste management is one of the main causes of nitrite, nitrate, and heavy metal contamination in groundwater. In Bekasi, Indonesia, 70% of the population depends on groundwater for daily use, including the residents of Sumur Batu. The village of Sumur Batu is located adjacent to two landfills, namely, the Bantar Gebang landfill, which is the largest landfill in Indonesia, and the Sumur Batu landfill. This research analyzed the health risk of drinking groundwater that may have been contaminated by nitrite, nitrate, and heavy metals. Data processing was performed separately for different age groups: infants, children, and adults. The results showed that there is a risk of NO2 exposure in all age groups when groundwater is used as a source of drinking water in Sumur Batu. Because the region is directly bordered by a landfill area and the community is highly dependent on groundwater, as long as access to water services is not guaranteed, the quality of groundwater in this area needs to be monitored.


Work-related stress (including burnout and occupational stress) are an increasing
threat to people's wellbeing at work. Despite their common occurrence among
staff in healthcare settings, little effort has been put into researching unregistered
care staff. This is a group of healthcare employees who are exposed to
significant stressors while executing frontline care tasks in health and social care
settings, and who are not registered with a governing body. The first chapter
explores the effectiveness of different interventions aimed at easing work-related
stress in care staff. This chapter reviewed thirteen published studies and
identified the emotional exhaustion component of burnout, involving tension,
irritability and fatigue, as the most significant factor. Research is varied and often
not based on evidence-based factors, such as organisational factors, known to
contribute towards work-related stress. The significant design and
methodological limitations of the studies reviewed limit the conclusions that can
be drawn regarding the effectiveness of such interventions. In response to this,
the second paper explores the influence of individual factors on burnout in a
sample of care staff for looked after children, a currently under researched
population who work with vulnerable and traumatised children. This study used
multiple regression to analyse a range of predictors of burnout: attachment
styles, beliefs, secondary trauma, previous traumatic events and time worked
with looked after children. Results indicated that secondary trauma, and
secondary trauma avoidance specifically, is a highly significant predictor for all
burnout dimensions. These findings were explored in relation to their clinical
implications, including their contribution towards the development of interventions
for those working with looked after children. The final chapter provides a first
person reflective commentary on the process and completion of this project, and
further considers the findings of the literature review and the empirical paper.


Federal mandates requiring that publicly funded research be made openly accessible recast scholarly information as public information and provide an impetus to join the efforts of scholarly communication and government information programs in United States research libraries. Most major research libraries are long-standing participants in the Federal Library Depository Program and offer scholarly communication services. But there is little acknowledgment in the professional literature of the overlapping goals and complementary histories of government information and scholarly communication efforts. This article explores this gap in the literature, in light of the shared emphasis between scholarly communication and government information on providing access not only to campus users but also to the larger public.


We present a continual learning approach for generative adversarial networks (GANs), by designing and leveraging parameter-efficient feature map transformations. Our approach is based on learning a set of global and task-specific parameters. The global parameters are fixed across tasks whereas the task-specific parameters act as local adapters for each task, and help in efficiently obtaining task-specific feature maps. Moreover, we propose an element-wise addition of residual bias in the transformed feature space, which further helps stabilize GAN training in such settings. Our approach also leverages task similarity information based on the Fisher information matrix. Leveraging this knowledge from previous tasks significantly improves the model performance. In addition, the similarity measure also helps reduce the parameter growth in continual adaptation and helps to learn a compact model. In contrast to the recent approaches for continually-learned GANs, the proposed approach provides a memory-efficient way to perform effective continual data generation. Through extensive experiments on challenging and diverse datasets, we show that the feature-map-transformation approach outperforms state-of-the-art methods for continually-learned GANs, with substantially fewer parameters. The proposed method generates high-quality samples that can also improve the generative-replay-based continual learning for discriminative tasks.