The effect of Ti-oxide on the sintering behaviour of iron ore has been studied by doping pure TiO2 to a sinter blend in laboratory tests. The results showed a considerable effect of TiO2 on sinter strength, where the tumble index increased with increasing TiO2% (up to 2.0%). However, doping more than 2.0% TiO2 to the sinter blend decreased its strength. The melting point of the sinter was also affected by increasing the TiO2 content, indicating a possible change in the coke consumption during industrial-scale sintering of Tibearing ores. Optical and electron microscopy studies of sinter structures confirmed a general improvement in the overall pore structure and sinter melt by increasing TiO2 content of the sinter blend up to 2.0%. An important feature of the sinter structure was the observation of perovskite phase formation and an increase in the volume fraction of this phase obtained by increasing TiO2. The formation of this perovskite phase was considered as an important reason for the reduction of the sinter melting point. Also, doping TiO2 to the sinter mix resulted in stabilizing and increasing the volume fraction of the larnite phase in the sinter structure.


IntroductionIntegration of health and social care services is a potential solution to improving care despite budgetary constraints and increased demand for services. Little is known about how having two-or-more long-term conditions (multimorbidity) and socioeconomic status affect social care use, or how all these factors affect unscheduled health care use.
Objectives and ApproachThe project aims to describe the demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic differences in the receipt of social care for over 65s in Scotland and how multimorbidity status influences amounts of social care received. Additional analyses will consider the influence receipt of social care has on use of unscheduled health care services and mortality.
Social Care Survey (SCS) data collected by the Scottish Government is linked to administrative health and mortality records. Linkage includes; prescribing information service and USC data which records episodes of A & E attendance, emergency admission to hospital, GP out-of-hours attendance, Scottish Ambulance Service use, and NHS24 contact
ResultsThe cohort includes 1.1million individuals over the age of 65 (54.8% Female), of which 274,011 (24.2%) people died during the study period.
The linkage rate of the SCS to records with a CHI number in the National Records of Scotland population spine was 90.5%, with one local authority removed for very low linkage rates and the remaining 31 with rates between 76.7% and 97.9%.
As of February 2018, all requested data has been transferred to the National Safe Haven and data cleaning and analysis has begun. Significant results are expected to have been produced by August 2018.
Conclusion/ImplicationsThis research will help understand if receipt of social care is equitably distributed among the population of Scotland after allowing for multimorbidity and socioeconomic status. Understanding the influence health status has on social care receipt and the influence social care has on unscheduled healthcare use has important implications for policy development.


In this study, we developed a robust inversion algorithm to estimate the Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) model. It is based on the Accelerated Microstructure Imaging via Convex Optimization (AMICO) framework. However, in contrast to AMICO, the proposed method relies on realistic MRI noise models. Moreover, it allows to take into account the underlying spatial continuity of the brain image by including a total variation regularization term. In simulated data the new method was effective in reducing the outliers, producing results more close to the ground-truth and with lower variability. The method was also evaluated on real data.


Stroke care in the US and in the world is fragmented and mostly unavailable in rural areas. The primary reason for poor stroke care is the lack of neurological expertise in rural hospitals. While existing point-to-point telemedicine systems work in some cases, there is an overwhelming need to remove the geographic penalty associated with acute stroke care and make it readily available in rural, suburban and urban hospitals. REACHMDConsult, Inc. has leveraged ubiquitous tools and communications infrastructure to allow 100% web based remote diagnosis and evaluation of acute ischemic stroke and other acute medical conditions. This service is called R emote E valuation of A cute is CH emic stroke (REACH).

Existing telemedicine and telestroke systems primarily focus on a camera to allow remote neurologists to examine and diagnose stroke patients. REACH is typically deployed in a hub and spoke network of hospital and provides integrated 2-way audio video capabilities as well, but also allows neurologists to use database powered decision support algorithms and tools to complete a web based stroke consultation. Neurologists use an intuitive, AJAX powered web user interface to fill out standardized NIH Stroke Scale scores, follow-up items, contraindications and consult comments. The consultation is documented in a real-time, database powered consult report in which can be printed, saved or accessed at any time.


The present paper investigates the dynamic characteristics and stability of moving functionally graded material rectangular thin plate. Based on Voigt model, the material properties are assumed to vary continuously through their thickness according to a power-law distribution of the volume fractions of the plate constituents. By the first order shear deformation theory, the differential equations of motion of the moving FGM rectangular plate are derived. The vibration frequencies are obtained from the solution of a generalized eigenvalue problem. Entire computational work is carried out in a normalized square domain obtained through an appropriate domain mapping technique. Results of the reduced problem revealed excellent agreement with other studies. The dimensionless complex frequencies of the moving FGM rectangular plate with four edges simply supported are calculated by the differential quadrature method. The effects of gradient index, aspect ratio, and dimensionless moving speed on the transverse vibration and stability of the moving FGM rectangular plate are analyzed. Results are furnished in dimensionless amplitude–frequency vs. dimensionless moving speed in the form of curves and pictorial representations of some vibration mode shapes are made.


The development of molecular technologies applied to environmental studies has shown that even in highly industrialized countries there is a high prevalence of viruses in the environment that represents an important impact on public health and substantial economic losses mainly related to the transmission of viruses through water and food. Significant concentrations of viruses are detected in the water flowed to the environment and in the biosolids generated in wastewater treatment plants. This work describes the general characteristics of the environmental contamination by viruses principally by emergent viruses, with a special emphasis on the hepatitis E virus (HEV) and the human polyomaviruses as the environmental contaminants more recently identified in industrialized countries. It has been shown that there is a high prevalence of the human polyomaviruses BKV and JCV in urban sewage in all studied countries, implying a potential transmission of these viruses and their potential oncogenic genes through the oral route. Recent studies have shown that the epidemiological pattern of the HEV infection in industrialized countries is complex and that a diversity of HEV strains simultaneously infects the population. The control of the viral contamination requires the standardization of molecular techniques and the development of a surveillance program for the evaluation of the viral parameters and to reduce the dissemination of already established diseases and emergent viral infections.


Received on: 07.08.2018 Revised on: 21.12.2018 Accepted on: 24.12.2018 Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) as a psychophysiological disorder has been developed due to the hyperactivity of mastication muscles. Stress has probably induced parafunction such as bruxism and clenching. The term generally applied for muscle pain and occurred with palpation is "myofascial pain." Diagnosing and explaining the pathology in terms of muscle pain is under research. Few treatment methods have been attained including education, self-care, physical therapy, intraoral appliance therapy, short-term pharmacotherapy, behavioral therapy, and relaxation techniques such as Botox injections on the masseter and temporalis muscles. The purpose of the study is to define the efficacy of the botulinum toxin type A in the chronic masticatory muscle-spasm treatment of elevators muscles to relief the orofacial pain by Helkimo index criteria (a clinical dysfunction index type) usage. The current study has been conducted in a clinical examination with 18 patients including 17 females and one male in with age range of 17-48 with MPDS by using of Helkimo index criteria. The local injection of botulinum toxin type A has constituted an innovative and efficient treatment for chronic facial pain related to hyperactivity of the masticatory muscles. The painful symptoms might be improved in all samples with no reaction to conservative treatment methods and physical therapy. Also, Botox therapy has seemed beneficial in nocturnal bruxism treatment. Another study with more samples is recommended to confirm the outcome of this study.


Abnormalities of taste and smell were studied in 29 patients after head trauma. These abnormalities included decreased taste acuity (hypogeusia), a distortion of taste acuity (dysgeusia), decreased smell acuity (hyposmia), and a distortion of smell acuity (dysosmia). This syndrome can occur even after minimal head trauma and can begin months after the moment of injury. The patients exhibited a significant decrease in total serum zinc concentration (patients, 77 ± 3 μg/100 ml, mean ± 1 SEM, vs controls, 99 ± 2 μg/100 ml, P>0·001) and a significant increase in total serum copper concentrations (113 ± 4 μg/100 ml vs 100 ± 2 μg/100 ml, P<0·001) compared with control subjects. Symptoms of hypogeusia, dysgeusia, and dysosmia are frequent sequelae of head injury and are important to the patients and to their care after trauma.


This article argues that the structure of a choice set can influence the extent to which consumers weight a given attribute. The results of seven experiments suggest that the relationship between options under consideration can influence preference ordering by shifting the decision strategy people adopt when constructing their preference. In decisions in which people afford greater importance to one attribute versus another, preference for an option that scores high on this prominent attribute may decrease when decoy options that are clearly better or worse than the focal options are inserted into the choice set. The authors posit that this effect arises because decision makers initially (and spontaneously) use dominance cues rather than prominence when evaluating options, and they continue to use this strategy even when it does not enable them to differentiate the alternatives under consideration. The authors moderate this effect by prompting respondents to consider prominence and by manipulating the order in which respondents evaluate options in the choice set. This article has theoretical implications for research on context effects, contingent decision behavior, and choice architecture as well as practical implications for product-line management.


Steel pipes for hydraulic cylinders have to offer high strength levels and good toughness. A minimum value of 27 J at – 20 °C is typically requested. In this work, a comprehensive experimental activity based on both laboratory tests and industrial trials was performed in order to investigate the benefits related to the development of multi-phase microstructures in seamless pipes for hydraulic cylinders. The effect of these microstructures on strength and toughness were analyzed. Charpy V-notch (CVN) impact tests showed that toughness increases monotonically with the increase of the intercritical temperature, i.e. when the carbon content of the newly formed austenite is reduced. Industrial trials were performed on tubes applying a proper inter-critical quenching. The product after cold drawing and stress relieving achieved high yield strength values and showed an excellent toughness, even at – 40°C, in both the transverse and longitudinal directions.


Intimate details about the personal lives of medieval people are frustratingly rare. We seldom know what the men and women of the middle ages thought about marriage, let alone about sex. The records of the church courts of the province of York, mainly dating from the fourteenth century, provides a welcome light on private, family life and on individual reactions to it. They include a wide range of fascinating cases involving disputes about the validity of marriage, consent, sex, marital violence, impotence and property disputes. They also show how widely the laws of marriage were both known and accepted. Marriage Disputes in Medieval England offers a remarkable insight into personal life in the middle ages." Then Maud said, "God forbid that you should have the power to know me carnally unless you will marry me." Robert answered, "Behold my oath that if I take anyone to be my wife I will take you if you will yield to me." Maud answered, "Behold my oath that I will be at your disposal." And Robert took her in his arms and threw her to the ground in "Le Kowbos" and knew her carnally.'" --Maud Schipyn and Robert Smyth, October 17, 1355"


Semantic parsing maps natural language (NL) utterances into logical forms (LFs), which underpins many advanced NLP problems. Semantic parsers gain performance boosts with deep neural networks, but inherit vulnerabilities against adversarial examples. In this paper, we provide the first empirical study on the robustness of semantic parsers in the presence of adversarial attacks. Formally, adversaries of semantic parsing are considered to be the perturbed utterance-LF pairs, whose utterances have exactly the same meanings as the original ones. A scalable methodology is proposed to construct robustness test sets based on existing benchmark corpora. Our results answered five research questions in measuring the sate-of-the-art parsers' performance on robustness test sets, and evaluating the effect of data augmentation.


Purpose: Lynch syndrome is caused by a germline mutation in a mismatch repair gene, most commonly the MLH1 gene. However, one third of the identified alterations are missense variants with unclear clinical significance. The functionality of these variants can be tested in the laboratory, but the results cannot be used for clinical diagnosis. We therefore aimed to establish a laboratory test that can be applied clinically. Experimental Design: We assessed the expression, stability, and mismatch repair activity of 38 MLH1 missense variants and determined the pathogenicity status of recurrent variants using clinical data. Results: Four recurrent variants were classified as neutral (K618A, H718Y, E578G, V716M) and three as pathogenic (A681T, L622H, P654L). All seven variants were proficient in mismatch repair but showed defects in expression. Quantitative PCR, pulse-chase, and thermal stability experiments confirmed decreases in protein stability, which were stronger in the pathogenic variants. The minimal cellular MLH1 concentration for mismatch repair was determined, which corroborated that strongly destabilized variants can cause repair deficiency. Loss of MLH1 tumor immunostaining is consistently reported in carriers of the pathogenic variants, showing the impact of this protein instability on these tumors. Conclusions: Expression defects are frequent among MLH1 missense variants, but only severe defects cause Lynch syndrome. The data obtained here enabled us to establish a threshold for distinguishing tolerable (clinically neutral) from pathogenic expression defects. This threshold allows the translation of laboratory results for uncertain MLH1 variants into pathogenicity statements for diagnosis, thereby improving the targeting of cancer prevention measures in affected families. Clin Cancer Res; 19(9); 2432–41. ©2013 AACR.


This thesis studies the design of modern domestic urban kitchens in Uganda. The research took place in Kampala, which is the capital city of Uganda. The cultural make up of Kampala residents is diverse; people come from all over the country of Uganda, as well as beyond. The fieldwork involved investigating daily practices taking place in the domestic urban kitchens of the middle income group. This has been done in order to find out the problems found in using the kitchens so that better designs may be suggested. The thesis addresses mostly, professionals such as architects, who are involved with planning and designing housing, specifically kitchens within them. This work can as well be useful to another country with a similar context to Uganda. It is worth mentioning that kitchen studies started to take place in developed countries about one hundred years ago, yet, they have never been initiated in Uganda, until this moment. The thesis indicates that a kitchen is an important part in a home, which is a busy area, thus demanding a lot of attention in order to be able to get the needed design requirements. While the findings of the thesis are based on the contemporary urban life in Uganda, it is not known what the future will hold; so suggestions are made to benefit contemporary needs.Practices in the urban kitchen have been investigated within the conceptual framework of tradition, modernity, culture and identity in connection with the kitchen designs in place. The research has been motivated by contradictions appearing to take place between modern kitchen designs and the actual practices taking place in them. Generally, the evolution of the kitchen design in some of the developed nations followed the trend parallel to developments in lifestyles, industrialization or women's emancipation. Kitchen studies made in developing nations have investigated the particular contexts within those nations. So this thesis fills the knowledge gap which exists, as such studies are nonexistent within the Ugandan context.The study is qualitative by engaging the case study methodology. Here, the case is the interaction between the household, the kitchen design, the activities in the kitchen and the house type in place. Interviews have been conducted with household members in the studied cases, as well as with key informants. The main areas of study have been the way food is prepared, cooked and stored in an urban kitchen, and how these activities take place in a mixed situation of tradition and modernity. Seven cases in total have been investigated. The results indicate disharmony between the designs in place and the activities that take place in them. People have to negotiate and reinterpret spaces in their kitchens and around them in order to meet their needs.Some of the most important outcomes from this research is not to let modernity be disruptive but rather to allow the change from tradition be gradual. The thesis endeavors to blend the two phenomena of tradition and modernity so as to create a balance in design and end with better functioning kitchens. One example of such is shown for a one family house on a plot.


Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan syndrome can affect many systems, often causing abnormalities in the heart, blood vessels, eyes, bones, and joints. The two primary features of Marfan syndrome are vision problems caused by a dislocated lens (ectopia lentis) in one or both eyes and defects in the large blood vessel that distributes blood from the heart to the rest of the body (the aorta). The aorta can weaken and stretch, which may lead to a bulge in the blood vessel wall (an aneurysm). Stretching of the aorta may cause the aortic valve to leak, which can lead to a sudden tearing of the layers in the aorta wall (aortic dissection). Aortic aneurysm and dissection can be life threatening.


This paper studies power allocation in coordinated multi-point (CoMP) transmission of 3GPP LTE-Advanced system with remote radio units(RRUs) power constraints. We apply block diagonal (BD) precoding to downlink transmission, and assume perfect knowledge of downlink channels and transmit messages at each transmit point. We propose a modified water-filling power (MWF) allocation algorithm in order to maximize the downlink sum capacity, at the same time the low complexity is achieved. The interior-point method is also used to solve the optimization problem. Simulations show that interior-point method converges after only a few iterative steps and the system capacity is near-optimal. As for complexity and power efficiency, MWF achieves a good compromise.


In the realm of computer support for design, developers have focused primarily on power and expressiveness that are important in framing a design solution. They assume that design is a series of calculated steps that lead to a clearly specified goal. The problem with this focus is that the resulting tools hinder the very process that is critical in early phases of a design task; the reflection-in-action process [15]. In the early phases, what is required as the most important ingredient for a design tool is the ability to interact in ways that require as little commitment as possible. This aspect is most evident in domains where two dimensions play a role, such as sketching in architecture. Surprisingly, it is equally true in linear domains such as writing. In this paper, we present our approach of using two-dimensional positioning of objects as a means for reflection in the early phases of a design task. Taking writing as an example, the ART (Amplifying Representational Talkback) system uses two dimensional positioning to support the early stages of the writing task. An eye-tracking user study illustrates important issues in the domain of computer support for design.


Whether at work or in our spare time, we have all come across that person who appears cool, calm and collected in everything they do. We may even have envied them. What we need to remember is that confidence is not a personality trait; that person's behaviour and attitude is a sign that they believe in themselves and in their ability to succeed. In their first job as a qualified veterinary surgeon it's likely a new graduate will have varying levels of confidence. So, what can you do to ensure your new graduate gets the support they need to feel confident in practice?


Article history: Received: February 2015 Received in the revised form: April 2015 Accepted: April 2015 The aim of the study was to identify and assess the impact of four diges- tive masses obtained from different organic substrates on the content of heavy metals in soil. The study utilized soil derived from fertilizer and equipment. Timothy grass was used as a test plant. The effect of a fertilizer on the analyzed mass was compared with the objects of reference, which were: a control object (without fertilization), fertilized objects with the use of ammonium nitrate, fresh pig slurry and mineral fertilizer YaraMila. Experiment was conducted in quadruplicate, consist- ing of the total of 76 objects. Based on the survey, it was found that the use of digestive for fertilizing purposes is justified because of its impact on various soil parameters and is comparable to the impact of traditional fertilizers such as manure, ammonium nitrate and mineral compound fertilizers. The use of the digestive did not cause greater accumulation of heavy metals in the soil, than it is in case of the use of ammonium nitrate fertilizer or fresh manure, which further confirms that these products are safe and can be applied alternatively with traditional fertilizers.


Introduction: Treatment with fixed orthodontic appliances compromises the oral hygiene and increases the risk of plaque-related disorders and dental staining in addition to corrosion and corrosion byproduct: ions. The aim of this study was the assessment of the effects of air polishing on Iron ion (Fe) release from stainless steel selfligating brackets. Materials and methods: A total of 160 self-ligating stainless-steel brackets of 4 brands Damon® Q™ (Damon® Q™, Ormco, Orange, CA, USA), Discovery® SL 2.0 (Dentaraum, Ispringen, Germany), Leone® F1000 (SLB; F1000, Leone SpA, Sesto Florentino, Florentino, Italy) and Lotus Plus® (Lotus plus, Orthotechnology co., Brazil) were exposed to different time of air abrasion polishing (0, 5, 10, 20 seconds) and then immersed in artificial saliva with pH value 6.75 and was incubated at 37°C for 28 days. Fe ion release was assessed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer at 7 days, 14 days and 28 days and the accumulative effect were calculated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to assess the surface changes and microtopography after polishing for the randomly selected sample. Analysis of variance test (ANOVA) and Tukey's (HSD) test was used to identify the significant difference among the studied groups where the level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: The results revealed that all brands showed a significant increase in Fe ion release concomitant with an increase in the polishing time. Damon® Q™ show the least amount of Fe ion release. Conclusion: The air polishing procedure enhanced the amount of Fe ion release to a subtoxic level and could be used in adult patients using 5 sec recommended time of polishing with prolonged intervals between the visits.


In this article, we introduce the innovative nanotechnological approach of remote electric stimulation mediated by ultrasound-sensitive piezoelectric nanoparticles, especially focusing on its exploitation in the nanomedicine field for the "wireless" anticancer electric treatment. The nanoparticle functionalization with specific ligands allows the targeting, the imaging, and ultimately the treatment of cancer cells. Piezoelectric stimulation can be performed in remote modality with ultrasound waves by virtue of the direct piezoelectric effect. Chronic piezo-stimulation is able to remarkably decrease cancer cell growth by inducing the cell cycle arrest in G0/G1phase and by affecting the cytoskeleton organization during cell division. The reported results indicate an impressive potential impact of this nanotechnological approach that will be further tested in future works in synergic combination with chemotherapy treatments. Copyright © 2019 VBRI Press.


A single-line-defect low-loss photonic crystal waveguide based on a perforated GaAs membrane in an aluminium-free material system is demonstrated. The GaInP lattice is matched to GaAs as the cladding/sacrificial layer. Fabry-Perot resonances are analyzed to obtain the group velocity dispersion for a 1-mm long guide. The losses are deduced to be close to 5 dB/cm, taking into account the wavelength dependent reflectivity of the guide extremities. In this framework, side-coupled nanocavities are also investigated. Feasibility of low-loss photonic-crystal-based devices combined with a reliable industrial material systems is thus demonstrated.


Purpose: The aim of the study is to present the results of research on sources of funds in 2019 - 2020 for the development of tourism infrastructure, as well as existing problems with its construction and interest in park areas among tourists based on own survey research. The condition of tourist infrastructure, in addition to tourist values and attractions, most often determines the choice of a place to rest. Design/Methodology/Approach: The configuration and methodological requirements of the research process were based on own survey, available literature, observation and available data from national parks and forest inspectorates of Podlaskie voivodeship. Findings: The research will contribute to the formation of promotional strategies in individual parks, and increasing tourist traffic may influence the development of a given area and greater interest in the natural environment, and consequently the creation of new jobs for the local community. This is determined mainly by tourist infrastructure. The Directorate of the Wigierski National Park cares the most about the development of tourist infrastructure. In the Park tourist trails are created (walking, cycling, canoeing, skiing, educational trails), which aim to improve the physical and mental fitness, as well as the ecological and natural environment awareness of the visitors. The study shows that the development of tourist infrastructure depends solely on the potential of park management staff. Practical implications: Reliability and universality of research is becoming an absolute requirement at the present time and is a decisive argument for the effectiveness of analyses and evaluations. The research methodology presented in the study, due to its universality, can be used in any region, referring to the sources of obtaining funds for the development of tourism infrastructure in national parks in other voivodeships. Originality/Value: The given research methodology of the presented issues, is a comprehensive research based on pragmatic assumptions with the support of specialized literature and observations. It defines the scope and authenticity of the results in the presented topic.


Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were studied as biomarkers of canine movement. Root resorption was also evaluated in canines subjected to the orthodontic forces. Nineteen subjects randomly received 100 and 150 g force using self-ligating brackets (SLB) either on the right or left site of maxillary arch. Gingival crevicular fluid samples were collected at distal sites of canines for five consecutive weeks. The activities of ALP, TRAP and AST were assayed and measured spectrophotometrically. Canine movement was measured for five consecutive weeks while root resorption was monitored at baseline, week 0 and week 5 using periapical radiographs. In 100 g group, TRAP activity significantly increased in week 3-5 when compared to TRAP baseline activity. However, ALP and AST activities slightly increased. In 150 g group, ALP and TRAP activities slightly increased when compared with their baseline activities. However, AST significantly increased in week 5. Canine movement and root resorption were not significantly different (p<0.05) in both groups. A force of 100 and 150 g slightly increased the bone modeling process and resulted in similar canine movement and root resorption. Therefore, 100 g force could be an optimum force for canine retraction and is preferable (compared with 150 g force) in canine retraction using SLB.


In this study, the effect of phase change materials on the time lag, decrement factor and heat-saving is examined numerically. The calculations are conducted for four different cities located at different climatic zones in Turkey, considering both summer and winter conditions, in order to explore the potential heating and cooling energy savings by employing phase change materials. A solar-air temperature, which is a function of time and solar radiation, was taken into consideration as external boundary condition for each city. The results of the present study show that employment of phase change materials in walls of the buildings has a pronounced effect on the time lag and decrement factor. It is concluded that a significant amount of heating energy can be saved and thermal comfort can be enhanced considerably by incorporating phase change materials into external walls. However, a proper phase change material must be selected, considering different climatic conditions.


Development of delayed or recurrent intracranial hematomas requiring reexploration or a secondary craniotomy is well known. Patients with bilateral pathology requiring bilateral craniotomies as the initial emergency operative intervention, however, are uncommon. The lack of available literature and the large volume of head trauma seen at our institution prompted us to analyze the retrospective data on blunt head injury requiring bilateral craniotomies. Twenty patients underwent bilateral craniotomies at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center between January 1986 and June 1994. Ages ranged from 18 to 85 years. Mechanism of injury included motor vehicle crash (n = 4), pedestrian hit by automobile (n = 4), assault (n = 8), fall from height (n = 3), and unknown (n = 1). Epidural hematomas, acute subdural hematomas, contusions, and intracerebral hematomas were seen in varying combinations. The preoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ranged from 4 to 14, with a mean of 8.8 (+/-0.82 SE). Sixteen of the 20 patients survived and were discharged from the hospital. The survivors' Rancho Los Amigos Scale score on discharge ranged from 2 to 8, with a mean of 6.1 (+/-0.45 SE). A Fisher's exact test was performed to compare the outcome between the patients with mild (GCS score 13-15) to moderate (GCS score 9-12) head injury and those with severe (GCS score 4-8) head injury. It showed a statistically higher frequency of death in the severe category (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the outcome of patients with bilateral pathology requiring emergency bilateral craniotomy at initial treatment correlated well with their GCS scores at initial presentation.


Air transportation demand forecasting is a core element in aviation planning and policy decision making. NASA Langley Research Center addressed the need of a global forecast model to be integrated into the Transportation Systems Analysis Model (TSAM) to fulfil the vision of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) at NASA Headquarters to develop a picture of future demand worldwide. Future forecasts can be performed using a range of techniques depending on the data available and the scope of the forecast. Causal models are widely used as a forecasting tool by looking for relationships between historical demand and variables such as economic and population growth. The Global Demand Model is an econometric regression model that predicts the number of air passenger seats worldwide using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population, and airlines market share as the explanatory variables. GDP and Population are converted to 2.5 arc minute individual cell resolution and calculated at the airport level in the geographic area 60 nautical miles around the airport. The global demand model consists of a family of models, each airport is assigned the model that best fits the historical data. The assignment of the model is conducted through an algorithm that uses the R as the measure of Goodness-of-Fit in addition to a sanity check for the generated forecasts. The output of the model is the projection of the number of seats offered at each airport for every year up to the year 2040.


The UK construction skills shortage problem remains highly topical. Despite academic research and industrial efforts to mitigate the problem, construction employers face increasing pressure to get the skilled workforce necessary to fulfil rising workloads in the UK. There is limited success in the recruitment of non-traditional labour, shift towards prefabrication and the employment of migrant labour. Following the Leitch (2006) report, employers will be expected to become more proactive in engaging with the skills development agenda in the future. Yet, the extant literature remains fairly opaque on how employers can achieve this effectively. The research project outlined in this paper attempts to examine the processes involved in engaging employers in the skills development agenda, with a view to develop a decision-support tool (a 'road-map') for employers in this respect. The proposed research approach is outlined in this paper, which includes mapping out of current policies and initiatives that are geared towards construction skills development, case studies to explore how employers are presently engaging in skills development and action research to test the prototype tool.


Date Presented 4/19/2018 This study furthers research on programs based on self-determination principles to support adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) to attain competitive employment goals. It suggests that implementing the Self-Determined Career Development Model can result in increased self-rated performance of and satisfaction with meaningful activities in adults with ID. Primary Author and Speaker: Lyndsey Hoffman Additional Authors and Speakers: Jordan Harbour, Kayla Clark, Evan Dean


Acute Post-Streptococcus Glomerulonephritis (APSGN) is characterized by the appearance of hematuria , proteinuria, red blood cell in the urine, swelling (edema), and hypertension with or without oligouria. It can follow beta haemolytic streptococcus bacterial infection group A in the upper respiratory tract or on the skin. Boy, 7 years old, complained of swelling in the face, legs, and genital since 5 days before entering the hospital. As long as swelling, the patient looks pale, weakness, fatigue, lethargy, and loss of appetite. A week before admission, the patient's  urine was reddish. Nine days before admission, the patient had pharyngitis. In physical examination found blood pressure was 120/100 mmHg, pale skin, eyes anemic conjunctiva, swelling of palpebra, swelling of genital, swelling of lower extremity pretibia the right and left (pitting edema). Laboratory results, Hb 9.3 mg/dl, positive Anti Streptolysin Titer O (ASTO) examination, on urinalysis the urine color was red, protein 150 mg/dl and blood cryptic 250/ul. Patient was diagnosed with acute post-streptococcus glomerulonephritis with hypertension grade I. Managements were bed rest, low salt diet, supportive therapy, IVFD D5% 15 drops/min (micro), antibiotic ceftriaxone 1gr/12h, and diuretic furosemide 25mg/8h. APSGN disease has a good prognosis if treated properly. [J Agromed Unila 2014; 1(1):35-41]  Keywords: acute post-streptococcus glomerulonephritis, hypertension grade I


Latowu ultramafic block in the Southeastern Arm Sulawesi locally hosts elevated concentrations of Fe in addition to Ni. We investigated both host rock and mineralized samples' mineralogy and chemistry to find out mineralogical and chemical characteristics and interpret the iron mineralization process with beneficiation implications. The mineralogical nature of the samples was analyzed using optical microscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) methods. The whole-rock and mineral chemistry analyses were performed using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) techniques. The analysis showed that the ultramafic rocks had been undergone a strong to complete serpentinization degree where lizardite appears to be the predominant mineral. Magnetite in this research comprised the principal iron-bearing mineral and functioned as discrete fine-grains and subhedral to anhedral crystals. Magnetite occurs as fragments in breccia, alteration rim in spinel, fine-grained disseminations, and micro veins. This research found that the whole-rock chemistry of an ultramafic breccia showed an elevated concentration in Fe2O3 with a grade of 28.44 wt%. Electron probe analysis of magnetite shows a wide variation of Fe ranging from 31.10 wt% to 67.20 wt%. It is interpreted that the formation of magnetite within ultramafic rocks is influenced by the hydration of primary minerals, mainly olivine. Iron is most likely released from olivine or pyroxene crystals during serpentinization, and the higher water content of serpentine promotes its mobility. It is suggested that the magnetic separation method can be potentially used to increase the Fe grade.


In order to study the influence of gravity on the microstructure of directionally solidified Al-In monotectic alloy, Ag-Si and Al-Si eutectic alloys, both the downward (direction of gravity) and upward (opposite to direction of gravity) unidirectional solidifications were carried out. In the case of the downward U.D.S. by the current Bridgman method, the molten alloy must be confined between the crucible and a solid. This causes a shrinkage cavity at the solid/liquid interface during solidification. In this study, to avoid this cavity formation, a zone-melting technique was used. The results are summarized as follows. (1) Regarding the unidirectional solidifications of Al-In alloy, the monotectic In(L 2 ) phase grows continuously in both growth directions. However, the morphology in the downward U.D.S. shows a tendency to form a so-called banded structure. (2) In the case of the upward U.D.S. of the Ag-Si alloy, the eutectic silicon phase grows continuously and its morphology shows the typical faceted/non-faceted eutectic structure. On the other hand, in the case of the downward U.D.S., the eutectic silicon phase grows discontinuously and disperses in the α-Ag phase with a diameter of several micrometers. This is caused by the large difference in specific density between the silver and silicon phases. (3) The eutectic silicon phase of the Al-Si alloy grows continuously regardless of the growth direction. There is no morphological difference between the upward and the downward U.D.S specimens.


BACKGROUND
Elderly patients commonly suffer isolated hip fractures, causing significant morbidity and mortality. The use of orthogeriatrics (OG) management services, in which geriatric specialists primarily manage or co-manage patients after admission, may improve outcomes. We sought to provide recommendations regarding the role of OG services.

METHODS
Using GRADE methodology with meta-analyses, the Practice Management Guidelines Committee of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma conducted a systematic review of the literature from January 1, 1900 to August 31, 2017. A single PICO question was generated with multiple outcomes: Should geriatric trauma patients aged 65+ with isolated hip fracture receive routine OG management, compared to no routine OG management, to decrease mortality, improve discharge disposition, improve functional outcomes, decrease in-hospital medical complications, and decrease hospital length of stay.

RESULTS
Forty-five manuscripts were evaluated. Six randomized controlled trials and seven retrospective case-control studies (RCCS) met criteria for quantitative analysis. For critical outcomes, RCCS demonstrated a 30-day mortality benefit with OG (OR 0.78[0.67, 0.90]), but this was not demonstrated prospectively or at one year. Functional outcomes were superior with OG, specifically improved score on the Short Physical Performance Battery at four months (MD 0.78 [0.28, 1.29]), and improved score on the Mini Mental Status Exam with OG at 12 months (MD 1.57 [0.40, 2.73]). Execution of activities of daily living was improved with OG as measured by two separate tests at four and twelve months. There was no difference in discharge disposition. Among important outcomes, the OG group had fewer hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (OR 0.30 [0.15, 0.60]). There was no difference in other complications or length of stay. Overall quality of evidence was low.

CONCLUSIONS
In geriatric patients with isolated hip fracture, we conditionally recommend an OG care model to improve patient outcomes.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE
Level III evidenceSystematic Review/Meta-Analysis.


Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) systems is used as a media to teach a language without the need for a classroom or a teacher. CALL systems include language lessons and exercises to enhance the learners' vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills, and to provide learners with immediate feedback on their achievements. However, there is still a need to concentrate on practicing conversation where the computer plays the role of a conversational partner. Using language learning environments, dialogue systems, and chatbots will fill full this need. This paper presents CALL activities, CALL role, and limitations. The paper discusses the need to integrate CALL system with a conversational agent or a chatbot to enable learners to practice a language in a conversational manner. Different experiments and evaluations are illustrated in this paper which show an improvement in learning outcomes by using chatbot as a conversational partner. The paper concludes that such integration between CALL and chatbot will lead to better results for language learners.


Pre-treatment knowledge of the lithiasic composition can be useful to design the most appropriate therapeutic scheme for each kind of stone. The relationship between the stone's densitometry information provided by the different imaging techniques, conventional radiology (RX), computerized axial tomography (CAT) and dual energy radiographic densitometry (DO) is analyzed, as well as the elemental composition determined by the microanalysis of fragments obtained post-lithotrity using a scanning electronic microscope (SEM) associated to X-ray dispersion energy (XDE). 60 stones, 12 for each pure composition selected (calcium oxalate mono and dihydro, phosphocarbonate, magnesium ammonium phosphate and uric acid), were studied with XR, CAT and DO and were later subjected to lithofragmentation in vitro. Fragments analysis was carried out post-lithotrity with SEM associated to XDE. The X-ray does not allow to establish the composition of some calculi. CAT quantifies the mineral contents of the oxalocalcic and infective calculi and differentiates the uric acid from the other compositions because the mean density values are under 500 Hounsfield Units. DO evaluates the lithiasic content in phosphocarbonate salts which are structurally similar to bone hydroxyapatite.


Obtaining a microscopic understanding of the dynamics in strongly correlated electronic systems has remained a challenge for many decades.
The interplay between the spin and charge degrees of freedom in these materials at different temperatures and dopant concentrations is not well understood and is still an area of intense scientific research.

Recently, quantum simulators based on ultracold atoms in optical lattices have emerged as a promising platform to probe strongly correlated fermionic systems.
This thesis reports on the work carried out with a quantum gas microscope of ultracold fermionic Li-6, where Fermi-Hubbard systems are prepared and imaged with single site spin and density resolution.

The main results of the thesis explore the microscopic dynamics underlying one-dimensional materials, where individual constituents such as the electron with charge e and spin-1/2 are not relevant to the description of the system anymore and are instead replaced by spin and charge excitations that can propagate independent of one another - a phenomenon called spin-charge separation.
In our quantum simulator, we use analogous one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard chains of Li-6, to perform time- and space-resolved microscopy of the spin and charge excitations following a local quench.
By extracting their strikingly different velocities and showing an absence of binding between the excitations, we demonstrate spin-charge separation.
Our microscopic technique also allows us to quantitatively extract the excess spin carried by the spin excitiation, connecting our results to the phenomenon of fractionalization.

In another set of experiments, Fermi-Hubbard chains are probed at equilibrium and incommensurate spin correlations arising in the presence of both density doping and spin polarization are observed.
The wavevector of these incommensurate correlations are found to have a linear dependence on doping and polarization.

Finally, the effect of the spin-charge interplay is probed in the crossover from one to two dimensions.
The spin correlations across dopants are seen to be dramatically different in two dimensions, and the strong antiferromagnetic correlations across dopants present in one dimension disappear.
For a single dopant in a fully two dimensional system, the spin-charge interplay manifests as a distorted spin cloud surrounding the dopant, indicating the formation of a magnetic polaron.

The experiments reported here demonstrate the power of a quantum simulator; by probing the physics of strongly correlated systems in real space with unprecedented resolution, we can zoom into emergent phenomena, validate theories and access regimes that are not possible in other experimental settings.


Overexpression of the major DNA methyltransferase Dnmt1 is cytotoxic and has been hypothesized to result in aberrant hypermethylation of genes required for cell survival. Indeed, overexpression of mouse or human Dnmt1 in murine and human cell lines decreased clonogenicity. By frame-shift and deletion constructs, this effect of mouse Dnmt1 was localized at the N-terminal 124 amino acid domain, which mediates interaction with proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Mutation of the PCNA-binding site restored normal cloning efficiencies. Overexpression of Dnmt3A or Dnmt3B, which do not interact with PCNA, yielded weaker effects on clonogenicity. Following introduction of the toxic domain, no significant effects on apoptosis, replication, or overall DNA methylation were observed for up to 3 d. Suppression of clonogenicity by Dnmt1 was also observed in cell lines lacking wild-type p53, p21(CIP1), or p16(INK4A). Suppression of clonogenicity by Dnmt1 overexpression may act as a fail-safe mechanism against carcinogenicity of sustained Dnmt1 overexpression.


In Instituto de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular, Fundación Favaloro, between January 1996 and October 1999, 10,793 blood cultures and 942 episodes of bacteremia, corresponding to 1883 positive blood cultures, were studied by means of the Bact-Alert System (Organon Teknika), 94% being monomicrobial episodes. Gram positive bacteria were isolated in 45%, Gram negative in 52% and fungi in 3% of episodes. Associated foci of infection were: catheters 36.5%, mediastinitis 9%, pneumonia 6%, endocarditis 6%, abdominal 6%, urinary tract infections 9%, prosthesis 2.6%, empyema 0.2%, arthritis 0.1%, skin and soft tissue 2.5%, diarrhea 0.1%, aortic aneurysm 0.2%, meningitis 0.2%, pericarditis 0.3%, endarteritis 0.1%, infusion fluids 0.2% and unknown 21%. Median time (in hours) for positivization of blood cultures according to different foci were: catheters 16.4, mediastinitis 19.2, pneumonia 14.2, endocarditis 14.5, abdominal infections 11.8, urinary tract infections 13.0 and unknown origin 19.0. As for contaminating microorganisms, the value was 30.5. Seventy two percent of blood cultures became positive within 24 h, and 87% within 48 h; only 1% became positive between 5th and 7th day. There were no important differences in time to detect positive cultures according to different foci. It was not useful to incubate blood cultures more than five days, except for special circumstances, because it does not improve recovery of clinically significant microorganisms.


Accident databases (NRC, ATSDR's, RMP, and others) contain records of incidents (e.g., releases and spills) that have occurred in United States chemical plants during recent years. For various chemical industries, Kleindorfer and coworkers [1] summarize the accident frequencies and severities in the RMP*Info database. Also, Anand and coworkers [2] use data mining to analyze the NRC database for Harris County, Texas. Classical statistical approaches are ineffective for low frequency, high consequence events because of their rarity. Given this information limitation, this paper uses Bayesian theory to forecast incident frequencies, their relevant causes, equipment involved, and their consequences, in specific chemical plants. Systematic analyses of the databases also help to avoid future accidents, thereby reducing the risk. More specifically, this paper presents dynamic analyses of incidents in the NRC database. Probability density distributions are formulated for their causes (e.g., equipment failures, operator errors, etc.), and equipment items are utilized within a particular industry. Bayesian techniques provide posterior estimates of the cause and equipment-failure probabilities. Cross-validation techniques are used for checking the modeling, validation, and prediction accuracies. Differences in the plantand chemicalspecific predictions with the overall predictions are demonstrated. Furthermore, the NRC database is exploited to model the rate of occurrence of incidents in various chemical and petrochemical companies using Bayesian theory. Extreme value theory is used for consequence modeling of rare events by formulating distributions for events over a threshold value. Finally, the fast-Fourier transform is used to estimate the risk within an industry utilizing the frequency and severity distributions. ∗ Corresponding author: Email: firstname.lastname@example.com,, Ph: 215-898-7953


Aim To evaluate the effect of gravity on corneal epithelial cell migration in vitro. Methods Fourteen donor peripheral corneoscleral rims were used. Twenty explants were chosen of which 10 were placed vertically and 10 were placed horizontally during culture. Analyses were performed to investigate the effect of gravity on epithelial growth by measuring the extent of epithelial cell growth above and below the horizontal meridian and counting the total number of cells using a haemocytometer. Results There was no statistically significant difference in cell growth between the explants that were placed horizontally and vertically. However, in the vertical explant group the cells grew preferentially towards the 6 o'clock direction, possibly as a result of gravity. Conclusions Gravitational forces may influence cell migration in vitro. This could be of significance in the planning of limbal transplantation, because a superior graft may be more likely to succeed than a gravitationally challenged inferior graft.


The $L_1 $ regularization (Lasso) has proven to be a versatile tool to select relevant features and estimate the model coefficients simultaneously and has been widely used in many research areas such as genomes studies, finance, and biomedical imaging. Despite its popularity, it is very challenging to guarantee the feature selection consistency of Lasso especially when the dimension of the data is huge. One way to improve the feature selection consistency is to select an ideal tuning parameter. Traditional tuning criteria mainly focus on minimizing the estimated prediction error or maximizing the posterior model probability, such as cross-validation and BIC, which may either be time-consuming or fail to control the false discovery rate (FDR) when the number of features is extremely large. The other way is to introduce pseudo-features to learn the importance of the original ones. Recently, the Knockoff filter is proposed to control the FDR when performing feature selection. However, its performance is sensitive to the choice of the expected FDR threshold. Motivated by these ideas, we propose a new method using pseudo-features to obtain an ideal tuning parameter. In particular, we present the E fficient T uning of Lasso (ET-Lasso ) to separate active and inactive features by adding permuted features as pseudo-features in linear models. The pseudo-features are constructed to be inactive by nature, which can be used to obtain a cutoff to select the tuning parameter that separates active and inactive features. Experimental studies on both simulations and real-world data applications are provided to show that ET-Lasso can effectively and efficiently select active features under a wide range of scenarios.


The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori induced gastritis is common than other species of Helicobacter. We hereby reporting two rare gastritis cases caused by in association of H. pylori and H. heilmannii for the first time in Cambodia. The patients were treated with 14 days therapy of clarithromycin, metronidazole and esomeprazole for complete eradication of two Helocobacters.


The development of dry powder inhalation (DPI) products of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remains to be a challenge due to chemical complexity and batch-to-batch variations in constituent composition. This study was to investigate the feasibility of using spray-dried corrugated particles to improve the aerodynamic performance of a TCM, Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL), in carrier-based DPI. Particles with different surface roughness were spray-dried by the addition of leucine and concomitant manipulation of spray-drying parameters. The surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscopy, whilst the aerodynamic performance of drug particle–mannitol/lactose blends was evaluated using a next-generation pharmaceutical impactor through a Cyclohaler. Although the emission efficiency for corrugated particle-based DPI was ∼10% lower than that for smooth SHL, the fine particle fractions (FPF<4.4 μm) of 32.4–36.8% for the former were significantly higher than those of 14.7–16.2% for the latter. In particular, the FPF and fraction of drug detached from the carrier appeared not to be significantly affected by the variation in constituent composition of SHL. This study demonstrates that the use of corrugated particles in carrier-based DPI improved aerosol performance by facilitating drug detachment from the carrier, independent of variation in constituent composition, and such particles were potentially applicable to the development of SHL DPI products.


The Review publishes each September abstracts of dissertations completed during the year ending June 30 and a listing of dissertations in progress in schools of social work offering doctoral programs. The list of dissertations in preparation includes topics on which candidates were working on June 30, 1958, with the date of faculty approval of the topic. Titles are, of course, tentative. No effort has been made to include topics with social work content on which students in other academic departments may be working.


Macaque species serve as important animal models of human infection and immunity. To more fully scrutinize their potential in both the analysis of disease pathogenesis and vaccine development, it is necessary to characterize the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I loci of Macaca mulatta (Mamu), Macaca nemestrina (Mane), and Macaca fascicularis (Mafa) at the genomic level. The oligomorphic Mamu-A2*05/Mane-A2*05 (previously known as Mane-A*06) family of macaque MHC-A alleles has recently been shown to be present at high frequency in both Indian rhesus and pig-tailed macaque populations. Using a locus-specific amplification and direct DNA typing methodology, we have additionally found that the locus encoding this family is very prevalent (75%) among a sampling of 182 Chinese rhesus macaques and has a high prevalence (80%) within a larger, independent cohort of 309 pig-tailed macaques. Interestingly, among the Chinese rhesus macaques, only six alleles previously identified in Indian-origin animals were observed, while three recently identified in Chinese-origin animals and 25 new alleles were characterized. Among the pig-tailed macaques, we observed 1 previously known (Mane-A*06) and 19 new alleles. Examination of the orthologous locus in a preliminary sampling of 30 cynomolgus macaques showed an even higher presence (87%) of Mafa-A2*05 family alleles, with 5 previously identified and 15 new alleles characterized. The continued discovery of novel alleles and thus further diversity within the Mamu-A2*05/Mane-A2*05/Mafa-A2*05 family indicates that this MHC-A locus, although highly conserved across the three species of macaques, has remained a dynamic entity during evolution.


A 51-year-old woman with pneumonia received mechanical ventilation after endotracheal intubation. She developed pneumothorax, which was immediately treated by the placement of a left-side thoracostomy tube. Ethical approval was waived because there was no concern for maintaining the patient's anonymity in the written text and radiographic images. Chest radiography revealed subcutaneous emphysema in the supraclavicular fossae and a lucent stripe outlining the base of the heart, i.e., the continuous diaphragm sign (Fig. 1A), indicating pneumomediastinum. A computed tomography (CT) scan disclosed right pneumothorax with radiographic deep sulcus (Fig. 1B), air dissection along the bronchovascular sheath in the perihilar area, suggesting the Macklin effect (Fig. 1C, D), and pneumomediastinum with extensive gas collection in the pre-cardiac area (Fig. 1E), causing cardiac compression and displacement. After inserting a right thoracostomy tube, adjusting the ventilator settings and using high oxygen concentrations, the patient recovered from barotrauma without progression to life-threatening pneumomediastinum. Finally, she was liberated from mechanical ventilation and discharged. A follow-up CT scan revealed that the heart had returned to its normal position (Fig. 1F). The first important finding was the CT image of pneumomediastinum with significant cardiac compression. The second was the compatible radiographic findings of the Macklin effect. In our patient, there was obvious air dissection along the peribronchial and perivascular sheaths. This may have indicated that there was increased alveolar pressure causing barotrauma with released air migrating through the bronchovascular sheath to the mediastinum, which is known as the Macklin effect. Hence, ventilator-induced barotrauma was likely the cause of pneumomediastinum in our case. To decrease barotrauma in this mechanically ventilated patient, the ventilator settings should be adjusted to prevent further alveolar overdistention. More importantly, the use of negativepressure thoracostomy tube drainage may reestablish negative intra-pleural pressure and accelerate the resolution of barotrauma. As highlighted by these findings, in mechanically ventilated patients with barotrauma, pneumomediastinum should always be investigated and evaluated for cardiac compression, which warrants early management for a successful resolution.


SIR,-In your leading article, "Wihen Does Lactose Malabsorption Matter in Adults?" (17 May, p. 351) a review of the methods introduced for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance was presented, and included broad screening tests such as stool pH, symptomatology after lactose ingestion, lactose-barium meal, and carbon-14 breath test as well as the more widely used 50-gram oral lactose tolerance test with measurement of the blood glucose rise-a technique requiring multiple blood samples. "Final proof of the diagnosis has to be obtained by measuring the lactase activity of a jejunal biopsy specimen." No mention was made in the leader of analysis of breath hydrogen (H2) by gas chromatography following lactose ingestion. Calloway' and Levitt2 first showed that breath H2 concentration rises when malabsor.bed lactose is fermented in the large bowel, and they suggested that breath H2 may be used as a measure of lactose malabsorption. We have recently completed a study3 conparing intestinal lactase activity with symptomatology, blood glucose rise, and breath H2 prduction in a group of patients with diarrhoea. We found breath H2 to be as reliable as the blod glucose and better than symptomns in the diagnosis of hypolactasia. As it does not involve mu1tiple venepunctures it is more acceptable to patients and it is also ea.sier to apply from the technical point of view.4 Furthermore, our experience agrees with that of Isokoskis and disagrees with your suggesrtion that symptomatology may be used as a reliable test of hypolactasia. We would also argue against the suggestion that intestinal lactase activity is the final proof of lactose malabsorption. Fk)r example, in the coeliac syndrome jejunal lactase activity may be reduced but lactose absorption still occurs further down in the ileum. Thus the sugar can be said to have been malabsorbed only if it passes through to the caecum, whereupon its subsequenft fermentation with evolution of H2 may truly be claimed as a measure of its malabsorption.-We are, etc.,


This thesis describes the development of an experimental facility of a tangential jet
flow in a sudden expansion channel. The present study is intended to clarify
experimentally the relation between flow and geometrical variables on the thermal
development using a point wise temperature measurements technique. The
temperature measurements have been conducted on a flat plate inside a low speed
open circuit wind tunnel. The mainstream flow has a maximum of temperature
50" C. The temperature was controlled by a 10 kVA/40 Ampere voltage regulator.
A maximum velocity, (urnat) t he mainstream intake is 10 d s . The velocity on the
coolant jet flow (u,)is between 2 m/s to 8 mls, the expansion ratio (ER) is 1.2 and
the Reynolds numbers, ( ~ e , ) is, 1.3 x 1 o5 on the mainstream location. The coolant
distribution system is fabricated into three type of geometry: a slot shape 20
mm2 1 mm , a square shape 10 mm x 10 rnm and a circular shape 10 mm of diameter.
The surface temperature in the direction of the jet flow media is evaluated based on the measured temperatures, obtained through the thermocouples over the flat
surfaces. The jet flow is tangentially injecting a jet of cooling air at an exit angle of
0" from the coolant distribution system to the plate surface. The test plate is made
of plastic material (acrylonitrile butadiene stryrene) plate of 10 mm thick flat plate
which is installed on the channel wall and instrumented with a stream wise row of Ttype
thermocouples. The thermocouples are spaced 25.4 mm apart along the center
line of the plate. The temperature ratio between the cooling air temperature (T,) and
T
the mainstream temperature (T,) is in the range of 0.77 5 1 0.87 while the
T,
velocity ratio between the cooling velocity (u,)an d mainstream velocity (u,) is in
range of 0.2 5 35 0.7. From the observation made at the location XX -- 0.5, the
cooling effectiveness (r) for tangential jet flow emanating from the slot, square and
circular holes geometry, is to be at maximum value of 0.8, 0.6, and 0.5 respectively.
The data presented here would be off interest to engineers to gain further
understanding in the development of heat transfer due to tangential jet flow in a
sudden expansion channel.


The burden of water-related disease is closely related to both the socio-economic situation and public health issues like access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services. Poverty eradication, through improved access to water and sanitation, is the South African government's major priority. This is partly achieved through subsidising the cost of water and sanitation provision to the poor in rural areas. Whilst the new policies have made a remarkable impact on improved access to water and sanitation services, a general problem since the new approach in 1994 has been the lack of integration of policies for water and sanitation and health. This paper analyses the policies concerning rural water supply and sanitation in South Africa. It considers the structure of institutions, the division of responsibilities and legislated and financial capacity of the South Africa's water sector. A more integrated approach for the policies aiming at water access, sanitation and health is needed. In addition, as the local government's capacity to implement different programmes is limited, a review of the financing system is necessary.


In this study, 3484 milk yield records (1520 first, 1206 second and 758 third lactations) obtained from 1816 cows born between 1990 and 1997 in the Holstein-Friesian herd of Ceylanpinar State Farm were used to estimate the heritabilities, and genetic and phenotypic correlations between lactation milk yields using an individual animal model and the restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method. In the model studied, 305-day milk yields were used and individual animal effects were assumed to be a random effect, calving year and calving months were fixed effects, and calving age (as months) was a covariate, and all of these factors affected milk yields in a statistically significant manner (P < 0.01). Means of 305-day milk yields for the first, second and third lactations were 5046.3 ± 31.13 kg, 5175.8 ± 37.02 kg and 5268.2 ± 47.32 kg, respectively. Heritabilities for the first, second and third lactations' milk yields were 0.297 ± 0.025, 0.369 ± 0.027 and 0.359 ± 0.034, respectively. Genetic correlations between the first and second, first and third, and second and third lactations were positive and statistically significant (0.738 ± 0.017, 0.632 ± 0.022 and 0.742 ± 0.024, respectively). Furthermore, for the same pairs of lactation numbers indicated above, phenotypic correlations were also positive and statistically significant (0.569 ± 0.021, 0.487 ± 0.052 and 0.542 ± 0.031, respectively).


Control systems are an important component of Corporate Governance because their design and effectiveness impact on strategic success and stakeholder care. The results of this empirical research, carried out here for the first time in our country, suggest a relation between Audit Quality (measured by the Deficiencies in the Internal Controls over Financial Reporting) and the quality of Corporate Governance (measured by selected characteristics of the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee and the Internal Audit). The methodology is based on differences tests and a correlation matrix and is applied to a database collected over a sample of listed companies. The results, in line with existing literature, confirm the direct correlation between Corporate Governance quality and Audit Quality. They also confirm an interpretation of the Deficiencies as explicable in terms of their life-cycle, the number of Entity Level Controls, Process Level Controls, Information Technology Controls, and their seriousness as ranked by Control Deficiencies, Significant Deficiencies and Material Weaknesses


In Mg-Al-Zn alloy sheets, the grains were refined from 30 mm to 2 mm during the process of differential speed rolling at 473 K, having approximately the same size dominate at a high thickness reduction rate of 60 %. In addition to these microstructural changes, the rolled sheets showed a weaker texture characterized by pole than those of commercial sheets. The DSR sheets have equal value of elongation at 0, 45, and 90 degrees from the rolling direction. With the mechanical properties, the results of Erichsen test indicate that DSR process remarkably enhanced ductility of the present Mg alloy sheets at room temperature.


ABSTRACT Assessing the effectiveness of mitigation measures for reducing contaminant losses to water from pastoral farming systems is a challenging task. Two important factors that contribute to this challenge are (i) the considerable spatial variability in landscape vulnerabilities to contaminant loss and (ii) differing land use pressures created by contrasting land management practices that are employed on farms. An approach is described that benchmarks nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and sediment discharges for representative dairy and sheep-beef farming types (hereafter referred to as 'typologies') that differ according to inherent landscape vulnerability features or land use pressures created by some key management practices. Landscape vulnerabilities can be defined as the soil, topography and climate factors that are known to influence the inherent risk of contaminant transport to water, whereas land use pressures reflect the diverse set of farm inputs and feed, stock and soil management practices that determine contaminant sources. The analysis was constructed using land use pressure information for the year 2015 contained within Dairybase records held by DairyNZ and farm class surveys reported by Beef + Lamb NZ. Published information sources and expert opinion from rural professionals were also used to define land use pressures for typologies in 1995.


: Marked perturbations of cell-mediated immunity are observed in nutritional imbalance, both undernutrition and overnutrition. Individuals with protein-energy malnutrition show consistent impairment of cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity and a reduced number of circulating T lymphocytes. Variable changes in lymphocyte stimulation response in vitro to mitogens and antigens are seen. There is a relative increase in the number of "null" cells and high levels of leukocyte terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase activity. These findings suggest impaired differentiation of T cell precursors, which may be the direct result of reduced thymic hormone activity. Alterations in the production of lymphokines are not consistent. Infants with intrauterine growth retardation show a marked and long-lasting deficit in cell-mediated immunity. Specific nutrient deficiencies vary in their ability to influence cell-mediated immunity and the mechanisms underlying the immunologic abnormalities. Among others, zinc and pyridoxine deficiencies are associated with marked immunodepression. Obesity also is associated with alterations in cell-mediated immune responses. This has been observed in man, in genetically obese mice, and in states of excess intake of lipids, vitamins, minerals, and a trace elements. Nutritional modulation of cellular immunity is an important determinant of morbidity in several systemic disorders.


BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence shows that oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) might play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Ox-LDL is immunogenic and induces an autoantibody, which we used as a tool for measuring the content of ox-LDL in vivo. METHODS: Patients who were admitted for diagnostic cardiac catheterization for typical or atypical angina pectoris were enrolled in this study. After fasting for 12 hours, a venous blood sample was drawn from the antecubital vein for testing triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and ox-LDL autoantibody. The ox-LDL autoantibody was quantified using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. All patients underwent coronary angiography. Those who had more than 50% angiographic coronary luminal stenosis, were grouped into the coronary artery disease (CAD) group. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients were enrolled in the study (male/female = 46/18; mean +/- standard deviation, age, 64 +/- 9 years). The CAD group had a significantly higher level of ox-LDL autoantibody than the non-CAD group (494.0 +/- 355.0 mU/ml vs 258.1 +/- 196.8 mU/ml, p = 0.004). However, the other lipid profiles including triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were not statistically different between the two groups. Forty-six patients in this study had an arterial blood sample taken from the femoral artery for testing ox-LDL autoantibody. There was no significant difference between the arterial and venous samples of ox-LDL autoantibody (385.2 +/- 333.3 mU/ml vs 399.3 +/- 339.5 mU/ml, n = 46, p = 0.530). CONCLUSIONS: Ox-LDL autoantibody was significantly higher in the CAD group. Ox-LDL may prove to play a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Further study of Ox-LDL and its role in the process of atherosclerosis is warranted.


Engineering design problems frequently involve both discrete and continuous random and design variables, and system reliability may depend on the union or intersection of multiple limit states. Solving reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) problems, where some or all of the decision variables must be integer valued, can be expensive since the computational effort increases exponentially with the number of discrete variables in discrete optimization problems, and the presence of both system and component level reliability makes RBDO more expensive. The presence of discrete random variables in a RBDO problem has usually necessitated the use of Monte Carlo simulation or some other type of enumeration procedure, both of which are computationally expensive. In this paper, the theorem of total probability is used to allow for the use of the first-order reliability method in solving mixed-integer RBDO problems. Single-loop RBDO formulations are developed for three classes of mixed-integer RBDO with both discrete and continuous random variables and component and system-level reliability constraints. These problem formulations can be solved with any appropriate discrete optimization technique. This paper develops, for each of the three problem classes, greedy algorithms to find an approximate solution to the mixed-integer RBDO problem with both component and system reliability constraints and/or objectives. These greedy algorithms are based on the solution of a relaxed formulation and require hardly additional computational expense than that required for the solution of the continuous RBDO problem. The greedy algorithms are verified by branch and bound and genetic algorithms. Also, this paper develops three algorithms, which can allow for calibration of reliability estimation with a more accurate reliability analysis technique. These algorithms are illustrated in the context of a truss optimization problem.


OF THE THESIS Love in Literature: The Construction of Female Romantic Identity in America by Haley Jane Hartzell Master of Arts in English San Diego State University, 2015 This thesis will consider the ways in which female readers are alienated from a number of classic texts that are taught frequently in American high schools and universities, and will analyze the reason for this separation between female readers and the text. Using Judith Fetterley's The Resisting Reader as a foundation, I will argue that this division still exists and the reason for this inherent separation is the way women are presented romantically within these texts. Through a feminist psychosocial perspective and a detailed textual analysis of The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, Little Women, and Pride and Prejudice, I will interrogate the aesthetics of love, different behavioral patterns associated with women in love, and the connections between sexual viability and desirability that inform romantic love. In these texts, women in love are often presented as dependent, pathetic, overly emotional, and weak, even if their behavior is significantly different when they are not within a romantic relationship, which forces female readers to either identify with the subordinated women in these texts or to identify as male. I will argue that these texts contain significant merit and should continue to be taught in schools, but that they need to be critically analyzed in order to avoid negatively influencing the romantic identity formation of adolescent female readers. I will utilize psychological studies to assert that by having young women read texts that show outdated forms of romantic love, female readers run the risk of internalizing the images they are reading and using them as a standard for behavior in love. In American culture and literature, women in love are stereotypically conceived and shown to be ―correct‖ in love only when they embody the aesthetics and modes of behavior approved by patriarchal society. These representations do not display the complexities of actual women in love; instead, they reaffirm the stereotypes they portray. These stereotypes are embedded within American culture and literature and act as a socializing force on women, pressuring them to conform to socially enforced standards of behavior and aesthetics. However, these stereotypes are arbitrary constructions and unrepresentative of the complexities of real women. By exposing the falsehood of these stereotypes, I hope to display how behaviorally limiting the representations of women are within these texts in order to show how damaging these depictions can be. In order for women to be considered equals within society, they must stop being considered subordinates within love. The first step in that process is exposing how problematic the ideological beliefs that underlie these depictions are in order to demonstrate why change is necessary.


Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of customizable porous material that have shown good performance in separation processes, due to their large surface area and molecular recognition property. Although the effects of chemical structure of MOFs on their separation performance were extensively studied, the exploration of their surface properties was still limited. This work demonstrated a MOF nanosheet with large amount of coordinatively unsaturated metal sites, Cu(BDC) (copper (II) benzenedicarboxylate), where the unsaturated Cu sites were utilized to selectively adsorb organic molecules with Lewis basicity. This work also investigated the direct growth of Cu(BDC) on cellulose substrate, where the MOF nanosheets were immobilized on the cellulose substrate, enabling the composite material for practical applications. The heterogeneous nucleation and growth of MOF nanosheets on cellulose were achieved by tuning the basicity of solution and reaction temperature. We believe this direct growth approach can be applied to other MOF composite materials for separation and purification purposes, as well as other applications involving molecular recognition properties of MOFs, such as sensing, catalysis, and enzyme immobilization.


The joints of the human body, especially the knees, are continually exposed to varying loads as a person goes about their day. These loads may contribute to damage to tissues including cartilage and the development of degenerative medical conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA). The most commonly used method currently for classifying the severity of knee OA is the Kellgren and Lawrence system, whereby a grade (a KL score) from 0 to 4 is determined based on the radiographic evidence. However, radiography cannot directly depict cartilage damage, and there is low inter-observer precision with this method. As such, there has been a significant activity to find non-invasive and radiation-free methods to quantify OA, in order to facilitate the diagnosis and the appropriate course of medical action and to validate the development of therapies in a research or clinical setting. A number of different teams have noted that variation in knee joint sounds during different loading conditions may be indicative of structural changes within the knee potentially linked to OA. Here we will review the use of acoustic methods, such as acoustic Emission (AE) and vibroarthrography (VAG), developed for the monitoring of knee OA, with a focus on the issues surrounding data collection and analysis.


In the present paper, the contact of area, which is produced between a pair of bodies (flat surface and hemi-cylindrical shape), has been studied under the effect of slippage occurrence, where it represents one of the important problems in the mechanical engineering, especially in robotic design. Many parameters have been studied, like frictional forces, equivalent stresses, friction coefficient, and contact area of deformation. The behavior of these parameters has been monitored during the slippage that is generated between the flat surface made from cast alloy steel and the other part made from rubber. The finite element method (FEM) with SOLIDWORKS software was used to simulate this contact area under the slippage effect. The results of the simulation showed a significant behavior, particularly at the beginning of slippage and the stage of (stick-slip) phenomena, in other words, the simulation outputs indicated that the slippage influence has an important behavior, especially when the phenomena of both slippage and stick-slip stage start to occur. These analyses are intended to understand how the contact area affected to design measures to prevent the slippage occurrence and the damage in contacted bodies.


We present a proof-of-concept study, based on numerical-relativity simulations, of how gravitational waves (GWs) from neutron star merger remnants can probe the nature of matter at extreme densities. Phase transitions and extra degrees of freedom can emerge at densities beyond those reached during the inspiral, and typically result in a softening of the equation of state (EOS). We show that such physical effects change the qualitative dynamics of the remnant evolution, but they are not identifiable as a signature in the GW frequency, with the exception of possible black hole formation effects. The EOS softening is, instead, encoded in the GW luminosity and phase and is in principle detectable up to distances of the order of several megaparsecs with advanced detectors and up to hundreds of megaparsecs with third-generation detectors. Probing extreme-density matter will require going beyond the current paradigm and developing a more holistic strategy for modeling and analyzing postmerger GW signals.


Patterning by Heat: The Responsive Textile Structures presents 4 different computational textile structures that change the appearance of space through 2 different transformations that happen in the surface expression. The first typology of material is pixilated, designed with yarn that melts at high temperature; accordingly, the fabric opens or breaks when it receives current. The opening allows designers flexibility to experiment with see through effects on the fabric, or to 'write' upon the fabric making apertures, collecting foreground and background together in one shape. The second material has been designed with yarn that shrinks or draws solid lines in the fabric when it receives current. The shrinking reveals a more opaque patterning in the textile closing parts of that textile off, transforming the nature of that space. Both breaking and shrinking yarns have been knitted into four different architectural tension structures that are designed using computation and textiles to track people's presence in space by the changes that appear in the surface design.


During the analysis of ancient descriptions of corporate social responsibility founded that earlier expression of social responsibility mostly was based on rational behavior and on practical decision making. Differences only found between a scopes of authors. Every one of them worked in a different area of corporate social responsibility that's why description of corporate social responsibility was modified and extended lots of time until now. However, main elements related to rational behavior exist and dominate in descriptions structure until now. Irrational behavior facts, such as ideology, policy, interests over economic and technical aims of organization, sometimes occur in description of corporate social responsibility too. Trying to explain the negative effect of irrational behavior J.Nash (1951) game theory selected as a theoretical background of rational social responsibility formation. Game theory helps to illustrate the outcomes of irrational decision making process. Those outcomes later interpreted in a context of social exclusion and marginalization. As a result of this work social sequel model of corporate social responsibility expression are created and presented in this paper. Analysis of the rational behavior based on eight attributes which where distinguished from analysis and hermeneutic interpretation of descriptions of corporate social responsibility. The set of chronologic-authorial and thematic-authorial analysis there applied for extraction and systematization of mentioned attributes.The aim of this paper is to make the theoretical description of the formation principles of rational corporate social responsibility


SIR,-Dr. E. G. M. D'Haene and others (21 September. p. 708) have compared the free thyroxine index (F.T.I.) and effective thyroxine ratio (E.T.R.) using correlation coefficients (Spearman rank correlation) and a minimum of experimental evidence. We fec 1 that a number of noints and the final conclusions may mislead potential users of one-tube free thyroxine tests. (1) The correlation coefficient, however, derived, between F.T.I. and E.T.R. does not reflect the ability of these tests to sort out the patients into the three categories, hypohyper-, and euthvroid. Thus the fact that there is no sipnificant correlation between F.T.I. and E.T.R. values falling insi:de the normal range is not relevant in any way to the final diagnosis. (2) While the use of comparison of "objective measurements" with "subjective clinical impressions" is certainly dangerous and difficult in practice, it is nevertheless essential for tests to be judged at some stage by their practical usefulness. Thus the dbservations of Thorson et al.,' Murray et al.,2 and ourselves (in an unpublished retrospective survey) that the diagnostic accuracy of the E.T.R. was in practice about 99%, 94 5%, and 94%/. retrospectively are more relevant than the judgement of a test by its correlation with another, different, "objective measurement." (3) The statement that "correction for binding-protein abnormalities . .. when the free T4 index is calculated, is more trustworthy than the chemically regulated correction which is more or less automatically and uncontrollably applied when measuring the E.T.R." (our italics) is based on a claim that at high ooncentrations of thyroxine (T4) a greater percentage of labelled TA binds to the thvroxine -binding proteins than is found if triiodothyronine (T-3) is used in-stead. A reduction of the TA concentration results in binding "more or less identical" with that of T-3. They appear to have overlooked two points: (a) The non-labelled TA acts similarly to labelled TA and so their addition of 0-5 ml normal serum to each 3-ml phial (instead of 05 n/100 mi in the E.T.R.) will increase the final concentration of TA fromn 1-03 to about 15 8 nmol/l. Even after their reduction of labelled T-4 to 0-21 nnmol/l. their total concentration is about 14 9 nmmol/l., while the E.T.R. no¶mally contains about 3 5 nmol T4/1. (b) The equivalent oDncentration of T-3 used in the experimnents is about one-fifth that of TA4 and so their comparisons between the binding of these substances to thyroxine-binding globulin were not valid. Dr. D'Haene and his colleagues conclude that "at present there are no convincing reasons" for using E.T.R. instead of F.T.I. The time required to carry out both T-3 resin uptake and total TA estimation and their cost are about do-uble those of singletube tests such as E.T.R. It would seem to us that a reduction in cost and time of trained personnel would be sufficient rea.sons for preferring a single test procedure of comparable diagnostic reliability. Add to this a smaller coefficient of variation (even found by Dr. D'Haene and his colleagues) and a roved value for both diagnosis and monitoring treatment and it would need a oonvincing reason indeed to use F.T.I. in-stead of E.T.R. as an index of thyroid function.-We are, etc., M. G. WELLS C. E. ANDREW Radioche-nistry Department, Edgwa-e General Hospital, Edgware, Middlesex


Firstly, definition of village administration is introduced. Then, through analysis of history, complexity and innovation characteristics of village administration, it points out that village administration plays a significant role in the reform of grass-roots government. Based on these, existing problems in village administration mode are discussed. It is believed that the administration subject (government), object (farmers), and administration measures have potential to explore. Finally, suggestions are put forward from perfecting village autonomy, role orientation of grassroots government, and simplifying grass-roots government organs.


As is the case with several other mechanical power takeoffs (PTOs), the mechanical-motion-rectifier-based PTO consists of components, such as one-way clutches, gears, a ball screw, mechanical couplings, and a generator. Equivalent circuit models have been created in this article to describe the dry frictions, viscous damping, and mechanical compliances in these components, so the nonideal efficiency and nonlinear force of the PTO can be predicted in electrical simulations by integrating these subcircuit models. The circuit model is simplified, and its parameters are categorized as dc and ac unknowns. The dc and ac tests on the PTO are performed sequentially to extract two sets of parameters through linear regression or nonlinear curve fitting. Then, the model is validated through its prediction capability over 25 test conditions on input forces, output voltages, and efficiencies, with correlation coefficients of 0.9, 0.98, and 0.981, respectively.


Raman measurements applied on freshly tattooed porcine skin ex vivo showed a possibility of obtaining the ink pigment related information in the skin. Based on these results, confocal Raman microscopy was used to identify the tattoo ink pigments of different colors in multicolored tattooed human skin in vivo. The Raman signatures of tattoo ink pigments were unique. Therefore, it could be shown that the applied method is successful for the identification of the tattoo ink pigments in human skin in vivo down to depths of approx. 50 μm, which is sufficient to screen the entire epidermis and the top of the papillary dermis area on the forearm and leg skin sites. Additional application of the optical clearing technique in vivo by topical application of glycerol, combined with tape stripping removal of the uppermost stratum corneum layers and defatting allows the extension of depths of investigation in tattooed skin down to approx. 400 μm, i.e. to cover the entire papillary dermis and a large part of the reticular dermis. Thus, the tattoo ink pigments were identified in vivo and depth-dependently in human tattooed skin confirming their presence in the papillary and reticular dermis. The proposed non-invasive in vivo Raman screening combined with optical clearing for identifying the tattoo pigments in the dermis can be an important task preceding a laser-based tattoo removal procedure and for determining the optimal laser parameters.


The reaction of 7-bromo - 5-chloro-2-acetyl-3-methylbenzofuran (1) with diethyloxalate in presence of NaOMe and NaOEt afforded (2) and (3) , respectively by Claisen's condensation reaction. Treatment of the transesterified halogenated 2,4-dioxobutanoate (2) with different nucleophilic reagents undergo cyclocondensation to afford the corresponding (4) , (5) , (6) , (7) and (8) . The structures of all the newly synthesized compounds (2-8) have been characterized by their elemental and spectral studies such as IR, 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and MS. The newly synthesized compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activities against two gram positive; two gr am negative bacteria and one fungus.


We propose a framework for expressive non-photorealistic rendering of 3D computer graphics: MNPR. Our work focuses on enabling stylization pipelines with a wide range of control, thereby covering the interaction spectrum with real-time feedback. In addition, we introduce control semantics that allow cross-stylistic art-direction, which is demonstrated through our implemented watercolor, oil and charcoal stylizations. Our generalized control semantics and their style-specific mappings are designed to be extrapolated to other styles, by adhering to the same control scheme. We then share our implementation details by breaking down our framework and elaborating on its inner workings. Finally, we evaluate the usefulness of each level of control through a user study involving 20 experienced artists and engineers in the industry, who have collectively spent over 245 hours using our system. MNPR is implemented in Autodesk® Maya® and open-sourced through this publication, to facilitate adoption by artists and further development by the expressive research and development community.


The visualization of hypermetabolic brown adipose tissue (BAT) on 18F FDG PET lowers the efficacy of PET and has been linked with the environmental temperature of the patient before presentation. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of thermal control on BAT and 18F-FDG PET. Methods: Three hundred patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET were defined by 1 of 2 groups. Group A consisted of 150 consecutive patients from August to October 2009 (spring). Group B consisted of 150 consecutive patients from December to February 2010 (summer). In addition to normal preparation, group B received instructions to dress warmly and was warmed during the uptake period of their scan. Images were assessed for the presence of BAT. Standardized uptake value data were collected and compared. Results: BAT was present in 9.3% of patients; 15.3% of patients that were not warmed (group A) demonstrated BAT, and this was reduced to 3.3% in the group that underwent warming (group B) (P = 0.0005). BAT was more common in men (10.9%) than women (6.8%), and women responded better to warming. Younger patients were more likely to demonstrate BAT (P < 0.001). No significant relationship between BAT and height, weight, or body mass index was found. The most common site for BAT visualization was the cervical region (89%), followed by supraclavicular (75%), paravertebral (50%), suprarenal (21%) and paraaortic (7%) regions. Conclusion: Thermal control for the reduction of BAT can achieve reductions in the incidence of BAT by as much as 78%. The reduction of BAT on PET images can reduce false-positive and false-negative results and minimize the need for rescanning.