Concrete is not quite such a non-destructable material as many are led to believe. It can deteriorate with time due to changes in the chemistry, the effect of moisture penetration and the corrosion of reinforcing steel bars. Much of this damage occurs relatively close to the surface, sometimes revealed by discolourations or the presence of cracks and sometimes as spallation when the corrosion products of steel cause delamination of the near surface concrete. These effects may occur in good quality concrete but their severity and rapidity of onset may be enhanced by fabrication defects when aggregates may not be to specification or the packing conditions cause porosity. It may thus be months or even years afterwards that these defects come to light. As a consequence a new industry has been formed to inspect concrete structures which may include X-ray equipment, linac accelerators, gamma isotope sources, ultrasonics, radar and of course thermography. Each of these nethods will have their own particular attractive features and merits. But most of these activities tend to be used more as a "fire fighting" service than as one ensuring regular maintenance of critical structures or even as quality control of structures during building. Quite often it seems that Non-destructive Testing is turned into a litigation service for dissatisfied customers and thermography is no stranger to this topic. It is heartening to see that the ASTM organisation in the USA and British Standards are encouraging and developing suitable standards for the inspection of concrete by thermographic techniques.


Abstract Objective: As declining respiratory muscle function commonly leads to disability and death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), respiratory measurements such as slow vital capacity (SVC) may predict disease progression. This study evaluated the relationship between SVC and symptoms measured by the revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R). Methods: About 453 ALS placebo-treated patients from the EMPOWER trial (NCT01281189) were evaluated. Correlations between %predicted SVC and individual respiratory ALSFRS-R subdomain items, respiratory subdomain score (maximum score of 12), and total ALSFRS-R score (maximum score of 48) were evaluated using the Pearson correlation coefficient. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to evaluate changes from baseline to week 48 in ALSFRS-R respiratory symptom and respiratory subdomain scores in patients with baseline %predicted SVC above/below the median at baseline and with more slowly/more rapidly decreasing %predicted SVC. Results: The %predicted SVC showed significant correlations with dyspnea, orthopnoea, respiratory insufficiency, respiratory subdomain score, and total ALSFRS-R score (all p < 0.0001). Patients with baseline SVC values < median were significantly more likely than those with baseline SVC ≥ median to have a change in total ALSFRS-R respiratory subdomain score from 12 to <12 (40.9% vs. 30.2%, p = 0.0358) and from ≥10 to <10 (41.6% vs. 24.4%, p = 0.0005). Additionally, patients with smaller declines in SVC over time were significantly more likely to have smaller decreases in their respiratory subdomain scores (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The higher correlation between %predicted SVC and specific ALSFRS-R symptom scores in patients with rapidly versus more slowly progressing disease reinforces the importance of continually monitoring respiratory function throughout the disease course.


New class of green biocomposites were designed and synthesized for tissue engineering applications. These newly introduced non-cytotoxic, biodegradable polyurethane composites had different compositions (i.e., ratio of hard to soft segments) of the linear, aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate and polycaprolactone diol. The porosity was introduced in the polyurethane matrix using a combination of salt leaching and thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). The resulting interconnected pore size was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to be between 125-355 μm. Porosity was determined using liquid displacement and found to be between 70-75% for non-reinforced matrices, 64-70% for reinforcement with 5 wt% biocellulose nanofiber (BCNF), 59-69% for 10 wt% BCNF, and 57-69% for 15 wt% BCNF biocomposite samples. Dependent on the composition, compressive strength showed up to a little less than two-fold increase (85%) for green BCNF reinforcement of 5 wt% and more than two-fold increase (120%) for 10 wt%. The tensile strength also increased up to almost two-fold (114%) for reinforcement with 5 wt% BCNF and to more than two-fold (140%) for 10 wt% reinforcement. Higher degrees of reinforcement showed a detrimental effect on both properties. Properties demonstrate that this novel class of nanostructured biocomposite holds potential to be utilized as scaffolds for tissue regeneration.


Currently, detection technology is very important for airport perimeter security. When the perimeter is invaded or destroyed, the perimeter security alarm system can promptly alert personnel. In this paper, based on analysis and comparison of several detection technologies commonly used in airport perimeter security and according to the characteristics of airport perimeters and laser detection, an airport perimeter security alarm system based on laser detection is proposed. It analyzes factors that affect the performance of a laser alarm system, divides intrusions into six categories, estimates the different alarm thresholds by testing, and judges the intrusion category according to the number of blocked laser beams and the duration of the block. In order to improve the rapid response and the robustness of the system, it uses a pattern recognition method based on radial basis function neural network technology to train and learn different samples of intrusion categories, uses the classifier to determine the cluster center of each sample node, and uses the weights of the center variance and the weights of hidden nodes to establish the alarm curve of each intrusion category. Meanwhile, when the feature value of an intrusion sample is distributed along the classification boundary of two categories, it uses Bayes' theorem to calculate the probability of an invasive category to reduce the false alarm risk. According to sample testing, the above recognition method of airport intrusions based on laser detection technology effectively improves the intrusion detection probability.


Silicon is the most attractive anode candidate for lithium ion batteries for its high theoretical capacity. However, it is difficult to be applied as anode material of lithium ion batteries for its poor cyclability and high irreversible capacity caused by structure collapse during the course of lithium insertion-extraction. Considering finding an efficient way to alleviate the crystal transformation during lithium insertion, the silicon anode with the highest theoretical capacity of all know non-lithium substances, was discharged by controlling its insertion capacity. The phase transformation during lithium ion insertion into silicon was investigated in detail. The lithium-insertion phases produced by constant capacity processing consist of Li-Si binary crystals and amorphous host phase. A stable Li12Si7 phase was found under different discharge conditions. This Li-Si binary phase formed by constant capacity showed high structure-reversibility during lithium insertion-extraction. The enhanced cyclability of silicon anode during constant-capacity discharging benefits from the mixture phases of silicon amorphous and crystal Li-Si alloy.


In Roman authors like Cicero and Quintilian language itself may be described as having an odor. In its synaesthetic blending of senses, this image defies "linguistic" expectations but confirms the observation of sensorial anthropology that sense-perception varies across cultures. The image is thus interpretable as an example of how Romans could use all sense-perceptual data, including natural odors and artificial scents, to determine one's origins and position in a social hierarchy. In addition to complicating the definition of "language" in Roman antiquity, the image thus suggests understanding odors as "osmetic" or "osmemic," depending on their meaningfulness in a given cultural context.


Saxagliptin (Onglyza) is a specific and reversible inhibitor of dipeptidylpeptidase-4 (DPP-4), which inhibits the activity of the enzyme for at least 24 hours after one single oral administration. It increases the circulating levels of incretin hormones (GLP-1, GIP), which contributes to amplify the insulin secretory response to meals and to reduce postprandial hyperglycaemia and, subsequently, fasting glycaemia. Saxagliptin, 5 mg once daily, has been shown to be effective in patients with type 2 diabetes treated with diet alone, metformin, sulfonylurea or glitazone, with a favourable tolerance profile. Reduction in glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)) averaged 0.6-0.8%, without increasing the risk of hypoglycaemia or promoting weight gain. The only indication of saxagliptin that is currently reimbursed in Belgium is the treatment of patients not controlled with metformin, the oral antidiabetic agent that is recommended as first line therapy in the management of type 2 diabetes.


Smallholder farmers in Malawi account for over 80 percent of the population and if the country is to achieve food security, poverty reduction and sustainable development attention to agricultural extension is a sine qua non. Since 2000, Malawi introduced extension reforms to better serve the needs of smallholder farmers. Some of the agricultural and rural development programs are quite complex, but as this study found, training to cope with their sophistication is lacking. Further, though extension workers are asked to facilitate entire development interventions, their training remains primarily in agriculture. This paper argues that extension workers need training in Communication for Development (C4D), an emerging body of knowledge for addressing problems, such as participation, integration and capacity building for them to relate more effectively with development partners. Thus, this paper proposes a C4D framework for strengthening extension in Malawi and encourages the Government of Malawi to trial this concept. Key words: Extension education, pluralistic and demand-driven extension, poverty reduction, sustainable development, extension theory and policy, communication for development, world bank


In 2013, Obama administration spokesmen stated that all U.S. nuclear war plans "apply the principles of distinction and proportionality and seek to minimize collateral damage to civilian populations and civilian objects." We analyze U.S. nuclear policy documents and argue that major changes must be made if U.S. nuclear war plans are to conform to these principles of just war doctrine and the law of armed conflict. We propose that the U.S. president announce a commitment to a "principle of necessity," committing the United States not to use nuclear weapons against any military target that can be destroyed with reasonable probability of success by a conventional weapon. Such a doctrinal change would reduce collateral damage from any nuclear strike or retaliation by the United States and would, we argue, make our deterrent threats more credible and thus more effective.


Summary Thirty-six young adults referred by professionals, and 60 university students selected by questionnaire, took part in studies investigating the relationship between autonomy-control variation in child rearing and level of alienation in young adults. Results disclosed that subjects coming from autonomy and intermediate families tended to report lower levels of alienation than those from control backgrounds. An interaction effect revealed that in females autonomy and intermediate levels of control were related to low alienation, while in males only the autonomy level showed this relationship. The relative contributions of powerlessness, normlessness, and social isolation to the total alienation scores were explored.


This dissertation examined the overall effects of routing and scoring within a computer adaptive multi-stage framework (ca-MST). Testing in a ca-MST environment has become extremely popular in the testing industry. Testing companies enjoy its efficiency benefits as compared to traditionally linear testing and its quality-control features over computer adaptive testing (CAT). Test takers enjoy being able to go back and change responses in review time before being assigned to the next module. Lord (1980) outlined a few salient characteristics that should be investigated before the implementation of multi-stage testing. Of these characteristics, decisions on routing mechanisms have received the least attention. This dissertation varied both item pool characteristics such as the location of information, and ca-MST configuration characteristics such as the ca-MST configuration design (e.g., 1-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4). The results from this study hope to show that number correct scoring can serve as a capable surrogate for IRT calibrations at each step and that even if three-parameter scoring models are used at the end that the number correct method will not misroute as compared to traditional methods.


The focus of this thesis lies on geometric packings of non-spherical shapes in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Since computing the optimal packing density is difficult, we investigate lower and upper bounds for the optimal value. For this, we consider two special kinds of geometric packings: translative packings and lattice packings.
We study upper bounds for the optimal packing density of translative packings. These are packings in which just translations and no rotations of the solids are allowed. Cohn and Elkies determined a linear program for the computation of such upper bounds that is defined
by infinitely many inequalities optimizing over an infinite dimensional set. We relax this problem to a semidefinite problem with finitely many constraints, since this kind of problem is efficiently solvable in general. In our computation we consider three-dimensional convex
bodies with tetrahedral or icosahedral symmetry. To obtain a program that is not too large for current solvers, we use invariant theory of finite pseudo-reflection groups to simplify the constraints. Since we solve this program by using numerical computations, the solutions might be slightly infeasible. Therefore, we verify the obtained solutions to ensure that they can be made feasible for the Cohn-Elkies program.
With this approach we find new upper bounds for three-dimensional superballs, which are unit balls for the l^3_p norm, for p ∈ (1, ∞) \ {2} . Furthermore, using our approach, we improve Zong's recent upper bound for the translative packing density of tetrahedra from 0.3840 . . . to 0.3683... , which is very close to the best known lower bound of 0.3673...
The last part of this thesis deals with lattice packings of superballs. Lattice packing sare translative packings in which the centers of the solids form a lattice. Thus, any lattice packing density is in particular a lower bound for the optimal translative packing density. Using a theorem of Minkowski, we compute locally optimal lattice packings for superballs. We obtain lattice packings for p ∈ [1, 8] whose density is at least as high as the density of the currently best lattice packings provided by Jiao, Stillinger, and Torquato. For p ∈ (1, 2)\[log 2 3, 1.6], we even improve these lattice packings. The upper bounds for p ∈ [3, 8], as
well as the numerical results for the upper bounds for p ∈ [1, log 2 , 3], are remarkably close to the lower bounds we obtain by these lattice packings.


Summary

1Introduction
2Physiological mechanisms of satiation and satiety
2.1 Physiological mechanisms of satiation
2.1.1 Gastric mechanisms of satiation
2.1.2 Intestinal mechanisms of satiation

2.2 Physiological mechanisms of satiety
2.2.1 Gut hormones – episodic signals of satiety
2.2.2 Tonic satiety signals

2.3 The integration of satiety signals in the brain
2.3.1 Anorexigenic pathways in the hypothalamus
2.3.2 Orexigenic pathways in the hypothalamus
2.3.3 Other areas of the brain involved in satiation and satiety
2.3.4 Reward pathways

3Measuring satiation and satiety
3.1 Measuring satiation
3.2 Measuring satiety
3.2.1 Free living vs. laboratory studies
3.2.2 Preload studies
3.2.3 Self-reported measures of satiety
3.2.4 Measuring food intake
3.2.5 Quantifying satiety

3.3 Confounders in satiety research
3.3.1 Physiological confounders
3.3.2 Behavioural confounders

4The effects of foods and drinks on satiety
4.1 Protein and satiety
4.2 Carbohydrates and satiety
4.3 Fibre and satiety
4.4 Intense sweeteners and satiety
4.5 Fat and satiety
4.6 Liquids and satiety
4.7 Alcohol and satiety
4.8 Energy density and satiety

5The effect of external factors on satiation and satiety
5.1 Palatability
5.2 Variety
5.3 Portion size
5.4 Sleep
5.5 Physical activity
5.6 Television viewing and other distractions
5.7 Social situations

6Satiation, satiety and weight control
6.1 Obesity genes and satiety
6.2 Physiological differences in satiation and satiety responses in obese people
6.3 Behavioural differences in the response to satiation and satiety in obesity

7Conclusions

Summary
In the context of the rising prevalence of obesity around the world, it is vital to understand how energy balance and bodyweight are controlled. The ability to balance energy intake and expenditure is critical to survival, and sophisticated physiological mechanisms have developed in order to do this, including the control of appetite. Satiation and satiety are part of the body's appetite control system and are involved in limiting energy intake. Satiation is the process that causes one to stop eating; satiety is the feeling of fullness that persists after eating, suppressing further consumption, and both are important in determining total energy intake.

Satiation and satiety are controlled by a cascade of factors that begin when a food or drink is consumed and continues as it enters the gastrointestinal tract and is digested and absorbed. Signals about the ingestion of energy feed into specific areas of the brain that are involved in the regulation of energy intake, in response to the sensory and cognitive perceptions of the food or drink consumed, and distension of the stomach. These signals are integrated by the brain, and satiation is stimulated. When nutrients reach the intestine and are absorbed, a number of hormonal signals that are again integrated in the brain to induce satiety are released. In addition to these episodic signals, satiety is also affected by fluctuations in hormones, such as leptin and insulin, which indicate the level of fat storage in the body.

Satiation and satiety can be measured directly via food intake or indirectly via ratings of subjective sensations of appetite. The most common study design when measuring satiation or satiety over a short period is using a test preload in which the variables of interest are carefully controlled. This is followed by subjects rating aspects of their appetite sensations, such as fullness or hunger, at intervals and then, after a predetermined time interval, a test meal at which energy intake is measured. Longer-term studies may provide foods or drinks of known composition to be consumed ad libitum and use measures of energy intake and/or appetite ratings as indicators of satiety. The measurement of satiation and satiety is complicated by the fact that many factors besides these internal signals may influence appetite and energy intake, for example, physical factors such as bodyweight, age or gender, or behavioural factors such as diet or the influence of other people present. For this reason, the majority of studies on satiation and satiety take place in a laboratory, where confounders can be controlled as much as possible, and are, therefore, of short duration.

It is possible for any food or drink to affect appetite, and so it is important to determine whether, for a given amount of energy, particular variables have the potential to enhance or reduce satiation or satiety. A great deal of research has been conducted to investigate the effect of different foods, drinks, food components and nutrients on satiety. Overall, the characteristic of a food or drink that appears to have the most impact on satiety is its energy density. That is the amount of energy it contains per unit weight (kJ/g, kcal/g). When energy density is controlled, the macronutrient composition of foods does not appear to have a major impact on satiety. In practice, high-fat foods tend to have a higher energy density than high-protein or high-carbohydrate foods, and foods with the highest water content tend to have the lowest energy density. Some studies have shown that energy from protein is more satiating than energy from carbohydrate or fat. In addition, certain types of fibre have been shown to enhance satiation and satiety. It has been suggested that energy from liquids is less satiating then energy from solids. However, evidence for this is inconsistent, and it may be the mode of consumption (i.e. whether the liquid is perceived to be a food or drink) that influences its effect on satiety. Alcohol appears to stimulate energy intake in the short-term, and consuming energy from alcohol does not appear to lead to a subsequent compensatory reduction in energy intake.

The consumption of food and drink to provide energy is a voluntary behaviour, and, despite the existence of sophisticated physiological mechanisms to match intake to requirements, humans often eat when sated and sometimes refrain from eating when hungry. Thus, there are numerous influences on eating behaviour beyond satiation and satiety. These include: the portion size, appeal, palatability and variety of foods and drinks available; the physiological impact on the body of physical activity and sleep; and other external influences such as television viewing and the effect of social situations.

Because satiation and satiety are key to controlling energy intake, inter-individual differences in the strength of these signals and responsiveness to their effects could affect risk of obesity. Such differences have been observed at a genetic, physiological and behavioural level and may be important to consider in strategies to prevent or treat obesity.

Overall, it is clear that, although the processes of satiation and satiety have the potential to control energy intake, many individuals override the signals generated. Hence, in such people, satiation and satiety alone are not sufficient to prevent weight gain in the current obesogenic environment. Knowledge about foods, ingredients and dietary patterns that can enhance satiation and satiety is potentially useful for controlling bodyweight. However, this must be coupled with an understanding of the myriad of other factors that influence eating behaviour, in order to help people to control their energy intake.


A significant portion of the Hospital Information Systems currently consists of various individual legacy applications that have to be integrated, to deliver a more unified solution. The performance, reliability and other factors of these applications can alter the performance, reliability and other characteristics of integrated Solution, the Smart Hospital Management System (SHS). The actual evaluation of these parameters of these applications is outside the scope of this document. The SHS being an infrastructure component relies heavily on the actual resources made available to it for its proper functioning, operation and maintenance. This article aims to deliver an approach in architecting solutions which can be utilised as framework to address common issues in integration of enterprise level solutions. The methodologies discussed in TOGAF version 9 are utilised to demonstrate the feasibility of proposed solution. This paper introduces the problem space/scenarios, constraints, requirements, enablers, risks, sample legacy application architectures and proposed integration solution presented with TOGAF components. The growing number of waiting lists, rising pressure on medical professionals and accountability for medical negligence are only part of the motivation to take initiative towards holds a core model integration strategy in various legacy infrastructure systems.


The incidence of heart failure has been rising rapidly. The cornerstone of therapy in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) with hypoxemia in the emergency department (ED) includes administration of nitrates, loop diuretics and provision of supplemental oxygen, which can be delivered in various forms depending on severity. High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygenation has been increasingly used for conditions with type 1 respiratory failure, such as severe pneumonia, and post-extubation in the intensive care unit (ICU). We evaluate the physiology and current evidence behind the use of HFNC oxygenation, and whether it is a viable alternative in the delivery of oxygen in ADHF in the ED, general inpatient ward and ICU.


The Centerpoint Theorem states that, for any set S of n points in R(d), there exists a point p in R(d) such that every closed halfspace containing p contains at least [n/(d + 1)] points of S. We consider generalizations of the Centerpoint Theorem in which halfspaces are replaced with wedges (cones) of angle alpha. In R(2), we give bounds that are tight for all values of ff and give an O(n) time algorithm to find a point satisfying these bounds. We also give partial results for R(3) and, more generally, R(d).


Various science events including Science Cafés have been held in Japan. However, there is the question whether these are events in which all people in society can participate? In particular, methods for checking whether or not the event attracts the participants targeted by the organizers have not yet been well established. In this paper, the authors have designed a simplified questionnaire to identify the participants' attitudes toward science, technology and society, which can then be grouped into four clusters. When applied to various science cafés, the results revealed that participants consisted of Cluster 1 "Inquisitive type" and Cluster 2 "Sciencephile" who are interested in science and technology. The cafes studied did not provide sufficient appeal to people of Clusters 3 and 4 who are not interested in science and technology without applying some inventive methods. Our method provides a means of objectively evaluating the tendencies of participants in science communication events in order to improve the spread of science communications within society.


The large-scale, dynamic, and heterogeneous nature of cloud computing poses numerous security challenges. But the cloud's main challenge is to provide a robust authorization mechanism that incorporates multitenancy and virtualization aspects of resources. The authors present a distributed architecture that incorporates principles from security management and software engineering and propose key requirements and a design model for the architecture.


Glottal Closure Instants (GCIs) correspond to the temporal locations of significant excitation to the vocal tract occurring during the production of voiced speech. GCI detection from speech signals is a well-studied problem given its importance in speech processing. Most of the existing approaches for GCI detection adopt a two-stage approach (i) Transformation of speech signal into a representative signal where GCIs are localized better, (ii) extraction of GCIs using the representative signal obtained in first stage. The former stage is accomplished using signal processing techniques based on the principles of speech production and the latter with heuristic-algorithms such as dynamic-programming and peak-picking. These methods are thus task-specific and rely on the methods used for representative signal extraction. However, in this paper, we formulate the GCI detection problem from a representation learning perspective where appropriate representation is implicitly learned from the raw-speech data samples. Specifically, GCI detection is cast as a supervised multi-task learning problem solved using a deep convolutional neural network jointly optimizing a classification and regression cost. The learning capability is demonstrated with several experiments on standard datasets. The results compare well with the state-of-the-art algorithms while performing better in the case of presence of real-world non-stationary noise.


Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are commonly the first colonisers of carrion. Forensic entomologists are able to estimate a minimum post-mortem interval by examining the eldest immature stage collected from the scene. For a minimum post-mortem interval estimation to be calculated, developmental data of the species is commonly subtracted from total developmental time. Information regarding events prior to death such as post-mortem relocation, mortuary behaviour and origin can also be determined from collected samples, in particular those from archaeological sites. The information, however, relies on accurate species identification. Currently, several methods are employed on insect samples. These involve both morphological and molecular techniques. With the constant development of molecular genetics, new methods are being developed which show potential for species identification. This thesis examines the use of such techniques on both contemporary and museum-stored insect samples.

Deep sequencing technology, nested-PCR and light microscopy were used to examine the utility of a combined approach for the identification of insect samples collected from two sets of mummified remains. In both cases, species identification was successful, and origin was determined in one case. Results showed the importance of a multi-technique approach, with emphasis on utilising both morphological and molecular techniques to assign identity.

Multi-gene analysis was used to examine the utility of several genes from both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to assign species status of the South African blowfly Calliphora croceipalpis (Diptera: Calliphroidae). Using the Cytochrome Oxidase I gene, Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 and the Carbamoylphosphate Synthetase gene, species identity was determined. It was found that identification of C. croceipalpis must be under taken with care due to possible morphological similarities due to founder effects with Calliphora vicina and it is recommended to use a multi-gene approach for identification of calliphorids.

Inter-simple sequence repeat-polymerase chain reaction was investigated for its applicability as a rapid identification tool for forensically important calliphorids. Examining 26 calliphorid species and several populations within many of the species collected globally, the existence of species-specific bands was examined. Results showed that large amounts of interspecific and intraspecific variation were seen, with no species-specific bands detected. It is recommended that inter-simple sequence repeat not to be used as a rapid tool for calliphorid identification, but it may have a use as a population-based tool.

The analysis of molecular techniques showed that with new recent techniques, such as next generation sequencing, the information that is gained from museum-stored samples, could aid in historical findings. Significant information such as geographic origin and historical events has been determined from molecular work. The use of a multi-gene approach is recommended when analysing closely related species, due to recent divergence. Analysing both nuclear and mitochondrial genes increase the accuracy of species identification. The use of a rapid molecular technique for identifying entomological samples would be a fundamental and valuable tool. Although cytochrome oxidase I amplification and sequencing are relatively time-consuming, they are more reliable indicator of species than inter simple sequence repeat analysis. It can therefore be concluded from this study that the application of molecular techniques for the identification of both contemporary and museum samples can provide a wealth of information to help both forensic and archaeological case studies.


Bayesian deep learning is recently regarded as an intrinsic way to characterize the weight uncertainty of deep neural networks~(DNNs). Stochastic Gradient Langevin Dynamics~(SGLD) is an effective method to enable Bayesian deep learning on large-scale datasets. Previous theoretical studies have shown various appealing properties of SGLD, ranging from the convergence properties to the generalization bounds. In this paper, we study the properties of SGLD from a novel perspective of membership privacy protection (i.e., preventing the membership attack). The membership attack, which aims to determine whether a specific sample is used for training a given DNN model, has emerged as a common threat against deep learning algorithms. To this end, we build a theoretical framework to analyze the information leakage (w.r.t. the training dataset) of a model trained using SGLD. Based on this framework, we demonstrate that SGLD can prevent the information leakage of the training dataset to a certain extent. Moreover, our theoretical analysis can be naturally extended to other types of Stochastic Gradient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (SG-MCMC) methods. Empirical results on different datasets and models verify our theoretical findings and suggest that the SGLD algorithm can not only reduce the information leakage but also improve the generalization ability of the DNN models in real-world applications.


CARCINOMA of the breast seen in youth is a medical curiosity. The incidence of breast carcinoma is extremely low under the age of 30 years. In Haagensen's Presbyterian Hospital data, only 1.8% of 1,544 patients were under the age of 30. 6 Below the age of 25 the disease is rare. Only four patients were under 25; the youngest was 22. Below the age of 20, carcinoma of the breast is a medical curiosity. In Pirquet's tabulation of English mortality data, 70,247 deaths from breast carcinoma are reviewed. 13 There was one case of a child under the age of 5 years, one case between the ages of 10 and 14, five cases between the ages of 15 and 19, and 27 cases between the ages of 20 and 24. Ficke and Reissig, in a collected series of cases totaling 5,406, found eight carcinomas in the age group of 20


BACKGROUND
The role of platelet activating factor (PAF) and nitric oxide in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (MIR) injury and the interrelationship of the two mediators is poorly understood. The contribution of PAF to apoptosis during MIR has not been studied.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the contribution of PAF to ex vivo cardiac dysfunction during the initial 5 h of postischemia reperfusion, to determine the contribution of PAF to inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and endothelial NOS mRNA expression during MIR, and to determine whether PAF contributes to apoptosis during MIR.

METHODS
Isolated blood-perfused rabbit hearts underwent 30 min of global ischemia and 5 h reperfusion. Animals were divided into four groups, which received either PAF antagonist TCV-309 or vehicle before ischemia, or were sham operated (heart perfusion only), or were control (no heart perfusion).

RESULTS
Administration of the PAF antagonist significantly improved myocardial contractility (614 mmHg/s versus 308 mmHg/s, positive dP/dt, P<0.0001) and coronary vascular flow rate (5.5 mL/min versus 3.9 mL/min, P<0.01) during reperfusion compared with untreated animals (values at 5 h reperfusion). Treatment with PAF antagonist significantly increased mRNA expression of endothelial NOS (2.8 versus 1.3 ratio, P<0.05) compared with the untreated group. PAF antagonist reduced procaspase-3 cleavage (66 versus 108 ratio, P<0.05) and DNA fragmentation (8.2 versus 11.0 positive cells per field) compared with untreated animals.

CONCLUSIONS
PAF antagonism with TCV-309 protected against myocardial contractile depression and coronary vasoconstriction during the initial 5 h reperfusion. PAF may play a role in the regulation of endothelial NOS mRNA expression and contribute to apoptosis during ischemia-reperfusion in the heart.


The circulatory adaptation to arm and leg exercise was studied with stepwise increased work loads in 10 patients with signs of coronary artery disease. Both arm and leg exercise elicited angina pectoris in all patients. Anginal pain appeared at the same level of pressure-time per minute (PTM) in the two forms of exercise, but at a smaller work load and a lower pulmonary oxygen uptake during arm exercise than during leg exercise. Heart rate, PTM, and peak systolic, systolic mean, diastolic, and mean arterial pressures all increased more steeply in relation to work load during arm exercise than during leg exercise. The differences in circulatory adaptation during arm and leg exercise are attributed in part to a lower mechanical efficiency and a higher sympathetic outflow during arm exercise. These factors may in turn reflect the involvement of smaller muscle groups and a larger component of static work with trunk muscles during arm exercise. The pattern of response to exercise resembles that seen in healthy...


There  is  an  urgent  need  to  find  strategies  to  assist multilingual  learners who  are  taught  by means of English as the language of teaching and learning (LoLT) in coping with subject matter, especially  as  learners  show  different  levels  of  English  proficiency. One  important  strategy  is code‐switching.  The  possibility  of  using  a  glossary,  notes  and  tests  given  in  English  and Setswana  as  scaffold  for  the  code‐switching,  was  investigated  in  a  qualitative  study.  An intervention  was  launched  in  a  region  where  the main  language  is  Setswana.  Two  schools participated in the study, one school in a rural area and the other in a township. The teaching of a geometry unit was undertaken  in which notes, a glossary and  tests  in English and Setswana were used to assist the learners. The teachers used a strategy of code‐switching. Interviews withthe  learners and  the  teachers  revealed  that  learners had a positive attitude  towards  the use of both  languages  in written work.  In contrast,  the  teachers had mixed  feelings, especially about the use of mathematical terminology in Setswana. Difficulties experienced and positive features regarding the use of new Setswana terminology are discussed.


This study compared sit to stand (STS) performance between older adults in a nine-week training program focusing on core stability exercises to enhance balance and postural control (EB) versus standard balance (SB) exercises. Repetitions in 30 s (STSreps) and kinematic performance (vertical and horizontal momentum, and margin of stability) were measured pre and postintervention in 23 older adults with at least one fall risk factor. Although both groups combined improved STSreps (P = .001) and vertical momentum (.008), a significant between-group difference was observed for completers only (MANCOVA of posttest group differences, with pretest scores as covariates; P = .04). EB demonstrated a greater but nonsignificant improvement in vertical momentum (P = .095). In conclusion, core stability training added to SB did not result in STS reps improvement. Compliance may modify these results and future larger sample studies should evaluate the impact of core stability training on STS biomechanics.


A robot should be endowed with certain collaboration experience to recognize human's behavioral intention. This paper provides a method based on machine learning to recognize the collaborator's intention. A radial basis function neural network model was built for offline practice of a robot to recognize intention. Some collaboration skills can be obtained by the robot by building a map between the collaborator's intention and the system state, deducing human's intention based on the dynamic characteristics of collaborator and robot and taking the collaborator's intention as the feedforward information for controlling the robot so as to estimate the human's intention online based on collaborator's force and robot's motion characteristics during collaboration. The proposed method can overcome the difficulties in building the human-robot collaboration model by traditional method, especially the complicated human motion model, and difficulties in estimation of impedance parameters of human body. An experiment was conducted on a motion platform with single degree of freedom. The results prove that the collaborator's force is reduced while synchronization of human-robot collaboration is improved, so that the compliance of collaborated motion is also improved.


Background: The proprioceptive program is directly related to neuromuscular control, which uses proprioceptive afferences to provide dynamic stabilization of the joint. Some variables can be considered risk factors for injuries, such as sprains, sudden and unexpected movement activities, simple quick changes of direction, soil type or footwear, among others. The balance training program contributes to lower injury rates and increases sports performance rate. Thus works the perception and maintenance of postural balance from information coming from sensory afferences. Objective: To perform a systematic review and verify the effect of proprioceptive training on ankle joint in athletes. Methods: A search for clinical trials was performed in the PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, PEdro and SCIELO databases, the terms used for the search were "Proprioception", "Athletic" and "Rehabilitation", with the filters: articles published between the years of 2015 to 2020 and research in humans. Only studies published in the English language that addressed the proposed theme were included. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the quality of studies with clinical trials, where studies with a score lower than 6/10 on the scale were excluded. Results: With the search 69 articles were found, removing the duplicates we obtained 67 eligible articles, of these, 15 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After complete analysis, 9 studies were included. Conclusion: Proprioceptive training in athletes, lasting at least three weeks with weekly protocols composed of dynamic exercises directed at individuals with ankle instability is totally effective for both joint injury prevention and rehabilitation. In addition to the increase of variables such as postural balance, coordination, postural control and functional performance.


We present two cases of patients who developed local swelling and induration after continuous subcutaneous infusion of morphine. Cutaneous complications of repeated subcutaneous injections of pentazocine, meperidine, ketobemidone and methadone are well described. There are few reports of similar reactions after subcutaneous administration of morphine. Both patients were later treated with sufentanil using the subcutaneous route without any reaction. Sufentanil might be an alternative to patients who cannot tolerate morphine.


Chemo-mechanical grinding (CMG) process is a promising process for large-sized Si substrate fabrication at low cost. However, effect of additive in CMG wheel is not completely understood yet. In this paper, three different CMG wheels were developed, in which one excluded additive and the other two contained two kinds of additive i.e. silicon dioxide and sodium carbonate. Grinding experiments were conducted to explore the influence of exclusion of additive and inclusion of different kinds of additive on CMG performance. The grinding characteristics of the three wheels were also analyzed and discussed to reveal the roles of wheel compositions in CMG process. This work provides some fundamental insights for the selection of different types of additive for optimization of CMG wheel.


We reviewed the clinical features of 5 cases of Langerhans' cell histiocytosis that had been referred because of pulmonary lesions. The most frequent symptom was persistent dry cough. Chest radiographs showed bilateral, symmetric reticulonodular infiltrates and accompanying cystic changes with an upper-field predominance. Pulmonary function testing (PFT) revealed moderate restrictive impairment in 3 patients. All the above features were in accordance with previous reports. The incidence of complications was, however, higher in the present cases than reported in the literature. Four cases were complicated with diabetes insipidus (DI), which caused polydipsia and polyuria on the initial presentation and was subsequently managed with intranasal desmopressin. In 4 cases, bone lesions were detected. A bone scintigram at 99mTc proved to be useful for surveillance. All patients had been followed up closely for longer than 2 years (median duration 2.8 years). Their clinical courses were generally stable without apparent decline in PFT, except that one patient with a psychiatric problem died from hypernatremia due to misuse of desmopressin. Immunosuppressive agents were given in only 2 patients including the one who died. Four transbronchial biopsies (TBB) were performed in 4 cases and at least 3 specimens were sampled from each. Histological diagnoses were made from TBB specimens in 3 patients, while the remaining 2 patients underwent an open lung biopsy. We conclude that TBB is acceptable as an initial diagnostic attempt. Multiple sampling may also contribute to preferable yield. Regarding patient management, we suggest that DI and bone lesions should be sought extensively as their incidence may be much higher than previously estimated.


OBJECTIVE
To use force plate analysis to evaluate the analgesic efficacies of flunixin meglumine and phenylbutazone administered i.v. at typical clinical doses in horses with navicular syndrome.

ANIMALS
12 horses with navicular syndrome that were otherwise clinically normal.

PROCEDURE
Horses received flunixin (1.1 mg/kg), phenylbutazone (4.4 mg/kg), or physiologic saline (0.9% NaCI; 1 mL/45 kg) solution administered IV once daily for 4 days with a 14-day washout period between treatments (3 treatments/horse). Before beginning treatment (baseline) and 6, 12, 24, and 30 hours after the fourth dose of each treatment, horses were evaluated by use of the American Association of Equine Practitioners lameness scoring system (half scores permitted) and peak vertical force of the forelimbs was measured via a force plate.

RESULTS
At 6, 12, and 24 hours after the fourth treatment, subjective lameness evaluations and force plate data indicated significant improvement in lameness from baseline values in horses treated with flunixin or phenylbutazone, compared with control horses; at those time points, the assessed variables in flunixin- or phenylbutazone-treated horses were not significantly different.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In horses with navicular syndrome treated once daily for 4 days, typical clinical doses of flunixin and phenylbutazone resulted in similar significant improvement in lameness at 6, 12, and 24 hours after the final dose, compared with findings in horses treated with saline solution. The effect of flunixin or phenylbutazone was maintained for at least 24 hours. Flunixin meglumine and phenylbutazone appear to have similar analgesic effects in horses with navicular syndrome.


Portugal, as a small and increasingly integrated European economy, has been influenced by some of the major trends that defined the agenda of higher education policy in recent decades. Its backwardness – notably in terms of skills, education, and training – has frequently prompted a focus of attention on its international counterparts, particularly those in Europe, in search of affinities, solutions and errors to avoid. The search for guidance has also created an opportunity for the intervention of international organisations. Until Portugal joined the European Union (EU) in 1986, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank were the main agencies playing this role. Henceforth, those institutions lost some influence, and the European dimension gained increasing prominence. This article discusses the role of those international organisations in the definition of priorities for Portuguese higher education policy in recent decades, and provides a general overview of the outside perceptions of the Portuguese situation as understood by these international organisations. In particular, the article focuses on those interventions that promoted the influence of market mechanisms in the Portuguese higher education system by emphasising the need for higher education institutions (HEIs) to strive for increased economic responsiveness.


Weld residual stresses in nuclear power plant can lead to cracking concerns caused by stress corrosion. These are large diameter thick wall pipe and nozzles. Many factors can lead to the development of the weld residual stresses and the distributions of the stress through the wall thickness can vary markedly. Hence, understanding the residual stress distribution is important to evaluate the reliability of pipe and nozzle joints with welds. This paper represents an examination of the weld residual stress distributions which occur in various different size nozzles. The detailed weld residual stress predictions for these nozzles are summarized. Many such weld residual stress solutions have been developed by the authors in the last five years. These distributions will be categorized and organized in this paper and general trends for the causes of the distributions will be established. The residual stress field can therefore feed into a crack growth analysis. The solutions are made using several different constitutive models such as kinematic hardening, isotropic hardening, and mixed hardening model. Necessary fabrication procedures such as repair, overlay and post weld heat treatment are also considered. Some general discussions and comments will conclude the paper.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method has been applied to gear configurations with and without shrouding. The goals of this work have been to validate the numerical and modeling approaches used for these applications and to develop physical understanding of the aerodynamics of gear windage loss. Several spur gear geometries are considered, for which experimental data are available. Various canonical shrouding configurations and free spinning (no shroud) cases are studied. Comparisons are made with experimental data from open literature, and data recently obtained in the NASA Glenn Research Center Gear Windage Test Facility, Cleveland, OH. The results show good agreement with the experiment. The parametric shroud configuration studies carried out in the Glenn experiments and the CFD analyses elucidate the physical mechanisms of windage losses as well as mitigation strategies due to shrouding and newly proposed tooth contour modifications.


This study examined the influence of s.c. administration of 5-hydroxytryptamine (HT)1A agonists upon the antinociceptive action of s.c. injected morphine in tail-flick tests to noxious heat and pressure. The selective 5-HT1A agonist, (+-)-8-hydroxy-diprolaminotetralin HBr (8-OH-DPAT), dose-dependently antagonized morphine-induced antinociception (MIA) without affecting the latency to respond when applied alone. In the presence of increasing doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.16-0.63 mg/kg), the morphine dose-response curve was shifted progressively in parallel to the right and the maximal effect of morphine was not altered; Schild analysis yielded a slope of close to -1.0. 8-OH-DPAT both prevented and reversed the action of morphine. The action of 8-OH-DPAT was reversible (at 24 hr). In distinction, 8-OH-DPAT neither blocked morphine-induced Straub tail nor precipitated withdrawal in morphine-dependent animals; thus, it lacked opioid-antagonist properties. The antagonism of MIA by 8-OH-DPAT was mimicked by additional drugs acting as high efficacy 5-HT1A agonists: lisuride, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine hydrogen oxalate, RU 24969 [methoxy-3-(1,2,3.6-tetrahydropyridin-4-yl)-1H-indole] and d-lysergic acid diethylamide. In contrast, the 5-HT1B/1C agonist, TFMPP m-trifluromethylphenylpiperazine HCl, and the 5-HT1C/2 agonist, DOI (+-)-2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl-2-aminopropane HCI, were ineffective. The putative selective 5-HT1A antagonists, BMY 7378 [(8-[-[4-(2-,ethoxyphenyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl]-8-azaspirol[4]- decane-7,9-dione-2-HCL] and spiperone, did not reduce MIA. Indeed, BMY 7378 blocked the ability of 8-OH-DPAT to antagonize MIA. Under the present conditions, agonists and antagonists at adrenergic and dopaminergic receptors did not attenuate MIA. These data show that, over a certain range of doses, the systemic administration of 8-OH-DPAT and other high efficacy 5-HT1A agonists functionally antagonizes the antinociceptive action of systemically applied morphine in a competitive-like manner. It is suggested that 5-HT1A receptors play an important role in the modulation of opioidergic antinociceptive mechanisms.


It was the aim of this study to conduct simultaneous qualitative analysis of blood flow spectra of uteroplacental and foetal vessels in normal pregnancy, in growth retardation and in EPH gestosis using the pulsed Doppler method. In 237 women who had delivered we performed 291 measurements in uteroplacental vessels, 318 in the umbilical artery, 339 in the foetal aorta and 130 in the foetal common carotid artery. The blood flow spectra were evaluated with the help of the resistance and pulsation index ratio (RI/PI) as a measure of the resistance of the subsequent vascular system. We observed in uteroplacental vessels in EPH gestosis and retardation a significant elevation of the index values in the wall of the uterus outside or inside the placental margin. In foetal vessels we noted a highly significant increase of RI and PI in the umbilical artery and the foetal aorta--simultaneously, however, a drop in the index values in the foetal common carotid artery. These changes point on the one hand to the increased resistance in the capillary net of the placenta and a possible vascular constriction in the region of the lower abdominal organs and extremities, whereas on the other hand they point towards a compensatory lowering of the vascular resistance in the cerebral circulation--possibly as an expression of the risk of hypoxia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Objectives: To construct normal reference values for JLS size. To determine JLS size in a study group with an increased NT. Methods: Ultrasound examinations were carried out on 70 singleton pregnancies and 15 pregnancies complicated by an increased NT (> 3 mm). The NT measurement was performed following criteria of the Fetal Medicine Foundation. The size of the JLS, were measured in a transversal view. Normal reference lines were constructed using Altman's method (1993). The mean Z-scores for the NT and JLS in the increased NT group were calculated and the difference between the means was statistically tested (paired Student-t). Results: The NT and the mean of the JLS outcomes are linear related with gestational age: NT (mm) = 0.306 * GA (wks) −2.278. JLS (mm) = 0.544 * GA (wks) −5.106. In the normal group there is no significant correlation between NT and JLS size, R = 0.16, P = 0.19. However, in the increased NT group a significant (P = 0.02) correlation (R = 0.59) is found. The mean Z-score of the NT size 7.9 (SD = 3.9) is not significant different from the mean Z-score 7.2 (SD = 11.3) of the JLS size (P = 0.77). Conclusion: These data suggests that measuring JLS additional to NT might improve the detection rates in aneuploidy screening.


In the rapid urbanization of rural western China, a variety of long-standing housing typologies are being replaced with energy consuming brick-concrete structures that have little connection to vernacular traditions. To improve this situation, this paper proposes an ecologically sensitive alternative, based on a case study of the design and construction of 44 new dwellings in Daping Village, Sichuan Province, after that area was devastated by the May 12, 2008 earthquake. We propose that this eco-approach may represent a generalizable approach for sustainable development of vernacular architecture in western China.


Fourteen years after its Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), Kosovo is not still an international legal personality. The major challenge that Kosovo has is neither recognition nor non-recognition but the withdrawal of recognition (WR) by countries that hitherto recognised it after the UDI. Evidently, the recognition of Kosovo has not only stagnated but it is retarding because of WR by some states. On 13 May 2022, Serbian Foreign Minister declared that there is WR by four additional countries bringing the total number of WR to twenty-two. The specific objective of the study is to evaluate the circumstances that precipitated the UDI of Kosovo and the reasons why its recognition is retarding. Accordingly, the study is guided by four research questions. The constitutive theory of statehood is the theoretical framework of the study. The study adopted the quality research methodology. The quagmire generated by the UDI of Kosovo compelled the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to seek the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). There are a couple of reasons why the recognition of Kosovo is stagnating. The most important reason is to forestall a dangerous precedent for other secessionist movements. Some states still hold tenaciously to the illegality of Kosovo's UDI despite the ICJ's ruling. On 30 July 2022, the Prime Minister of Spain declared that the UDI of Kosovo is a violation of international law. The study recommends that the United Nation should clearly spell out the conditions for secession and recognition of States.


Abstract This paper investigates the theoretical conclusions of a numerical analysis. The results are reproduced experimentally using a two-dimensional model in a wave flume. The experimental set-up is conducted by subjecting the model to waves with frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 2 Hz. The heave velocities of the structure and water column are calculated by differentiating the displacement of each with respect to time. The experimental results confirm that the extent of the parametric relationship between the structure heave velocity and oscillating water column heave velocity is linearly related to the power output potential of the system and hence, can be used as a design tool for floating offshore wave energy converters. It has also been determined that the extent of the parametric function is maximised when the forcing frequency is between 90 and 100% of the natural frequency of the water column of the system in question. This shows that the system efficiency is maximised when the waves cause resonance of the water column compared to the ocean wave.


We define a special nilpotent Lie group N to be one which has a 1-dimensional center, dilations, square-integrable representations, and a maximal subordinate algebra common to almost all functional on the Lie algebra 3c. Every nilpotent Lie group with dilations imbeds in such a special group so that the dilations extend. Let L be a homogeneous left invariant differential operator on N. We give a representation-theoretic condition on L which L must satisfy if it has a tempered fundamental solution and which implies global solvability of L. (The sufficiency is a corollary of a more general theorem, valid on all nilpotent N.) For the Heisenberg group, the condition is equivalent to having a tempered fundamental solution.


This article returns to the question of 'resource curse' and the powers of local parliaments to harness resource exploitation to meet national development agendas. The study is inspired by direct experiences with the Zimbabwean and Ugandan parliaments. It examines the dilemmas and uncertainties that confront dysfunctional states, and states with weak governance institutions, in governing newly discovered natural resources effectively. It focuses on the experiences of parliament in Uganda after the discovery of commercially viable oil deposits in the Albertine Graben region and in Zimbabwe following the discovery of diamonds in Chiadzwa, both in 2006. In both countries, parliament has frantically tried to carve out space for national dialogue on, and transparent mechanisms for, the governance and control of the natural resources. Yet, in both cases, we describe an opaque terrain, where gross corrupt deals and underhand transactions can be processed without regulation. Parliament has tried, but failed, to play a critical role in oil and diamond governance. We conclude that the 'resource curse' is more a reflection of a governance deficit than a resource abundance crisis.


Non-linear large-displacement elasto-plastic finite element analyses are used to propose design recommendations for the eaves bracket of a cold-formed steel portal frame. Owing to the thinness of the sheet steel used for the brackets, such a structural design problem is not trivial as the brackets need to be designed against failure through buckling; without availability of the finite element method, expensive laboratory testing would therefore be required. In this paper, the finite element method is firstly used to predict the plastic moment capacity of the eaves bracket. Parametric studies are then used to propose design recommendations for the eaves bracket against two potential buckling modes of failure: (1) buckling of the stiffened free-edge into one-half sine wave, (2) local plate buckling of the exposed triangular bracket area. The results of full-scale laboratory tests on selected geometries of eaves bracket demonstrate that the proposed design recommendations are conservative. The use of the finite element method in this way exploits modern computational techniques for an otherwise difficult structural design problem.


Effects of various grain sizes (10~390 µm) under heating rate of 40 °C/min on ammonium perchlorate (AP) decomposition characteristic parameters, the decomposition thermal behavior and kinetic parameters (activation energy and pre-exponential factor), were investigated by simultaneous DSC/TGA in a dynamic nitrogen atmosphere. In addition, the specific surface areas were measured by the BET-method. Moreover, the kinetic parameters were determined by a simplified approach based on the isoconversional method. The results showed that, the higher the AP particle size the lower the determined decomposition kinetic parameters. In addition, the results were in acceptable agreements with some important literatures. Moreover, it was highly recommended to apply the higher agreeable heating rates for AP samples to determine that parameters more accurately.


PURPOSE
To correlate T1-weighted (T1w) magnetic resonance (MR) image contrast around a cryoablation iceball with temperature in a phantom study and to compare this to its in vivo appearance during MR-guided focal cryoablation of prostate cancer.

METHODS
A MR-compatible cryoneedle was inserted into identical gel phantoms (n = 3) on a 1.5 T MR system. Two fiber-optic temperature sensors were placed parallel to the needle. A fast 3D T1w gradient echo (GRE) sequence (TR/TE/FA = 4.81/1.98/6°) was used to monitor iceball progression. Normalized signal intensity (SI) was correlated with temperature. The same T1w sequence was used during MR-guided prostate cryoablation in ten consecutive patients at the authors' institution. In vivo findings were quantitatively compared to the phantom data.

RESULTS
In the phantom study, the cryoablation iceball appeared in the T1w MR images as a sharply delineated signal void. A 2.2 ± 0.2 mm wide hyperintense rim directly surrounded the iceball at cooled but nonfreezing temperatures (<20 °C) in the gel. Normalized SI was maximum at 8.4 ± 2.4 °C, showing a 35.6%-43.0% (mean 40.5%) increase with respect to baseline before cooling. In the clinical procedures, the same image contrast was observed in vivo in all patients. In vivo, width of the hyperintense rim was 1.6 ± 0.6 mm. Normalized SI increases with respect to nontreated prostate ranged 28.4%-55.6% (mean 36.8%). On quantitative analysis, normalized SI changes along a linear region of interest from surrounding tissue onto the iceball center were similar between the patients and phantom setting (root mean square difference 0.06).

CONCLUSIONS
The hyperintense rim around the iceball in fast T1w GRE images corresponded to cooled but nonfreezing temperatures (<20 °C) proximal to the frozen zone. The same image contrast was observed both in a phantom study as well as in vivo in the human prostate during cryotherapy. Potentially, monitoring of this rim could be useful in order to maintain a safe margin from at-risk tissues during MR-guided prostate cryoablation procedures.


The kinetics of oxidation of 2-hydroxy butyric acid salt (2-HBAS) and 3-hydroxy butyric acid salt (3-HBAS) by ditelluratocuprate(III) (DTC) were studied spectrophotometrically between 298.2 K and 313.2 K in alkaline medium. The reaction rate showed first order dependence in DTC and a fractional order in HBAS. It was found that the pseudo-first order rate constant kobs increased with an increase in the concentration of OH- and a decrease in the concentration of TeO42-. The reaction rate changed with the position of the hydroxyl group. There was a negative salt effect. A plausible mechanism involving a pre-equilibrium of adduct formation between the complex and HBAS was proposed. The rate equations derived from the mechanism can explain all experimental observations. The activation parameters along with the rate constants of the rate-determining step were calculated.


Telegram from Silliman Evans to Amon Carter expressing sympathy at the news that his son, Amon, Jr., had been reported missing in action in North Africa.


Suicide among U.S. Army soldiers remains a significant concern for both population health and personnel readiness, with firearms constituting the majority of soldier suicides. Means restriction, or removing an at-risk soldier's access to lethal means, is a well-established procedure for reducing suicides. Nonetheless, various cultural, legal, and practical concerns may encumber firearms restriction implementation in the U.S. Army. This article reviews policy relevant to firearms restriction, including federal laws, Department of Defense directives, and U.S. Army regulations. Recommendations are provided for providers and commanders that balance the rights of soldiers with the need to ensure safety. In particular, installation restriction, field settings, enlisting supportive others, unit engagement, and off-installation storage are discussed. These approaches span the public health intervention model, providing numerous potential avenues to a balanced approach for firearms restriction in preventing suicide.


"Balanced Harvesting" (BH) has been suggested as a possible strategy to meet the objectives of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries, ensuring a high sustainable yield while maintaining ecosystem structure and function. BH proposes a moderate fishing mortality in proportion to productivity spread across the widest possible range of species, stocks, and sizes in an ecosystem producing a sustainable and overall non-selective harvest. The Norwegian and Barents Seas have been subjected to moderate fishing pressure on commercial species, and elements of an ecosystem-based approach to management for many years, but not the fishing pattern proposed by BH. By using an Atlantis ecosystem model of the Nordic and Barents Seas, we investigated the effects of applying a BH regime to a region with existing successful fisheries management. This was done by running simulations with combinations of historic fishing pressure and fishing mortality rates proportional to 25% of the productivity of most species and sizes. The simulations were then compared to a control run where the historical fisheries were applied. The model results showed that implementing a BH regime in the Norwegian and Barents Seas would only produce marginal increases in total yields of currently commercially exploited stocks, likely because the Norwegian fisheries are already mostly well-managed. However, expanding the fishery to include species that are not commercially exploited today did produce higher yields, especially on lower trophic levels. This study represents the first attempted examination of implementing BH based on productivity using an Atlantis ecosystem model, as well as the first investigation of BH in the Norwegian and Barents Seas. We use this model as a case study to identify the gains that species-based BH can be expected to give over well-implemented traditional fisheries management rather than simply comparing to an over-exploited system.


2-methyl-6-phytyl-1, 4-benzoquinol methyltransferase (MPBQ-MT) is a vital enzyme catalyzing a key methylation step in both α/γ-tocopherol and plastoquinone biosynthetic pathway. In this study, the gene encoding MPBQ-MT was isolated from lettuce (Lactuca sativa) by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), named LsMT. Overexpression of LsMT in lettuce brought about a significant increase of α- and γ-tocopherol contents with a reduction of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) content, suggesting a competition for a common substrate phytyl diphosphate (PDP) between the two biosynthetic pathways. Besides, overexpression of LsMT significantly increased plastoquinone (PQ) level. The increase of tocopherol and plastoquinone levels by LsMT overexpression conduced to the improvement of plants' tolerance and photosynthesis under high light stress, by directing excessive light energy toward photosynthetic production rather than toward generation of more photooxidative damage. These findings suggest that the role and function of MPBQ-MT can be further explored for enhancing vitamin E value, strengthening photosynthesis and phototolerance under high light in plants.


Application checkpoint-restart is the ability to save the state of a running application so that it can later resume its execution from the time of the checkpoint. Application checkpoint-restart provides many useful benefits including fault recovery, advanced resources sharing, dynamic load balancing and improved service availability. For several years the Linux kernel has been gaining the necessary groundwork for such functionality, and now support for kernel based transparent checkpoint-restart is also maturing. In this paper we present the implementation of Linux checkpoint-restart, which aims for inclusion in Linux mainline. We explain the usage model and describe the user interfaces and some key kernel interfaces. Finally, we present preliminary performance results of the implementation.


A Transport Layer Protocol Boundary (TLPB) architecture is described which will permit an application program to run over a non-native transport protocol without first generating a protocol compensation package tailored to the transport protocols assumed by the program's application programming interface and by the available transport provider. All transport functions required by the program are converted to standardized or TLPB representations. When a connection between the first application program and a second remote application is requested, the individual required TLPB transport functions are compared to corresponding functions supported by the transport provider. Compensations are invoked only where there is a mismatch. The node on which the remote application program runs is informed of the compensations so that necessary decompensation operations can be performed before the data is delivered to the remote application program.


The hypothesis that subnormal luteal function after induced ovulation in anestrous ewes was the result of uterine influences exerted during the periovulatory period was tested. Crossbred ewes (n = 27) in seasonal anestrus were induced to ovulate by administration of 12 doses of 250 ng of LHRH at 2-h intervals, followed immediately by a bolus injection of LHRH (250 micrograms; d 0). Ewes were unilaterally hysterectomized on either d -3 (PRELHRH) or 2 (POSTLHRH). Daily blood samples were collected and assayed for progesterone (P4) and 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGFM). All ewes were slaughtered on d 10, and corpora lutea (CL) were collected, weighed, and assayed for concentration of P4. All ewes that ovulated exclusively in the ovary ipsilateral to the remaining uterine horn had a transient increase in plasma P4 of 2 to 3 d (short luteal phase). In ewes with at least one CL in the isolated ovary, elevated plasma P4 was maintained after hysterectomy but was consistently lower (P less than .05) in POSTLHRH ewes than in PRELHRH ewes. Concentrations of PGFM did not differ between treatments. The CL ipsilateral to the remaining uterine horn weighted less (P less than .01) and contained less P4 (P less than .01) than contralateral CL. These data confirm the hypothesis that premature regression of subnormal CL is uterine-dependent in a local fashion. Presence of the uterus during the follicular and(or) early luteal phase inhibited subsequent luteal function in seasonally anestrous ewes.


Background: It has been proposed that oxidative stress may contribute to the development of testicular abnormalities in diabetes. Morus alba leaf extract (MAE) has hypoglycemic and antioxidant properties. We, therefore, explored the impact of the administration of MAE on steroidogenesis in diabetic rats. Methods: To address this hypothesis, we measured the serum level of glucose, insulin, and free testosterone (Ts) as well as oxidative stress parameters (including glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, total antioxidant capacity, and malondialdehyde) in the testis of control, untreated and MAE-treated (1 g/day/kg) diabetic rats. In order to determine the likely mechanism of MAE action on Ts levels, we analyzed the quantitative mRNA expression level of the two key steroidogenic proteins, namely steroid acute regulatory protein (StAR) and P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc), by real-time PCR. Results: The MAE-treated diabetic rats had significantly decreased glucose levels and on the other hand increased insulin and free Ts levels than the untreated diabetic rats. In addition, the administration of MAE to the diabetic rats restored the oxidative stress parameters toward control. Induction of diabetes decreased testicular StAR mRNA expression by 66% and MAE treatment enhanced mRNA expression to the same level of the control group. However, the expression of P540scc was not significantly decreased in the diabetic group as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that MAE significantly increased Ts production in the diabetic rats, probably through the induction of StAR mRNA expression levels. Administration of MAE to experimental models of diabetes can effectively attenuate oxidative stress-mediated testosterone depletion.


The government disseminated a new constitution in 1995 with the provision on decentralization of Article 176 2 (b) that acted shortly before the rebirth of the local government act in 1997. Devolution as a form of decentralization transferred both political and administrative powers from the center to lower local councils specially to handle the responsibility of service delivery. Following the approval of the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Act 2010, the city's administration reverted to the central government. Detractors of decentralization allege that the conveyance in the policy and legislation for change of Kampala city administration was timely because decentralization failed to deliver desired services to residents. This article contends that recentralization of Kampala city administration was a necessary evil, it decreased the autonomy of sub-national governments in civil service administration, eroded accountability to the electorates, and transferred the allegiance of the accounting officer from local governments with and for which they work to the central government that designates and positions. To inflame accountability in local governments, the article champions for the reexamining of the KCCA Act 2010 to allow power sharing between the mayor and executive director to enhance bottom-up accountability, checks and balances, and for participation of central government in appointing of executive director to allow financial and security support. It additionally requests for a reconsideration of the 9th Parliament to lobby for the amendments owing to challenges in its implementation and impact on accountability.


The middle of the twentieth century marked a turning point in the history of scholarly writings on the civil law in Quebec. The emergence of a full-time teaching body in the law faculties entailed consequences of primary importance: publications gained not only in quantity, but also in quality and diversity and, in particular, the reactions of legal writers to judge-made law became frequent and substantial. The relations between legal writers and judges illustrate, here as elsewhere, the particular situation of the Quebec legal system at the crossroads of civil law and common law. For instance, due to the British-inspired method of appointing judges and some local traditions, judges are personally known to many professors. Furthermore, decisions of the courts, most of the time, are written in a learned style, the merits of the legal issues being discussed and doctrinal opinions being quoted with approval or criticism. These relations between the writers and the judiciary may explain the great interest of legal writers in judge-made law and their perhaps insufficient sense of critical responsibility vis-a-vis that law. Legal writers and judges have the great advantage of speaking the same language and of maintaining a dialogue — an advantage which benefits law itself and the whole community.


Experimental tests were recently performed to evaluate resistance and deformability of nine concrete slabs reinforced with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bars in fire situation by varying (a) external loads in the range of the service loads, (b) concrete cover in the range of usual values (30-50mm), (c) bar end shape (straight or bent) and its length at the end of the concrete members, namely in the zone not directly exposed to fire (250-500mm). Experimental results showed the importance of concrete cover in the zone directly exposed to fire for the protection provided to FRP bars, due to its low thermal conductivity. Moreover, the length of the FRP bars in the zone of slab not directly exposed to fire and its shape at the end of the members was crucial to ensures slab resistance once the resin softening reduced the adhesion at the FRP-concrete interface in the fire exposed zone of slab. In particular the anchorage obtained simply by bending bars at the end of member in a short zone (250mm) allowed attaining a good structural behavior in case of fire equivalent to that showed by slabs characterized by a large anchoring length (500mm). Tests results are briefly compared and discussed in this paper, whereas the behavior of the bar anchorage is carefully examined based on both the results of numerical thermal analysis and the predictions of a bond theoretical model adjusted for fire situation.


The Companies Acts of the 1860s initiated a major structural transformation in capitalism. This was noted, but not developed into a theory of the capitalist economy, by Marx. That development subsequently came in the work of Veblen, Hilferding and his critics Lederer and (implicitly) Kalecki, Keynes, Steindl and Minsky. The paper argues that the Great Schism in economic theory is not between Keynes and 'the Classics', as argued by Keynes; or Keynes and the Neoclassical Synthesis, as contended by Joan Robinson and Richard Kahn; nor even between monetary production and barter exchange, as maintained by post-Keynesian writers; still less between political economists and apologetic theorists, as argued by Marxists. The key distinction in economic theory is between those who recognise the central role of long-term finance in the capitalist economy, and those theorists for whom finance is merely 'savings' or another form of credit.


Although many works have been done to construct prediction models on yarn processing quality, the relation between spinning variables and yarn properties has not been established conclusively so far. Support vector machines (SVMs), based on statistical learning theory, are gaining applications in the areas of machine learning and pattern recognition because of the high accuracy and good generalization capability. This study briefly introduces the SVM regression algorithms, and presents the SVM based system architecture for predicting yarn properties. Model selection which amounts to search in hyper-parameter space is performed for study of suitable parameters with grid-research method. Experimental results have been compared with those of ANN models. The investigation indicates that in the small data sets and real-life production, SVM models are capable of remaining the stability of predictive accuracy, and more suitable for noisy and dynamic spinning process.


Carbon isotopes are analyzed for the first time from the Ordovician–Silurian boundary interval in the Williston and Hudson Bay basins of Manitoba, revealing a prominent positive excursion. The nature of this excursion and its co-occurrence with the appearance of the Ozarkodina hassi Conodont Zone and a distinctive coral-dominated macrofauna indicate that this is the upper portion (Metabolograptus persculptus Graptolite Zone) of the globally recognized Hirnantian isotopic carbon excursion (HICE). As a result, the Ordovician–Silurian boundary is placed at a higher position than previously thought, at the disconformable Stonewall – Fisher Branch formational boundary in the Williston Basin, and probably the Port Nelson – Severn River formational boundary in the Hudson Bay Basin. Disconformities within sections suggest periods of nondeposition due to subaerial exposure as sea level fluctuated during the Late Ordovician glaciation. Latest Ordovician (Hirnantian) deposition was far more widespread on the Laurent...


Adolescence is a turbulent time for most people, and it is accompanied by many transitions. Many adolescents will transition into post-secondary education and/or employment. All adolescents must transition into adult medical care and adult life. Adolescents with disabilities go through these same transitional periods, and literature supports that knowledge of advocacy and practice with advocacy skills can ease these transition processes. However, gaps remain surrounding evidence-based interventions for advocacy building. The primary goal of this research was to investigate how adolescents with disabilities think about and understand advocacy and advocacy skills. Adolescents were recruited from Children's Hospital Advisory Network for Guidance and Empowerment (CHANGE), which is a youth-led initiative based out of Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC that focuses on medical transition and leadership development for youth with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. Additionally, adult mentors who are all members of a highly active community advocacy group and are all individuals living with disabilities/chronic illnesses were recruited as a comparison sample. This was a mixed-methods exploratory study that investigated the understanding of advocacy and advocacy skills among groups of adults and adolescents living with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses. Cultural domain analysis and validated surveys were the principle methods used with each sample. The public health significance of this work lies in the cultural models surrounding the concepts of advocacy developed from these populations and the novel adaptation of cultural domain analysis methodology. Accommodations were made to the research protocol for it to be accessible to any willing participant, regardless of their level of ability. This broadened the application of this mixed methods approach and allowed for more diverse voices to be included.


ABSTRACT Accumulation of profibrotic myofibroblasts is involved in the process of fibrosis development during idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) pathogenesis. TGFB (transforming growth factor β) is one of the major profibrotic cytokines for myofibroblast differentiation and NOX4 (NADPH oxidase 4) has an essential role in TGFB-mediated cell signaling. Azithromycin (AZM), a second-generation antibacterial macrolide, has a pleiotropic effect on cellular processes including proteostasis. Hence, we hypothesized that AZM may regulate NOX4 levels by modulating proteostasis machineries, resulting in inhibition of TGFB-associated lung fibrosis development. Human lung fibroblasts (LF) were used to evaluate TGFB-induced myofibroblast differentiation. With respect to NOX4 regulation via proteostasis, assays for macroautophagy/autophagy, the unfolded protein response (UPR), and proteasome activity were performed. The potential anti-fibrotic property of AZM was examined by using bleomycin (BLM)-induced lung fibrosis mouse models. TGFB-induced NOX4 and myofibroblast differentiation were clearly inhibited by AZM treatment in LF. AZM-mediated NOX4 reduction was restored by treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor. AZM inhibited autophagy and enhanced the UPR. Autophagy inhibition by AZM was linked to ubiquitination of NOX4 via increased protein levels of STUB1 (STIP1 homology and U-box containing protein 1), an E3 ubiquitin ligase. An increased UPR by AZM was associated with enhanced proteasome activity. AZM suppressed lung fibrosis development induced by BLM with concomitantly reduced NOX4 protein levels and enhanced proteasome activation. These results suggest that AZM suppresses NOX4 by promoting proteasomal degradation, resulting in inhibition of TGFB-induced myofibroblast differentiation and lung fibrosis development. AZM may be a candidate for the treatment of the fibrotic lung disease IPF.


An intimate knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and specific issues related to anesthesia case management for thyroidectomy is essential to provide high-quality care. Airway management may be difficult despite a normal airway examination due to impingement of a thyroid mass on the laryngeal and tracheal structures. Anesthetists must be prepared to use emergency airway adjuncts in case a patient cannot be ventilated or intubated. Because sympathetic nervous system hyperactivity is associated with increased amounts of thyroid hormone, it is essential that all patients having an elective thyroidectomy be in a euthyroid state before surgery. There are multiple preoperative antithyroid medication regimens that effectively treat thyroid hormone hypersecretion. However, although a rare event, thyroid storm can still occur during the perioperative period. Anesthetic considerations and surgical complications are presented.


Existing cost-sensitive learning methods require that the unequal misclassification costs should be given as precise values. In many real-world applications, however, it is generally difficult to have a precise cost value since the user maybe only knows that one type of mistake is much more severe than another type, yet it is infeasible to give a precise description. In such situations, it is more meaningful to work with a cost interval instead of a precise cost value. In this paper we report the first study along this direction. We propose the CISVM method, a support vector machine, to work with cost interval information. Experiments show that when there are only cost intervals available, CISVM is significantly superior to standard cost-sensitive SVMs using any of the minimal cost, mean cost and maximal cost to learn. Moreover, considering that in some cases other information about costs can be obtained in addition to cost intervals, such as the distribution of costs, we propose a general approach CODIS for using the distribution information to help improve performance. Experiments show that this approach can reduce 60% more risks than the standard cost-sensitive SVM which assumes the expected cost is the true value.


Parallel surveys of introductory programming courses were conducted in Australasia and the UK, with a view to examining the programming languages being used, the preferred integrated development environments (if any), and the reasons for these choices, alongside a number of other key aspects of these courses. This paper summarises some of the similarities and differences between the findings of the two surveys. In the UK, Java is clearly the dominant programming language in introductory programming courses, with Eclipse as the dominant environment. Java was also the dominant language in Australasia six years ago, but now shares the lead with Python; we speculate on the reasons for this. Other differences between the two surveys are equally interesting. Overall, however, there appears to be a reasonable similarity in the way these undergraduate courses are conducted in the UK and in Australasia. While the degree structures differ markedly between and within these regions -- a possible explanation for some of the differences -- some of the similarities are noteworthy and have the potential to provide insight into approaches in other regions and countries.


This study examined the effects of daily parental autonomy support on changes in child behavior, family environment, and parental well‐being across 3 weeks during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Germany. Day‐to‐day associations among autonomy‐supportive parenting, parental need fulfillment, and child well‐being were also assessed. Parents (longitudinal N = 469; M age = 42.93, SD age = 6.40) of school children (6–19 years) reported on adjustment measures at two measurement occasions and completed up to 21 daily online questionnaires in the weeks between these assessments. Results from dynamic structural equation models suggested reciprocal positive relations among autonomy‐supportive parenting and parental need fulfillment. Daily parental autonomy support, parental need fulfillment, and child well‐being partially predicted change in adjustment measures highlighting the central role of daily parenting for children's adjustment during the pandemic.


Uncertainty is rampant in military expeditionary operations spanning high-intensity combat to humanitarian operations. These missions require rapid planning and decision-support tools to address the logistical challenges involved in providing support in often austere environments. The US Army's adoption of an enterprise resource planning system provides an opportunity to develop automated decision-support tools and other analytical models designed to take advantage of newly available logistical data. This research presents a tool that runs in near-real time to assess risk while conducting capacity planning and performance analysis designed for inclusion in a suite of applications dubbed the Military Logistics Network Planning System, which previously only evaluated the mean sample path. Logistical data from combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom drive supply requisition forecasts for a contingency scenario in a similar geographic environment. A nonstationary queueing network model is linked with a heuristic logistics scheduling methodology to provide a stochastic framework to account for uncertainty and assess risk.


Materials exhibiting mixed electronic and proton conductivity are of great interest for applications ranging from electrodes for proton conducting ceramic fuel cells to hydrogen separation membranes. In this work, we report a detailed investigation of the effect of water incorporation in BaFeO2.5 on the structure and conductivity. BaFeO2.5 is shown to be topochemically transformed to two different hydrated modifications, low-water (LW-) and high-water (HW-) BaFeO2.5. A combined analysis of neutron and X-ray diffraction data was used to determine the crystal structure of LW-BaFeO2.5 (BaFeO2.33(OH)0.33), which shows a unique ordering pattern of anion vacancies for perovskite type compounds, with structural relaxations around vacancies being similar to the chemically similar compound BaFeO2.33F0.33. Approximate proton positions were determined using the bond valence method. Conductivity studies of hydrated and pure BaFeO2.5 (with additional comparison to oxidized BaFeO2.5) show a significant enhancement of the conductivity on water incorporation, which can be attributed to proton conductivity. This is the first report of significant grain proton conduction (∼10−6 to 10−7 S cm−1) in an iron based perovskite. Water uptake is further shown to be completely reversible, with reformation of BaFeO2.5 when heating the compound to temperatures above ∼450 K under Ar.


Abstract. Arrays of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACT) are superb instruments to probe the very-high-energy gamma-ray sky. This type of telescope focuses the Cherenkov light emitted from air showers, initiated by very-high-energy gamma rays and cosmic rays, onto the camera plane. Then, a fast camera digitizes the longitudinal development of the air shower, recording its spatial, temporal, and calorimetric information. The properties of the primary very-high-energy particle initiating the air shower can then be inferred from those images: the primary particle can be classified as a gamma ray or a cosmic ray and its energy and incoming direction can be estimated. This so-called full-event reconstruction, crucial to the sensitivity of the array to gamma rays, can be assisted by machine learning techniques. We present a deep-learning driven, full-event reconstruction applied to simulated IACT events using CTLearn. CTLearn is a Python package that includes modules for loading and manipulating IACT data and for running deep learning models with TensorFlow, using pixel-wise camera data as input.


Rail corrugation is a phenomenon that leads to a waving in the rails with wavelengths typically between 3 cm and 100 cm and amplitude levels of several microns. The genesis of this waving is complex. Rail corrugation is a recognized problem that leads to excess vibration on the rails and vehicles to a point of reducing their life span and compromising safety. In urban areas excess vibration noise is also a problem. A software tool was developed to analyze accelerometer signals acquired in the boggies of rail vehicles in order to quantify the rail corrugation according to their frequency and amplitude. A wavelet packet methodology was used in this work and compared with the One Third Octave Filter (OTOF) power representations, which is currently used in the industry. The former produce better results.


Abstract The data presented in this paper concern the occurrence of Salvinia natans (L.) All. in Wrocław area. Field research was conducted in the vegetation season (June-September) between 2013 and 2017 in water bodies (natural and artificial), in the main river beds of the Oława and the Odra Rivers and in the Odra canals in Wrocław. The study provided 32 S. natans locations in the city area. The studied species occurred in various plant communities accompanied by numerous species which were also under protection, increasing the ecological value of the habitats. Additionally, a stable S. natans site was confirmed by the study in a location where aquatic fern had previously been recorded in Wrocław. The research indicates numerous populations of the species along the Odra and the Oława and in many old river beds and artificial water bodies in Wrocław and the results confirm the visible trend of a growing number of S. natans sites in all of Poland.


The context for this proposal is the assertion that the ability to convert knowledge of system form into a specification for software form is the critical system thinking form of knowledge of our age. "Software is eating the world."
Entrepreneur and investor Marc Andreesen made this claim 3 years ago in an essay published by the Wall Street Journal. His fundamental argument is that we have reached a point in the evolution of information technology where software infrastructure, programming tools and design skill sets have aligned with human expectations in a way that is quite literally changing the world. While Andreesen's focus is the for profit business domain, his point applies much more broadly: software is a transformative intervention for all forms of human interaction. As such an understanding of how to create software has become an essential skill for system thinkers who seek scalable and cost effective ways to promote real and sustainable system change.
Despite his certainty that the future of human commerce is software, Andreesen admits quite frankly that the process of creating useful and valuable software is 'brutally difficult.' A primary challenge that he describes is a lack of education in the skills required to effect the construction of useful software.

At a high level the skills involved in creating software that improve information flow within a system organize into three distinct activities:
1. Define the System Abstraction
2. Convert the Abstraction to a Software Design
3. Build the Software


TAKAHASHI, Y. and HIRATA, Y. A FollowUp Study of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy : Physical and Psychological Aspects. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1983, 141(4), 463-471 Twenty-one patients with painful diabetic neuropathy were followed up for about 18 months by means of physical and psychological tests. Patients with painful diabetic neuropathy had significantly more neurotic, anxious and depressive traits than those with non-painful diabetic neuropathy. During the course of the study, 17 patients out of 21 were found to be relieved of their neuropathic symptoms with improved blood glucose control and medications. However, despite this improvement, diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy of the patients deteriorated. Patients with improved neuropathy had gained body weight, with a concomitant relief of depression, nervous tendency and anxiety. However, lack of extroversion was not changed at all. Patients with painful diabetic neuropathy were significantly less extroversive than those with nonpainful diabetic neuropathy, even when their neuropathic symptoms might have improved. This study shows that although nervousness, anxiety and depressive tendencies may be secondary to the symptoms of painful diabetic neuropathy, lack of extroversion can be a primary characteristic trait which may easily induce painful diabetic neuropathy. painful diabetic neuropathy ; psychological tests ; depression ; extroversion