Dr A.E. Cameron (Anaesthesia 1987; 4 2 1124) reported opisthotonus and a late grand ma1 fit in an epileptic patient who presented for dilatation and curettage and was anaesthetised with fentanyl, propofol and lignocaine. A possible association between grand ma1 seizure and propofol was postulated. This report coneerns a case of status epilepticus after anaesthesia that involved propofol. A 27-year-old female with inter-menstrual bleeding presented for dilatation and curettage. Three months earlier the diagnosis of idiopathic temporal lobe epilepsy was made and she was receiving sodium valproate 400 mg twice a day. A computerised tomographic brain scan was entirely normal. Her last seizure occurred 5 days before admission. Premcdication was omitted; induction consisted of propofol 150 mg and alfentanil 0.5 mg and maintenance was with nitrous oxide 66% in oxygen supplemented with halothane. Induction and maintenance of anaesthesia were without incident. She had a grand ma1 seizure in the recovery room before consciousness was regained. The seizure was ablated with thiopcntone, but further seizures occurred during the subsequent 90 minutes despite further doses of barbiturate and benzodiazepine. (Total doses: thiopentone 500 mg; diazepam 30 mg.) Intravenous phenytoin was added to her medication and seizure activity ceased. Her subsequent recovery was uneventful and she was discharged after 48 hours with an early appointment to see her own ncurologist. Hodkinson et al.' have reported the occurrence of epileptiform activity in three patients who had propofol; Rampton et a/.,z however have demonstrated a shorter fit duration with electroplexy after propofol compared with methohexitone. The epileptogenic potential of propofol, thereforc, remains unclear. Our experience suggests that it may he prudent to avoid its use in epileptic patients. A report has been submitted to the Committee for Safety of Medicines.


Madame Chiang Kai-shek presented an Asia-first strategy to the US Congress on February 18, 1943. Although her speech was critical of US strategy in ending WWII, she received enormous praise. This article examines how the American media reported her speech and concludes that the emotion her speech aroused in American society could be explained by her feminine appearance, her Americanized perspectives and her self-perceived role as a rescuer in America. Madame Chiang portrayed China as an about-tobe-Westernized society experiencing the threat of annihilation under Japan's invasion. To save China was to save the hope of American civilization in Asia and she herself was the testimony that there was no difficulty in mixing American and Chinese values.


Many great scholars have emerged and presented various kinds of monumental works in the field of hadith. Their work became popular which was then called kutub assitah and a book contains almost all hadith from Prophet Muhammad SAW. The books were the main guide for fuqaha', mujtahid, and other writers. The writers, educators, psychologists, and sociologists obtained what they needed from the books. Sociological and political condition had influenced a conducive situation to work in the hadith. Nowadays, there is diversification of science that distinguish one science to another. It is not surprisingly if many branches of science have emerged, such as tafsir, hadith, fiqh, languages, literatures, and others. This article reviewed the commentary method of Imam Al-Suyuti and Imam Al-Sindi towards a hadith book, Sunan Al-Nasa'ial-Mujtaba by Imam Al-Nasa'i (d. 303 H.). This review was limited to critically observe the comparison of the commentary method by Imam Al-Suyuthi and Imam Al-Sindy. Brief biographies of Imam Al-Nasai, Imam Al-Suyuthi, and Imam Al-Sindy were also outlined. Commentary by Imam Al-Suyuti and Al-Sindi towards Sunan Al-Nasa'i facilitated the people to understand and review. Though, both of them wrote very short commentaries, the commentaries have brought advantages for Muslims, especially for those who get involved and care about the study of Prophet Muhammad SAW hadith. This condition was actually a main purpose of writing those two commentaries.


Fifty percent of college students who drink report alcohol-induced blackouts, and alcohol abusers in general put a heavy burden on the medical care system. Using data drawn from a randomized, controlled alcohol intervention trial at five university sites, our study quantified the costs of visits to emergency departments by college students who experienced blackouts from drinking alcohol. Of 954 students in the study, 52 percent of males and 50 percent of females at the outset of the study had experienced an alcohol-induced blackout in the past year. Of 404 emergency department visits among the study participants over a two-year observation period, about one in eight were associated with blackout drinking. Injuries ranged from broken bones to head and brain injuries requiring computed tomography. We calculate that on a large university campus having more than 40,000 students, blackout-associated emergency department visit costs would range from $469,000 to $546,000 per year. We conclude that blackouts are a strong predictor of emergency department visits for college drinkers and that prevention efforts aimed at students with a history of blackouts might reduce injuries and emergency department costs.


Acute miliary tuberculosis has been so thoroughly studied that the mere citation of an additional case would not be of particular interest. It is well known that the disease usually originates from tuberculosis of the intima of a blood or lymph vessel, sometimes by the penetration of a caseous focus into a vessel wall. A rupture of the caseous area suddenly throws millions of tubercle bacilli into the blood stream; these are sifted out by various organs and lead to the formation of innumerable miliary tubercles. A survey of the literature shows few reported cases in which the disease has originated in the female generative organs and has been definitely influenced by pregnancy or delivery. REPORT OF A CASE History. —Mrs. V., aged 20, married seventeen months, five months pregnant, was admitted to the Syracuse Memorial Hospital on Dec. 29, 1924. A grandfather had died of tuberculosis; otherwise the family


Semiconducting carbon nanotube (CNT) networks exhibit electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties attractive for thin-film applications, and printing allows for scalable and economically favorable fabrication of CNT thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, device-to-device variation of printed CNT-TFTs remains a concern, which largely stems from variations in printed CNT thin-film morphology and resulting properties. In this work, we overcome the challenges associated with printing uniformity and demonstrate an aerosol jet printing process that yields devices exhibiting a hole mobility of μh = 12.5 cm2/V·s with a relative standard deviation as small as 4% (from over 38 devices). The enabling factors of such high uniformity include control of the CNT ink bath temperature during printing, ink formulation with nonvolatile and viscosifying additives, and a thermal treatment for polymer removal. It is discovered that a low CNT ink temperature benefits aerosol jet printing uniformity and stability in both short-term (∼1 min) and long-term (∼1 h) printing settings. These findings shed light on the effect of a commonly overlooked dimension of CNT aerosol jet printing and provide a practical strategy for large-scale, high-consistency realization of CNT-TFTs.


Objectives: To analyze the studies encompassing the involvement of pharmacists in diabetes self-care. Method: We reviewed studies conducted from 2005 to 2017 on the involvement of pharmacists in diabetes self-care. The keywords mainly used in this search are pharmacoeconomic analysis, diabetes self-care, pharmacist involvement,cost-effectiveness analysis, cost of utilization, cost of illness, cost of minimization and cost-benefit analysis. PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Link and Medline searched for the relevant studies. These databases searched for full text articles ranging from 2007 to 2017. We tried to limit the search with the inclusion of studies having any sort of pharmacoeconomically relevant component. Key Findings: Cost of illness varied among the countries in managing diabetes mellitus, and the cost of managing diabetes complications were twice the cost of management of diabetes. Continuous involvement of the pharmacist in primary health care is a cost-effective strategy and pronounced to be essential for helping diabetes patient in controlling and managing their disease. Implementation of diabetes self-care by pharmacists such as lifestyle intervention rendered improved quality of life of patient without any increase in health care cost. Self-care management generates intensive blood glucose control and improved quality of life. Conclusions: Implementation of diabetic self-care intervention including intensive lifestyle intervention, education, self-monitoring of blood glucose and adherence toward medication-initiated reduction in the overall healthcare cost of diabetic patients compared to patients relying on only any one of the interventions. Impact of diabetes self-care intervention by pharmacist reported to significantly reduce the HbA1C levels of diabetic patients along with the reduction of yearly healthcare cost. This review showed that pharmacist involvement in diabetes self-care interventions prove to be cost-effective and can significantly affect the condition of the diabetic patients and reduces the risk of complications.


In nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), the oligopeptide-binding protein (OppA) serves as the substrate-binding protein (SBP) of the oligopeptide transport system responsible for the import of peptides. We solved the crystal structure of nthiOppA in complex with hydrophobic peptides of various sizes. Our novel hexapeptide complex demonstrates the flexibility of the nthiOppA-binding cavity to expand and accommodate the longer peptide while maintaining similar protein-peptide interactions of smaller peptide complexes. In addition to acquiring peptides from the host environment, as a heme auxotroph NTHi utilizes host hemoproteins as a source of essential iron. OppA is a member of the Cluster C SBP family, and unlike other SBP families, some members recognize two distinctly different substrates. DppA (dipeptide), MppA (murein tripeptide), and SapA (antimicrobial peptides) are Cluster C proteins known to also transport heme. We observed nthiOppA shares this heme-binding characteristic and established heme specificity and affinity by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of the four Cluster C proteins in NTHi. Ligand-docking studies predicted a distinct heme-specific cleft in the binding pocket, and using SPR competition assays, we observed that heme does not directly compete with peptide in the substrate-binding pocket. Additionally, we identified that the individual nthiOppA domains differentially contribute to substrate binding, with one domain playing a dominant role in heme binding and the other in peptide binding. Our results demonstrate the multisubstrate specificity of nthiOppA and the role of NTHi Cluster C proteins in the heme-uptake pathway for this pathogen.


Fully gold Open Access (OA) publication channels are still hold to be of inferior quality compared to channels offered by publishers with traditional subscription business models, albeit less and less so. The threat of predatory publishers looms on one side, and on the other most OA publishers haven't been around to gather prestige for so long. Still, there seems to be a steady advance. For example, OA publication channels may now be found at level two (indexing the channels perceived as having most academic prestige in a certain subject) of the Norwegian Publication Model (NPM). In an earlier survey, I investigated the publication patterns of researchers at Swedish universities with focus on their gold OA publishing in journals. The publication patterns were contrasted with the occurrence of OA journals in NPM. 29 % of the DOAJ journals were present as approved channels in NPM. DOAJ is frequently mentioned as the most comprehensive OA journal indexing service in the world. At level one, 14 % of the listed journals were OA, whereas only 2 % of level two journals were OA. Out of the DOAJ-journals included in NPM, only 1 % made it to level two. This is probably explained by the situation described above; OA journals are often new to the scientific publishing market, and therefore they haven't had the time to gather academic prestige. The OA journals that researchers at Swedish universities published were almost all of them present in DOAJ. 7 % of these were at level two. This pattern seems to imply that researchers are trying to fulfil demands of OA publishing from funders, while at the same time trying to gather prestige for their own researcher career. This poster aims to further explore these results, with focus on the 7 % journals at level 2. Which journals can be found here, and what is the distribution? Which research subjects are involved?


Herein we describe for the first time a laparoscopic cystectomy procedure and an ileal conduit that were performed in a single session in a patient with a tumor infiltrating the right wall. The procedure starts by releasing the ureters from the iliac junction up to a point close to the bladder. The peritoneum is incised superiorly at the level of the urachus and we proceed until the space of Retzius and the lateral walls are released. The vesicouterine plica is then incised and the bladder wings are dissected with the Endo-GIA. With a straight dissector, the urethra is released and cut until the bladder is completely free within the abdominal cavity. The trocar is removed from the right flank, the incision is extended up to about 4 cms and the bladder is removed. The right ureter and an ileal loop are then brought out through the incision on the right flank. A segment of intestine is isolated and intestinal continuity is reestablished using mechanical sutures. Then the ureter is implanted at one end of the isolated intestinal segment. The other end of the segment of intestine is taken to the left flank and anastomosed extracorporeally in a similar manner to the ureter of that side. The ileal conduit is positioned transversely so it is unnecessary to take the ureter to the opposite side. Finally, a stoma is created, which the patient desired done in the left side, and the procedure is completed. Although the operating time is long, the surgical insult is minimal because the McBurney type flank incisions cause little injury to the abdominal wall.


Running is extremely popular and around 10.6 million people run regularly in the United States alone. Unfortunately, estimates indicated that between 29% to 79% of runners sustain an overuse injury every year. One contributing factor to such injuries is excessive fatigue, which can result in alterations in how someone runs that increase the risk for an overuse injury. Thus being able to detect during a running session when excessive fatigue sets in, and hence when these alterations are prone to arise, could be of great practical importance. In this paper, we explore whether we can use machine learning to predict the rating of perceived exertion (RPE), a validated subjective measure of fatigue, from inertial sensor data of individuals running outdoors. We describe how both the subjective target label and the realistic outdoor running environment introduce several interesting data science challenges. We collected a longitudinal dataset of runners, and demonstrate that machine learning can be used to learn accurate models for predicting RPE.


Epilepsy is recognized as the commonest serious neurological disorder in the world. Women with epilepsy  experience several gender-related physical and social problems. They constitute high obstetric risk because of reduced fertility, risk of seizures during pregnancy, and complications of pregnancy. Hormonal and other factors can alter the pharmacokinetics of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy and puerperium. Antenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs, particularly at higher dosage and in polytherapy, increases the risk of fetal malformation. Recent reports raise the possibility of selective developmental language deficits and neurocognitive deficits with antenatal exposure to antiepileptic drugs. There are concerns regarding the effect of traces of antiepileptic drugs that pass to the infant during breast-feeding. The pre conception management is the cornerstone for epilepsy care in Women with epilepsy. A careful reappraisal of each case should ascertain the diagnosis, the need for continued antiepileptic drugs therapy, selection of appropriate antiepileptic drugs, optimization of the dosage, and prescription of folic acid. During pregnancy, the fetal status needs to be monitored with estimation of serum a-feto-protein and ultrasound screening for malformations. The dosage of antiepileptic drugs can be adjusted according to clinical requirement and blood levels of antiepileptic drugs. Several institutions recommend oral vitamin K toward the end of pregnancy when enzymeinducing. Key Words : epilepsy, pregnancy, management, complication


Natural killer (NK) cell activity was measured blindly in vitro with blood specimens from 50 healthy individuals and 20 patients with clinically defined chronic fatigue immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS) who met the criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta). In accordance with a group scoring system of 1-10 points, with 10 being the most severe clinical status, the patient population was stratified into three clinical groups: A (> 7 points), B (5-7 points), and C (< 5 points). NK cell activity was assessed by the number of lytic units (LU), which for the 50 healthy controls varied between 20 and 250 (50%, 20-50 LU; 32%, 51-100 LU; 6%, 101-130 LU; and 12%, > 150 LU). In none of the 20 patients with CFIDS was the NK cell activity > 100 LU. For group C, the 10 patients stratified as having the least severe clinical condition, the measure was 61.0 +/- 21.7 LU; for group B (more severe, n = 7), it was 18.3 +/- 7.3 LU; and for group A (most severe, n = 3), it was 8.0 +/- 5.3 LU. These data suggest a correlation between low levels of NK cell activity and severity of CFIDS, which, if it is confirmed by additional studies of larger groups, might be useful for subgrouping patients and monitoring therapy and/or the progression of CFIDS.


The methods of active contours ("snakes") and level sets were applied to images of the retina in order to locate the outer boundary of the optic disk. A gradient-vector-flow based active contour was used as it performed well over a large range of initial conditions. Images were pre-processed to lessen the influence of blood vessels on boundary detection. Both active contours and level set methods accurately located the correct boundary; level set methods were computationally more intensive.


Abstract This paper presents the results of the first broad-scale study of modern freshwater reservoir effects (FREs) in various regions of the Eurasian Steppe, associated with archaeological sites. The aim of this work was not only to demonstrate the widespread variability of modern FREs in the region, but also to draw the attention of specialists working in the area to the necessity of taking into account this important and still not fully understood factor involving radiocarbon dating of human and some faunal remains from archaeological sites. To identify modern FREs, modern fish of different species from 10 regions of Siberia and Kazakhstan have been subjected to accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis, and the results are compared with the existing data from previous research. Freshwater reservoir offsets have been detected in all analyzed regions, with the exception of Kharga Lake (Buryatia, Russia) and Kyzylkoi River (central Kazakhstan), varying not only between, but also within regions depending on fish species. The most significant offset in this study has been recorded for the Chuya River basin (Altai Mountains, 1097±40 14C yr), though not as high as observed in previous research for the Caspian lowlands (1477±52 and 1037±52 14C yr) and Upper Lena River basin (Lake Baikal area, 1981±30 14C yr). Both δ13C and δ15N values have been measured with the majority of samples reflecting C3 ecology of local reservoirs and δ15N depending on the diet of particular species, with predatory species such as pike, perch, and burbot demonstrating the highest δ15N. No general relationship has been observed between freshwater reservoir offsets and either δ13C or δ15N values of the samples.


Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have shown promising results for end-to-end speech recognition, albeit still behind other state-of-the-art methods in performance. In this paper, we study how to bridge this gap and go beyond with a novel CNN-RNN-transducer architecture, which we call ContextNet. ContextNet features a fully convolutional encoder that incorporates global context information into convolution layers by adding squeeze-and-excitation modules. In addition, we propose a simple scaling method that scales the widths of ContextNet that achieves good trade-off between computation and accuracy. We demonstrate that on the widely used LibriSpeech benchmark, ContextNet achieves a word error rate (WER) of 2.1%/4.6% without external language model (LM), 1.9%/4.1% with LM and 2.9%/7.0% with only 10M parameters on the clean/noisy LibriSpeech test sets. This compares to the previous best published system of 2.0%/4.6% with LM and 3.9%/11.3% with 20M parameters. The superiority of the proposed ContextNet model is also verified on a much larger internal dataset.


Background: Partial nephrectomy for resection of renal tumors often requires renal artery clamping and external renal cooling using ice-slush. Laparoscopic surgery precludes traditional ice-slush cooling. To facilitate renal cooling during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, we investigated a method of intrarenal cooling by retrograde transureteral iced saline perfusion. Methods: Open laparotomy was performed in 6 pigs. After atraumatic renal artery clamping, one kidney was cooled externally by using standard ice-slush; the other was cooled transureterally. For transureteral cooling, the ureter was cannulated with a double lumen 12 Fr catheter. Chilled saline (4°C) irrigation was flushed through the catheter into the renal pelvis (16.7 mL/min) and allowed to drain via the second lumen of the catheter. Using a 30-gauge hypodermic thermometer, kidney temperatures were measured at 5-minute intervals for 30 minutes at 3 locations and 2 depths (0.5 cm and 1.5 cm). The animals were euthanized, and the kidneys were harvested for histologic examination. Results: Renal cooling was achieved with both external and transureteral cooling. However, lower (5.0 versus 26.1°C, P<0.001) parenchymal temperatures were achieved more rapidly with external renal cooling. During transureteral cooling, medullary (1.5 cm) temperatures were lower than cortical (0.5 cm) temperatures were; this difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Although renal hypothermia can be achieved by transureteral iced saline infusion, external cooling by using ice-slush appears to be more efficient in the porcine model. With refinement of the technique, intrarenal cooling via a transureteral approach may allow more effective cooling of the renal medulla, and limit warm ischemia during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.


Vase life is one of the most important characteristics in the quality of cut flowers. The carbohydrate content of petals from each cultivar can be a decisive factor to vase life of gladiolus flowers. Despite exposure to ethylene does not affect the life of open florets of gladiolus flowers, it may reduce the flower's commercial life due the occurrence of flower buds abortion. This study thus aimed to evaluate the flower opening and the vase life of gladiolus flowers according to ethylene sensitivity and carbohydrate content of each cultivar. The gladiolus cultivars used in Experiment I were  'Amsterdam', 'Blue Frost', 'Gold Field', 'Green Star', 'Jester', 'Lavender', 'Red Beauty', 'Rose Supreme', 'Traderhorn', and 'Veronica'. Stems were stored in airtight chambers and exposed to the ethylene concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1.0, 10, 100, and 1000 μL L −1 for 24 h. Subsequently, flower stem were placed in a test tube with distilled water when were evaluated for percentage of flower opening and vase life. In Experiment II, three cultivars ('Amsterdam', 'Red Beauty', and 'Veronica') were chosen based on the lowest, medium, and highest vase life in Experiment I, respectively. Total soluble sugars, reducing sugars, and starch contents were evaluated in five flower developmental stages. No effect of ethylene on the flower opening or alterations in flower opening between cultivars. The vase life of gladiolus flowers differed between cultivars regardless of ethylene action. 'Veronica' and 'Amsterdam', which had the highest and lowest vase life, respectively, differed as to the total soluble sugar content. Ethylene does not influence the flower opening or vase life of the gladiolus cultivars studied. In these cultivars, the maintenance of flower opening is attributed to total soluble sugars content, which, in turn, is a major determinant of the vase life.


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This paper adopted freeze casting method to prepare porous Al2O3 ceramic bodies with interconnected pore channels as a preform. The preform was pressureless infiltrated with Nb-Al binary alloy by using electromagnetic induction furnace. The results indicated that the Nb-Al melt solidified as a sphere-like body under the surface tension driving. It was difficult to obtain Nb-Al binary alloy matrix Al2O3 ceramic composites. However, the wettability between Nb-Al melt and porous Al2O3 ceramic bodies was improved obviously while the Ti and Cr alloying elements were added into Nb-Al binary alloy. Also, the resultant Nb-35Ti-20Al-10Cr melt was filled into the interconnected pore channels existed in the Al2O3 preform by pressureless infiltration.


EXPANSINs are the intrinsic proteins in a plant cell and are involved in disentangling the cellulosic microfibrils of the cell wall.The mechanism of EXPANSIN action is generally concerned with cellular expansion.This family of proteins has also been documented to have tissue specific members.Multiple variants of this protein have been identified in specific tissues, which are temporally regulated and functionally specific.The fiber specific EXPANSINs play a key role in the development of cotton fibers. Various isoforms of EXPANSINs were isolated by screening the cDNA libraries constructed at different developmental stages of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and Calotropis procera fibers.Nucleotide sequence analysis of the screened clones helped to identify two major variants in cotton (GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15) and four EXPANSIN isoforms in fast elongating C. procera fibers.The C. procera CpEXPA3 was selected for further analysis on the basis of its close relatedness with cotton fiber EXPANSINs.The comparative analysis of these EXPANSINs with existing database of the gene family revealed that they belong to the third clade of EXPANSIN A family having two characteristic domains. Eight conserved cysteine residues were found in the N-terminal of the deduced amino acid sequence of GhEXPA8, GhEXPA15 and CpEXPA3, while one was in the signal peptide region.Five tryptophan residues were conserved in C-terminal region of these EXPANSINs.The Amino Acid sequences of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 have 98 % identity, while they have 69.8 % and 69.6 % identity with CpEXPA3 respectively.The presence of the signal anchor sites, the hydrophobic regions and the transmembrane regions at the N-terminus suggested that these proteins are targeted to the cellulosic microfibrils through the secretory pathway.The expression of these variants in different tissues was quantified by real time PCR.The transcripts of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 were observed only in fibers, while CpEXPA3 was found to be transcribed nonspecifically in all tissues of the respective plant.The different transcription patterns of GhEXPA8 and GhEXPA15 at various stages of fiber development indicated that they are functionally different genes.The real time PCR analysis indicated the presence of EXPANSIN variants in developing cotton fibers from 0-15 DPA.The RT-PCR demonstrated that transcripts of LTP3 gene could be detected in developing fibers from 0-20 DPA.A plant expression vector was constructed by fusing LTP3 promoter with a reporter gene (GUS with intron) for in vitro expression assay of the promoter strength and specificity in comparison with 2X35S.Transient expression studies on cultured cotton ovules, sepals, petals and stem revealed that the LTP3 promoter activity was confined only to the trichomes. The GUS gene in the expression cassettes was replaced with GhEXPA8, GhEXPA15 and CpEXPA3 generating six EXPANSIN genes constructs under the two promoters (2X35S and LTP3) with an aim to prolong the EXPANSIN gene expression in developing fibers.The construction of the expression cassettes was verified by DNA sequencing and the constructs were handed over to cotton transformation group at NIBGE for their utilization in fiber modification program.


The overall quality of a machined component has an important association with
the quality of its surface finish. To obtain adequate data for the surface metrology
of machined components, areal scanners are often preferred over stylus based
profile scanners due to their ability to acquire surface data over a relatively large
area. To further improve efficiency, there is a desire to perform on-machine
measurement, and recently, high-resolution areal surface scanners have been
integrated as an on-machine measurement device. Due to the limited areal
coverage, these scanners can require multiple scans to capture data from surfaces
produced on machine tools which requires a sufficient amount of time to
complete a full surface scan. In addition, since these scanners are very sensitive,
scanning delays often cause areal scanners to capture data contaminated with
noise which may arise from within the machining environment such as axes
vibrations, temperature effects, dust, etc. These factors mean such instruments
are typically used in metrology laboratories.
 This paper presents a new methodology referred to as multidirectional
scanning (MDS) which is a technique that exploits characteristics of a 2D laser
line scanner (profilometer). The device is used in two directions to scan the
overall component surface ensuring the coverage of a wider surface area
compared to typical areal scanners. Since the scanner is robust and integrated
onto a machine tool, controlled axes feed rates in the orthogonal directions
ensure high spatial resolution which in turn helps to identify and reduce the noise
levels in the data. This methodology has been validated to be both accurate and
rapid to scan the component surface, reducing the cost associated with machine
downtime and also having a wider coverage of 6x6 mm2 for a single scan,
compared to 1 mm2 for most conventional areal surface measurement
instruments having comparable spatial and vertical resolution.


Tissue reconstruction is among the increasing applications of polymer nanofibers. Fibrous scaffolds (mats) can be easily produced using the electrospinning method with structure and biomechanical properties similar to those of a cellular matrix. Electrospinning is widely used in the production of nanofibers and the GAP-method electrospinning is one of the means of producing fully aligned nanofibers. In this research, using the GAP-method, knitted fibrous scaffolds were made of silk fibroin, which is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer. To extract fibroin from cocoons, the sodium chloride solution as well as dialysis and freeze-drying techniques were employed. The molecular weight of the extracted fibroin was measured with the SDS-Page electrophoresis technique. Moreover, the pure fibroin structure was examined using the ATR-FTIR method, and the viscosity of the solution used for electrospinning was measured with the Brookfield rotational viscometer. The scaffolds were prepared through electrospinning of the silk fibroin in pure formic acid solution. The following three structures were electrospun: 1) a random structure; 2) a knitted structure with an interstitial angle of 60 degrees; 3) a knitted structure with an interstitial angle of 90 degrees. Morphology of the resulting fibers was studied with a SEM (scanning electron microscope). Fibroin scaffolds are degradable in water. Therefore, they were fixated through immersion in methanol to be prepared for assays. The mechanical properties of the scaffolds were also studied using a tensile strength test device. The effect of methanol on the strength properties of the samples was also assessed. The hydrophilic potential of the samples was measured via a contact angle test. To increase the hydrophilicity of the scaffold surfaces, the cold oxygen plasma technique was employed. Finally, the biocompatibility and cell adhesion of the resulting scaffolds were examined through a HEK 293 cell culture, and the results were analyzed through the MTT, DAPI staining, and SEM imaging techniques. Results revealed that the oriented knitted structure contributed to the increase in Young's modulus and the maximum strength of scaffolds as compared to the random samples. Moreover, this structure can also be a suitable alternative to the typical chemical means of increasing strength.


Problem-based learning (PBL) is a relatively new teaching method, which was introduced in medical education as an alternative to the traditional method of teaching. One of the major advantages of the PBL method was that, it allows integration between the basic medical and clinical sciences. In the process of learning anatomy, in a PBL setting, the level of anatomy knowledge depends upon the number of the PBL cases, the number of learning objectives relevant to the clinical case and the distribution of the teaching material. Earlier studies reported that, in the PBL curriculum, the anatomical sciences (gross anatomy, histology and embryology) were insufficiently covered and the subjects were poorly understood by the students. The aim of this project was to study the preclinical curriculum at the Medical Faculty of the University of Botswana, with references to the number of the PBL cases and the amount and distribution of the anatomy learning objectives in them. To achieve the objective, a data collection and analysis method was used. The results indicated that, in the preclinical part of the curriculum, 123 PBL cases were discussed, in which 94 anatomy learning objectives were identified (63 in gross anatomy, 26 in histology and 5 in embryology). The gross anatomy learning objectives were absent in 44 PBL cases, histology in 51 and embryology in 98. In conclusion, the PBL component of the curriculum had a good number of PBL clinical cases. However, the histological and particularly the embryological components of the anatomical sciences were grossly underrepresented, in the PBL cases.


To the Editor.— In the brief clinical report by Dr Rosch and colleagues entitled "Reduction of Amphotericin B Nephrotoxicity With Mannitol" (235:1995, 1976), there may be an important omission. Nowhere is either the concentration or the volume of the infused mannitol mentioned. Since this report may have important therapeutic implication, it would seem important that the authors list their technique as precisely and unambiguously as possible. Until there are data showing that concentration is irrelevant, it is the obligation of the authors, referees, and editors that all necessary information be contained in the communication. Perhaps much of the conflicting data in the scientific literature today can be traced to ambiguous descriptions of techniques by the original authors and, thus, slight (but significant) variations in the experimental conditions by subsequent investigators. Perhaps with more awareness of the problem, corrective action can be taken.


We present an image‐based rendering system to viewpoint‐navigate through space and time of complex real‐world, dynamic scenes. Our approach accepts unsynchronized, uncalibrated multivideo footage as input. Inexpensive, consumer‐grade camcorders suffice to acquire arbitrary scenes, for example in the outdoors, without elaborate recording setup procedures, allowing also for hand‐held recordings. Instead of scene depth estimation, layer segmentation or 3D reconstruction, our approach is based on dense image correspondences, treating view interpolation uniformly in space and time: spatial viewpoint navigation, slow motion or freeze‐and‐rotate effects can all be created in the same way. Acquisition simplification, integration of moving cameras, generalization to difficult scenes and space–time symmetric interpolation amount to a widely applicable virtual video camera system.


We present results of a GATE simulation study on the role of different design parameters for the count rate accuracy of a high resolution gamma ray detector used for transmission tomography. The considered gamma ray tomography system is operated with a 137Cs isotopic source and a special detector comprising 320 single elements, made of lutetium yttrium orthosilicate (LYSO) scintillators coupled to avalanche photo diodes (APD). Energy resolution of the detector elements is limited to about 25% which leads to erroneous counting of photons which have been Compton scattered before detection in other parts of the detector and the object. This introduces a linearity error into the tomographic data which leads to artifacts and errors in the reconstructed images. Simulation of the count rate error for the existing configuration shows good agreement with measured detector cross-talk. We investigated different virtual design changes regarding crystal geometry, separation, shielding and arrangement. Results show that further increase in accuracy is possible.


Treatment of many disorders can be frequently problematic due to the relatively non selective nature of many drugs available on the market. Symptoms can be complex and expansive, often leading to symptoms representing other disorders in addition to the primary reason for treatment. In particular mental health disorders fall prey to this situation. Targeting treatment can be difficult due to the implication of receptors in more than one disorder, and more than one receptor in a single disorder. In the instance of GPCRs, receptors such as the serotonin receptors (and in particular the 5-HT2A for the interest of this research) belong to a large family of receptors, the GPCR Class A super family. Around 50% of the drugs now commercially available target GPCR receptors (Wise et al 2004, Katugampola & Davenport.,2003) and drugs with action at serotonin receptors are used in the treatment of many disorders, particularly psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Inability to target single receptors selectively means that the therapeutic values of the drugs are much lower than desired.

In this study, the 5-HT2A receptor was incorporated into a stable, inducible cell line using HEK 293 cells and the Flp-in T-REx system, allowing receptor expression to be under the control of the antibiotic doxycycline and hence allow pharmacology to be explored. There is a variation when looking at the potency of agonists in relation to calcium mobilisation and IP-one accumulation, although following the same order of potency the values differ between each experiment type. The order of potency for the majority of the antagonist ligands is very different when looking at IP-one and Ca2+ experiments, as are the values obtained for affinity. This was surprising due to the both lying downstream of the IP3 pathway. The most closely relating results to the published IUPHAR values stem from binding experiments.

Understanding the pharmacology of the single receptor by several methods is essential when screening drugs for effectiveness at the receptor. Here the data exploring the pharmacology of the 5-HT2A receptor demonstrated the difficulty surrounding functional studies using single target models.


Following Mare's (2010) presidential address to the Population Association of America, a great deal of research has been conducted on the dynamics of intergenerational mobility and socioeconomic inequality. Due to this relatively short time span, however, comparatively little is known about the when, where, how, and why of intergenerational effects beyond parent-child ties. In this article, we examine educational attainment across three generations using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We find evidence that grandparental education is associated with grandchild education net of parental education, but that association is greatly reduced once spousal education is accounted for – suggesting spousal mediation as a key mechanism of the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage. We also find tentative evidence in favor of the augmentation hypothesis that grandparent and parent educational attainment interactively influence grandchild education. However, the augmentation hypothesis is not supported in spousal mediation models nor in cousin fixed effects models, suggesting that these results may be spurious. Contrary to prior work outside the U.S., we find no evidence of stronger grandparent effects when grandparents were still alive when the grandchild reached age 6. Supporting the claim that genetic transmission may partially explain these relationships, we find weak evidence that grandparent effects are stronger for biological grandparents than non-biological ones. Overall, this research suggests that grandparent's educational attainment matters, but is mostly mediated through child's spouse's educational attainment. We suggest that three-generational transmission of educational advantage is a complex topic in need of further, careful study.


Abstract In an experiment on the effect of intensity accents on the perception of time intervals between tones. H. G. Tekman (2001) found that the regular placement of deviant time intervals in short sequences of tones reduced detection, especially if intensity accents marked the deviant time intervals. That was the opposite of what one wòuld have expected on the basis of the dynamic attending theory of M. R. Jones (1976). The effect might have occurred because temporally deviant tones create cumulative onset shifts that affect all the subsequent tones. If the deviations were randomly placed, then they could follow each other in close succession and change the local tempo. In the present study, the changes of local tempo, which might have acted as a cue for the detection of temporal deviations in the random sequences, were eliminated by compensating for deviant time intervals with equal deviations in the opposite direction in the interval that followed. That change in the stimuli eliminated the negative main effect of regularity, and the accenting interacted with regularity in favor of detection in the regular sequences. However, a simple advantage of regular over random sequences was not observed. The author discusses possible reasons for the lack of a facilitatory effect of regularity.


Non-specific background staining is occasionally a problem with sane antibodies and labeling systems. If normal washing fails to reduce the bacligraund you might want to try using a high salt buffer for washing. Phosphate buffered saline, or any oilier recipe with NaCI in il, is probably around 150 mM (0.9%). Try boosting foe NaCJ to 5X normal, This would rnHke it 750 mM. at 4.5% by weight. If high salt buffer is used, remember toincubate 'he nfids in a cnupie of changes of regular strength (150 mM) saline before going to Ihe next step, to. get Hie salt back into the range of physiologic strength. An example waufd be to wash the grids DJI live drops: of high salt buffer for about 2 minutes each, followed by two drops or normal salt buffer for about 2 minutes each, Use this routine aifter incubating on the primary antibody &* after any incubation you suspect may be contributing to bacKground {secondary a ntitxacSy, colloidal gc4dh flic.), I have not found a good explanation for why this works, although it probably changes the conformation of proteins, aKers their overall charge, a-makes them less likely to bind lo the surface of the sectioned material, High salt -concentrations a?e often used in biochemistry to precipitate proteins GU1 of solution and to wasfi chfomalography columns. Something similar is probably happening on the surface of the section, i. e., only (hose nrtibody molecules which have bound specifically to antigen 2 silas are able to stay an the section In Ihe presence af high salt concentrations.


The road to the discovery of a vaccine for HIV has been arduous and will continue to be difficult over the ensuing twenty years. Most vaccines are developed by inducing neutralizing antibodies against the target pathogen or by using attenuated strains of the particular pathogen to engender a variety of protective immune responses. Unfortunately, simple methods of generating anti-HIV antibodies have already failed in a phase III clinical trial. While attenuated SIV variants work well against homologous challenges in non-human primates, the potential for reversion to a more pathogenic virus and recombination with challenge viruses will preclude the use of attenuated HIV in the field. It has been exceedingly frustrating to vaccinate for HIV-specific neutralizing antibodies given the enormous diversity of the Envelope (Env) glycoprotein and its well-developed glycan shield. However, there are several antibodies that will neutralize many different strains of HIV and inducing these types of antibodies in vaccinees remains the goal of a vigorous effort to develop a vaccine for HIV based on neutralizing antibodies. Given the difficulty in generating broadly reactive neutralizing antibodies, the HIV vaccine field has turned its attention to inducing T cell responses against the virus using a variety of vectors. Unfortunately, the results from Merck's phase IIb STEP trial proved to be disappointing. Vaccinees received Adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) expressing Gag, Pol, and Nef of HIV. This vaccine regimen failed to either prevent infection or reduce the level of HIV replication after challenge. These results mirrored those in non-human primate testing of Ad5 using rigorous SIV challenge models. This review will focus on recent developments in HIV vaccine development. We will deal largely with attempts to develop a T cell-based vaccine using the non-human primate SIV challenge model.


A culture method for the isolation and identification of penicillinase (beta-lactamase)-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) was evaluated in the Philippines where PPNG are common. The method uses plastic biplates containing standard Martin-Lewis gonorrhea culture medium in one side of the biplate and PPNG-selective medium containing 1.5 microgram of penicillin G per ml and a suspension of Sarcina lutea (Micrococcus lutea) that was susceptible to 0.01 microgram of penicillin G per ml in the other side. Penicillin-resistant gonococci grow on both sides of the biplate. The hydrolysis of penicillin by beta-lactamase permits the growth of S. lutea around PPNG colonies. With this medium we successfully identified 11 of 12 PPNG strains growing on primary isolation plates. A 48- to 72-h incubation period was needed, however, for visible growth of S. lutea around PPNG colonies. A unique advantage of this method was the identification of non-PPNG strains which also grew on penicillin-containing medium but did not allow growth of S. lutea. These relatively penicillin-resistant strains were the cause of infections which were not cured by penicillin treatment in 2 of 11 patients.


The present thesis, which is based on a review and 12 published articles, concerns clinical epidemiological methods [176-187].The Nordic countries have for many years established numerous registries. The establishment in Denmark of the National Population Registry in 1924 and the personal registration number (the CPR number) in 1968 allowed person-identification of remarkable quality, and made it possible to gather information on the same person in several registries. This situation is unique to the Nordic countries.The administrative registries were not primarily established for research purposes but have often proved a valuable tool in research. Despite the extensive use of registries in research, the methodological literature on this subject is limited. The purpose of the present thesis was: 1) to analyse strengths and limitations in using regional administrative registries in research, 2) to develop a framework for evaluation of existing registries for use in clinical epidemiological research, 3) to develop methods for evaluation of the data quality in regional registries, and 4) to evaluate four regional Danish administrative health registries for use in clinical epidemiological research.The analyses of strengths, limitations and data quality were based on studies of data from the regional hospital information systems, health service registries, and public health officers' surveillance system for strong analgesics and notifiable diseases.Against the background of the studies, the many advantages of using registries in research are discussed. The most important advantage is that data already exist and time consumption is thus considerably reduced, compared with studies based on collection of primary data. Costs are also considerably reduced. Other advantages included the generally large sample sizes, which provide great precision in estimates and which allow the study of rare exposures, diseases and other effects. Typically, the registries are complete as far as the persons in the target population are concerned; this ensures representativeness. Collection of registry data has been done independently of the present study, and this often reduces various types of bias such as recall, non-response, and influence on the diagnostic process determined by the study. A number of health problems manifest themselves many years after the exposure, and existing registries are thus especially valuable when studying diseases with a long period between exposure and disease manifestation.The limitations in the use of registries are considerable and often ignored. The most significant problems are related to data selection and data quality because the data collection method is determined by the registry. The studies have varied in quality, which is often evaluated at regional level, since the same information is usually stored in several registries. This allows for comparison with respect to the completeness and validity of the data. The use of discharge diagnoses from hospital registries involves considerable data quality problems, while data from the health service registries, and from the public health officers' surveillance system for strong analgesics and notifiable diseases are of satisfactory quality. Misclassification of data exists, however, in all data sources; this can only be revealed by comprehensive studies of the validity of the data quality.


Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most prevalent and lethal gynecological malignancies, and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United Stat. Like most malignancies, ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease characterized by multiple molecular alterations. These include loss of function of tumor suppressor genes, deregulation of Bcl-2 family proteins, inhibition of caspase activation, and activation of cellular survival signaling pathways, such as HER-2/neu and phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase PI3K/Akt. Over years the use of natural compounds as anticancer agents acquired great importance. Thymoquinone (TQ) is the main bioactive component of the volatile oil of the black seed (Nigella sativa, Ranunclulaceae family). TQ has been used as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antineoplastic medicines for more than 2,000 years. Previous studies reported that TQ exhibited inhibitory effects on cell proliferation of many types of cancer cell lines, including breast adenocarcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, colorectal cancer, etc. Here, we report that TQ greatly inhibited cell proliferation of cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells (A2780/CP70) 24, 48 and 72 hours after treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. However, our flow cytometry data revealed that TQ is a cell cycle non-specific for CP70 cells. Our results also showed that TQ upregulated PTEN and p53 in CP70 cells while downregulated phospho-Akt in a dose-dependent manner. Current investigations are ongoing to fully understand the mechanism of action of TQ in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells.


We study 2-monads and their algebras using a Cat-enriched version of Quillen model categories, emphasizing the parallels between the homotopical and 2-categorical points of view. Every 2-category with finite limits and colimits has a canonical model structure in which the weak equivalences are the equivalences; we use these to construct more interesting model structures on 2-categories, including a model structure on the 2-category of algebras for a 2-monad T , and a model structure on a 2-category of 2-monads on a fixed 2-category K .


Numerical analysis of drawing square and square twisted wires is presented. The thermomechanical simulation of the drawing process of square wire was carried out using the visco-plastic body model for a three-dimensional strain state with the use of Forge2007 software, while the properties of the material being deformed were described with the Norton-Hoff law. In this paper the distribution of effective strains and longitudinal stresses during changes of the cross- section and twisting of the wires has been demonstrated. It was determined that square twisted wires are characterized by significant inhomogeneity of strain. For verification of obtained numerical results experimental investigation was performed for square and square twisted wire drawing in laboratory conditions. The analysis of drawing stresses in square twisted wires used for modeling and experimental investigation indicated high material effort, which was much higher than in the case of drawing of square and round wires.


This project had the objectives of developing and characterizing stable modified-sulfur water emulsions using sulfur-extended-asphalt and Sulphlex as base stocks. Anionic and cationic emulsions which had rapid and slow setting characteristics were studied. Standard asphalt emulsion formulations using base stocks containing sulfur produced unstable emulsions which settled excessively. Reaction of a tall oil with sulfur and asphalt separately, and increased emulsifier concentrations resulted in successful emulsions. Settling characteristics were improved by adding a hydroxyethyl cellulose viscosity builder to the continuous phase. Thirteen sulfur-extended-asphalt emulsions and one Sulphlex emulsion were produced and then characterized using ASTM D244 and several non-standard test procedures. Emulsion properties are compared to ASTM D977 and D2397 requirements. The study concludes that it is possible to formulate and produce stable modified sulfur-water emulsions using sulfur-extended-asphalt or Sulphlex as base stocks. These emulsions have many characteristics which are comparable to standard asphalt emulsions. (FHWA)


Background and objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of caries in children aged 8-13 years having dental fluorosis and to determine the correlation between the grades of dental fluorosis and caries. Material and methods: 451 school children in the age group of 8-13 years were selected for the study and were divided into six age groups. The children were assessed for dental fluorosis according to Dean's criteria Index of fluorosis, and dental caries according to WHO basic survey guidelines. The overall oral health status of the child was assessed by DMFT index. Results: The results of the present study revealed that the prevalence of grade 2 fluorosis was the highest and grade 5 fluorosis was the lowest in all the age groups. Number of children having dental fluorosis was highest in the age group between 12-13 years followed by the age group between 13-14 years. The overall DMFT increased as the age of the children increased in the different age groups. The DMFT increased as the severity of fluorosis increased upto grade 2 and then decreased from grade 3 to grade 5.


The three-dimensional (3-D) Transverse Oscillation (TO) method is used to obtain 3-D velocity vector estimates in two orthogonal planes. The method is suitable for a real-time implementation. Data are acquired using a Vermon 3.0 MHz 32×32 element 2-D phased array and the experimental ultrasound scanner SARUS. Measurements are conducted on a carotid artery flow phantom from Danish Phantom Design, and 20 frames are acquired with a constant flow rate of 16.7±0.17 mL/s provided by a Shelley Medical Imaging Technologies CompuFlow 1000 system. The peak velocity magnitude in the vessel is found to be 52.3±8.1 m/s compared to an expected peak velocity of 53.6±0.54 cm/s. Based on the out-of-plane velocity component in the cross-sectional plane, the estimated volumetric flow rates are 17.1±1.4 mL/s. The coefficient of variation is 8.3%, and the bias is 2.2%. An in vivo measurement of 3-D M-mode velocities is conducted over five heart beats. The peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities are 69±5.4 cm/s and 7.9±5.5 cm/s at the center of the vessel. For comparison, a commercial BK Medical ultrasound scanner using the spectral estimator yields 71.2 cm/s and 7.70 cm/s, respectively. The results demonstrate that the 3-D TO method can estimate 3-D velocities in two crossed planes, volumetric flow rates, and 3-D velocities in vivo.


The soft error problem in digital circuits is becoming increasingly important as the IC fabrication technology progresses from the deep submicrometer scale to the nanometer scale. This paper proposes a subword-detection processing (SDP) technique and a fine-grain soft-error-tolerance (FGSET) architecture to improve the performance of the digital signal processing circuit. In the SDP technique, the logic masking property of the soft error in the combinational circuit is utilized to mask the single-event upset (SEU) caused by disturbing particles in the inactive area. To further improve the performance, the masked portion of the datapath can be used as the estimation redundancy in the algorithmic softerror-tolerance (ASET) technique. This technique is called subword-detection and redundant processing (SDRP). In the FGSET architecture, the soft error in each processing element (fine grain) can be recovered by the arithmetic datapath-level ASET technique. Analysis of the fast Fourier transform processor example shows that the proposed FGSET architecture can improve the performance of the coarse-grain SET (CGSET) by 8.5 dB. The low-cost SDP technique (1.03x) yields a noise reduction of 5.3 dB over the CGSET approach (1.40x), while the efficient SDRP I (1.57x) and SDRP II (1.88x) techniques outperform the CGSET approach by 24.5 and 30.5 dB, respectively.


The University of Salford School of Nursing's policy on provision of feedback on assessed work was written to communicate the processes involved in complying with the institutional policy (School of Nursing, 2005). This is a change to the marking practices of School staff and it is expected that this change will make a difference and enhance the quality of student learning. It is necessary to compare the effect of annotation on student outcomes with other types of feedback. It is anticipated this comparison will serve to highlight the strengths and weaknesses in the marking and feedback process

The provision of feedback to students on their performance within assessment is seen by the School of Nursing as good practice and an important part of learning development. The Quality Assurance Agency's Code of Practice for "Assessment of Students," Precept 12 (2001) on "feedback to students on performance" states that institutions should "ensure that appropriate feedback is provided to students on assessed work in a way that promotes learning and facilitates improvement." Providing appropriate feedback to students on assessed work aims to promote learning, assist development, and extend student critical evaluation skills.


The synchronization property of chaotic free-running dc/dc converters is studied in this paper The system under study consists of two Cuk converters operating under free-running current-mode control, with two converters connected in the well-known drive-response configuration similar to that studied by Pecora and Carroll. This paper studies, in particular, the synchronization property of the system when a capacitor voltage is chosen as the driving signal. The study includes the derivation of the describing differential equations and the calculation of the conditional Lyapunov exponents (CLE's) of the synchronizing system based on the differential equations. It is found that all the CLE's are negative for certain chosen parameters and, hence, synchronization is possible in this system. Exact computer simulations have been performed to verify the synchronization of the described circuits operating in the chaotic regime. With the drive-response system connected, synchronization is demonstrated using both exact time-domain simulations and PSPICE simulations. This paper reports for the first time the synchronization phenomenon in power electronic converters.


We examine strategic biases in the international regulation of monopolistic or oligopolistic industries, where a minimum vertical quality standard is imposed on a classical monopoly or duopoly, to correct an undersupply of quality. This differs from Hotelling-based studies, where the aim of minimum quality standards is to correct excessive product differentiation. It also allows examination of unbalanced trade, not considered in previous work. Noncooperative regulators tend to overregulate for profit-shifting reasons, though only when producers can vary standards across countries. However, even in this latter case, mutual recognition is only unambiguously welfare-improving when trade is balanced, and it reduces trade flows when quality is taken into account.


We report the fabrication of Ag–Au nanodisk heterodimers based on the modified on-wire lithography method and study their surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) properties experimentally and theoretically. The effects of disk thickness and gap size on SERS are explored. The SERS properties of the optimized heterodimers are compared with those of the respective homodimers and single nanodisks excited at 633 and 488 nm. We found that the enhancement factor (EF) of Ag–Au heterodimers is greater at 633 nm than that at 488 nm, while their EF is between those of the Ag–Ag and Au–Au homodimers. At 488 nm excitation, the calculation indicates that the plasmon energy can be transferred from the Ag disk to the Au disk.


A stock exhibiting hypermutability with respect to visible mutants (Om) affecting optic morphology was subjected to genetic analysis. The production of Om mutants, independently recovered with a frequency of two per 10(4), is restricted to females and depends primarily on homozygosity of their X chromosomes; in heterozygotes, Om mutability is stimulated by the presence of either one of two extrachromosomally replicating elements previously identified in other stocks having cryptic mutability systems. The semidominant and nonpleiotropic Om mutants are not associated with gross rearrangements and they map to at least 15 loci. Most of the loci defined by mapping are represented by two or more Om mutants which, despite considerable interlocus mimicry, sometimes display locus-specific phenotypes. Om mutants are moderately unstable, and they are subject to dominant suppressors that arise spontaneously at either of two X-linked loci. An interpretation of these observations invokes an X-linked transposable element (tom) that specifically inserts into control sequences shared by a set of structural genes involved in eye morphogenesis.


The article analyzes the practices of Rivadavia Community Theatre (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) in the light of the issue of their political potential. Bearing this in mind, this group is considered paradigmatic within both community theatre studies and Social Sciences, because the collective artistic experience of this theatre group was the trigger for the inception of Cooperativa La Comunitaria, which subsequently became an important political actor in the region. Through the analysis, it is possible to identify the features, weaknesses and potential of their political project, as well as the different circumstances that outline their historicity. The work is based on empirical research of this phenomenon using different qualitative instruments and methods of other disciplines such as Anthropology, Semiotics, and Philosophy of History. It is thought that the research is a significant contribution to Art and Cultural Studies due to its account of collective artistic processes that involve wider frames of action, thus proposing a reflection placed at the hybrid border of poetic production, political project and subjectivity building.


One of the leading villages in Mojokerto Regency is Karangasem Village with the commodity of Bricks. Currently brick makers face several problems in developing their businesses, among them are: production, marketing, training education and financial governance. The method used is a direct approach to community involvement, an approach to utilizing appropriate technology, an approach that is appealing and support without the element of coercion and socialization and training approaches. The results of the implementation in the field showed improvement in the cleanliness of the environment, arrangement of facilities and infrastructure proved to improve the quality and quantity of production, arrangement and arrangement of scheduling the purchase of raw materials, production and combustion processes greatly determine the readiness of the market to meet market demand. . The availability of coal, sales agents, transport partners along with rising and unloading power and product user partners such as housing greatly determine the sustainability and success of the business.


ABSTRACT Mammalian oocyte chromosomes undergo 2 meiotic divisions to generate haploid gametes. The frequency of chromosome segregation errors during meiosis I increase with age. However, little attention has been paid to the question of how aging affects sister chromatid segregation during oocyte meiosis II. More importantly, how aneuploid metaphase II (MII) oocytes from aged mice evade the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) mechanism to complete later meiosis II to form aneuploid embryos remains unknown. Here, we report that MII oocytes from naturally aged mice exhibited substantial errors in chromosome arrangement and configuration compared with young MII oocytes. Interestingly, these errors in aged oocytes had no impact on anaphase II onset and completion as well as 2-cell formation after parthenogenetic activation. Further study found that merotelic kinetochore attachment occurred more frequently and could stabilize the kinetochore-microtubule interaction to ensure SAC inactivation and anaphase II onset in aged MII oocytes. This orientation could persist largely during anaphase II in aged oocytes, leading to severe chromosome lagging and trailing as well as delay of anaphase II completion. Therefore, merotelic kinetochore attachment in oocyte meiosis II exacerbates age-related genetic instability and is a key source of age-dependent embryo aneuploidy and dysplasia.


Objective: Spasticity is one of the signs described since centuries ago. Nevertheless, this definition per se would be difficult to understand, inclusive for the neurologist, neurosurgeon and therapist. This review pretends to analyze the meaning and clarify the vision of what does it stand for in clinical practice, to differentiate between one patient with spasticity from one that does not. Development: Spasticity is a secondary disease to an insult of the central nervous system. It is defined as an augmentation of muscular stretch reflex that depends of the muscular movement for its manifestation. Pathogenic mechanisms involved in this disorder include an increased neuronal excitation and a decreased neuronal inhibit ion, that bring as consequence, hyperreflexia and/or hypertonic muscular reflex. Conclusions: Spasticity is the result of the effect of different events occurring in the central nervous system, including trauma, demyelinizant diseases, tumors, etc. Main damage is caused to the pyramidal tract, but is not clear the role of others anatomical pathways, causing hypertonic and hyperreflectic signs as consequence, being these not evident in other nosological entities.


In this paper, the interaction among cervical vertebrae, a cervical plate and a bone graft implant, which is developed in a Corporectomy, is analyzed in an experimental form. In the case of specific damaged vertebra, its replacement is one of the alternative solutions. However, the displacement between the vertebral adjacent facets and the bone graft is a critical parameter which has to be evaluated in order to ensure the stability of the spine. Besides, it is advisable to make a precise evaluation of the structural integrity of the arrangement. For this study, porcine cervical vertebrae (C3-C5) were instrumented in order to replace a damaged C4 vertebra. This arrangement was tested under compression. The experimental observations were complemented with a numerical model. The displacements between the vertebral facets and the bone graft were measured. They are lower than 3 mm in order to develop stability in the spine. Besides, the proposed arrangement has structural integrity and the surgical procedure is simplified, as no wires are used.


We consider long-run behavior of agents assessing risk in terms of dynamic convex risk measures or, equivalently, utility in terms of dynamic variational preferences in an uncertain setting. By virtue of a robust representation, we show that all uncertainty is revealed in the limit and agents behave as expected utility maximizer under the true underlying distribution regardless of their initial risk anticipation. In particular, risk assessments of distinct agents converge. This result is a generalization of the fundamental Blackwell-Dubins Theorem, cp. [Blackwell & Dubins, 62], to convex risk. We furthermore show the result to hold in a non-time-consistent environment.


Field studies along a 30°S latitude transect of the Precordillera in NW Argentina indicate that Neogene to recent deformation caused high-angle faulting that uplifted and breached a Palaeozoic east-verging thrust stack. Palaeozoic structures crop out in the higher linear ranges, and intramontane Neogene basins occur in the intervening valleys. The Palaeozoic rocks include three tectonic units with contrasting structural styles and differences in stratigraphy. The Western Allochthon includes clastic Ordovician rocks metamorphosed to lower greenschist facies and folded by large-scale asymmetric, east-verging folds with a well-developed axial planar cleavage. This unit overthrusts a Siluro-Devonian flysch-type succession of the Central Imbricate thrust system and associated fault propagation folds in which the thrusts merge into a basal thrust beneath Ordovician carbonates. Middle to Upper Carboniferous sediments unconformably overlie structures of this imbricate system. In the Frontal Unit minor thrust faults are interpreted to explain the low-angle unconformity within Palaeozoic rocks. Neogene deformation causes only a minor overprint of the Palaeozoic structure, and large-scale folding in the Frontal Unit appears to be mostly of Neogene age. The new data indicate that Neogene intracontinental shortening may be smaller than previously proposed, providing new perspectives on the present orogenic architecture along this Andean section.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of susceptibility artifacts on functional MR imaging (fMRI) studies and their effect on fMRI readings. We hypothesized that the availability of the signal intensity maps (SIMs) changes the interpretation of fMRI studies in which susceptibility artifacts affected eloquent brain regions.

METHODS
We reviewed 152 consecutive clinical fMRI studies performed with a SIM. The SIM consisted of the initial echo-planar images (EPI) in each section thresholded to eliminate signal intensity from outside the brain and then overlaid on anatomic images. The cause of the artifact was then determined by examining the images. Cases with a susceptibility artifact in eloquent brain were included in a blinded study read by four readers, first without and then with the SIM. For each reader, the number of times the interpretation changed on viewing the SIM was counted.

RESULTS
Of 152 patients, 44% had signal intensity loss involving cerebral cortex and 18% involving an eloquent brain region. Causes of the artifacts were: surgical site artifact, blood products, dental devices, calcium, basal ganglia calcifications, ICP monitors, embolization materials, and air. When provided with the SIM, readers changed interpretations in 8-38% of patient cases, depending on reader experience and size and location of susceptibility artifact.

CONCLUSION
Patients referred for clinical fMRI have a high incidence of susceptibility artifacts, whose presence and size can be determined by inspection of the SIM but not anatomic images. The availability of the SIM may affect interpretation of the fMRI.


The growth of the regeneration blastema of the newt forelimb has been quantitated and analyzed as a function of postamputation age, developmental stage, animal weight, animal length, and cross sectional diameter of the blastemal base in both the anteroposterior and dorsoventral dimensions. Correlation coefficients computed for these variables show that growth of the regenerate in both length and volume is more closely correlated with developmental stage than postamputation age. In addition, the results show a linear relation between the loge (regenerate length) and developmental stage, and between regenerate length and volume. Thus, length can be used to assess growth of the regenerate according to a developmental rather thana chronological time scale. There were no significant correlations between regenerate length or volume and animal length, animal weight or cross sectional dimensions of the blastemal base. These results show that one can use a randomly selected population of animals and study the growth of the regeneration blastema by relating to a developmental time scale through a logarithmic transformation of the linear growth data.


This work aims to describe the phonology, morphology and syntax of the dialect of South Zeal in Devonshire, largely from a taped corpus. It aims to be structural in approach, but points of interest have not been omitted simply because they may seem largely anecdotal in nature. It is mainly contrastive, developing most those points which differ from S(tandard) E(nglish), No attempt has been made at either a lexical or a semantic analysis. The first two chapters deal with the segmental and suprasegmental phonology respectively. The presence of retroflex and the consequent absence of unconditioned centring diphthongs is the most marked segmental feature, whereas the occurrence of pause in informal speech forms the most interesting section of Chapter 3. The personal pronouns, apart from /aj, mi:/, show an opposition of stressed: unstressed, while the demonstratives show a three-term series in the singular /oi:z, oat, oi-ki:/, and also a 'joint system' with the personal pronouns, whereby /it/ and /?m/ are always unstressed, and /oat/ and /oej/ are always stressed. With the prepositional phrase, interest is centred on relationships of place, the 'to:at' opposition being lost and replaced by a series 'up:down, out;in, over', relating to direction or position, normally vis-a-vis Zeal. In Chapter 8, we find that the verb 'be' has a double paradigm, usually /m/ unstressed and /bi:/ stressed. The verb in general does not show any passive-continuous forms of the 'being killed' type. After a discussion of the uses of certain modals, and of the use of 'of' after an '-ing' (/-In/) form, it is suggested that only three categories of 'phrasal verb' are necessary for English, one of which, the prepositional verb, is very rare in the dialect. The thesis concludes with an analysis of the restricted possibilities of subordination found in the dialect, and of the three-term system of relatives, 'what', 'that' and zero.


Clinical Presentation: A 44-year-old woman visited our hospital with a 2-year history of pain, swelling, and claudication in her right ankle. A plain radiograph (XP) showed destruction of her right ankle, as osteophytes and joint narrowing were seen (Figure 1). However, the anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were negative, and the immunoglobulin M rheumatoid factor was positive (57 IU/ml). After a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was made, methotrexate (8 mg/ week) was administered. Although methotrexate therapy was administered for 3 months, the symptoms did not improve. Infliximab (IFX), an anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody, was administered at a routine dosage (3 mg/kg). Surprisingly, just after the IFX infusion, her symptoms disappeared. She was able to walk normally. Nine months after initiating IFX therapy, an XP of her right ankle showed joint widening (Figure 2). Presently, 7 years later, she is free of symptoms, walks normally, and works as a hotel owner. RA treatment goals are to suppress inflammation and to prevent structural joint damage [1]. Recent studies have reported patients in whom repair of bone erosion or mitigation of joint space narrowing was achieved using biologics [2]. Initial inflammation and subsequent radiographic progression are the dominant contributors to disability in patients with RA [3]. After all, tight control of disease activity ameliorates RA as well as local joint destruction.


The following paper explores the topic of image capturing and digital reconstruction method known as photogrammetry. More specifically it focuses on the application of this method in the field of lighting design and aims to provide an in-depth descriptive account of different techniques and approaches of doing photogrammetry, and challenges that arise from them. The paper consists of multiple use cases, which help illustrate different aspects of the photogrammetry process, covering areas such as: image capturing strategies, de-lighting techniques, and digital workflows. It later transition into a discussion of automation and the advantages it can offer for the development of this particular field, and proposes a prototype design for an automated photogrammetry platform. Aalborg University Copenhagen


Global attention generated after the December 2004 Asia tsunami disaster catalyzed one of the most successful internationally-mediated peace processes in the world in Aceh, Indonesia, but did not save the peace process in Sri Lanka. Rather, international aid contributed to a "no war, no peace" equilibrium in Sri Lanka that was brought to an end by the military victory of the government. This paper compares these two highly internationalized peace processes in Southeast and South Asia, particularly, the role of international actors in reconstruction, and analyses the reasons for the different outcomes. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, the paper traces how transnational aid networks, discourses and practices may become endogenous in local or internal conflicts and peace dynamics over time. Finally, it is clear that inclusive and comprehensive peace building, as well as the space for transformation of conflicting groups, is the key to successful peace building.


The use of Cloud infrastructures together with provisioning technologies can be successfully applied in scenarios where resources are only needed rarely and irregularly, for example simulation workflows in the eScience domain. There has already been proposed a solution for the on-demand provisioning of services required by workflows, but how to automatically provision the needed workflow middleware itself is still an open issue. Although many provisioning technologies are available, it is currently not possible to use them in an integrated, flexible and automated way. The main idea presented in this paper is a multi-step bootstrapping process, starting with a minimal local software component and ending up with a complex workflow middleware running in the Cloud. This minimal software component is called bootware. We define the key requirements for the bootware, present its architecture and discuss the main design decisions and how they fulfil the requirements. The bootware enables to provision complex workflow middleware systems on-demand and automatically in the Cloud and therefore reduces resource consumption and costs.


BACKGROUND
Resection of the anterior arch of the mandible leads to tongue fall and postoperative stridor because of the detachment of tongue musculature from the mandible. In this article, a simple method of tongue suspension is described which would prevent such complications and the need for tracheostomy.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
This study was carried out on patients with oral cancer requiring resection of the anterior arch of the mandible as a part of the surgical resection at a tertiary centre.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was performed on 32 patients with oral cancer requiring resection of the anterior arch of the mandible as a part of the surgical resection. Following an appropriate resection of the oral cancer (including the anterior mandibular arch) and neck dissection, a silk suture is used to loop the tongue musculature on either side to the intermediate tendon of the digastric muscle.

RESULT
This technique of tongue suspension was used in 32 patients who required resection of the anterior mandibular arch for oral cancer. Prophylactic tracheostomy was not performed. One patient developed stridor at extubation and required temporary tracheostomy. All other patients could be successfully extubated within 12 h of surgery and none experienced postoperative stridor or sleep apnea. One other patient required temporary tracheostomy for pulmonary toilet as he developed aspiration pneumonitis related to nasogastric feed.

CONCLUSION
This simple method of tongue suspension to the digastric tendon prevents postoperative tongue fall and obviates the need for tracheostomy in most instances.


The response of a compressible laminar boundary layer subject to free-stream vortical disturbances and steady mean-flow wall suction is studied. The theoretical frameworks of Leib et al. [J. Fluid Mech.380, 169–203 (Year: 1999)10.1017/S0022112098003504] and Ricco and Wu [J. Fluid Mech.587, 97–138 (Year: 2007)10.1017/S0022112007007070], based on the linearized unsteady boundary-region equations, are adopted to study the influence of suction on the kinematic and thermal streaks arising through the interaction between the free-stream vortical perturbations and the boundary layer. In the asymptotic limit of small spanwise wavelength compared with the boundary layer thickness, i.e., when the disturbance flow is conveniently described by the steady compressible boundary region equations, the effect of suction is mild on the velocity fluctuations and negligible on the temperature fluctuations. When the spanwise wavelength is comparable with the boundary layer thickness, small suction values intensify the supersonic streaks, while higher transpiration levels always stabilize the disturbances at all Mach numbers. At larger spanwise wavelengths, very small amplitudes of wall transpiration have a dramatic stabilizing effect on all boundary layer fluctuations, which can take the form of transiently growing thermal streaks, large amplitude streamwise oscillations, or oblique exponentially growing Tollmien-Schlichting waves, depending on the Mach number and the wavelengths. The range of wavenumbers for which the exponential growth occurs becomes narrower and the location of instability is significantly shifted downstream by mild suction, indicating that wall transpiration can be a suitable vehicle for delaying transition when the laminar breakdown is promoted by these unstable disturbances. The typical streamwise wavelength of these disturbances is instead not influenced by suction, and asymptotic triple deck theory predicts the strong changes in growth rate and the very mild modifications in streamwise wavenumber in the limit of larger downstream distance and small spanwise wavenumber.


Achromobacter spp. are worldwide emerging opportunistic pathogens in CF patients, able to chronically colonize the respiratory tract. Apart from regular consultations at the hospital CF center, patients spend most of their time at home. Colonization from nonhuman sources has been suggested, but the presence of Achromobacter spp. in CF patients' homes has not been explored. The domestic environments of CF patients chronically colonized by Achromobacter, especially wet environments, host several opportunistic pathogens, including a large diversity of Achromobacter species and genotypes. However, Achromobacter genotypes colonizing the patients were not detected in their domestic environments, making it unlikely that a shuttle between environment and CF airways is involved in persisting colonization. This also suggests that once the bacteria have adapted to the respiratory tract, their survival in the domestic environment is presumably impaired. Nevertheless, measures for reducing domestic patient exposure should be targeted on evacuation drains, which are frequently contaminated by CF opportunistic pathogens. ABSTRACT Achromobacter spp. are nonfermentative Gram-negative bacilli considered emergent pathogens in cystic fibrosis (CF). Although some cross-transmission events between CF patients have been described, Achromobacter strains were mostly patient specific, suggesting sporadic acquisitions from nonhuman reservoirs. However, sources of these emergent CF pathogens remain unknown. A large collection of specimens (n = 273) was sampled in the homes of 3 CF patients chronically colonized by Achromobacter xylosoxidans with the aim of evaluating the potential role of domestic reservoirs in sustaining airway colonization of the patients. Samples were screened for the presence of Achromobacter by using genus-specific molecular detection. Species identification, multilocus genotypes, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns observed for environmental isolates were compared with those of clinical strains. Patient homes hosted a high diversity of Achromobacter species (n = 7), including Achromobacter mucicolens and A. animicus, two species previously isolated from human samples only, and genotypes (n = 15), all showing an overall susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Achromobacter strains were mostly isolated from indoor moist environments and siphons, which are potential reservoirs for several CF emerging pathogens. A. xylosoxidans, the worldwide prevalent species colonizing CF patients, was not the major Achromobacter species inhabiting domestic environments. A. xylosoxidans genotypes chronically colonizing the patients were not detected in their household environments. These results support the notions that the domestic environment could not be incriminated in sustained patient colonization and that after initial colonization, the environmental survival of A. xylosoxidans clones adapted to the CF airways is probably impaired. IMPORTANCE Achromobacter spp. are worldwide emerging opportunistic pathogens in CF patients, able to chronically colonize the respiratory tract. Apart from regular consultations at the hospital CF center, patients spend most of their time at home. Colonization from nonhuman sources has been suggested, but the presence of Achromobacter spp. in CF patients' homes has not been explored. The domestic environments of CF patients chronically colonized by Achromobacter, especially wet environments, host several opportunistic pathogens, including a large diversity of Achromobacter species and genotypes. However, Achromobacter genotypes colonizing the patients were not detected in their domestic environments, making it unlikely that a shuttle between environment and CF airways is involved in persisting colonization. This also suggests that once the bacteria have adapted to the respiratory tract, their survival in the domestic environment is presumably impaired. Nevertheless, measures for reducing domestic patient exposure should be targeted on evacuation drains, which are frequently contaminated by CF opportunistic pathogens.


This paper investigates how entrepreneurs and students associate a set of 18 concepts in order to gather their Entrepreneurial mindset. Which is the connection that entrepreneurs and students believe to be among concepts such as intuition, innovation and entrepreneur? How they think innovation is associated to risk in an entrepreneurial domain? To what extent passion is connected to the idea of entrepreneur? These questions represent some extract of concepts we asked to connect. An ad-hoc software implementing the Pathfinder algorithm produced a visual representation (simplified networks) of the mindset of each group, composed by 167 students and 29 entrepreneurs. Three questions have driven our study: (1) which are the characteristics of the entrepreneurs and students mindset? (2) Are there any differences between the two representations? (3) Are there any differences among students depending on their educational background? A qualitative inspection, supported by network centrality measures, and a quantitative analysis, based upon the number of links in common among groups' networks (closeness index) and the rank-order correlation among each couple of concepts, have shown that entrepreneurs' and students' representations differ and that these differences increase when comparing entrepreneurs with students in human and natural sciences, rather than with students in social and engineering sciences. Through additional analysis we observed that the highest differences concern concepts such as Failure, Success, Social and Regional context and, in some cases, Innovation and Risk. Suggestions for future research are presented.


Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are a novel light source for phototherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of UV-LEDs on psoriasis. Importantly, 310 nm UV-LEDs have not been studied in psoriasis in vitro and in vivo. Effects due to 310 nm UV-LED and 311 nm narrowband ultraviolet B (NBUVB) irradiation were compared for suppressing IL-22-induced activation of STAT3 expression using cell viability assay, western blotting, and immunocytochemistry. C57BL/6 mice were topically treated with miquimod (IMQ) for 6 consecutive days and degenerative changes were observed. Test groups were irradiated with a 310 nm UV-LED and 311 nm NBUVB. Phenotypic observations, histopathological examinations, and ELISA were conducted with skin and blood samples. STAT3-dependent IL-22 signalling and effects in keratinocytes are negatively regulated by the 310 nm UV-LED, which significantly ameliorated IMQ-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis development and reduced Thl7 cytokine levels (IL-17A, IL-22) in serum and dorsal skin. Histopathological findings showed decreases in epidermal thickness and inflammatory T-cell infiltration in the UV-LED-irradiated groups. Quantitative PCR confirmed a UV radiation energy-dependent decrease in IL-17A and IL-22 mRNA levels. The results demonstrated that UV-LEDs had anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory effects. So, UV-LED phototherapy inhibits psoriasis development by suppressing STAT3 protein and inflammatory cytokines and could be useful in treating psoriasis.


: We studied six patients with atrial myxoma, 5 occurred in left atrium and one in the right atrium, the diagnosis was verified with echocardiogram and surgery, we determined the clinical, electrocardiographic and radiological differences between the mitral stenosis and myxoma. We found that patients with atrial myxoma have no history of rheumatic fever, the dyspnea was less severe of shorter and duration, patient had paroxysmal dyspnea. In contrast dizziness, faintness, hemiparesis and/or angina were the more frequent symptoms. A diastolic mitral snap was a very frequent finding, less frequent was the diastolic rumble no patient had pre-systolic murmur. The left atrium was generally not dilated and the left atrial appendage as well as the pulmonary artery were not prominent in chest X-Rays. The P wave in lead II was not more than 0.11 sec and the ventricular complex in VI did not show tall R ware. With the previous elements it is possible to suspect the diagnosis of left atrial myxoma. The diagnosis should, of course, be confirmed by echocardiography.


This study develops and implements methods for analyzing whether introducing new securities or relaxing investment constraints improves the investment opportunity set for risk averse investors. We develop a statistical test procedure for 'stochastic spanning' for two nested polyhedral portfolio sets based on subsampling and Linear Programming. The test is statistically consistent and asymptotically exact for a class of weakly dependent processes. Using this test, we accept market portfolio efficiency but reject two-fund separation in standard data sets of historical stock market returns. The divergence between the test results for the two hypotheses illustrates the role for higher-order moment risk in portfolio choice and challenges representative-investor models of capital market equilibrium.


The mobility of portable computers and workstations is not transparent to users. They adjust to reduced services as long as they have no connection to a supporting infrastructure. The goal of the Walkstation project is to realize a user transparent mobile IP router (MINT) for wireless links (infrared and radio) operating at 1-10 Mbit/sec. For the study of user behavior and system characteristics, a campuswide testbed (ERIC) with 50-100 stations is planned to demonstrate the new solutions found in the Walkstation II project.


A 60-year-old Ghanese woman was treated with radiotherapy and capecitabine for metastatic breast cancer. 6 weeks after starting capecitabine she developed palmar and plantar hyperpigmentation, which preceded symptoms of hand-foot syndrome, a known adverse effect of capecitabine. After a dose reduction, the hand-foot syndrome diminished but the hyperpigmentation remained. 8 months later the patient was well and stable.


The combustion and emission characteristics of ethyl levulinate (EL)–diesel blended fuels were investigated using engine bench tests. Blended fuels properties, including the kinematic viscosity (KV), density, EL proportions, oxygen content, cetane number (CN), and lower heating value (LHV) were considered. The combustion and emission characteristics of brake-specific fuel consumption (BSFC), as well as hydrocarbon (HC), nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as smoke opacity, were tested. The relationship between the blended fuel properties and the combustion–emission characteristics were analyzed using grey relational analysis (GRA). The correlation degree between the fuel properties and the combustion–emission results indicated that the BSFC was influenced most by the density of the blended fuels. NOx, CO, and CO2 emissions were influenced most by the oxygen content. The KV was the most influential parameter for HC emissions and the opacity of the blended fuels. The oxygen content was the foremost influential parameter. The results show that GRA could be used to increase the comprehensiveness of combustion–emission blended-fuel studies, by providing a reference for the reasonable use of biofuel-diesel mixtures.