Quality control of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) equipment based on the American College of Radiology (ACR) protocol is a crucial tool for assuring the optimal functionality of the MRI scanner. This protocol includes the test of several parameters in particular spatial properties such as Slice position accuracy, high-contrast spatial resolution, and slice thickness accuracy. Those parameters are usually evaluated visually and manually using a workstation. As we know that Visual assessment is operator dependant and results may vary, so making the process automatic will reduce the errors and improve the accuracy. We propose in this study an automatic algorithm which is able to extract the three spatial proprieties. We tested our automated quality control process on ten MRI scanners. We assessed the performance of the proposed pipeline by comparing the measurements with the manual analysis made by three experienced MRI technologists. We also compared the results against the recommended values provided by the ACR quality assurance manual. Afterward, all data sets are quantitatively evaluated using the Pearson test by computing the correlation coefficient and the p-value. The comparison between our automatic quantitative algorithm and manual evaluation confirms the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Accordingly, the results of the Pearson test showed that automated analysis correlated highly with manual analysis and the P-value was less than the significance level of 0.05. An interesting finding was that the total analysis time was significantly shorter than the time needed for manual analysis.


In this paper an analytical model for subthreshold current for both long-channel and short-channel MOSFET's is presented. The analytical electrostatic potential derived from the explicit solution of a two-dimensional Poisson's equation in the depletion region under the gate for uniform doping is used. The case for nonuniform doping can easily be incorporated and will be published later. The results are compared to a numerical solution obtained by using MINIMOS, for similar device structures. An analytical expression for the channel current is obtained as a function of drain, gate, substrate voltages, and device parameters for devices in the subthreshold region. The short-channel current equation reduces to the classical long-channel equation as the channel length increases.


Rectal cancer ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer patients often results in individuals that respond well to therapy and those that respond poorly, requiring life-altering excision surgery. It is inadequately understood what dictates this responder/nonresponder divide. Our major aim is to identify what factors in the tumor microenvironment drive a fraction of rectal cancer patients to respond to radiotherapy. We also sought to distinguish potential biomarkers that would indicate a positive response to therapy and design combinatorial therapeutics to enhance radiotherapy efficacy. To address this, we developed an orthotopic murine model of rectal cancer treated with short course radiotherapy that recapitulates the bimodal response observed in the clinic. We utilized a robust combination of transcriptomics and protein analysis to identify differences between responding and nonresponding tumors. Our mouse model recapitulates human disease in which a fraction of tumors respond to radiotherapy (responders) while the majority are nonresponsive. We determined that responding tumors had increased damage-induced cell death, and a unique immune-activation signature associated with tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and CD8+ T cells. This signature was dependent on radiation-induced increases of Type I interferons (IFNs). We investigated a therapeutic approach targeting the cGAS/STING pathway and demonstrated improved response rate following radiotherapy. These results suggest that modulating the Type I IFN pathway has the potential to improve radiation therapy efficacy in RC.


The Evolution of Developmental Pathways. Adam S. Wilkins. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, 2001. 621 pp. $54.95. ISBN 0-87893-916-4. Wilkins explores the nature of the genetic, molecular, and selectional events that affect genetic pathways and determine how shape and form in complex organisms change during evolution.


Routing today scales by assigning addresses that depend on the host's topological location in the network. Topology-based addressing improves scalability, since adjacent addresses may be aggregated into blocks and advertised as a single unit. However, if hosts move, or the network topology changes, these addresses must change. This poses two problems. First, in ad-hoc networks and sensornets, the topology is so fluid that topology-based addressing doesn't work. There has been a decades-long search for scalable routing algorithms for these networks with no solution in sight. Second, the use of topology-based addressing in the Internet complicates mobility, access control, and multihoming.
Identity-based addressing, where addresses refer only to the identity of the host but not its location, would solve these problems, but would pose severe challenges for scalability. This thesis presents the first scalable routing algorithm for identity-based addresses. Implementation results from a sensornet deployment and simulations demonstrate the protocol outperforms several traditional wireless routing algorithms. This thesis also describes extensions to scale the protocol to Internet-size topologies and support several common ISP-level routing policies.


Purpose of the study. Studying characteristics of the growth factor dynamics in the intact skin, tumors and perifocal tissues of melanoma in urokinase (uPA) gene-knockout mice. Materials and methods. The study included male and female С57 ВL/6 mice (n=47) and C57BL/6‑Plautm1.1BugThisPlauGFDhu/GFDhu mice with uPA gene-knockout (n=31). В16/F10 melanoma was transplanted subcutaneously at a dose of 0.5 mL (1:10 in normal saline). Intact mice of the same strain served as controls. Levels of VEGFA, VEGFC, sVEGFR1, sVEGFR3, IGF1, IGF2, TGFβ1 and FGF21 were determined by ELISA in the skin, tumor and perifocal tissues isolated on the 21st day of the tumor growth. Results. uPA gene-knockout inhibited the growth (mostly in females) and metastasis (predominantly in males) of melanoma in mice. Inhibition of the migration of malignant cells in males could be due to low levels of TGF-β1 compared to С57 ВL/6 mice: in the skin – by 5.0 times, in tumors – by 1.8 times and in perifocal tissues – by 6.1 times. In uPA gene-knockout females, lower levels of TGF-β1 were observed in tumors – by 1.4 times inhibited metastasis, but not completely, and solitary metastatic foci were registered in the lungs. Нigh levels of IGF1 in tissues of all uPA gene-knockout mice (males: in tumors by 1.4 times, in perifocal tissues by 2.6 times, in the skin by 3.6 times; females: in tumors by 2.6 times, in perifocal tissues by 25.0 times, in the skin by 13.9 times, compared to С57 ВL/6 mice) could maintain the metastatic phenotype of cancer cells (in females) or hiher proliferative activity of melanoma cells (in males). Lower levels of FGF‑21 in tumors (males – by 5.3 times, females – by 18.4 times), perifocal tissues (males – by 9.6 times, females – by 8,5 times) and skin (males – by 6.7 times, females – by 3.3 times) in uPA gene-knockout animals could be due to the IGF‑1 growth, as their reciprocal interaction is known. Interestingly, a significant, although lesser than in mice with a normal genotype, accumulation of VEGFA in melanoma tissues was observed: in males – in tumors by 44.9 times, in perifocal tissues by 6.8 times, in the skin by 2.4 times; in females – in tumors by 5.6 times, in perifocal tissues by 2.6 times, in the skin by 3.3 times, compared to the corresponding intact controls, due to the probable involvement of the uPA receptor (uPAR) in the implementation of VEGF-induced processes. Conclusion. Changing the activity of a system of some growth factors, uPA gene-knockout modifies melanoma metabolism by inhibiting its growth and eliminating or reducing its metastatic activity.


This paper is the first to use information from individual country-by-country (CbC) re-ports to assess the extent of profit shifting by multinational enterprises. Unlike other data often used to evaluate the extent of profit shifting and tax avoidance, CbC reports pro-vide a complete coverage of the global distribution of profits and indicators of economic activity for multinationals exceeding a certain revenue threshold. We show that 82% of the German multinationals subject to CbC reporting have tax haven subsidiaries and that these subsidiaries are notably more profitable than those in non-havens. However, only 9% of the global profits of German multinationals are reported in tax havens. Results from regression analysis suggest that approximately 40% of the profits reported in tax havens are a result of tax-induced profit shifting. The associated annual tax base loss for Germany amounts to EUR 5.4 billion. Adding estimates of profit shifting by multinationals not covered by the CbC data yields an overall estimate for profits shifted out of Germany to tax havens of EUR 19.1 billion per year, corresponding to 4.3% of the profits reported by these firms in Germany. This implies a tax revenue loss due to corporate profit shifting to tax havens of EUR 5.7 billion per year.


This LibGuide seeks to provide users with a background of the Syrian Crisis, the countries involved, and policies concerning the Syrian refugees.


This letter presents the enhancement of an electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) antenna that is used to feed a reflector antenna for a space multibeam application in Ka band. One of the main difficulties in a typical focal feed cluster design is to obtain high illumination performances with neighbored and close radiating elements. The new structure presented in this letter tackles this difficulty by using a two-level EBG antenna as a multibeam focal feed. This last one is designed to illuminate a side-fed offset cassegrain antenna (SFOCA) working in Ka band and dedicated to a multibeam telecommunication coverage over Europe. A prototype has been measured, and the reflector antenna performances have been evaluated in order to show the good results obtained with this new multibeam focal feed.


Black hole spacetimes, like the Kerr spacetime, admit both stable and plunging orbits, separated in parameter space by the separatrix. Determining the location of the separatrix is of fundamental interest in understanding black holes, and is of crucial importance for modeling extreme-mass-ratio inspirals. Previous numerical approaches to locating the Kerr separatrix were not always efficient or stable across all of parameter space. In this paper we show that the Kerr separatrix is the zero set of a single polynomial in parameter space. This gives two main results. First, we thoroughly analyze special cases (extreme Kerr, polar orbits, etc.), finding strict bounds on the limits of roots, and unifying a number of results in the literature. Second, we pose a stable numerical method which is guaranteed to quickly and robustly converge to the separatrix. This new approach is implemented in the Black Hole Perturbation Toolkit, and results in a $\ensuremath{\sim}45\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$ speedup over the prior robust approach.


Monetary policy regimes encompass the constraints or limits imposed by custom, institutions and nature on the ability of the monetary authorities to influence the evolution of macroeconomic aggregates. This paper surveys the historical experience of both international and domestic (national) aspects of monetary regimes from the nineteenth century to the present. We first survey the experience of four broad international monetary regimes: the classical gold standard 1880-1914; the interwar period with a short lived restoration of the gold standard; the postwar Bretton Woods international monetary system (1946-1971) indirectly linked to gold; the recent managed float period (1971- float period (1971-1995). We then present in some detail the institutional arrangements and policy actions of the Federal Reserve in the United States as an important example of a domestic policy regime. The survey of the Federal Reserve subdivides the demarcated broad international policy regimes into a number of episodes. A salient theme in our survey is that the convertibility rule or principle that dominated both domestic and international aspects of the monetary regime before World War I has since declined in its relevance At the same time, policymakers within major nations placed more emphasis on stabilizing the real economy. In the post-World War II era, the complete abandonment of the convertibility principle, and its replacement by the goal of full employment, combined with the legacy of inadequate policy tools and theory from the interwar period set the stage for the Great Inflation of the 1970s. The lessons from that experience have convinced monetary authorities to reemphasize the goal of low inflation, as it were, committing themselves to rule-like behavior.


Introduction: The purpose of this study was to establish the reference value of normal thickness of thyroid isthmus among clinically euthyroid Nepalese individuals using Ultrasonography and correlate this with thyroid volume, sex, individual's built and geographic location.Methods: This was a prospective cross sectional study involving 485 clinically euthyroid individuals. B -mode Ultrasonography was used to measure the thickness of thyroid isthmus in transverse plane. Mean thickness of isthmus for male and female was obtained and Pearson correlation test was used to see the relationship with various factors.Results: Among 485 individuals between 1 to 83 years of age, 221 were males and 264 were females. Maximum individuals (72.99%) were from hilly region and minimum (3.30%) were from Himalayan region. Mean thickness of isthmus was 3.097 ± 1.009 mm (range 1.0 to 6.8 mm). It was 3.114 ± 0.9513 mm for male and 3.083 ± 1.056 mm for female. Isthmus thickness best correlated with total thyroid volume (r=0.373, p=0.0001). Isthmus thickness also positively correlated with body mass index (r=0.355, p =0.0001), body surface area (r= 0.296, p=0.0001), weight (r =0.334, p=0.0001) and height (r =0.130, p =0.004) of the individuals.Conclusion: This study estimated the normal reference value of thyroid isthmus thickness. As isthmus thickness correlated well with total thyroid volume, it can roughly guide the thyroid volume and help assessment of thyroid size in diffuse thyroid disease.


Full activation of T cells and differentiation into effector T cells are essential for many immune responses and require co-stimulatory signaling via the CD28 receptor. Extracellular ligand binding to CD28 recruits protein-tyrosine kinases to its cytoplasmic tail, which contains a YMNM motif. Following phosphorylation of the tyrosine, the proteins growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2), Grb2-related adaptor downstream of Shc (Gads), and p85 subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase may bind to pYMNM (where pY is phosphotyrosine) via their Src homology 2 (SH2) domains, leading to downstream signaling to distinct immune pathways. These three adaptor proteins bind to the same site on CD28 with variable affinity, and all are important for CD28-mediated co-stimulatory function. However, the mechanism of how these proteins recognize and compete for CD28 is unclear. To visualize their interactions with CD28, we have determined the crystal structures of Gads SH2 and two p85 SH2 domains in complex with a CD28-derived phosphopeptide. The high resolution structures obtained revealed that, whereas the CD28 phosphopeptide bound to Gads SH2 is in a bent conformation similar to that when bound to Grb2 SH2, it adopts a more extended conformation when bound to the N- and C-terminal SH2 domains of p85. These differences observed in the peptide-protein interactions correlated well with the affinity and other thermodynamic parameters for each interaction determined by isothermal titration calorimetry. The detailed insight into these interactions reported here may inform the development of compounds that specifically inhibit the association of CD28 with these adaptor proteins to suppress excessive T cell responses, such as in allergies and autoimmune diseases.


Abstract: This research paper answers the question "In what ways has social media interwoven feminist and Dalit activism?" Referencing feminist media theory and social movement theory, I argue that the rise of social media has given Dalit activism unprecedented levels of visibility and brought Dalit emancipatory politics into the repertoire of intersectional feminism in India. This article will examine the ways in which social media has changed social movements and given voice to Dalit activism in India through analyzing anti-harassment feminist hashtag activism, particularly the #WhyLoiter movement, representation of Dalit women in mainstream media and subsequent social media response, and, finally, the ways in which the former two intersect with Dalit emancipatory politics in India. The concluding sentiments of this article are that social media has given way to subaltern views of social justice, in which the needs of women and Dalit communities (and Dalit women!), are voiced and mirrored and acknowledged as being necessary to build anti-oppressive social institutions in place of the current oppressive norms, proven in preceding arguments within the text.


The research aims to find out the considered factors and the dominant variables which considered by consumers into buying Bimoli's cooking oil at supermarket in Wonogiri regency. The basic method in this research is analytical descriptive with survey techniques. Location research purposively determined. The sampling method used was judgment sampling and data analysis method used is factor analysis. The data used are primary data and secondary data. The results of factor analysis  showed that  there  are  7 factors  that  become  consumer  consideration  in buying Bimoli cooking oil product at supermarket in Wonogiri regency. The seven factors are based on their priorities are product factors, individual factors, promotion factors, packaging factors, process factors, place factors, and psychological factors. The  dominant  variables  considered  by  consumer  are  clarity  variable  on  product factor, variable of income level on individual factor, advertisement display variable on promotion factor, image variable and color of packaging on packing factor, service variable on process factor, comfort variable at place factor, and Confidence variable on psychological factors.


The thesis deals with Mahmud Shaltut (Shaykh al-Azhar 1958-63), an important contemporary Muslim scholar and reformer. Following a chapter on Shaltut's life and reform work at the Azhar, the material is divided into three major chapters, on tafsir, law and social issues. The chapter on tafsir describes the innovations of the Muhammad cAbduh school of tafsir and the work of certain key scholars prior to Shaltut, with a brief description of developments after Shaltut. A detailed analysis of his methodology with reference to form and content aims to show the extent of his contribution to that development. The chapter on law is divided into four sections: (1) the sources of law, where we see Shaltut's theoretical exposition of the workings of the Sharica; (2) Shaltut's fatwas, which illustrate his practical application of those principles; (3) penal law, chosen as a case study because Shaltut deals with it in considerable depth, and (4) comparative jurisprudence, an area in which Shaltut took an especial interest in connection with his work for al-taqrib bayna al-madhahib (the coordination of the schools of law). The chapter on social issues initially describes the normative values of Islamic society, then proceeds to describe aspects of the contemporary reality, with reference to the impact of imperialism and the religious response to the needs of the modern age in general. The ideal and the real are thus juxtaposed in a way which reflects Shaltut's own writings. In this area comparative analysis is of particular value in view of the widely differing responses to particular issues; we have selected for discussion controversial issues such as polygamy, birth control and financial transactions, in order to highlight those differences. An attempt has been made throughout to place Shaltut within the context of modern Muslim scholarship and to define his own contribution in each area.


Abstract Background: Healthcare disparities continue to exist among the Vietnamese American (VA) community and many factors (e.g., fear of social stigma) deter family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) from seeking assistance. Purpose: To pilot-test a language-specific and culturally appropriate mindfulness intervention to improve dementia VA family caregiver well-being. Methods: Bilingual, trained research assistants administered a mindfulness exercise (i.e., deep breathing) to family caregivers and provided continuous support and care resources through weekly home visits for a month. Weekly surveys measured changes in emotion, feelings of connectedness to the PWD, and mood (i.e., happiness) before and after the intervention. Results: A total of nine VA family caregivers of PWD participated in this pilot study. Positive affect showed an increasing trend (Mpre = 16.0 (SD = 3.48), Mpost = 17.1 (SD = 3.06)) and negative affect showed a decreasing trend (Mpre = 6.44 (SD = 3.31), Mpost = 5.22 (SD = 0.359)). Happiness showed an increasing trend (Mpre = 4.30 (SD = 0.767), Mpost = 4.44 (SD = 0.873)). Conclusions: These findings suggest that a home-based dementia family caregiver intervention with mindfulness exercises may potentially increase positive affect and decrease negative affect in Vietnamese American family caregivers of PWD. Similar interventions may help reduce caregiver burden in dementia family caregivers of other cultures.


The rap id development of the mariculture industry in Norway has caused pollution problems in the marine environment as well as conflicts with other users of the coastal zone. Research and practical experience have helped to identify the environmental problems caused by fish farming and have enabled the authorities to set up environmental objectives for Norwegian mariculture regarding escapes of cultivated fish, diseases, medicines, chemicals and organic matter. Simultaneously, the authorities have promoted co as tal zone management, and a planning tool for Norwegian aquaculture at the regional le vel called LENKA has been developed. As a continuation a new regulation system at site level called MOM is now under development. The two systems will facilitate coastal zone planning and site management


This thesis examines the teaching and learning of deaf primary-school learners in Kenya in order to explain their poor examination performance and to find ways of better supporting their learning. While language and communication are perceived as the main problems encountered by deaf children, it is assumed that if teachers and learners are able to communicate through sign language, deaf learners can learn. The main argument of this thesis is that although proficiency in sign language among teachers does play a great role in the education of deaf learners, it is not sufficient in offering quality education in this context. Other needs of deaf learners should be addressed during the teaching and learning process through appropriate teaching and learning materials and teaching and assessment approaches.

The thesis reviews literature looking at the relationship between language, thought and learning in the education of deaf learners. The study was partly informed by Vygotsky's theory of social learning and language which recognises that children learn through their interaction with the social environment. A discussion on the difference between the concepts: 'special education', 'integration', and 'inclusive education' is raised in the review of literature leading to the discussion of whether deaf learners require 'special' pedagogy. Different views have been held regarding the type of pedagogical approach used in the teaching and learning of deaf learners in Kenya who learn in specialist units attached to mainstream schools: whether this is 'special', integrated or inclusive education.

The research took an exploratory approach and focused on the teaching and learning of Social Studies in specialist units in urban and remote rural areas in Kenya. Data were collected mainly through lesson observations and semi-structured interviews with deaf and hearing education stakeholders including learners, teachers, education officials and representatives of deaf people's organisations. Kenyan Sign Language and English were the main languages used in data collection.

The study found that although textbooks were mostly available for learners in the units, they did not benefit from them due to their design which did not respond to their learning needs. However, some textbook design features that would benefit the learners were identified by the deaf teachers and learners. In addition, while deaf teachers did not generally encounter communication problems in teaching, most hearing teachers lacked sufficient proficiency in Kenyan Sign Language (the language of instruction), a phenomenon that affected dialogue in teaching,. Assessment practices seemed not to be suitable for deaf learners to express what they knew. Although teaching and learning took place in sign language, assessment was through reading and writing in English.

A combination of a general quality improvement of educational resources which would be relevant for all learners and some deaf-specific interventions for deaf learners is an approach that would support deaf learners to achieve more in their learning. Recognising the expert knowledge of deaf teachers gained from their experiences as teachers and formerly as deaf learners, and their proficiency in sign language would contribute towards providing the learners with opportunities to learn more.


To model the effect of mortgage prepayment burnout, the author decomposes mortgage pools into active (potentially refinancing) and passive (prepaying at a turnover speed) components. This two-component model is not only powerful enough to replicate the burnout effect, but also perfectly tractable for a much wider range of mortgage valuation and modeling problems than once thought. Once parameters of the model are known at origination, one can reconstruct the current burnout stage using only the age and the observed pool factor, without retroactive analysis of past prepayment incentives. Or, assuming no change in interest rates, one can compute the average life and the life speeds for the entire mortgage pool, and therefore fit the broker forecasts. Unlike the mortgage pool itself, the two modeled components are path-independent for unstructured fixed-rate mortgage pass-throughs, which facilitates time-efficient pricing methods and avoids Monte-Carlo simulations.


Summary.  Combinations of noninvasive markers may improve discrimination of chronic liver disease severity. The aims of this study were to compare four validated serum and ultrasound‐based markers of hepatic disease severity head‐to‐head with liver biopsy and to assess optimal combinations with consideration of cost. A total of 67 patients with biopsy‐proven chronic hepatitis C underwent all four techniques on the same visit [aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI); Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) panel; transient elastography (TE) and ultrasound microbubble hepatic transit times (HTT)]. Markers were combined according to increasing financial cost and ordinal regression used to determine contributions. APRI, ELF, TE and HTT predicted cirrhosis with diagnostic accuracy of 86%, 91%, 90% and 83% respectively. ELF and TE were the most reliable tests with an intra‐class correlation of 0.94 each. Either ELF or TE significantly enhanced the prediction of fibrosis stage when combined with APRI, but when combined together, did not improve the model further. Addition of third or fourth markers did not significantly improve prediction of fibrosis. Combination of APRI with either ELF or TE effectively predicts fibrosis stage, but combinations of three or more tests lead to redundancy of information and increased cost.


Pipelines widely used for the transportation of varying fluids from one place to another should be maintained in good condition to avoid, if possible, the occurrence of corrosion in pipelines to keep its reliability in terms of fracture and damage. The reliability of buried pipelines with corrosion defects is estimated using the failure probability. The FORM (first order reliability method) is utilized to estimate the failure probability of buried pipeline with various formulas for external stress in pipe and three different corrosion models. In this paper, it is recognized that the failure probability increases not only with increasing exposure time, operating pressure and diameter of pipe but also with decreasing wall thickness and yield stress of pipe material in three different corrosion models. And the effects of the scattering of random variables regarding reliability of pipelines on failure probability are investigated, systematically. Furthermore, the target safety level is used to determine the level of safe of corroded pipeline and the effects of varying boundary conditions on target safety level are also estimated.


Importance
Intracranial pressure (ICP) elevation is a compartment syndrome that impairs blood flow to the brain. Despite the importance of ICP values in neurocritical care, normal ICP values and the precise ICP threshold at which treatment should be initiated remain uncertain.

Objective
To refine our understanding of normal ICP values and determine the ICP threshold most strongly associated with outcome.

Design, Setting, and Participants
Prospective observational study (2004-2010), with outcomes determined at hospital discharge. The study included neurocritical care patients from a single level I trauma center, San Francisco General Hospital. Three hundred eighty-three patients had a traumatic brain injury with or without craniectomy; 140 patients had another indication for ICP monitoring. Consecutive patients were studied. Data analyses were completed between March 2015 and December 2019.

Exposures
Five hundred twenty-three ICP-monitored patients.

Main Outcomes and Measures
A computer system prospectively and automatically collected 1-minute physiologic data from patients in the intensive care unit during a 6-year period. Mean ICP was calculated, as was the proportion of ICP values greater than thresholds from 1 to 80 mm Hg in 1-mm Hg increments. The association between these measures and outcome was explored for various epochs up to 30 days from the time of injury. A principal component analysis was used to explore physiologic changes at various ICP thresholds, and elastic net regression was used to identify ICP thresholds most strongly associated with Glasgow Outcome Scale score at discharge.

Results
Of the 523 studied patients, 70.7% of studied patients were men (n = 370) and 72.1% had a traumatic brain injury (n = 377). A total of 4 090 964 1-minute ICP measurements were recorded for the included patients (7.78 years of recordings). Intracranial pressure values of 8 to 9 mm Hg were most commonly recorded and could possibly reflect normal values. The principal component analysis suggested state shifts in the physiome occurred at ICPs greater than 19 mm Hg and 24 mm Hg. Elastic net regression identified an ICP threshold of 19 mm Hg as most robustly associated with outcome when considering all neurocritical care patients, patients with TBI, and patients with TBI who underwent craniectomy. Intracranial pressure values greater than 19 mm Hg were associated with mortality, while lower values were associated with outcome in surviving patients.

Conclusions and Relevance
This study provides insight into what normal ICP values could be. An ICP threshold of 19 mm Hg was robustly associated with outcome in studied patients, although lower ICP values were associated with outcome in surviving patients.


Computer aided sperm analysis (CASA) systems have been used in recent years to examine the mobility and morphology of human and animal sperm. While these systems detect sperm, they fail to detect more than one sperm image coinciding or overlapping between the motile spermatozoa. In addition, sensitive results can not be obtained against the light factor of the background in sperm detection. In order to improve the above mentioned problems, using the random forest algorithm, sperm detection was performed on the images obtained from the HOG, LBP and color histogram feature extraction methods. When the experimental results were examined, it was observed that 92% success rate was achieved in the images.


Antiphospholipid syndrome (APLA) is an acquired autoimmune disorder, clinically characterised by the development of thrombosis and obstetric morbidities comprising recurrent miscarriages, fetal deaths and premature births resulting from placental insufficiency such as intrauterine growth restriction and pre-eclampsia. It is the most common acquired hypercoagulable state where the focus of management is anticoagulation for the prevention of thrombosis.We report three cases of primary APLA syndrome in parturients at term with history of multiple abortions, being managed with oral aspirin and low molecular weight heparin posted for elective caesarian section. All three parturients were given single shot atraumatic spinal anaesthesia achieving a level of sensory blockade up to T6 since their coagulation profile showed no abnormalities. Antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome requires a multidisciplinary approach during pregnancy where use of anticoagulants may lead to dilemma of their perioperative continuation. Discontinuation of anticoagulants is a double-edged sword requiring careful deliberation on the part of anaesthetist to reduce the risk of perioperative bleeding.


Standard interferometry poses a challenge in non-urban areas due to temporal and spatial decorrelation of the radar signal, where there is high signal noise. Techniques such as Small Baseline Subset Algorithm (SBAS) have been proposed to make use of multiple interferometric combinations to alleviate the problem. However, the interferograms used in SBAS are multilooked with a boxcar (rectangle) filter to reduce phase noise, resulting in a loss of resolution and signal superstition from different objects. In this paper, we proposed a modified adaptive spatial filtering algorithm for accurate estimation of interferogram and coherence without resolution loss even in rural areas, to better support the deformation monitoring with time series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique. The implemented method identifies the statistically homogenous pixels in a neighbourhood based on the goodness-of-fit test, and then applies an adaptive spatial filtering of interferograms. Three statistical tests for the identification of distributed targets will be presented, applied to real data. PALSAR data of the yellow river delta in China is used for demonstrating the effectiveness of this algorithm in rural areas.


We generally think that death has retreated from contemporary everyday life, withdrawn to the non-places of nursing homes, hospitals, hospices, funeral parlours, crematoria. Graham Swift's Last Orders, with its journey from technologised hospital death to the scattering of the ashes, occupies precisely these non-places of death. J. G. Ballard's Crash, however, provides a counter-example: Crash takes place in the non-places of motorway slip-roads, airport access roads, police-pounds and reservoirs. At the same time, it registers how these spaces and non-spaces are overwritten by various pre-existing scripts of violent death by films, television and newspaper photographs. The essay then demonstrates the ubiquity of death in contemporary life by exploring Tom McCarthy's engagement with accident, trauma and re-enactment in Remainder; Gordon Burns's depiction of tabloid journalism and modern improvised rituals of death in fullalove; the psychogeographic identification of particular sites of death in the work of Iain Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd; and the recognition, in detective fiction, that anywhere can be a site of death. The essay concludes by considering the popularity of forensic-science series and how Silent Witness, Waking the Dead, Cold Case, and CSI present death in its multiple forms for peak-time viewing.


Background: QuickScan is a newly developed text design that improves understanding and memorizing texts. A QS text contains various short summaries. They provide the reader with an overview of the content and structure of the text. Each QS summary contains three to five numbered sentences that refer to numbered paragraphs in the main text.
Aim: QuickScan texts have proven to be effective for students in secondary education. The goal of this research is to measure the efficacy of QuickScan texts for students in primary education. Two important aspects in this process are comprehension and retention. Aspects such as reading time and results in relation to the level of question are also taken into consideration. Finally, the effects of gender and group division are explored.
Method: 63 respondents between the ages ten and thirteen participated in this study, by reading a QS text and a non-QS text. Afterwards they were asked to answer a series of (open-ended) questions aimed at understanding and fill in the right keyword in a sentence from the text (retention).
Results: No significant differences have been found between a QS text and a non-QS text. However, girls appeared to score better on comprehension of texts. The older children from group eight scored better on comprehension in the second session than the younger children from group seven.
Conclusions: The results do not confirm earlier studies on this research subject. Perhaps that leads to the conclusion that primary students have too little reading experience to profit from the support that QS offers.
Keywords: QuikScan, primary education, text comprehension, retention, reading.


Abstract The article is an attempt to confront Lev Manovich's soft technological determinism with two contemporary media - the smartphone and the mobile application called Instagram. The analysis is based on the characteristics of a term called "new media" identified by Manovich, with emphasis on variation and cultural transcoding. The verification of accuracy and the use of the soft technological determinism in the context of selected new media has varied by the discourse on contemporary new media and constitutes an interesting point of view. The evolution and the development of both variation and cultural transcoding (two elements conditioning their universality which continually shows an upward trend) regarding mobile media, give an opportunity to forecast their productive potential.


Adenovirus has considerable potential as a gene therapy vector, but recent animal data suggest that transduced cells are destroyed by adenovirus-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses. Therefore, it will be important to develop strategies to evade adenovirus-specific CTL responses in humans. As a first step, an assay was developed to detect and characterize human CTLs directed against adenovirus. Adenovirus-specific CTL responses were demonstrated to be present in four of five healthy adults by in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with autologous fibroblasts infected with the adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) E3 deletion mutant Ad2+ND1. Killing by adenovirus-specific CTLs was major histocompatibility complex class I restricted and was documented to be mediated by CD8+ T cells. Wild-type-Ad2-infected cells were poor CTL targets compared with cells infected with the E3 deletion mutant because of the expression of E3-19K, an early viral glycoprotein which prevents transport of major histocompatibility complex class I antigens out of the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface. However, preincubation of targets with gamma interferon resulted in enhanced killing of wild-type-Ad2-infected cells, to levels comparable to those obtained with Ad2+ ND1-infected cells. Radioimmunoprecipitation analysis revealed that gamma interferon not only increased the synthesis of class I antigens but also allowed excess molecules to escape from the endoplasmic reticulum. It is concluded that E3-19K expression in adenovirus-infected cells inhibits human CTL recognition in vitro but that gamma interferon may help overcome the E3-19K effect during acute infection in vivo.


This study examines the extent Malaysians make financial preparations and their
readiness for retirement and the predictors of retirement plans based on the life-cycle
model that people seek to maintain their living standards by smoothing their
consumption, as they age and face life's various contingencies. The study delved into
the concept of life-cycle financial planning, life-cycle theories of savings,
consumption, and investing, and the critical issues surrounding the study of retirement,
particularly investment planning strategies for financing consumption during the postretirement
period. The three potential sources of post-retirement income for
Malaysians are: a defined benefit (DB) pension for retired civil servants, the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for employees in the private sector, and personal
savings. A total of 990 questionnaires were distributed to respondents with a 55.2%
return rate. A total of 12 main hypotheses were analysed using ordinary and
hierarchical regression analyses, as circumstances justified. The results revealed that
24 of the hypotheses or sub-hypotheses were accepted and 34 rejected. Principally,
the hypotheses have focused on four major areas, namely: (1) the relationship
between age cohorts and orientation towards financial planning, (2) the current
financial resources and expected retirement age, (3) the effect of interrelationships
between confidence in the economy and financial planning preparation within the
context of current financial resources, and (4) confidence in the economy and various
levels of consumption. It was observed that, with the demographic variables being
included in the overall models, nearly half the hypotheses have shown some positive
v
effect. These effects are mainly involved with orientation towards retirement planning,
expected retirement age, confidence in the economy, current financial resources and
financial planning preparation. There is also evidence to indicate that the
interrelationships between age cohort and orientation towards financial planning
generally have some degree of mediating effect from Malaysians' confidence in the
economy which may affect their plan for securing their post-retirement financial
security. The implication was that not only should their individual perceptions of
retirement planning become an increasingly important part of people's long-term
commitment throughout their life-cycle, financial planning must also assume the role
as a self-directed life-long learning process, in view of the ever-changing and
complicated financial environment. Another implication is that the anticipated pattern
of real income in the future is a very crucial part of optimal consumption patterns.


Mean-shift originally refers to the mean vector of the offset. The algorithm idea is to assume that the data sets of different clusters conform to different probability density distributions, and the area with high sample density corresponds to the center of the cluster. With the wide application of hospital information system, especially the popularity of the meanshift algorithm in the outpatient system, it has greatly improved the efficiency of medical staff. Medical imaging refers to the technology and process of obtaining internal tissue images of the human body or a certain part of the human body in a noninvasive manner for medical treatment or medical research. It contains the following two relatively independent research directions: medical imaging system and medical image processing. In this paper, we expect to improve the mining ability of medical image information with the help of the meanshift algorithm based on the key technology of the medical image intelligent mining algorithm. This paper proposes a method to enhance image feature extraction and data mining and how to apply relevant analysis rules for mining. Applying this integrated algorithm to extract simplified rules is more beneficial to people's understanding than the raw data and helps doctors quickly understand the patient's condition.


Biofilms are highly resistant to external forces, especially chemicals. Hence, alternative control strategies, like antimicrobial substances, are forced. Antimicrobial surfaces can inhibit and reduce microbial adhesion to surfaces, preventing biofilm formation. Thus, this research aimed to investigate the bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on different sealants and stainless steel (SS) surfaces with or without antimicrobials on two Gram-positive biofilm forming bacterial strains. Antimicrobial surfaces were either incorporated or coated with anti-microbial, -fungal or/and bactericidal agents. Attachment (after 3 h) and early-stage biofilm formation (after 48 h) of Staphylococcus capitis (S. capitis) and Microbacterium lacticum (M. lacticum) onto different surfaces were assessed using the plate count method. In general, bacterial adhesion on sealants was lower compared to adhesion on SS, for surfaces with and without antimicrobials. Antimicrobial coatings on SS surfaces played a role in reducing early-stage biofilm formation for S. capitis, however, no effects were observed for M. lacticum. S. capitis adhesion and biofilm formation were reduced by 8% and 25%, respectively, on SS coated with an antimicrobial substance (SS_4_M), compared to the same surface without the antimicrobial coating (SS_4_control). Incorporation of both antifungicidal and bactericidal agents (S_5_FB) significantly reduced (p ≤ 0.05) early-stage biofilm formation of M. lacticum, compared to the other sealants incoportating either solely antifungal agents (S_2_F) or no active compound (S_control). Furthermore, the thickness of the coating layer correlated weakly with the antimicrobial effect. Hence, equipment manufacturers and food producers should carefully select antimicrobial surfaces as their effects on bacterial adhesion and early-stage biofilm formation depend on the active agent and bacterial species.


Integrated 'lab-on-a-chip' devices that utilize microfabrication tools are emerging for chemical and biological applications. Facile, robust sample manipulation within these devices will be particularly important for realizing the potential to perform many assays in parallel. Often, biomolecules are manipulated by derivatization to larger 'carrier beads'; therefore, we have developed a novel optical addressing scheme to localize polymer beads (0.8-10 μm in diameter) on an unpatterned semiconductor surface. This approach utilizes an optical microbeam that is directed on the substrate to create an active 'virtual' electrode. The localized charge is defined by the characteristics of the solid-liquid interface in the electrochemical system and serves to attract oppositely charged objects within the solution. Furthermore, to improve patterning efficiency and resolution, a photosensitive polymer coating is used on semiconductor substrates to minimize undesired effects of the dark current. Thus, illumination through a mask or use of multiple beams enables a nonlithographic, dynamic pattern transfer to a uniform substrate. In the future, this approach may be useful for 'off-chip', sterile manipulation of arrays of 'carrier beads' for high-throughput applications.


In this study, an anodized TiO2 electrode (ATE) on a titanium foil was prepared and used as a photoanode in an enzymatic photoelectrochemical system to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The effect of applied voltage when anodized, thickness of foil, electrolytes, annealing temperature, and species of cathode was investigated. The optimum conditions were obtained such as 0.25 mm foil thickness, 20V of applied voltage in 0.5 vol% of hydrofluoric acid, and 650 oC of annealing temperature. The samples with higher activities had similar X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, clearly indicating that the samples showing the highest evolution rate were composed of both anatase and rutile, while those showing a lower evolution rate were made of either anatase or rutile. Increasing the intensity of the irradiated light caused a remarkable enhancement in the rate of hydrogen production up to 153 μmol/(hr×cm2) under light intensity of 146 mW/cm2.


Glycosyl chlorides have historically been activated using harsh conditions and/or toxic stoichiometric promoters. More recently, the Ye and the Jacobsen groups showed that glycosyl chlorides can be activated under organocatalytic conditions. However, those reactions are slow, require specialized catalysts and high temperatures, but still provide only moderate yields. Presented herein is a simple method for the activation of glycosyl chlorides using abundant and inexpensive ferric chloride in catalytic amounts. Our preliminary results indicate that both benzylated and benzoylated glycosyl chlorides can be activated with 20 mol% of FeCl3.


Studies have shown that the use of cryotherapy after a total knee arthroplasty can have beneficial effect on blood loss, pain and medication usage. In this study, the effect of the applied cryotherapy procedure is investigated. 52 patients underwent a total knee arthroplasty. The test group received continuous cooling, whereas the control group received manual conventional cooling with ice dressing. The knee circumference and range of motion, medication use, satisfaction and pain were investigated. There is no statistical significant difference in pain and medication usage. A significant difference is observed in the swelling of the knee on the first postoperative day, the range of motion on the 7 th , 10 th , 11 th and 12 th postoperative day, and the satisfaction rate. This study shows that continuous cooling has a positive effect on the swelling and range of motion of the knee, and on the satisfaction of the treatment. Clinical trial registration number : Clinical trial number : EudraCT2015-000259-26.


We are concerned with a mixture of Boltzmann and McKean-Vlasov type equations, this means (in probabilistic terms) equations with coefficients depending on the law of the solution itself,and driven by a Poisson point measure with the intensity depending also on the law of the solution. Both the analytical Boltzmann equation and the probabilistic interpretation initiated by Tanaka (1978) have intensively been discussed in the literature for specific models related to the behavior of gas molecules. In this paper, we consider general abstract coefficients that may include mean field effects and then we discuss the link with specific models as well. In contrast with the usual approach in which integral equations are used in order to state the problem, we employ here a new formulation of the problem in terms of flows of endomorphisms on the space of probability measure endowed with the Wasserstein distance. This point of view already appeared in the framework of rough differential equations. Our results concern existence and uniqueness of the solution, in the formulation of flows, but we also prove that the"flow solution"is a solution of the classical integral weak equation and admits a probabilistic interpretation. Moreover, we obtain stability results and regularity with respect to the time for such solutions. Finally we prove the convergence of empirical measures based on particle systems to the solution of our problem, and we obtain the rate of convergence. We discuss as examples the homogeneous and the inhomogeneous Boltzmann (Enskog) equation with hard potentials.


Follow-up of 151 women who had been sterilized for social or gynaecological reasons one to three years earlier showed that 146 were completely satisfied with the results of the operation on their health and on their sexual relationships with their husbands. The five who were dissatisfied either wished they could still conceive or found the operation had not produced the effect hoped for. On the basis of this study we believe that adverse psychiatric sequelae of sterilization can be kept to a minimum with careful selection of patients. Women should be over 30 or if younger should have had two or more children, and the operation should not be performed at childbirth, in the neonatal period, or during a postabortive depression.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Substance use disorder (SUD) is a major health issue, especially among military veterans. We previously reported the effects of auricular acupuncture and the relaxation response (RR) on reducing craving and anxiety following 10-week interventions among veterans who were in recovery from SUDs. Our current analysis examines effects following each intervention session and RR daily practice.

METHODS
We conducted a three-arm randomized controlled trial on residents of a homeless veteran rehabilitation program. Sixty-Seven enroled participants were randomly assigned to acupuncture (n=23), RR (n=23), or usual care (n=21). Participants in the two intervention groups rated their degree of craving for substance on a scale of 1-10 and anxiety levels on a scale of 1-4 (total score 20-80) before and after each intervention session. Mixed effects regression models were used for analysis.

RESULTS
Craving and anxiety levels decreased significantly following one session of acupuncture (-1.04, p=.0001; -8.83, p<.0001) or RR intervention (-.43, p=.02; -4.64, p=.03). The level of craving continued to drop with additional intervention sessions (regression coefficient b=-.10, p=.01, and b=-.10, p=.02 for acupuncture and RR groups, respectively). Number of daily practice days of RR-eliciting techniques is also associated with reduction in craving ratings (b=-.02, p=.008).

CONCLUSIONS
Findings demonstrate the value of attending regular acupuncture and RR-eliciting intervention sessions, as well as the daily practice of RR-eliciting techniques.

SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE
Substance addiction is a complex disease and effective treatment remains a challenge. Our study findings add to the scientific evidence of these two non-pharmaceutical approaches for SUD.


Rapid generation of O2− and H2O2, which is reminiscent of the oxidative burst in neutrophils, is a central component of the resistance response of plants to pathogen challenge. Here, we report that the Arabidopsis rbohA (for respiratory burst oxidase homolog A) gene encodes a putative 108-kD protein, with a C-terminal region that shows pronounced similarity to the 69-kD apoprotein of the gp91phox subunit of the neutrophil respiratory burst NADPH oxidase. The RbohA protein has a large hydrophilic N-terminal domain that is not present in gp91phox. This domain contains two Ca2+ binding EF hand motifs and has extended similarity to the human RanGTPase-activating protein 1. rbohA, which is a member of a divergent gene family, generates transcripts of 3.6 and 4.0 kb that differ only in their polyadenylation sites. rbohA transcripts are most abundant in roots, with weaker expression in aerial organs and seedlings. Antibodies raised against a peptide near the RbohA C terminus detected a 105-kD protein that, unlike gp91phox, does not appear to be highly glycosylated. Cell fractionation, two-phase partitioning, and detergent extraction indicate that RbohA is an intrinsic plasma membrane protein. We propose that plants have a plasma membrane enzyme similar to the neutrophil NADPH oxidase but with novel potential regulatory mechanisms for Ca2+ and G protein stimulation of O2− and H2O2 production at the cell surface.


ECOLOGY/EVOLUTION
Body segmentation in arthropods has been an abiding theme of developmental biology since the 19th century. In recent years, there has been a renaissance of studies of the evolution of these developmental patterns, in parallel with the increasing knowledge of the underlying genetics and cell biology.

Fusco et al. take advantage of the exceptional fossil record of one of the early segmented animals—the trilobite—to investigate developmental evolution. Mature individuals of the trilobite Aulacopleura konincki , from Silurian deposits in the Czech Republic, show variation in the number of thoracic segments. Abundant fossil material at all post-hatching developmental stages enabled a detailed analysis of growth and segmentation in this species, and an assessment of whether the number of segments was determined early or late in development. Morphometric analyses suggested that segment number was under tight control early in the developmental process, as is also the case in modern arthropods, such as centipedes. Thus, fossil material can be used successfully to compare developmental processes in extinct and existing organisms. — AMS

Am. Nat. 163 , 167 (2004).


Procedural content generators for games produce artifacts from a latent design space. This space is often only implicitly defined, an emergent result of the procedures used in the generator. In this paper, we outline an approach to content generation that centers on explicit description of the design space, using domain-independent procedures to produce artifacts from the described space. By concisely capturing a design space as an answer set program, we can rapidly define and expressively sculpt new generators for a variety of game content domains. We walk through the reimplementation of a reference evolutionary content generator in a tutorial example, and review existing applications of answer set programming to generative-content design problems in and outside of a game context.


This article surveys the development of the theory of compact groups and pro-Lie groups, contextualizing the major achievements over 125 years and focusing on some progress in the last quarter century. It begins with developments in the 18th and 19th centuries. Next is from Hilbert's Fifth Problem in 1900 to its solution in 1952 by Montgomery, Zippin, and Gleason and Yamabe's important structure theorem on almost connected locally compact groups. This half century included profound contributions by Weyl and Peter, Haar, Pontryagin, van Kampen, Weil, and Iwasawa. The focus in the last quarter century has been structure theory, largely resulting from extending Lie Theory to compact groups and then to pro-Lie groups, which are projective limits of finite-dimensional Lie groups. The category of pro-Lie groups is the smallest complete category containing Lie groups and includes all compact groups, locally compact abelian groups, and connected locally compact groups. Amongst the structure theorems is that each almost connected pro-Lie group G is homeomorphic to RI×C for a suitable set I and some compact subgroup C. Finally, there is a perfect generalization to compact groups G of the age-old natural duality of the group algebra R[G] of a finite group G to its representation algebra R(G,R), via the natural duality of the topological vector space RI to the vector space R(I), for any set I, thus opening a new approach to the Hochschild-Tannaka duality of compact groups.


Quercus coccifera shell (QCS), a relatively abundant and inexpensive material, is currently being investigated as an adsorbent to remove cobalt(II) from water. Before the adsorption experiments, QCS was subjected to chemical treatment to provide maximum surface area. Then, the kinetics and adsorption mechanism of Co(II) ions on QCS were studied using different parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, temperature, contact time, and solution pH. The loaded metals could be desorbed effectively with dilute hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and 0.1 M EDTA. The Langmuir and Freundlich models were used to describe the uptake of cobalt on QCS. The equilibrium adsorption data were better fitted to Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of QCS for Co(II) was 33 mg g-1. Various kinetic models were used to describe the adsorption process. The adsorption followed pseudo second-order kinetic model. The intraparticle diffusion was found to be the rate-limiting step in the adsorption process. The diffusion coefficients were calculated and found to be in the range of 3.11×10−6 to 168.78×10−6 cm2 s -1. The negative H* value indicated exothermic nature of the adsorption.


Based on the resistance characteristics, a model of theoretical  digging force was proposed in this paper, taking the tangential force, the normal force, and the bending moment into account simultaneously. Utilizing the relation among the normal resistance, the resistance moment, and the tangential resistance in practical digging process, three independent unknown quantities are transformed into only one variable. Afterwards, according to different digging patterns and complete machine limiting conditions, this research derived the constraint inequalities of the limiting digging force (LDF) and established the calculation models for LDF. Then, based on the value distribution laws of the digging resistance coefficient and the resistance moment coefficient, the calculation process and corresponding method of LDF under a given digging posture were obtained. Taking the digging resistance obtained by testing for 35 t hydraulic excavator with backhoe attachment as the reference, this paper compared the calculation results of the theoretical digging force for complete machine with those of the LDF model proposed in this research. The comparative results indicate that the LDF is consistent with the fact that the theoretical digging force is larger than or at least equal to the actual digging resistance. So, the LDF can exactly show the real limiting digging ability of the excavator more accurately. In this way, it can provide basis for mechanism optimization, structural strength design, trajectory planning, and control automation of the excavator.


Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia.  Currently Palembang is the capital of South Sumatra Province. Besides being famous for its tourist attractions, Palembang is also famous for its abundance of local food ranging from salty snacks, cakes, main courses, and many others. One of the famous local food there is the Maksuba cake. This cake, which originates from the Darussalam Kingdom era, is made from duck eggs, sugar, margarine, and a little flour. This cake is always available on religious holidays, such as Eid and Chinese New Year and is one of the offerings in traditional Palembang weddings.  This cake in Palembang symbolizes love and respect. The purpose of this research is to find out the history of the Maksuba cake, what is the meaning of this cake, the method of manufacture and its current existence. The method used is qualitative with a descriptive approach. The results obtained are the Maksuba Cake originating from the era of the Palembang Darussalam Sultanate, and has a meaning as a tribute to guests and elders. The recipes and manufacturing methods used still follow traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. And the existence of this cake is still very much sought after today. This traditional cake is recommended to be preserved so that future generations can still enjoy this cake, and this cake can be one of the objects that can attract tourists to visit Palembang.
Keywords: Palembang, Maksuba Cake, Tourism Object, Tribute


How does the Supreme Court choose among cases to grant cert? In a model with a strategic Supreme Court, a continuum of rule-following lower courts, a set of potential cases for revision, and a distribution of future lower court cases, we show that the Court takes the case that will most significantly shape future lower court case outcomes in the direction that the Court prefers. That is, the Court grants cert to the case with maximum salience. If the Court is rather liberal (or conservative), then the most salient case is that which moves the discretionary range of the legal standard as far left (or right) as possible. But if the Court is moderate, then the most salient case will be a function of the skewedness of the distribution of ideologies of the lower courts and the likelihood that future cases will fall within the adjusted discretionary range. The extent of the political alignment of lower courts affects not only substantive lawmaking by the Supreme Court but also the earlier decision of whether to grant a given case cert to begin with.


Reviews the market-place for existing current awareness services and uses the main features of these products as standards against which to assess three new current awareness services: Inside Information; SwetScan; and UnCover. Inside Information, from the 1British Library Document Supply Centre, provides a short listing of the key features of each article in the world's principal scholarly periodicals. Approximately one million references are added to the database each year. SwetScan, from Swets Subscription Service covers 7000 periodical titles and provides title, ISSN, year-volume, some article names, authors, page numbers, and, if the library is a Swets subscriber, the library's subscription number. An average of 111073 references are added to the database each month. UnCover is a collaborative venture between Blackwells and CARL and offers access to a multidisciplinary database based on the holdings of the participating libraries. UnCover covers 14 000 periodicals representing the holdings of participating libraries together with additional titles for which Blackwells act as subscription agents. The main focus of UnCover is speed of document delivery and the intention is to provide a fax of a document within 24 hours or less (and within the hour if the document is stored on optical disc). Concludes that, if these three services are successful and lead to wider availability and use of current awareness services in the academic community, this will have a significant impact on libraries and their relationships with end users.


As conceived by J.S. Mill, the harm principle holds that "[t]he only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."(1) This essay concerns a narrower formulation of the principle, the claim that the criminal law should never punish conduct that does not harm unconsenting third parties. What I have to say about the harm principle as a limit on the justifiable reach of the criminal law likely holds, in spades, for any version of the principle that immunizes harmless conduct from civil or social sanctions, but I here advance no such claim. My concern is with the old and brilliant debate over morals legislation.(2) The harm principle holds a central place in liberal theories of criminal law, and indeed in liberal political theory generally. Joel Feinberg goes so far as to say that "[l]iberalism, as I have understood it, is the view that" harm and offense to others exhaust "the relevant reasons for state coercion by means of the criminal law."(3) My thesis holds that the harm principle is profoundly deficient as an expression of the limits that should restrict society's resort to its most coercive instrument. The harm principle's institutional deficiencies derive directly from describing the criminal law's proper limits in terms of the consequences of individual conduct which is to be immunized against punishment. Serious protection of individual liberty depends, I suggest, on limiting resort to the criminal sanction along procedural or jurisdictional lines, rather than according to the substance of private conduct. The argument proceeds through four steps. First, I point out that, given the peculiar mission of constraining the popular impulse to punish, the harm principle should not be evaluated as a purely normative description of the criminal laws a just or good society would adopt. Instead, the harm principle should be evaluated as an appeal to individual actors to internalize a norm of tolerance, or as an external restraint to be respected even though not internalized. Second, I suggest that the harm principle is an unlikely candidate for an internalized norm of toleration. This is because the justifications for the harm principle run either too deep or too shallow. By that I mean that perfectionist arguments stressing the value of individual choice and the risk of official error fall short of categorically excluding punishment of harmless wrongdoing, while anti-perfectionist rights theories depend on premises that will never persuade a broad consensus in a free society. Third, I suggest that the harm principle cannot fulfill the role of an external constraint on political choice. The improbability of justifying the harm principle as an internal norm of course makes it unlikely that any polity will adopt the principle as a constitutional limit on that polity's discretion to punish harmless wrongdoing. But even if the harm principle were realized as a constitutional constraint on state power to punish, the application of an immunity for private conduct based on its apprehended consequences would not provide a serious limitation on the actual practice of punishment. The idea of harm is too vague, too dependent on baseline assessments of private rights, too open to long chains of causal speculation, and too catastrophic in its categorical judgments to give liberty much practical protection. Liberals should turn instead to content-independent limits on penal legislation. At the legislative level, I suggest a supermajority requirement for penal statutes, and a sunset provision terminating all such enactments unless readopted once a decade. At the judicial level, I propose investing constitutional courts with the power to insist upon even-handed enforcement of the criminal law. These approaches require some constitutional definition of criminal, as distinct from civil, sanctions. They do not, however, require any assessment of the consequences of the private behavior forbidden by a particular statute. …


For many years, the Neanderthals have been recognized as a distinctive extinct hominid group that occupied Europe and western Asia between about 200,000 and 30,000 years ago. It is still debated, however, whether these hominids belong in their own species, Homo neanderthalensis, or represent an extinct variant of Homo sapiens. Our ongoing studies indicate that the Neanderthals differ from modern humans in their skeletal anatomy in more ways than have been recognized up to now. The purpose of this contribution is to describe specializations of the Neanderthal internal nasal region that make them unique not only among hominids but possibly among terrestrial mammals in general as well. These features lend additional weight to the suggestion that Neanderthals are specifically distinct from Homo sapiens.


Electromagnetic launch systems have been proposed for military applications to accelerate jet planes on aircraft carriers. This paper proposes the implementation of similar technology to aid civil aircraft take-off, which can provide significant economic, environmental and technical benefits. Assisted launch has the potential of reducing on ground noise and emissions near airports and improving overall aircraft efficiency through reducing engine thrust requirements. This paper presents a take-off performance analysis for an Airbus A320-200 taking off with and without the assistance of the electromagnetic catapult. Assisted take-off allows for a significant reduction in take-off field length, giving more capacity with existing airport footprints and reducing the necessary footprint of new airports, which will both reduce costs and increase the number of suitable sites. The electromagnetic catapult may allow the installation of smaller engines with lower rated thrust. The consequent fuel consumption and operational cost reduction is estimated. The potential of reducing the aircraft operational costs and the runway length required make electromagnetic launch system an attractive solution to the air traffic growth in busy airports.


Following their origin during the early Cretaceous, the lizards radiated early into a number of families. This radiation was accompanied by a diversification in the structure of the inner ear. The morphology of the auditory basilar papilla is family-specific, with large variations in a number of parameters. At the physiologic level, this wide variation does not result in an equivalent range of physiologic parameters. This review considers the possible influence of various morphologic features on function, and correlates these features with physiologic response parameters. Anatomical variety that does not result in significant changes in the inputs to the brain is "neutral" with regard to selection pressures. This independence apparently removed evolutionary constraints and led to some of the great variety of auditory papillae seen. Other anatomical features are more important and do produce significant effects at the level of the auditory nerve.


A new method to reproduce migration histories of Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) was developed by using the combination of otolith oxygen stable isotope ratio (δO) and a data assimilation model. Firstly, rearing experiments for three different temperatures were conducted for a month and otolith δO were analyzed. A linear relationship between otolith δO and temperature was determined for the first time for Japanese sardine as follows: δotolith=δwater-0.181*Temperature+2.690, r =0.91 (1). Secondly, seawater δO and salinity in the western North Pacific were revealed to be strongly correlated from in situ samplings: δwater=0.5951*Salinity-20.347, r =0.89 (2). Micro-volume δO analysis and our original micro-sampling technique enabled us to extract otolith δO profile in a temporal resolution of 10-15 days through whole life of juveniles approximately 200 days post hatch. For the dates corresponding to each value of the profile, surface temperature and salinity in the range of 30-55N, 130-180E were extracted from a data assimilation ocean model FRA-ROMS which reproduces ocean environment realistically. Temperature and salinity in each grid were converted into otolith δO value using Eq. (1) and (2). Grid points in which the calculated otolith δO value was equivalent to actually analyzed one were considered to be the location of the individual on the date. Movements of the juveniles reproduced by this method clearly showed the northward migration from the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition zone to the Oyashio region and the estimated location on the sampling week approached to the actual sampling point, which indicated the high accuracy of the method.


"Text, it is Jean-Luc Godard's "ennemi royal, principal." Text, it is on the side of death, "les images c'est la vie et les textes, c'est la mort". Twenty years later and the war is not over: "Une image est paisible. Une image de la Vierge avec son petit enfant sur son âne n'amene pas la guerre, c'est son interpretation par un texte qui amenera la guerre et qui fera que les soldats de Luther iront dechirer les toiles de Raphael." Godard's story is not just of the history of cinema, it is one in which text has won out to the extent that TV and the computer too make of the image something subservient to text. "Since Gutenberg" the text has triumphed in this way. "There was a long struggle, marriage or liaison between painting and text. Then the text carried the day. Film is the last art in the pictorial tradition... Take away the text and you'll see what's left. In TV nothing is left." It is obvious from these lines of demarcation, lines which divide the art of the image from what would declare war on its most sacred icons and defeat its technologies, a conflict in which there is just the one aggressor, a division which makes of the relation between image and text nothing less than a matter of life and death, that for Godard text is indeed the enemy..."


This report and website provides an analysis of organic standards across 11 selected countries. The purpose was to assist organic exporters to gain international market access for organic produce. Academically, the project enabled researchers to expand understandings of the regulatory and trade challenges associated with the globalising organic sector.


Manufacturing complex parts by the laser sintering process requires a minimum amount of energy input for consolidation of polymer particles to occur; however too much energy can result in a decline in mechanical properties. This decrease is thought to be the result of polymer chain degradation. A stable sintering region (SSR) has been proposed to describe the optimum temperature range for successful laser sintering. This article will aim to quantify the SSR for polyamide-12 by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to provide a framework for identifying key laser sintering processing parameters. Weight loss with respect to temperature is the main measurement output of the TGA procedure. However, the precise temperature and thermal history of a material is difficult to quantify during the laser sintering process; instead an energy input approach has been developed. A degradation energy was calculated from the TGA data and was used in conjunction with a laser sintering formula called energy melt ratio to prescribe build parameters for laser sintered parts. The mechanical properties of these parts illustrated the effect of degradation at various levels of energy input. Implications for this work include optimizing the material selection process for polymer laser sintering materials beyond polyamide-12. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers


A detailed mathematical model is modified that describes heat and mass transfer through Combined Compact Evaporative Cooler CCEC using mono-scale sintered particles coating. The model accounts for the effects of particles size, Reynold's number, and channel spacing on system performance for certain operating conditions. In this study, a Kelvin-Clapeyron equation is utilized to obtain numerical data for an evaporating meniscus in the wet channels and compared to the plain surface. The results indicate that porous coatings enhanced evaporative heat and mass transfer in the wet channels significantly, compared to the plain wet channels walls, due to wicking water that covers entire heated surfaces.


Contents: Preface. J.P. Forgas, Introduction: Affect and Social Cognition. Part I: The Relationship Between Affect and Cognition: Fundamental Issues. R. Adolphs, A.R. Damasio, The Interaction of Affect and Cognition: A Neurobiological Perspective. T.A. Ito, J.T. Cacioppo, Affect and Attitudes: A Social Neuroscience Approach. C.A. Smith, L.D. Kirby, Affect and Cognitive Appraisal Processes. Part II: Affective Influences on the Content of Cognition. G.H. Bower, J.P. Forgas, Mood and Social Memory. G.L. Clore, K. Gasper, E. Garvin, Affect as Information. C. Sedikides, J.D. Green, Affective Influences on the Self-Concept: Qualifying the Mood-Congruency Principle. Part III: Affective Influences on Social Information Processing. K. Fiedler, Affective Influences on Social Information Processing. E.T. Higgins, Promotion and Prevention Experiences: Relating Emotions to Nonemotional Motivational States. R.E. Petty, D. DeSteno, D.D. Rucker, The Role of Affect in Attitude Change. Part IV: Affective Influences on Motivation and Intentions. E. Harmon-Jones, The Role of Affect in Cognitive-Dissonance Processes. Y. Trope, M. Ferguson, R. Raghunathan, Mood as a Resource in Processing Self-Relevant Information. M.W. Erber, R. Erber, The Role of Motivated Social Cognition in the Regulation of Affective States. Part V: Affective Influences on Cognitively Mediated Social Behaviors. J.P. Forgas, Affect, Cognition, and Interpersonal Behavior: The Mediating Role of Processing Strategies. G.V. Bodenhausen, T. Mussweiler, S. Gabriel, K.N. Moreno, Affective Influences on Stereotyping and Intergroup Relations. P. Salovey, J.B. Detweiler, W.T. Steward, B.T. Bedell, Affect and Health-Relevant Cognition. Part VI: The Role of Individual Differences in Affectivity. C.L. Rusting, Personality as a Moderator of Affective Influences on Cognition. J. Suls, Affect, Stress, and Personality. J.D. Mayer, Emotion, Intelligence, and Emotional Intelligence.


A significant impediment to deployment of multicast services is the daunting technical complexity of developing, testing and validating congestion control protocols fit for wide-area deployment. Protocols such as pgmcc and TFMCC have recently made considerable progress on the single rate case, i.e. where one dynamic reception rate is maintained for all receivers in the session. However, these protocols have limited applicability, since scaling to session sizes beyond tens of participants necessitates the use of multiple rate protocols. Unfortunately, while existing multiple rate protocols exhibit better scalability, they are both less mature than single rate protocols and suffer from high complexity. We propose a new approach to multiple rate congestion control that leverages proven single rate congestion control methods by orchestrating an ensemble of independently controlled single rate sessions. We describe SMCC, a new multiple rate equation-based congestion control algorithm for layered multicast sessions that employs TFMCC as the primary underlying control mechanism for each layer. SMCC combines the benefits of TFMCC (smooth rate control, equation-based TCP friendliness) with the scalability and flexibility of multiple rates to provide a sound multiple rate multicast congestion control policy.


Dystrophin lack in DMD causes neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) membrane delocalization which in turn promotes functional muscle ischemia, and exacerbates muscle injury. Apoptosis and the exhaustion of muscle regenerative capacity are implicated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) pathogenesis and therefore are relevant therapeutic targets. Genistein has been reported to have pro-proliferative effects, promoting G1/S cell phase transition through the induction of cyclin D1, and anti-apoptotic properties. We previously showed that genistein could reduce muscle necrosis and enhance regeneration with an augmented number of myogenin-positive satellite cells and myonuclei, ameliorating muscle function in mdx mice. In this study we evaluated the underlying mechanisms of genistein effect on muscle specimens of mdx and wild type mice treated for five weeks with genistein (2 mg/kg/i.p. daily) or vehicle. Western blot analysis show that genistein increased cyclin D1 and nNOS expression; and showed an antiapoptotic effect, modulating the expression of BAX and Bcl-2. Our results suggest that this isoflavone might enhance the regenerative spurt in mdx mice muscle restoring nNOS, promoting G1/S phase transition in muscle cell, and inhibiting apoptosis. Further studies with longer time treatment or using different experimental approaches are needed to better investigate the underlying mechanisms of such results.


Throughout 2018 in the "STROKA" clinic in Tirana, are presented for alternative treatment 28 patients with recurrent non melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) after standard treatment with surgery, radiotherapy or together for one or more lesions. All patients are diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma, and are treated with NILS which contains extracts of some Albanian plants such as Allium sativum, Juglans regia and Laurus nobilis. According to a certain methodology, the treatment of patients lasts from one to three months until the complete destruction of the tumor and the regeneration of the area below and around it. From the first session, the measure of the tumor was reduce and all the surface that has absorbed the Nils, was turn in a cruste. The crustes falls one after another until the tumor mass has end and the sound layer was reached. At this point, we stoped the sessions of treatment, because the process of regeneration starts. NILS solution is J Cancer Sci Clin Ther 2021; 5 (3): 405-413 DOI: 10.26502/jcsct.5079126 Journal of Cancer Science and Clinical Therapeutics 406 applied topically and the number of sessions varied from 314 in our 28 patients. After complete recovery, all are advised for periodic check-ups after 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months, without limiting them further.


This paper reports that tumor necrosis serum (TNS) containing tumor necrosis factor (TNF) could inhibit Plasmodium falciparum in vitro. TNS was obtained from rabbits given macrophage-activating agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis (BCG) followed by intravenous administration of bacterial endotoxin (LPS). The results showed that TNS dilutions of 1:3, 1:6 and 1:12 could induce disappearance of Plasmodium falciparum (P less than 0.05) after being cultured 6 hours. TNS decreased red blood cell infective rate of the parasites as compared with the control (P less than 0.05) after 12 hours' cultivation. TNS of 1:3 dilution had further effect at 24 hours (P less than 0.05). Morphological observations showed that the growth of schizonts was retarded and abnormal merozoites were found.


We study nuclear medium effects in Drell-Yan processes at small target x using quark parton distribution functions and nucleon structure functions for a bound nucleon calculated in a microscopic nuclear model which takes into account the effect of Fermi motion, nuclear binding and nucleon correlations through a relativistic spectral function. The contributions of $\pi$ and $\rho$ mesons, target mass corrections and nuclear shadowing are also included. The results are compared with the theoretical and experimental results. The model is able to successfully explain the low target x results of E772 and E866 Drell-Yan experiments and is applicable to the forthcoming experimental analysis of E906 Sea Quest experiment at Fermi Lab.


This thesis presents a systematic description of the grammar of the Bekwarra language. The first chapter describes briefly the background to the analysis presented in the thesis and outlines the theoretical framework within which it is set. The system of transcription used in the thesis is explained in Chapter Two, together with a description of the main features of the tonal system of the language. The main body of the grammatical description is contained in Chapters Three to Eleven. Chapter Three contains an account of the sentence, and Chapters Four and Five an account of the clause and its features. The three major phrase classes and their elements and features are then described in turn. Chapter Six contains a description of the verbal phrase and its elements. Chapters Seven and Eight deal with the nominal phrase, the general structure of the phrase and unitary elements being described in the former and complex elements in the latter. Chapters Nine to Eleven are concerned with the adverbial phrase. Chapter Nine contains an account of the structure and the elements of the adverbial phrase, Chapter Ten an account of functionally determined classes and Chapter Eleven an account of adverbial phrase expressions functioning as extensions to the nominal phrase. Chapters Twelve and Thirteen contain respectively a brief summary of the analysis and an analysed text. The thesis ends with a list of abbreviations, a linguistic bibliography and an index.


This paper is concerned with the problem of robust output feedback controller design for a class of linear systems with uncertain parameters. The objective is to design a controller such that the closed-loop poles are assigned within a specified disc and the steady regulated output covariance is guaranteed to be less than a given upper bound. Using a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach, the existence conditions of such controllers are derived, and a parametrized characterization of a set of desired controllers (if they exist) is presented in terms of the feasible solutions to a set of LMIs. A procedure is given to select a suitable output feedback controller that minimizes the desired control effort.


An experimental study was undertaken to compare the mechanisms of two different processes to dress metal-bonded diamond segments. In one case, a piece of vitrified SiC wheel was used as workpiece and sawn by diamond segments attached to a sawblade. In another process, a diamond segment was used as workpiece and ground by an Al2O3 wheel. Spindle power was measured in sawing and horizontal force was monitored in grinding, in which case the latter was then used to get the consumed power in grinding. Specific energies were then calculated from the measured or converted power. For sawing of SiC wheel with the diamond sawblade, the maximum specific energy was found to be only 0.5 J/mm3, whereas the specific energy was up to 25 J/mm3 in the grinding of the diamond segment.


This sedimentological study was based on well cores from the Polish and Ukrainian parts of the Carpa- thian Foredeep. It revealed general heterogeneity of facies in the middle Miocene of the sedimentary succession in the basin. Fourteen sedimentary facies were distinguished and their origin was interpreted: massive, non-graded sandstones; normal-graded, massive sandstones, with and without a stratified uppermost part; hydroplastically deformed sandstones; planar-parallel-stratified sandstones; trough-cross-stratified sandstones; ripple-cross-lami- nated sandstones; heterolithic deposits, composed of thinly interlayered sandstone and mudstone; massive and laminated mudstones; and basal gypsum/anhydrite evaporites, often intercalated with mudstone. Four main modalities of vertical facies organization were recognized and attributed to the following environments: (1) the mid-late Badenian, shoal-water, evaporitic environment that preceded the latest Badenian–early Sarmatian, main phase of foredeep development; (2) a littoral, tidal environment of the inner parts of storm-influenced, coastal bays and tidal flats or possibly spit-sheltered lagoons; (3) a wave-dominated, littoral, sandy environment, considered to be shoreface, extended by waves, in front of advancing deltas; and (4) a neritic to subneritic, muddy, offshore slope, characterized by frequent incursions of tempestite and turbidite sand. The study contributed to a better understanding of the mid-Miocene depositional systems in the basin, with significant implications for ongoing hydrocarbon exploration. Interpretations of the origins of potential reservoir sandstones provided important information on their possible stratigraphic distribution in the basin fill. The potential, economic importance of stratigraphic hydrocarbon traps underscored the urgent need for a full-scale facies analysis and fully cored wells in strategic parts of the basin.


We propose punctual estimators for the local variance $\sigma^{2}$ in pseudo-diffusions $X$ driven by a Gaussian noise. We define a kernel estimator of $\sigma^{2}$ based on the quadratic variation of $X$. The consistency and asymptotic normality are shown. Besides, a simulation study is made to assess the performance of those estimators. This study reveals, through various examples, that the estimators approximate very well the true local variance. Then we provide global estimation for the parameter $\sigma^{2}$ in this model that can be considered as a smooth perturbation of a fractional process. Thus we need to study functionals such as the Integrated Square Error (ISE) in order to obtain asymptotics laws to make global hypothesis testing. The Mean Integrated Square Error (MISE) is an usual measure of the precision of a non parametric estimator. A precise asymptotic expansion of the MISE gives optimal bandwith choice. These results with those concerning the ISE lead to contiguity tests for $\sigma$. Estimating the integral of the square of the second derivative of $\sigma^{2}$ also leads to a test of linearity. The proofs are simplified by using the Central Limit Theorem for non-linear functionals that belong to Ito-Wiener's Chaos, of Peccati-Nualart-Tudor.


The development of high-power linear ultrahigh-frequency amplifiers is made difficult by the low impedance of the devices used in the output stage, which causes matching difficulties and high radio-frequency current levels. A stacked field-effect transistor (FET) configuration is shown to reduce these problems with its increased output impedance and lower current required for a given output power. A linear analysis of the stacked FET configuration is given. Two class A monolithic microwave integrated circuit amplifiers are developed and subjected to one- and two-tone tests to demonstrate the performance of the stacked FET as a power amplifier at 900 MHz.


Distributed machine learning (ML) systems today use an unsophisticated threat model: data sources must trust a central ML process. We propose a brokered learning abstraction that allows data sources to contribute towards a globally-shared model with provable privacy guarantees in an untrusted setting. We realize this abstraction by building on federated learning, the state of the art in multi-party ML, to construct TorMentor: an anonymous hidden service that supports private multi-party ML.
We define a new threat model by characterizing, developing and evaluating new attacks in the brokered learning setting, along with new defenses for these attacks. We show that TorMentor effectively protects data providers against known ML attacks while providing them with a tunable trade-off between model accuracy and privacy. We evaluate TorMentor with local and geo-distributed deployments on Azure/Tor. In an experiment with 200 clients and 14 MB of data per client, our prototype trained a logistic regression model using stochastic gradient descent in 65s.
Code is available at: this https URL


It is well known that a quantum circuit on N qubits composed of Clifford gates with the addition of k non Clifford gates can be simulated on a classical computer by an algorithm scaling as poly(N)exp(k)\cite{bravyi2016improved}. We show that, for a quantum circuit to simulate quantum chaotic behavior, it is both necessary and sufficient that k=Θ(N). This result implies the impossibility of simulating quantum chaos on a classical computer.


he design of free-form structures is a complex process governed by structural performance and cost of fabrication. This last aspect is described by geometrical properties of a mesh, generally made out of quadrangles. These properties are known from a theoretical point of view, but the designers generally lack tools or knowledge to quickly generate inherently good panelization or structural layouts. Moreover, little has been done on node repetition in free-form structures. In this paper, the authors present a new family of shapes that exhibit high node congruence and are optimal with respect to the most common geometrical optimization targets. The properties of these meshes, named isogonal moulding surfaces by the authors are discussed, and some examples are shown.


Abstract Clinical follow-up studies have revealed that PUVA-treated patients are at increased risk of skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, since psoralen and UVA (PUVA) is not only a potent mutagen and carcinogen but also an immunosuppressor, and since other (co)carcinogenic factors often exist in psoriasis patients, the exact causes and mechanisms of PUVA-associated SCC are still not completely understood. In order to fill this gap the tools of molecular epidemiology are being used to study the SCC mutational spectra of p53 and Ha-ras, two of the most commonly mutated genes in human cancers. A previous mutation analysis revealed that SCC in PUVA-treated patients often carried mutated p53 genes and that many of the mutations had the UV fingerprint (i.e. C→T or CC→TT transitions at dipyrimidine sites). In the present study DNA-sequencing analysis revealed a total of 18 Ha-ras missense or nonsense mutations at exons 1–4 in 13 of 17 SCC (76%) from 8 of 11 (73%) PUVA-treated psoriasis patients. Six of the 18 mutations (33%) were of UV-fingerprint type (C→T transitions), five (28%) were at 5′-TpG sites (i.e. potential psoralen-binding sites and thus potentially caused by PUVA) and seven were of other type (39%), including six G:C→T:A transversions at hotspot codon 12. In addition, in the case of 6 of the 11 subjects (55%) both tumor and normal skin samples contained a T:A→C:G base change at codon 27 (a 5′-ATT site), a change previously hypothesized to be a possible silent Ha-ras polymorphism at one allele. When we compared the present Ha-ras mutation spectrum with the p53 mutation spectrum from a previous study of the samples, we found that approximately half of the tumors harbored mutations in both Ha-ras and p53. Together, our results indicate that Ha-ras mutations are present in a large proportion of PUVA-associated SCC and that UVB, PUVA and other agents may induce Ha-ras mutations and act together with p53 in the formation of SCC in psoriasis patients.