SUMMARY: Some chemical changes which took place in the mycelium of Aspergillus flavus during autolysis were studied. A. flavus underwent a 'neutral autolysis' in which a decrease of 73.9% in mycelial dry weight occurred. Glucose, xylose, maltose and mannitol were found in autolysing mycelium of A. flavus. The loss of free glucose amounted to 10 mg./flask during the whole period of autolysis. Xylose was decreased to half its initial content by the third day of autolysis and then disappeared by the ninth day, whereas maltose decreased at the beginning and then remained constant from the eighty-first to the hundred and eleventh day of incubation. Eighty-nine per cent of the initial amount of mannitol was lost during the first 9 days of autolysis, whereas fat seemed to be uninvolved in the process. Eighteen different amino acids were found in the autolysing mycelium of A. flavus. The general picture was of decreasing concentrations during autolysis, and amino acids decreased their content by about 95% with respect to the concentration present at the beginning. This decrease partially accounted for the loss of mycelial-nitrogen observed during autolysis.


Approximately 20% of motor vehicle crashes are caused by sleepiness or fatigue . Therefore, the search of effective countermeasures against driver sleepiness is a key issue in crash prevention. While caffeine, energy drinks and napping have been reported to improve driver alertness, listening to music and cold air have shown too transient and marginal effects in counteracting sleepiness in a driving simulator. However, a recent Swedish survey depicted that drivers use turning on the radio and opening a window more frequently as countermeasure than drinking coffee or stopping for nap. This raises the question if those drivers apply rather ineffective countermeasures or if these countermeasures are more effective when used during actual driving, in contrast to simulated driving. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the effect of listening to music and opening the window during real driving on the motorway.


A differential centrifugation technique, in which all extracellular water except that intimately associated with the cell (pericellular domain) is removed, has been applied to isolated Novikoff hepatoma cells. The pericellular volumes accessible to albumin, inulin, raffinose, and sucrose were inversely related to the molecular weights of the test solutes. This phenomenon was not detectable in erythrocytes or in fat cells. Selective removal of cell surface components by enzymatic treatment produced proportional changes in the relative volumes of distribution accessible to the solutes. This discrimination in the volume accessible to each of the solutes is analogous to that obtained in gel chromatographic separation and represents, in effect, excluded volumes which are inversely related to solute size. This exclusion is associated with components of the Novikoff cell surface, including the surface coat and the microvilli that cover the Novikoff cell. These structures provide an additional level of discrimination for the Novikoff cell not seen in certain other cell types.


An investigation has been conducted to assess the in vivo stability of a series of astatinated benzamides and astatinated nido-carborane compounds in mice. It was hypothesized that the higher bond strength of boron-astatine bonds in the nido-carboranes might provide increased stability toward in vivo deastatination. Four tri-n-butylstannylbenzamides were prepared for radiohalogenation and evaluation in vivo. Those compounds were N-propyl-4-(tri-n-butylstannyl)benzamide 1a, N-propyl-3-(tri-n-butylstannyl)benzamide 2a, ethyl 4-tri-n-butylstannylhippurate 3a, and 4-tri-n-butylstannyl-hippuric acid 4a. Seven mono-nido-carboranyl derivatives were prepared for radiohalogenation and in vivo evaluation. Four of the seven mono-carboranyl derivatives (5a, 6a, 7a, 13a) contained a 3-(nido-carboranyl)propionamide functionality, and the remaining compounds (8a, 8g, 10a) contained a 4-(nido-carboranyl)aniline functionality. Two additional derivatives (11a, 12a) were prepared that contained bis-(nido-carboranylmethyl)benzene moieties (also referred to as Venus flytrap complexes (VFCs). All benzamide and nido-carborane compounds underwent facile iodination and radiohalogenation, except a 4-(nido-carboranyl)aniline derivative, 8a. Iodination of 8a resulted in a mixture, of which the desired iodinated product was a minor component. Therefore, radiohalogenation was not attempted. It is believed that the mixture of products is due to the presence of a thiourea bond. Previous studies have shown that thiourea bonds can interfere with halogenation reactions. In vivo comparisons of the compounds were conducted by co-injection of dual labeled (125/131I and 211At) compounds. Tissue distribution data were obtained at 1 and 4 h postinjection of the radiolabeled compounds, as that was sufficient to determine if astatine was being released. Stability of the astatinated compound was assessed by the difference in concentration of radioiodine and astatine in lung and spleen. All of the benzamides were found to undergo rapid deastatination in vivo. The nido-carborane derivatives appeared to be slightly more stable to in vivo deastatination; however, they had long blood residence times. The surprising finding was that the VFC derivatives did not release 211At in vivo, even though they rapidly localized to liver. This finding provides encouragement that stable conjugates of 211At may be attained if appropriate modifications of the VFC can be made to redirect their excretion through the renal system.


The existent building heritage's retrieval holds the whole of the interventions aimed at preserving, recovering, rebuilding and using better the heritage itself. Any retrieval and restoration procedure and technique of the existing heritage cannot prescind from considering the materials and the building technology used to realize the architectonical work where a necessary intervention is required. The retrieval plan gathers chemical, structural, architectural, technical and functional aspects indissolubly. This knowledge is useful in planning the activities of maintenance and management of the interventions.


A collection of beautifully-crafted short stories. They are set in Italy, France and America and are powerful portraits of women who live in 'the world of propriety' at the turn of the century. They tell of the emotions women feel: in love, in jealousy, when they long for children or seek independence - and when their passions lead them to overstep the bounds laid down by exacting conventions. We see too what happens to those strong enough to break the rules but rarely strong enough to live forever beyond the pale of the society that has banished them. First published in America in 1964, Roman Fever contains some of Edith Wharton's finest writing.


When faced with two competing hypotheses, people sometimes prefer to look at multiple sources of information in support of one hypothesis rather than to establish the diagnostic value of a single piece of information for the two hypotheses. This is termed pseudodiagnostic reasoning and has often been understood to reflect, among other things, poor information search strategies. Past research suggests that diagnostic reasoning may be more easily fostered when participants seek data to help in the selection of one of two competing courses of action as opposed to situations where they seek data to help infer which of two competing hypotheses is true. In the experiment reported here, we provide the first empirical evidence demonstrating that manipulating the relevance of the feature for which participants initially receive information determines whether they will make a nominally diagnostic or pseudodiagnostic selection. The discussion of these findings focuses on implications for the ability to engage in diagnostic hypothesis testing.


This thesis is the result of work carried out during more than two years on a Teaching Company Scheme. Liaison took place between Rhone-Poulenc Agriculture Limited (the industrial partner), hereafter referred to as RPAL or the company, and Middlesex University (the academic partner). The aim of the Scheme was to realise the design, development, commissioning, testing and validation of an intelligent robotic system for sample analysis of trace
pesticides and metabolites in order to enable quicker product development. Due to the complexity of the project and the range of technical expertise and skills needed for its implementation, three associates participated in the
Programme. I joined as the second associate. With my degree in Industrial Engineering, I have been in overall charge of developing the computational aspects of the system, from control overview to implementation and validation.

Two distinct types of studies will be carried out with the robot based system:
• Routine extraction of pesticide from soil or plant material, which is compound as well as analyst dependant.
• Method development studies, to optimise those routine extraction processes.

Traditional strategies of control were not applicable for such system because we were dealing with the automation of a non repetitive process involving non-deterministic operations (evaporation, filtration, etc.). The resulting control system should provide a high degree of flexibility to allow workcell
reconfiguration without involving any reprogramming. Modularity is also a must if expansion and upgrading to new technologies and equipment is to involve relatively little cost and effort. In addition, all generated data has to be stored and reported following Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards.

As the system is both large and flexible in operation, it has proven a real challenge to develop. Software had to be written that can - among its many tasks - allow unrestricted analyst choice, optimise system performance, detect, prioritise and act upon error signals, dynamically schedule robot and
instrument operation in real time, trace samples as they pass through the system and generate results as reports stored in databases.

The system is now virtually complete, and is presently undergoing the last stages of the validation. Due to the success of this scheme, further cooperative ventures are being planned between Rhone-Poulenc and Middlesex University in both the UK and France.


Baillieu: Victorian uncertainty may lead to constitutional confusion By Dustin Halse, Swinburne University of Technology and Ben Rankin, Swinburne University of Technology The dramatic resignation of Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu may have surprised many but cannot be considered altogether unexpected. A year that began poorly for the now ex-Premier yesterday completely overwhelmed the government. While the media was focused on the ongoing federal circus in Sydney's west, the current tumult of Victorian politics appears to have taken centre stage. The decision of Frankston MP Geoff Shaw to quit the state parliamentary Liberal Party has further limited the Coalition's already slender majority in the 88 seat Legislative Assembly. Prone to the occasional gaffe the former nightclub bouncer and staunch social conservative has come under increased pressure to resign his seat over allegations he misused parliamentary entitlements. In recent months this issue among others has engulfed Baillieu's premiership and served to partially destabilise the government. Often considered the accidental Premier, Baillieu's unexpected victory in the 2010 election will now be remembered as his lasting contribution to Victorian State politics. Despite engineering the extraordinary result the slim electoral margin checked Baillieu's grip on the reigns of power. Incoming Premier Dr Denis Napthine inherits a government absorbed by a potentially volatile numbers game that threatens the ongoing stability of the parliament. With the Liberal-National Coalition on 44 seats (including Speaker Ken Smith) Labor effectively on 43 and Shaw now occupying the crossbenches the Legislative Assembly faces a situation whereby a deadlock could possibly trigger an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Should Shaw decide to altogether abandon his former colleagues he could hypothetically precipitate a previously unseen period of parliamentary limbo. Typically in Westminster derived systems such a stalemate would ordinarily be broken by dissolving the lower house and calling a fresh election. Denis Napthine is sworn in as Premier of Victoria at Government House in Melbourne on Wednesday, March 6, 2013. Julian Smith/AAP However, changes to the State's constitution enacted by the Bracks Labor government in 2003 established the prevailing system of fixed four-year terms. As a result the only other means by which the Assembly may be dissolved is through a successful motion of no confidence against the government. A deadlock caused by an even split of numbers between the parties would create a circumstance whereby motions of no confidence could not succeed leaving no possibility of the Assembly being dissolved. Currently, the Victorian constitution provides no alternative mechanism to resolve this dangerous impasse. A deadlocked Assembly is capable of exposing the more awkward aspects of the Victorian system. In a situation where the numbers are tied, a government, reliant on a functional parliament to pass its legislation, (including supply bills), would be effectively obstructed from doing so. With the State's budget only two months away the potential implications for the Parliament are profound. How would a government maintain the confidence of the people if it can no longer advance its legislative agenda? To further complicate matters what is the Governor's position when the constitution is effectively mute on the subject? In Victoria a Governor would be unable to allow a dissolution that contravenes the standing constitutional provisions that serve as a limit on his/her authority. Had these issues been more closely considered at the time of the constitutional amendment in 2003 this hypothetical scenario could have been wholly avoided. A common sense solution to this conundrum would be to adjust the number of seats in the Assembly to an odd number (such as is the case in every other State lower house in Australia). Unfortunately (as a result of the 2003 changes) the only process by which the numbers of the Victorian Assembly can be altered is through a referendum. While the possibility of a constitutional crisis is remote it remains as a threat that looms large over the incoming Premier. Yesterday's events may have momentarily overwhelmed the government but an imperfect constitution casts a menacing shadow over tomorrow. The authors do not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article. They also have no relevant affiliations. This article was originally published at The Conversation. Read the original article.


Introduction Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the reason for the global pandemic that started from Wuhan, China, in December 2019, known as coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19). Acute respiratory distress syndrome happened in COVID-19 not just because of uncontrolled viral replication but also because of an uncontrolled immune reaction from the host. That's why antiviral and anti-inflammatory treatments have become an increasing concern for clinicians. Methods A retrospective quasi-experimental study design was used to assess the effectiveness of methylprednisolone and dexamethasone in the improvement of PaO2/FiO2 (P/F) ratio in COVID-19 patients. We included 60 participants for this study by using a convenient sampling technique and divided them into two groups with 30 patients in each group. Group 1 was given dexamethasone 8 mg twice daily, and group 1 given methylprednisolone 40 mg twice daily for eight days. We recorded C-reactive protein (CRP), serum ferritin level, and P/F ratio before administration of both drugs and after administration of drugs for eight days. We used the paired t-test to assess the effect of both drugs on the P/F ratio of participants. Results The initial mean CRP in group 1 was 110.34, which reduced to 19.45 after administration of dexamethasone; similarly, the CRP in group 2 was 108.65, which reduced to 43.82 after administering methylprednisolone for eight days. In P/F ratio improvement, the calculated significance value for dexamethasone (p=0.000) was less than the table value at 0.05 in all sections, p-value for methylprednisolone (p=0.009) was also less than the table value at 0.05, which shows that both dexamethasone and methylprednisolone were effective in improving P/F ratio. Calculated p-value for dexamethasone (p=0.000) was lower than the calculated p-value for methylprednisolone (p=0.009), which shows that dexamethasone is more effective as compare to methylprednisolone. Conclusions Steroid therapy is effective in controlling inflammation markers, and especially dexamethasone is significantly effective in improving the P/F ratio in COVID-19 patients.


Adlai (Coixlacryma – jobi L.) had a higher potential alternative crop for rice and corn, but information about this crop is still limited. This study was conducted to; a) evaluate the agronomic component, yield, and yield characteristics; and b) determine the economic analysis of different Adlai cultivars under lowland conditions of Carcar City, Cebu. The area (360 m2) was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Three Adlai cultivars were designated as treatments replicated thrice. All treatments were applied uniformly with inorganic fertilizer at the rate of 120-60-60 kg/ha N, P2O5, and K2O using complete fertilizer (14-14-14) and urea (46-0-0). Among cultivars, Tapol and Gulian markedly headed and matured earlier than Ginampay. Tapol cultivar grew taller and produced longer panicles with extended and broader leaves. Meanwhile, Gulian had a higher number of panicles than Tapol and Ginampay. In terms of yield, Tapol cultivar produced a higher grain yield comparable to Gulian and Ginampay. However, only the Tapol cultivar generated the highest gross margin and percent return on investment of PHP 59, 269.79 and 3.51 which indicated as high adaptability of Tapol cultivar under lowland conditions in Carcar City, Cebu.


Abstract The current relationship between UK and Strasbourg is politically fraught, which presents inevitable challenges for both jurisdictions. This article will analyse how the Strasbourg Court has responded to these challenges when dealing with applications against the UK, particularly when an application is brought following determination by the UK Supreme Court. It will be argued that there is some evidence that the Strasbourg Court has recently been using the admissibility stage as a novel site for effecting strategic behaviour, in order to moderate and influence UK–Strasbourg relations. The effect of this recent inclination, and some possible justifications for it, will then be set out.


Deep neural networks have shown recent promise in many language-related tasks such as the modeling of conversations. We extend RNN-based sequence to sequence models to capture the long range discourse across many turns of conversation. We perform a sensitivity analysis on how much additional context affects performance, and provide quantitative and qualitative evidence that these models are able to capture discourse relationships across multiple utterances. Our results quantifies how adding an additional RNN layer for modeling discourse improves the quality of output utterances and providing more of the previous conversation as input also improves performance. By searching the generated outputs for specific discourse markers we show how neural discourse models can exhibit increased coherence and cohesion in conversations.


Background: Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a non-pharmacological treatment for uncontrolled severe bronchial asthma. This bronchoscopic procedure reduces the mass of airway smooth muscle and attenuates bronchoconstriction by heat energy at 65 °C. Temporary wheezes and respiratory symptoms are reported as an early complication after BT treatment, but its detailed pathomorphological phenomenon is unclear. Objectives: The aim of this study is to elucidate the short-term adverse events after BT. Methods: Nine uncontrolled severe asthma patients were undergone BT treatment (27 cases) in our institution since 2015. The mean age was 56.0 years old, the disease duration was 22.7 years, GINA treatment step was 5, exacerbation rate was 4.4 /year. We prospectively studied short-term adverse events after BT treatment. Results: Average activation counts and time during BT treatment were 56.1 times (75.0 min) at right lower lobe, 51.7 times (69.9 min) at left lower lobe, 85.1 times (78.9 min) at bilateral upper lobes, respectively. Central bronchitis and peri-bronchitis were observed in all cases. Peripheral atelectasis was observed in 3 of 27 cases. Peribronchial opacity appeared several hours after BT. The density and expanse of the opacity peaked at POD 2 and vanished within POD 7. Pneumonia appeared in 3 of 27 cases. Asthma attack required intravenous steroids was observed 2 cases. Conclusion: Reversible bronchitis and peribronchitis was observed as an inflammatory response to 65°C heat energy after BT treatment.


The aim of the study was to develop and characterize Nicorandil proniosomes by slurry method using the nonionic surfactants like Span60, Brij72 and cholesterol as vesicle forming agents and maltodextrin as a carrier. The prepared proniosomes were evaluated for chemical incompatibility by FT-IR, vesicle size analysis, entrapment efficiency, in vitro drug release and in vitro drug release kinetics. Formulation was optimized based upon the entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release. The optimized proniosomal formulation FP3 containing Span60 exhibited prolonged release profile. Fickian diffusion mechanism was observed with the FP3 which was due to the sustained release property.


Tropical coral reefs are highly diverse and globally threatened. Management to ensure their persistence requires sound biological knowledge in regions where coral reef biodiversity and/or the threats to it are greatest. This paper uses a novel text analysis approach and Google Maps™ to examine the spatial coverage of scientific papers on coral reefs listed in Web of Science®. Results show that research is highly clumped spatially, positively related to per capita gross domestic product, negatively related to coral species richness, and unrelated to threats to coral reefs globally; indicating a serious mismatch between conservation needs and the knowledge required for effective management. Greater research effort alone cannot guarantee better conservation outcomes, but given some regions of the world (e.g., Central Indo‐Pacific) remain severely understudied, priority allocation of resources to fill such knowledge gaps should support greater adaptive management capacity through the development of an improved knowledge base for reef managers.


Library satisfaction survey is conducted on a regular basis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of its services and collections. It is believed that the result becomes baselines in the planning of library activities to include collection development programs, orientation programs, and promotional enhancements. Specifically, this survey made use of 5 Likert scales to determine the satisfaction level of the library patrons particularly in Maritime Academy. All faculty and students were encouraged to participate in the survey through an online link. Data was collected a week after and generated a total of 587 responses. The survey intends to know the satisfaction level of its patrons with the different type of collections, the organization of materials, facilities, personnel, and services the library has to offer. Further, the survey explored the information need of its patrons for the academic year 2016-2017. Results showed that the library patrons, from faculty, staff, and students are extremely satisfied with the library and its services. The library collection has a weighted average of 4.40 which verbally indicates that the library users are very satisfied. The organization of materials and the library personnel have a weighted average of 4.58 and 4.63 respectively which indicates that the users are extremely satisfied. Finally, the users expressed that they are extremely satisfied with the physical facilities of the library as evident by a weighted average of 4.52. Overall, it is gratifying to learn from this survey that most of the services and collections are satisfying to both the faculty and maritime students


This thesis uncovers the presence of musical structures within Zoroastrian prayer performance and articulates the details of these structures and also the way in which they are manifested and are passed down through generations. Initial research included an amalgamation and examination of the few references to music in Zoroastrian prayer that there are to be found in existing literature. The bulk of the research involved travelling to different countries to make contemporary sound recordings of prayers and to conduct extensive interviews with priests. Archival recordings were also gathered as data for examination. The evolution of the status and role of priests within the Zoroastrian community from antiquity to the present day as well as the training they receive is presented in order to understand the social as well as religious context within which Zoroastrian prayer is performed and taught. A substantial body of evidence is provided in the form of musical notations of the prayers of over thirty men and boys as well as more than an hour of accompanying sound recordings. Interview data is also provided to illuminate the perspectives of the performers on their own material. The musical analysis of the notations uncovers musical structures in Zoroastrian prayer, and an examination of interview data first reveals the mechanism by which these structures are manifested and transmitted and then synthesises the conclusions into a model for music making which operates to shape the sound of Zoroastrian prayer. The final analysis explores the age of these musical structures from the most recent and provable point of existence to a possibly ancient origin.


In this paper we introduce a new approach for revising and merging consistent Horn formulae under minimal model semantics. Our approach is translation-based in the following sense: we generate a propositional encoding capturing both the syntax of the original Horn formulae (the clauses which appear or not in them) and their semantics (their minimal models). We can then use any classical revision or merging operator to perform belief change on the encoding. The resulting propositional theory is then translated back into a Horn formula. We identify some specific operators which guarantee a particular kind of minimal change. A unique feature of our approach is that it allows us to control whether minimality of change primarily relates to the syntax or to the minimal model semantics of the Horn formula. We give an axiomatic characterization of minimal change on the minimal model for this new setting, and we show that some specific translation-based revision and merging operators satisfy our postulates.


Levees in Poland are mostly earthen constructions. The stability of earthen levees depends largely on factors such as the construction material, meteorological conditions and natural elements. The influence of initial water saturation of pore space on levee stability is analysed in this paper. Analysis was performed using numerical modelling and water pore pressure results were compared against data obtained from sensors located in a levee. The numerical modelling shows the moderate influence of initial water level on distribution of water pore pressure during high water level.


With the increasing demand for urban space, more and more multistory carparks are needed as they will play a central role in the city transportation system. An autonomous navigation solution for Intelligent Vehicles in these indoor scenarios is then required. One step to solve this problem is to localize Intelligent Vehicles in these specific environments. However, the lack of GPS due to signal obstruction (multipath, non-line of sight, interference, etc.) appears to be a significant concern for any localization system, let alone indoor ones. Hence, in this paper, a wireless sensor network based approach is proposed to replace the GPS (Global Positioning System) role for indoor environments. In addition, a fusion framework for multiple sensors such as Wi-Fi access points, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) or LiDAR is studied. Experiments in almost one-year duration yield a stable result of mean global localization error at 0.5m.


For a compass-like biped robot, the problem of achieving stable walking on both ideal inclined surfaces and complex environments is studied. For the case of walking on ideal inclined surfaces, a feedback-control law is obtained via feedback-linearization techniques so that the trajectory of the robot converges to a desired passive walking gait. Simulations show that it leads to a larger basin of attraction. For the case of walking in complex environments, a scheme is developed with regulable step length and walking speed. Different reference trajectories are constructed for different steps, and corresponding feedback-control laws are updated at the beginning of each step. Then, it is shown that the errors that measure the difference of the response trajectory and the reference one asymptotically converge to zero. An example of walking over stairs is given to numerically verify and demonstrate our approach.


Contemporary approaches frame the color constancy problem as learning camera specific illuminant mappings. While high accuracy can be achieved on camera specific data, these models depend on camera spectral sensitivity and typically exhibit poor generalisation to new devices. Additionally, regression methods produce point estimates that do not explicitly account for potential ambiguities among plausible illuminant solutions, due to the ill-posed nature of the problem. We propose a Bayesian framework that naturally handles color constancy ambiguity via a multi-hypothesis strategy. Firstly, we select a set of candidate scene illuminants in a data-driven fashion and apply them to a target image to generate of set of corrected images. Secondly, we estimate, for each corrected image, the likelihood of the light source being achromatic using a camera-agnostic CNN. Finally, our method explicitly learns a final illumination estimate from the generated posterior probability distribution.
Our likelihood estimator learns to answer a camera-agnostic question and thus enables effective multi-camera training by disentangling illuminant estimation from the supervised learning task. We extensively evaluate our proposed approach and additionally set a benchmark for novel sensor generalisation without re-training. Our method provides state-of-the-art accuracy on multiple public datasets (up to 11% median angular error improvement) while maintaining real-time execution.


Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas produced as a result of incomplete combustion of organic materials. The source of CO production is very common especially in nations that depend on power generating sets for electricity. Chronic disease is non-communicable and usually takes a longer time to manifest. Examples are kidney failure, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cancer, and cardiac arrest. These diseases are now very common in society, not sparing the youthful population that was rare ab initio. The major difficulty in the containment of chronic diseases is the inability to establish a definitive causative agent. The definite causative agent is important in public health and management of chronic diseases. Preventive medicine is anchored on establishing the causative agent of a disease. Without knowing the causative agent of a disease, the path to prevention becomes very cumbersome. The knowledge of the causative agent of a disease is the bedrock of preventive medicine and public health. Several reasons such as lifestyle modification, hereditary, climate change, nutrition or aging have been adduced as the cause of chronic diseases. These reasons are quite weak and not definite. The exact causative agent(s) of chronic diseases is a conundrum that needs a deliberate study and review so as to enhance definite diagnosis, preventive measures and appropriate therapeutic intervention. Measurement of biochemical and haematological parameters are employed in disease diagnosis and management. Alterations of these parameters are used to identify chronic diseases and also form part of an alarm system of a potential breakdown of the normal functioning of the body. The effect of chronic CO intoxication on these parameters could be of importance in establishing causative agent(s) of diseases that are for long opaque and non-definite. This review was therefore designed to interrogate various narratives, meta-analysis, and researches on this subject. Explicit knowledge of the pattern or presentation of biochemical and haematological parameters arising from chronic CO intoxication could be of great importance in preventive medicine, disease diagnosis and appropriate therapeutic intervention.


A design method and primary functions of pattern preparation system of computerized flat knitting machine are introduced. The system provides a formidable mapping system based on object-oriented and multi-document, so pattern becomes simple and flexible to be edited and displayed. In addition, the compiler has a novel method of compiling pattern data. Two pattern description files (PAT and CNT) are generated after compiled, which include all control information that computerized flat knitting machine needs. The system also provides a direct and friendly interface, through which user can accomplish pattern design quickly and conveniently.


Aim: The aim of this study was to present our technique and the surgical approach for assisted laparoscopic anorectal pullthrough and the initial out-come in two girls with persistent cloaca. Patients and methods: Laparoscopic assisted anorectal pull-through was done in 2 girls with persistent cloaca between 2008 and 2011 in two different French centers. Diverting colostomy was performed during the neonatal period. The common channel length was 2.5 and 4 cm respectively and their surgical repair was performed at 16 and 6 months of age respectively. The first girl had a delayed surgical repair for growth problem. The laparoscopic pull-through, the anoplasty and the mobilization of the urethra were done at the same time. Results: Laparoscopic assisted pull-through was successfully performed in the two girls. There was no intra-operative or postoperative complication. Length of stay was 15 and 12 days respectively. The colostomy was closed at 9 and 3 months of age. Anal dilatation was started 3 weeks after the surgery and continued for 4 months after closure of the colostomy. Follow-up was 30 months and 18 months, respectively. Conclusion: Simultaneous laparoscopic assisted pull-through and urethral mobilization for the management of persistent cloaca is a feasible, effective and safe surgical option. This technique provides an optimal view of the pelvic organs, better identification of fistula and minimizes abdominal scars. Large prospectively conducted studies with prolonged follow-up periods are required to further validate this approach.


Biosensor technology has developed extremely rapidly in recent years. This technology brings along precise measurements as well as specific measurements. Thanks to its ability to be miniaturized and be easily accessible to the end user, it is one-step ahead of other similar methods. The selectivity of biological molecules and the sensitivity of electrochemical methods enable the continuous evolvement of these new technologies. In this chapter, the use of nucleic acids as both recognition agents and target molecules, the way they are used in biosensor technology and their electrical properties are explained in detail with examples. Aptamers, which are synthetic nucleic acids, and their use in electrochemical biosensor systems with different electrochemical and immobilization methods have been compared extensively.


Background: the ability of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) to use and comprehend closed-class words. Aim: acknowledging the increasing search for the characterization of linguistic performance of this population in different languages, as well as the findings of international literature that stress the difficulty of these children in using closed-class grammatical morphemes, the aim of this study was to analyze the performance of children with SLI in tests of production and comprehension of prepositions. The purpose of this research was also to compare the performance of these children to that of their typical language developing peers, in terms of the overall index of correct answers and the most frequent types of errors in both groups. Method: an objective test was developed in order to analyze production and comprehension of four types of prepositions that are used to establish the following semantic relations: with (company relation); by (way relation); in, on or at (place/position relations); and to (destination relation). This test was carried out with 19 SLI children and 29 typically developing children (CG - control group), one year younger than the research group. Results: SLI children presented the same pattern of results, although delayed, of children in the CG in the comprehension test. In the task involving production, however, the performance of SLI children was quantitatively and qualitatively inferior to their typical developing controls. This performance was mainly characterized by the omission of prepositions. Conclusion: the findings corroborate the view that grammatical words constitute a challenge for SLI children, since they presented many errors that suggest difficulties in the domain of prepositions. The results also emphasized, for the SLI group,


Experienced technical experts will be able to meet and overcome many of the obstacles that may tend to impair their investigations IN JUNE 1981, elevated walkways spanning the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel in Kansas City collapsed during a Friday evening social event, resulting in more than 100 fatalities. In April 1987, a bridge carrying the New York State Thruway over the Schoharie Creek near Albany collapsed, sending 10 motorists to their deaths. In October 1999, a glass window fell from the 29th floor of the CNA building in Chicago, killing a pedestrian on the street below. Fortunately, catastrophic failures like these are rare. When they occur, the importance of obtaining the right technical experts to assist in the ensuing investigation should not be underestimated. Not only can experienced experts provide leadership for technical aspects of an investigation, their input can be quite useful when dealing with non-technical issues as well. THE INITIAL CALL When called to participate in the investigation of a catastrophic failure, the first impulse of an engineer who specializes in this type of work is to drop everything and head for the site. While immediate response is a necessary and an important part of a successful investigation, there are several items an experienced expert will consider before accepting the assignment. First, it is important to check for potential conflicts. Failure to do so can lead to embarrassing or worse situations when a conflict is found after the assignment is accepted and work has begun. An experienced expert will ask: What is the building or structure that collapsed? Has my firm worked on it previously? Who are the involved parties? Have we worked for any of them before? Most firms maintain databases of current and past assignments that, by using today's technology, can be checked quickly for potential conflicts. It should be noted, however, that previous work on the structure or for one of the involved parties by experts or their firms does not necessarily create a conflict. Often the previous involvement is not directly related to the current situation, and parties are willing to provide waivers or otherwise agree that no conflict exists. Before accepting the assignment, the expert should develop a clear understanding of who the client will be and what the caller sees as the expert's general scope of work. Given a choice, most experts would prefer to work for one of the major players in the incident. Experts also should beware of situations in which a less-than-scrupulous caller may be attempting to retain them for a nominal role to prevent them from later accepting an assignment from another party in the case. To avoid misunderstandings, it is appropriate for experts and clients to agree in writing, usually in the form of a short letter, to a general scope of work, billing rates and terms before work begins. A more detailed contract and scope can be developed after the initial site visit. Of course, experts should be aware that while they are assessing the desirability of accepting the assignment, the caller is attempting to assess whether the expert has the appropriate background, experience and skills to meet the client's needs. Experienced experts will have readily available information about similar past assignments and references that can assist in making the decision about offering the assignment. Because time is of the essence in most catastrophic situations, attorneys or others who often retain investigative experts should consider interviewing firms and individuals that specialize in this type of work prior to the time they are needed. Most experts are more than happy to meet with potential clients and present their qualifications, past experience and approach to projects. NON-TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS The actions taken shortly after a catastrophic structural or building failure have a significant impact on the success of the investigation and in many instances the speed with which the building or other structure can be repaired and put back into service. …


In this research, comparative study carried out between conventional structural system with monolithic structural system (reinforced concrete wall structure). In India, monolithic construction system carried out only for lower rise structure; if we consider this structural system mid to high rise structure then it may more feasible, adoptable and economic comparing conventional structural system. In this system all slabs, stairs, wall with opening or without opening are casted together in one operation. Etabs software is used for analysis and design of both structural systems.


Economic growth and its process are the main condition for the sustainability of the regional economic development. Because of the continuing population growth means economic needs also increase so that additional revenue required each year. This can be obtained by the increase in aggregate output (goods and services) or the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) each year. To carry out development with limited resources as a consequence should be focused to develop the sectors that provide great multiplier effect on other sectors or the whole economy. This research is focused to determine the regional leading sector of Bone Bolango as the information and considerations in planning economic development. Location Quotient (LQ) and Shift Share are tools of analysis. Location Quotient analysis indicates agriculture, manufacture, finance, leasing and corporate services are base sectors in the Bone Bolango district. Shift Share analysis indicates that the competitive sectors are finance, leasing and corporate services. The results of the analysis based on three analysis tools indicate that the leading sector with the criteria developed, base, and competitive is finance and services sector.


Location-aware recommendation is considered as one of human behavior cognitive analyses in the world of human-machine-environment system. The development of 5G technology and ubiquitous mobile devices has led to the emergence of a new online platform, location-based social networks (LBSNs), which allows users to share their locations. The essential feature of LBSNs is to provide users with location recommendations that help them explore new places and also to make LBSNs more prevalent to users. Most of the existing research is focusing on the introduction of new features and how these new features affect the check-in behaviors of the users. In addition, the dependencies between each feature and the probability of a user visiting the site is always a principle to follow. However, a user's decision could be determined by considering several features at the same time. When a full model is applied by considering all the features, an overfitting problem could be occurred owing to the lack of sufficient data for each individual user. In this article, an intermediate solution was proposed to address all of these problems by fragmenting the model into several partial models, where each partial model is responsible for a few features. An additive strategy was also implemented to support the development of personalized partial models. Furthermore, a partition-based approach was introduced to explore the hidden patterns from the geographically clustered check-in data. The performance of the approaches has been evaluated by using the data sets from Foursquare and it demonstrates that the proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches.


Comparison between two populations of the spirostreptid millipede Archispirostreptus syriacus reveals that there are no significant differences in the pattern of development between the xeric population (in Brosh) and the mesic one (in Megiddo). However, there is a difference in the duration of larval stages resulting in higher growth rates in the xeric population than in the mesic one. In Megiddo there are 11 larval stages and maturity is reached at the age of 8 years, following 3 adult stages. In Brosh maturity is reached at the age of 6 years after 12 larval stages, followed by 4 adult stages. Eggs that are laid in Brosh during May are significantly heavier then those laid in Megiddo during July-August. Similarly, there is a significant difference in the caloric value of the eggs from both habitats and probably in their water content as well.


Autonomy is a central property in robotic systems, human-machine interfaces, e-business, ambient intelligence and assisted living applicatio ns. As the complexity of the situations the autonomous agents may encounter in such contexts is increasing, the decisions those agents make must deal with new issues, e.g. decision s involving contextual ethical considerations. Consequently contributions have prop osed recommendations, advice or hard-wired ethical principles for autonomous agents. However, socio-technical systems are more and more open and decentralized, and involve a utonomous artificial agents interacting with other agents, human operators or use rs. For such systems, novel and original methods are needed to address contextual et hical decision-making, as decisions are likely to interfere with one another. This paper a ims at presenting the ETHICAA project (Ethics and Autonomous Agents) whose objective is to define what should be an autonomous entity that could manage ethical conflicts . As a first proposal, we present various practical case studies of ethical conflicts and highlight what their main contextual and decision features are.


With interest rates persistently low or even negative in advanced countries, policymakers have barely any room to ease monetary policy when the next recession hits. Fiscal policy will have to play a major and likely dominant role in stimulating the economy, requiring policymakers to fundamentally reconsider fiscal policy. Blanchard and Summers argue for the introduction of what they call "semiautomatic" stabilizers. Unlike purely automatic stabilizers (mechanisms built into government budgets that automatically—without discretionary government action or explicit triggers—increase spending or decrease taxes when the economy slows or enters a recession), semiautomatic stabilizers are targeted tax or spending measures that are triggered if, say, the output growth rate declines or the unemployment rate increases beyond a specified threshold. The authors argue that the trigger should be changes in unemployment rather than changes in output, and the design of semiautomatic stabilizers, whether they focus on mechanisms that rely primarily on income or on intertemporal substitution effects (changing the timing of consumption), depends crucially on the design of discretionary policy.


Importance To date, factors associated with noise-induced hearing loss at music festivals have not yet been analyzed in a single comprehensive data set. In addition, little is known about the hearing loss–associated behavior of music festival attendees. Objectives To assess which factors are associated with the occurrence of a temporary threshold shift (TTS) after music exposure and to investigate the behavior of music festival attendees. Design, Setting, and Participants This prospective post hoc analysis gathered data from a randomized, single-blind clinical trial conducted on September 5, 2015, at an outdoor music festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Adult volunteers with normal hearing were recruited via social media from August 26 through September 3, 2015. Intention to use earplugs was an exclusion criterion. Of 86 volunteers assessed, 51 were included. This post hoc analysis was performed from October 3, 2016, through February 27, 2017. Interventions Music festival visit for 4.5 hours. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was a TTS on a standard audiogram for the frequencies 3.0- and 4.0-kHz. Multivariable linear regression was performed to determine which factors are associated with a TTS. A questionnaire on behavior, hearing, and tinnitus was distributed to the participants before and after the festival visit. Results A total of 51 participants were included (18 men [35%] and 33 women [65%]) with a mean (SD) age of 27 (6) years. Mean (SD) threshold change across 3.0 and 4.0 kHz was 5.4 (5.7) dB for the right ear and 4.0 (6.1) dB for the left ear. Earplug use (absolute difference in the left ear, −6.0 dB [95% CI, −8.7 to −3.2 dB]; in the right ear, −6.4 dB [95% CI, −8.8 to −4.1 dB]), quantity of alcohol use (absolute difference per unit in the left ear, 1.1 dB [95% CI, 0.5 to 1.7 dB]; in the right ear, 0.7 dB [95% CI, 0.1 to 1.4 dB]), drug use (absolute difference in the right ear, 6.0 dB [95% CI, 0.9 to 11.1 dB]), and male sex (absolute difference in the right ear, 4.1 dB [95% CI, 0.3 to 5.9 dB]) were independently associated with hearing loss, with earplug use being the most important factor. Unprotected participants reported significantly worse subjective hearing performance and tinnitus after the festival visit than did participants using earplugs (Cramer V, 0.62 [95% CI, 0.47-0.79] and 0.39 [95% CI, 0.16-0.62], respectively). In the earplug group, the perceived loudness (r = −0.72; 95% CI, −1.00 to −0.43) and appreciation (r = 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.78) of music and speech perception (r = 0.21; 95% CI, 0.09 to 0.35) were correlated with the duration of earplug use. Conclusions and Relevance The present study identified nonuse of earplugs, use of alcohol and drugs, and male sex as associated with a TTS at an outdoor music festival. Physicians should consider these factors to raise awareness about the combined risk of attending music festivals without using earplugs while consuming alcohol and/or drugs. The intention to use earplugs was correlated with the loudness and appreciation of music with earplugs, which may advocate for the use of personalized earplugs. Trial Registration trialregister.nl Identifier: NTR5401


This explorative study uses Ghana as a test case to critique the post-Cold War foreign policy of the United States of America (hereafter referred to as the US) towards West Africa. It does this by contemporaneously locating the US relationship with Ghana within a historical and regional context. History is crucial in this regard, because the past provides a sound basis for understanding the present and the future. To add, in International Politics, theory holds sway and history is used as a laboratory. In this article, the researchers propose Afrocentricity as an alternative theoretical paradigm crucial in understanding US foreign policy towards Africa in general. As shall be seen, such a paradigm remains critical in highlighting the peculiarity of the US relationship with Ghana. It is envisaged that a deeper understanding of the US foreign policy towards Ghana is achievable when its analysis and interpretation is located within a broader regional (West Africa) and continental (Africa) context. The two central questions that are grappled with in this article are: (i) Why does the US view Ghana as an indispensable political ally in West Africa? (ii) To what extent did Barack Obama's presidency alter the US's foreign policy towards Ghana, West Africa and Africa? To realise the purpose of this study, the researchers rely methodologically on interdisciplinary critical discourse and conversations in their widest form. The critical analysis for this article concludes that the agenda for democratic consolidation and access to oil resources feature as the key drivers of the US foreign policy towards Ghana and West Africa at large. While the US's role in the democratisation of Ghana and other African states is observable, it can be argued that this principle has been merely used as a tool for international morality to justify American imperialism. Oil in West Africa's Ghana is important for the US, both as an economic resource and a strategic energy source during wartime periods. Overall, the "differential" foreign policy towards individual African states is also a significant observation, which dispels the myth of a universal US foreign policy framework.


The author presents a systematic approach to the design of asynchronous state machines with minimum state variables and arbitrary state encoding. Multiple input changes are allowed. Simple latches in master-slave configuration are used as memory elements rendering the method suitable for implementation in SSI or VLSI. This approach avoids the extra delay elements often necessary in self-clocked circuits. The method is illustrated by its application to the design of a VMEbus requester. >


Background: The aim of this study was to establish a precise prognostic model, based on significant clinical parameters, for predicting the overall survival (OS) of adult patients with primary gastrointestinal diffuse large B cell lymphoma (GI DLBCL). Materials and Methods: The data of 7,121 GI DLBCL patients, diagnosed between 1997 and 2015, were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. These patients were randomly divided into two sequential cohorts: training (n = 5,697) set and validation (n = 1,424) set. ROC methodology and calibration curves were explicitly used to evaluate the predictive performance of nomogram. Results: The median OS in the training cohort was 76 months (1–239 months), and 3, 5, and 10-year OS rates were 60.3, 53.9, and 39.5%, respectively. Age at diagnosis, Ann Arbor stage, and marital status were important clinical predictors of OS. These characteristics were used to build a nomogram. The AUC of the nomogram for predicting 3, 5, and 10-year OS were 0.669, 0.692, and 0.740, respectively. All RUC and calibration curves revealed good accuracy in predicting prognosis of GI DLBCL. Conclusion: In summary, the established nomogram was validated to predict OS for adult patients with GI DLBCL. This predictive model could help clinicians identify high-risk patients to improve their prognosis.


Macroporous polystyrene and polyvinylpyridine beads with quaternary ammonium and tertiary groups were tailor-made for the adsorption of unconjugated bilirubin. In vitro studies in order to obtain high adsorption capacity, the synthesized macroporous resin should have an average pore size of about 160 A and with surface area as large as possible. As the crosslinking of the resin increased from 4%-40% the amount of bilirubin adsorbed increased from 0.17 mg/g to 2.0 mg/g. Resins containing strong basic groups have higher adsorption capacities than their corresponding weak base groups. Adsorption mechanism studies showed that both chemical and physical adsorption took place. Adsorption of bilirubin in plasma was some what lower than in buffer solution.


Continuous-flow dielectrophoretic (DEP) particle separation based on size is demonstrated in a microfluidic device. Polystyrene microspheres suspended in a neutrally buoyant aqueous solution are used as model particles to study DEP induced by an array of slanted, planar, interdigitated electrodes inside of a soft-lithography microchannel. The E-field gradients from the slanted electrodes impart a net transverse force component on the particles that causes them to "ratchet" across the channel. Over the length of the device, larger particles are deflected more than smaller particles according to the balance of hydrodynamic drag and DEP forces. Consequently, a flow-focused particle suspension containing different-sized particles is fractionated as the beads flow and separate down the length of the device. The flow behavior of spherical particles is modeled, and the total transverse particle displacement in the microfluidic device predicts fourth-order size and voltage and second-order inverse flow rate dependences. The model is verified experimentally for a range of flow rates, particle sizes, and E-field strengths.


Activation of opioid or opioid-receptor-like (ORL1 a.k.a. NOP or orphanin FQ) receptors mediates analgesia through inhibition of N-type calcium channels in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons (1, 2). Unlike the three types of classical mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptors, ORL1 mediates an agonist-independent inhibition of N-type calcium channels. This is mediated via the formation of a physical protein complex between the receptor and the channel, which in turn allows the channel to effectively sense a low level of constitutive receptor activity (3). Further inhibition of N-type channel activity by activation of other G protein-coupled receptors is thus precluded. ORL1 receptors, however, also undergo agonist-induced internalization into lysosomes, and channels thereby become cointernalized in a complex with ORL1. This then results in removal of N-type channels from the plasma membrane and reduced calcium entry (4). Similar signaling complexes between N-type channels and GABA(B) receptors have been reported (5). Moreover, both L-type and P/Q-type channels appear to be able to associate with certain types of G protein-coupled receptors (6, 7). Hence, interactions between receptors and voltage-gated calcium channels may be a widely applicable means to optimize receptor channel coupling.


The development of an evanescent field sensor with an integrated Mach-Zehnder interferometric (MZI) configuration requires the fabrication of optical waveguides with two main characteristics: (1) monomode behavior and (2) high surface sensitivity for sensing biomolecular interactions in a direct way (without labels). In this paper, we present an experimental study for the optimization of the different parameters of the waveguides that will be the basis of a highly sensitive optical sensor. After optimization, an MZI sensor has been fabricated and some sensing applications are shown. The designed waveguides are based on antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) structures and are fabricated with standard silicon technology.


The efficient differentiation of retinal cells from human pluripotent stem
cells remains a major challenge for the development of successful and cost-effective
cellular therapies for various forms of blindness. Current differentiation strategies
rely upon exposing pluripotent stem cells to soluble growth factors which play key
roles during early development (such as DKK-1, Noggin and IGF-1) at 20% oxygen
(O2). This O2 tension is however, considerably higher than O2 levels during
organogenesis and may impair the differentiation process. In this study, we examined
the effect of mimicking the physiological O2 tension (2%) on the generation of
retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)
and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Both cell types were induced to
differentiate into RPCs at 20% and 2% O2. After three days in suspension culture as
embryoid bodies (EBs), 2% O2 caused the activation of hypoxia inducible factor
(HIF) responsive genes VEGF and LDHA and was accompanied by elevated
expression levels of the early eye field genes Six3 and Lhx2. 21 days after plating
EBs in an adherent culture, we observed more RPCs co-expressing Pax6 and Chx10
at 2% O2. qPCR analysis confirmed that lowering O2 tension had caused a rise in the
expression of both genes compared to 20% O₂. Our results indicate that mimicking physiological O2 is a favorable condition for the efficient generation of RPCs from
both hiPSCs and hESCs.


Expression of the oncodevelopmental protein, placental alkaline phosphatase, was observed in DoT cells, an epidermoid cell line derived from cervical carcinoma. Under normal conditions of growth in vitro, biochemical inhibition, cytochemical and immunological studies revealed that these cells express the term-placental (Regan) isoenzyme. Thus alkaline phosphatase activity was observed to be heat-stable and inhibited by L-phenylalanine. These properties, supported by immunoelectrophoretic analysis using antisera specific for liver, intestinal or term-placental isoenzymes, identified the isoenzyme as placental type. DoT cells treated with prednisolone (1 microgram/ml) increased total alkaline phosphatase specific activity. This activity was also identified as term-placental phosphatase isoenzyme. On the other hand, treatment of the same cells with sodium butyrate (1 mM) did not induce increased activity of the term-placental isoenzyme, an unexpected observation. As a result of these studies, DoT cells are proposed as a representative cell line for studies of the regulation of oncodevelopmental gene expression in human tumour cells of cervical origin.


by John Crofton MA MD FRCP and Andrew Douglas ms chiB FRcp pp xiv±719 illustrated £7 lSs Oxford & Edinburgh: Blackwell Scientific 1969 This is a readable and comprehensive book which will be the standard reference work on chest disas for the future. Although designed for the post-graduate, it will certainly tempt the undergraduate to read it, in particular, the concise early chapters on pulmonary physiology, described with its clinical importance in mind. Amongthe common chest diseases coved is a very lae section on pulmonary tuberculosis, befitting the enormous importance of this communicable disease to the world as a whole. Other points of interest are that epidemiology is cosidered in general terms in a separate chat and in subsections in chapters on diseases where it is most important. Advances in virology are summarized with a classification ofthe respiratory viruses 'and the syndromes of upper respiratory tract infection. Contemporary interest in fungal infections of the lung and allergic alvhitis are reflected in ample sections on these subjts. Principes of chemotherapy and thei tical application are discussed in a further separate chapter. The book is well laid out and well indexed with a c se English bliogrphy up to date to late 1969. The lack of X-ray plates is for economnic reasons and the li-dravftp iustrating X-ray appearances are unfortuMWy no substitute; however, this does not detractfrom the7book's overall excellence. R A MULLIGAN


Colombian inflationary experience is explained using a theoretical model that stresses two elements: the effect of shocks and the type of policy designed to respond to them. The empirical investigation uses the event-study methodology and finds that the model successfully accounts for the main characteristics of the country's inflationary process; foreign exchange reserves, agricultural and policy shocks, as well as lack of commitment to low infaltion by the authorities are the main causes behind the sustained high/moderate level of inflation. As assessment of the costs of inflation and price variability, widely documented for other countries, is not found during the periods of high but stable inflation in Colombia.


In this paper we present a GP-based method for automatically evolve projections, so that data can be more easily classified in the projected spaces. At the same time, our approach can reduce dimensionality by constructing more relevant attributes. Fitness of each projection measures how easy is to classify the dataset after applying the projection. This is quickly computed by a Simple Linear Perceptron. We have tested our approach in three domains. The experiments show that it obtains good results, compared to other Machine Learning approaches, while reducing dimensionality in many cases. Keywords—Classification, Genetic Programming, projections.


Ovine rearing represents a domain being in a full development process in Romania. At the base of this tendency are the solicitation of local and external markets for basic production, respectively meat and milk. To record favourable economical results farmers wants to apply the most optimal technologies so, economical efficiency to reach a maximum level for each female which is part of the livestock (Pascal, 2015, Daraban  2006 ). One of those technologies refers also at precocious utilisation at reproduction of a female youth. So, the aim of effectuated research was represented by studying of possibilities for utilization at reproduction of female youth at an age still from the first year of life.Biologic material was represented by domestic ovine, from A¢igaie breed, reared in different farms situated in the North-East part of Romania. Experimental batches were formed by females with different ages, but all of them being utilized for the first time at mating. Respecting those demands were formed three batches differentially by age between them, which had, at the moment of utilization for reproduction, 9 months (L1), 18 months (L2) and 22 months (L3). Control batch was formed by adult females belonging to the same breed (LM). In the current research were tracked more aspects, the most important being the ones in which were analyzed the influence of sheep' age on specific indexes of reproduction function, on the total duration of gestation and on further corporal development of youth females. The obtained data were statistically processed using ANOVA software, and for determination of differences and their signification were utilized Fisher and Tukey tests. The obtained results allow us to enlightened the fact that even, in case of batches formed by female youth, the mean values for studied parameters were very close to the ones specific to adult sheep, differences are significant in majority of situations for p >0.01.


OBJECTIVE
To quantify environmental tobacco smoke exposure in public places in Mexico to promote policies of 100% smoke-free environments.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In hospitals, schools and public offices of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City 20% of inner areas were monitored. Median nicotine concentrations were estimated by city, type of public space and type of inner area.

RESULTS
Median concentration in areas where nicotine was detected was 0.06 µg/m³ (P₂₅=0.03, P₇₅=0.12 µg/m³). Higher concentrations were found in Mexico City and in public offices. Nicotine was not detected in 75% of monitored areas.

CONCLUSIONS
Monitoring environmental nicotine is a useful tool to evaluate compliance of public places with the smoke-free environments legislation, and could constitute an important source of information to strengthen implementation efforts.


Oncogenic KRAS signaling is the main driving force behind pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); however, targeting this pathway has proven to be difficult. Conversely, the PI3K/Akt pathway represents an exciting new target, because it has been associated with poor prognosis and chemoresistance, and several inhibitors are under development. In particular, perifosine prevents Akt translocation to the cell membrane, while MK-2206 is an Akt allosteric inhibitor and BEZ-235 is a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor. Therefore, we investigated the prognostic role of phospho (p)-Akt in PDAC tissues, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying the interaction of Akt inhibitors with gemcitabine, using PDAC cells, primary cultures and spheroids. Immunohistochemistry of tissue microarrays with specimens from radically-resected patients (n=100) revealed a correlation between high p-Akt1 expression and worse outcome. Patients with low p-Akt expression (as detected by digital scoring) had a median overall survival (OS) of 16.2 months (95% CI, 14.8-20.1), while patients with high expression had a median OS of 12.0 months (95% CI, 9.0-14.9, P=0.03). Parallel immunocytochemistry studies revealed high expression levels in LPC028 primary cells, while LPC006 were characterized by low p-Akt1. Akt inhibitors reduced cancer cell growth in monolayers and spheroids, and synergistically enhanced the antiproliferative activity of gemcitabine in LPC028 (e.g., combination index CI of 0.2, in the gemcitabine-perifosine combination for 72h, at fixed IC50 ratio), while this combination was antagonistic in LPC006 cells. The synergistic effect was paralleled by a 5-fold reduction in the expression of the main gemcitabine target ribonucleotide reductase. Inhibition of Akt decreased cell migration and invasion, which was additionally reduced by the combination with gemcitabine. However, the combination of Akt inhibitors with gemcitabine increased apoptosis, associated with induction of caspase-3/6/8/9, PARP and BAD, and inhibition of Bcl-2 and NF-kB in LPC028, but not in LPC006 cells. The Akt signaling is involved in the expression/localization of the key glucose transporter Glut1, and increased glucose metabolism was associated to resistance to axitinib (Hudson et al, Cell Death Dis 2014). Remarkably, the resistant LPC006 cells were characterized by overexpression of Glut1, which was not reduced after exposure to Akt inhibitors. However, the novel Glut1 inhibitor PGL13 enhanced perifosine and perifosine/gemcitabine-induced cell death. In conclusion, our findings support the analysis of phospho-Akt1 expression as both a prognostic and a predictive biomarker, for the rational development of new combination therapies targeting the Akt pathway in PDAC. Finally, inhibition of Glut1 might overcome resistance to these therapies and warrants further studies. Citation Format: Daniela Massihnia, Amir Avan, Niccola Funel, Carlotta Granchi, Filippo Minutolo, Leticia Leon, Godefridus Peters, Elisa Giovannetti. Phospho-akt: a potential resistance marker to chemotherapy and a therapy-target to restore sensitivity in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4731. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4731


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluatethe cuspal deflection of teeth restored directlyand indirectly. Material and Methods: Fortysound maxillary premolar teeth were restoredwith composite and different base materials. Widemesial-occlusal-distal cavity preparations wereperformed, with isthmus width of one third of thedistance between the cuspal tips, 3 mm occlusaland a 5 mm interproximal preparation height. Theteeth were divided into 4 groups (n = 10), accordingto the restoration type: G1) GIC-DCR (1 mm glassionomer cement base and direct restoration usingnanoparticulate composite); G2) FL-DCR (1 mm baseof flowable composite resin and direct restorationusing nanoparticulate composite); G3) GIC-ICR(1 mm glass ionomer cement base and indirectrestoration using nanoparticulate composite GICbase); G4) FL-ICR (1 mm base of flowable compositeresin and indirect restoration using nanoparticulatecomposite). The specimens were submitted tocompressive load of 50 N on the buccal and lingualcusps, in a universal testing machine. The lingualcusp microstrain (μe) measurements were executedby strain gauges. Results: The Kruskal-Wallis (5%)test was used and showed there were no significantdifferences among the microstrain values for the fourstudy groups (G1 = 1250; G2 = 1075; G3 = 1279;G4 = 937). Conclusion: It could be concluded thatthe restorative techniques and the bases employeddid not show any influences in cuspal deflection. Keywords Base materials; Cuspal defection; Composite resin; Direct restoration; Indirect restoration.


Soft microrobots based on photoresponsive materials and controlled by light fields can generate a variety of different gaits. This inherent flexibility can be exploited to maximize their locomotion performance in a given environment and used to adapt them to changing conditions. Albeit, because of the lack of accurate locomotion models, and given the intrinsic variability among microrobots, analytical control design is not possible. Common data-driven approaches, on the other hand, require running prohibitive numbers of experiments and lead to very sample-specific results. Here we propose a probabilistic learning approach for light-controlled soft microrobots based on Bayesian Optimization (BO) and Gaussian Processes (GPs). The proposed approach results in a learning scheme that is data-efficient, enabling gait optimization with a limited experimental budget, and robust against differences among microrobot samples. These features are obtained by designing the learning scheme through the comparison of different GP priors and BO settings on a semi-synthetic data set. The developed learning scheme is validated in microrobot experiments, resulting in a 115% improvement in a microrobot's locomotion performance with an experimental budget of only 20 tests. These encouraging results lead the way toward self-adaptive microrobotic systems based on light-controlled soft microrobots and probabilistic learning control.


This work describes a novel Fe3O4@SiO2@polypyrrole magnetic nanocomposite and its application in the preconcentration of Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions. The parameters affecting the preconcentration procedure were optimised by a Box–Behnken design using response surface methodology. Three variables (extraction time, magnetic sorbent amount, and pH) were selected as the main factors affecting the sorption step, while four variables (type, volume and concentration of the eluent, and elution time) were selected as the main factors in the optimisation study of the elution step. Following the sorption and elution of analytes, the ions were quantified by FAAS. The limits of detection were 0.3 and 1.2 ng mL−1 for Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions, respectively. All the relative standard deviations were less than 8.8%. The obtained sorption capacities (in mg g−1) of this new sorbent were 120 for Cd(II) and 98 for Ni(II). Ultimately, this nanocomposite was successfully applied to the rapid extraction of trace quantities of heavy metal ions from seafood samples, and satisfactory results were obtained.


The geometry of sediment fill within oceanic trenches will always tend toward dynamic equilibrium, such that there is no net sediment flux in or out of the system. By assuming a steady state trench wedge geometry, an unknown parameter such as sedimentation rate or subduction rate can be determined if the other controlling parameters are known. The application of such a simple technique is of particular use in the deep marine realm where process rates are particularly difficult to measure directly. However, trench systems that have been drilled yield present-day sedimentation rate values that are typically an order of magnitude less than those predicted by the geometrical model, suggesting that modern trench systems are currently decreasing in size following a dramatic decrease in sediment supply at the end of the last cold climatic period. Furthermore, for large accretionary complexes to have been built, average Cenozoic trench sedimentation rates must have been far greater than those observed today.


Improvement of therapy for severe heart failure due to ischemic cardiomyopathy and myocardial infarction is an important issue of cardiovascular medicine. Recently, regenerative therapy is seemed to be one of the possible ways to solve this problem. There are many potential cell sources for regenerative medicine, such as skeletal myocytes, bone marrow stem cells, endothelial progenitor cells, cardiac progenitor cells and embryonic stem (ES) cells. ES cells are highly proliferative and suitable for mass production and many protocols have been established to ensure selective cardiomyocyte induction. Current studies have successfully generated induced pluripotent stem(iPS) cells from human fibroblasts by the gene transfer of 4 transcription factors that are strongly expressed in ES cells: Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. iPS cells can differentiate into all 3 germ layer-derived cells, including cardiomyocytes as same as ES cells and are syngeneic, indicating that they can become an ideal cell source for regenerative medicine.


OBJECTIVE
in spite of the high incidence/prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) and the beneficial effects derived from the consumption of goat milk, scarce is known about the recovery of the anemia following a balanced diet accompanied by the intake of goat milk of goat. The aim of the current study is to assess, in rats with experimentally induced nutritional iron deficiency anemia, the effects of goat or cow milk-based diets, supplied during 30 days, on the recovery of the anemia and the efficiency of regeneration of the hemoglobin.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
40 male Wistar albino rats newly weaned were divided at random in two experimental groups and they were fed ad libitum for 40 days with AIN-93G diet, either with normal iron content (control group, 45 mg/kg diet), or low iron content (anaemic group, 5 mg/kg diet). Samples of blood form the caudal vein were collected for the hematologic control of the anemia. Later, both experimental groups (control and iron deficient) were fed for 30 days with goat or cow milk- based diets. After finishing the experimental period and previous anesthesia the animals were withdrawn by canulation of the abdominal aorta, and the obtained blood was gathered in tubes with EDTA as anticoagulant for the later determination of hematologic parameters and the efficiency of regeneration of the hemoglobin.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
after the consumption of a diet with low iron content during 40 days, the rats were anaemic, with a concentration of hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum iron, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), serum ferritin and low transferrin (p < 0.001), whereas the levels of platelets and the total iron binding capacity (TIBC) were raised (p < 0.001), findings consistent with the anemia induced experimentally in the animals. The efficiency of regeneration of the hemoglobin was higher in control and anaemic rats fed goat milk-based diet in comparison with those fed cow milk-based diet (p < 0.001) due to, partly, to the major levels of serum iron and hemoglobin, and to the best nutritive utilization of iron in the animals that consumed the goat milk-based diet thanks to the excellent nutritional characteristics of this type of milk.

CONCLUSION
the consumption during 30 days of goat or cow milk-based diets favors the recovery of the iron deficiency anemia, especially with the goat milk, due to the major efficiency of regeneration of the hemoglobin, index that shows the quantity of iron of the diet used for the synthesis of hemoglobin. Therefore, it would be recommendable the consumption of goat milk in the context of a balanced diet in healthy populations and, especially in those at risk of suffering iron deficiency.


Under natural viewing conditions, complex stimuli such as human faces are typically looked at several times in succession, implying that their recognition may unfold across multiple eye fixations. Although electrophysiological (EEG) experiments on face recognition typically prohibit eye movements, participants still execute frequent (micro)saccades on the face, each of which generates its own visuocortical response. This finding raises the question of whether the fixation-related potentials (FRPs) evoked by these tiny gaze shifts also contain psychologically valuable information about face processing. Here we investigated this question by co-recording EEG and eye movements in an experiment with emotional faces (happy, angry, neutral). Deconvolution modeling was used to separate the stimulus-ERPs to face onset from the FRPs generated by subsequent microsaccades-induced refixations on the face. As expected, stimulus-ERPs exhibited typical emotion effects, with a larger early posterior negativity (EPN) for happy/angry compared to neutral faces. Eye-tracking confirmed that participants made small saccades within the face in 98% of the trials. However, while each saccade produced a strong response over visual areas, this response was unaffected by the face's emotional expression, both for the first and for subsequent (micro)saccades. This finding suggests that the face's affective content is rapidly evaluated after stimulus onset, leading to only a short-lived sensory enhancement by arousing stimuli that does not repeat itself during immediate refixations. Methodologically, our work demonstrates how eye-tracking and deconvolution modeling can be used to extract several brain responses from each EEG trial, providing insights into neural processing at different latencies after stimulus onset.


By late 18th or early 19th century, albino rats became the most commonly used experimental animals in numerous biomedical researches, as they have been recognized as the preeminent model mammalian system. But, the precise correlation between age of laboratory rats and human is still a subject of debate. A number of studies have tried to detect these correlations in various ways, But, have not successfully provided any proper association. Thus, the current review attempts to compare rat and human age at different phases of their life. The overall findings indicate that rats grow rapidly during their childhood and become sexually mature at about the sixth week, but attain social maturity 5-6 months later. In adulthood, every day of the animal is approximately equivalent to 34.8 human days (i.e., one rat month is comparable to three human years). Numerous researchers performed experimental investigations in albino rats and estimated, in general, while considering their entire life span, that a human month resembles every-day life of a laboratory rat. These differences signify the variations in their anatomy, physiology and developmental processes, which must be taken into consideration while analyzing the results or selecting the dose of any research in rats when age is a crucial factor.


Premature death in patients with clinical evidence of severe right ventricular strain and no obvious predisposing condition has been recognised for over a century. In 1952 Paul Wood distinguished this syndrome of primary pulmonary hypertension from the pulmonary vascular disease that complicates some congenital heart lesions,1 recognising the very poor prognosis that continues to characterise this rare disorder. Its yearly incidence is between 1/200 000 and 1/1000 000, with the result that progress in understanding its pathology and interrupting its natural course has been slow. The overall mean survival remains under five years despite a variety of new treatments.

As in many systemic arterial diseases, there is increasing evidence that primary pulmonary hypertension is an endothelial disorder. The characteristic vascular obliteration that is observed as the condition progresses is thought to be the end stage of intense vasospasm and thrombosis, in different proportions in the predominantly "thromboembolic" and predominantly "plexogenic" histological types. The distinction between these as pathological or clinical entities is blurred, and it is likely that disruption of the antithrombotic and vasodilator functions of the pulmonary endothelium leads to irreversible structural pulmonary vascular disease. The endothelial products that are discussed most widely in this context are nitric oxide and prostacyclin, both of which are vasodilators …


Abstract The article attempts to contribute to the global discussion on the social aspects of the functioning of protected areas. It explores the attitudes of local communities towards national parks and the determinants of those attitudes. The problem is presented using the example of Ojców National Park (Pol. OPN), a small-area national park located in the suburban zone of Kraków (Poland) and subject to strong pressure of tourism and suburbanisation. The analysis is based on interviews with people residing within the boundaries or buffer zone of the OPN. The residents are proud to live in a scenic location; they tend to perceive the national park in the context of its significant natural value rather than its administration and the related restrictions, and mostly approve of its existence. There is a high support for implementing the participative model of local area management. At the same time, however, the residents' preferred methods of area management are in conflict with the need to protect the Park's natural and landscape values. The residents favour commercial tourism infrastructure within the protected area and residential housing development in its close vicinity. The residents' attitudes towards the Park are also shaped to a large extent by complex factors relating to the area's history and its location within the suburban zone of a major city.


The idea of a kaleidic economy or society is strongly associated with George Shackle and his vision of Keynesian kaleidics. This essay asserts that the central thrust of the Austrian tradition in economic analysis can be described by the term Viennese kaleidics. In either version of kaleidics, the analytical stress is placed on treating time seriously and not just notionally, which leads in turn to recognition that economic processes are better treated as turbulent than as equilibrated. While that turbulence is a natural feature of the unavoidable incompleteness of intertemporal coordination, it is subject to mitigation. This essay explains how it is that individual liberty and private ordering is generally superior to state policy and public ordering in calming the turbulence that naturally characterizes a kaleidic society.


Factors contributing to modifications in the capability for enzyme adaptation as an expression of aging are reviewed. Specific examples of altered enzyme adaptations during aging include the responses of hepatic glucokinase activity to glucose and hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase activity to starvation in Sprague-Dawley rats. These impaired enzyme adaptations apparently are not the consequence of alterations in hepatic function during aging. Instead, they reflect disturbances in extrahepatic hormonal regulatory mechanisms. Specific examples include modifications in the control of circulating levels of insulin glucagon, corticosteroids, and thyroid hormones. Age-dependent changes in the regulation of circulating levels of insulin probably originate within the impaired ability of pancreatic islets of Langerhans to secrete the hormone in response to glucose. The rationale for exploiting this experimental approach as a means to understand biological aging is discussed.


A C-2C ladder-based DAC architecture is potentially very attractive because of its small area, high speed and low power consumption. However, the parasitic capacitances on the interconnecting nodes of a C-2C ladder significantly deteriorate the linearity of the DAC and restrict its application. In this paper, a pseudo C-2C ladder structure is proposed. It maintains the advantages of conventional C-2C ladders and effectively compensates for the parasitic effects by adjusting the capacitor ratio a in a C-2/spl alpha/C ladder. As a result, high linearity may be achieved in standard CMOS technologies. The technique is illustrated with the design of a 12-bit CMOS DAC.


ABSTRACT Glacier fluctuations constitute an important indicator for climate change, both current and past. Glacier mass balance measurements are made to correctly reflect the state of the glacier. Very few studies have been made to study the representability of each point measurement to the average mass balance of a particular glacier, an exercise that requires a large number of measurements. Such studies are rare due to the practical constraints and costs involved in collecting data. On Storglaciären, Sweden, a very dense system of measurements of both distributed winter (∼100 points km−2) and summer (∼15 points km−2) balance allows a spatial analysis of the mass balance components. The results show that local summer balance values are strongly correlated to the average summer balance value of the glacier. Local winter balance values are also generally well correlated to the average winter balance value, but small areas on the glacier exhibit no correlation. These areas correspond to wind-eroded areas of low accumulation on the glacier. The local net balance values are also well correlated to the average net balance value, indicating that the effect of the summer balance is strong and, at least partly, counter-balancing the spatial inhomogeneities in the local spatial winter balance values. These results show that detailed knowledge of both mass balance components and their spatial variability may be necessary to safely use a sparse system of measurements points. On Storglaciären, this is especially true for winter balance measurements since the spatial snow distribution is highly variable and not necessarily representative of the glacier average at each measurement point. The results strictly apply to Storglaciären but similar effects should be present on most glaciers in a similar setting; the results thus serve as an example of conditions that can be expected on a typical mid-latitude to subarctic glacier.


Background: Orientation of the acetabular component with the transverse acetabular ligament (TAL) to provide optimal anteversion has been reported to reduce dislocation rates. The usefulness of TAL as a landmark is controversial because there are large variations in TAL orientation. We examined anteversion of TAL preoperatively to improve its usefulness.
Methods: Three-dimensional computed tomography (3DCT) and successive roentgenography were used to analyze 42 hips that suffered idiopathic necrosis of the femoral head.
Findings: The mean operative TAL anteversion in the supine position was 14.9° ± 8.4° (range -6.5 to 30.5). There are large individual variations of TAL orientation in supine position. When the acetabular component was placed in accordance with the operative anteversion of the TAL angle in the supine position and at 40° inclination, the radiographic acetabular component anteversion was 11.3° ± 6.5° (range -5.0° to 22.9°). Six of 42 (14.3%) acetabular component was outside the safe zones of Lewinnek. The mean operative TAL anteversion in the standing position was 18.0° ± 10.8° (range-15.8 to 35.8). There was statistical difference between operative TAL anteversion in the supine and standing positions. In addition, the individual variations of TAL orientation were greater in standing position.
Conclusions: When acetabular component was placed in accordance with the operative anteversion of the TAL, more than 10% of component was outside the safe zone. Although anteversion of TAL have substantial variation, preoperative evaluation of TAL using 3D-CT increases the intraoperative reference and the accuracy of determining acetabular component orientation.


Rorty has collected a selection from his vast number of essays under the title [i]Consequences of Pragmatism[/i]. Spanning the time range of his work from the early 1970s to the early 1980s, they represent Rorty's development and exposition of his views after he made the sudden turn from analytic philosophy to his anti-essentialist pragmatism. Many of the essays are meant to explain how his view contrasts with the tradition in philosophy he is arguing against, which he identifies as the Cartesian-Kantian one, as well as the analytic philosophical tradition he used to belong to. However, some of the later essays also serve to defend his views against some common criticisms. Also included are essays which compare his views with those of people working or having worked along similar 'counter-tradition' lines, such as of course his inspiration Dewey, but also Heidegger, Foucault, and Cavell. – Contents : – The world well lost; – Keeping philosophy pure; – Overcoming the tradition; – Professionalized philosophy and transcendentalist culture; – Dewey's metaphysics; – Philosophy as a kind of writing; – Is there a problem about fictional discourse?; – Nineteenth-century idealism and twentieth-century textualism; – Pragmatism, relativism, and irrationalism; – Cavell on skepticism; – Method, social science, and social hope; – Philosophy in America today. M.-M. V.


The incidence in Europe is high, about 6 in 1000 births. Five percent of these babies either die or are severely damaged by the disease. In the others most infections are clinically asymptomatic in the neonatal period. In +/- 70% of all infants with congential infections relapses of chorioretinitis give rise to scars in their eyes after a follow-up of 16 years. The relapses were occurring later on both in treated and untreated infants. Most scars were in the periphery of the retina, but scars in the neighbourhood of the macula can threaten the vision. In 1--2% of these children later on uveitis impairing vision due to congenital toxoplasmosis will occur. As a control 117 children in the age 12--14 years without congenital toxoplasmosis were studied. No chorioretinitis-scars were found in the eyes although +/- 50--60% had antibodies against toxoplasmosis, resulting from an acquired infection. The problem of prevention is unsolved. There is no vaccine. Deliberately infecting girls before pregnancy is too dangerous. Screening of pregnant women is possible but no clear-cut safe therapy is available. Screening of the baby after birth is too late.


It is generally accepted that measurement errors can be obtained by calculation only as a certain "sum" of components due to various effects. It is also possible to consider as a generally accepted fact that the measurement-error components consist of random quantities or processes. Moreover, the basic problems then deal with the manner (form) of presenting (expressing, determining) the measurement-error components and the method (way) of summing them up. Opinions here are divided between two general opposite tendencies. These two tendencies are very characteristic for modern metrology. One of them, it appears to us, reflects the striving of certain experts, mainly instrument makers, to preserve under new conditions the established concepts and methods. The second tendency reflects the striving of the other group of experts, mainly theoretical metrologists, to utilize to the greatest extent the achievements of modern theory, especially of mathematics, with the object of developing strict methods for evaluating measurement errors.


Three types of nonlinear transformations of the joint spectrum in nonlinear joint transform correlators (NLJTC's) are investigated with the purpose of achieving the highest discrimination capability in target location in a cluttered background: logarithmic transformation and the (1/k)th law transformation in combination with the limitation of the signal dynamic range and binarization by thresholding. By computer simulation carried out on a set of test images, it is shown that application of these transformations in NLJTC's may considerably improve the correlator's capacity to locate and recognize properly small objects on a cluttered background, provided there is proper selection of nonlinearity parameters. It is also shown that a moderate blur of the joint spectrum in such NLJTC's before nonlinear transformation is permissible, which simplifies the requirements of correlator optical alignment, the resolution power of correlator electronic components, or both.


The emergence of the Union de Naciones Sudamericanas (UNASUR), combining the trade blocs of Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations, effectively turns the continent into a single intergovernmental organization. On this basis, the continent may be able to provide a stronger counterbalance to the hemispheric hegemon to the north and render the Organization of American States (OAS) futile. But, this article argues, the long-term success of this move will largely depend on its ability to effectively subjugate or control historical rivalries and divergent national interests between the member states marked by many differences among them; to build institutional capacity and maintain domestic political stability while solidifying democracy in the region, among a number of factors.