Exposome is a critical dimension in the precision medicine paradigm. Effective representation of exposomics knowledge is instrumental to melding nongenetic factors into data analytics for clinical research. There is still limited work in (1) modeling exposome entities and relations with proper integration to mainstream ontologies and (2) systematically studying their presence in clinical context. Through selected ontological relations, we developed a template-driven approach to identifying exposome concepts from the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS). The derived concepts were evaluated in terms of literature coverage and the ability to assist in annotating clinical text. The generated semantic model represents rich domain knowledge about exposure events (454 pairs of relations between exposure and outcome). Additionally, a list of 5667 disorder concepts with microbial etiology was created for inferred pathogen exposures. The model consistently covered about 90% of PubMed literature on exposure-induced iatrogenic diseases over 10 years (2001–2010). The model contributed to the efficiency of exposome annotation in clinical text by filtering out 78% of irrelevant machine annotations. Analysis into 50 annotated discharge summaries helped advance our understanding of the exposome information in clinical text. This pilot study demonstrated feasibility of semiautomatically developing a useful semantic resource for exposomics.


In the political turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s, music emerged as an essential form of social and political engagement in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. However, in spite of the similar historical context, the música popular brasileira (MPB) of this period is rarely considered in connection with the nueva canción latinoamericana. This paper analyzes how these distinct and parallel movements responded to social and political needs in the years prior to and during the military dictatorships in Brazil and the Southern Cone. Exploring the qualities typical of the nueva canción found in the MPB songs of Geraldo Vandré, Chico Buarque, and Milton Nascimento underscores the similarities between the two categories. Through a comparative study, I argue that these musical forms responded to parallel social and political needs in distinct ways in order to reinforce specific discursive constructions of national identity and popular culture, as well as to confirm existing understandings of politically committed music.


We present a theoretical light curve model of the recurrent nova M31N 2008-12a, the current record holder for the shortest recurrence period (1 year). We combined interior structures calculated using a Henyey-type evolution code with optically thick wind solutions of hydrogen-rich envelopes, which give the proper mass-loss rates, photospheric temperatures, and luminosities. The light curve model is calculated for a 1.38 M ⊙ ?> white dwarf (WD) with an accretion rate of 1.6 × 10 − 7 M ⊙ ?> yr−1. This model shows a very high effective temperature ( log T ph ?> ( K ) ≥ 4.97 ?> ) and a very small wind mass-loss rate ( M ˙ wind ≤ 9.3 × 10 − 6 M ⊙ ?> yr−1) even at the maximum expansion of the photosphere. These properties are consistent with the faint optical peak of M31N 2008-12a because the brightness of the free–free emission is proportional to the square of the mass-loss rate. The model well reproduces the short supersoft X-ray turn-on time of 6 days and turn-off time of 18 days after the outburst. The ejecta mass of our model is calculated to be 6.3 × 10 − 8 M ⊙ ?> , corresponding to 37% of the accreted mass. The growth rate of the WD is 0.63 times the mass accretion rate, making it a progenitor for a SN Ia. Our light curve model predicts a bright supersoft X-ray phase one or two days before the optical peak. We encourage detection of this X-ray flash in future outbursts.


Natural gas dehydration system used absorption method to remove water vapor in wet gas. Glycol solutions are the commonly used liquid absorbent in dehydration process. There are three types of glycol that are typically used in industries but any of them gives a different water dew point temperature. In this study, a HYSYS model of the plant was developed and used to investigate the important design parameters. Water dew point phase behavior was determined for different types of glycol solutions. The investigation revealed that triethylene glycol (TEG) system is adequate to condition the gas to achieve a lower water dew point. At the other hand, study was done on improving the glycol-water absorption rate by varying the glycol flow rate, number of equilibrium stages, reboiler temperature as well as the inlet gas temperature. Lastly, comparisons between theoretical and simulation results are justified to determine whether it shows a good validation of the result to meet the requirements of current industry practices.
In today's competitive economy, Engineer must become as productive as possible. One means of increasing this productivity is to use process simulation packages. Hence this paper looks for proffer solution options for optimizing and maintaining the natural gas dehydration plant by using HYSYS simulator software.


Background: Patients with cirrhosis develop ascites for physiologic reasons that are unrelated to malignant progression. However, physicians performing paracentesis in these patients, often send fluid to the cytology laboratory, sometimes specifically looking for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have investigated the diagnostic yield of these specimens. Materials and Methods: A computerized pathology database search for all ascites fluid cases submitted to the cytology laboratory at a major liver transplant center between November 2004 and April 2008 was performed. Clinical history was obtained for each case. Patients with cirrhosis, with or without HCC, were included in the study. Cytologic diagnoses were compiled and follow-up information was obtained for cases with non-negative findings. Results: A total of 167 specimens from 133 patients ranging from 29 to 85 years of age (mean 56 years) were submitted over the said time period. The causes of cirrhosis included: alcohol - 44; Hepatitis C - 30; Hepatitis B - 6; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis - 7; cryptogenic - 18; other single causes - 6; and multifactorial (alcohol and hepatitis viruses) - 22. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was present or strongly suspected in 17 patients and had been previously resected in two others. The status of fifteen patients was post liver transplant, with recurrent liver failure. Human immunodeficiency virus was present in seven patients and eight patients had a history of non hepatic malignancies. Among the specimens, 162 were negative, two had atypical lymphocytes worked up for lymphoma, and three had atypical epithelioid cells; none was positive for HCC. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated a mesothelial origin for the atypical epithelioid cells in two cases; in the third case, the patient died shortly after the specimen was collected, with no radiological evidence of HCC. Conclusion: Ascites fluid cytology specimens in patients with cirrhosis, even those known or suspected to have HCC, are almost always negative. Atypical cells seen in such specimens should be treated with skepticism since the likelihood that they represent peritoneal spread of HCC is low..


Internet technologies have made rapid progress, bringing convenience to our daily life. On the other hand, Internet overuse (IOU) and Internet addiction (IA) have reportedly become serious health and social problems across the globe. Recently Internet gaming disorder criteria have been proposed in the section of Conditions for Further Study of DSM5. Many surveys have reported that many IOU & IA patients have contracted other mental disorders and exhibit some psychiatric and physical symptoms (e.g., weight loss, reduced ability to exercise, nutrition disorder). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleeping disorders, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, and phobic anxiety disorder are extremely common comorbid mental disorders (CMD) with IUD & IA. Because CMD breaks the usual rhythm of the activities of daily living of IOU & IA patients (e.g., eating meals and sleeping), and prevents the affected patients from participating in social activities (e.g., going to schools or work, participating in sports or other hobbies), CMD causes exacerbation of all IOU & IA symptoms. It has been reported that effecting a cure of some aspects of CMD often leads to the relief of IOU & IA. The diagnosis and the treatment of CMD are therefore very important.


In vitro, HIV-1 infection of human fetal glial cells initiates a noncytopathic, productive infection that results in a long-term persistence during which the viral genome remains latent. The cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) reactivate HIV-1 gene expression in these cells, leading to production of infectious virus. Here we show that treatment of human fetal glial cells with TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta increase expression of the reporter gene chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) when placed under the control of the HIV-1 5' LTR. We also show that treatment of human fetal glial cells with TNF-alpha leads to increased binding of the nuclear transcription factor NF-kappa B (p50/p65) to a consensus kappa B-binding site present in the HIV-1 5'LTR. Our results suggest that TNF-alpha stimulation of HIV-1 gene expression in primary cultures of human fetal glial cells is mediated by an increase in binding of NF-kappa B (p50/p65) to the HIV-1 LTR. This is the first report documenting NF-kappa B-binding activity in primary cultures of human fetal glial cells.


Improving access to sustainable energy services and reducing the carbon footprint and deforestation of developing countries presents a substantial challenge to the development industry. This paper aims to critically assess two prevalent business models emerging to meet this challenge: financial institution–technology provider partnerships and the one-stop-shop, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model. The authors find that collaborations between financial institutions and energy providers need to address grey areas such as product quality standards, marketing, and post-sales services, and incorporate feedback loops to continually evaluate the performance of the partnership. Pay-as-you-go presents an intriguing business case to leapfrog more traditional energy access programmes. However, more robust results from the field need to be reported before the PAYG movement can claim success. Ultimately, collaborative and integrated actions by all stakeholders are needed to achieve universal energy access.


Islam as both religion and socioeconomic system is based on five main pillars, that
is – five basic acts considered mandatory by Muslims, summarized in the hadith of
Gabriel. One of them is zakāt (almsgiving), i.e. giving 2.5% of one's wealth to the
poor and needy.
In contrary to Christian religion, where question of charity is rather of a voluntary
matter, the role of zakāt in Islam is much more rigidly described. Almsgiving
is considered as a duty of a pious Muslim towards the poor. Thus in Islamic
economy, strongly based on Islam principles given by Allah to Muhammad, zakāt
is imposed by law and is not considered a charity but duty rather. The notion of
zakāt is mentioned in Qur-an over a 100 times, solely or in conjunction with other
commandments. On a basis that zakāt is to be paid as a part of total wealth exceeding
given minimum wealth (nisab) it is then justifiable to say that zakāt is
principally a tax.
A role of this essay is to shed some light on a utilisation and role of zakāt in
Islamic economies in socioeconomic context, with an example of Islamic Republic
of Pakistan, where in 1980 the Zakāt Ordinance was imposed. The concept of
zakāt is present in many Islamic countries, but its nature varies, being dependent
from the interpretation of religious law in a given country. Everywhere though, its
social role as an important tool maintaining social justice is strongly expressed.
Of course zakāt system also has its drawbacks and is subjected to much criticism.
The article aims to present both advantages and negative aspects of zakāt.


Isoform patterns of six lysosomal glycosidases were studied in leukemic lymphoid cells phenotypically related to B and T cells at distinct stages of differentiation. In all types of cells, the activity of glycosidases under study was expressed in two major isoforms. No correlation was observed between isoform patterns and cell phenotypes. The beta-hexosaminidase isoform ratios for phenotypically related leukemic lymphoid cells but isolated from different sources (blood and spleen) differed. It was suggested that cell localization affects isoform expression. An anomalous alpha-mannosidase was detected in lymphoid cells from lymph nodes, while it was lacking in the phenotypically related blood lymphoid cells from the same patients. Isoform I of beta-hexosaminidase was recorded in lymphoid cells of patients with anemias.


My paper explores contemporary socio-political aspects of love-as-power within the newly emerging context of feminist ethics of love, as well as in a broader sense of neoliberal commodification of self-centrism and philosophical urgency for articulating love as togetherness, responsibility and solidarity with others. My theoretical analysis begins with the tensions between the early 20th century collective consciousness represented by the feminist socialist formulations of love as responsibility for the outside world and the existentialist anxiety as related to individual alienation. My analysis culminates in the re-emergence of non-monogamous bonding in Europe as a trope for a new precariousness of family enactments extending beyond the nuclear heteronormativity in the 21st century.


Wave scattering problems in irregular waveguides are investigated. The proposed algorithm for solving such problems is based on the reduction of the scattering problem to an interior boundary value problem in the irregular section. This problem is solved in general form by the boundary integral equation method and then the solutions in regular and irregular sections are matched. The scalar Dirichlet problem with excitation by a wave, incident from infinity, is considered. The approach is applied to a test problem and numerical results are compared with the ones obtained by the cross section method.


In this paper, we use constrained cross-section regressions to disentangle the effects of various factors on real estate security returns in 21 countries. A better knowledge of the risk factors driving real estate returns is crucial, whether a pure real estate portfolio is constructed or whether real estate is considered as an alternative asset class within the traditional stock portfolio. Besides a common factor, 'pure' country, size, and value/growth factors are considered. The value/growth measure that is used in this paper is a unique indicator developed by Salomon Smith Barney (SSB). It provides for each stock the relative importance of the value and growth components, rather than using a binary classification. The value/growth factor is found to have a substantial and increasing effect on returns over the analyzed period February 1990-April 2002. Country factors are important determinants of real estate security returns also. Statistical analysis of the residuals indicates that additional 'hidden' factors most likely exist. These statistical factors are shown to explain about one third of specific returns on international real estate securities. Nevertheless, as is the case for traditional stock portfolios, stock picking keeps all its importance for real estate stocks as well.


Multiagent systems, being distributed and autonomous, provide the potential for more efficient, component-based development approaches. The massive parallelism intrinsic to these systems promises greatly enhanced performance. However, the price of these potential benefits is often paid in survivability. Distributed multiagent systems have typically failed to provide reliable, assured performance even in well-controlled environments. DARPA challenged the team to achieve this survivability in a way that would convince other potential customers that they could also make their DMAS applications survivable. In response, we developed and applied a generic methodology for survivable DMASs.


Art behind Islamic architecture actually based on geometric patterns, developed through a continuous practice over the centuries after centuries by the influences of various earlier cultures such as Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Central Asian and Persian. Basic shapes like squares and rectangles play significant role in Islamic architecture.The reason is, it might recall the principles that govern the order of the world'Purity', could only be resembled by pure forms. The façades built by rectangular bricks tend to shape the built form in regular modules. This brickwork casts shadows in strong desert sunlight and creates a three-dimensional effect as light is welcoming message from the Devine source, as it is regarded in all religions. In addition, various pointed starry patterns are common practice and get extremely complex when the outer points are joined together and intersections are connected in a systematic way. Another mode is based on organism of floral forms which recalls the feminine nature of life giving. Again, nobody will argue about the contribution of calligraphy is the most patronized art for decoration. Why have Islamic world choose this universal phenomena? As Allah's creation is pre-decided, the credit of all creativity belongs to the almighty. Also to his messenger, the holy prophet; who taught us to think in this way. The world is only a shadow of real world; here man is on a bewildered search. May be their firm belief; what man can perceive, can only discover the geometric forms to constitute designs which were already existed before in the 'real world'. Discovered geometric forms, therefore, tries to exemplify that perfect reality because creation of Allah has been obscured by the sins of mankindArt of the complete surrender.


The modified Fractal Attrition Equation (mFAE) models the casualties produced by Map Aware Non-uniform Automata (MANA), an agent based combat modelling distillation, at each MANA time step. The mFAE has three important differences from the simple early twentieth century models of casualties that used only the numbers on each side to make predictions. Firstly, only those agents within range of the enemy may inflict casualties. Secondly, the detection range is assumed to be greater than the range of weapons and a fitting factor assumed to represent the gap between these two ranges, is introduced. This builds in one of the assumptions of Network Centric Warfare, that you will be able to see your enemies before they can shoot at you. Thirdly, and novelly, a fractal dimension is introduced. We postulate that the important part of the information used in calculating the fractal dimension has already been incorporated into the model through the consideration of range. We test this hypothesis by comparing the outcomes of the mFAE with and without the fractal term on three scenarios: that used by the developers of the mFAE; best practice MANA tactics from the literature; and a rout scenario. When the two models are scaled to fit the MANA casualties there is no significant difference in fit. We conclude that the fractal term in the mFAE is redundant.

 References J. V. Chase, Sea fights, a mathematical investigation of the effect of superiority of force in . RG 8, Box 109, XTAV(1902), Naval War College Archives. F. W. Lanchester, Aircraft in warfare: the dawn of the fourth arm---No. V, The principle of concentration, Engineering 98 : 422--423, (1914). http://www.archive.org/details/aircraftinwarfar00lancrich N. J. MacKay, Lanchester combat models, Mathematics Today , 42 , pp.170--173, 2006. http://arXiv.org/abs/math/0606300v1 T. W. Lucas and T. Turkes Fitting Lanchester models to the battles of Kursk and Ardennes. Nav Res Log 51 : 95--116 (2004). G. C. McIntosh and M. K. Lauren, Incorporating fractal concepts into equations of attrition for military conflicts, Journal of the Operational Research Society , 2 (59): 703--713, (2008). doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602383 M. K. Lauren Firepower concentration in cellular automaton combat models---an alternative to Lanchester, Journal of the Operational Research Society , 53 : 672--679, (2002). doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601355 M. K. Lauren, J. M. Smith, J. Moffat and N. D. Perry Using the fractal attrition equation to construct a metamodel of the MANA cellular automaton combat model , The Technical Cooperation Program, Joint Systems and Analysis Group, Technical Panel 3, November 2005. G. C. McIntosh, D. P. Galligan, M. A. Anderson and M. K. Lauren, MANA (Map Aware Non-uniform Automata) Version 4 User Manual , DTA Technical Note 2007/3 NR 1465. http://arxiv.org/abs/nlin/0607051v1 J. Moffat, J. Smith and S. Witty, Emergent behaviour: Theory and experimentation using the mana model, Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences---JAMDS , 2006 , pp.1--14, 2006. doi:10.1155/JAMDS/2006/54846 D. R. Shine, An Exploratory Study of the Army-as-a-System Core Skills: Comparing the Effectiveness of Warfighting Tactics Using MANA , DSTO-TR-1663, (2005), DSTO (Australia). P. Grassberger and I. Procaccia, Characterization of strange attractors, Phys Rev Lett 50 (5): 346--349 (1983). doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.50.346 J. G. Eisenhauer, Regression through the Origin, Teaching Statistics , 25 (3): 76--80, (2003).


Chemotherapy typically involves the use of specific chemodrugs to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells, but the frequent emergence of a variety of multidrug-resistant cancer cells poses a tremendous threat to our combat against cancer. The fundamental causes of multidrug resistance (MDR) have been studied for decades, and can be generally classified into two types: one is associated with the activation of diverse drug efflux pumps, which are responsible for translocating intracellular drug molecules out of the cells; the other is linked with some non-efflux pump-related mechanisms, such as antiapoptotic defense, enhanced DNA repair ability, and powerful antioxidant systems. To overcome MDR, intense efforts have been made to develop synergistic therapeutic strategies by introducing MDR inhibitors or combining chemotherapy with other therapeutic modalities, such as phototherapy, gene therapy, and gas therapy, in the hope that the drug-resistant cells can be sensitized toward chemotherapeutics. In particular, nanotechnology-based drug delivery platforms have shown the potential to integrate multiple therapeutic agents into one system. In this review, the focus was on the recent development of nanostrategies aiming to enhance the efficiency of chemotherapy and overcome the MDR of cancer in a synergistic manner. Different combinatorial strategies are introduced in detail and the advantages as well as underlying mechanisms of why these strategies can counteract MDR are discussed. This review is expected to shed new light on the design of advanced nanomedicines from the angle of materials and to deepen our understanding of MDR for the development of more effective anticancer strategies. This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease.


The modeling of a customer experience realized through a service blueprint is useful for visualizing the structures and processes involved in its production. However, the classical service blueprint fails to consider the contribution of human factors—motivation, emotion, satisfaction, etc.—that are essential elements of service interactions and can represent important risks of non-quality. Consequently, we have developed an enhanced service blueprint dedicated to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), which includes the human factor dimension. In order to take into account the human factor dimension in the service blueprinting syntax, we include a sociogram. A sociogram is a graph whose nodes are linked together by arrows expressing sociological and psychological variables. Thus we are able to measure and visually identify the areas at risk in an integrated manner, those which are typically attached to the dominant human factor component of service productions. To illustrate this new ERM modeling concept, we have developed a case study related to a service at the reception of a luxury hotel. We are thus able to show the advantages of using the service blueprinting approach compared to the classical risk mapping process in the context of ERM.


The present study focuses on the deficient learning of health science students in the General Chemistry course in the first level higher education, specifically regarding the topic of aqueous dissolutions in terms of the meaning of pH and how to determine it. The causes of this problem are: i) the difficulty relating the theory to the practice, ii) the lack of strategies that help and motivate learning, iii) the inability to understand and resolve problems or exercises, and iv) a deficiency on basic mathematical aptitudes for application in resolving problems and exercises, among others. The research considered the academic results obtained by students of various careers in the area of health sciences students in the past, to subsequently determine the research group, resulting it the career of nursing students. To achieve this type of learning, the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was applied, together with the metacognitive strategy of Conceptual Maps (CM) and feedback & self-correction in practical laboratory activities. This study was carried out at a university and involved nursing students because they have many difficulties learning experimental sciences, especially chemistry, because the students of other careers do not have many weaknesses in this science, being evidenced in the results at end of the semester. The sample experimental group consisted of 336 nursing students and the control group 420 students of nutrition and dietetics and dentistry taking the unit "General Chemistry", who provided all the information for this study.


For developing broader application of biobased polymers, graft copolymers and comb polymers having poly(lactic acid) (PLA) side chains have been synthesized by using a macromonomer technique. PLA macromonomers (MMm) having a methacryloyl polymerizable group with different PLA chain length with an average length m = 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, and 30 were prepared via ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide using hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) initiator catalyzed by Sn(Oct)(2). Radical polymerization behaviors of these macromonomers were examined. Radical copolymerization of MMm (m = 4, 6, and 8), with vinyl monomers like n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) and n-butyl acrylate (BA) in water as the reaction medium, gave stable miniemulsions of poly[n-butyl (meth)acrylate-graft-lactic acid]s [PB(M)A-g-PLAm]. MMm with m value higher than 12, however, gave aggregate products in a minor amount besides miniemulsions in a major amount, producing not a stable emulsion system of graft copolymers. The solution copolymerization, on the other hand, produced a wider variety of the graft copolymers, where a wider range of MMm (even m ≥ 12) can be employed. In a 1,4-dioxane solution, the radical copolymerization of MMm with BMA and methyl methacrylate (MMA) gave various graft copolymers [PB(M)MA-g-PLAm]. A new type of comb polymers (PMMm) having PLAm as pendant side chains were obtained by radical homopolymerization of MMm in a 1,4-dioxane solution. The graft copolymers and comb polymers obtained here are amorphous. Physical properties of the polymers from miniemulsions suggested them to be applicable for coatings or elastic materials which are environmentally desirable as a new class of biobased polymers. In addition, the present approach provided fundamental information on relationships between the length of PLA side chain and the bulk properties of the product polymers.


Previous work on the growth and location of communities has analyzed only one aspect of community growth at a time, either the location, growth, or birth of settlements. We use these three descriptive aspects of settlements to create a story that addresses when communities were created, where communities are located, and how communities grow in the United States. We study the spatial and temporal development of settlements in the United States by utilizing regression techniques to model the relationship between environmental features and settlement age, geographical location, and size. The poster illustrates the evolution of rural land to communities and how the structure of the American urban system has developed over the last two centuries.


Understanding interactions between proteins and RNA is key to deciphering the mechanisms of many important biological processes. Here we describe RNABindR, a web-based server that identifies and displays RNA-binding residues in known protein–RNA complexes and predicts RNA-binding residues in proteins of unknown structure. RNABindR uses a distance cutoff to identify which amino acids contact RNA in solved complex structures (from the Protein Data Bank) and provides a labeled amino acid sequence and a Jmol graphical viewer in which RNA-binding residues are displayed in the context of the three-dimensional structure. Alternatively, RNABindR can use a Naive Bayes classifier trained on a non-redundant set of protein–RNA complexes from the PDB to predict which amino acids in a protein sequence of unknown structure are most likely to bind RNA. RNABindR automatically displays 'high specificity' and 'high sensitivity' predictions of RNA-binding residues. RNABindR is freely available at http://bindr.gdcb.iastate.edu/RNABindR.


Cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) is present not only in the liver but also in the small intestine, where it functions as a barrier against xenobiotics. Some CYP3A4 substrates exhibit low bioavailability due to intestinal first pass metabolism. The AUCs of such CYP3A4 substrates are remarkably changed by the inhibition, induction, and saturation of CYP3A4 and so prediction of intestinal first-pass metabolism is important. In this article, factors affecting intestinal first-pass metabolism of drugs are reviewed, focusing on the intestinal metabolism by CYP3A. The methods to predict intestinal first-pass metabolism are also reviewed.


: Radiological and ultrasound examinations were performed in 34 women with recurrent urinary tract infection, as part of a prospective study of pyelonephritis. Ultrasound was found to be valuable in the recognition of new pyelonephritic scars and for screening. In assessing ultrasound and radiological findings the criteria of Hodson are equally valuable in differential diagnosis. Taking into account radiation exposure, ultrasound should not replace intravenous urography in this field, but if regular serial examinations are necessary it can be used alternately with urography.


This article highlights the educational and intermedial discourses that developed around the representation of statistics in museums and temporary exhibitions in the early twentieth century. It is especially concerned with pictorial representations of statistics and the visual realism that were attributed to the statistical media by educational reformers. The article also aims to discuss how experimentation with statistical displays around the turn of the twentieth century can be related to other media usages in the same period. In this perspective, the article describes two statistical pavilions erected by the Swedish architect Ferdinand Boberg for temporary exhibitions in Helsingborg in 1903 and Stockholm in 1909. On these occasions, Boberg developed a figurative method of representing statistics using moving models, or what he referred to as a 'statistical machinery'. This work drew on popular forms of picture statistics, but also on a much wider range of fairground attractions. At the 1909 exhibition, the statistical pavilion was placed in the entertainments section, next to staged enactments and rides, and it is argued that it was from these amusements that Boberg copied and refined techniques to attract the attention of the audience. In the conclusion of the article, there is a brief discussion on the educational, political and aesthetic visions that developed around the statistical museums at the beginning of the twentieth century, and especially in relation to the picture statistics developed by Otto Neurath.


Background and Purpose:
 Admission blood glucose in stroke patients has been proven to be an independent predictor of disability and short term mortality. Hyperglycemia has been shown to have an association with infarct volume expansion in ischemic stroke patients. Euglycemia is often achieved through the use of an intravenous insulin drip. Current guidelines caution against the use of D5W as the excess free water may exacerbate cerebral edema; rather, normal saline is preferred. The use of IV insulin with normal saline or other non-dextrose containing IV fluids without enteral nutrition has been the subject of concern for increased hypoglycemic episodes.

 Methods:
 Single center review of all patients admitted for all types acute stroke from May 1
 st
 , 2011 to April 27
 th
 , 2012 who were subsequently placed on an IV insulin drip at any time during hospitalization (n=97). Retrospective review of all hypoglycemic episodes (<70mg/dL), IV maintenance fluids, and nutrition (tube feeding, oral diet, TPN) during the course of hospitalization was conducted.

 Results:
 A total of 97 stroke patients on IV insulin were identified; 20 (20.6%) were excluded due to alternately receiving dextrose and non-dextrose containing fluids; 65 (67%) did not receive any IV fluids containing dextrose while on IV insulin; 12 (12.4%) did receive IV fluids containing dextrose. The number of patients who experienced hypoglycemia was not significantly different between groups [5 (7.7%) vs. 0 (0%), p=1.000]. In the 5 patients with hypoglycemic episodes 4 were receiving enteral feeding during these episodes; only 1 patient in the sample (1.3%) was on neither IV dextrose nor enteral nutrition during a hypoglycemic episode.

 Conclusions:
 Post-stroke hyperglycemia is safely controlled by IV insulin and non-dextrose containing solutions without significant risk for hypoglycemic episodes.


A Gram-positive, moderately halophilic bacterium, designated strain BH113T, was isolated from a salt lake located in Xinjiang Province, China. Cells of the strain were aerobic, spore-forming, motile rods with flagella. The organism grew optimally at 37 degrees C and pH 8.0 in the presence of 10 % (w/v) NaCl. A phylogenetic analysis based on comparisons of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate formed a clade with the type strains of the genus Lentibacillus. The levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between strain BH113T and Lentibacillus lacisalsi KCTC 3915T, Lentibacillus juripiscarius JCM 12147T and Lentibacillus kapialis JCM 12580T were 96.7, 96.3 and 96.1 %, respectively. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 46.2 mol% and the major isoprenoid quinone was MK-7. The peptidoglycan type was A1gamma (meso-diaminopimelic acid) and the major polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. The major fatty acids were anteiso-C15:0, iso-C16:0 and anteiso-C17:0. Therefore, on the basis of physiological, chemotaxonomic and molecular properties, strain BH113T represents a novel species within the genus Lentibacillus, for which the name Lentibacillus salis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is BH113T (=KCTC 3936T =DSM 16817T).


PURPOSE
SIR proteins (silent information regulators, sirtuins, SIRT1 - SIRT7, SIR1 - SIR7) belong to NAD+-dependent deacetylases, enzymes taking part in a catalytic reaction of deacetylation, i.e. splitting the rest of acetic acid from protein substrates. Sirtuins play an important role in many cellular processes and are, therefore, involved in the ageing process and in the regulation of cell life. The aim of this paper is to verify the statistical hypothesis assuming the correlation between the age and level of education of examined persons and the expression of selected sirtuins (SIR1 - SIR7, SIRT1 - SIRT7) at the mRNA level in the Polish population.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
197 people, aged M = 38.27 (SD = 13.19), in whom expression at the level of mRNA for SIR1 - SIR7 was determined, took part in the study (99 healthy people with a negative history of mental and somatic diseases and 98 people with diagnosed recurrent depressive disorders).

RESULTS
A significant correlation was found in the case of age of the examined individuals and the expression of SIR1 - SIR7 at the mRNA level (p < 0.001). Differences in the expression of SIR1 - SIR7 were also found in relation to the level of education (number of years of education) of the examined population (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
1. The higher the number of years of education, the higher the level of SIR1 and SIR6 expression, and the lower the level of SIR2, SIR3, SIR4, SIR5 and SIR7 expression. 2. With age, the level of SIR1 and SIR6 expression decreases and the expression of SIR2, SIR3, SIR4, SIR5 and SIR7 increases.


The Benguela Upwelling System (BUS), located between 30 and 20°S, is one of the fundamental high-productivity systems of the world ocean. The BUS has previously been studied in terms of primary productivity and ecology over glacial-interglacial timescales; however, the response and coupling with the benthic environment have received little attention. Here, for the first time, we present a high-resolution reconstruction of the BUS highlighting the link between surface and benthic productivity and their response to climatic and oceanographic changes over the last 70 ka. The study is based on benthic foraminiferal faunal analysis together with analyses of diatom assemblages, grain size of the terrigenous fraction, and stable O and C isotopic and bulk biogenic components of core GeoB3606-1. We reveal significant shifts in benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition. Tight coupling existed between the surface and bottom water environment especially throughout marine isotope stages 4 and 3 (MIS4 and MIS3). Due to the high export production, the site has essentially experienced continuous low oxygen conditions; however, there are time periods where the hypoxic conditions were even more notable. Two of these severe hypoxic periods were during parts of MIS4 and MIS3 where we find an inverse relationship between diatom and benthic foraminifera accumulation, meaning that during times of extremely high phytodetritus export we note strongly suppressed benthic productivity. We also stress the importance of food source for the benthos throughout the record. Shifts in export productivity are attributed not only to upwelling intensity and filament front position, but also, regional-global climatic and oceanographic changes had significant impact on the BUS dynamics.


The current study aims to explore the traumatic experiences of female characters of Sophia Khan's Yasmeen. M. Balaev (2014) identified "the concept of trauma as pathological and unspeakable" in the genre of trauma fiction. The insights Bloom's Psychological Trauma Theory (1999) provided the theoretical framework for the descriptive and critical textual analysis of the novel which in turn disclosed the traumatic experiences of leading female characters, Yasmeen, Irenie, Celeste and Mehrunissa. The current study is in the qualitative paradigm of research and suggested through findings that the female characters are suffering from various traumatic experiences resulted through the loss, distrust, immoral values, and re-enactment; the teenage young characters, Irenie and Celeste can dilute the trauma by dissociating the emotions whereas Yasmeen and Mehrunissa, the adult characters cannot cope their traumatic experiences.  Though the traumatic experiences of all characters are separate in content and degree but the traumatic experiences of 'Evolution's legacy', emotions of loss, and 'Learned helpless', constrained actions, are common to all female characters.


Eclogite xenoliths from the Colorado Plateau, interpreted as fragments of the subducted Farallon plate, are used to constrain the trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of oceanic crust subducted into the upper mantle. The xenoliths consist of almandinerich garnet, Na-clinopyroxene, lawsonite and zoisite with minor amounts of phengite, rutile, pyrite and zircon. They have essentially basaltic bulk-rock major element compositions; their Na2O contents are significantly elevated, but K2O contents are similar to those of unaltered mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). These alkali element characteristics are explained by spilitization or albitization processes on the sea floor and during subduction-zone metasomatism in the fore-arc region. The whole-rock trace element abundances of the xenoliths are variable relative to sea-floor-altered MORB, except for the restricted Zr/Hf ratios (36� 9–37� 6). Whole-rock mass balances for two Colorado Plateau eclogite xenoliths are examined for 22 trace elements, Rb, Cs, Sr, Ba, Y, rare earth elements, Pb, Th and U. Mass balance considerations and mineralogical observations indicate that the whole-rock chemistries of the xenoliths were modified by near-surface processes after emplacement and limited interaction with their host rock, a serpentinized ultramafic microbreccia. To avoid these secondary effects, the Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions of minerals separated from the xenoliths were measured, yielding 0� 70453–0� 70590 for 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, � 3� 1t o 0� 5 for «Nd and 18� 928–19� 063 for 206 Pb/ 204 Pb. These isotopic compositions are distinctly more radiogenic for Sr and Pb and less radiogenic for Nd than those of altered MORB. Our results suggest that the MORB-like protolith of the xenoliths was metasomatized by a fluid equilibrated with sediment in the fore-arc region of a subduction zone and that this metasomatic fluid produced continental crust-like isotopic compositions of the xenoliths.


Author(s): Liu, Ke | Advisor(s): Chen, Shaowei | Abstract: Fuel cells are clean and efficient power sources which can convert chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electricity. The Gibbs free energy of hydrogen fuel cells can be as high as -273.13 kJ mol-1, and the theoretical energy conversion efficiency is high as well. However, the cathode oxygen reduction reaction (so-called ORR reaction) is kinetically slow and regarded as bottleneck of fuel cell technology. Thus extensive efforts have been spent on developing efficient catalysts where oxygen molecules can be reduced to water efficient and fast. In this thesis, the research efforts are focused on developing various nanostructured materials as efficient ORR catalysts. In detail, the research mainly focuses on two directions: first, develop Pt-based ORR catalysts with improved ORR activities compared to commercial Pt/C catalysts; second, develop non-precious but highly-efficient ORR catalysts.Commercial Pt/C catalysts are one of the best ORR catalysts due to their good balance of activities and stabilities. However, the price of Pt is high and its reserve is limited, thus efforts should be spent in improving specific activity of Pt-based ORR catalysts aiming to decrease usage of Pt and the cost on catalysts. Recently it's reported that deliberate manipulation chemical functionalization of metal nanoparticles can significantly increase their electrocatalytic activities. Inspired by those work, acetylene derivatives were adopted to functionalize surface of Pt nanoparticles in the first project, in order to explore different metal-ligand interfacial bonding interactions on the nanoparticle electrocatalytic activity. It's revealed that specific activity of Pt nanoparticles after ligand functionalization was all markedly better than that of commercial Pt/C catalysts, which was accounted for by the deliberate manipulation of the electronic structure of the Pt nanoparticles.Besides organic ligand functionalization, graphene-based materials were reported capable of decreasing surface electron density of Pt, which is believed beneficial for the electrocatalytic activity. In the second project, Pt nanoparticles were deposited on graphene quantum dots, a relatively new member of graphene-based materials, producing Pt/GQD composite as evidenced by TEM and XRD measurements. In comparison with commercial Pt/C catalysts, the Pt/GQD composite showed markedly enhanced catalytic activity in oxygen reduction reaction, with an onset potential 70 mV more positive than that of Pt/C, a specific activity that was almost nine times higher, and excellent long-term stability.Although it's proven effective to improve ORR activity of Pt-based materials by ligand functionalization and introducing interactions between graphene quantum dots, the high price of Pt still drives efforts spent in developing non-precious efficient ORR catalysts. Compared with Pt, copper is inexpensive candidate materials with good conductivity, and polycrystalline copper electrode is reported to exhibit apparent electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reaction. It's also suggested that partial oxidation of copper surfaces might be crucial for ORR activities, so alkyne-capped copper nanoparticles were prepared hoping to realize control oxidation on the surface and their catalytic activities were evaluated. Electrochemical studies showed that the as-prepared alkyne-capped copper nanoparticles exhibited much better activity in oxygen reduction than those poly- or single-crystalline copper electrodes, yet low-efficient 2e pathway is dominant for those copper-based materials.To further improve ORR activity of copper-based material, graphene quantum dots, which contain both significant portion of sp2 carbon and wealthy structural defects, were introduced to support copper nanoparticles. Cu/GQD nanocomposites with varied defect concentrations exhibited significantly electrocatalytic activities towards oxygen reduction reaction, where highly-efficient 4e pathway is dominant for those composite catalysts. It's also figured out that there is an optimal defect concentration where both metal-sp2C interactions and surface defect mediations contribute most to the ORR activities.For non-precious ORR catalysts, their long-term stabilities are more concerned than the catalytic activities. Although metal-sp2C interactions are reported able to stabilize the overall structure, carbon-based supports can be oxidized at high potentials, hampering the stability under long-time cycle tests. TiO2 is quite stable in extreme conditions (strong acidic or alkaline solutions) and can resist high oxidizing potentials. It's also reported that there are strong metal-support interactions between TiO2 and metal centers. Herein, copper nanoparticles were directly grown on surface of TiO2 and selected organic ligands were also attached on surface of copper nanoparticles, producing both Cu/TiO2 and CuHC10/TiO2 nanoparticles. Electrochemical studies demonstrated that both Cu/TiO2 and CuHC10/TiO2 are able to catalyze oxygen reduction reactions following an almost four-electron reduction pathway. CuHC10/TiO2 exhibited the best ORR activity with a high current density and long-term stability after 4000 cycles at high potentials.


Osteogenic factors are often used in orthopedics to promote bone growth, improve fracture healing, and induce spine fusion. Osteogenic oxysterols are naturally occurring molecules that were shown to induce osteogenic differentiation in vitro and promote spine fusion in vivo. The purpose of this study was to identify an osteogenic oxysterol more suitable for clinical development than those previously reported, and evaluate its ability to promote osteogenesis in vitro and spine fusion in rats in vivo. Among more than 100 oxysterol analogues synthesized, Oxy133 induced significant expression of osteogenic markers Runx2, osterix (OSX), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone sialoprotein (BSP), and osteocalcin (OCN) in C3H10T1/2 mouse embryonic fibroblasts and in M2‐10B4 mouse marrow stromal cells. Oxy133‐induced activation of an 8X‐Gli luciferase reporter, its direct binding to Smoothened, and the inhibition of Oxy133‐induced osteogenic effects by the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway inhibitor, cyclopamine, demonstrated the role of Hh pathway in mediating osteogenic responses to Oxy133. Oxy133 did not stimulate osteogenesis via BMP or Wnt signaling. Oxy133 induced the expression of OSX, BSP, and OCN, and stimulated robust mineralization in primary human mesenchymal stem cells. In vivo, bilateral spine fusion occurred through endochondral ossification and was observed in animals treated with Oxy133 at the fusion site on X‐ray after 4 weeks and confirmed with manual assessment, micro‐CT (µCT), and histology after 8 weeks, with equal efficiency to recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein‐2 (rhBMP‐2). Unlike rhBMP‐2, Oxy133 did not induce adipogenesis in the fusion mass and resulted in denser bone evidenced by greater bone volume/tissue volume (BV/TV) ratio and smaller trabecular separation. Findings here suggest that Oxy133 has significant potential as an osteogenic molecule with greater ease of synthesis and improved time to fusion compared to previously studied oxysterols. Small molecule osteogenic oxysterols may serve as the next generation of bone anabolic agents for therapeutic development. © 2014 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.


Cyber-worthiness as it is termed in Australian Defence, or cyber-maturity more broadly, is a necessary feature of modern complex systems which are required to operate in a hostile cyber environment. To evaluate the cyber-worthiness of complex systems, an assessment methodology is required to examine a complex system's or system-of-system's vulnerability to and risk of cyber-attacks that can compromise such systems. This assessment methodology should address the cyber-attack surface and threat kill chains, including supply chains and supporting infrastructure. A cyber-worthiness capability assessment methodology has been developed based on model-based systems engineering concepts to analyse the cyber-worthiness of complex systems and present a risk assessment of various cyber threats to the complex system. This methodology incorporates modelling and simulation methods that provide organisations greater visibility and consistency across diverse systems, especially to drive cybersecurity controls, investment and operational decisions involving aggregated systems. In this paper, the developed methodology will be presented in detail and hypothesised outcomes will be discussed.


In this article we attempt to answer the question of how the ethical and conceptual framework (ECF) for a learning health-care system (LHS) affects some of the main controversies in research ethics by addressing five key problems of research ethics: (a) What is the difference between practice and research? (b) What is the relationship between research ethics and clinical ethics? (c) What is the ethical relevance of the principle of clinical equipoise? (d) Does participation in research require a higher standard of informed consent than the practice of medicine? and (e) What ethical principle should take precedence in medicine? These questions allow us to construct two opposite idealized positions on the distinction between research and practice: the integration model and the segregation model of research and practice. We then compare the ECF for an LHS with these two idealized positions. We argue that the ECF for a LHS does not, in fact, solve these problems, but that it is a third, separate position in the relationship between research ethics and clinical ethics. Moreover, we suggest that the ECF for a LHS raises new ethical problems that require additional ethical analysis and justification. Our article contributes to the discussion on the relationship between research ethics and clinical ethics, revealing that although a learning health-care system may significantly change the landscape of health care, some ethical dilemmas still require resolving on both theoretical and policy-making levels.


Using fundamentals of communication theory, thermodynamics, information theory and propagation theory, this book explains the universal principles underlying a diverse range of electro-optical systems. From fiber optics and infra-red imaging to free space communications and laser remote sensing, the authors relate key concepts in science and device engineering to practical systems issues. A broad spectrum of coherent and incoherent imaging and communications systems is considered, accompanied by many real-world examples. The authors also present new insights into LIDAR and free space communications and imaging, providing practical guidance on identifying the fundamental limitations of transmission and imaging through deleterious channels. Accompanied by online examples of processed images and videos, this uniquely tailored guide to the fundamental principles underlying modern electro-optical systems is an essential reference for all practising engineers and academic researchers in optical engineering.


Inductive transfer learning has greatly impacted computer vision, but existing approaches in NLP still require task-specific modifications and training from scratch. We propose Universal Language Model Fine-tuning (ULMFiT), an effective transfer learning method that can be applied to any task in NLP, and introduce techniques that are key for fine-tuning a language model. Our method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art on six text classification tasks, reducing the error by 18-24% on the majority of datasets. Furthermore, with only 100 labeled examples, it matches the performance of training from scratch on 100 times more data. We open-source our pretrained models and code.


Radio frequency (RF)jamming is considered as one of the most proficient technique to launch Denial of Service (DoS) attack in wireless networks. Majority of the jamming attacks to-date largely focus on jamming efficiency by transmitting colossal volume of data to obtain better jamming effectiveness. Consequently, as more and more data is transmitted the probability of detecting the presence of a jammer becomes high. In addition the energy expenditure by the jammer is markedly increased. However it is highly preferred to minimize the detection probability as well as the energy consumption for achieving better jamming efficiency during the course of jamming. In this paper we present a novel idea of shot-noise induced RF jamming which demonstrates a fairly good jamming efficiency as well as minimal detection probability. That has been achieved by transmitting very small noise pulses in an efficient way to distort fewer bits of the ongoing transmission rather than disrupting the whole packet. Moreover we also analyze the effect of packet size and data rate on jamming efficiency. Our results divulge a considerable improvement in energy efficiency by lowering data rate with lesser detection probability as compared to the previous work reported in the literature.


Low-cost, fast-computational, power-efficient, and reconfigurable design for recursive discrete Fourier transform (RDFT) is proposed in this brief. The proposed method is the first integration that collated both the prime factor algorithm (PFA) and the Chinese reminder theorem (CRT) into a recursive algorithm. Hence, a multicycle RDFT algorithm (PFA + CRT + RDFT) and its hardware implementation are produced and presented here in great detail. Compared with some well-known recursive algorithms, the significant improvements for the proposed algorithm can be summarized as follows: 1) The number of computational cycles of the proposed algorithm can be saved by up to 88.5%; 2) The number of multiplications and additions for the proposed algorithm is dramatically reduced by up to 85.2% and 85.2%, respectively; 3) The amount of coefficient read-only memory for storing the twiddle factors totally takes 694 words fewer than those of other existing RDFT algorithms; 4) The hardware cost of the proposed algorithm only takes four real multipliers and eight real adders. This design is more suitable for digital radio mondiale (DRM) systems, such as coded orthogonal frequency-division-multiplexing modulation. The proposed RDFT algorithm was designed and fabricated using a 0.18-μm 1P6M CMOS process. The core area is 521 × 508 μm2, and this hardware accelerator only consumes 8.44 mW at 25 MHz. Furthermore, the performance index of power for this design is three times discrete Fourier transform (DFT) per energy of previous work. Additionally, it can calculate the 288/256/176/112-point DFTs for a portable DRM receiver.


In present work, sol-gel process is used to direct the organization of high quality and pore-free parasite PZT thin films with a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (Zr/Ti = 52/48). The PZT transparent sol can be obtained by dissolving the zirconium oxynitrate, butyl titanate and lead acetate in ethylene glycol with the molar ratio of 0.52:0.48:1 and the PZT gel can be gained by spin-coating. In such process, PZT thin films can be readily prepared by hydrolysis on hot plate at 350°C for 20min and annealing in RTA at 650°C for 1 minute. The structural and electric characteristics of the films have been carried out by XRD, AFM and the C-V measurements, etc. Experimental results have indicated that by treating film RTA at 6508 for 1 minute film with perfect crystallization and good surface morphology with a RMS roughness of 2.0nm can be obtained, and the remnant polarization Pr (28.5 μC/cm2) and coercive field Ec (39.8kV/cm) are obtained in the P-E hysteresis loops. The films have a dielectric constant ε of 1080 and a dielectric loss tanδ of 0.01 at 1 kHz. Ferroelectric polarization fatigue test of the films has shown that high fatigue resistance up to 3 × 1010 cycles before Pr is decreased by 50%.


Spotlight mode offers finer azimuth resolution than that achievable in stripmap mode using the same physical antenna. The most popular spotlight synthetic aperture radar (SAR) reconstruction method is the classic polar format algorithm (PFA). However, PFA needs to perform range and azimuth interpolation operations during SAR imaging, which, in turn, affect the imaging precision and the computation efficiency. In this letter, we present a novel polar format algorithm, which may avoid interpolation operations by double chirp-Z transform. In this letter, we also analyze the nondefocus and the nondistortion constraints and discuss the along-track acceleration constraint for the PFA as well.


Clinical surveys suggest that miotics produce lens opacities. Since such studies examine the diseased eyes of an older age group, interpretation is often difficult. The current study investigates the direct effect of miotics on the isolated rabbit lens in tissue culture. Both demecarium bromide (Humorsol) and echothiophate iodide (Phospholine Iodide) bring about subcapsular vacuoles, though their topographical distribution is different in the case of each drug. Both miotics alter cation and water balance in the lens, causing an increased sodium, decreased potassium, and gain in lens water. The rapidity of onset and the severity of these lesions exhibit a dose dependency. Although a cholinesterase is present at the lens surface, inhibition of the enzyme appears to have no direct role in the pathogenesis of the drug-induced cataract. The meaning of these studies in regard to the clinical situation is uncertain.


BACKGROUND
We aimed to define cutoffs of abdominal adipose tissue depots [total abdominal adipose tissue (TAAT), intraabdominal adipose tissue (IAAT), and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCAT)] in adult Asian Indians in North India.

METHODS
We carried out a cross-sectional study that included 100 healthy adult Asian Indians. Anthropometric measurement (waist circumference, body mass index), metabolic profile [oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), lipid profile], and imaging (for quantification of area of abdominal adipose tissue components using single slice magnetic resonance imaging) were done. Odds ratios (ORs) for detecting presence of greater than one cardiovascular (CV) risk factor were computed using tertiles of adipose tissue compartments and cutoffs were generated using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis.

RESULTS
The gender-specific cutoff limits for of TAAT, IAAT, and SCAT were 245.6 cm(2) (male) and 203.46 cm(2) (female), 135.3 cm(2) (male) and 75.73 cm(2) (female), and 110.74 cm(2) (male) and 134.02 cm(2) (female), respectively. For detection of CV risk factors, distinct gender differences were seen in ORs for SCAT [3.54 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-11.46) and 6.6 (95% CI, 1.75-24.85) in males and females, respectively] but not for IAAT.

CONCLUSIONS
The cutoffs of TAAT, IAAT, and SCAT generated for the first time in Asian Indians could be used for metabolic research, interethnic comparisons of adiposity and CV risk factors, and optimal selection of anthropometric parameters.


Accurate diagnosis is important for successful treatment of brain tumor. Content based medical image retrieval (CBMIR) can assist the radiologist in diagnosis of brain tumor by retrieving similar images from medical image database. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most commonly used modality for imaging brain tumors. During image acquisition there can be misalignment of magnetic resonance (MR) image slices due to movement of patient and also the low level features extracted from MR image may not correspond with the high level semantics of brain tumor. These problems create a semantic gap and limit the application of automated image analysis tools on MR images. In order to address these problems, this paper proposes a two-level hierarchical CBMIR system which first classifies the query image of brain tumor as benign or malign and then searches for the most similar images within the identified class. Separate set of rotation invariant shape and texture features are used to discriminate between brain tumors at each level. Experiments have been conducted on medical image database consisting of 820 brain MR images. The proposed approach gives promising retrieval results by improving precision, recall and retrieval time.


We evaluated the Amplicor PCR assay (Roche Molecular Systems, Branchburg, N.J.) for direct detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum. A total of 532 specimens from 270 patients were decontaminated and stored at 4 or -75 degrees C until assayed by PCR. This assay used three-step sample preparation, biotinylated primer pairs, AmpErase, and a microtiter format for amplicon capture and detection. Amplicor PCR results were compared with clinical history, culture from a Lowenstein-Jensen slant, and results from the BACTEC TB-460 system. Eighty-seven cultures from 15 patients grew M. tuberculosis; of these, 83 (95%) were positive with the Amplicor PCR test. The false negatives were most likely due to sample variation and inhibitors. Of the 445 specimens from which M. tuberculosis was not isolated, 428 (96%) were negative with the Amplicor PCR test. Of the 17 M. tuberculosis culture-negative, Amplicor-positive specimens, 15 were reclassified as true positives because previous cultures grew M. tuberculosis. Of the 445 specimens which did not grow M. tuberculosis, Mycobacterium spp. other than M. tuberculosis were isolated from 150 specimens. Three of these 150 specimens were Amplicor positive; two were from a patient with a history of tuberculosis, and one specimen gave a false-positive result. We do not feel that this represents cross-reactivity, because repeated Amplicor testing of the isolate gave negative results. The microtiter plate has 96 wells. Allowing for six controls, 90 decontaminated specimens can be tested by one technologist in 7.5 h. This PCR assay took 7.5 h to complete and is a sensitive and specific, rapid method for the direct detection of M. tuberculosis from sputum.


To evaluate the short and long-term effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab (UST) in a real-world multirefractory Crohn's disease (CD) cohort.

 An observational, retrospective and single-center study of CD patients treated with UST since June, 2017, with at least, 16 weeks of treatment. All patients were identified in the ENEIDA Registry. Demographic, disease, and outcome variables were collected. Clinical remission and response (measured by the physician global assessment and Harvey Bradshaw Index (HBI) score) as well as biological response (measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) and fecal calprotectin) were evaluated at weeks, 16, 26, 52 and at the end of the follow-up. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were performed to analyze drug persistence and multivariate analysis to identify predictors of response. Treatment-related adverse events were assessed.

 64 patients included, mean age of, 49 years (35–60), 56.2% men and CD duration of, 15.5 years (8–22)., 53% had ileocolic involvement and, 59% stricturing and/or penetrating disease., 40% presented perianal disease, 35% active smoking and, 33% patients had extraintestinal manifestations., 92.2% had prior failure to biologics (44% failed at, 1 and, 48.5% failed ³2) and, 9.4% had failed to vedolizumab., 57.8% required prior surgery for IBD., 40.6% initiated UST for treatment of postoperative recurrence. Baseline clinical activity was present in, 87.5% patients (60% moderate-severe activity). Rates of clinical remission, response and no response were, respectively, 40.7%, 47.5% and, 12% at week, 16;, 56.8%, 32.8% and, 10.3% at week, 26;, 60%, 30% y, 10% at week, 52. At the end of the follow-up, more than, 2/3 of patients (76.3%) had clinical response or remission (figure 1). Overall, a significant reduction of HBI score was observed from baseline to week, 16 and maintained at W26 and W52 (figure 2). Likewise, a biological response was observed with a significant reduction of CRP (baseline of, 26.7 mg/dL) at different times of evaluation (figure 3)., 74.9% continued with UST for up to three years (figure 4). In the multivariate analysis, the only independent factor associated with non-response was previous therapy with vedolizumab (OR:, 0.055 [IC95%:, 0.005–0.551], p=0.001). The safety profile was favorable; only, 2 patients (3.1%) stopped the drug due to side effects (arthralgias and bladder neoplasia).

 Fig, 1. Remission, response, and no response rates.

 Fig, 2. Evolution of HBI score from baseline to W52.

 Fig, 3. Evolution of CRP from baseline to W52.

 Fig, 4. Persistence of ustekinumab during the follow-up period.

 UST is effective and safe in a real-life refractory CD cohort, with a persistence of the drug of, 75% at, 3 years. Previous vedolizumab therapy is associated with UST treatment failure.


Insurers now find themselves caught in the negative results of business and investment decisions made during times of high interest rates. High premiums and low coverage have been the tactic for recovery, but it ill-behooves insurance buyers to now forget that they benefited from that period of low premiums and easy access to insurance.


Background and Aims Immunodeficiency may cause infection, autoimmune disease and malignancy. There are over 100 defined primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) with identified molecular defects. However, many children have recurrent or invasive infections where no specific PID diagnosis can be made. The natural history of children presenting with recurrent infections that resolve with age ("maturational immunodeficiency") is not well understood. The authors aimed to describe the clinical phenotype and natural history of children with undefined PID, and to identify those who may benefit from new additional screening approaches. Method The clinical records of 351 children seen in a tertiary paediatric immunology and infection clinic between February 2006 and March 2009 were examined. Children with defined and undefined PID were identified (n=179) and specific clinical and laboratory data entered onto a database. Selected children underwent further innate function testing. Results 36/179 (20%) had a defined PID. 143 had recurrent, persistent or invasive infection without a defined PID. The majority of the clinical parameters of these children, including the age of onset of infections and the system most frequently involved, did not differ significantly from those with defined PID. Children in the undefined PID group showed general lymphopenia which appears to normalise by the age of 10 years. In particular, CD3 CD4 T lymphocytes are relatively low during the first year of life but normalise thereafter. Total IgG was found to be decreased between 2–5 years, corresponding with the age group during which most clinical infections were experienced. 10/179 children in seven families appear to have abnormalities in new innate screening tests and are undergoing further detailed investigations (REC 09/H0502/4). Conclusion Although some children with PID present early in infancy, children presenting with recurrent infection where no molecular defect is found often have clinical similarities to those with a defined PID diagnosis. While many of the 143 children may have a "maturational immunodeficiency" that resolves with age, the identification of those with novel defects may allow better therapeutic and prognostic interventions in the children likely to retain their unidentified immunodeficiency into adulthood.


One of the attractions of neural network approaches to pattern recognition is the use of a discrimination-based training method. We show that once we have modified the output layer of a multilayer perceptron to provide mathematically correct probability distributions, and replaced the usual squared error criterion with a probability-based score, the result is equivalent to Maximum Mutual Information training, which has been used successfully to improve the performance of hidden Markov models for speech recognition. If the network is specially constructed to perform the recognition computations of a given kind of stochastic model based classifier then we obtain a method for discrimination-based training of the parameters of the models. Examples include an HMM-based word discriminator, which we call an 'Alphanet'.


The analysis of weak variations in the energetic particle flux, as detected by neutron or muon monitors, can often be considerably improved by analysing data from monitor networks and thereby exploiting the spatial coherence of the flux. We present a statistical framework for carrying out such an analysis and discuss its physical inter- pretation. Two other applications are also presented: filling data gaps and removing trends. This study focuses on the method and its various uses.


The undergraduate minor in Public Policy introduces students from other departments and colleges to the field and practice of policy analysis. Employers and graduate schools recognize a completed minor as indicative of broader preparation than a single degree, not to mention curiosity and willingness to do extra work. The Public Policy minor also certifies interest and background in public affairs.


Background
Lead and cadmium exposures have markedly declined in the USA following the implementation of large-scale public health policies and could have contributed to the unexplained decline in cardiovascular mortality in US adults. We evaluated the potential contribution of lead and cadmium exposure reductions to explain decreasing cardiovascular mortality trends occurring in the USA from 1988-94 to 1999-2004.

Methods
Prospective study in 15 421 adults ≥40 years old who had participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-94 or 1999-2004. We estimated the amount of change in cardiovascular mortality over time that can be independently attributed to the intermediate pathway of changes in blood lead and urine cadmium concentrations.

Results
There was a 42.0% decrease in blood lead and a 31.0% decrease in urine cadmium concentrations. The cardiovascular mortality rate ratio [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] associated with a doubling of metal levels was 1.19 (1.07, 1.31) for blood lead and 1.20 (1.09, 1.32) for urine cadmium. The absolute reduction in cardiovascular deaths comparing 1999-2004 to 1988-94 was 230.7 deaths/100 000 person-years, in models adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Among these avoided deaths, 52.0 (95% CI 8.4, 96.7) and 19.4 (4.3, 36.4) deaths/100 000 person-years were attributable to changes in lead and cadmium, respectively.

Conclusions
Environmental declines in lead and cadmium exposures were associated with reductions in cardiovascular mortality in US adults. Given the fact that lead and cadmium remain associated with cardiovascular disease at relatively low levels of exposure, prevention strategies that further minimize exposure to lead and cadmium may be needed.


Each year an estimated 125 million pregnant women are at risk of getting infected with malaria in areas with P. falciparum and P. vivax transmission. In Tanzania, approximately 1.7 million pregnant women contract malaria each year leading to a high prevalence of maternal morbidity, maternal mortality and adverse birth outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends for sub-Saharan Africa a package of prompt and effective case-management combined with the delivery of insecticide-treated nets (ITN) and intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp) with sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) through the national antenatal care (ANC) programs. Implemented in Tanzania around 2001, uptake of IPTp has been poor up to date with less then 30% of pregnant women receiving a full course of two SP doses. The aim of this thesis was to contribute to a better understanding of women's access to and use of IPTp and other ANC services in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. In order to explain low IPTp coverage levels, factors influencing ANC utilization on the demand side and the quality of ANC on the supply side were investigated. Drawing on conceptualizations of scholars from the "New Institutionalism" this thesis sought to provide a more in-depth understanding of 1) how rules, regulations and guidelines at the health system level influence health providers' implementation of health policies and guidelines concerning IPTp and ANC and 2) how old and new norms and values at the household level and beyond influence women's access to and use of ANC and IPTp services. The study was conducted in close collaboration with the ACCESS Programme and was carried out in the Demographic and Surveillance System (DSS) area of the Kilombero and Ulanga district in south-eastern Tanzania. Research was conducted in three phases between April 2007 and June 2009 and combined a set of qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection. Our findings revealed a high coverage level of the first IPTp dose (79%) but confirmed a low uptake of the second one with only 27% of pregnant women having received two SP doses. Although 71% of all women started ANC after the four gestational months recommended by guidelines, their late attendance was not found to be the main constraint for IPTp delivery since 81% of the women had attended the ANC clinic at the time of the first IPTp delivery and 60% had attended both during the first and the second IPTp delivery period. The observation that among these women only 73% actually received one dose and only 29% received two doses of IPTp, pointed to the high number of missed opportunities. Low coverage levels for the second IPTp dose could be explained by health workers delivering IPTp to significantly less women during the second IPTp delivery period than the first one (55% vs. 73%) despite their high knowledge about the IPTp policy. Apart from women's late ANC initiation, it appeared that the majority of pregnant women respected the ANC schedule. However, it seemed that women's attendance was rather based on norms than on their awareness of the benefits of ANC services for their own and their child's health. Late ANC initiation was associated with belonging to the Sukuma ethnic group, multiparity, and late recognition of pregnancy. Early ANC attendance, on the other hand, was triggered by primiparity, experience of a previous reproductive loss and feeling supported by the partner or husband. Male's support during pregnancy appeared to be facilitated and constrained by a broad range of institutions working along the lines of gender, family and kinship. On the other hand new norms and values imposed by the legal system or the 'modern' health system were identified as being influential on men's support during the prenatal period. Case studies in four health facilities revealed that the quality of ANC care was generally poor. Among a sample of 36 observed ANC consultations, 12 of the services recommended by the FANC guidelines were not given to any women, a further 18 services were given to 3%-58% and eight services were given to over 80% of women. Instead of FANC guidelines, health workers rather complied to ANC cards; analysis showed that health services for which information was required on the ANC card were delivered far better than services not listed on the ANC card but recommended by the FANC guidelines. Moreover, dichotomous IPTp schedules in the guidelines for ANC and malaria resulted in health workers' continued delivery of IPTp according to restrictive IPTp schedules despite the existence of a more simplified IPTp schedule recommended by WHO. Calculations showed that the effective implementation of the latter guidelines could potentially increase IPTp coverage by up to 20 percentage points, which urgently calls for a revision of the national IPTp guidelines. Besides health policy factors, health care practices were found to be clearly shaped by health providers' difficult working conditions. In order to cope with constraints caused by lack of trained staff, resource shortages and a high demand for their services, health workers appeared to adopt informal rules and routines such as attendance and diagnostics schedules and routines that allowed for mass treatment such as health education and counselling in groups. In order to better understand how the availability of material and human resources and health workers' access to them influence health service delivery and its quality, this thesis proposed and applied the concept of "workhood" as a new analytical device. By introducing an actors-perspective to the health system, the concept allowed light to be shed on the limitations and potentials of health workers' capabilities. a


In this paper we propose a new approach to language modeling based on dynamic Bayesian networks. The principle idea of our approach is to find the dependence relations between variables that represent different linguistic units (word, class, concept, ...) that constitutes a language model. In the context of this paper the linguistic units that we consider are syntactic classes and words. Our approach should not be considered as a model combination technique. Rather, it is an original and coherent methodology that processes words and classes in the same model. We attempt to identify and model the dependence of words and classes on their linguistic context. Our ultimate goal is to devise an automatic mechanism that extracts the best dependence relations between a word and its context, i.e., lexical and syntactic. Preliminary results are very encouraging, in particular the model in which a word depends not only on previous word but also on syntactic classes of two previous words. This model outperforms the bi-gram model.


Securing trust is now a priority. Identity theft, phishing and pharming have exposed shortcomings in the criminal law. The online environment is now seen as the playground of criminals. Online criminal activities pose significant social and economic costs. Apparently, the Fraud Act 2006 is the instrument that will now neutralise the threats posed by phishers and identity thieves. This concept paper is an attempt to chart a less tenuous path of claim and counterclaim that often rears its head when the subject turns to personal Internet security. Accordingly, the paper aims to initiate a debate on how we can begin to think about information security and the role of law against the growing threats posed by identity thieves and phishing. I draw on the insights of Sun Tzu in The Art of War as way of understanding how best we can manage and reduce complexity. The debates have all too often focussed on liability rules and legal reform. The resulting impasse can be overcome if the problem is first of all properly characterised. A balanced policy debate requires an understanding of two key matters - 'trivergence' and the gullible computer user. The hypothesis is that before we can think about regulatory tools to curb practices like phishing an identity theft we need a better understanding of the interactions between data, devices and networks.


For those adopting double data rate technology systems, the precise system timing plays a crucial role since both rising and falling edges of the system clock signal are used to sample the input data. Due to this requirement, it is necessary to accurately maintain the duty cycle of the clock signal at 50%. For a multistage clock buffer, a pulsewidth control loop (PWCL) circuit was therefore proposed to adjust the duty cycle of its output signal. This paper is aimed at introducing a new proposed differential PWCL (DPWCL) together with investigating its mech- anism through a comprehensive theoretical analysis. By taking advantage of a differential topology, the dc offset in generating the control voltage can be removed thereby improving the duty cycle control accuracy. Moreover, the proposed DPWCL employs a low-pass filter to generate the reference voltage so that the DPWCL does not necessitate a 50% duty cycle reference clock.


The mechanical experimentation in human beings is practically very difficult due to various laws and procedures. The use of Finite Element (FE) model of the human parts has a significant effect in research. Foot, the most complex structure in human body consists of 26 bones and 33 joints. As reported in the existing literatures, several finite element foot models are developed by imposing simplifications on its anatomy by considering the ligaments as tension free link element, which has a significant variance compared to the experimental results. This paper attempts to develop and validate a realistic finite element model of a normal human foot with bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments mimicking the actual foot using Image Reconstruction Techniques (IRT). The finite element analysis on this model is performed to simulate the balanced standing condition by applying the necessary loading and boundary conditions. Under balanced standing condition, a maximum Von Mises stress of 0.139 MPa is observed in the heel region. For validating the results obtained from finite element analysis, the experimental studies with (i) Moticon insole and (ii) Noraxon's FDM-T SciFit Treadmill is conducted, which provided a variation of 4.3 % and 0.7 % respectively with FE studies.


Since the 1990s, in Russia, numerous large scale agro-holdings emerged, which link various farms, entities of the upstream and downstream sectors, and even totally unrelated industries. As all these affiliates are legally registered as independent units, there is only scant information about the holdings' overall performance. Based on a unique panel data set from Moscow and Belgorod regions, we investigated the growth trajectories of farms belonging to agro-holdings vis-a-vis independent farms by applying a quantile regression approach. Evidence points to little differences among general performance indicators of both types. Any advantages of affiliated farms appear to be due to extramural factors; i.e. it is all about how to link individual production units, thus benefiting from strong positioning in local and regional markets and making the most of the lobbied ties to the relevant politics. In sum, agro-holdings are assumed to remain as a model for organizing agricultural production.


The energy in FPGA computations is dominated by data communication energy, either in the form of memory references or data movement on interconnect. In this article, we explore how to use data placement and parallelism to reduce communication energy. We show that parallelism can reduce energy and that the optimal level of parallelism increases with the problem size. We further explore how FPGA memory architecture (memory block size(s), memory banking, and spacing between memory banks) can impact communication energy, and determine how to organize the memory architecture to guarantee that the energy overhead compared to the optimally matched architecture for the design is never more than 60%. We specifically show that an architecture with 32 bit wide, 16Kb internally banked memories placed every 8 columns of 10 4-LUT logic blocks is within 61% of the optimally matched architecture across the VTR 7 benchmark set and a set of parallelism-tunable benchmarks. Without internal banking, the worst-case overhead is 98%, achieved with an architecture with 32 bit wide, 8Kb memories placed every 9 columns, roughly comparable to the memory organization on the Cyclone V (where memories are placed about every 10 columns). Monolithic 32 bit wide, 16Kb memories placed every 10 columns (comparable to 18Kb and 20Kb memories used in Virtex 4 and Stratix V FPGAs) have a 180% worst-case energy overhead. Furthermore, we show practical cases where designs mapped for optimal parallelism use 4.7 × less energy than designs using a single processing element.


ABSTRACT Small Heterodimer Partner (SHP) inhibits numerous transcription factors that are involved in diverse biological processes, including lipid and glucose metabolism. In response to increased hepatic bile acids, SHP gene expression is induced and the SHP protein is stabilized. We now show that the activity of SHP is also increased by posttranslational methylation at Arg-57 by protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5). Adenovirus-mediated hepatic depletion of PRMT5 decreased SHP methylation and reversed the suppression of metabolic genes by SHP. Mutation of Arg-57 decreased SHP interaction with its known cofactors, Brm, mSin3A, and histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), but not with G9a, and decreased their recruitment to SHP target genes in mice. Hepatic overexpression of SHP inhibited metabolic target genes, decreased bile acid and hepatic triglyceride levels, and increased glucose tolerance. In contrast, mutation of Arg-57 selectively reversed the inhibition of SHP target genes and metabolic outcomes. The importance of Arg-57 methylation for the repression activity of SHP provides a molecular basis for the observation that a natural mutation of Arg-57 in humans is associated with the metabolic syndrome. Targeting posttranslational modifications of SHP may be an effective therapeutic strategy by controlling selected groups of genes to treat SHP-related human diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, cancer, and infertility.


In an era of global trade dominated by global value chains, much of the recent empirical
analysis has focused on the impacts of non-tariff barriers, behind-the-border measures, and other
transaction costs on integration. Though most countries have substantially lowered their Most Favored Nation tariffs, evidence is surfacing from developing countries that other border taxes are on the rise, increasing the level and complexity of protection. Para-tariffs are often disguised, under-reported, and, in some cases, total protection levels exceed committed tariff bindings under the WTO. A case study of Sri Lanka, using partial and general equilibrium modelling, shows that the phased reduction of para-tariffs and unification with existing customs tariff structures could boost domestic production, promote exports, raise employment and GDP, while simplifying tariff administration. Increasing the transparency of border taxes requires full implementation of WTO Article II on reporting tariff schedules, including para-tariffs, together with institutional capacity building of developing countries across their respective customs and other related agencies.


In this article we address the remnant movement analysis of wh-in situ in Northern Italian varieties (Pollock, Munaro and Poletto 1999, 2001, Poletto and Pollock 2004a, 2004b, 2009), beginning with a review of the empirical evidence that it has been taken to account for. Based on data from Lombard varieties, we argue that wh-in situ is not necessarily restricted to root contexts (section 3.1) and it does not necessarily display sensitivity to islands (section 3.2). When it comes to wh-doubling (section 3.3), while wh-clitics are restricted to the left periphery, non-clitic wh-phrases equally distribute at the left periphery and in situ. We conclude that remnant movement is (at best) unnecessary to account for such evidence (section 4). Therefore we propose that the parameter between wh-in situ and wh-movement in Northern Italian varieties is the classical one between overt scope (i.e., wh-movement) and scope construal (i.e., wh-in situ). As for wh-doubling we conclude that it is restricted to pairs of bare wh-elements, of which the lower bears Focus properties, while the higher one is the scope marker. No role, even a descriptive one, is played by the notion of "weak" wh-pronouns.


Election Crisis has always characterized any general election in Nigeria, and there has been no general election since independence in 1960 that did not end in serious disputations, crisis, violence and even bloodshed. Today, it is like Nigeria is not capable of conducting free and fair election that will not end in chaos and violence. However, what are the causes of this nightmare? Here in lies the debate. Some scholars argue that the problem is caused by ethnicity, others claim it is a problem of modernization while some relate it to inter-class struggle. This paper disagrees with the above positions and adopts an alternative model which is factional struggle within the dominant class, in the process of state formation when there is no cohesive dominant class, or a ruling class. And the solution lies in the re- definition of the economy, to make it more citizens' friendly, in terms of its ideology and its essence. The present position where there is state absolute involvement and control of the economy is inimical to liberal democracy. Secondly, the federal system in Nigeria is terribly awkward and not functioning. It concentrates all powers at the centre, and makes election a zero some competition. Thus, in Nigeria, he who loses an election loses everything and must "fight" back.


Altrenogest, marketed for use in horses as Regumate, is a synthetic progestin that is marketed for use in pigs as MATRIX. It effectively regulates the occurrence of estrus in randomly cycling gilts if it is provided for 14 or more days at a daily dose of 15 mg/day. It is important to assure that each gilt receives her full dose; otherwise problems of cystic follicles and reduced fertility may be observed.


Today the major concerns are not the availability of information but rather obtaining the right information. Web Recommendation system is a specific type of Web personalization system technique that attempts to predict the user next browsing activity then recommend the web pages items that are likely to be of interest to the user. The ability of predicting the next visited pages and recommending it to the short term navigation user (anonymous user) is highly needed. Presently, there are many recommendation systems (e.g. Analog, Web Miner, WebPersonalizer, PACT,SWARS, EntreeC, SUGGEST, one-and-only items, Hybrid and NEWER) that can be used to make recommendation to the current online user, but, recommendation to anonymous users needs to be adaptive (up to date) to the changes in users" interests" over time. This research focuses on improving the prediction of the next visited web pages and introduces them to current anonymous user. An enhanced classification algorithm is used to assign the current anonymous user to the best web navigation profile. As the users" interests change over time, the recommender system has the ability to modify the current web navigation profiles and keep them updated. These adaptive profiles help the prediction engine to predict and then recommend the next visited pages to the current user in an accurate manner. This research proposed two web page recommendation systems. The first is iPACT, an improved recommendation system based on PACT methodology to demonstrate the prediction accuracy of the proposed enhanced classification algorithm in this research. The prediction accuracy was evaluated against two previous recommendation systems PACT and HyperGraph. The second is Adaptive Web page Recommendation System (AWRS) which combines the classification algorithm of iPACT in addition to the ability of adaptive recommending due to the changes of the users" interests and weighting methods to deal with unvisited or new added pages. For the evaluating purpose, the experiments were carried out on the public CTI logs file dataset which contains the preprocessed and filtered sessionized data for the main DePaul CTI Web server. AWRS was evaluated and shows better performance as compared to several recommendation systems namely, iPACT, Association Rules and Hybrid systems. Based on the experimental results, the outcome of a considerably good accuracy is mainly due to the right classification of the current user to the best web navigation profile with similar browsing activities. Also, the adaptive phase is able to update the web navigation profile(s) based on the interest"s changes and predict the next visited pages in accurate manner to the anonymous users based on their early stage navigation. This research opens a wide range of future works to be considered,including the investigation of the dependency between the recommended web pages for each web navigation profile, investigating the quality of the method on different datasets, and finally, the possibility to apply the proposed method in other area like the misuse detection systems.


BACKGROUND
The London Handicap Scale (LHS) was found to be a valid and reliable scale for measuring participation restrictions in adults.

OBJECTIVE
This paper describes the development and assesses the construct-related validity of a Dutch version of the London Handicap Scale (DLHS).

METHODS
The DLHS was tested in 798 adults (mean age: 50.7 years, SD=14.5, range 16 to 85) and validated with the 'Impact on Participation and Autonomy' (IPA) questionnaire, the Dutch version of the EQ-5D and questions concerning comorbidity and use of medical devices. The study population consisted of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), epilepsy, laryngectomy and multiple sclerosis.

RESULTS
Feasibility was satisfactory. Large correlations (ρ > 0.6) for the DLHS sum score were found with the IPA subscales 'autonomy outdoors', 'perceiving problems', 'family role', autonomy indoors', 'work and education' and with the EQ-5D. The DLHS sum score differs significantly between subgroups based on the number of chronic diseases, number of medical devices and self-reported burden of disease or handicap (p< 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Based on this evaluation the questionnaire seems feasible and valid for assessing differences in level of participation between subgroups of chronically ill or disabled persons in the Netherlands.


The present study used an online survey of self-report questionnaires to examine general personality traits (assessed using the HEXACO Personality Inventory- Revised) and the Dark Tetrad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism) in relation to sensational interests, looking specifically at the violent occult and militarism subscales. It was hypothesised that both subscales of sensational interests would be predicted by low honesty-humility, low emotionality, low agreeableness, low conscientiousness, high extraversion and high openness scores (Egan et al., 1999; Paulhus & Williams, 2002), as well as high scores on all of the Dark Tetrad measures (Jones & Paulhus, 2011) with low honesty-humility and sadism being the biggest predictors of both subscales. There were 242 participants (60.7% female, 36.8% male, 2.5% identifying as 'other'; mean age 27.05 years (SD=9.32)). Results showed how the Dark Tetrad dimensions are correlated with the six HEXACO dimensions and how all of these traits are correlated with the sensational interest subscales. It was revealed that the violent occult subscale of sensational interests could be predicted by low agreeableness, high openness, high psychopathy, and high sadism whilst militarism could be predicted by low emotionality and high sadism. High sadism scores were found to show the largest correlation with both the violent occult and militarism scores. Implications of the study and recommendations for future directions are discussed.


BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Red light phototherapy with laser sources has been used successfully for a number of indications. A new generation of quasimonochromatic 630 +/- 3 nm light-emitting diode (LED) systems has recently been yielding good results for the same indications, but no study has examined changes in visible red light irradiated skin at an immunological level. This study was thus designed to examine changes in skin-homing T-cell levels induced in normal human skin by visible red LED energy.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Six adult male volunteers (35 approximately 48 years old) who satisfied all study criteria had the skin over the lateral aspect of the leg irradiated once per week for 8 weeks with a visible red (630 +/- 3 nm) LED-based system, with irradiance of 105 m/cm2, 15 minutes/session, and a radiant flux of 94 J/cm2. Skin biopsies were performed after the eighth treatment session, and cultures were prepared to assay the type and quantity of skin-homing T-cells using qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques. Ultrastructural changes were also assessed with transmission electron microscopy.

RESULTS
Transmission electron microscopy revealed mild fibroplastic changes in fibroblasts, with no acute inflammatory changes throughout the treatment session. Qualitative PCR showed the presence of both Th-1 and Th-2 T-cells, and quantitative PCR showed an increase in the numbers of both types of skin-homing T-cells, much more so for Th-2 than for Th-1.

CONCLUSIONS
Visible red LED irradiation appears to activate the skin-homing immune system.