This article explores how the lives of companion animals – pets by another name – are valued in negligence actions when they are wrongfully killed, and the justifications underlying the current approach of market value. Because Canadians welcome companion animals into their families for reasons that go beyond economics, this paper argues that a proposition of law that values them based only on market value fails accurately to identify and compensate for the loss suffered when a companion animal is wrongfully killed. Compensating a plaintiff for either mental distress or loss of companionship appears, initially, to be an attractive alternative to the market value approach; however, because of the cautious manner with which psychological injuries have been approached in Canada, and the common law position that loss of companionship is non-compensable, these alternatives are impracticable means by which the present legal position could be modified. While compensation for mental distress can respond to some situations involving the wrongful death of a pet, it cannot provide redress in all such actions. A solution to the challenges posed by the present legal position lies in valuation by reference to the investment made by animal guardians during the course of a companion animal's lifetime. This method would allow for a companion animal's value to be accurately measured, thereby permitting compensation that adequately reflects the entirety of the loss suffered. Legislative change, creating a statutory cause of action for the attendant non-pecuniary loss, would be the most effective way of achieving this proposed change.


The severity and extent of osteochondral lesions have been examined, macroscopically, radiographically as well as histopathologically, in six different breeds of pigs (Belgian Landrace (B), Duroc (D), Dutch Landrace (N), Dutch Yorkshire (G), Hampshire (H) and Piétrain (P)). In these pigs three different levels of feeding were used. Duroc pigs had significantly more severe lesions in the fore limbs than Dutch Landrace (N), Dutch Yorkshire (G), Hampshire (H) and Piétrain (P) pigs, while Belgian Landrace pigs (B) had significant more severe lesions than Dutch Yorkshire (G) pigs. The differences between breeds related more to the degree of severity of the lesions in the articular surfaces of the distal humerus and proximal radius-ulna and in the distal ulnar growth plate than to the presence of the lesions per se. In the hind limbs Belgian Landrace pigs (B) had significantly more severe osteochondral lesions than all other breeds, while Dutch Landrace pigs (N) had significantly more severe lesions than Duroc (D), Dutch Yorkshire (G), Hampshire (H) and Piétran (P) pigs. Pigs with the highest growth rate showed significantly more severe osteochondral lesions in the distal ulnar growth plate and in the medial femoral condyle than pigs with a more restricted growth rate.


Tissues that need to remain stiff under stress rely on lamin-A to keep the cell nucleus whole. Microenvironment can influence cell fate and behavior; for example, extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness increases cell proliferation, and ECM rigidity induces disorders in tissue morphogenesis by increasing cell tension. Swift et al. (see the Perspective by Bainer and Weaver) used proteomics to identify molecules that are mechanical sensors for tissue elasticity in the nucleus and discovered that expression of lamin-A levels apparently functions as a "mechanostat." J. Swift, I. L. Ivanovska, A. Buxboim, T. Harada, P. C. D. P. Dingal, J. Pinter, J. D. Pajerowski, K. R. Spinler, J.-W. Shin, M. Tewari, F. Rehfeldt, D. W. Speicher, D. E. Discher, Nuclear lamin-A scales with tissue stiffness and enhances matrix-directed differentiation. Science 341, 1240104 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text] R. Bainer, V. Weaver, Strength under tension. Science 341, 965–966 (2013). [Abstract] [Full Text]


: The results of general investigation presented at the previous paper [9] are applied to interpreting the spatial ordering upon positional differentiation at the development of multicellular organisms. The very form of local dynamics is not specified for the lack of sufficient information about the mechanisms of biosynthesis regulation in multicellular organisms. Instead of the dynamics of intercellular processes is supposed to provide the existence of two stable stationary states. These stable regimes are interpreted as the different specialisations of individual cell (differentiations). There are accepted the boundary conditions in the form of non-zero morphogen fluxes. The requirement of stability of the exfoliated structure at the multicellular ensemble connects some physical chemical parameters of the system (the permeability of the boundaries, characteristic time of intercellular dynamics, the diffusion coefficient of morphogen and some others) in the form of inequality. Within the framework of dynamical model the ability of morphogenetic system to the regulative development is discussed.


In the Euclidean plane, two intersecting circles or two circles which are tangent to each other clearly do not carry a finite Steiner chain. However, in this paper we will show that such exotic Steiner chains exist in finite Miquelian M\"obius planes of odd order. We state and prove explicit conditions in terms of the order of the plane and the capacitance of the two carrier circles $C_1$ and $C_2$ for the existence, length, and number of Steiner chains carried by $C_1$ and $C_2$.


Tools to Assist Restrained Eaters: A Query Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory Approach Sudy Majd For chronic dieters, modern food environments make it very difficult to always behave inline with health goals. Approximately 45 million Americans report never fully being off a diet because they fail to reach their weight loss goals. These individuals are colloquially known as chronic dieters but in the food behavior and literature, these people are known as Restrained Eaters. Restrained Eaters are known for the vacillation between food restraint and disinhibition. Past research has demonstrated that one way to keep Restrained Eaters from reach disinhibition is to prevent or weaken their involuntary physical and cognitive responses to external food cues. In a series of three lab studies, this dissertation tests two novel approaches to influencing the behavior of Restrained Eaters when faced with a hedonic food item. The focus of Study 1 is on using Query Theory to test whether there is an effect of endowment on decision and whether thoughts predict decision. We found a significant effect of endowment on the decision of Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters. Study 2 also uses Query Theory but reverse the natural order in which participants generated thoughts and whether that had an effect on decision. In Study 2, we found changing the natural order of thoughts can reverse the effect of endowment. Studies 3 and 4 reanalyze the data from Studies 1 and 2 using Regulatory Focus Theory. In this reanalysis, we found thoughts coded using regulatory focus also predicted behavior. We use the results from this reanalysis to justify Study 5, which is a test of regulatory focus inductions on decision. We found no significant effect of regulatory focus inductions on the decision of Restrained or Unrestrained Eaters. This research aims to develop interventions that will help Restrained Eaters make decisions that are not overshadowed by external cues or instant gratification, giving them a better chance to reach a sought out goal.


I reconsider Einstein's 1912 "Prague-Theory" of static gravity based on a scalar field obeying a non-linear field equation. I point out that this equation follows from the self-consistent implementation of the principle that all energies source the gravitational field according to E=m(c-squared). This makes it an interesting toy-model for the "flat-space approach" to General Relativity, as pioneered by Kraichnan and later Feynman. Solutions modelling stars show features familiar from GR, e.g., Buchdahl-like inequalities. The relation to full GR is also discussed. This lends this toy theory also some pedagogical significance.


We have fabricated, characterized, and compared ZnO nanorods/p-GaN and n-Zn0.94Ag0.06O nanorods/p-GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs). Current-voltage measurement showed an obvious rectifying behaviour of both LEDs. A reduction of the optical band gap of the Zn0.94Ag0.06O nanorods compared to pure ZnO nanorods was observed. This reduction leads to decrease the valence band offset at n-Zn0.94Ag0.06O nanorods/p-GaN interface compared to n-ZnO nanorods/p-GaN heterojunction. Consequently, this reduction leads to increase the hole injection from the GaN to the ZnO. From electroluminescence measurement, white light was observed for the n-Zn0.94Ag0.06O nanorods/p-GaN heterojunction LEDs under forward bias, while for the reverse bias, blue light was observed. While for the n-ZnO nanorods/p-GaN blue light dominated the emission in both forward and reverse biases. Further, the LEDs exhibited a high sensitivity in responding to UV illumination. The results presented here indicate that doping ZnO nanorods might pave the...


High-grade B-cell lymphoma with concurrentMYCandBCL2rearrangements (HGBCL-DHL) is a rare and aggressive B-cell disorder with a high likelihood of nonresponsiveness to the front-line immunochemotherapy. Patients with HGBCL-DHL who develop a recurrent or progressive disease have limited effective therapeutics and show very poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, it calls for the development of novel targeted therapies for this specific patient populations. In this study, we showed that combination of BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax and CS2164, a novel orally active multitarget inhibitor, is a potent therapeutic strategy against HGBCL-DHL in the preclinical setting.
 BCL2rearrangement, a hallmark feature of HGBCL-DHL, often results in increased BCL2 protein that counteracts the proapoptotic proteins of BCL2 family, and thus blocks cell death. BCL2 blockage with venetoclax shows promising clinical responses in various human malignancies. However, resistance to venetoclax takes place following its continuous administration, suggesting that venetoclax should combine with other agents to prevent disease progression. CS2164 is originally developed by China and designed to perturb three key characteristics of neoplasms: tumor angiogenesis, cell mitosis and chronic inflammation. Our previous study demonstrated that CS2164 exerted potently antilymphoma activities in MYC-driven lymphomas, providing evidence that CS2164 could potentiate the effect of venetoclax for MYC/BCL2 driven HGBCL-DHL. In the present work, we first observed that both venetoclax and CS2164 as single agent reduced the capability of cell proliferation in HGBCL-DHL cell lines. Next, we found that CS2164 synergized with venetoclax to suppress cell proliferation and trigger cell apoptosis in HGBCL-DHLin vitro. More importantly, when compared with each single drug groups, coadministration of venetoclax and CS2164 resulted in superior suppression of HGBCL-DHL cell growth and remarkably abrogated tumor burden in a HGBCL-DHL-xenografted mouse model. The synergistic lethality of venetoclax and CS2164 towards HGBCL-DHL cells was associated with the modulation of multiple molecular mechanisms. The underlying mechanisms for the synergy of the two drugs included the blockade of Rad51 recombinase-dependent DNA repair, the perturbation of the delicate balance of BCL2 family proteins that induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization and subsequently led to the proapoptotic effect, as well as the inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and MYC expression.
 In summary, these findings suggest that the regimen of CS2164 and venetoclax combination is highly effective to eliminate HGBCL-DHL cellsin vitroandin vivoand thus provide a rational treatment paradigm to strip HGBCL-DHL of its protection fromMYCandBCL2rearrangements.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

 CS2164 originally developed by China is a novel orally active multitarget inhibitor that is evaluating in clinical trials against multiple solid tumors.


Complex Event Processing (CEP) is a stream processing model that focuses on detecting event patterns in continuous event streams. While the CEP model has gained popularity in the research communities and commercial technologies, the problem of gracefully degrading performance under heavy load in the presence of resource constraints, or load shedding, has been largely overlooked. CEP is similar to "classical" stream data management, but addresses a substantially different class of queries. This unfortunately renders the load shedding algorithms developed for stream data processing inapplicable. In this paper we study CEP load shedding under various resource constraints. We formalize broad classes of CEP load-shedding scenarios as different optimization problems. We demonstrate an array of complexity results that reveal the hardness of these problems and construct shedding algorithms with performance guarantees. Our results shed some light on the difficulty of developing load-shedding algorithms that maximize utility.


Angiogenesis, or neovascularization, is known to play an important role in the neoplastic progression leading to metastasis. CD31 or Factor VIII-related antigen (F VIII RAg) immunohistochemistry (IHC), is widely used in experimental studies quantifing tumor neovascularization in immunocompromised animal models implanted with transformed human cell lines. Quantification, however, can be affected extensively by variations in the methodology used to measure vascularization including antibody selection, pretreatment with antigen retrieval and evaluation techniques. To examine this further, we examined the microvessel density and the intensity of microvascular staining among five different human tumor xenografts and a mouse syngeneic tumor using anti-CD31 and F VIII RAg IHC staining. Different antigen retrieval methods also were evaluated. Maximal retrieval of CD31 was achieved using 0.5 M Tris (pH 10) buffer, while maximum retrieval of F VIII RAg was achieved using 0.05% pepsin treatment of tissue sections. For each optimized retrieval condition, compared to F VIII RAg, anti-CD31 highlighted small vessels better. Furthermore, the microvessel density of CD31 was significantly greater than that of F VIII RAg decorated vessels (p < 0.001). The choice of antibody and antigen retrieval method has a significant affect on immunohistochemical findings when studying angiogenesis. One also must use caution when comparing studies in the literature that use different techniques and reagents.


In recent years there have been astonishing advances in AI-based synthetic media generation. Thanks to deep learning-based approaches it is now possible to generate data with a high level of realism. While this opens up new opportunities for the entertainment industry, it simultaneously undermines the reliability of multimedia content and supports the spread of false or manipulated information on the Internet. This is especially true for human faces, allowing to easily create new identities or change only some specific attributes of a real face in a video, so-called deepfakes. In this context, it is important to develop automated tools to detect manipulated media in a reliable and timely manner. This talk will describe the most reliable deep learning-based approaches for detecting deepfakes, with a focus on those that enable domain generalization [1]. The results will be presented on challenging datasets [2,3] with reference to realistic scenarios, such as the dissemination of manipulated images and videos on social networks. Finally, new possible directions will be outlined.


Background Linear regression of efficiency (LRE) introduced a new paradigm for real-time qPCR that enables large-scale absolute quantification by eliminating the need for standard curves. Developed through the application of sigmoidal mathematics to SYBR Green I-based assays, target quantity is derived directly from fluorescence readings within the central region of an amplification profile. However, a major challenge of implementing LRE quantification is the labor intensive nature of the analysis. Findings Utilizing the extensive resources that are available for developing Java-based software, the LRE Analyzer was written using the NetBeans IDE, and is built on top of the modular architecture and windowing system provided by the NetBeans Platform. This fully featured desktop application determines the number of target molecules within a sample with little or no intervention by the user, in addition to providing extensive database capabilities. MS Excel is used to import data, allowing LRE quantification to be conducted with any real-time PCR instrument that provides access to the raw fluorescence readings. An extensive help set also provides an in-depth introduction to LRE, in addition to guidelines on how to implement LRE quantification. Conclusions The LRE Analyzer provides the automated analysis and data storage capabilities required by large-scale qPCR projects wanting to exploit the many advantages of absolute quantification. Foremost is the universal perspective afforded by absolute quantification, which among other attributes, provides the ability to directly compare quantitative data produced by different assays and/or instruments. Furthermore, absolute quantification has important implications for gene expression profiling in that it provides the foundation for comparing transcript quantities produced by any gene with any other gene, within and between samples.


This study examines the impact of liability (quick ratio) to profitability in banking companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) to prove its influence on the level of debt repayment banking finance company. The data used in this research is secondary data uses financial statements that have been audited. Data analysis technique used is simple regression analysis. The results indicate that the quick ratio positive effect on the company's financial profitability. The results of this study illustrate that the liability would affect the profitability of companies that are in financial companies to be used effectively and efficiently. This research is important for companies and organizations, in order to better the use or utilization liability. The company is only limited to the banking companies listed in BEI, then further research is recommended to add criteria and indiktor others that have not been addressed in this study, in addition to subsequent authors can also extend the sample population to another company with a different field such as manufacturing or services.


Summary
Twenty-one temperature-sensitive mutants of Semliki Forest virus were classified by measurement of their capacity to make virus RNA. The RNA+ mutants were defective in a very early step in virus multiplication; possibly in the formation of functional polymerase enzyme. The RNA+ mutants investigated were all defective in their capacity to make the virus envelope protein. All the mutants were capable of inducing interferon formation but two different types of induction could be distinguished. At high multiplicities, both classes of mutant and the wild type induced interferon production without requiring virus RNA synthesis, while at lower multiplicities interferon production depended on the synthesis of virus RNA. It was concluded that at high multiplicities the inducer was newly synthesized RNA. However, a number of the RNA+ mutants were less efficient interferon inducers than the wild type, and at low multiplicities synthesised virus RNA but not interferon.


Effective dendritic cell (DC) function depends on sufficient expression of antigen and costimulatory molecules, and secretion of interleukin (IL)-12. We sought to augment DC stimulatory capacity by optimizing DC phenotype and IL-12 production. DCs, obtained by CD14-selection, were matured using 8 different cytokine cocktails, and expression of costimulatory/major histocompatibility complex molecules and IL-12 production at the end of maturation was assessed. DC stimulatory capacity was determined after pulsing with immunogenic adenoviral CD8+ peptide epitopes or after transduction with an Ad5f35-null vector. Resultant T-cell cultures were analyzed using pentamer and interferon-γ enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot assays. On the basis of DC expression of maturation markers and IL-12 production, we defined prototype "minimal" [tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), prostaglandin E2], "standard" (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, prostaglandin E2), and "optimal" (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, interferon-α, CD40 ligand) DC cocktails. Optimal DCs were functionally superior when pulsed with CD8+ peptides, but when transduced with Ad5f35, functioned poorly as antigen-presenting cells. We investigated the mechanisms underlying this discrepancy and suggest that prolonged stimulation with potent cytokines (optimal cocktail) in combination with adenoviral transduction alters the kinetics of DC maturation such that the DCs are functionally exhausted by the traditional 48-hour maturation time point. Shortening the DC maturation period posttransduction restored optimal DC stimulatory capacity. Thus, maturation stimuli and viral transduction affects DC phenotype, IL-12 producing capacity, and kinetics of maturation, and all must be considered before designing protocols to generate the optimal DC for cytotoxic T lymphocyte generation.


As a publicly funded institution, the British Museum has a mission to draw in a public that might not otherwise visit a museum. For this purpose, it puts on exhibitions such as the series on emperors, for which a special exhibition space was created under the dome of the Reading Room. The first exhibition (followed by exhibitions on Hadrian, Shah Abbas and Moctezuma) was a show of 20 terracotta figures from the complex of the Chinese First Emperor's tomb, on display between September 2007 and April 2008. The result of years of planning and diplomatic negotiations, the exhibition proved to be a blockbuster success for the British Museum. This article is a revised version of the William Fagg Lecture delivered by the author in 2007. It addresses and compares the particular regimes of vision entailed in exhibition, rather than permanent museum display, and those that are assumed to have informed the creation of the First Emperor's tomb in the 3rd century BCE — the interaction between what can and what cannot be seen, ways of making the invisible apparent and of imagining it.


Since the early 1990s, the design of every type of pavement has been impacted by a major turnaround in Quebec Transport Ministry (MTQ) standards. The main focus of this turnaround has been the structural design and the frost protection of every type of pavement, taking into account local climate and traffic conditions. Jointed plain concrete pavement (JPCP) was adopted as the standard at that time. In an effort to further optimize our work methods, and in keeping with the funds allocated for the maintenance and rehabilitation of cement concrete pavements, a new type of pavement is being considered: continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP). This type of concrete pavement is widely used by several states in the USA and in some European countries. The main advantage of CRCP is the absence of transverse contraction joints (considered to be the weak point of JPCP); and the main disadvantage is the higher initial construction cost. The first section of highway using CRCP in Canada was built in 2000 in the Province of Quebec. At that time, project engineers and experts attempted to adapt the design of this type of concrete pavement from other countries to the severe wet-freeze climate in Quebec. In 2002, a Technical Tour was organized to Belgium for technology transfer, with the primary purpose of developing our expertise in CRCP. Despite the fact that the performance of CRCP was unknown in a climate like ours, mainly in terms of corrosion of the steel, MTQ pavement managers were attracted by the absence of maintenance over time. Since 2000, nearly 40 kilometres of CRCP have been constructed in Quebec. This paper presents the steps that were followed in order to adapt the design and construction of this new concrete pavement, taking into account our severe wet-freeze climate. The pavement performance of various sections will be described. Finally, some unresolved issues and potential solutions will be discussed. (Author)


We used radioligand binding to tissue homogenates and isometric contraction of muscle strips to characterize the substance P (SP) receptor on gastric smooth muscle from 1- (newborn) and 7-day-old and 4- and 11-wk-old (weanling) rabbits. Scatchard analysis for newborns was curvilinear, suggesting the presence of multiple binding sites. In newborns the dissociation constant (Kd) of high-affinity binding site was 2.2 +/- 0.3 nM, and the maximum binding (Bmax) was 0.57 +/- 0.06 pmol/mg DNA. The number of high-affinity binding sites decreased with age, disappearing by 11 wk. The Kd for the low-affinity site was more than two orders of magnitude greater than that of the high-affinity site. In competitive binding studies with [3H]SP, the order of potency for the neurokinins was SP much greater than neurokinin A (NKA) greater than neurokinin B (NKB), suggesting that the high-affinity binding sites were NK-1 receptors. [125I]NKA is also bound to newborn tissue homogenate with high affinity. With [125I]NKA the order was NKA greater than SP greater than NKB, suggesting that NK-2 receptors were also present. In contraction studies, atropine and tetrodotoxin had no effect on tachykinin-stimulated contraction, suggesting solely myogenic tachykinin effects on this tissue. In newborn rabbits, the potency and efficacy of SP and NKA were similar. The half-maximal effective dose (ED50) of SP was nearly two orders of magnitude less in newborn rabbits than in weanlings; the potency of NKA did not change.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


The speed distribution in a laminar boundary layer on the surface of an elliptic cylinder, of major and minor axes 11.78 and 3.98 inches, respectively, has been determined by means of a hot-wire anemometer. The direction of the impinging air stream was parallel to the major axis. Special attention was given to the region of separation and to the exact location of the point of separation. An approximate method, developed by K. Pohlhausen for computing the speed distribution, the thickness of the layer, and the point of separation, is described in detail; and speed-distribution curves calculated by this method are presented for comparison with experiment.


Pentraxin-3(PTX-3) is a new marker of inflammation. Pentraxins like C-reactive protein are key components of the innate immune system. Diagnostic value of PTX-3 in parapneumonic pleural effusion (PPPE) and malign pleural effusion(MPE) has not been examined before.

The concentrations of pleural fluid PTX-3 were measured in a total of 61 patients: 20 with PPPE and 41 with MPE. A diagnosis PPPE was based upon the presence of an effusion in patients with clinical and radiological evidence of acute pneumonia. A malignant pleural effusion(PE) was defined by pleural biopsy or the presence of malignant cells on PE cytology. The area under the curve (AUC) quantified the overall diagnostic accuracy of the tests.

The study demonstrated that PTX-3 concentration was higher in pleural fluid of PPPE patients compared with MPE patients (31.8 ng/mL vs 6.9 ng/mL, respectively, p<0.001). Pleural effusion PTX-3 demonstrated AUCs of 0.802 (95% CI: 0.683–0.921, P<0.001) for diagnosing effusions due to PPPE. The sensitivity and specificity of PE-PTX-3 for PPPE at the cut-off concentration of 8.5 ng/mL was 80% and 64 %, respectively.

Measuring PTX-3 concentrations in pleural fluid may be helpful in distinguishing pleural effusion due to a PPPE or MPE aetiology.


The purpose of this paper is to describe the work in progress related to the customisation, the trial and the evaluation of an innovative e-learning platform for manager upgrade in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the framework of an EC funded project named InTraServ and its forthcoming re-engineering process aimed to the adoption of distributed services in the framework of another EC funded project named Diogene. The present e-learning solution includes several state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies such as: metadata and ontologies for knowledge manipulation, fuzzy learner modelling, intelligent course tailoring, case based reasoning, business games and simulation tools. The proposed solution is based on the distribution of working tasks among content provider services, content discovery services, content brokering services, training services, curriculum vitae searching services and collaboration services.


Context: Tooth plays a pivotal role in the identification of a person when all other remains are ruined by natural or unnatural causes. Dental evidence can contribute to age estimation in forensic dentistry. Estimating the age of an individual with the help of a tooth for identification proves beneficial. Alternating light and dark bands seen on the cementum have been shown to be proportionate to the age of the patient in number. This was done to evaluate the cementum annulation in age determination. Aims: This study aimed to determine the age of an individual using tooth cementum annulation. Materials and Methods: In this study, twenty extracted teeth were collected and all the clinical details of the patient such as age, sex, and chief complaint were recorded. The collected teeth was preserved in formalin overnight and then washed under tap water before they were sectioned. The area selected for counting was observed under 10 × objective of light microscope, and photomicrographs were taken for the counting of the lines. At the time of analysis, the age of the patient was not disclosed to the observer. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis. Results: This study showed the correlation between the actual age of the individual and the estimated age using tooth cementum annulation method and showed significant statistical value. Conclusion: Incremental lines found in cementum can be used for age estimation in forensic dentistry.


Classification of Galaxies Using Fractal Dimensions by Sandip Thanki Dr. George Rhee, Examination Committee Chair Assistant Professor University of Nevada, Las Vegas The classification of galaxies is morphological. Shapes of the galaxies range from the very simple (e.g. elliptical galaxies) to the highly complex (e.g. irregular galaxies). Analyzing a measure of complexity for such shapes could lead to automatic classifica tion. Fractal dimension, a quantity related to the complexity of a given shape, could be such a measure. Capacity dimension and correlation dimension are two of the several types of fractal dimensions. In this project, correlation dimensions and the capacity dimensions of the contours generated around different intensity levels of the galaxy images, versus the intensity levels were computed. It was found that elliptical galaxies tend to have a lower value of the average correlation dimension (computed for a selected range of intensity levels) than spirals.


The overall aim of this paper has been to examine the development of an aesthetical discourse: the art discourse and the dialectic between it and the technological development. In order to do so I have chosen to through discourse analyses analyse art reviews from two daily newspapers. My hypothesis was that there is a difference to be found between the early and the later work of arts within this field where the majority of the early artworks will show a noticeable interest for technological aspects such as the possibility of interactivity and the latter are to be more involved with questions concerning ideological issues. One may be able to talk in terms of a change from materiality to an increased interest in ideology. The theoretical framework of the study has included concepts such as remediation, immediacy, hypermediacy and the second media age. Concepts belonging to theories which all deal with new media. My purpose has been to try and adapt the same concepts to articles dealing with new media, one migth call it that I have tried to use them on a meta level.Since this paper is the result of a case study it means that it should also be regarded as such, that is rather as an attempt to identify tendencies than as a completed study. But although the material used for this study is far too small to be able to say something for sure, I have tried to show that – even though the tendency is everything but clear – the later articles are the ones with a more reflexive and philosophical approach towards new media. Which also could be understood as they are closer to what Poster describes as the second media age.


Medicine, consists of a description of tests designed to measure the acquisition of body schema and of right/ left orientation by children between 3 and 8 years of age. In the first group of tests the child is asked to imitate 20 simple gestures ofhand and arm, 16 complex gestures of hands and fingers, and the opposite of 10 of the latter. In the second group the child has to name and point to different parts of his own and the examiner's body. The authors combined all this with a 'Draw a Man' test at the beginning and end of the testing session and with a mannequin assembly puzzle. They claim that the complete examination does not take longer than 20 minutes even with the slowest children. The gestures are well illustrated, and detailed scoring criteria render the interpretation of results unequivocal. The tests have been standardized on a total of 489 right-handed children of average intelligence, and norms are presented for the ages of 3 to 6 years for the body image, and 3 to 8 years for the right/left orientation tests at yearly intervals. Studies done on 100 children born prematurely and 78 children with neurological disturbances showed that these two groups were slower in acquiring body image than normals In spite of the difficulty in finding some information necessary for interpreting the validity of the findings, and the small number of some of the age-groups on which tests are standardized, for example 28 children at age 8, and 29 at age 7, this book is useful in suggesting further lines of research. Once the importance of factors such as 'crossed laterality', muscular coordination, intelligence level, etc. has been assessed, the tests will probably help to elucidate some of the problems encountered in children with neurological and psychological illnesses. Professor J. de Ajuriaguerra in his preface provides a lucid summary of previous work in this field and an enumeration of points worthy of note in the study.


According to the 'law of dispersion', the level of inequality in political participation is higher when voter turnout is low. We empirically test this hypothesis by evaluating levels of voter turnout in the 2010 Swedish election to the Västra Götaland county council and in the 2011 re-election for the same county council. The re-election voter turnout was reduced by almost half, from 80.6 per cent to 44.1 per cent. Our results support the law of dispersion: the level of inequality in participation substantially increased between young and old, rich and poor, low and high educated and politically interested and uninterested.


The radiation response of SCCVII tumor cells in C3H/He mice under various irradiation conditions was studied using an in vivo-in vitro assay. When tumor-bearing mice were irradiated without anesthesia or physical restraint, the tumor had a hypoxic fraction of 5.4%. Both anesthesia and immobilization of the tumor-bearing leg with adhesive tape produced significant increases in the hypoxic fraction (23 and 28%, respectively). Restraining the mouse in a jig without immobilizing the tumor-bearing leg also increased the hypoxic fraction (13%).


This article engages sources regarding evolutionary development of guilt (Richard Joyce's The Evolution of Morality, Jesse Prinz's Gut Reactions, and others) and how they can be used to dialogue with material on the alleviation of guilt in the Christian tradition using examples in the work of Anselm of Canterbury and John Chrysostom. This raises a few key questions. If guilt is an evolutionary trait created to build reputation and relationship, how does this mesh with some theological approaches to solutions for guilt? To be more precise, guilt possibly evolved to create a motivation for beneficial communal actions, and necessitates belief in the authority of the rules that one breaks to induce it. That said, does religion play a role in awareness of one's guilt, while also providing a solution to that guilt? The possibilities are explored in this article as they relate to issues of repentance, atonement, and prayer.


Abstract Encephalitis is a serious and potentially treatable infection of the central nervous system. A pathogen is identified in less than 50% of cases. The differential diagnosis includes acute infection, immune-mediated causes, and other central nervous system processes. Emergent investigations include blood work, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and neuroimaging. Empiric acyclovir and antibiotics should be started immediately to maximize the child's chance of neurologic recovery.


: Severance of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knees of mature beagles caused instability and resulted in the slow onset of changes comparable to those present in human osteoarthritis (OA). Heightened cellular activities were reflected in increased levels of arylsulfatase, acid phosphatase, and beta-glucuronidase in the articular cartilage. Similar increases in these lysosomal enzyme activities were found in the synovial fluid of the operated joints. Dietary supplementation with vitamin C resulted in increased serum protein content and increased cartilage formation, although ascorbate had no effect on enzyme activities. The early stages of OA in mature beagles, therefore, were characterized by interference with normal chondrocyte metabolism which resulted in staggered elevation of different lysosomal enzymes.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To explore the relationships between cultural health beliefs, acculturation, treatment-related decisions, the doctor-patient relationship, and health behaviors among Asian American breast cancer survivors (AABCS), and the contextual meaning of those relationships among Korean American breast cancer survivors (KABCS) and AABCS.

DESIGN
A mixed-methods triangulation design.

SETTING
Community- and hospital-based support groups and hospital cancer registries in California.

SAMPLE
206 AABCS were included in the quantitative phase, and two focus groups were conducted with KABCS (N = 11) during the qualitative phase.

METHODS
The quantitative phase used secondary data for AABCS. Standardized (i.e., cultural health beliefs, doctor-patient relationship, and acculturation) and newly developed instruments (i.e., health behaviors and treatment-related decisions) were used in the quantitative phase. An exploratory, descriptive, qualitative study of KABCS then was undertaken.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Cultural health beliefs, acculturation, treatment-related decisions, the doctor-patient relationship, and health behaviors.

FINDINGS
Inter-intrapersonal health beliefs, doctor-patient relationship, and shared decision making were positively associated with adopting healthy lifestyle practices. Findings from the quantitative phase were explained further by the diverse themes that emerged in the KABCS focus groups.

CONCLUSIONS
This study provides new knowledge about cultural health beliefs and health behaviors among KABCS using a mixed-methods approach.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
The results highlight the need for greater attention to the cultural contexts of AABCS to promote healthy behaviors and recognition of the significant relationship between health professionals and breast cancer survivors.


Finding the right way to move forward with seaweed cultivation requires the relevant stakeholders to reach agreement on what goals/limits to set and subsequently what measures should be taken to achieve them. Using a Q-method approach and an analytical framework based on in-put legitimacy and the four pillars of sustainability, we discuss the answers of a diverse set of stakeholders to the question: how should commercial seaweed cultivation in Scotland develop? Our results reveal three main discourses. The first focused on environmental and social sustainability, the second on accessing global markets, economic and environmental sustainability and the third prioritized jobs and social and institutional sustainability. The areas of consensus across the factors included the perception that large-scale and multi-national owned farms are not the ideal model for development of the industry in Scotland. All participants advised that the current regulatory regime for seaweed cultivation requires improvement. These results are discussed within the analytical framework and a prediction of the factors required to establish a legitimate seaweed cultivation industry in Scotland is presented.


The Football Banning Order was the first Civil Preventive Order (CPO), predating the many similar measures that followed the election of New Labour to government in 1997 by 10 years. CPOs have been held by the domestic courts to be preventive rather than punitive measures that do not need to follow criminal procedures to be compliant with Arts.6 and 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights. After three decades of amendment and imaginative application, however, the original CPO has evolved into a punitive measure that is rarely utilised against those who orchestrate football-related violence and goes far beyond what is necessary to prevent low-level football disorder. It will be argued that in order to avoid breaching Arts.6 and 7, the imposition of this evolved CPO - a 'super-Football Banning Order' - should be restricted by amendment of ss.14A and B Football Spectators Act 1989. Further, and of wider interest, its previously undocumented incremental evolution should serve as a warning of how other CPOs could evolve similarly punitive impacts on their recipients.


We have used a digital in-line holography system with numerical reconstruction to determine 2D velocity fields in several slices of a sample volume. This system records directly on a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera the diffraction patterns of small particles illuminated by a double-pulse laser diode. The numerical reconstruction is based on the wavelet transformation method. A slice is reconstructed by computing the wavelet components for different scale parameters. These parameters are related to the axial distance between a particle and the CCD camera. The particle images are identified and localized by analysing the maximum of the wavelet transform modulus and the width of the particle image (L50). Afterwards, a point-matching algorithm is applied to the set pairs containing the particles. This step is followed by velocity vector extraction. The details of the velocity extraction and the data processing method are presented and the simulations and experimental results are discussed.


An experiment for two consecutive years (2017 and 2018) was conducted to evaluate the use of mulching materials in increasing productivity and profitability of potato production. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five different mulching materials including control replicated for four times namely, banmara (Agertina adenophora) weed (T1), black polythene sheet (T2), white polythene sheet (T3), commercially used mulch paper having black color outside and silver color inside (T4) and farmers practice (T5) as a control with no mulch. The research result revealed that all the mulching materials significantly (p value ≤ 0.05) increased tuber yield and yield attributing characters of potato as compared with control (no mulch). The highest tuber yield was obtained from mulching with commercial mulch paper followed by mulching with black polythene sheet in both years. Mulching with banmara also produced significantly (p value ≤ 0.01) higher tuber yield than no mulch plot in the year 2017 and 2018. Mulching practices significantly (p value ≤ 0.05) improved the soil available phosphorus. The incremental benefit cost ratio was highest (2.97) in the mulched with banmara followed by commercial mulch paper (2.12). The banmara mulch was also profitable with comparatively higher tuber yield.


Abstract We evaluated the relationship between salinity and Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) population parameters using 26 years of survey data for the lower Chesapeake Bay. Tidal tributaries within the study area were stratified according to the Chesapeake Bay Program's segmentation scheme, and segments with the same salinity classification were considered spatial replicates. Salinity categories included tidal fresh, oligohaline, mesohaline, and polyhaline. Four parameters— colonization rate, nesting density, projected carrying capacity, and productivity— were derived from nesting data within each shoreline segment and compared across the salinity gradient. The study-wide Bald Eagle population is exhibiting exponential growth, with an average doubling time of 7.9 years. All population parameters showed significant directional variation with salinity. Average population doubling time for tidal fresh reaches was <6 years, compared with >16 years for polyhaline areas. Current Bald Eagle nesting density is negatively related to salinity and varies by a factor of 4 across the gradient. Comparison of current densities with projected carrying capacity suggests that these differences will be stable or increasing as the geographic areas approach equilibrium densities. We suggest that fisheries within lower saline reaches, including spring spawning runs of anadromous Clupeidae (shad and herring), are the most likely explanation for salinity effects. Observed distribution patterns suggest that lands along low-salinity waters are the core of the Bald Eagle nesting population within the lower Chesapeake Bay and should be the focus of long-term programs designed to benefit nesting eagles. Salinidad y Parámetros Poblacionales de Haliaeetus leucocephalus en la Bahia de Chesapeake


The emergence of the IoT, 5G and different modes of computing has introduced a new demand to tailor-made networks to support a wide spectrum of applications. Even though virtualizing networks and applying QoS to these networks are crucial, it is always challenging to achieve QoS, high acceptance ratio, and cost effectiveness on provisioning virtual networks given the constrained resource of the underlying network. This paper introduces Delay Constraint Optimum Bandwidth Tree (DCOBT), which effectively satisfies the QoS requirement of virtual networks in terms of both end-to-end delay and bandwidth. We propose the QoS-aware Resource Provisioning (QRP) algorithm to determine DCOBT with less bandwidth consumption and superior load balancing. Using SDN as a key platform to implement QoS-aware virtual networks, this paper further proposes flow rule reduction using Destination Label Forwarding (DLF) to provision more virtual networks with less Ternary Content-Addressable Memory (TCAM) consumption. The evaluation results proved significant contribution on different aspects of resource provisioning for QoS-aware virtual networks with improved availability, scalability, and cost effectiveness.


Background Doxorubicin has been shown to inhibit proliferation of cancer cells through proteolytic activation of CREB3L1 (cAMP response element binding protein 3-like 1), a transcription factor synthesized as a membrane-bound precursor. Upon doxorubicin treatment, CREB3L1 is cleaved so that the N-terminal domain of the protein can reach the nucleus where it activates transcription of genes that inhibit cell proliferation. These results suggest that the level of CREB3L1 in cancer cells may determine their sensitivity to doxorubicin. Methods Mice transplanted with 6 lines of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were injected with doxorubicin to observe the effect of the chemotherapy on tumor growth. Immunohistochemistry and bioinformatics analyses were performed to compare CREB3L1 levels in types of cancer known to respond to doxorubicin versus those resistant to doxorubicin. Results Higher levels of CREB3L1 protein are correlated with increased doxorubicin sensitivity of xenograft RCC tumors (p = 0.017 by Pearson analysis). From patient tumor biopsies we analyzed, CREB3L1 was expressed in 19% of RCC, which is generally resistant to doxorubicin, but in 70% of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that is sensitive to doxorubicin. Doxorubicin is used as the standard treatment for cancers that express the highest levels of CREB3L1 such as osteosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma but is not generally used to treat those that express the lowest levels of CREB3L1 such as RCC. Conclusion Identification of CREB3L1 as the biomarker for doxorubicin sensitivity may markedly improve the doxorubicin response rate by applying doxorubicin only to patients with cancers expressing CREB3L1.


As a new network computing technology, Web services help reduce application integration cost and have become the foundation for the next generation of service-oriented architecture. While there is ample research on the technological issues of Web services, little has been done thus far on the business implications of this groundbreaking technology. In this paper, we attempt to close this research gap by comparing three application service strategies for providing Web services of complementary functionalities, i.e., independent service vendors (ISVs), joint venture (JV), and strategic alliance (SA). Although Web service integration is analogous to product bundling, the unique features of software integration, such as low integration cost and the possibility of creating an integrated Web service with new functionalities, have led to interesting analytical results not seen in the product bundling literature. We find that the optimal application service strategy is determined by several factors, including the integration cost, the valuations, and market potentials of the individual and integrated Web services. Our study shows that the application service strategy of ISVs is always dominated by the SA, implying that Web service providers benefit from the increased interoperability of Web services. In cases where the integrated Web service is highly valuated and the integration cost is small, JV becomes the optimal application service strategy. In other cases, the Web service providers are better off to form SAs


Despite years of research and investment, we have yet to see the widespread implementation of a myriad research-proven instructional strategies in STEM education[1]. To address this challenge, we present and analyze one such strategy, a theoretically-grounded model of university-community partnership [2] that engages university students and children in a collective enterprise that has the potential to improve the participation and education of all. We document the impact of this effort on: university participants who learn about education, the community and science; children in the community who learn about science, the nature of science and develop their identities and attitudes towards science; and, shifts in institutional structures which may allow these programs to be part of standard practice. This project is designed to be sustained and scaled, and is analyzed through the application of a new framework [3] which brings together theories of STEM change that come from studies in higher education, faculty development and disciplinary-based education research in STEM. [1] National Research Council. (2003). Improving Undergraduate Instruction in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: Report of A Workshop. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. [2] Finkelstein, N. and Mayhew, L. (2008). Acting in Our Own Self-Interest: Blending University and Community. Proceedings of the 2008 Physics Education Research Conf, AIP Press. Melville NY, 1064, 19-22. [3] Henderson, C., Finkelstein, N. & Beach A. (to appear). Beyond Dissemination in College science teaching: An Introduction to Four Core Change Strategies. Accepted May 2009 in Journal of College Science Teaching.


The Human Genome and the Hap Map Projects as well as the extensive use of deep resequencing worldwide, have contributed to a massive catalogue of reported single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other genetic variations in the human genome. Pharmacogenomics is an emerging field that combines genetics with pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drug in attempt to understand inter-individual differences among patients and develop more accurate drug dosing. However, only for the minority of those variations an association with phenotype has been established. Here, we provide an overview of genes and genetic variants that influence inter-individual dosing of three of the most widely used drugs, namely warfarin, irinotecan and thiopurine drugs, to highlight a tangible benefit of translating genomic knowledge into clinical practice. Therefore, particular SNPs in vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1), cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9), uridine diphosphate glucoronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) and thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) genes has proven to be applicable for optimising the dosage in pursuit of maximum efficacy and minimum adverse effects. Thus, they set an important paradigm of implementation of pharmacogenomics in the mainstream clinical practice.


Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease characterised by arterial and/or venous thrombosis, recurrent pregnancy loss, and persistently positive antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs). It could be life-threatening as in the case of catastrophic APS where multi-organ failure is observed. APS morbidities are thought to be the result of a combination of thrombotic and inflammatory processes. Over the past decades, the mainstay of therapy of APS has been anticoagulation. As new mechanisms of pathogenesis are being unravelled with time, novel targeted immunomodulatory therapies are being proposed as promising agents in the treatment of APS. In this article, we present an overview of new pathogenetic mechanisms in APS as well as novel antithrombotic and immunomodulatory therapies.


The second part of this report contains the most important knowledge and the results gained through the study carried out at the Inselspital Berne, Switzerland, concerning the influence a clinical nurse practitioner has on work environment and patient satisfaction. Nurses who had the support of a clinical nurse practitioners had better guidelines at their disposal and got more feedbacks than the others. There were, however, no great differences between the units with a clinical nurse practitioner and those without one regarding communication, motivation for further education and support in difficult patient situations. The motivation for higher education was remarkably high on all units. However, the nurses on the units with a clinical nurse practitioner showed more interest in psychological and social matters and they had according literature at their disposal. The patients were generally satisfied, although there were differences regarding trust of the patients in nurses. Patients of units with a clinical nurse practitioner addressed nurses more frequently and easily with their problems and questions than patients from other units. This case study showed that clinical nurse practitioners play an active and important role concerning teamwork, particularly by giving feedbacks and helping to create an atmosphere of support regarding personal continuing education, using all available resources, discussing patient situations, evaluating them and finding solutions.


Sparsity models have recently shown great promise in many vision tasks. Using a learned dictionary in sparsity models can in general outperform predefined bases in clean data. In practice, both training and testing data may be corrupted and contain noises and outliers. Although recent studies attempted to cope with corrupted data and achieved encouraging results in testing phase, how to handle corruption in training phase still remains a very difficult problem. In contrast to most existing methods that learn the dictionary from clean data, this paper is targeted at handling corruptions and outliers in training data for dictionary learning. We propose a general method to decompose the reconstructive residual into two components: a non-sparse component for small universal noises and a sparse component for large outliers, respectively. In addition, further analysis reveals the connection between our approach and the ``partial'' dictionary learning approach, updating only part of the prototypes (or informative code words) with remaining (or noisy code words) fixed. Experiments on synthetic data as well as real applications have shown satisfactory performance of this new robust dictionary learning approach.


A large number of developed silver grains accumulated on the nuclei and some were scattered in the cell organelles of mouse endometrial, interstitial, and myometrial cells, 30min after 3H-17-β-6, 7-estradiol administration. 2hr later, they showed distinct active reactions in their cytoplasmic fine structures, although developed silver grains were still located in their nuclei. A single fixation method with 2 to 4/osmium tetroxide seemed very effective to preserve the carrier bound estradiol.Female rats were perfused with PLP (periodate-lysine-paraformaldehyde) or PG (paraformaldehyde and glutaraldehyde) before incubation in radioactive estradiol or its ligands. The perfused uteri were cut in small pieces and incubated in 3H-estradiol or 3H-moxestrol with a 10μCi/ml in phosphate buffer for 2hr at 37°C. They were post-fixed with a mixture of glutaraldehyde and osmium tetroxide for 2hr, then embedded in Epon after dehydration. In both cases, the developed silver grains were homogenously on the cell surfaces, in the cytoplasm, and on the nuclear membranes of endometrial, interstitial, and myometrial cells.No nuclear accumulation was observed in those experiments. However, a very strong accumulation of labeled compounds was observed in the granules of eosinophilic leucocytes and in the lysosomal granules of tissue macrophages.These data suggest that the receptors for the estradiol or ligands in the endometrial cells, especially in the nuclei, cannot accept directly without carrier proteins, except in the eosinophilic leucocyte or macrophages. The results may support facts obtained by many biochemical studies. Furthermore, it is possible that the primary receptors for estradiol or its ligands are distributed in the cytoplasm and on the membrane surface of cells, with only a small number in the nuclei. In this case, secondary receptors should exist in the nuclei, which only accept the carrier-bound estradiol or its ligands.


: In summary, it seems clear from the data presented in this report that nurses engaged in becoming a family nurse practitioner in the program studied undergo a considerable amount of social, physical, and psychological discomfort. However, the data on the first class trained does suggest that the psychological and to a lesser extent the physical stress students experience during formal training subsides during the preceptorship. Nevertheless, it is out contention that certain stressful periods in training cannot be avoided because of the nature and intensity of the course content as well as the role change necessary for becoming a responsible, dicisive practitioner. Yet, experience with training two classes does suggest that although high stress probably cannot be avoided, at least the length of intense periods can be shortened. In order to accomplish this, it is necessary to have a curriculum which is well-organized, clear in its purpose, and one which provides the opportunity for tension-release, discussion and development of role, and emotional support. Finally, with regard to the perisitence of social stress both during and after training, there appears to be a need to provide continued support to students during their preceptorship in order to assure that role change and development continues. In this regard, periodic continuing education sessions for students seem crucial as do discussions of role with both students and preceptors. As the family nurse practitioner role evolves, it becomes increasingly clear that at times these new health professionals are neither doctors or nurses and at other times they are both. However, nurse practitioners cannot meaningfully sustain their new and somewhat ambiguous role without the mutual cooperation and support of both the medical and nursing establishments in which they practice.


BACKGROUND
 Mental health recovery refers to an individual's experience of gaining a sense of personal control, striving towards one's life goals, and meeting one's needs. Although people with serious mental illness own and use electronic devices for general purposes, knowledge of their current use and interest in future use for supporting mental health recovery remains limited.

 OBJECTIVE
 This study aimed to identify smartphone, tablet, and computer apps that mental health service recipients use and want to use to support their recovery.

 METHODS
 In this pilot study, we surveyed a convenience sample of 63 mental health service recipients with serious mental illness. The survey assessed current use and interest in mobile and computer devices to support recovery.

 RESULTS
 Listening to music (60%), accessing the internet (59%), calling (59%), and texting (54%) people were the top functions currently used by participants on their device to support their recovery. Participants expressed interest in learning how to use apps for anxiety/stress management (45%), mood management (45%), monitoring mental health symptoms (43%), cognitive behavioral therapy (40%), sleep (38%), and dialectical behavior therapy (38%) to support their recovery.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Mental health service recipients currently use general functions such as listening to music and calling friends to support recovery. Nevertheless, they reported interest in trying more specific illness-management apps.


Single pulse of 2.0 to 3.5 kJ of input energy from 150 μF capacitor was applied in a N2 atmosphere to the cp Ti rod for its surface modification and heat treatment. Under the conditions of using 2.0 and 2.5 kJ of input energy, no phase transformation has been occurred. However, the hardness and tensile strength decreased slightly after a discharge due to a grain growth. Using greater than 3.0 kJ of input energy, the electro discharge process made a phase transformation and the hardness especially at the edge of the cross-section of the Ti rod increased significantly. The Ti rod before the discharge was lightly oxidized and was primarily in the form of TiO2. However, the surface of the Ti rod has been instantaneously modified by the discharge into the major form of TiN from TiO2. The electro discharge process can thus modify the Ti rod's surface in times as short as 200 μsec by manipulating the input energy, capacitance, and discharging ambience.


We propose one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) arrays of magnetic surface microtraps for cold alkali atoms using some arrays of current-carrying wires and we calculate the spatial distributions of magnetic fields from the 1D and 2D arrays of current-carrying wires.The field gradients and curvatures from a single magnetic microtrap are analysed,and some interesting and periodic magnetic-well microstructures are found.The result shows that a magnetic-field gradient greater than 2.4×10^5 G/cm and a field curvature greater than 4.05×10^8 G/cm^2 can be generated in our array of magnetic microtraps,which can be used to realize the 1D and 2D arrays of Bose-Einstein condensations(or 1D and 2D arrays of Bose clusters )by rf-induced evaporative cooling,and then to form 1D and 2D atomic magnetic lattices,even to prepare 1D and 2D photonic crystals.


In this work we develop an analytical method for resolution of the reaction-diffusion equations which govern impurity diffusion by the dissociative mechanism in a finite-thickness sample and from a deposit of solute atoms on the surface. This method is based upon the perturbation of basic solutions corresponding to limiting cases and the choice of suitable small parameters. The solutions obtained and their comparison to those of numerical studies are also presented in this paper.


This paper analyzes the internationalization strategies of biotech firms in the Netherlands. We find that many of these firms are born internationals in the sense that from their inception they are actively engaged in international cooperation. However, we find that the nature of potential intellectual property and technology has a strong influence on the drivers for the internationalization process. In the theory part of the paper we connect IP strategies and technology to separate classes of business models which subsequently translate in dominant internationalization strategies. By presenting case study evidence for the Dutch biotech industry, in the empirical part of the paper we show that technological characteristics explain the variation of internationalization strategies across firms.


In this paper, a low-cost ADC output response analyzer (ORA) circuit for built-in self-test (BIST) application is proposed. The sine-wave histogram testing method and the basic COordinate Rotation Digital Computer (CORDIC) technique are used to design the proposed ADC ORA circuit. The ADC's static and dynamic parameters can both be obtained using the proposed circuit. The basic CORDIC based ADC ORA circuit is designed and synthesized in a 0.18-μm technology to analyze the outputs an 8-bit ADC to verify the designs. It shows a lower area overhead compared with the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) based realization. Keywords-analog-to-digital converter, sine-wave histogram test, COordinate rotation digital computer technique


Psychophysical and electrophysiological methods are used to evaluate retinal function in a family with dominantly inherited retinitis pigmentosa. Techniques of full-field (ganzfeld) stimulation, scotopically balanced lights, and a ganzfeld adapting field are introduced to analyze the electroretinogram (ERG). Rod ERG responses, reduced in amplitude and delayed in latency, are detectable in the early stages of the disease. Cone ERG responses are normal. Dark adaptation testing shows normal cone but abnormal rod function with a slight delay in the rate of rod recovery. Scotopic luminosity curves and ERG responses to scotopically matched lights suggest that the rhodopsin present has a normal absorption spectrum. A reduction in the amount or effectiveness of rhodopsin in each rod throughout the entire retina can explain the findings. The literature on light-induced retinal degenerations is reviewed, and the effects of light exclusion on this disease are considered.


Summary
1Wood is increasingly used in restoration projects to improve the hydromorphological and ecological status of streams and rivers. However, despite their growing importance, only a few of these projects are described in the open literature. To aid practitioners, we conducted a postal mail survey to summarize the experiences gained in central Europe and compile data on 50 projects.
2Our results indicated the potential for improvement from an ecological point of view, as the number and total wood volume, and the median volume of single wood structures placed in the streams per project, were low compared with the potential natural state. Moreover, many wood structures were placed nearly parallel to the water flow, reducing their beneficial effect on stream hydraulics and morphology.
3Restoration success has been monitored in only 58% of the projects. General conclusions drawn include the following. (i) The potential effects of wood placement must be evaluated within a watershed and reach-scale context. (ii) Wood measures are most successful if they mimic natural wood. (iii) Effects of wood structures on stream morphology are strongly dependent on conditions such as stream size and hydrology. (iv) Wood placement has positive effects on several fish species. (v) Most projects revealed a rapid improvement of the hydromorphological status.
4Most of the wood structures have been fixed, called 'hard engineering'. However, soft engineering methods (use of non-fixed wood structures) are known to result in more natural channel features for individual stream types, sizes and sites, and are significantly more cost-effective.
5Synthesis and applications. Large wood has been used successfully in several projects in central Europe, predominantly to increase the general structural complexity using fixed wood structures. Our results recommend the use of less costly soft engineering techniques (non-fixed wood structures), higher amounts of wood, larger wood structures and improved monitoring programmes for future restoration projects comparable with those in this study. We recommend the use of 'passive restoration' methods (restoring the process of wood recruitment on large scales) rather than 'active restoration' (placement of wood structures on a reach scale), as passive restoration avoids the risk of non-natural amounts or diversity of wood loading developing within streams. Local, active placement of wood structures must be considered as an interim measure until passive restoration methods have increased recruitment sufficiently.


Check out the sizzling Summer Reading selections for rising 7th graders at West Essex Middle School. Read for the fun of it!


Dimension Word Knowledge and Flexible Attention Shifting Rima Hanania Indiana University Thea Ionescu Babe-Bolyai University,Cluj Napoca, Romania Linda B. Smith Indiana University Abstract: One of the developing skills in executive functions is the flexible control of selective attention. Young children improve in this ability during the preschool years as measured by such tasks as the Dimension Change Card Sort (DCCS) which asks children to sort pictures, first by one dimension (e.g. color), and then by another (e.g. shape). Three-year-olds sort correctly by the first dimension, but do not sort correctly when the rule changes (i.e., they perseverate). By five, children switch flexibly between dimensions. This study asks about the relationship between perseveration in the DCCS and dimensional word knowledge which also improves during preschool years. Thirty children participated in a study which tests knowledge of feature terms (e.g., red, blue) and dimension terms (e.g. color, shape). Results indicate no difference in knowledge of feature terms for the two groups, but children who switch successfully in the DCCS were significantly better at dimension terms.


Abstract Aims: (i) To quantify support across five stakeholder groups for 20 recovery indicators previously generated from focus groups of service users and concerned others and (ii) To create a brief recovery questionnaire. Methods: Indicators were rated by stakeholders for their overall importance and the three most important ranked. The factor structure was determined by principal component analysis. Findings: The initial 20 recovery indicators covered the spectrum of substance misuse, social and psychological domains. Positive endorsement of each indicator by stakeholder group ranged from 53% to 74% of the maximum support possible with stronger support from service users and concerned others than from practitioners and commissioners. The greatest number of individuals in each stakeholder group, from 86% of combined problem drinkers and drug takers to 36% of specialist practitioners, rated abstinence as the single most important aspect of recovery and well-being was rated second most important. The indicators were refined to create a 12-item Addiction Recovery Questionnaire – the items have good independent evidence of importance to outcome to support their inclusion. Originality: The questionnaire is derived solely from the views of service users and concerned others – it is a brief tool with high face validity and suitable for routine use.


ExxonMobil and South Oil Company entered into an agreement to develop oil reserves in the "Main Pay" reservoir at West Qurna 1 field in 2010. Two cored wells, WQ1_0002 and RN_0083, were released to ExxonMobil in 2011 by SOC for core description and sampling. Various authors have interpreted the Zubair sandstones in the region to have been deposited in deltaic, estuarine and fluvial environments, but prior to reviewing these core data the dominant environments of deposition at West Qurna field were not well defined. A biostratigraphic study of the "Main Pay" reservoir indicates that most samples contain a mix of marine and terrestrial fauna. Examples of marine fauna include: benthic forams, dinocysts, echinoid plates/spines, bivalves, gastropods, calcispheres and trace fossils. Terrestrial material includes organic matter, spores, pollen, phytocuticles, amber and thin coal intervals. Abundant marine faunas occur in lower energy, deeper marine conditions whereas reduced marine fauna that is admixed with terrestrial material, occurs in higher energy, shallower water conditions. Rock types observed in core in the lower portion of the "Main Pay" include coarsening upward black claystones at the base overlain by bioturbated very fine grained sandstones which in turn are overlain by fine-grained, trough cross-bedded sandstones. Cross-bedded sandstones are sometimes capped by thin coals or lignites. Above the coarsening upward succession is a shale interval that is 10m thick with abundant marine fauna. Overlying the shale member is the middle sandstone unit. This unit is composed of interbedded thin claystone- siltstone intervals and thin to thick bedded very fine to fine grained sandstones. Bioturbation by marine organisms is common throughout this unit. Biostratigraphic and rock description show the reservoir sandstones of the Zubair "Main Pay" at the West Qurna 1 area were deposited predominantly in shallow water marine setting. Presence of thin coals, phytocuticles, roots and other terrestrial material indicate the area was periodically occupied by land plants. Well log correlations and MDT pressure data demonstrate that the "Main Pay" sandstones have good lateral connectivity. This high degree of lateral continuity together with paleoecologic and lithologic indicators of alternating marine and terrestrial deposition suggest the Zubair "Main Pay" reservoir at West Qurna 1 was deposited close to the paleo-shoreline, and most likely in a deltaic environment.


This thesis gives an introduction to some of the ideas originating from A. Grothendieck's 1984 manuscript Esquisse d'un programme. Most of these ideas are related to a new geometric approach to studying the absolute Galois group over the rationals by considering its action on certain geometric objects such as dessins d'enfants (called stick figures in this thesis) and the fundamental groups of certain moduli spaces of curves. I start by defining stick figures and explaining the connection between these innocent combinatorial objects and the absolute Galois group. I then proceed to give some background on moduli spaces. This involves describing how Teichmüller spaces and mapping class groups can be used to address the problem of counting the possible complex structures on a compact surface. In the last chapter I show how this relates to the absolute Galois group by giving an explicit description of the action of the absolute Galois group on the fundamental group of a particularly simple moduli space. I end by showing how this description was used by Y. Ihara to prove that the absolute Galois group is contained in the Grothendieck-Teichmüller group.


Background:Many individuals have not received recommended colorectal cancer (CRC) screening before they become Medicare eligible at the age of 65. We aimed to estimate the long-term implications of increased CRC screening in the pre-Medicare population (50–64 y) on costs in the pre-Medicare and Medicare populations (65+ y). Methods:We used 2 independently developed microsimulation models [Microsimulation Screening Analysis Colon (MISCAN) and Simulation Model of CRC (SimCRC)] to project CRC screening and treatment costs under 2 scenarios, starting in 2010: "current trends" (60% of the population up-to-date with screening recommendations) and "enhanced participation" (70% up-to-date). The population was scaled to the projected US population for each year between 2010 and 2060. Costs per year were derived by age group (50–64 and 65+ y). Results:By 2060, the discounted cumulative total costs in the pre-Medicare population were $35.7 and $28.1 billion higher with enhanced screening participation, than in the current trends scenario ($252.1 billion with MISCAN and $239.5 billion with SimCRC, respectively). Because of CRC treatment savings with enhanced participation, cumulative costs in the Medicare population were $18.3 and $32.7 billion lower (current trends: $423.5 billion with MISCAN and $372.8 billion with SimCRC). Over the 50-year time horizon an estimated 60% (MISCAN) and 89% (SimCRC) of the increased screening costs could be offset by savings in Medicare CRC treatment costs. Conclusion:Increased CRC screening participation in the pre-Medicare population could reduce CRC incidence and mortality, whereas the additional screening costs can be largely offset by long-term Medicare treatment savings.


ABSTRACT New Hofmann–Td-type clathrates of the forms Cd(CPA)2M(CN)4.C6H6 (CPA = cyclopropylamine; M˭Cd or Hg) prepared in powder form and characterized by FT-IR, FT-Raman, far-IR spectra, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analyses are reported. Vibrational assignments are proposed for the bands of the host lattice and guest molecule. It is shown that the spectra are consistent with a proposed crystal structure for the compounds derived from X-ray diffraction measurements. The C, H, and N analyses were carried out for all the compounds. All the vibrational modes of coordinated CPA are characterized. The spectral features suggest that these compounds are similar in structure to the Hofmann–Td-type clathrates.


There is currently an alarming increase in the world-wide incidence of tuberculosis (TB), the disease caused due to infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There is no easy treatment for TB which currently requires a regime of four drugs administered over a six month time course. The rise in strains of M. tuberculosis resistant to one or more of these frontline anti-tubercular drugs, is a strong incentive to develop novel anti-tubercular agents. The shikimate pathway has been identified as a potential target for the development of new antimicrobial drugs and knockout strains of M. tuberculosis lacking shikimate kinase have been shown to be non-viable.In this study the third enzyme in the pathway, type II dehydroquinase is considered an attractive target as many pathogenic bacteria possess the type II enzyme whereas many bacteria that inhabit the human gut posses the type I form. Structure based ligand design was used to identify potential inhibitors of the enzyme type II 3-dehydroquinate deydratase (DHQase) from M. tuberculosis (MTDHQase). This methodology allows the identification of non-substrate like inhibitors that have solubility profiles more amenable to development as potential drugs. The crystal structures of MTDHQase available in house, were analysed to generate Pharmacophore models, which were subsequently used to screen a virtual compound library, to generate a list of potential inhibitors. This process was repeated for the type II DHQases from Streptomyces coelicolor (SCDHQase) and Helicobacter pylori (HPDHQase) and the hit lists for each enzyme compared. The hits unique to MTDHQase were screened in vitro, identifying six compounds that were active inhibitors. In tandem the cloning and structural analysis of the type II 3-dehydroquinase from Helocobacter pylori was undertaken as a series of inhibitors of this enzyme obtained from a traditional high throughput screen (HTS) against a compound library was available from GlaxoSmithKline. The structure of HPDHQase in complex with the transition state analogue 2,3-anhydroquinic acid was determined to 3.1A resolution. While the structure of HPDHQase in complex with inhibitor AH9095, an HPDHQase specific non-substrate-like inhibitor, was determined to 1.5A resolution. Both structures were solved using the molecular replacement method. Comparison of the structures of HPDHQase with those of SCDHQase and MTDHQase provided significant insight into the factors that affect ligand specificity. The complex of HPDHQase and AH9095 provided the first crystal structure of a type II 3-dehydroquinase with a non-substrate like ligand. This structure allowed the identification of new, unexploited areas of the type II 3-dehydroquinase active site which may be utilised to develop specificity and potency of inhibitors. The present assay for 3-dehydroquinase activity is based upon UV absorbance at 234nm from the product 3-dehydroshikimate. Detection of UV absorbance at this wavelength is not possible when the assay is carried out in plastic 96 well plates, therefore not amenable for high throughput methods. Development of a simple colorimetric assay for 3-dehydroquinase activity was investigated to permit high throughput testing of compounds. By coupling the dehydroquinase step to dehydroshikimate dehydratase, the third enzyme in the quinate degradation pathway, the product protoctaechuate can be detected by a strong colour change in the presence of ferric chloride or sodium molybdate. The amount of protocatechuate detectable by this method, in 96 well plate format, was investigated and expression studies were carried out upon the coupling enzyme dehydroshikimate dehydratase from Acinetobacter coalceticus.


The magnitude and meaning of morphological variation among Plio-Pleistocene hominid distal humeri have been recurrent points of disagreement among paleoanthropologists. Some researchers have found noteworthy differences among fossil humeri that they believe merit taxonomic separation, while others question the possibility of accurately sorting these fossils into different species and/or functional groups. Size and shape differences among fossil distal humeri are evaluated here to determine whether the magnitude and patterns of these differences can be observed within large-bodied, living hominoids. Specimens analyzed in this study have been assigned to various taxa (Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus, A. anamensis, Paranthropus, and early Homo) and include AL 288-1m, AL 288-1s, AL 137-48a, AL 322-1, Gomboré IB 7594, TM 1517, KNM-ER 739, KNM-ER 1504, KMN-KP 271 (Kanapoi), and Stw 431. Five extant hominoid populations are sampled to provide a standard by which to consider differences found between the fossils, including two modern human groups (Native American and African American), one group of Pan troglodytes, and two subspecies of Gorilla gorilla (G.g. beringei, G.g. gorilla). All possible pairwise d values (average Euclidena distances) are calculated within each of the reference populations using an exact randomization procedure. This is done using both raw linear measurements as well as scale-free shape data created as ratios of each measurement to the geometric mean. Differences between each pair of fossil humeri are evaluated by comparing their d values to the distribution of d values found within each of the reference populations. Principal coordinate analysis and an unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis are utilized to further assess similarities and differences among the fossils. Finally, canonical variates analysis and discriminant analysis are employed using all hominoid samples in order to control for correlations among variables and to identify those variables that discriminate among groups; possible affinities of individual fossils with specific extant species are also examined. The largest size differences, those between the small Hadar specimens and the two largest fossils (KNM-ER 739, IB 7594), can be accommodated easily within the ranges of variation of the two Gorilla samples, but are extreme relative to the other reference samples. The d values between most of the fossils based on shape data, with the notable exception of those associated with KNM-ER 739 and KNM-ER 1504, can be sampled safely within all five reference samples. Subsequent analyses further support the inference that KNM-ER 739 and KNM-ER 1504 are different from the other hominid humeri and possess a unique total morphometric pattern. In overall shape, the distal humeri of the other fossils (non-Koobi Fora) are most similar to living chimpanzees. The distal humerus of Paranthropus from Kromdraai (TM 1517e) is most similar to one of the Hadar specimens of A. afarensis (AL 137-48a), whereas the first specimen of A. africanus from Sterkfontein (Stw 431) is not closely linked to any of the other australopithecines. The A. anamensis humerus from Kanapoi exhibits no special affinities to A. afarensis or to modern humans.


Some customs agencies are implementing electronic single window systems. These single window systems enable an importer or exporter to digitally transmit their transaction information to the customs administration. The single window system shares relevant information with other government agencies involved in the import or export process. It relieves the importer or exporter of the need to lodge transaction information separately with each government agency.  An international single window system is the interconnection of two or more national single window systems. It enables the exporter's transaction information to be re-used in import processing, thereby reducing the amount of information required from importers. For states that already have customs intelligence-sharing agreements, a single window system could be used to exchange intelligence information about the import and export transactions processed by the system. Intelligence-sharing agreements can and should include transparent protection for human rights. The human rights relevant to this legal framework are access to justice, freedom from arbitrary search and seizure, freedom from torture and the right to privacy. The right to privacy is the human right most affected by intelligence-sharing. This thesis proposes a legal framework to enable intelligence to be shared through a single window system with transparent terms for managing human rights. This thesis suggests that public confidence would be improved by showing how privacy and other human rights are treated in the rules for customs intelligence-sharing using the system proposed here.


We solve a Stackelberg game where a large uninformed seller executes optimally, fully cognizant of the response of Cournot-competitive market makers. The game therefore endogenizes both demand and supply of liquidity. The closed-form solution yields several insights. First, stealth trading is both privately and socially costly because market makers incur additional cost not knowing when execution ends. Second, the presence of a large seller does not unambiguously benefit other participants. Market makers benefit only if there is enough risk-absorption capacity or if the execution period is short. Other investors benefit only when the seller sells at high enough intensity.


In a randomized, double-blinded study, we evaluated the analgesic effect of ketamine in the management of pain in a surgical intensive care unit after major abdominal surgery. Patients received morphine patient-controlled analgesia with either placebo (Group M) or ketamine (Group K). Morphine was administered with initial loading doses of 2 mg until the visual analog scale (VAS) score was <30 and thereafter with bolus doses of 1 mg and a lockout time of 7 min. Ketamine was administered with an initial bolus of 0.5 mg/kg followed by a perfusion of 2 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1 during the first 24 h and 1 &mgr;g · kg−1 · min−1 during the following 24 h. The 4-h cumulative morphine doses were measured over 48 h. The VAS scores at rest and at mobilization were measured every 4 h during 48 h. A total of 101 patients were enrolled, and 93 were analyzed (41 in Group K and 52 in Group M). VAS scores at rest and at mobilization were similar. The cumulative consumption of morphine was significantly smaller in Group K (P < 0.05). We concluded that small doses of ketamine were a valuable adjunct to opioids in surgical intensive care unit patients after major abdominal surgery.


Hominoid genomes exhibit a significant number of large segmental duplications; these and other similar duplications in mammalian genomes are hypothesized to be mediated by transposable elements such as Alus or L1s in hominoids and rodents, respectively. The true evolutionary mechanisms that sculpted these duplications are emerging to be much more subtle and complex.

Keywords:

segmental duplications (SD);
low-copy repeats (LCR);
copy number variations (CNV);
transposable elements;
rearrangement hotspots


Shearing of magma during ascent can promote strain localisation near the conduit margins. Anymechanical and thermal discontinuities associated with such events may alter the chemical, physicaland rheological stability of the magma and thus its propensity to erupt. Lava spines can record suchprocesses, preserving a range of macroscopic and microscopic deformation textures, attributed toshearing and friction, as magma ascends through the viscous-brittle transition. Here, we use a multi-disciplinary approach combining petrology, microstructures, crystallography, magnetics and experi-mentation to assess the evidence, role and extent of shearing across a marginal shear zone of the1994–1995 lava spine at Unzen volcano, Japan. Our results show that crystals can effectively moni-tor stress conditions during magma ascent, with viscous remobilisation, crystal plasticity and com-minution all systematically increasing towards the spine margin. Accompanying this, we find anincrease in mineral destabilisation in the form of pargasitic amphibole breakdown displaying tex-tural variations across the shear zone, from symplectitic to granular rims towards the spine margin.In addition, the compaction of pores, chemical and textural alteration of interstitial glass and mag-netic variations all change systematically with shear intensity. The strong correlation between thedegree of shearing, crystal deformation and disequilibrium features, together with distinct magneticproperties, implies a localised thermal input due to shear and frictional processes near the conduitmargin during magma ascent. This was accompanied by late-stage or post-emplacement fluid- andgas-induced alteration of the gouge, as well as oxidation and glass devitrification. Understandingand recognising evidence for strain localisation during magma ascent may, therefore, be vital whenassessing factors that regulate the style of volcanic eruptions, which may provide insights into thecryptic shifts from effusive to explosive activity as observed at many active lava domes


We have recently demonstrated that specific neuroanatomical patterns of Fos‐like immunoreactivity are predictive of atypical antipsychotic activity. However, the fact that neuroleptics must be administered chronically in order to generate both extrapyramidal side effects and an optimal therapeutic response calls into question the relevance of acute changes in Fos‐like immunoreactivity for these slowly developing events. Fos‐like immunoreactivity cannot be used to identify neurons activated by chronic neuroleptic administration because the increase in Fos‐like immunoreactivity produced by an acute antipsychotic injection is dramatically reduced following repeated neuroleptic administration. In contrast, expression of the immediate‐early gene product ΔFosB is persistently elevated in the striatum by chronic haloperidol administration. This suggests that ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity may be used to identify neurons activated by chronic antipsychotic administration. Since typical and atypical neuroleptics elevate Fos‐like immunoreactivity in different regions of the forebrain acutely, the purpose of the present study was to determine whether typical (haloperidol) and atypical (clozapine, ICI 204,636) antipsychotics produce distinct patterns of elevated ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity in the forebrain after chronic administration. Administration of haloperidol (2 mg/kg/day) to rats for 19 days induced a homogeneous elevation of neurons which displayed ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity in the ventral, medial and dorsolateral aspects of the striatum. Chronic haloperidol administration did not enhance ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity in the prefrontal cortex and lateral septal nucleus. Repeated administration of clozapine (20 mg/kg/day) and ICI 204,636 (20 mg/kg/day) for 19 days elevated ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity not only in the ventral striatum but also in the prefrontal cortex and lateral septal nucleus. However, these compounds had weak effects on ΔFosB‐like immunoreactivity in the dorsolateral striatum. These results suggest that a preferential action on limbic structures such as the prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum and lateral septal nucleus may account for the ability of chronic clozapine and ICI 204,636 administration to reduce the symptoms of schizophrenia without generating extrapyramidal side effects.


PASM is a concept for a parallel processing system that allows experimentation with different architectural design alternatives. PASM is dynamically reconfigurable along three dimensions: partitionability into independent or communicating submachines, variable interprocessor connections, and mixed-mode SIMD/MIMD parallelism. With mixed-mode parallelism, a program can switch between SIMD (synchronous) and MIMD (asynchronous) parallelism at instruction-level granularity, allowing the use of both modes in a single machine. The PASM concept is presented, showing the ways in which reconfiguration can be accomplished. Trade-offs among SIMD/MIMD, and mixed-mode parallelism are explored. The small-scale PASM prototype with 16 processing elements is described. The ELP mixed-mode programming language used on the prototype is discussed. An example of a prototype-based study that demonstrates the potential of mixed-mode parallelism is given.


In this paper a new computationally efficient and high performance channel estimation algorithm is proposed for the indoor visible light communication (VLC) sparse channels in the presence of a clipping noise. The clipping noise is modelled as a Gaussian mixture and, a first time in the literature, the matching pursuit (MP) and the space-alternating expectation- maximization (SAGE) algorithms are combined into the new estimation, called the SAGE-MP algorithm for iteratively estimating the sparse channel coefficients as well as their positions efficiently. The MP algorithm is also employed to determine the initial values of the joint iterative algorithm. Computed simulations indicates that the SAGE-MP algorithm converge in 3 iterations at most and yields excellent bit error rate (BER) and mean-square error (MSE) performances for DC-biased optical OFDM (DCO-OFDM) based systems.


Acupuncture points have a positive effect on the auxiliary prevention and treatment of diseases, so medical devices such as acupuncture robots often need to combine acupuncture points to improve the treatment effect when working, however, intelligent acupoint selection technology is not yet mature, the automatic rapid and accurate positioning of acupoints is still challenging. Therefore, this paper proposes a method of back acupoint location and an evaluation index of acupoint location. First, we propose an improved Keypoint RCNN network for the preliminary location of back acupoints and introduce a channel and spatial attention mechanism module (CBAM) to improve the performance of the model. Then, we set up a posterior median line positioning method to improve the accuracy of acupoint positioning. Finally, expand and locate other acupoints according to the prior information of acupoints. According to the experimental results, the accuracy of acupoint positioning was 87.32%. After the correction of acupoint positioning, the accuracy was increased by 2.8%, which was 90.12%. In this paper, the application of depth learning in automatic location of back acupoints is realized for the first time. Only one image can be used to locate the back acupoints, with an accuracy of 90.12%.


OBJECTIVE
To describe an additional case of paratesticular solitary fibrous tumor.

METHODS/RESULTS
A 67-year-old man presented a paratesticular mass lasting for one year. Histological examination showed a well-circumscribed lesion comprised of spindle cells proliferation without atypia, arranged in a fascicular pattern, intimately intertwining with thick collagen fibers. Tumor cells were strongly positive for vimentine and CD-34. Diagnostic criteria, clinical features and treatment of this condition are discussed.

CONCLUSION
Solitary fibrous tumors are spindle cell neoplasm originally described in the pleura, but may occur in many different sites. Intrascrotal solitary fibrous tumors are uncommon and few cases have been reported.