This article provides a new toolbox to derive sparse recovery guarantees - that is referred to as "stable and robust sparse regression" (SRSR) - from small deviations on extreme singular values or extreme eigenvalues obtained in Random Matrix Theory. This work is based on Restricted Isometry Constants (RICs) which are a pivotal notion in Compressed Sensing and High-Dimensional Statistics as these constants finely assess how a linear operator is conditioned on the set of sparse vectors and hence how it performs in SRSR. While it is an open problem to construct deterministic matrices with apposite RICs, one can prove that such matrices exist using random matrices models. In this paper, we show upper bounds on RICs for Gaussian and Rademacher matrices using state-of-the-art small deviation estimates on their extreme eigenvalues. This allows us to derive a lower bound on the probability of getting SRSR. One benefit of this paper is a direct and explicit derivation of upper bounds
on RICs and lower bounds on SRSR from small deviations on the extreme eigenvalues given by Random Matrix theory.


Multilingual Neural Machine Translation (MNMT) trains a single NMT model that supports translation between multiple languages, rather than training separate models for different languages. Learning a single model can enhance the low-resource translation by leveraging data from multiple languages. However, the performance of an MNMT model is highly dependent on the type of languages used in training, as transferring knowledge from a diverse set of languages degrades the translation performance due to negative transfer. In this paper, we propose a Hierarchical Knowledge Distillation (HKD) approach for MNMT which capitalises on language groups generated according to typological features and phylogeny of languages to overcome the issue of negative transfer. HKD generates a set of multilingual teacher-assistant models via a selective knowledge distillation mechanism based on the language groups, and then distils the ultimate multilingual model from those assistants in an adaptive way. Experimental results derived from the TED dataset with 53 languages demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in avoiding the negative transfer effect in MNMT, leading to an improved translation performance (about 1 BLEU score on average) compared to strong baselines.


We report on recent progress with development of astronomical X-ray optics based on thermally formed glass foils and on bent Si wafers. Experiments with thermal glass forming have continued adding wider range of evaluated and optimized parameters. Recent efforts with Si wafers have been focused on their quality improvements such as flatness and thickness uniformity in order to better meet the requirements of future X-ray astronomy projects applications, as well as on study of their surface quality, defects analysis, and methods for its reproducible measurement. The role of substrates quality in performance of final mirror arrays, as required by large future space X-ray astronomy experiments was also studied. The problem of increasing size of Si wafers, required for some X-ray optics applications, is also addressed. First results of irradiation tests of selected substrates are also reported and discussed.


Abstract Purpose Teratogens cause birth defects and malformations while human development is being completed. In pregnancy, urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common health problem caused by bacteria. The fluoroquinolones such as ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gemifloxacin can treat various types of bacterial infections successfully. The aim of this study is to determine whether the use of ciprofloxacin during pregnancy causes oxidative stress on brain tissues of the fetus, and whether quercetin contributes to prevent this damage if stress has already occurred. Materials and methods In our study, 22 young female Wistar albino rats weighing 250 g were used. Rats were mated overnight in separate plastic cages. Female rats were regarded as pregnant when a vaginal plug was observed, and these were divided into four groups of control, ciprofloxacin, quercetin, and cipro + quercetin. Two daily i.p. 20 mg/kg doses of ciprofloxacin were administered to ciprofloxacin group between 7 and 17 d of pregnancy. Throughout the study, daily (20 d) 20 mg/kg quercetin was dissolved in corn oil and administered to the quercetin group by oral gavage. Rats were fed ad libitum throughout the study. Fetuses were taken by C-section on the 20th day of pregnancy. Thereafter, the brain tissues were subjected to histological assessments and biochemical analyzes. Results The experimental groups were compared with the control group; ciprofloxacin affected fetal development, especially caused damage to neurons in brain tissue and cause hemorrhagic defects. And also, it was determined that many parameters were affected such as antioxidant parameters, enzyme levels and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) (a marker of lipid peroxidation). Quercetin is a member of flavonoid with strong antioxidant properties, and our results indicate that the use of ciprofloxacin in pregnancy can result damage to fetal brain tissue. Conclusions Unlike these results when some parameters are evaluated it is understood that this harmful effects suppressed by quercetin.


As Dr. Richardson emphasizes, infants should be breast-fed up to the age of six months if possible, because human milk is the best milk for young infants. It has preventive and therapeutic value and is economical, easily digestible, fresh, free from contamination, automatically produced, and time-saving. It is the safest food for prematures who are mature enough to suckle at the breast. Instances of breast milk "not agreeing with an infant" are almost unknown. Breast feeding provides gratification and a sense of security to babies. Breast feeding also is important physiologically and psychologically to mothers. The only contraindications to breast feeding are heart, kidney, lung, and psychiatric diseases in the mother. Also, she should not take drugs which pass into her milk, e. g., antibiotics, atrophine, barbiturates, bromides, iodides, morphine, salicylates, and sulfonamides. Most mothers can nurse their infants if they have the desire, proper pre- and postpartal care, adequate


The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the perception of African American males participating in one 4A program at a Mid-Atlantic community college. Twenty African American males, along with six staff members were selected to participate in the study. The study used focus groups to investigate students' interactions with academic advisors and counselors and the impact of those interactions on students' academic success. The nigrescence theory of evolving cultural identity served as the framework, as it emphasizes the role and impact of cultural identity as a driver for successful academic performance (Cross, 1991). The study revealed that these African American males had positive perceptions of their experiences in the program and with their mentors, advisors, and counselors.


Atrazine, a chlorinated s-triazine group of herbicide is one of the most widely used pesticides in the World. Due to its extensive use, long half-life and various toxic properties, it has very high environmental significance. Up to 22 mg l -1 of atrazine was found in ground water whereas permissible limit of atrazine is in ppb level in drinking water. As per Indian standard there should not be any pesticide present in drinking water. Among many other treatment processes available, Incineration, adsorption, chemical treatment, phytoremediation and biodegradation are the most commonly used ones. Biological degradation of atrazine depends upon various factors like the operating environment, external carbon and nitrogen sources, carbon/ nitrogen ratio (C/N), water content and the bacterial strain. Although, general atrazine degradation pathways are available, the specific pathways in specific conditions are not yet clearly defined. In this paper extensive review has been made on the occurrence of atrazine in surface and ground water bodies, probable sources and causes of its occurrence in water environment, the toxicity of atrazine on various living organisms and its removal by biological processes.


A transportation system that encourages walking can reduce traffic congestion and improve the safety of motorists and the quality of life. It is safe and comfortable, with streets that are easy to cross for people of varied ages and degrees of mobility. Circulation of pedestrian is of vital importance's to the modern metropolis, but the paradox here is that though meant for human travel, these roads hardly provide any quality space for those who are without vehicles (well known as pedestrian). Due to the ambiguous position of non-motorized travel in an urban transportation system, the transportation conditions for non-motorized travel are getting worse in cities, which illustrate the urgent need for the improvement for same. The study is confined in identifying the pedestrian and vehicular conflict at the Vytilla junction and the problems faced by the pedestrians in the concerned area. The safety analysis of the pedestrians at the junction is done by determining the Level of Service (LOS) and by PV2 analysis.


For a few decades now, a growing amount of scholarship has been dealing with the issue of the translation in science. This introduction discusses the translational perspective on the history of science with the help of the example of Polish-language scholarship in the long nineteenth century. In the period without Polish statehood, when Polish speakers were scattered over three empires, language and scholarship were pivotal for the reaffirmation of cultural identity. On the other hand, it was produced in a multicultural environment, requiring daily 'habitualized translations' (Michaela Wolf) to and from German, Russian or Ukrainian. Already from the start of the Commission of National Education's activities (1773), translations were seen as a means to reform and internationalize Polish education system and scholarship. During the time of partitions, various institutions and publishing houses entertained translation projects, both into Polish and – in particular by the Academy of Science in Cracow – of Polish scholarship into foreign languages. Although no translation policy was prevailing, translation was clearly utilized to achieve particular means, from popularization of Polish knowledge abroad to strengthening scholarly currents, like positivism, among Polish readers. Although translation was an important act of cultural reaffirmation, some scholars, like Maurycy Mochnacki, discussed its negative outcomes, like diminishing multilingualism and limited space on the book market. This discussion was far from over at the end of the period in question. Another point of dispute were norms of translation. Here scholars varied in their assess¬ment on foreignizing and domesticizing translation, but also about more substantial inter¬ventions in the text: actualizations, amendments or corrections. The norms varied over time, but also according to intended readership allowing, or even requiring, more far-reaching changes in cases of popularizing publications. Finally the article introduces three further points where looking at scholarship with a translational perspective proves particularly fruitful. First, the bottom-up translation of knowledge of lay scholars into academic discourse, particularly important for a scarcely institutionalized community. Second, the importance of translators as "secondary authors", appreciating this usually invisible group as actors of knowledge production. Third, migration and mobility as cultural translation: Since scholars identifying as Poles and writing in Polish were both frequent migrants and also receivers of long-terms travel scholarships of the imperial institutions, this perspective helps not only to substantiate the circulatory movement of knowledge in Central European space, but also provides a good case study for transnational translational research on scholarly community.


Introduction
Pituitary adenomas (PA) are the third most common intracranial tumors, with an incidence rate of 10-15%. More than half are invasive, infiltrating adjacent structures. The primary objective of this project was to determine whether MGMT expression is associated with the invasiveness of PA.

Material and Method
All patients who underwent surgical decompression consecutively between 2007-2012 were included. All data were obtained from the case records. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and then examined via light microscope. Paraffin blocks that lacked necrosis and hemorrhage were chosen for histologic examination. In addition to an immunoprofile battery that consisted of Ki-67 and p53, MGMT, S-100 and Pan-CK were evaluated as well.

Results
The subjects included 25 women and 15 men. The mean age was 48.9 ± 14.5 years. Of these, 63% of cases involved the invasion of adjacent structures. Of the PA, 17 (42%) were non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA). There was a statistically significant relationship between the invasiveness and Ki-67, p53, MGMT expression, and prolactinoma. Gonodotropinomas were mostly non-invasive. FPAs presented invasive features more frequently than NFPAs. Pan-CK was positive in GH-secreting adenomas but negative in FSH- and LH-secreting adenomas.

Conclusion
Ki-67 and p53 in lower expression level can be used for evaluating invasiveness but not for recurrence. MGMT expression can be a useful IHC indicator for invasiveness. However, Pan-CK cannot be used for invasiveness or aggressiveness.


We propose transmit antenna selection with receive generalized selection combining in dual-hop cognitive decode-and-forward relay networks with spectrum sharing for reliability enhancement and interference relaxation. In this network, a single antenna, which maximizes the receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is selected at the secondary transmitter, and a subset of receive antennas with the highest SNRs is combined at the secondary receiver. To demonstrate the advantages of our proposed framework, we derive new exact closed-form expressions for the outage probability and the symbol error rate of the secondary network in Rayleigh fading. We also derive easy-to-evaluate asymptotic expressions in the high-SNR regime to gain practical insights. Several important design insights are reached. Under the proportional interference power constraint, the full diversity gain is achieved and is entirely determined by the total number of antennas available in the secondary network. This result is independent of the number of receive antennas combined and the number of primary users. The positive impact of the number of receive antennas combined and the negative impact of the number of primary users on the secondary network are showcased in the SNR gain. Under the fixed interference power constraint, error floors are displayed, and the diversity gain is lost.


The imaginary parts of all of the independent two-photon-resonant susceptibility tensor elements in GaAs and CdTe are determined by using a two-beam coupling technique to measure the anisotropy of the two-photon absorption coefficient p as a function of crystal orientation and probe polarization. Anisotropy parameters of -0.76 and -0.46 are measured for GaAs and CdTe, respectively, at a wavelength of 950 nm. These correspond to a 45% variation in /spl beta/ for GaAs, between 19 and 30 cm/GW, for radiation polarized along the [001] and the [111] crystallographic axes, respectively, and a 25% variation between 14 and 18 cm/GW for CdTe. By invoking intrinsic and zincblende symmetry, we present macroscopic expressions that accurately account for the dependence of single-beam two-photon absorption on the orientation of the crystal with respect to the polarization of the light and also expressions that describe the two-photon absorption of a probe when it is polarized either perpendicular or parallel to the pump in degenerate-four-wave-mixing experiments. Finally, we discuss the microscopic origins of this anisotropy of two-photon absorption in terms of simple k/spl middot/p models of the band structure, and we find the anisotropy to be caused predominantly by the mixing of the valence band with a higher conduction hand. This simple theory produces magnitudes consistent with experimental results and predicts that the anisotropy scales linearly with the ratio of the lower bandgap to the higher bandgap: E/sub g//E'/sub g/. >


In 1937, Lippert (6) published a survey of the radioactive properties of subterranean waters of Ellis County, Kansas. In 1940, Bell, Goodman, and Whitehead (1) reported a survey on the radioactivity of sedimentary rocks and associated petroleum. In 1944, w. L. Russell (10) reported on the total gamma ray activity of sedimentary rocks as indicated by Geiger-Mueller Counter determination. Lastly, in 1949, M. w. Johnston (5) made a survey of radioactivity of oilwell drilling fluid with depth of wells. Since Johnston's work cited above included only producing wells it was thought worthwhile to continue this investigation to include wells both in producing pools and in unproven territory. An additional new approach to this whole matter of geophysical prospecting for oil is to test oilwell cuttings for fluorescence since it is well known that particles from oil-bearing horizons do fluoresce under the action of ultraviolet light. While the fluorescence of oil under the action of ultraviolet light has been known for many years, the method of detecting the presence of oi l by means of the fluorescence of oilwell cuttings is not in general use among geologists at the present time, at least not in this region. Consequently it was decided to select six locations where drilling was contemplated, three in the Sutor Pool in Rooks County ; and, three new locations in unproven territory. The plan was to test the drilling fluids of each of these wells for radioactivity with depth using an LS64 scaling Geiger-Mueller Counter by El Tronics, 2 Incorporated; and, also to check the cuttings commencing at a depth of approximately 3000 feet, where the cuttings were first gathered, for a study of fluorescence when the cuttings are subjected to ultraviolet light.


The biomedical engineering field has shown to foster innovation in nanotechnology. Facilitated by engineering and biotechnology, biomedical engineering has the potential to significantly influence the pharmaceutical industry. Advancements in nanotechnology can resolve current issues with drug delivery techniques by increasing efficacy or improving patient safety and patient compliance. Natural polysaccharide-based biomaterials are proving to be important in creating innovative drug delivery devices. Biodegradability and biological activity that can be controlled are important properties of polysaccharides. The tamarind industry has various by-products, including the tamarind seed. Tamarind kernel powder (TKP), also known as the decorticated flour of tamarind has been explored for its use in drug delivery. The hemicellulose component, xyloglucan (XG) is a non-expensive agro-based material that is non-toxic and biocompatible, making it suitable for controlled drug delivery systems. Nanocomposites such as tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP) are being expansively studied. Mixing cloisite 30B solution with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and TSP in various ratios displayed a sustained drug delivery. We can predict that bioadhesive carriers, especially mucoadhesive nanopolymers, have significant potential to be an effective solution in achieving bioavailability of various drugs administered systemically or topically.


We demonstrate the role of broad molecular weight distribution (MWD) polyethylene (PE), in the presence of nanoparticles of different aspect ratios and binding efficiency with the polymer, in the formation of shish-kebab structures under a shear protocol using timeresolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results indicate a scattered intensity in the form of streaks at the equator while maxima in the meridian confirm the presence of an oriented structure in the polymer. The SAXS facilitated the probing of the steady growth of the obtained shish-kebab structures at an isothermal crystallization temperature (1368C). The study reveals the influence of nanoparticles (single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and zirconia) in chain orientation. The presence of nanoparticles promotes the high degree of orientation, where shish is formed along the flow direction and kebab perpendicular to it. A higher degree of chain orientation is observed in the presence of SWNTs compared to zirconia nanoparticles.TheSWNTs present inasmallconcentration(<0.6wt.-%) arealigned intheflow direction, which leads to an increase in shish length as estimated from Ruland's streak analysis. The stable shishes in the early stages of crystallization suppress the nucleation barrier for further crystallization. Compared to the polymer without nanoparticles the shish length increases in the presence of zirconia, however, the increase in shish length is much more pronounced in the presence of SWNTs compared to zirconia nanoparticles. The nanoparticles favor the orientation fraction as deduced from the integrated intensity of scattering at the equator and meridian in the patterns. Absence of a plateau in the low frequency region of the polymer‐SWNT composites suggests the non-existence of network formation. Nevertheless, comparing the storage modulus at two different temperatures (142 and 160 8C), suggests a strong temperature dependence and difference in adsorption energy of the two nanoparticles.


AIM
The study was aimed at determining the role of vascular endothelial dysfunction in induction of molecular and cellular mechanisms of the development of cognitive impairments after occlusion of common carotid arteries.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The experiments were carried out on Wistar rats. The animals were divided into 2 groups: group 1 - control, sham-operated animals; group 2 - rats with cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion. The model of cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion was reproduced by means of simultaneous occlusion of common carotid arteries (for 5 minutes). The degree of endothelial dysfunction was assessed by determining the amount of circulating endotheliocytes and concentration of nitrogen oxide products in blood plasma. In the brain, we measured the content of malonic dialdehyde, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Pathomorphological studies of cerebral structures and morphometric analysis of the number of damaged neurons in ischaemic exposure were carried out by means of light microscopy. Cognitive functions in rats were assessed by means of conditioned reaction of passive avoidance and the test of pattern identification.

RESULTS
Common carotid arteries occlusion in rats induced an increase in the level of circulating endotheliocytes and a decrease in end products of nitrogen oxide - nitrites in blood plasma as compared with the control (p≤0.05); the content of malonic dialdehyde in the brain increased 2.6-fold, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase decreased 5.9-fold and 2.8-fold, respectively (p≤0.05). The findings of pathomorphological examination registered signs of vasoconstrictive reactions, endothelial oedema, an increase in the proportion of damaged neurons in the cortex of greater hemispheres and hippocampus (p≤0.05). It was determined that occlusion of common carotid arteries in rats resulted in memory disorders revealed in tests of conditioned passive avoidance response and pattern identification (p≤0.05).

CONCLUSION
Occlusion of common carotid arteries in rats becomes a cause of endothelial dysfunction, neurometabolic alterations, damage of neurons in vulnerable regions of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cognitive impairments. Damaging factors of the neurovascular system are intensification of oxidative processes and a decrease in the level of antioxidant defence, presenting important targets of neuroprotection.


The complexity of issues facing rural landscapes in the United States has resulted in a shift from the traditional Extension model to a partnership building approach. In North Carolina, Extension was charged with coordinating a partnership with a diverse set of stakeholders representing the interests of working lands, conservation, and national defense to address shared land compatibility issues. Using a single case study design, we evaluate the role of Extension in the coordination of diverse stakeholder groups for conservation of rural landscapes to protect the military training mission based on insights from the North Carolina Sentinel Landscapes Partnership. The case study includes analysis of key informant interviews and organizational documents through the constant comparative method that provides themes for Extension to consider for such efforts. We found that Extension plays a leadership role in convening a diverse set of interests, facilitating organizational development and educating a broad range of stakeholders. We provide eight key recommendations to accelerate the process of initiation and implementation of such efforts based on an ability to implement a realistic and feasible program that is informed by knowledge of what works elsewhere.


The paper examines policy externalities between imperfectly competitive open economies where unemployment prevails in general equilibrium. We develop a two-country and two-sector model with monopolistic competition in the goods market and wage bargaining in the labor market. Policy externalities operate through the real exchange rate and economic integration is modeled as a reduction in trade costs. We explore how market integration influences policy spillovers, employment and real wages. We also examine how national and supranational commodity tax policies affect sectoral and total employment. Finally, we characterize optimal commodity taxes with non-cooperative and cooperative policies and offer some rough estimates of the welfare gains from policy coordination, using a calibrated version of the model.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the function of the auditory efferent system in patients with chronic idiopathic tinnitus, but normal pure-tone audiograms.

METHODS
We studied 15 subjects with normal hearing that had experienced either unilateral or bilateral persistent tinnitus for at least 3 months. The ears of the 15 subjects were classified into tinnitus-positive-ear (TPE) and tinnitus-negative-ear (TNE) groups. The control-ear group (CE) comprised the ears of 15 subjects with normal hearing and no tinnitus. We measured different types of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs), including spontaneous (SOAEs), transient evoked (TEOAEs), and distortion product (DPOAEs). We also analyzed contralateral suppression of OAEs and auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). Data were compared among TPE, TNE, and CE groups.

RESULTS
The data associated with cochlear mechanics, including the prevalence of SOAEs, the number of SOAE peaks, and the overall TEOAE responses in the absence of a contralateral stimulus, were not significantly different among the TPE, TNE, and CE groups. In the TPE group, contralateral stimuli failed to significantly suppress overall TEOAEs, and contralateral suppression of DPOAEs was significantly reduced over a limited frequency range. Furthermore, the TPE group showed prolonged latencies in waves III and V of ABRs.

CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated that abnormal contralateral suppression of OAEs and ABRs indicated a dysfunction in the ipsilateral efferent medial olivocochlear system; this might play a role in normal-hearing tinnitus.


What kind of framework is needed to realize social robot applications in real public environments? Based on several years of experience in conducting field studies with social robots in public spaces, we identify key considerations that we have found to be indispensable in the development of robot services. We present a "network robot system" framework, which supports social robot services in five ways: observation of human behavior using environmental sensor networks, structured knowledge sharing, centralized resource and service allocation, global path planning for coordination between robots, and support for selected recognition and decision tasks by a human operator. We describe our network robot system implementation and present a demonstration in a shopping mall, illustrating how such a network robot system framework can be used to support heterogeneous teams of robots providing services in a real public environment.


A mixed method of discrete system model reduction retaining the advantages of the power decomposition method and the system identification method is proposed. From the viewpoint of energy contributions to the system output, the dynamic modes with dominant energy contributions, instead of those with dominant eigenvalues, will be preserved by power decomposition method. Having determined the denominator of the reduced model, the parameters of the numerator are found by system identification technique. The reduction procedure is fully computer-oriented. The reduced model is always stable if the original one is stable. Moreover, the reduced model gives good approximation in both the transient and the steady-state responses of the original system.


The development of chromatographic science in Ukraine is due to the widespread use of chromatography to solve practical problems. The centers of chromatographic research in Ukraine are in large cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa, and others. Along with the development of chromatographic research methods, analysis methods for control of food and agricultural raw materials, medicinal products, petroleum products, and determination of the environmental pollution state are created. Chromatography is used in medicine, pharmacology, biology, and other sciences.


Inspired by works in soft computing this research applies the constituents of soft
computing to act as the "brain" that controls the positioning process of a robot
manipulator's tool. This work combines three methods in artificial intelligence: fuzzy
rules, neural networks, and genetic algorithm to form the soft computing plant
uniquely planned for a six degree-of-freedom serial manipulator. The forward
kinematics of the manipulator is made as the feedforward control plant while the soft
computing plant replaces the inverse kinematics in the feedback loop. Fine
manipulator positioning is first achieved from the learning stage, and later execution
through forward kinematics after the soft computing plant proposes inputs and the
iterations. It is shown experimentally that the technique proposed is capable of
producing results with very low errors. Experiment A for example resulted the
position errors onpx: 0.004%;py: 0.006%; andpz: 0.002%.


Background: Antibodies directed against citrullinated proteins (eg anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP)) have excellent diagnostic and good prognostic potential for rheumatoid arthritis. Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis (AIH-1) is a chronic liver disease characterised by a variety of serum autoantibodies. Recently, in a large group of patients with AIH-1 without clear rheumatoid arthritis overlap, a relatively high percentage (9%) of anti-CCP2 positivity was scored. Objectives: To characterise the citrulline-dependence of the observed anti-CCP2 positivity in AIH-1 sera as well as in other groups of patients without rheumatoid arthritis (mainly rheumatic diseases). Methods: Serum samples of 57 patients with AIH-1 and 66 patients without rheumatoid arthritis, most of them reported as anti-CCP positive, were tested for citrulline-specific reactivity with a second generation anti-CCP kit, with the citrullinated and the corresponding non-citrullinated (arginine-containing) antigen. A subset of AIH-1 sera was also tested with a CCP1 ELISA (and arginine control). Results: The anti-CCP2 reactivity of most non-rheumatoid arthritis rheumatic diseases samples (87–93%) was citrulline-specific, whereas a relatively high percentage of AIH-1 samples (42–50%) turned out to be reactive in a citrulline-independent manner. The use of citrullinated and non-citrullinated CCP1 peptides confirmed a high occurrence of citrulline-independent reactivity in AIH-1 samples. Conclusions: In rheumatoid arthritis and most non-rheumatoid arthritis rheumatologic disease sera, anti-CCP positivity is citrulline-dependent. However in some patients, particularly patients with AIH-1, citrulline-independent reactivity in the anti-CCP2 test can occur. A positive CCP test in a non-rheumatic disease (eg liver disease) should therefore be interpreted with care, and preferably followed by a control ELISA with a non-citrullinated antigen.


Coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRA) provide flexible and efficient solution for data-intensive applications. Loop kernels of these applications always consume much execution time of the whole program. However, mapping loop kernels onto CGRA is still hard to meet performance/cost constraints. This paper proposes a novel approach for automatically mapping loop kernels onto CGRA with loop selfpipelining to optimize data-intensive applications. The problem formulation is shown first. Then we present the resource sharing and pipelining of lspCGRA, together with its template standard. Further, a loop kernel pipelining mapping is proposed. The conclusions show that our approach gains less resource occupation by 16.3% and more throughputs by 169.1% than previous advanced SPKM.


It has been suggested that toxicity to cocaine is related to the relative rate of cocaine metabolism by cholinesterases and to activation of cholinergic receptors either directly or by reflex mechanisms. We examined these possibilities by altering cholinesterase activity and blocking cholinergic receptors in rats prone or resistant to cocaine-induced cardiovascular toxicity. Rats were instrumented with a pulsed Doppler flow probe on the ascending aorta for measurement of cardiac output and cannulated for arterial pressure and heart rate determination. In conscious rats, cocaine (5 mg/kg iv) elicited pressor responses and a delayed bradycardia but cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance responses varied greatly between rats. Pretreatment with the nonspecific cholinesterase inhibitors physostigmine (0.1-0.2 mg/kg) or neostigmine (0.1 mg/kg) reduced the pressor response by diminishing the increase in systemic vascular resistance. In contrast, inhibition of cocaine metabolism with the selective plasma cholinesterase inhibitor tetraisopropyl pyrophosphoramide (0.5 mg/kg) or increasing cholinesterase activity with human butyryl cholinesterase (9.9 mg/kg iv) did not alter hemodynamic responses to cocaine. Administration of atropine methyl bromide (0.5-1 mg/kg iv) alone or with physostigmine to prevent the cholinomimetic effects of physostigmine reduced the cocaine-induced decrease in cardiac output noted in some animals. These data suggest that the cocaine-induced decrease in cardiac output observed in some rats is, at least in part, dependent on activation of muscarinic receptors. In addition, the rate of cocaine metabolism is not critical for the initial hemodynamic responses to cocaine in conscious rats.


: A study is presented of the central hemodynamics in 38 patients with severe forms of acute renal failure of different genesis. Disorders were revealed related both to renal failure and use of active methods of extracorporal detoxication, namely, hemodialysis and hemosorption. Measures on the correction of disorders of the central hemodynamics are described.


Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offer users the ability to capture large amounts of imagery at unprecedented spatial resolutions due to their flexible designs, low costs, automated workflows, and minimal technical knowledge barriers. Their rapid extension into new disciplines promotes the necessity to question and understand the implications of data capture and processing parameter decisions on the respective output completeness. This research provides a culmination of quantitative insight using an eBee Plus, fixed-wing UAS for collecting robust data on complex forest environments. These analyses differentiate from measures of accuracy, which were derived from positional comparison to other data sources, to instead guide applications of comprehensive coverage. Our results demonstrated the impacts of flying height on Structure from Motion (SfM) processing completeness, discrepancies in outputs based on software package choice, and the effects caused by processing parameter settings. For flying heights of 50 m, 100 m, and 120 m above the forest canopy, key quality indicators within the software demonstrated the superior performance of the 100-m flying height. These indicators included, among others, image alignment success, the average number of tie points per image, and planimetric model ground sampling distance. We also compared the output results of two leading SfM software packages: Agisoft PhotoScan and Pix4D Mapper Pro. Agisoft PhotoScan maintained an 11.8% greater image alignment success and a 9.91% finer planimetric model resolution. Lastly, we compared the "high" and "medium" resolution processing workflows in Agisoft PhotoScan. The high-resolution processing setting achieved a 371% increase in point cloud density, with a 3.1% coarser planimetric model resolution, over a considerably longer processing time. As UAS continue to expand their sphere of influence and develop technologically, best-use practices based on aerial photogrammetry principles must remain apparent to achieve optimal results.


Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the third leading cause of cancer mortality in men in the United States. Locally advanced or metastatic PCa is clinically managed with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), androgen receptor antagonists, and/or taxane chemotherapy. While initially effective, patients eventually develop resistance, leading to onset of a lethal castration-resistant disease state for which no curative interventions currently exist. Cell-based immunotherapy—which is centered on infusion of modified, tumor-directed immune cells intended to drive a more potent anti-tumor response—could potentially provide a new approach to treating advanced PCa. In this study, we describe the modification of an allogeneic, immortalized human natural killer cell line, NK-92, with a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) directed against prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a cell-surface antigen expressed by most prostate tumors. We observed that both unmodified and CAR-bearing NK-92 cells display potent cytolytic activity against the majority of PCa cell lines tested in vitro . Expression of PSMA on PCa cell lines affected the activity of CAR-modified, but not unmodified, NK-92. Combination of NK-92 immunotherapy with ADT and taxanes is also discussed, as well as ongoing in vivo preclinical modeling. Overall, CAR-modified NK-92 cells show promise as a novel immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of PCa. Citation Format: Lucas J. Brand, Alexander B. Zaslavsky, Ganesh S. Palapattu, Karen E. Knudsen. A PSMA-directed natural killer cell approach for prostate cancer immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-185. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-185


This research aimed to answer the question: "Buddhism is just only science, isn't it?" The researcher used philosophical approach with dialectic and discursive method hoping to result in the most creative and the best reasonable answer for philosophy. Buddhism is not just only science was found out from the variety of Buddhism that has been already seen. Buddhism is science was just only the 4 th paradigm (modern) interpretation. There were other interpretations which indicated that Buddhism was not just science but could be anything such as superstition, the law of nature and the holy religion promising the life of the other world. The 5 th paradigm/moderate postmodernism presented a critical interpretation of Buddhism in any philosophical paradigms without attachment by accepting all interpretations that could be used to improve the quality of life which in Buddhism is the cessation of suffering in any steps of intellectual development until totally complete cessation of suffering.


In preparation for ripple experiments at JET the heat loads from fast ions to plasma facing components were calculated by orbit following Monte Carlo codes. The calculations show that losses are generated by two mechanisms, ripple-trapping and ripple-banana diffusion, and that the heat loads could cause damage to plasma facing components. During the experiments the auxiliary power was therefore kept below the limits inferred from the simulations. Measurements of the losses of fast ions from NBI using visible-light and infrared cameras have been shown to be in agreement with the predictions from the simulations. Finally, interactions between fast ions and the non-axisymmetric magnetic field are shown to generate a toroidal torque, which in JET with ~1% ripple is of the same order as that from neutral beam injection.


This paper proposes that optional wh-movement is, contrary to popular belief, compatible with current Minimalist syntax. Despite the fact that the Minimalist Program eschews optionality, studies have shown that numerous wh-movement languages (French, English, Brazilian Portuguese, Greek, Spanish and more) permit grammatical non-echo in-situ questions. In order to explain this optionality, we exploit the fact that the EPP feature on interrogative C can be multi- satisfied, resulting in a syntactically formal optionality that predicts two (or more) equally economical derivational options. Alongside this, it is proposed that a question particle universally takes a wh-phrase as its complement. The satisfaction of the EPP can thus be accomplished by either raising the wh-phrase, the question particle, or the entire particle/wh-phrase complex.


Chief physicians, nurse managers and head nurses (n = 50) in hospital care and primary health care in Västerbotten, Sweden, were interviewed to explore their views on adopting and implementing a new care policy. The results indicated agreement among the respondents concerning the values of the care policy and its adaptability to the health-care system. More respondents in hospital care than in primary health care expressed a positive view (63%, respectively 55%), reported involvement in the implementation process (64%, respectively 35%) and planned or ongoing activities (63%, respectively 45%). Obstacles in the implementation process due to a frustrated situation and barriers between professional groups were, however, expressed by 67% of the respondents, more among the respondents in primary health care than among those in hospital care (75%, respectively 62%). Divergent views among respondents working in the same department were seen in both hospital care and primary health care. The findings indicated demands for further efforts if the implementation is to move on from its early stages, especially in primary health care.


The nutrient content of cereals and legumes are not readily bioavailable due to the presence of anti-nutrients in them. This study examined the effect of traditional fermentation process on the proximate nutritional composition (moisture, ash, protein, fat and fibre content) and anti-nutrient (tannic acid) content of maize and African locust beans (ALB). The samples were processed by soaking, milling (maize), boiling and de-hulling (ALB) and were fermented for 0 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Samples were taken on each period for the various analysis. Traditional fermentation increased protein and fat content of maize by 35.76% and 25.91% and that of ALB by 14.18% and 8.84% respectively. Ash, fibre and tannic acid content decreased by 24.12%, 10.2% and 18.29% for maize and 15.86%, 37.14% and 70.458% for ALB respectively. It was observed in this study that 72 h of fermentation had significant effects on almost all proximate nutritional compositions and anti-nutrient analyzed with the exception of moisture content of both samples and ash content of ALB while 48 h of fermentation had significant effects only on protein content of maize and tannic acid content of both samples (P<0.05). There was no significant effect observed for 24 h of fermentation (P<0.05).


Background and aim Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer in Wales, with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS) forming the commonest diagnosis. NSTEACS patients are at risk of death, reinfarction and ischaemia, a risk that increases as cardiovascular risk (GRACE) increases. Standard initial medical therapy followed by the consideration of invasive therapy depending on risk is a proven cost-effective therapy. However, data from national registries suggest that at least 60,000 NSTEACS patients per year do not undergo revascularisation, despite being at high risk. The majority of these patients are elderly and thus high risk (in terms of GRACE score), very few of the trials that shape our guidelines include elderly high risk patients. The aim of our study is to identify factors that influence selection for invasive therapy, and to investigate the consequences on net adverse cardiac outcomes (NACE): adjusted mortality, reinfarction, stroke and significant bleeding. Methods Using the Secure Anonymized Information Linkage (SAIL) databank, we linked hospital data for all patients admitted to hospitals in South Wales (UK) with a first diagnosis of NSTEACS between 2004–2014. Cohorts of patients undergoing medical versus invasive therapy were identified and validated by a combination of ICD-10 codes, operation codes, and linkage to coronary angiography data. Multivariate analysis was performed to investigate the influence of baseline characteristics on treatment decisions. Propensity matching – for a wide variety of baseline characteristics – was carried out with subsequent Cox regression analysis to show the adjusted effects of invasive therapy versus medical therapy only. Results There were a total of 57,964 NSTEACS patients in the study period. Of these, 20 421 received invasive therapy and 37 543 received medical therapy only. Medical therapy patients were older (mean age± standard deviation 74.9±13.2 vs 65.0±11.7) and more likely to have cancer, anaemia, dementia, heart failure, chronic lung, liver and kidney disease (p<0.05). Likelihood of undergoing invasive therapy was significantly reduced in patients over the age of 70 (OR 0.62 in 70–80, 0.18 in 80–90, 0.03 in 90+, p<0.05). After propensity matching between cohorts, net adverse cardiac events (mortality, stroke, reinfarction, significant bleeding) were significantly improved for the invasively managed patients in all age groups. Reduction in NACE were much larger in the elderly high risk groups that received invasive therapy. Conclusion Our study suggests that older higher risk patients have very low rates of invasive therapy but appear to have more to gain from this approach (than younger, lower risk patients), in terms of mortality and morbidity. In the older higher risk population these results suggest that increased frequency of invasive therapy will lead to reduced short (1 year) and long (5 year) term mortality and net adverse cardiac events (NACE).


Background: Despite the protective factors of Islam suicide, female suicide attempts exists in Palestine.  However there is little information about the causes, risks or protective factors regarding suicide for women in Palestine. Aims: This study investigates the history and experiences of Palestinian women who have attempted suicide in order to better inform policy makers, service providers and the international community about steps need to reduce this disturbing trend. Methods: Guided interviews were completed with 20 female suicide attempt survivors in Palestine using a qualitative phenomenological method to analyze the data. Results : Five themes emerged: victimization related to violence; Loss (family members, cultural identity, relationships, and security); psychological factors ;  socio-cultural factors;  and lack of support systems. Conclusion and Recommendation : The findings of the study demonstrate the importance of understanding the experience of suicide in the female population in Palestine, looking at risks related to victimization, loss, and lack of personal control.  The findings reflect the need for a holistic national strategy for prevention including support for mental health and advocacy programs for women, demanding basic human rights, prohibiting cultural practices such as child marriage, providing economic and social support and promoting Islamic values rather than traditional customs. Keywords: Suicide, Women's Issues, Palestine, Victimization, Socio-cultural factors


The article examines whether commodity risk is priced in the cross-section of equity returns. Alongside a long-only equally-weighted portfolio of commodity futures, we employ as an alternative commodity risk factor a term structure portfolio that captures the propensity of commodity futures markets to be backwardated or contangoed. Equity-sorted portfolios with greater sensitivities to the two commodity risk factors command higher average returns. The two commodity portfolios are also found to explain part of the size, value and momentum anomalies. Conclusions regarding the pricing of the commodity risk factors are not an artifact driven by crude oil and are robust to the inclusion of financial and macroeconomic variables and to the addition of a composite leading indicator in the pricing model.


We propose an approach for improved reproducibility that includes capturing and relating provenance characteristics and performance metrics. We discuss two use cases: scientific reproducibility of results in the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM—previously ACME) and performance reproducibility in molecular dynamics workflows on HPC platforms. To capture and persist the provenance and performance data of these workflows, we have designed and developed the Chimbuko and ProvEn frameworks. Chimbuko captures provenance and enables detailed single workflow performance analysis. ProvEn is a hybrid, queryable system for storing and analyzing the provenance and performance metrics of multiple runs in workflow performance analysis campaigns. Workflow provenance and performance data output from Chimbuko can be visualized in a dynamic, multilevel visualization providing overview and zoom-in capabilities for areas of interest. Provenance and related performance data ingested into ProvEn is queryable and can be used to reproduce runs. Our provenance-based approach highlights challenges in extracting information and gaps in the information collected. It is agnostic to the type of provenance data it captures so that both the reproducibility of scientific results and that of performance can be explored with our tools.


In this article we will discuss, through the explanations given by teachers who teach Mathematics, the importance of using teaching strategies in the implementation of tasks. Teachers who participated in it belong to the group "Observatory Mathematics Education" (OME- Bahia). This study was framed in a qualitative approach and data were collected through observation and an interview. The interview was conducted taking into account the observation produced through videos where the implementation of mathematical tasks was recorded, serving as support different times where teachers used different teaching strategies in order to take them up again at the time of the interviews. The results showed that in the using of each teaching strategy, there is a particular importance that is assumed by the teacher; that means, their intentions are subject to different variables.


A DAY AT nUl.WICH. By A. H. Cl1ke~. London (Enj{.): Lonl':111an~. Green & Co. Cloth. 8vo. 124 Pp. PrIce, one shilling, net. A singular. and pleasing little story of one of Eng:and'. famous schools, especIally of the athletic side of the life there, and the code of honor prevalent In school sports. A FIRST VIEW OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. By William Vaughn Moody and Robert Morss Lovett. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Illustrated. Clotl>. 386 pp. Price, $1.00. . It s~ks well for the present standards of teaching English that there Is a demand for abundant Information • as to the early masters In English and as to the conditions which made It poeelble to create the early literature. No biography Is now more fascinating, no deserlptlve 8ke~hes more charming than those which reo late to the early days of English. Messrs. Moody and Lovett have caught the spirit ot the times, and have projected the reverence for genius and maslery In the creation of a literature Into the lite and circumstances of those Who, as men of genius and as masters, have created the forms of literature In each epoch; thus they have made Lord Tennyeon and his writings as Interesting as Chaucer and his time. The point of view of each author In this"text-book awakens a new Interest In the writer and his works, while the perspective of the development of our literature gives the student an especially clear grasp 0& the setting ot the masterpieces. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIo.N.


Plastics have long been an environmental contaminant of concern as both large-scale plastic debris and as micro- and nano-plastics with demonstrated wide-scale ubiquity. Research in the past decade has focused on the potential toxicological risks posed by microplastics, as well as their unique fate and transport brought on by their colloidal nature. These efforts have been slowed by the lack of analytical techniques with sufficient sensitivity and selectivity to adequately detect and characterize these contaminants in environmental and biological matrices. To improve analytical analyses, microplastic tracers are developed with recognizable isotopic, metallic, or fluorescent signatures capable of being identified amidst a complex background. Here we describe the synthesis, characterization, and application of a novel synthetic copolymer nanoplastic based on polystyrene (PS) and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) intercalated with gold, platinum or palladium nanoparticles that can be capped with different polymeric shells meant to mimic the intended microplastic. In this work, particles with PS and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) shells are used to examine the behavior of microplastic particles in estuarine sediment and coastal waters. The micro- and nanoplastic tracers, with sizes between 300 and 500 nm in diameter, were characterized using multiple physical, chemical, and colloidal analysis techniques. The metallic signatures of the tracers allow for quantification by both bulk and single-particle inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS and spICP-MS, respectively). As a demonstration of environmental applicability, the tracers were equilibrated with sediment collected from Bellingham Bay, WA, United States to determine the degree to which microplastics bind and sink in an estuary based of grain size and organic carbon parameters. In these experiments, between 80 and 95% of particles were found to associate with the sediment, demonstrative of estuaries being a major anticipated sink for these contaminants. These materials show considerable promise in their versatility, potential for multiplexing, and utility in studying micro- and nano-plastic transport in real-world environments.


Recent progress in material processing has proved that high temperature superconductors (HTS) have a great potential to trap large magnetic fields at cryogenic temperatures. For example, HTS are widely used in MRI scanners and in magnetic bearings. However, using traditional ways to magnetize, the YBCO will always need the applied field to be as high as the expected field on the superconductor or much higher than it, leading to a much higher cost than that of using permanent magnets. In this paper, we find a method of YBCO magnetization in liquid nitrogen that only requires the applied field to be at the level of a permanent magnet. Moreover, rather than applying a pulsed high current field on the YBCO, we use a thermally actuated material (gadolinium) as an intermedia and create a travelling magnetic field through it by changing the partial temperature so that the partial permeability is changed to build up the magnetization of the YBCO gradually after multiple pumps. The gadolinium bulk is located between the YBCO and the permanent magnet and is heated and cooled repeatedly from the outer surface to generate a travelling thermal wave inwards. In the subsequent experiment, an obvious accumulation of the flux density is detected on the surface of the YBCO bulk.


On 3 May, 2013, AUT University's Pacific Media Centre marked the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day with the inaugural event in New Zealand. The event was initiated by UNESCO's Programme for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace with the first seminar on 'Promoting an Independent and Pluralistic African Media' in Windhoek, Namibia, on 3 May, 1993. The journalists participating in that event drew up the Windhoek Declaration which highlighted that press freedom should be understood as a media system that is free, pluralistic and independent. They insisted that that this dispensation was essential for democracy and development. The Declaration became a landmark document in the fight for press freedom around the world. This address argues that new ethical codes of practice are now needed that are inclusive of serious bloggers and citizen journalists. The author of this address states: 'The printing press spawned free expression's offspring—the right of "press freedom"—as pamphleteers fought censorship by governments in the ensuing centuries. Events are unfolding much more quickly now. It would be an historic irony and a monumental shame if press freedom met its demise through the sheer pace of irresponsible truth-seeking and truth-telling today'.


We construct a unique geocoded dataset on temples, dynasties and battles in medieval India and propose a test to identify the motive for observed temple desecrations in that period. We test two competing historical narratives of temple desecrations. The first focuses on the idea of iconoclasm, i.e. destruction of religious sites and imagery deemed heretical, as embedded in Islamic theology. The second suggests that desecrations were driven by political considerations and hence occurred mainly during military battles. We use a novel instrument of Muslim ruler assassinations to address the potential endogeneity in our battles related variable. The results show that Muslim states did not desecrate temples because they were there, but only during the course of battle, probably to diminish the authority of the rival Hindu state. The battle events are crucial, the probability of temple desecration increases by over 30% when the Hindu-Muslim battle outcome is in favour of a Muslim state. Whether a temple was within the territory of a Muslim state does not impact the likelihood of its desecration. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that political tactics were the main stimulus of temple desecrations by medieval Muslim states.


What does it cost to provide early intervention services? Data collected as part of the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study were used to determine expenditures for infants, toddlers, and their families receiving services through Part C programs. The study found that the national average total expenditure for early intervention services in the late 1990s was $15 740 and the average monthly expenditure was $916. Both the total expenditure and the monthly expenditure differed for children with different reasons for eligibility for early intervention services. The expenditures for children with diagnosed conditions and developmental delays were higher than those for children with only communication delays or risk conditions, although there was substantial variation in monthly expenditure within each of the 4 categories. Expenditures also varied as a function of children's health with the highest average monthly expenditure for children in poor or fair health. The findings illustrate the kinds of questions that can be addressed with expenditure data and underscore the need for the regular collection of expenditure data at the state and national levels. Careful examination of outcomes experienced by children with various conditions who receive special collections of services at various costs will allow resources for early intervention to be allocated more equitably and efficiently.


Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a disease problem (primarily caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe) that affects the quality and yield of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain. The objectives of this study were to identify the location of quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to FHB in a two-rowed by six-rowed population, to examine the association of FHB resistance with heading date and the Vrsl (two-rowed spike morphology) locus, to validate the location of the major FHB resistance QTL primarily detected in the field, and to identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers linked to the QTL for FHB resistance. We created a genetic map of 143 molcular markers from a population derived from the parents Fredrickson (two-rowed, moderately resistant) and Stander (six-rowed, susceptible). The Fredrickson/Stander population was evaluated in two field environments by a grain spawn inoculation method, two field environments by a spray inoculation, and two greenhouse environments. QTL analysis detected three distinct regions on chromosome 2(2H) associated with FHB resistance; two of these regions were also associated with resistance to deoxynivalenol (DON) accumulation. One FHB resistance QTL was also associated with heading date, while another FHB resistance QTL was found associated with the Vrs1 locus. The third FHB resistance QTL was detected only in the greenhouse, but was coincident with a QTL for resistance to DON accumulation in the field. All three QTL were detected in the greenhouse, indicating that this environment may be useful for selecting FHB resistant barley genotypes. SSR markers were identified that are linked with each QTL and could prove useful for marker-assisted trait manipulation. Finally, the two major QTL detected in the field were validated using an independent population with Fredrickson and Stander parents.


We have designed and constructed a hardware test bed to explore the application of a dense, multi-modal, peer-to-peer, sensor network as an electronic "skin"; a sensate lining that covers an object to sense, process, and coarsely classify local stimuli. Resulting parameters can be routed between nodes (which we term skin "patches") neighbor-to-neighbor to a portal for external analysis and/or produce a local response with a set of actuators built into each patch. The resulting device is a roughly 33-cm. diameter sphere tiled with such patches. Each patch sports an array of vibration-sensitive whiskers, sensors for local pressure, light, sound, and temperature, as well as actuators for a full range of colors, vibrations, and sound. All these sensors and actuators fall under the control of a dense, distributed sensor network, as each patch is connected to its neighbors. Geometrically, this device, termed "Tribble", resembles a soccer ball, where each face is a single patch of skin.


The metabolic relationship between the two major forms of rabbit alpha 1-antitrypsin, F and S, was investigated by using labeling techniques in vivo and in vitro. After the injection of [14C]leucine, the S/F specific-radioactivity ratio showed characteristic changes with time: at 1 h, the ratio was high (1.2-1.4), but by later times (5-7h) it decreased to a value of approx. 1.1. Two different techniques were used to purify alpha 1-antitrypsin for labelling with iodine. The half-lives of the differentially labelled and simultaneously injected F- and S-forms were 68.1 (+/- 7.6 S.D) and 55.3 (+/- 8.1 S.D)h respectively. Combined electrophoretic and gamma-spectrometric studies provided no evidence for metabolic interconversion of the alpha 1-antitrypsin forms in the circulation. These observations suggest that rabbit alpha 1-antitrypsins F and S are, despite their close chemical composition and immunological identity, metabolically independent proteins. Therefore the possibility is raised that alpha 1-antitrypsin synthesis in rabbits is controlled by two autosomal genes or two sets of such genes.


This paper analyzes the optimal size of a deliberating committee where (i) there is no conflict of interest among individuals and (ii) information acquisition is costly. The committee members simultaneously decide whether to acquire information, and then make the ex-post efficient decision. The optimal committee size, k*, is shown to be bounded. The main result of this paper is that any arbitrarily large committee aggregates the decentralized information more efficiently than the committee of size k*-2. This result implies that oversized committees generate only small inefficiencies.


Background
Patients with motor neurone disease (MND) suffer from reduced motility and strength of the neck muscles over time. This commonly results in difficulties with correct positioning for communicating, eating and breathing. There are a number of neck braces which available for MND patients, however they are inadequate for the majority of MND patients, and a new collar is set to be designed. This paper conducts a brief analysis of the potential cost effectiveness of such a collar.

Methods
A cost-utility analysis was undertaken using a simple three state Markov model of disease progression. The key input to this model were utilities from a small health valuation survey based around scenarios describing MND and the associated symptoms and limitation relating to reduced neck motility and strength. A scenario sensitivity analysis was used to identify the price at which new neck braces could be cost-effective given different effets on uptake and effectiveness.

Results
Four scenarios were examined that examined different impacts on rates of use of a neck brace and effectiveness of the new neck brace. For moderate effectiveness and no impact on non-use the maximum annual incremental collar cost to the NHS, using a funding threshold of £20,000 per quality adjusted life year, was £720. Adjusting this scenario for a large effect increases the maximum allowable cost to £960. Altering these two scenarios to include a large impact on rates of non-use produced maximum allowable costs of £800 and £1,040, respectively,

Conclusions
Our analysis suggests that there is considerable scope for a new neck brace for MND patients with moderate and severe neck pain to represent a cost effective use of NHS resources. Even with a brace costing around £1,000, it is possible that it will be cost-effective. However, these results should be interpreted with great caution: the potential brace has not yet reached the final design stage and although we do not assume in this analysis that it will prove adequate for all MND patients with neck weakness, we do assume that it provides a very substantial increase in adequacy rates (18% to 50% for moderate patients, and 0% to 30-50% for severe patients).


Background and aims: Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography acute pancreatitis (PAP) and post-sphincterotomy hemorrhage are known adverse events of post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Various electrosurgical currents can be used for endoscopic sphincterotomy. The extent to which this influences adverse events remains unclear. We assessed the comparative safety of different electrosurgical currents, through a Bayesian network meta-analysis of published studies merging direct and indirect comparison of trials. Methods: We performed a Bayesian random-effects network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that compared the safety of different electrocautery modes for endoscopic sphincterotomy. Results: Nine studies comparing four electrocautery modes (blended cut, pure cut, endocut, and pure cut followed by blended cut) with a combined enrollment of 1615 patients were included. The pooled results of the network meta-analysis did not show a significant difference in preventing post-sphincterotomy pancreatitis when comparing electrocautery modes. However, pure cut was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of bleeding compared with endocut [relative risk = 4.30; 95% confidence interval (1.53–12.87)]. On the other hand, the pooled results of the network meta-analysis showed no significant difference in prevention of bleeding when comparing blended cut versus endocut, pure cut followed by blended cut versus endocut, pure cut followed by blended cut versus blended cut, pure cut versus blended cut, and pure cut versus pure cut followed by blended cut. The results of rank probability found that endocut was most likely to be ranked the best. Conclusion: No electrocautery mode was superior to another with regard to preventing PAP. Endocut was superior with respect to preventing bleeding. Therefore, we suggest performing endoscopic sphincterotomy with endocut.


Prominent economic theories have emphasized the role of commonly held perceptions and expectations for determining macroeconomic outcomes. A key empirical question is how such collectively held beliefs are formed. We use the FIFA World Cup 2006 as a natural experiment. We provide direct evidence that seemingly irrelevant events (the outcomes of soccer matches) can systematically affect individual perceptions about economic prospects, both on a personal and economy-wide level.


Tracheal laceration is a rare complication of tracheal intubation. Its management, surgical versus conservative, is still a matter of debate. Only in the absence of respiratory failure and a laceration size Schneider T et al Ann Thoracic Surg 2007;83:1960 ) We present two cases of large tracheal post-intubation lacerations. The tears, localized in the membranous part, were > 4 cm long and healed spontaneously as confirmed by chest CT and bronchoscopy after 4 weeks. In both cases prophylactic antibiotics were administered. A 45-year-old woman presented with progressive subcutaneous emphysema 8 days after arthroscopy under general anesthesia. Chest CT showed a 5 cm long lesion of the membranous part of the distal trachea with pneumomediastinum. During bronchoscopy opening and closing of the lesion in phase with respiration was observed. A 53-year-old woman presented with massive subcutaneous facial emphysema after gastroscopy under general anesthesia. CT revealed a defect at the level of the right posterior tracheal membrane just proximal of the main carina and bronchoscopy confirmed a large patulous laceration. (figure) Although a surgical approach is usually preferred in tracheal lacerations > 4 cm, a complete and uncomplicated healing of lesions of the membranous part may be observed with conservative treatment.


This thesis treats controller design and tuning for systems with two input signals and two output signals in the process industry. Two design methods that can be combined to form a core in an algorithm for automatic design and tuning for the considered systems are presented. The proposed controller consists of a decoupler and a diagonal PID controller. This implies that the two main problems to solve are those of how to design the decoupler and how to design the diagonal controller. The decoupling problem is treated in a general way in this thesis and a decoupler design method is proposed. A PID controller design method is also proposed. The method is based on exhaustive search, and a simple version of software for this is presented. The methods are combined and tested in both simulations and on a real process in an industrial environment.


In this paper the application of the concept of crystallized rate regions to MIMO transmission with femtocell interference is investigated. Based on the referenced work a new game definition specifying the new cost function derived for MIMO transmission with femtocell interference is proposed. Furthermore, the idea of channel approximation for complexity reduction is described. Finally, the simulation results for different MIMO realizations are presented, which prove the correctness of application of the proposed regret-matching algorithm in the MIMO channel scenario with femtocell.


Net primary productivity (NPP) is a vital dataset to assess carbon cycling, carbon budget and interpreting global warming. There are many approaches to calculate NPP, and Carnegie-Ames-Stanford approach (CASA) is one of the most popular approaches that was applied in this study. Black pine forest NPP was calculated with the CASA model in a transection zone between humid black sea and dry middle Anatolia region of Turkey for the year of 2016. Model parameters and homogeneity were tested with one-way ANOVA. Results was showed that annual NPP values were varied from 194 to 1213 (g C m year) for pure black pine stands. Model validation was made with stand increment, growing stock, and stand carbon values. Correlation co-efficiencies were obtained to be 0.92 and 0.85 respectively. It was found that NPP was higher in young stands where the mass accumulation potential was higher than areas, where crown closure was between 11% and 70%. According to this study, young stands should be established in the forests that were operated with the highest NPP objective. NPP models that can be used on a global scale is required intense data and time consuming. In addition, it has been determined that mechanical models which are allowed more practical calculation and can be used with the stand parameters easily.


FROM THE EVIDENCE OF THE art houses and multiplexes, at least, it might appear as if we have witnessed the death of Shakespeare and film. After a flurry of cinematic activity mainly spearheaded by Kenneth Branagh in the 1990s, and a few gusts of representation in the following decade, the "boom" of the Bard on-screen ground to a halt. Yet if we turn the coin over, so to speak, and attend to alternative systems of production and distribution, a more nuanced picture emerges. For, during this period, seemingly dominated by an Anglophone tradition, there has been a corresponding plethora of Shakespeare films developed outside immediate UK and US fields of circulation. Hence, William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (dir. Michael Hoffman, 1999) is often cited as a title that illustrates the enduring popularity of the play, yet it has rarely been linked to An Athens Summer Night's Dream (dir. Dimitris Athanitis, 1999), a Greek film that plays searching variations on the theme of a stage production of the drama affecting "real life." Such a comparison would surely yield pertinent findings touching upon the local complexions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and its cultural translatability. Similarly, coming toward the end of a run of television productions was the Baz Luhrmann-inspired Macbeth (dir. Geoffrey Wright, 2006): an opportunity exists here for discussing the film in relation to another version of the play, Yellamma (dir. Mohan Koda, 2001), a Telegu-language recreation of Shakespeare's story of ambition set in India during the time of the Sepoy Mutiny. Dialogue between the two films could prompt us to reflect anew upon Macbeth's political resonances and to query critical assumptions about the universality of its analysis of power relations. More generally, paying attention to what resides outside the mainstream allows us to explore the ways in which current templates for filmed Shakespeare agree or disagree inside or across national boundaries. And by bringing into the arena of debate an international sense of filmic interpretations of Shakespeare's plays, we may yet arrive at a richer construction of "Shakespearean" significances. A "Shakespeare and World Cinema" line of inquiry is all the more urgent in that, by and large, criticism has tended to concentrate on a narrow sample of Anglophone Shakespeare films. (1) By contrast, extending the purview complicates the centrality of English-language film and inscribes a more representative and ethically responsible Shakespeare canon. The effect is to offer a new understanding of Shakespeare and his relevance, one that allows for interrogation of the channels through which we have access to Shakespearean production and insists upon a reengagement with plurality. Pursuing the paradigm sketched here, I offer in this essay a working discussion of The Banquet (dir. Xiaogang Feng, 2006), a Chinese retelling of Hamlet, and use the film to ask questions about what might be entailed in a "Shakespeare and World Cinema" critical project. The Banquet declares its generic affiliations via the evocation of a bloody moment in Chinese history: an on-screen announcement informs us that the action is set in "China, 907 B.C. ... the period [of] ... the 'Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms' ... an era plagued by widespread turmoil ... and a bitter struggle for power within the imperial family." Lush cinematography reinforces the film's epic dimensions, as in the sumptuous opening where the extravagantly attired empress Wan/Gertrude (Ziyi Zhang) is filmed from behind processing toward the throne: the sequence recalls a similar back-view image of the protagonist in Hamlet (dir. Kenneth Branagh, 2006) and positions The Banquet as a continuation of this earlier production in ambition and scale. Framing devices, then, consort with filmic content to establish recognizable interpretive parameters for The Banquet. Among them is perhaps the film's boldest rereading in which the Shakespearean family is reconfigured so as to highlight culture-specific questions about female agency. …


In this paper, the problem of voltage unbalance in the three-phase power systems is examined. A fast detection technique (FDT) is proposed to detect the voltage unbalance precisely and speedily. The well-known detection methods require more than one cycle time to detect the unbalanced voltages, whereas the proposed technique detects the unbalanced situations speedily in a discrete manner. Reducing the time duration required to detect the unbalanced voltages will enhance the dynamic response of the control system used to balance these voltages. The FDT acquires the instantaneous values of the three load voltages, calculates the sum and the space vector for these voltages at each sample, and utilizes these parameters to detect the voltage unbalance accurately within a quarter of the cycle time. A proof-of-concept simulation model for a real power system has been built. The parameters of the aqaba-qatrana-south amman (AQSA) Jordanian power system are considered in the simulation model. Also, several test cases have been conducted to test and validate the capabilities of the proposed technique.


Business Process Management (BPM) importance and benefits for organizations to focus on their business processes is nowadays broadly recognized, as business and technology areas are embracing and adopting the paradigm. The Service Oriented Computing (SOC) paradigm bases software development on services to realize business processes. The implementation of business processes as services helps in reducing the gap between these two areas, easing the communication and understanding of business needs. The Model Driven Development (MDD) paradigm bases software development in models, metamodels and languages that allow transformation between them. The automatic generation of service models from business process models is a key issue to support the separation of its definition from its technical implementation. In this article, we present MINERVA framework which applies Model Driven Development (MDD) and Service Oriented Computing (SOC) paradigms to business processes for the continuous business process improvement in organizations, giving support to the stages defined in the business process lifecycle from modeling to evaluation of its execution.


A technique for the design of multidimensional FIR filters based on symmetrical decomposition is described. Along with this technique, a procedure to decompose a frequency response into symmetrical components is also discussed. It is proved that the design based on the symmetrical decomposition technique when the cost function is chosen as the weighted square error yields the same optimal solution as the classical method that does not use the decomposition technique. The l/sub 2/ norm design is discussed as a special case of weighted l/sub 2/ norm design. It is also shown that the decomposition technique is advantageous when the weight function satisfies some symmetry properties. Examples are also provided to illustrate the application and the effectiveness of applying the decomposition in the design of 2-D and 3-D FIR filters. >


To characterize the emission of microbial aerosols from the widely used municipal sewage treatment plants (MSTP) in China, an Andersen six-stage impactor and the culture method were employed to determine the concentrations and size distributions of airborne viable bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in a sewage treatment plant with an oxidation ditch process in Xi'an in summer. The results showed that the concentrations and size distributions of each of the airborne microorganisms varied greatly at different phases of sewage treatment process. The highest bacteria (7866 ± 970 CFU/m 3 ) and actinomycetes concentrations (2139 ± 229 CFU/m 3 ) were found in the sludge-dewatering house while the highest fungi concentration (2156 ± 119 CFU/m 3 ) at the oxidation ditch. The particle size distributions showed that similar singlepeak pattern for airborne actinomycetes, bacteria and fungi. Another important finding was that about 52% of airborne bacteria, 62% of airborne fungi and 65% of airborne actinomycetes were in respirable size range (less than 3.3 μm), indicating that most microbial aerosols from MSTP could easily penetrate into the human alveolus. Finally, the order of the count median diameters of different microbial aerosols was found to be similar at each phase, that is, airborne bacteria > airborne fungi > airborne actinomycetes. This implied that airborne actinomycetes emitted from MSTP might have a more significant effect on public health and urban air quality than bacteria and fungi.


Over the last decade, striking progress has been made in the field of organ transplantation, such as better surgical expertise and preservation techniques. Therefore, organ transplantation is nowadays considered a successful treatment in end-stage diseases of various organs, e.g. the kidney, liver, intestine, heart, and lungs. However, there are still barriers which prevent a lifelong survival of the donor graft in the recipient. Activation of the immune system is an important limiting factor in the transplantation process. As part of this pro-inflammatory environment, the complement system is triggered. Complement activation plays a key role in the transplantation process, as highlighted by the amount of studies in ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) and rejection. However, new insight have shown that complement is not only activated in the later stages of transplantation, but already commences in the donor. In deceased donors, complement activation is associated with deteriorated quality of deceased donor organs. Of importance, since most donor organs are derived from either brain-dead donors or deceased after circulatory death donors. The exact mechanisms and the role of the complement system in the pathophysiology of the deceased donor have been underexposed. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on complement activation in the (multi-)organ donor. Targeting the complement system might be a promising therapeutic strategy to improve the quality of various donor organs. Therefore, we will discuss the complement therapeutics that already have been tested in the donor. Finally, we question whether complement therapeutics should be translated to the clinics and if all organs share the same potential complement targets, considering the physiological differences of each organ.


Objectives A nonoptimal left ventricular (LV) pacing lead position may be a potential cause for nonresponse to cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT). The aim of the current study was to investigate the feasibility and curative effect of CRT by targeted LV lead placement to the latest ventricular electrical activating site mapped in the coronary sinus (CS) branches. Methods Ten patients with moderate to severe congestive heart failure, depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 35%, and wide QRS complex ≥120 ms were included for implantation of a CRT device. Left ventricular (LV) activating sequence was mapped in the CS branchs, and the latest ventricular electrical activating site was considered as the target site for LV lead placement. The feasibility and curative effect of this kind of CRT were observed. The clinical variables assessed in this study included QRS duration, NYHA class, 6-min walk test and echocardiography index. Results Seven patients were diagnosed as dilated cardiomyopathy and 3 patients as ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Electrophysiological mapping were performed in 28 CS branches which were considered as a possible site for LV lead placement and LV lead was successfully placed at the latest LV electrical activating site in all 10 patients. There were 116 ± 28ms activating time delay at the latest LV electrical activiating site than the QRS onset of ECG. QRS complex were significantly narrowed immediately after CRT than before CRT (121 ± 17ms vs 153 ± 30ms, P < 0.01). The period after CRT procedure exceeded 3 months in 9 of 10 patients. Eight of these 9 patients were classified as responders to CRT (8/9, 89%) and 3 patients as super responders (3/9, 33%), the other 1 ischaemic cardiomyopathy patient who died of acute myocardial infarction 2 months after CRT procedure was classified as non-responder to CRT (1/9, 11%). The following clinical variables 3 months after CRT procedure were markedly improved than variables before CRT in these 8 responders (all P < 0.01). NYHA class was improved (1.6 ± 0.5 vs 3.3 ± 0.5) and the 6-min walk test was increased (405 ± 92 m vs 307 ± 82 m). Echocardiography demonstrated LVEF was improved (0.42 ± 0.06 vs 0.30 ± 0.04), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) was reduced (121 ± 38 ml vs 153 ± 44 ml) and mitral regurgitation velocity (MRV) was decreased (3.9 ± 1.2 m/s vs 4.5 ± 1.5 m/s). Conclusions Targeted left ventricular lead placement to the latest venticular electrical activating site guided by electrophysiological mapping in the CS branches was feasible. This CRT method was effective for improving heart function of heart failure patients during short-term follow-up.


Here you will find resources on: Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math. Browse the resources below or check the shelves at your Delaware public library in the following areas: 500-599; 600-699.


Objective This study compares the mental health of single parents relative to partnered parents and assesses the contribution of the social and demographic factors to this difference, examining the gender difference in it. Methods We analyzed 12,024 single and partnered subjects, aged 30–59 years, living with children, aged 0–19 years, drawn from the 4th, 5th, and 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) dataset in South Korea conducted from 2007–2013. Mental health was evaluated by self-reported questionnaires including depressive mood for recent two weeks, presence of suicidal ideation, and the Korean version of the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Covariates included age, physical illness, socioeconomic status (family income, recipient of national basic livelihood guarantees, educational level, house ownership, job, and residential area), family structure, and support (co-residence of another adult). Multiple logistic regression was carried out and the explained fractions of each covariate was calculated. Results Single parents had significantly poorer mental health than their partnered counterparts, with odds ratio (OR) of 2.02 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56–2.63) for depressive symptoms, 1.69 (95% CI 1.27–2.25) for suicidal ideation, and 1.74 (95% CI 1.38–2.20) for any of the three mental health statuses (suspicious depression, suicidal ideation, and alcohol dependence) after controlling for the covariates. The odds of depressive symptoms (OR = 3.13, 95% CI 2.50–3.93) and suicidal ideation (OR = 2.50, 95% CI 1.97–3.17) among both single fathers and mothers were higher than partnered parents. However, the odds of alcohol dependence were 3.6 times higher among single mothers than partnered mothers (OR = 3.58, 95% CI 1.81–7.08) and were 1.4 times greater among single fathers than partnered fathers (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 0.81–2.25). Socio-economic status explained more than 50% (except for substance use disorders) of the poorer mental health in single parents. These results were more remarkable for single fathers than for single mothers except for alcohol dependence. However, physical illness, family structure, and support made only minor contributions to single parents' mental health. Conclusions This study demonstrates that single parents have poorer mental health than partnered parents. Although lower SES is an important factor explaining poorer mental health in single parents, there are other factors we cannot explain about their poor mental health. Therefore, we should pay proper regard to identifying other factors affecting mental health and to establishing policies to support single parents.


Magnesium is the fourth most abundant cation in the body and is involved in over 302 enzymatic reactions. Basic science research has implicated magnesium deficiency as a cause of insulin resistance which is related to hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and increased cardiovascular risk. Research in magnesium deficiency states has been hindered because magnesium is an intracellular ion and difficult to measure. Our goal was to develop a reproducible assay to measure intracellular magnesium in platelets. Healthy volunteers agreed to have blood drawn for magnesium measurement. Platelet rich plasma was harvested from a venipuncture specimen and run through the flow cytometer. A standard titer curve using known increasing concentrations of magnesium chloride was created for each specimen, and then with the other half the specimen was run to measure the true intracellular free magnesium concentration. 15 adults agreed to volunteer for this experiment. All standard titer curves for all specimens had a correlation of > 0.99. The mean concentration of intracellular free magnesium was 450.05 microM with a range of 203.68 microM to 673.50 microM. Intracellular free magnesium can reliably and reproducibly be measured in platelets using Mag Green fluorescent dye and flow cytometry. This should advance our ability to study magnesium deficient states.


We design a switching strategy for a group of robots to search for a local minimum of an unknown noisy scalar field. Starting with individual exploration, the robots switch to cooperative exploration only when they are not able to locate the field minimum based on the information collected individually. In order to test and demonstrate the switching strategy in real-world environment, we implement the switching strategy on a multi-robot test-bed. The behaviors of a group of robots are compared when different parameters for exploration are adopted. Especially, we observe the effect of memory lengths on the switching behaviors as predicted by theoretical results. The experimental results also justify the effects of different formation sizes and noise attenuation levels on the performance of the cooperative H∞ filter that are utilized in the cooperative exploration phase.


This paper examines the impact of the global financial crisis on Cambodia, and the lessons learned. Cambodia is an interesting case study: After extremely rapid economic growth during 2000‐07, it experienced a sharp growth collapse in 2008‐09. This highlighted a number of peculiar vulnerabilities, including a narrow economic base, a pre-crisis asset price boom, a fragile financial system, and the limited array of defensive economic policy levers available to the government. The economy has begun to rebound since early 2010, and the crisis episode provides the government with an opportunity to place the country's economic growth trajectory on a more sustainable footing. Apart from diversifying the economy and creating the preconditions for de-dollarization, we also consider policies that could improve the business climate and make growth more inclusive.


RX J1914.4+2456 and RX J0806.3+1527 have been proposed as double degenerate binaries with orbital periods of 569 s and 321 s respectively. An alternative model, in which the periods are related to the spin of a magnetic white dwarf in an intermediate polar system, has been rejected by other authors. We show that a face-on, stream-fed intermediate polar model for the two systems is viable and preferable to the other models. In each case, the X-ray modulation periods then represent the rotation of the white dwarf in the binary reference frame. The model explains the fully modulated X-ray pulse profiles, the X-ray spectra, the antiphase between X-ray and optical/infrared modulation, the lack of longer period modulation, and the low level of polarization. The optical spectrum of RX J0806.3+1527 suggests that Balmer series lines are present, blended with HeII lines. This is unlike the spectra of any of the known AM CVn stars and suggests that the system is not a double degenerate binary. The optical spectrum of RX J1914.4+2456 has spectral features that are consistent with those of a K star, ruling out the double degenerate models in this case. The lack of optical/infrared emission lines in RX J1914.4+2456 may be attributed to a high mass accretion rate and its face-on orientation. Its reported period decrease may be a short term spin-up episode driven by the current high Ṁ. Finally we suggest that there is an observational selection effect such that the face-on intermediate polars that are detected will all have a stream-fed component, and the purely stream-fed intermediate polars that are detected will all be face-on systems.


AbstractOBJECTIVE: To examine how Asian race/ethnicity affects patients' health care experiences and satisfaction with care.
 DESIGN: Telephone interview using random-digit dialing, stratified to over-sample adults living in areas with disproportionately large numbers of minorities.
 PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: White (N=3,205) and Asian-American (N=521) respondents, weighted to represent all such adults living in the continental U.S. in telephone households.
 MEASUREMENTS: Reports of health care experiences and trust in the doctor at the last visit, and overall satisfaction with care and desire to change doctors in the last 2 years.
 MAIN RESULTS: Asian Americans were less likely than whites to report that their doctors ever talked to them about lifestyle or mental health issues (P≤.01). They were more likely to report that their regular doctors did not understand their background and values (P≤.01). When asked about the last visit, they were more likely to report that their doctors did not listen, spend as much time, or involve them in decisions about care as much as they wanted (all P≤.0001). In multivariable analyses, Asian Americans were less likely than whites to report that they were very satisfied with care (odds ratio [OR], 0.64, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42 to 0.99). However, they were not significantly less likely than whites to trust their doctors (OR, 0.79, 95% CI, 0.52 to 1.20), or to change doctors (OR, 0.93, 95% CI, 0.56 to 1.56).
 CONCLUSIONS: In a national survey, Asian Americans were less likely to receive counseling and less likely to report positive interactions with their doctors than white respondents. More research is needed to determine the reasons for these differences.


The study of parameters selection of model sizing appropriate for use in an Eiffel type subsonic boundary layer wind tunnel was investigated. Using a prototype-model dimension scale of 1:300 on a 72 m, 20 storey prototype building with ratio 1:2:6; a width of 43.33, 83.33 mm breadth and 240 mm height was produced as physical model. The result of the application of methods of global modular ratio and area moment for parameters selection shows that the moments of inertia obtained from the two methods only differ by 2.33%. The proposed hollow rectangular configuration recommended as walls for the physical model are 10.5 and 20.2 mm thick along the width and breadth, respectively. The assemblage of the models was rigidly bounded together by using a set of G-clamping devices and special adhesives such as epoxy resin and liquid glue. The base of the physical model was mounted on flat steel plate which serves as an infinitely rigid foundation resting on the polystyrene that represents the soil conditions which was assumed to behave as elastic base. At the end, the model was rigidly fastened to the wind tunnel using solenoid wires. The original data generated for the dimensions were intrinsically linear and they were linearized using a natural logarithm model. Ordinary least square regression analysis conducted on the result show that y = 1.94 + 0.433x. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) is significant at P = 0.001 but the corresponding standard deviation, correlation coefficients and student's T are S = 0.1561, R - Sq = 93.9% and T = 9.23, respectively. All these statistically confirm that there are no serious trends to show that the proposed models are inappropriate.

 Key words: Model sizing, strouhal number, Bernoulli universal constant, wind tunnels, model scaling, multi-storey, building, aerodynamics loadings.